August 15, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
The carriage moved slowly along the road filled with mud and water. The torrential rains that had suddenly appeared after Oden's death had finally subsided, but their effects were still visible throughout the country.
The most unfortunate areas had experienced floods of varying intensity, while the higher regions had to deal with landslides and partial destruction of the roads.
"Damn it, this trip feels endless!" said one of the soldiers driving the carriage, clear frustration in his voice.
"There's nothing we can do. Luckily we're almost there. In a few days I'll be able to visit my favorite Oiran at the Pink House," said another soldier, fantasizing about his return and the reunion with the woman who occupied his dreams day and night.
"You should stop wasting your money on prostitutes and get yourself a decent woman to start a family!" said the first soldier, who was a little older than the other and at a different stage of life.
"Nonsense! Why would I want to start a family? Then I'd have to deal with a bunch of brats and sleep with the same woman for the rest of my life. No thanks!" replied the younger soldier, shaking off his sensual fantasies at his companion's words.
"Sigh Youth today is lost! Your ancestors must be rolling in their graves," concluded the older soldier. His companion didn't continue the conversation, knowing it would become endless once he started arguing with this stubborn man and his old-fashioned ideas.
"Anyway, shouldn't we feed the brats? If they get sick on the way to the capital, we'll be in trouble," the younger soldier said, trying to change the subject.
The older soldier looked up at the gray sky and calculated that it must already be lunchtime. He simply nodded and said:
"Fine, but don't linger there. It's better not to interact with them. Those children are valuable merchandise Lord Orochi is expecting. We can't allow them to be damaged in any way. Understood?"
"Bah, bah! Why so many lectures? You think I'm going to do something to those brats? I don't have such weird fetishes!" the young soldier grumbled as he grabbed a sack at his feet and walked to the back of the carriage, where the children were being transported.
"It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened. I don't want to end up in trouble because of someone else's twisted tastes!" said the older soldier, annoyed.
In truth, such incidents had indeed happened before—several children being transported by another group had been "damaged" on the way to the capital by a perverted soldier with vile appetites. On that occasion, Orochi had exploded in rage, believing the soldiers were disrespecting him by "breaking" his property, and nearly the entire group had been decapitated as punishment.
With quick movements, the younger soldier entered the back of the carriage. Looking at the depressing atmosphere in the dark compartment, he simply threw the food sack on the floor and said, "Your meal," before leaving immediately.
Inside the carriage, there were more than twenty children traveling in discomfort. The carriage had no windows, so the place was shrouded in darkness, with barely any fresh air circulating, making the atmosphere heavy and nauseating. On top of that, the space wasn't very large, and the children were practically on top of each other, huddled in groups without room to move around much.
These children didn't all come from the same place; they had been picked up by the royal soldiers along the way. Since their final destination was training to become Orochi's servants and elite soldiers, not just any child was chosen at random to join the group. Only those considered to have outstanding talent could earn the "honor" of being added.
Many families saw this as a chance for their children to leap into a higher social class and improve their lives. They immediately answered Orochi's call, sending their children with joy and hope that they might have a better future.
There were also children who had already been sold to slavers or brothels, only to be forcibly bought back by soldiers if they were deemed talented enough.
Regardless of their background, the children in this carriage didn't fully understand the situation. Most were terrified, uncertain of what awaited them once they arrived at their destination. It was normal for them to sob at night, though as the days of travel passed, the number of crying children decreased. Little by little, resignation set in, and they simply hoped to arrive as soon as possible.
In this depressing atmosphere, one child stood out: filthy, ragged, and clearly malnourished. Yet his pristine, deep eyes betrayed his true nature. Of course, this child was none other than Orion, who, after catching up to the group of soldiers transporting the children, had slipped into the carriage unnoticed. The other children, too preoccupied with their own grim fates, paid him no attention.
Orion had decided to keep Maria inside the Pocket Dimension, since he didn't want to subject her to the hardships of traveling under such conditions, and it wasn't really necessary. She had everything she needed to live for months if she wished, inside the Pocket Dimension, so Orion wasn't worried about her in the slightest.
He had instructed her to practice her sword skills, but he also had her train in hand-to-hand combat, since according to the Insight Card's analysis, she possessed far more talent with her fists than with a blade.
She also had considerable talent with polearms, so Orion planned to obtain a related technique for her in the future. Unfortunately, that kind of technique was not currently available in the system's shops, though Orion did not rule out the possibility of them appearing later, since the shop refreshed itself regularly.
Orion looked at the children, who hadn't moved at all to take the food from the sack the soldier had thrown on the floor, and sighed, realizing they were in terrible mental condition. If not even hunger could move them, that was a grave sign of their state. Luckily, the capital wasn't too far off, so there likely wouldn't be major problems.
He stood up and walked toward the sack of food, then dragged it along the floor, pretending he couldn't lift it, before stopping in front of one of the children. He reached inside the sack, but instead of pulling out one of the hard loaves of bread, he drew out a piece of delicious dried meat from his inventory and handed it to the child, who immediately began to drool at the smell.
"Eat, or you won't have the strength to return home," Orion whispered. The boy started devouring the meat desperately, nearly choking from his own voracity.
Orion let out a soft sigh and moved on to the next child, repeating the process. He had been doing this for the past two days simply because he pitied these children deeply. In addition to successfully infiltrating the group, Orion had taken a look at the soldiers' files containing information about the children being transported.
Because of this, Orion knew the background of each child present and what words to use to encourage them. The boy he had just fed, for example, was one of those who had been willingly handed over by his family, in the hope he might live a better life as a royal servant, and his greatest wish was to return to them.
Orion distributed all the food, while discreetly storing the hard loaves from the sack into the system to avoid raising suspicion from the soldiers. Then he walked to a corner and sat beside Hatsume, who stretched out both hands with an adorable look, asking for food.
Over the past few days, Orion had been continuously interacting with Hatsume, since she was the Named Character he intended to recruit. Because of this, their bond had grown quite close despite the short time they had spent together.
Perhaps being in such a strange and unfavorable situation had accelerated the process. Orion had quickly assumed the role of a protective older brother, earning the little girl's favor in no time.
He handed her a piece of chicken, still warm from when it had been cooked, since he had placed it into his inventory immediately after preparing it. Hatsume took it happily and began eating quickly, nibbling at it like an adorable squirrel.
Meanwhile, Orion unfolded his Observation Haki and scanned the situation around the carriage. Once he confirmed everything was in order and no danger was nearby, he retracted his Haki and focused back on lunch with Hatsume.
"Orion, aren't you scared?..." Hatsume asked timidly, her mouth greasy from the chicken.
Orion smiled warmly and wiped her lips with a cloth, answering the same question she had asked countless times over the past few days.
"There's no reason to be afraid, Hatsume. Even if it doesn't seem like it right now, we're being recruited to train as elite warriors, so the chances of something tragic happening aren't that high."
Although Orion always gave the same answer, Hatsume kept asking the same question again and again, perhaps as a strange way of encouraging herself indirectly. Her wide, innocent eyes stared at Orion with great expectation, since he always followed with the same words, and it was the second half of his response that she longed to hear every time she asked.
Orion placed a hand on her head and gently stroked her hair, saying with a broad smile:
"In any case, you don't need to worry. Even if we run into trouble when we arrive, I'll protect you."
Hatsume closed her eyes with joy and nodded softly. Her mood had instantly improved and would stay that way for a while, until she asked the same question once again.
…
August 20, 1500 – Age of the Sea Circle
Finally, five days later, the carriage passed through the city gates and sped toward the palace.
Inside the dark compartment, Orion sat with his eyes closed, observing his surroundings through his Observation Haki, while Hatsume slept in his arms, her thumb stuck in her mouth. The innocent little girl, who was about to begin her training to become an elite warrior, hardly looked like someone who could grow into an important figure in the future.
However, Orion had analyzed her abilities and knew she possessed remarkable talent, especially for the ninja arts. He didn't know much about ninjas, since it wasn't a common profession outside of Wano, but based on the information in his mind from his past life, he imagined they were a type of stealth specialist. Still, he couldn't be entirely sure—after all, in his previous life there were also stories of ninjas who hurled giant energy blasts like Goku, and Orion didn't know what role this profession would take in such a fantastical world.
After inspecting the capital's streets with his Observation Haki, Orion opened the system map, which now displayed a great number of markers concentrated in this city. The most prominent were Kaido and Orochi, currently located in the center of the grand city, within the royal castle. But there were also many other Named Characters present, most likely members of Kaido's crew.
In addition, some markers clearly belonged to Orochi's forces, since those individuals bore distinctly Japanese-sounding names—unlike Kaido's subordinates, whose names had a more "foreign" sound.
After a few minutes, the carriage finally arrived at the royal castle. The soldiers stopped and opened the door of the dark compartment where the children had been confined for so long. Some of them had spent nearly a month and a half in that darkness, while the luckier ones had only endured two weeks.
Orion, who had been the last to join, had traveled with the children for about ten days, and he had to admit it had been both boring and exhausting. Still, he had no other choice, since it was the only way he could infiltrate enemy territory without drawing attention.
The children began emerging from the carriage slowly, dazed by the blinding sunlight. Their condition was far from ideal, and Orion couldn't help but question the soldiers' methods of transporting such valuable recruits. How were these talented children supposed to train efficiently if they arrived completely emaciated after such a long journey?
Taking Hatsume's hand, Orion stepped down from the carriage along with the others, trying not to attract any attention. Suddenly, he felt as though a pair of eyes had locked onto him, and a chill ran down his spine as goosebumps covered his skin.
Clearly, Kaido was observing them from afar with his Observation Haki, though he didn't seem to have any intention of approaching. Perhaps he was simply doing it out of habit. Despite his brutish appearance and his fame as a fearsome warrior, Kaido was a cautious man—and in some ways, even a bit of a coward. The main difference between him and Orochi was the vast gulf in their combat power, but in terms of personality, they were far more alike than the infamous pirate would ever admit.
Kaido's Observation Haki came abruptly and vanished just as suddenly. It seemed that, finding nothing unusual, he immediately lost interest in this group of children. Still, Orion was drenched in cold sweat, having had to strain himself to maintain his disguise under the overwhelming pressure of Kaido's Haki.
The children stood there in place, gazing around with curiosity but also with fear, until at last, after several minutes, someone appeared to welcome them—or rather, two people.
The two men who entered the inner courtyard where the group of newly arrived children stood had completely different characteristics. One was bald, with an excessively large head and impressively stretched earlobes. He wore very peculiar clothing adorned with shuriken patterns.
The other man, in contrast, had a mane of blond hair, dark sunglasses, and a laid-back, almost lazy posture. He was dressed like a samurai, with two katanas at his waist. It was clear he had little interest in being here, and instead seemed eager to leave as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the strange, long-eared man presented himself much more seriously and formally, despite his bizarre appearance.
Orion looked at the system screen, confirming that both of them were Named Characters. The blond-haired man was called Hotei, while the man with the elongated earlobes was called Fukurukujo.
"Welcome to the royal palace, today is the day your lives begin," said the bizarre-looking man, who suddenly started speaking.
"Up until today, your lives have had no value whatsoever. Your existences were insignificant and not worth mentioning. However, now that you have entered this royal palace, for the first time your lives carry value, even if only the slightest," continued the stern man.
The children looked at each other in confusion, not knowing how to respond to the man's words, and they didn't dare make any large movements because the two strangers in front of them filled them with great fear and unease.
"Next, you must make your first great choice. Your future will depend on this choice, so you should take care when making it," Fukurukujo went on.
"Now, step forward as your names are called, and make your decision."
"Hanamichi Sakuragi!" shouted Fukurukujo with a loud cry.
"Here! H-Here!" one of the children answered, stepping forward in a rush.
"Very well, now choose whether you want to join the samurai division or the ninja division!" Fukurukujo said with solemnity, fixing his penetrating gaze on the boy.
"Eh… Umm…" The boy grew nervous and began to stammer, looking timidly at the two men. Finally, before he could give an answer, the strange long-eared man spoke again.
"Rejected! We have no need for indecisive people in our ranks! Send him to the servants' quarters to begin his training as a butler."
The boy turned pale at Fukurukujo's words, and without resistance he was led away by one of the soldiers, having lost his chance to join one of the two elite warrior divisions that served Orochi.
"Next! Makunouchi Ippo!"
A new name was called by Fukurukujo, and the process repeated itself once more, only this time the timid boy immediately chose the samurai division, and the soldiers pulled him aside from the group, making him stand on one side, near the long-haired blond man who watched the situation with laziness and disinterest.
Finally, Hatsume's turn came, and she immediately chose the samurai division, since the leader of the ninjas filled her with great terror.
Orion also chose the same division as Hatsume and stood beside her, watching how the selection continued. Of course, he had already added his own name to the list of recruits, so there was no problem with his presence among the rest of the children.
Once the selection process ended and the groups were formed, the two men with opposite appearances and personalities led their new recruits in opposite directions.
From this point on, these children would be trained harshly, and only the most talented, strong, and fortunate would earn an official position within the ranks of elite soldiers. Orion, who was walking hand in hand with Hatsume following the lazy samurai, could not help but think that this situation was somewhat similar to the time he had ended up in Guanhao, training with a group of children aspiring to become agents.
This time, however, he would not spend so long pretending to be a recruit, since he would take advantage of the first opportunity he had to finish off Orochi and leave this place.
...
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my patreon.
P@treon/CrotoWN
Your support helps me keep writing and sharing more chapters!