March 7, 1502, Age of the Sea Circle
After resting for a couple of hours to recover his strength, Orion headed straight toward the Marine base, using the same method he had relied on to travel over the past few days. It took him about half an hour to reach the island, and with the help of his Pocket Dimension, he infiltrated the bustling base without any trouble.
After carefully moving through the base to avoid being discovered, Orion finally reached the archive room, where he searched through the files for any information about the place where Olive had been transferred. However, to his surprise, he found nothing—no mention of her transport, and both the date and location of the execution remained unchanged.
Sensing that something was off, Orion made his way to the dungeon, where he found a woman with green hair similar to Olive's, though she shared no other resemblance to the beautiful pirate captain. The woman was tied up and blindfolded, but not gagged, so she could still speak.
The poor woman was crying and screaming, insisting over and over that they had captured the wrong person and that her name was Rose. With a single glance, Orion understood what was happening—clearly, Olive had been secretly moved elsewhere, and the Marines had simply abducted a woman who looked somewhat like her to carry out the execution in her place.
Following this line of thought, it was evident that Marine corruption had once again played a role, which made Orion even more worried about his wife's safety.
Activating his Prism Eyes to examine the woman they had taken as a stand-in for the execution, Orion saw that her morality was good, which meant she wasn't even a criminal. Most likely, she was just an ordinary civilian unfortunate enough to have hair the same color as Olive's.
With a swift movement, Orion approached her and sent her into the Pocket Dimension, saying:
"Don't worry—you're safe now."
However, he didn't have time to comfort the girl, as he needed to immediately find a high-ranking Marine officer to interrogate about Olive's whereabouts. Fortunately for the woman, Hototogisu and Lily were inside the Pocket Dimension, and they would be able to explain the situation and calm her down.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to avoid a confrontation with the Marines, Orion activated his Distorted Future ability to change his physical appearance, then pulled out his Den Den Mushi and called Ginrummy.
"Orion! How did it go?" the girl asked right away, her voice filled with anxiety as she waited to hear whether he had found their captain's location.
"One of the possibilities we discussed turned out to be true," Orion replied. "She wasn't officially transferred from the base, which means someone is acting on their own agenda—probably with rather sinister intentions. Someone powerful."
"T-Then… we're going with Plan B?" Ginrummy said, immediately understanding what his words implied.
While resting aboard Olive's pirate ship, Orion had discussed the situation thoroughly with Ginrummy and the others, making several plans to prepare for different possible scenarios. Now, his words served as the signal for the pirate crew to move into action!
"That's right," Orion said. "I want you to attack the island—but don't get too close. Just cause enough of a commotion to draw their attention. In the meantime, I'll deal with whoever's in charge here."
Although Orion wasn't afraid to face the regular soldiers stationed at the base, it would still be advantageous for him if they were distracted by something else, allowing him to act more freely.
"Understood," Ginrummy answered seriously. "We're already approaching the island. In about ten minutes, we'll be able to start bombarding the base."
"Good. Remember, you don't need to get too deep into the fight—I don't want you getting captured just to create a diversion. Once you've completed your task, retreat to the coordinates I gave you. I'll join you once I've uncovered Olive's whereabouts."
With those words, Orion ended the call with the pirate crew. Then he opened a door in the air and entered the Pocket Dimension, where he told the two girls accompanying him to be ready in case they needed to take action.
Orion hadn't had the chance to investigate this base in detail, so he didn't know exactly how many or what kind of enemies he would face. For that reason, he didn't rule out the possibility that the two girls might have to come out and help him if the situation escalated.
Emerging once again from the Pocket Dimension, Orion moved like a ghost through the corridors of the vast Marine base, extending his Observation Haki in search of any dangerous presence. Advancing toward the heart of the compound, he didn't take long to reach the command room.
By slipping once more into the Pocket Dimension, he crossed the final short distance and appeared directly inside the central room of the base—and there, standing before him, was an old acquaintance: Vice Admiral Grudiger!
The first time Orion had met this Marine officer was during his very first journey outside Pacific Town. On that occasion, he had received the mission to save Charlotte Galette and had been forced to rescue her from a Marine vessel under Grudiger's command.
According to his master Roger, Orion had been rescued at the last possible moment—just as Grodiger was about to suffocate him with the powers of his Devil Fruit. Because of that, Orion's view of this Marine had always been profoundly negative, and he had long waited for the day he could take revenge for that incident
However, he had only encountered Grodiger one more time after that—shortly after escaping from Guanhao, when he went to a Marine base on the Grand Line in search of a source of power(Devil Fruit) located there.
During that mission, he had rescued the beautiful pirate captain Whitey Bay, who had been on the verge of suffering a grievous wound at the hands of Grodiger and several other Vice Admirals who had joined forces to capture her.
Even in that second encounter, Orion hadn't possessed enough power to face Grodiger directly, so their contact had been fleeting, limited to a few brief words before Orion escaped alongside the pirate captain.
Now that he was once again standing before him, Orion felt that fate itself had led their paths to cross anew. After so many years of relentless training, he finally believed he had the strength necessary to confront Grodiger.
Still, Orion didn't act immediately. He waited patiently for Ginrummy and the pirate crew to make their move. Only a few minutes later, powerful explosions echoed in the distance, and the Den Den Mushi sitting on the office desk began to ring.
However, it wasn't Grodiger who answered the call—it was the other man in the office, the true leader of this South Blue base: Vice Admiral Barruena.
This Vice Admiral didn't belong to Marine Headquarters; rather, he was the only officer from the South Blue branch to hold the rank of Vice Admiral. He wasn't just the commander of this base—he was the head of the entire southern branch of the Marines.
Even so, Orion quickly concluded that his power was inferior to Grodiger's, meaning he wasn't much of a threat. Although both men held the same rank, one was a Headquarters Vice Admiral, while the other merely led a regional branch.
It was obvious their strength wasn't equal, since Barruena's promotion to Vice Admiral had been largely administrative—he had received the title for overseeing the South Blue branch. Otherwise, his rank would have remained at Rear Admiral, just like Nakamura's.
After answering the call reporting the sudden pirate attack, the base commander abruptly stood up, muttered a quick excuse to Grodiger, and sprinted out of the room toward the site of the assault.
Only Grodiger remained behind, sitting comfortably in an armchair and sipping his tea with mild disinterest. He was required to stay at the base until after the execution of the false Olive, since only then could he claim the precious merit he so coveted.
Once that farce concluded, he planned to head to the Nakamura family's base to meet with Umit, who was still traveling from the Grand Line.
However, his plans would never come to pass—for the calamity he had unknowingly summoned upon himself was now moments away from consuming him entirely.
Having waited for the perfect opportunity, Orion emerged from the Pocket Dimension like a ghost, striking with brutal force.
"Kamusari!!"
Completely off guard, Grodiger failed to react in time and could only reflexively transform his body into mud. Normally, any attack would have been instantly deflected by his Logia powers—but unfortunately for him, Orion's strike was anything but ordinary.
Swish!
The cutlass, imbued with Armament Haki, sliced cleanly through Grodiger's body, severing one of his arms, which flew through the air and landed heavily on the ground.
"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!" Grodiger screamed in agony.
Ever since gaining his Logia abilities, he had rarely suffered injury, as he tended to avoid strong opponents, and enemies without Haki couldn't harm him at all. Now, feeling the foreign, burning sensation of pain flooding his nerves, he couldn't help but let out a monstrous scream, like a pig being slaughtered.
Yet Orion had no intention of showing mercy.
"Un Fleur."
"Shigan."
Orion materialized an extra hand at his side, then made his cutlass Ace vanish back into his inventory, freeing his hands to unleash a flurry of Shigan.
With three hands, Orion fired bursts of Haki-coated finger strikes, deliberately avoiding Grodiger's vital points to keep him alive. After all, he still needed to interrogate him—and this beating was merely the prelude.
"Ahhhhhh—aghhh!"
The pitiful Vice Admiral continued to scream as his body was riddled with holes from the storm of Armament Haki-infused Shigans. For a Logia user like him, such attacks were the worst possible nightmare.
At last, Grodiger managed to transform completely into mud, slipping away from Orion's next wave of attacks. Seeing the Marine trying to flee, Orion swiftly changed tactics.
In a flash, he appeared directly in front of the Vice Admiral and struck him with a simple yet devastating punch.
The Kairoseki glove Orion had equipped before the battle crashed into Grodiger's face, shattering his nose and several teeth. Instantly, Grodiger felt his strength fading—his body weakened, his Devil Fruit powers slipping away—as he reverted to his natural human state.
Orion reached out, grabbed him by the hair, and lifted him off the ground like a worthless piece of trash. Then, glaring at him fiercely, he said:
"Grodiger, we meet again. How have you been all this time?"
Seeing Orion's menacing grin, Grodiger trembled with fear, nearly wetting his pants. He was a cowardly man who had reached his current position through every kind of trickery and had always avoided dangerous situations, devoting himself only to oppressing those weaker than him.
Even when he acted to capture Whitey Bay, he had to ally with several other Vice Admirals before feeling confident enough to move.
Still, he was a Vice Admiral, and not as easy to defeat as it had seemed after his brief clash with Orion. After all, he could use Haki, even if in an amateurish and unreliable way.
Even Orion would have faced some trouble had he fought Grodiger head-on while the man was freely using all his abilities. The reason for Orion's easy victory had been largely due to his surprise attack, delivered with full force from the very beginning.
Orion didn't think there was anything wrong with that. He wasn't a chivalrous man who needed to announce his attacks before fighting—at least not when his opponent was someone as despicable as Grodiger.
Just as Orion didn't consider himself a pure swordsman and could use other abilities in a fight with Mihawk, he didn't see himself as an "honorable" warrior either, and had no issue using assassination tactics when needed.
It would be absurd to have a skill like Space Door and not use it that way.
The only reason Orion didn't rely on such tactics more often was that they didn't work against certain enemies. Someone at Shanks's level, for example, would never be caught off guard like Grodiger.
In the end, it all came down to the fact that Grodiger was weak and relied too much on his Devil Fruit to fight. Against Orion, who could use Haki and had Kairoseki to suppress his powers, he was nothing more than a pig at the slaughterhouse.
Pulling a syringe from his inventory, Orion injected Grodiger, who was practically crying in terror.
After hearing Orion's voice, he had recognized him—and his shock was immense when he realized the man about to kill him was the same one who had foiled his plans to eliminate Whitey Bay: the fugitive from Guanhao!
Grodiger's eyelids began to close, but he didn't fall asleep. Instead, all his muscles relaxed, leaving him completely defenseless. Then, Orion simply opened his Pocket Dimension and jumped inside, disappearing without a trace.
He had prepared for a difficult fight, but things had gone better than expected. Still, he didn't regret making multiple plans and specific precautions, since one could never know how a battle would turn out—it was always best to be fully prepared.
Inside the Pocket Dimension, Hototogisu and Lily—who had been ready to jump out and fight alongside Orion—felt a little disappointed they hadn't been able to help him at all. Still, those feelings vanished completely when Orion patted Hototogisu's butt and handed a giant chunk of meat to the young giantess.
They were simple women, satisfied by very specific things.
Within the Pocket Dimension, Orion took Grodiger to a secluded corner, away from the two girls, and began the interrogation to discover Olive's whereabouts.
To his surprise, Grodiger broke almost immediately, giving up all the information Orion wanted—and even more. Once Orion learned the truth, he sighed in relief, realizing Olive was safe for the moment.
She had been taken to the Nakamura family's mansion, which happened to be the same place he was planning to visit after rescuing his beloved pirate wife. It seemed he would have to handle both matters at once.
Finally, Orion looked at the miserable Grodiger, who was still completely paralyzed by the drug, his nose broken, several teeth missing, and one arm cut off. In his current state, he would likely die without medical attention—but Orion didn't intend to wait that long.
Grodiger wasn't a good person. Orion knew this from the information he had gathered in Guanhao and through Revolutionary Army reports. His crimes were countless, and in his pursuit of higher rank within the Marines, he had never stopped to hear the pleas of the innocent people he trampled.
The world would definitely be better off without him, and Orion didn't hesitate to end him. Lifting his cutlass, he prepared to decapitate the battered Vice Admiral—but then decided he wasn't worthy of dying by his master Roger's sword.
So instead, he simply opened a door in the air and threw him straight into the sea. Just as Grodiger had once tried to suffocate him years ago when he was unconscious, now it was Orion's turn to end the corrupt Vice Admiral's life in a similar way.
He didn't do it out of poetic revenge or anything of the sort—it just seemed like the most convenient way to dispose of him at the moment.
Once he tossed Grodiger out of the Pocket Dimension, Orion used Soru, emerging once again over the waters of the South Blue. He continued running toward the position of Olive's pirate crew, now led by Ginrummy.
Once he regrouped with them and made sure everything was fine, he would order them to head for Verdant Island to attack the Nakamura family—while he continued traveling by running through the Pocket Dimension, which remained the faster method.
This time, his goal was to completely eliminate the Nakamura family, a powerful and corrupt organization with its tentacles tightly gripping the South Blue. The distance from here to Verdant Island wasn't that great, so he could probably reach it in just a few days.
Orion kept running at full speed inside the Pocket Dimension, emerging into the real world at regular intervals. Meanwhile, a silent notification appeared on his system screen:
*You have eliminated Vice Admiral Grodiger, causing a positive change in the world.*
*You have obtained 4500 SP.*
Seeing the notifications, Orion thought that the end of one of his earliest enemies in this world had come rather suddenly and anticlimactically. But that only showed how far he had come—and the place he now held on the world's power scale.
Finally, glancing at the SP reward he had earned and seeing his accumulated reserves nearing 200,000 SP, Orion thought that perhaps it was time to invest some points to improve a few of his abilities!