November 14, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
Lara recounted what had happened two months earlier. Everything had begun when one of the Eastern Army units stationed in Oykot Kingdom received information about an imminent pirate attack. She had been contacted immediately, and traveled to Oykot with a group of subordinates in order to intervene in the pirate assault and thus prevent the meaningless loss of innocent lives.
Oykot was a kingdom that, all things considered, was not particularly corrupt, and its people lived decent lives, which was why the Eastern Army wished to preserve it if possible. After all, they were not an organization that sought to sow indiscriminate chaos and topple every government, but rather only those that posed a problem due to their oppressive nature.
However, the efforts of Lara and the Eastern Army had been in vain, for the number of pirates who took part in the attack had been overwhelming. That pirates could organize themselves in such a way to launch an assault on a kingdom was extremely suspicious, and so, after Oykot was laid to waste, the Eastern Army conducted an investigation, uncovering the shadow of the World Government behind the attack.
As for the reason why the World Government had orchestrated such a massive strike that culminated in the destruction of an entire kingdom, or why they had kept themselves hidden while pinning the blame on the pirates, Lara had not been able to obtain any information for the time being.
The only thing they had managed to learn was that apparently there had been a great treasure the World Government was after, one that had been in the hands of the royal family of that kingdom, and it was assumed that with the complete annihilation of the royal family, the treasure had fallen into the World Government's possession.
The Eastern Army was still investigating the matter, since the involvement of the World Government made it crucial for them to discover the true reason behind the destruction of Oykot. And if they could uncover what kind of treasure had been taken from the royal family, they might be able to learn more about the motivations of the World Nobles and their secret agenda.
Orion listened carefully to Lara's account, feeling it was truly regrettable that an entire kingdom had been razed in an instant because of a whim of the World Government. What he did not know was that this incident had taken place while his system had been out of commission due to the side effects of using Berserk Mode.
Had the system been active, Orion would have received a notification about the possibility of taking part in this event, since it also involved the presence of a woman with compatibility greater than ninety percent… or rather, a baby.
If Orion were to learn that in the kingdom of Oykot there had been a small infant with one hundred percent compatibility according to the system's parameters, perhaps he would not have known how to feel about it.
Nevertheless, Orion had lost the chance to save the kingdom of Oykot, or at least to take part in that tragic event, since he had been occupied with the affairs of Wano. He might never know it, but the moment he chose to travel to Wano, he had lost other opportunities elsewhere.
Once Orion finished listening to Lara's story about what had happened in Oykot, he checked the revolutionary leader's wounds once more and left after giving her some extra medicine. Lara then handed him the information Dragon had sent regarding the mission to be carried out in North Blue this time, and Orion withdrew to a room that had been given to him in the dormitories of the base, where he began to read through it.
As he turned the pages of the report in his hands, Orion's brow furrowed involuntarily, and he realized why Dragon had called upon him on this occasion. Indeed, he had not been summoned for his strength as a fighter, but because his special abilities were particularly useful this time.
"Avalo Pizarro…" Orion murmured as he continued reading the report.
…
November 16, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
At last, after waiting for two days in the Eastern Army's base, Kuma appeared to transport Orion. The moment he saw the gentle revolutionary soaring across the skies, a broad smile spread across Orion's face, and with a leap he intercepted him before Kuma could finish landing.
"Hey Kuma! How have you been? It's good to see you again!" Orion said, wrapping his arm affectionately around Kuma's neck, although with his normal stature he could not possibly encircle the Buccaneer giant's neck completely.
"Orion, I'm glad to see you're as lively as ever," Kuma replied, his expression gentle and his tone soft.
Kuma had a rather peculiar way of speaking, and his tone of voice was in perfect harmony with his kind personality. It was rare for him to raise his voice, and he could almost never be seen angry or losing control of his emotions. In this world, there were simply people who naturally carried such a calm temperament, and this was a trait Kuma had possessed since birth.
"How have things been in West Blue?" Orion asked curiously, climbing down from Kuma's neck.
"The same as always, we're having trouble with the mafias on several islands, but little by little we're making progress in various kingdoms," Kuma replied with a thoughtful look, recalling the details of his activities during the past two years in West Blue.
Orion and Kuma continued talking for quite a while, moving from professional matters to the simple details of everyday life. They also spoke about Ginny and the situation in Pacific Kingdom. After not seeing each other for months, they had plenty to catch up on, and it was likely they wouldn't have been able to recount everything that had happened without several days.
Orion even told Kuma about his journey to Wano and the things he had seen there. The gentle revolutionary already had a rough idea of the situation, since Orion had previously reported it to the Revolutionary Army, but hearing the details directly from him gave Kuma a much more vivid picture of what was happening in that legendary country.
Likewise, Kuma told Orion that whenever he needed help in the future regarding Wano, he could count on him. Their friendship remained just as strong as ever, and although they did not see each other regularly, that did nothing to diminish their bond.
Finally, after Kuma reported the situation to Lara, he and Orion departed at once, since Dragon was already waiting for them in North Blue. They had only been waiting for the two of them to arrive before beginning the operation, so they did not want to delay too much.
Orion said goodbye to Lara, then walked over to Bello Betty and gave her a hug, telling her that he looked forward to seeing her progress in the coming years. Perhaps the next time they met would be in four years, when she turned eighteen and was officially recruited by Orion, though there might be another opportunity to see her before then. After all, Makino was in the East Blue, and Orion definitely wanted to visit her soon, so he might take that chance to see Betty as well.
Kuma closed his eyes and calculated the intended destination, then simply stepped up to Orion and slapped him with the power of his Devil Fruit, making him vanish without a trace. After that, he waved lightly to the revolutionaries in the area, then used his ability on himself, following Orion to North Blue.
…
November 28, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion descended from the skies after nearly two weeks of travel, landing softly on the ground and leaving behind a small paw-shaped crater. During the previous days, Orion and Kuma had not been traveling without rest; they had entered the Pocket Dimension a few times to sleep and eat.
There, Reira and Garride had attended to them humbly, behaving like servants, which made Kuma look at Orion strangely and start giving him a lecture about the treatment of subordinates.
Orion had no choice but to explain the situation to him, though it was not easy to make the gentle revolutionary understand that these two pirates actually enjoyed their role playing. Especially Reira, who, after a few days without Orion accompanying her in her role playing, was desperate to return to the earlier days when she was mistreated at least a few hours a day.
Orion did not believe this new tendency of Reira's was a positive thing, so he knew he would have to help her find a balance later on. After all, he couldn't always be there to indulge her, and he didn't want her to start behaving like that with other people.
Even though Orion and Kuma had not traveled without breaks, they had still made fairly quick progress.
Kuma descended from the sky a few moments after Orion, leaving another paw mark on the ground next to the first. Meanwhile, Orion opened the system screen and checked his location on the map. They were currently in North Blue, near the Red Line, and quite far from the Calm Belt that connected to West Blue.
Orion focused his gaze on the small blue dots shining on the map that marked the presence of Named Characters. At that moment, they were on the island where the North Army base was located. In addition to Kuma's and Dragon's markers, there was a third marker here, belonging to someone named Karasu.
Orion didn't know this person, but considering he was in the secret base of the Revolutionary Army's North Blue branch, it was clear he was one of the new members who had joined in the past year. The fact that he was a Named Character indicated he was probably not a simple person, so Orion planned to inspect him with the help of the system later.
Besides the markers on this island, Orion also saw two others nearby, though they were in opposite directions. One of them was "Avalo Pizarro (22)," while the other was "Baby 5 (4)."
The first name was known to Orion, since this was the person they had come to deal with on this occasion. Avalo Pizarro was a tyrant king who ruled over a small kingdom. He had ascended to the throne only a year earlier, but his tyrannical rule had already pushed the population of the kingdom to the brink.
Avalo's crimes had been described in detail by Dragon in the report he had sent to Orion, and truly this monarch was an atrocious person. The people living in his kingdom were basically hostages in his hands, due to the powers of his Devil Fruit, and they had no chance at all of standing up to him.
The Northern Army had learned about the situation, and after conducting a thorough investigation, they had contacted Dragon to request help, since they knew they would not be able to handle the matter on their own.
Upon learning the gravity of the situation, Dragon had decided to act immediately, and in just two months everything was ready for the operation. Now, with the arrival of Kuma and Orion, the process of overthrowing Avalo could begin, and the people of that kingdom were already prepared to rise in arms.
"Baby 5? That's a bit of a strange name. As soon as I finish Dragon's mission I'll go take a look at her," Orion murmured, glancing at the second of the markers, and stopped paying attention to that Named Character for the time being, focusing instead on his current task.
"Orion, Dragon is on his way here," Kuma said, holding a small Den Den Mushi that looked like a toy in his gigantic hand.
"Good, that saves us the trouble of having to dodge the traps in this place," Orion replied, nodding.
Just like the base in the East Blue, this place was riddled with all kinds of traps that Orion could perceive thanks to his Observation Haki and his Prism Eyes ability. Even so, if he had to cross this terrain to enter the Northern Army's base, it would be quite troublesome even for Orion with his sharp senses and special skills.
Orion approached Kuma and pulled out some snacks from his inventory, sharing them with him.
"Kuma, what do you plan to do once we complete this mission? Are you going back to the West Blue right away?" Orion asked, sitting on a rock and eating one of the snacks.
Kuma nodded.
"That's right, the situation with the mafias is a bit complicated, so it's best that I'm there in case something happens," Kuma replied, then took a bite of the snack Orion had given him, savoring the delicious taste on his tongue.
The food the members of the Western Army ate on a daily basis was garbage in comparison, and Kuma couldn't help but think that once he returned he would try to recruit a couple of cooks. After all, it was important for morale to be able to enjoy good meals.
"Can you delay your return? I'd like you to accompany me for a few days in the North Blue," Orion suddenly said, interrupting Kuma's thoughts.
"Accompany you? What do you plan to do in the North Blue? Do you need my help?" Kuma asked, showing his usual willingness to help. It was simply part of his nature as a person, and he couldn't help it.
Orion shook his head slowly.
"It's not that I need your help, but I'd like you to come with me for a couple of days while I do a few things. Mostly, I just want to spend a little more time with my good friend," Orion replied with a smile.
He wasn't lying. Orion simply planned to go investigate the situation of the Named Character Baby 5, and that probably wouldn't take him more than a week. He didn't need help with that, and only wanted to spend a little more time with Kuma to see if he could make some progress in completing the mission related to him that he still had pending.
Kuma opened his mouth in surprise, not expecting Orion to say that, but immediately showed a broad smile and said:
"Sure, I can take a couple of days to keep you company. The situation in the West Blue is quite stable anyway."
"Great! We'll take this chance to do something fun! We could go to a cabaret!" Orion said, jumping off the rock he was sitting on and once again wrapping his arm around Kuma's neck.
Kuma blushed instantly, getting very flustered, and stammered:
"N-No, it's not good to go to places like that."
"Come on, Kuma, why not? It'll be fun! You've got to experience different things if you want to be a respectable leader. That's what it means to be a man of culture, haha!" Orion said cheerfully.
However, Kuma remained firm in his stance and didn't relax at all.
"I can't do it, Orion. I'm a man of God, I can't accept visiting such a place."
Orion felt a little disappointed, thinking it was a shame not to be able to take advantage of this rare chance to travel together with Kuma and make him enjoy himself a bit. But after accepting that the gentle revolutionary's personality was simply like that, Orion decided not to keep pushing.
However, Kuma's next words changed the situation completely.
"Besides… Nobody wants to see someone like me in a place like that. If I went there, I'd probably only bother people, and scare the girls who work there."
Kuma's voice carried no negative emotion as he said such words. He was simply stating an objective fact that he considered true and natural. There was no need to feel bad when one was only stating a simple truth.
For Kuma, the fact that he was a nuisance to people was natural, and he said it like someone watching the rain fall and saying "it's raining." There was nothing wrong with it.
However, from Orion's perspective things weren't that simple. Of course, he had heard Kuma say similar words in the past, but he had never paid much attention, since he thought it was only Kuma's way of rationalizing his shyness.
Up until then, every time Kuma had found himself in a situation related to sexuality or love, he had reacted in a similar way, but hearing his words now, Orion thought that perhaps there was more to it than just timidity and modesty.
Slap!
In frustration Orion slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, thinking he had been ignoring something so obvious for so long. However, he didn't remain sunk in frustration for long, since he knew he wouldn't gain anything from it. What mattered now was solving this situation he had just realized.
At last he had a clue about how to complete the mission related to Kuma, and he suspected the kind of chains the gentle revolutionary carried with him.
Even so, Orion couldn't help but feel the situation was more complicated than he would have wished. Clearly Kuma's problem couldn't be solved in a matter of days, since it was rooted in the very essence of his being.
The only thing Orion could do was try to help him little by little, and without a doubt the time they would spend together in the North Blue would be a good start.
"Orion… Why are you hitting your head?" Kuma asked with gentle concern, noticing the red mark of Orion's palm on his forehead.
"Don't worry, I just came up with a good idea to drag you to the cabaret! Hahaha!" Orion said, laughing after seeing his friend's worried expression.
Orion sighed and decided not to rush with Kuma's mission. Meanwhile, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew, violently shaking the treetops around them. Then, like a specter, the revolutionary leader Dragon appeared.
"Kuma, Orion, it's good that you've arrived. Are you ready to leave at once?" he said solemnly, going straight to the point.
The confrontation with Avalo Pizarro for the liberation of his people was about to begin.
...
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