December 12, 1500, Age of the Sea Circle
After Orion had recruited Baby 5 two days earlier, new notifications had appeared on the system screen, indicating a change in the girl's future, and he had earned 5000 SP as a result.
This time, however, the system had not provided any additional information about the changes that had taken place, which meant that Orion had not obtained the valuable details that were usually contained in those extra notifications. Even so, the fact that he had received such a large number of SP meant that at the very least the change regarding Baby 5 was quite significant.
Orion did not know what role she had played in the original story, but it was very likely that her role had now changed completely because of his actions. Perhaps by recruiting her he had prevented her from joining another force, or maybe by giving her shelter he had avoided some tragedy or something along those lines.
In any case, Orion was satisfied with how things had unfolded, and he was now ready to see what the situation was with the new Named Character called Gladius, who had recently appeared on the system map.
For that very reason, he had not wasted any time and had set sail along with Kuma and the others, aiming to reach the island where this individual was located in less than a week. After all, Kuma only had a single week available to accompany him, and Orion intended to return to the South Blue with the revolutionary's help rather than using his Space Gate.
The reason for this was that Orion wanted to take advantage of Kuma's powers to quickly explore the map. Every time Kuma had sent him flying across the world, Orion had been able to complete large portions of the world map displayed by the system, even discovering Named Characters in the process.
For that reason, Orion intended to use the fact that he had to return to Pacific Kingdom as an opportunity to travel through the skies with Kuma's powers and explore a bit more. But the prerequisite was to finish his business in the North Blue before the one-week limit expired; otherwise Kuma would leave and he would lose the chance to be sent back to the South Blue.
During the past two days, Orion had been sailing calmly with his companions, and although navigation conditions were not ideal, he estimated that there would be no problem in completing his objectives before the time limit, so he was not concerned at all.
However, a sudden change had occurred today: the appearance of a large number of markers in Gladius's vicinity. Counting them, Orion saw that there were six markers at the location, and they were clearly moving quickly toward where Gladius was.
For a moment, Orion hesitated about how to proceed, but he finally decided to go take a look immediately, before the group of Named Characters reached Gladius's location. With that in mind, he asked Kuma to use his powers to send them to the area they wanted to reach, but since Kuma had never been to that place, he was unable to send them there with precision.
Still, it was enough for him to send them somewhere nearby, since with Orion's Pocket Dimension there would be no problem during the trip, and the danger of landing in the middle of a volcano or something like that was completely eliminated.
"Carla, you'll have to spend some time in the Pocket Dimension with Reira and Garride," Orion said, placing his hand on the head of little Baby 5, who was standing by his side on the deck of the ship.
After a brainstorming session with Kuma and Baby 5, they had chosen the name Carla for her, making it the new name of the girl who had tragically never been given one since the day she was born.
Her situation was similar to that of Lucky Roux, who had also been nameless when Orion first found him, although in his case it had been because he was a slave. At that time, Orion had given Roux the task of choosing his own name, but this time the situation was different.
Baby 5 was not only a much younger child but also completely uneducated, and her experiences were far more limited than those of Lucky Roux. One could say she was practically a wild child living in the mountains, so she had no chance of coming up with a proper name on her own.
For that reason, it had been Orion and Kuma who suggested names, and Baby 5 simply chose the one she liked the most. Curiously, after receiving the name Carla, the little girl had been in an exuberant mood, and even her appetite had grown enormously.
Watching the small girl eat vast amounts of food reminded Orion of those classic Shonen manga protagonists who always seemed to have an endless appetite. Perhaps that was also a sign of Baby 5's great potential, although only time would tell.
"All right, Orion, if that's what you need, I'll gladly do it!" said Carla with a big smile, hugging Orion affectionately.
Although only two days had passed since she had begun traveling with Orion, she already felt deeply attached to him, and he had quickly become the most important person in her life. This was not due to Orion's great charisma, but rather to the simple fact that until then Carla had been completely deprived of anyone's affection, so now that she had Orion by her side, she had developed strong feelings toward him.
In a certain sense, Orion was the closest thing to a normal family she had ever had, since her relationship with her mother had always been something "particular."
Hearing Baby 5's words, Orion sighed, realizing that she truly had a problem in her personality. The fact that she would accept anything asked of her simply to feel useful was incredibly dangerous, and Orion was determined to change that aspect of the little girl.
Even so, there was something positive about it: Baby 5 did not show that inclination to obey any request with just anyone. At the moment, she only displayed this trait when interacting with Orion, which was a great blessing, since he would never ask her to do anything harmful to herself.
Orion did not know whether this was a change that had occurred in Baby 5 because of his intervention in the historical events that had altered the timeline, or if, on the contrary, her condition would worsen in the future, causing her to be unable to refuse anyone.
However, for now, the situation was moderately under control.
After Baby 5, Reira, and Garride entered the Pocket Dimension, Orion indicated the approximate position they needed to reach, and Kuma used his Devil Fruit powers, sending them flying through the sky. At the speed they were traveling, they would probably reach their destination in just a few hours, and with luck, they would arrive before the group of Named Characters.
…
Meanwhile, near the island where Gladius was located, Doflamingo's ship was advancing at full speed. They had just obtained two Devil Fruits at an Underworld auction, though not in the conventional way.
At first, their intention had only been to acquire the Buki Buki no Mi, but once they had arrived, they discovered that the sellers were also in possession of the Guru Guru no Mi.
The group that held these two Devil Fruits belonged to the faction of one of the emperors of the Underworld, so they never imagined that anyone would cause trouble during the auction. However, they had not counted on Doflamingo's domineering and arrogant personality, for once he laid eyes on both Fruits, he demanded they sell them to him directly, offering a "fair" price.
When these individuals flatly refused, Doflamingo unleashed a brutal massacre that ended with the total annihilation of everyone present who was not part of his crew. Fortunately, the traffickers had chosen an uninhabited island to hold the auction, so there had been no innocent civilians among the casualties caused by Doflamingo's capricious attitude.
Truth be told, the personality of this future warlord was rather peculiar. He was capable of acting with absolute rationality in pursuit of his ambitions, but he could also lose his temper in an instant, committing actions that any truly calculating person would consider foolish.
After all, the massacre he had just carried out was essentially a declaration of war against one of the Underworld's emperors, who was undoubtedly one of the most influential and resourceful men in the world.
Even so, that was simply Doflamingo's personality—perhaps it was his arrogance as a Celestial Dragon, or his belief that he was destined to triumph. Whatever the reason, he could behave very erratically at times.
Now that they had obtained the two Devil Fruits—whose powers allowed the transformation of any part of the body into weapons or into a propeller, respectively—Doflamingo and his crew intended to go recruit Gladius, who according to their information possessed great talent.
If there was something Doflamingo needed at this very moment, it was more talented subordinates, which was why he was using his information network to track down candidates to join his family.
If he could find people with great potential, train them, and give them the Devil Fruits he had just acquired, he would surely be able to create powerful subordinates who would accompany him for many years to come.
"Doffy, I think we might have trouble with those stupid revolutionaries," said Vergo, approaching Doflamingo, who was staring at the sky in boredom.
"The revolutionaries? That useless bunch of insects? Would they dare to look for trouble with me?" replied Doflamingo, feeling insulted that a ragtag rebel group that had only just been formed would even attempt to confront him.
"According to our informant, the leader of the Northern Army, Karasu, is coming to try to steal the Buki Buki no Mi. Apparently, they consider it dangerous for that Fruit to end up in our hands," Vergo continued without showing any emotion, though his serious expression was ruined by half a slice of pizza stuck to his face.
"Interesting… Hehehe! If they want to try, we'll be more than happy to welcome them. Maybe we can have a little fun before meeting Gladius."
For Doflamingo, Karasu posed no real threat, and in fact he found the situation somewhat amusing. If the revolutionaries truly came, at least he could entertain himself for a while and shake off his boredom.
…
After flying through the skies of the North Blue for about two hours, Orion and Kuma finally reached their destination. Landing in the middle of the sea, Orion checked his current position on the map, and after pinpointing Gladius's location, he began moving in that direction with Kuma's help. Kuma, who could "fly" much more easily than Orion by repelling the air around him with his Devil Fruit powers, carried them forward.
Orion expanded the visible map on the screen to confirm the current location of the group of Named Characters, but to his surprise, a new marker appeared in the area. It was Karasu, with whom he had shared a banquet just a few days earlier.
The fact that the leader of the Northern Army had shown up here, right where a large number of Named Characters were gathering, immediately put Orion on alert, making him suspect that some major event might be underway.
For that reason, while Kuma was focused on flying toward the nearby island according to Orion's instructions, Orion pulled out a Den Den Mushi and called Karasu to ask about the situation.
"Hey, Orion, what's going on?" came the voice of the revolutionary commander through the Den Den Mushi.
Despite Karasu's stern appearance, he was actually a fairly easygoing person. However, for some strange reason he panicked when surrounded by crowds, which manifested as an extreme shyness that prevented him from speaking loudly.
This trait also appeared when he dealt with strangers, though to a lesser degree. Still, when he was talking to someone like Orion, whom he already knew and with whom he had shared both the battlefield and the celebrations afterward, he had no trouble communicating normally.
"Karasu, Kuma and I are close to your current position. I wanted to ask what you're doing in this area," Orion said bluntly, without beating around the bush.
The members of the Revolutionary Army knew that Orion possessed mysterious powers and that sometimes he could discern people's locations in what seemed almost a magical way, so Karasu wasn't surprised at all when Orion mentioned that he was near his position.
"We received information from our agents infiltrated in the Underworld that Donquixote Doflamingo carried out a massacre and seized two Devil Fruits.
One of those fruits is the Buki Buki no Mi, which allows a person to turn any part of their body into a weapon.
We believe leaving this Devil Fruit in Doflamingo's hands is extremely dangerous, so we're planning to try to take it back in a surprise attack."
Karasu didn't hide any of this from Orion, since there was no reason to. Orion was a founding member of the organization, and although his status wasn't as high as Dragon's in the minds of the revolutionaries, it wasn't far behind.
However, upon hearing Karasu's words, Orion frowned, looking thoughtful.
The reason was that he had recently taken an interest in the Buki Buki no Mi. After using an Insight Card on Baby 5, Orion had discovered much more about her talents and abilities, and one particularly notable detail was that she had a 99% compatibility with the Buki Buki no Mi. Because of that, Orion had been planning to obtain this Devil Fruit for her.
Now, suddenly hearing that the Named Character Doflamingo possessed this fruit, and considering that this area was quite close to Baby 5's original location, Orion couldn't help but speculate about the possible events of the original timeline of this world.
Still, he quickly dismissed these thoughts after a brief consideration. While they helped him understand a little more about the effects of his actions on the world, they didn't change the fact that Baby 5 was now his subordinate and would live a completely different life by his side.
Even so, Orion immediately became interested in the information Karasu had provided. Perhaps there was a way to secure the Buki Buki no Mi for Baby 5 right away. With that in mind, Orion smiled and said:
"Karasu, what's your plan? Maybe Kuma and I can lend you a hand this time."
Karasu responded with excitement to Orion's offer of help, since having two more people of their caliber would undoubtedly make things much easier.
The Northern Army hadn't planned to confront Doflamingo directly in a fight for the Devil Fruit, because there was simply no way they could match the power of the future Warlord's pirate crew. The only one capable of facing Doflamingo was Karasu himself, but even he had no chance of emerging victorious in a one-on-one battle against the pirate.
That was why the revolutionaries' idea had been to steal the Buki Buki no Mi without clashing directly with Doflamingo, using the element of surprise to their advantage. What Karasu didn't know was that the future Warlord had already planted spies inside the Northern Army, and those spies had already informed him of the situation beforehand.
Doflamingo was an ambitious man, and he didn't just have spies in the Revolutionary Army, but also within other major organizations such as the Marines and the World Economic newspaper. He knew very well that the only way to make his grand ambitions a reality was by keeping as much control as possible over the world around him.
In a sense, Doflamingo "believed" in the Revolutionary Army far more than the World Government itself did. For the Government, the revolutionaries under Dragon's command were little more than an insult and a nuisance, but they weren't considered a true threat—at least not yet.
By contrast, the young Doflamingo had already recognized the enormous potential of this organization and had acted without hesitation to plant his spies. Since it was still a newly emerging group, the initial infiltration wasn't all that difficult, and with only a minimal investment he had secured a great benefit for the future.
On the other hand, organizations like the Marines were much harder to penetrate in a short period of time, and it would take years for a spy to climb to a position where they could be of real use. Doflamingo and his inner circle of subordinates had already discussed this before, debating whether one of them should infiltrate the Marines on a long-term mission, though the matter had remained unresolved.
After Orion finished discussing the details of the operation to steal the Buki Buki no Mi with Karasu, he once again opened the system's map screen. Seeing that there were still a few minutes left before reaching the island, he pulled a file from his inventory.
This was information he had received during his last visit to the Northern Army headquarters, and it contained intelligence on the main issues concerning the North Blue. Orion had skimmed through it somewhat loosely before, but now that he was about to clash with a Named Character, it was best to review this information carefully once again.
Orion didn't recall it, but in fact he had already come across Doflamingo's name in this report many days earlier, though at the time he hadn't paid it any particular attention.
He flipped through the pages until he reached the section that mentioned Doflamingo and his pirate crew, then began to carefully read all the available information on these individuals. The fact that there were so many Named Characters among Doflamingo's crew suggested to Orion that they had likely played an important role in the original story, and therefore would probably prove troublesome.
Orion focused on reading the information, planning his next moves, while Kuma continued flying at full speed through the skies. Soon, they would arrive at the island where Gladius was located, which would also be the place where Orion would have to confront Doflamingo for the very first time.
...
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!