November 11, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion approached the ship at full speed, yet the pirates, entirely absorbed in their revelry, did not notice his presence in the slightest. With one exception: Reira.
The sensual pirate, bored of watching the rest of the crew singing cheerfully, was the only one who caught sight of Orion, who was walking through the skies using his Geppo + Pocket Dimension.
Her surprise was absolute, for it was the first time she had ever seen anyone employ such a rare technique. The East Blue was widely recognized as the weakest of the four Blues, precisely because the general power level here was not very high.
It was unusual to see people using Geppo like Orion in this sea, and even powerful pirates with Devil Fruits were not as common as in the other Blues. Typically, whenever a strong pirate emerged in these waters, they would almost immediately migrate to the Grand Line in search of new challenges. Ironically, those very pirates were often the ones most frequently destroyed on the first islands of the Grand Line.
This happened because the level of the East Blue was so low that even its strongest pirates could not make much of a stir in the Grand Line. What was worse, many of them ventured into that chaotic territory with a confidence far greater than their limited abilities, which inevitably led to tragedy.
Of course, there were exceptions, and some East Blue pirates had managed to reach great notoriety in the Grand Line and even in the New World, but their percentage was minimal. In general, the level of pirates here was undeniably low.
From a distance, Orion scanned the situation aboard the ship and immediately activated his Prism Eyes, aiming to gauge the level of these pirates. Yet, to his surprise, this group appeared in his vision with a gray morality, placing them within the range of "good pirates."
Once Orion confirmed these individuals were not targets to be eliminated, he focused all his Observation Haki into his eyes, pushing the ability to its maximum, hoping to glimpse their potential in case he could find possible recruits among their ranks.
However, the result was not very encouraging. His Prism Eyes did not react in the slightest to the crew, signaling that none of them possessed enough talent to generate even the faintest perceptible response.
Disappointed, Orion sighed and was preparing to leave without paying further attention to this group of pirates. But suddenly, a vibrant color burst into his field of vision. Looking toward the source of the intense yellow that had begun to emerge, Orion laid his eyes on a sensual female pirate.
This woman had long, straight blonde hair that almost reached her waist. She wore moderate makeup, with an air of sensuality and superiority that struck Orion immediately. Moreover, her body was truly explosive! Her breasts were as large as those of his beloved Olive, who was the most well-endowed among his wives in that regard.
Orion had not expected to find such a beautiful woman in this place, and his surprise was considerable. Yet what astonished him even more was the vivid yellow aura enveloping Reira, revealing that she possessed some kind of exceptional talent.
He had been ready to withdraw without interacting with these pirates, but now that he had discovered a new talent to recruit, he had no choice but to change his plans.
Under Reira's astonished gaze, Orion descended from the heights before her, like a god descending into the world of mortals. When she saw his handsome face and his carefree yet charismatic expression, the pirate felt a strange sensation within her, and her eyes lit up slightly.
It was the first time she had encountered a man who matched her tastes, although if there was one flaw in him, it was that he did not carry an aura aggressive enough. In Reira's eyes, Orion was more like a gentle breeze, when what she longed for was a violent whirlwind that would make her kneel and beg for mercy.
With a smile, Orion stepped closer to the astonished pirate, but before he could utter a single word, a young pirate stepped between them, his gaze nervous yet determined. The boy had long, curly hair tied into a ponytail, was dressed entirely in purple clothing, and, for some strange reason, had a rose clenched between his teeth.
Orion focused his gaze on him and saw that a faint, dim light glowed within his body, indicating that he, too, possessed some talent, though far inferior to Reira's. Still, Orion was pleased to see there was someone else he could recruit, and without hesitation, he extended his hand with a smile, startling the tense youth.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Orion. I am looking for talented subordinates, and I am interested in the two of you. What do you say, will you join me? I can give you great benefits!" Orion said, cutting straight to the point.
Normally, he would have taken his time to recruit new talents, first trying to establish some sort of connection with them. But right now, he was in a hurry and didn't have much time to waste on the two youths. After all, he had to reach the base of the Eastern Revolutionary Army as soon as possible, since Kuma was on his way to fetch him and take him to the North Blue.
The boy slapped Orion's outstretched hand away rudely, his tense expression turning a shade darker.
"I will never serve under any man!" the youth declared, speaking without removing the rose from his mouth, which caused him to bite into its thorns and made his eyes well up with tears.
Orion raised his eyebrows in surprise at the boy's words.
"Are you the captain of this crew?" Orion asked.
"No!" Garride replied.
"And… who is the captain then?" Orion continued.
"That one over there, Thomas!" the young man answered truthfully.
Orion looked confused as his eyes fell on the pirate captain, clearly a fat man with a long beard.
"Then… aren't you already serving under the command of a man?" Orion asked, voicing his doubts.
"Ah!" Garride exclaimed in surprise, as though he had just realized something shocking.
In Orion's mind, the boy's evaluation dropped sharply, and he immediately concluded that the youth's talent clearly did not lie in the area of thought.
Turning his gaze to Reira, who was watching him curiously without saying a word, Orion asked with a smile,
"What about you? Would you be willing to serve under my command?"
"I'm not interested. Leave," Reira said curtly, with an air of arrogance and superiority, as if she were a queen deigning to respond to a filthy commoner.
Orion scratched his head, beginning to think it might not be worth wasting too much time here trying to convince this pair of youths to join his kingdom. Yet, unwilling to let great talent slip away due to negligence, he purchased two "Evaluation Cards" from the system's kingdom shop. He immediately used them on the two individuals, gaining information about them.
Reading the details, Orion was deeply surprised, and the way he looked at the pair grew even stranger. This was because the system's information not only listed their combat talents, which were decent enough, but also revealed entirely unexpected personality traits!
Garride, who seemed so confrontational, was in truth a coward who crumbled under the slightest pressure, and according to the system's evaluation, his greatest desire was to blindly follow someone. His disposition was directly marked as "Cult Follower," which in Orion's mind was simply a fancy way of saying "lapdog."
On the other hand, Reira's situation was even more extreme! She, who carried herself with the arrogance of a queen, was in reality an incredible masochist, and her greatest desire was to be subdued like a bitch, classified by the system as the "Ultimate Slave"!
The reason his Prism Eyes had reacted so strongly to the girl's supposed talent was not because she possessed great ability in combat, but rather because she had an exceptional talent for submission.
Once again, Orion questioned what parameters the system used to determine the value of these talents, and why it always insisted on giving importance to such peculiar abilities.
Just as it had been the case with Olive, who apparently possessed a great talent for procreation...
Orion's mind raced at full speed, and within moments, a plan of action began to take shape. Perhaps he could recruit this pair of eccentric pirates without consuming too much of his time after all.
After a brief pause, deep in thought, Orion raised his head and fixed his gaze on a man with a cautious expression who had just stepped forward, staring timidly at him, too hesitant to interrupt his thoughts.
"Ah! GOOD MORNING, SIR!" shouted the pirate nervously.
Orion frowned, and at once his entire aura changed, becoming sharper and more oppressive. It was time to set his recruitment plan in motion.
He usually maintained a friendly and carefree expression whenever he was in a non-combat situation, his natural demeanor being that of someone rather amiable. For that reason, the moment he adopted an aggressive stance, the shift was striking, catching the already nervous pirate captain completely off guard.
Thomas, the captain of this pirate crew, was just a man with little talent, who longed to live freely after running away from his wife on their wedding day. During the few years he had been a pirate, he had never harbored grand ambitions and had avoided conflicts whenever he could.
Whenever he encountered other pirates, his first instinct was to run, and he had little combat experience. Seeing the sudden appearance of someone who could mysteriously walk through the air, the first thought that crossed Thomas's mind was not to anger this man and to avoid conflict at all costs.
"You're too noisy," Orion said flatly, in a tone much like the one Reira had used with him minutes earlier, as though he were speaking to an insect.
To tell the truth, with Orion's current power, Thomas was certainly nothing more than an insect he could crush with a single blow. However, due to Orion's personality, he had never behaved arrogantly toward those weaker than him, though he could indeed be quite haughty in front of his enemies.
Unfortunately, Thomas had the bad luck of finding himself in a situation where Orion had no choice but to treat him harshly, since that was part of his plan to recruit Reira and Garride. When it came to people as "particular" as them, Orion could not use conventional methods to gain their favor, since that would take too much time.
For that reason, Orion's idea was rather simple: if Reira was a hopeless masochist, then he would treat her accordingly! As for Garride… with his cowardly nature, it would be enough to beat him up if he refused to be recruited.
Thomas turned pale, and stammering, apologized again and again for having been rude, but Orion ignored him completely and, taking a step forward, shoved him lightly, making him roll several meters without causing any serious harm.
Although Orion was going to put on an act of being arrogant and oppressive, he had no real intention of harming these poor fools, and it was enough simply to scare them a little.
Seeing their captain being treated so disrespectfully on his own ship, several of the pirates grew indignant and decided to attack Orion together. After all, although the captain was a true coward, there were many aggressive pirates under his command. Perhaps the reason Thomas was in charge was because he was someone capable of keeping a group together. In a way, he had a certain peculiar charisma.
Orion watched the pirates approach him with grim expressions, and immediately stepped forward with force, causing the deck of the ship to crack slightly. Then, under the astonished gazes of the pirates, a wave of energy burst from his body, striking the unfortunate men head-on and making them collapse unconscious, unable to do anything about it.
Thomas, who had not been affected by Orion's Conqueror's Haki since the wave of energy had not reached him, began to sweat profusely, feeling nauseous from the nerves. Although he had never encountered such a situation before, he had heard stories about it. The mysterious man who had arrived on his ship had used Haki!
"We're finished," Thomas thought, feeling that today was particularly unlucky for him.
Orion ignored the rest of the pirates who were still standing and staring at him in terror, and walked up to Garride, who looked at him nervously, still with the rose between his lips.
"I wanted to do this the easy way, but since you don't know how to appreciate my goodwill, I have no choice but to finish you off," Orion said, taking his Kairoseki gloves out of his inventory.
Since he didn't plan to seriously injure Garride, he wouldn't use his cutlass. It would be enough to give him a good beating to subdue him.
"W-wait, we can talk—"
Bam!
Orion's fist sank into Garride's stomach, who was much taller than him, cutting off the young man's words.
"Silence," Orion said coldly, continuing his attacks.
Bam Bam BAM!
A rain of blows fell upon the young pirate's body, who could do absolutely nothing to defend himself, and collapsed to his knees in front of Orion, completely covered in minor wounds. Orion grabbed him by the hair and lifted his face, intending to hit him a little more, but before he could, a sword suddenly attacked from behind, aiming to decapitate him.
Orion concentrated his Armament Haki on his finger and used Shigan, amplifying its power even further.
"Ding"
The blade of the sword clashed against Orion's finger, which with the strength of a single finger managed to destroy the enemy's attack as well as their weapon. The sword broke in two, and one half went flying, embedding itself into a nearby wall.
Just like Shanks, who had been able to block his attacks with a single finger, Orion had needed only one finger to put an end to the attempt of the young and sensual pirate in front of him, demonstrating the abysmal difference between their abilities.
Orion kicked Garride hard, leaving him unconscious, and then walked toward Reira, who stared at him in terror after her surprise attack had failed.
"I don't like disobedient women like you. I think I'll have to teach you a lesson," Orion said, finally showing a smile after keeping a serious expression for a long time.
For some reason, as soon as Reira saw Orion's smile and his handsome face, her legs felt weak, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Right now, Orion exuded an aggressiveness that was intoxicating to her, and she thought he looked far more attractive than before.
Even so, her pride prevented her from accepting these feelings, and gritting her teeth, she managed to maintain her composure and look at Orion with the same arrogance she had shown earlier.
"And I don't like men who think they're infallible!" Reira said, trying to sound confrontational.
Orion didn't bother answering her words and acted directly.
Using Soru, he disappeared from the spot where he had been standing and appeared behind Reira before she could react. Then, he stretched out his hand and grabbed her by the neck, preventing her from moving or speaking.
"It's time I give you a little lesson," Orion said with an aggressive smile, opening a door in the air. Then he turned to look at Thomas, the pirate captain, and added,
"I want this woman, and that guy with the rose in his mouth. You don't mind if I take them, do you?"
Thomas shook his head side to side furiously like a drum, and said with a humble smile,
"No no, no problem, please take them. To tell the truth, we don't even want them here."
Orion nodded approvingly, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a one-Berry coin.
"I can't just take them without giving anything in return, otherwise people will say I'm bullying the weak. Here, this Berry should be enough to buy these two. No need to give me any change."
Hearing Orion's words, Reira, who was being held by the neck and could barely breathe, felt a profound humiliation, thinking that Orion was saying her life wasn't worth even a single Berry. When had she ever experienced this kind of humiliation?
From the day she was born as an aristocratic lady, she had been destined to be above others, and even after becoming a pirate she had never experienced such degradation.
Yet, instead of resentment, what she felt was an almost uncontrollable excitement, and a morbid happiness, after finally receiving something she had long desired. It was as if an itch she had felt for years had finally been scratched, and it felt amazing!
Orion tossed the Berry carelessly, then walked over to where Garride lay unconscious and kicked him into the Pocket Dimension. After that, he stepped in himself, still holding Reira by the neck.
Once Orion disappeared into the Pocket Dimension, the pirates who were still conscious breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began sailing at full speed, trying to get as far away from that place as possible.
Meanwhile, inside the Pocket Dimension, Orion looked at Garride, who lay unconscious on the ground, and slowly walked toward the large bed
"Ah! Cough, cough, cough!"
Orion threw Reira onto the bed, and the sensual young woman fell heavily onto the soft mattress, then began coughing violently after finally being freed from Orion's iron grip, which had slightly bruised her throat.
It took Reira a few moments to regain her composure, and at last she raised her gaze with indignation, small tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Orion asked with a smile as he approached the bed.
"Wh-what do you plan to do?" Reira said, trembling with excitement and blushing slightly, though her expression still held the indignation she had shown before.
"I'm simply going to give you a little lesson in humility," Orion replied, pulling a whip out of his inventory.
...
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