March 5, 1502, Age of the Sea Circle
Four days had passed since Orion set out on his journey toward the Marine base where Olive was being held prisoner. Within that same base, a heated conversation was taking place between two of the main figures responsible for the capture of the famed pirate.
"Grodiger, are you stupid?! Who told you you could execute Olive?" barked Umit, one of the most influential men in the world at that moment. His company had risen to become an unparalleled giant in recent years, dominating most of the world's trade routes and cargo transport.
Umit Shipping not only held tremendous sway over legitimate commerce but also served as the primary channel for moving all kinds of illegal goods outside official systems. The fact that this enterprise operated seamlessly both on the surface and in the Underworld demonstrated the skill of those controlling this vast economic empire.
Although it was true that Umit had enjoyed official backing that allowed him to grow at a staggering pace from the start, there was no denying his cunning and resourcefulness, which had turned his company into a global colossus.
At present, Umit's influence was so extensive that a single decision of his could topple entire economies and trigger major shifts in the world's geopolitical map. After all, the economy was one of the pillars of any kingdom.
"You said I could act at my discretion when you contacted me to help with this matter! By executing the most famous pirate in the South Blue, I'll definitely earn the merits I've been needing! You, of all people, should understand that now's the time to act if I want even a chance at becoming an Admiral!" Grodiger retorted, visibly irritated by Umit's aggression.
The reason Olive had ended up captured by the Marines was largely due to Umit's actions. When the beautiful pirate discovered that Umit maintained a cooperative relationship with Nakamura, she attempted to investigate further, intending to aid Orion against his enemies—since both Nakamura and Umit could easily be counted among them after their previous encounters with him.
However, Olive's approach had been far too direct and aggressive, provoking a strong reaction from both Nakamura and Umit. Even so, given her current level of power, it was difficult for the South Blue branch of the Marines to deal with Olive, leaving Nakamura with no choice but to ask Umit to send someone to assist.
In the end, the magnate dispatched one of the most powerful assets he could mobilize with relative ease: Vice Admiral Grodiger.
The relationship between Umit and Grodiger had begun years earlier, when the magnate bribed a large number of high-ranking officers to smooth the operations of his company across the seas of the world.
Among those officers, Grodiger had been the most enthusiastic in his cooperation, as well as the most proactive in fostering a closer bond. This was because one of the three Marine Admirals was soon to retire, and Grodiger sought to claim the vacant seat, continuing his climb toward the summit of the world's power structure.
Of course, the main requirement for becoming an Admiral was something Grodiger lacked entirely: overwhelming combat strength, the kind that placed someone at the very top tier of the world's hierarchy.
Unlike the lower ranks, where there was some room for maneuver to achieve promotions, the positions of Vice Admiral and Admiral required a minimum level of strength before even being considered.
For Vice Admirals, the bare minimum was proficiency in both Observation and Armament Haki, along with at least a basic understanding of the Six Techniques (Rokushiki). However, to reach Admiral level, the requirements were far more extreme. Only true monsters could ever be considered for such a title, and Grodiger was most certainly not among them.
In reality, Grodiger's power was rather low even by Vice Admiral standards. He had only reached his current rank thanks to his Devil Fruit and his political connections. Unlike other Marines of his rank, who each upheld a specific form of justice and dedicated themselves to it, Grodiger cared only about climbing the hierarchy of the Marines to gain more political power—utterly indifferent to the means he used to achieve it.
For that reason, even though he knew his chances of becoming an Admiral were close to zero, he had not given up. He was doing everything possible to earn more merits so that, even without sufficient strength, the higher-ups would at least have to consider him seriously.
After all, someone with that many merits would, in theory, be someone working tirelessly toward the Marines' goals, and the organization could not simply ignore such efforts without setting a negative precedent.
That was why Grodiger had formed a mutually beneficial alliance with Umit, who was essentially funding his ambition to become an Admiral in exchange for Grodiger acting as his personal subordinate.
As soon as Umit called Grodiger to ask him to assist Rear Admiral Nakamura in capturing Olive, the vice admiral had already mapped out his subsequent moves.
Although the Marines rarely carried out public executions of famous criminals—preferring instead to send them straight to Impel Down—he had decided to take advantage of this opportunity to capture and execute the South Blue's most famous pirate, thereby boosting his merits on the road to promotion to admiral.
Umit had told him plainly that there would be no problem when Grodiger mentioned his plan, since he had no personal interest in Olive and only wanted her to stop attacking his ships and digging into sensitive information.
That was why Grodiger was now somewhat indignant that Umit was complaining about his intention to execute Olive publicly.
"I don't care what I said before! I didn't know she was a Mythical Zoan user! Do you have any idea the benefits I could gain if instead of executing her I simply bend her to my will?" Umit replied, a little exasperated—feeling no need to explain himself to someone who was practically his employee.
What kind of owner has to explain his reasons to his dogs? Umit thought, clearly showing no respect for the vice admiral.
Grodiger ground his teeth to contain his rising anger; he couldn't pick a major fight with Umit if he wanted the man to remain his sponsor. Instead, he tried to persuade him as best he could that keeping Olive alive wasn't worth it.
"Bend her? Maybe you don't know because you haven't dealt with her directly, but this woman is truly stubborn and problematic! You'll never be able to bend her to work for you, and even if you did, she'd be a constant danger at your side. My suggestion is to proceed with the execution!"
"Bah! I don't need you telling me how to proceed. I have my means to bend her, so don't worry about it. All you need to know is that I'm ordering you not to execute her, do you hear me?
Also, I don't want a single hair on her head harmed—otherwise you can forget about my financial support going forward," Umit said arrogantly, almost enjoying ordering a vice admiral around without letting him utter a single complaint.
Grodiger's jaw clenched violently with the force of his anger, yet, being as calculating as he was, he kept his cool.
"All right, then what are we going to do about the execution? Everything's already scheduled…" the Marine muttered.
"That's not my problem. Just don't lay a finger on Olive, understand? " Umit repeated in his haughty tone.
"Understood," Grodiger replied reluctantly, thinking that if he ever became an admiral he'd have to teach Umit a lesson. Although he knew that even in such a top position he would still be, in many ways, an employee of the detestable magnate—he'd sold his soul to him. The only way to break free from that relationship would be to eliminate Umit, something he was neither willing nor able to do for now.
"By the way, make sure none of your stupid Marines abuse her. I've seen a picture of this pirate, and I have to say she suits my personal tastes. Maybe after I break her mind and bend her, I'll make her my woman, so I don't want anyone touching her. Understood?" Umit continued.
"She's a prisoner with a death sentence—who would dare try to abuse her now? The Marines have very strict rules on this," Grodiger replied sullenly, tired of Umit's arrogance.
"Ha! Sure, as if I don't know Marines. The organization you belong to is a nest of ruffians and perverts, Grodiger; you don't need to feign ignorance!
In any case, I don't want to argue. Do as I say. Transport Olive out of the base; I've told Nakamura to get in touch with you. I'll come in person with some experts to break Olive. I'll arrive in about ten days, so I expect no accidents until then!" the magnate concluded, ending the call without waiting for Grodiger's response.
Grodiger, furious from the conversation, smashed the innocent Den Den Mushi in his hand, killing the snail instantly. Then he sighed deeply to calm himself, turned, and left the room to go see Olive.
After capturing her, he had tossed her into the dungeon with Kairoseki shackles and paid her little attention. After all, in a week she'd be a corpse, so there was no need to spend much time on her.
Now, however, Umit had ordered him to make sure none of the Marines at this base put their hands on her, so he had no choice but to ensure that no idiot dared to think with his dick and actually abuse this damned pirate.
Although he had ordered that no one approach the prisoner to avoid trouble, Umit was right that the Marines were riddled with all kinds of perverts—some of whom were stupid enough to risk everything to lay hands on a beauty like Olive, especially given her status as the most prominent pirate in the South Blue, which added an extra layer of thrill to the matter.
Normally, Grodiger wouldn't have been interested in what happened to Olive before the day of the execution, and he wouldn't have even batted an eye if she had been raped daily by the Marines at the base. However, now he couldn't allow anything to happen to her, or he would have to endure Umit's complaints later. It truly was difficult to be someone else's bitch
…
March 7, 1502, Age of the Sea Circle
One day before the date announced by the Marines for Olive's execution, Orion finally arrived in the waters near the island where the Marine base holding the sexy pirate was located. However, with just a glance at the system map, Orion realized that Olive was no longer there.
Thanks to the connection he shared with her through the system, he could vaguely sense the direction in which she was, though following that faint trace to find her quickly would be quite difficult.
For that reason, Orion had a much simpler and more direct plan: go straight to the Marine base and get the information directly from her captors. Even if he had to break every tooth in their mouths before they decided to speak, Orion was prepared to do it.
The fact that Olive had disappeared from this location, and that he didn't know her exact whereabouts, was deeply worrying. This was no time for caution. He could not allow anything to happen to his wife, so he had no choice but to go to the base and extract the information he needed at any cost.
Still, after running almost non-stop for six days, Orion was completely exhausted. Before attacking the Marine base, he decided to take a short rest to recover at least a bit of his energy.
The place he chose for this brief respite was aboard Olive's own pirate ship, anchored near the island where she had been imprisoned. Her pirate crew patiently awaited Orion's arrival, ready to assist him in rescuing their captain if necessary.
When Orion emerged like a specter from the Pocket Dimension, several of the pirates on guard reacted violently, thinking they were under attack. Fortunately, among them was a familiar face, and he immediately recognized Orion.
"Boss! You've finally arrived, it's so good to see you again!" said Garride, who, after spending more than a year as a pirate in the waters of the South Blue, looked far more mature than Orion remembered.
Yet, his habit of carrying a rose in his mouth had not changed. Although now at least the eccentricity was less pronounced, he would occasionally remove the rose to eat or speak, placing it elegantly in the pocket of his shirt, a gesture Garride considered stylish.
"Garride! Good to see you're well. Where are Reira and Ginrummy?" Orion asked, approaching the young man and patting him on the shoulder.
"The vice-captain and Reira are resting; they were on guard overnight. I'll call them right away!" Garride said, dashing toward the deeper sections of the ship to fetch the two girls.
As an exemplary subordinate, he knew his boss preferred the company of the two beautiful and voluptuous pirates rather than a sweaty, muscular man like him. The system had noted that one of Garride's main personality traits was being "the ultimate subordinate," and it had to be admitted that he had a mindset any subordinate could learn from!
Moments later, sounds echoed from deep within the ship, and almost instantly, a figure appeared, running at full speed—a blur to anyone with ordinary senses.
Orion, however, possessed far superior senses and could perceive the "true form" of the silhouette racing toward him. It was a massive wolf!
Or rather, Ginrummy using her Devil Fruit Zoan transformation. This was the fruit Orion had stolen from Guanhao years earlier, the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Wolf, which he had given to Ginrummy because of her strong compatibility with it.
The gigantic wolf lunged at Orion, who simply opened his arms with a smile. Mid-air, the enormous wolf gradually shifted shape, transforming into a beautiful woman wearing only a bikini, her voluptuous and toned body fully visible.
Falling into Orion's embrace, Ginrummy pressed her face against his chest, tears forming in her eyes.
"Orión! It's all my fault! If I had been stronger, Captain Olive wouldn't have had to stay behind to cover our retreat, and she wouldn't have been captured! Waaaah!"
The young vice-captain of Olive's pirate crew, barely eighteen years old, began to cry bitterly in Orion's arms, releasing all the tension and worry she had been carrying. Since Olive's capture nearly a week earlier, she had been tormented by concern and self-reproach over her own lack of strength, which had put Olive in danger.
Orion simply held her tightly, running his hands through her long pink hair and gently patting her back to comfort her. Over the past few years, Ginrummy had spent quite a lot of time with Orion, as she would often accompany Olive whenever she visited her husband.
Moreover, Orion also occasionally visited them himself, although these occurrences were far rarer, since after all, Orion did not have the same ease of traveling long distances as Olive did, thanks to the powers of her Pegasus Zoan Fruit.
When Orion had first recruited Ginrummy, their relationship had been nothing special, and even somewhat tense. This was because the young pirate had grown up in a hostile environment and remained wary of any advances from men, due to several bad experiences in her past.
It had been Olive who actively recruited Ginrummy, almost by force, and had broken her down by showing her who the stronger and more beautiful woman was between the two of them! Once Ginrummy began following Olive as both a subordinate and little sister, their relationship developed into one of close camaraderie, with Ginrummy holding deep admiration for her captain.
And it was these feelings of admiration for Olive that had led her to form a good relationship with the man her captain loved; the young pirate had even begun to develop a youthful crush on Orion.
Once Ginrummy's defenses around Orion disappeared, they were able to build a strong bond, considering each other good friends. She had even thanked him for recruiting her back then, allowing her to live a happy and fulfilling life as a pirate alongside Olive in the South Blue.
Due to this close relationship and the admiration she held for Orion as both leader and husband of her captain, she let all the emotions she had been holding back over the past days pour out as soon as she saw him.
As she was the vice-captain of this ship, she had had to remain firm and composed over the past week, but now she could finally express herself freely again, and she felt particularly good doing so in Orion's arms.
Ginrummy clung to Orion, voicing her sorrows for several minutes. Finally, once she had finished venting, she pulled away and wiped her still tear-filled eyes with her arm.
Although Ginrummy was very beautiful, she was not particularly elegant or refined, and it was a miracle she hadn't blown her nose right then and there.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Orion. Now the captain will definitely be alright," Ginrummy said, forcing a smile.
Even though she was clearly in good spirits and showing a cheerful expression, the natural resting face of her features often made her appear angry, even when she wasn't. Over the past few years, her personality had softened considerably; she was now much less aggressive than before, though her expression seemed to remain unchanged.
"I suppose it's good that you came," said Reira from the side, finally making her presence known after standing there for a few minutes.
In her voice was a touch of jealousy because Orion had hugged Ginrummy and not her, as well as some disappointment at not being able to display her submissive side to her master in front of the other crew members.
Reira would have had no problem showing herself as a total slave before her master, Orion, as it was something she enjoyed—especially considering the looks from the pirates who treated her with respect daily, seeing her crawl before another man… Just the thought made her body tremble!
However, Orion had instructed her not to show that side of herself in front of Olive's pirate crew—of which she was also a member—since he didn't want the situation to cause trouble for Reira later.
It was enough for them to enact their dominance and submission games in private encounters, while in daily life she only had to maintain her normal personality, which was somewhat arrogant and ill-tempered.
The result was that she ended up acting tsundere whenever she encountered Orion in public. But both enjoyed the contrast, so they didn't see anything wrong with it.
Orion immediately noticed Reira's jealousy and, stepping forward, embraced her affectionately, causing her to display an intoxicated expression, which she was able to hide from the others by pressing herself against Orion's body.
Finally, she pushed Orion away, feigning anger, and spoke in her classic tsundere tone:
"Are you ready to rescue our captain?"
However, to everyone's surprise, Orion shook his head slowly.
"Olive is no longer here; she's been transported elsewhere," Orion said bluntly.
"What?!" Reira and Ginrummy exclaimed in unison, reacting strongly.
If their captain Olive wasn't here… then where could she be right now?!
Seeing the concern on the two girls' faces, Orion immediately realized they had not noticed Olive's transfer, which was normal, since the pirate ship had stayed a little off the island to avoid being detected by the Marines.
Although they had been keeping watch over the island, their surveillance was fairly lax and ineffective, only meant to catch any major sudden movements—like a premature execution.
If someone had discreetly moved Olive to another location, it was obvious that the two girls would not have noticed. But it didn't matter; Orion planned to find Olive's location even if he had to reduce the pirate base to ashes!
Looking toward the direction of the Marine base, Orion pulled out an energy potion he had prepared himself and drank it in one gulp. He had little time to waste; he needed to restore his stamina as quickly as possible and gather information.
Orion did not know it yet, but he was about to encounter an old acquaintance.