June 5, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion looked at the system map and saw that the energy source that had suddenly appeared was located exactly at his current position, which made it obvious that the Ope Ope no Mi had been reborn into one of the fruits Vergo had prepared in advance, the moment Doflamingo eliminated the devil fruit's previous user.
Even so, it wouldn't be easy to locate the Ope Ope no Mi while trying to fend off Doflamingo's attacks, since he needed to use his full concentration just to avoid being seriously injured in the fight against the Warlord.
"Why so serious? Aren't you happy to see me again?!" Doflamingo said with an exaggerated grin as he raised both hands, generating a large number of strings coated in Armament Haki.
With a swift movement of his fingers, the strings shot forward at high speed, heading directly toward Orion and the remaining mercenaries still present in the area.
Orion hadn't had time to get those mercenaries to safety, since with the little time he had before Doflamingo's arrival, he had only managed to secure Gloriosa, Daz Bonez, and Kiko—Kat's father.
Now, the ruthless attack of the Warlord was rushing toward a large number of people, and it was impossible for Orion to protect everyone present, which unfortunately ended in a great massacre.
Once again, and despite having given Vergo clear instructions not to act violently against the mercenaries, Doflamingo had broken the Underworld's guidelines, just as he had done countless times in the past.
Even so, Doflamingo was certain that although his business dealings would suffer somewhat due to his worsening reputation, it was impossible that eliminating a group of mercenaries would push him out of the black market. After all, he was one of the world's largest suppliers of weapons, and that wasn't something anyone could simply ignore.
Coating his cutlass Ace with Armament Haki, Orion repelled three or four strings aimed at him, but he didn't have time to save the mercenaries, who began dropping like flies under Doflamingo's assault.
Even so, the infamous pirate didn't eliminate all the mercenaries with a single attack, as he still had a use for them. He was merely venting some of his irritation on the weaklings before him, yet still retained enough rationality not to waste them entirely.
For that reason, he used one of his most macabre techniques, manipulating the mercenaries' bodies with strings so he could force them to attack Orion in a frenzied swarm.
"Vergo, are you alright?" Doflamingo asked as he landed beside one of his oldest and most trusted subordinates.
"Yes, Doffy. I just let my guard down for a moment, but I'm not seriously injured," Vergo replied.
He had indeed been caught off guard by Gloriosa's violent assault, yet thanks to the timely arrival of the Warlord, he had received nothing more than minor injuries.
"Good. Check if the Ope Ope no Mi has reappeared among the fruits we prepared beforehand. If you find it, just make sure you take it, and don't worry about these people. I'll handle them," Doflamingo said, showing an aggressive and slightly maniacal smile.
The mercenaries had been attacking Orion for several minutes, yet they couldn't manage to harm him at all—though it was true they limited his movements and exposed him to Doflamingo's potential strikes. Additionally, they served as a perfect living shield, since Orion wasn't ruthless enough to kill them outright just to clear his way toward the Warlord.
Because of that, Orion had adopted a far more difficult strategy: cutting the strings controlling the mercenaries and then throwing each one into his Pocket Dimension to get them to safety.
Seeing this, Doflamingo's smile grew even wider, thinking Orion was exactly the kind of person he loved to face. Moralistic fools like him were always the easiest to destroy!
With a small flick of his fingers, the mercenaries who had been attacking Orion suddenly turned on each other, violently taking their comrades' lives while crying and screaming in despair at being unable to control their own bodies.
Many of the people they were killing were fellow mercenaries with whom they had shared countless life-or-death missions, comrades they considered close friends. Being forced to murder them with their own hands, powerless to stop it, was truly macabre and horrific for these soldiers of fortune.
Orion noticed the shift in Doflamingo's movements, and after openly cursing the damn pirate, he rushed toward the mercenaries who were slaughtering each other, determined to save as many as he could. However, in that very moment, two sets of strings appeared from different flanks, striking at him from his blind spot.
Orion managed to dodge one of the attacks, but the other hit him squarely. Fortunately, he activated his Tekkai simultaneously with Armament Haki, and thanks to his passive skill "Steel Skin," he managed to endure Doflamingo's strike, though he still suffered internal damage.
Even though the strings hadn't pierced his body or inflicted severe wounds, the force behind those thin threads was incredible. The moment they struck him, Orion felt as though he had been hit by several hammers at once.
Meanwhile, Vergo had begun inspecting the containers filled with fruit that he and his subordinates had brought, searching for the newly reborn Ope Ope no Mi. Of course, it was also possible that none of the fruits present were compatible and that the Ope Ope no Mi had reincarnated somewhere far away, although this time that was not the case.
Orion knew the Ope Ope no Mi was there, since the system notification had clearly indicated it. For that reason, when he saw Vergo beginning his search among the containers, a wave of intense anxiety washed over him, because he refused to let this Devil Fruit slip through his fingers after tracking it down with such difficulty.
Even so, Orion truly had no time to spare paying attention to Vergo's movements, since he was being relentlessly assaulted by Doflamingo's continuous attacks. Although the infamous Warlord had not yet reached the peak of his development — and had not even awakened his Devil Fruit — his current level of power was already terrifying.
Clearly, with his near-perfect control over his Devil Fruit abilities, a body far stronger than normal, and his monstrous Haki, Doflamingo was one of the strongest people in the world. Only someone roughly on Shanks' level could hope to emerge victorious in direct combat against him.
"What's wrong? Where's that arrogant attitude you had the last time we met? Or is it that you can only act high and mighty when you know you're safe?" Doflamingo said mockingly, moving his fingers in a sickening way as he sent threads flying throughout the area.
Orion felt a surge of irritation at his enemy's taunting words, but he knew he couldn't rise to Doflamingo's provocations if he wanted even the slightest chance at victory. Although in his current condition it was impossible to win — probably even if he used his Berserk Mode, which was currently locked — he at least wanted to secure the Ope Ope no Mi and escape; that alone would already be a huge triumph for him!
Using Soru, Orion appeared beside Doflamingo and threw a punch with his Kairoseki gloves. However, before his fist could make contact with the pirate's body, it was intercepted by the threads Doflamingo had deployed around the battlefield, almost like spiderwebs.
In the distance, the mercenaries had been completely annihilated, and Doflamingo was now fully focused on Orion. Now that he had finally caught him, he could slice him into pieces and torture him to his heart's content, just as he had fantasized so many times since their last encounter.
Displaying an almost perverse smile, Doflamingo leaned his head toward Orion and said,
"If you get on your knees and beg me for mercy, I might give you a quicker death…"
Obviously, this was a lie, and Doflamingo only wanted to toy with Orion and make him feel as much humiliation as possible. However, Orion would not be defeated so easily; if it truly came down to a fight to the death, he would not fall without inflicting serious damage on Doflamingo, and there was even a chance he might take his life in the process.
Activating his Canvas Realm and Art Coating abilities simultaneously, Orion freed himself from the powerful threads that had trapped him. To do so, he simply had to modify those threads and undo them. Even so, he could not alter Doflamingo's threads directly with his Art Coating, although he wasn't entirely sure why.
Perhaps it was because they were part of Doflamingo's own body or something similar, but the only way he could change the shape of the Warlord's threads was through the use of his Canvas Realm, which allowed him to manipulate anything within a small area using his Art Coating.
With this combination of abilities, Orion could even alter the air itself and transform it into something else, creating the impression that he was generating objects out of thin air. The only downside to this method was that his Canvas Realm didn't cover a very large surface, and once activated, it could not move along with his body.
If he altered something inside his Canvas Realm, the object would remain altered until he undid the effect, but he couldn't, for example, use Soru to move at high speed while simultaneously using his Canvas Realm.
That meant that this strategy — transforming Doflamingo's threads and rendering them useless — required him to remain still in one place, which made him a perfect target for new attacks from the Warlord.
The only reason it had worked moments ago was because Doflamingo had been too busy talking and trying to humiliate him, giving Orion the brief opening he needed to act.
However, now that the pirate knew he was capable of slipping free from his threads using this method, he likely wouldn't give him the chance to do it again.
For that reason, Orion knew he had to avoid being caught by Doflamingo's threads at all costs if he didn't want to end up gravely wounded.
Doflamingo's expression darkened, and thick veins bulged across his forehead. He was an extremely arrogant man, and anything that slipped even slightly out of his control put him in a foul mood. The idea that Orion could escape from the threads he had trained so hard to master was an insult to his abilities, and Doflamingo would not let anyone who insulted him live to tell the tale.
"Bullet String!"
Orion's Observation Haki, which he had deployed since the beginning of the battle together with his Prism Eyes, reacted violently to Doflamingo's attack, a small projectile shooting toward him at full speed.
At the very last moment, Orion managed to activate his Space Door, repelling several Bullet Strings the Warlord had launched at him. However, in doing so, he lost sight of Doflamingo for an instant, and the pirate appeared at his side, unleashing an attack with his five fingers, from which braided threads emerged, forming slightly thicker and deadlier cords.
Aside from Doflamingo's mastery over the Ito Ito no Mi, his physical abilities were also incredible. His sheer speed alone made him a formidable enemy, and Orion had no choice but to use his defensive combo again in order to repel the attack.
However, this time he would not be able to repel Doflamingo's strike the same way as before, since the Warlord had taken into account the information from their previous clash and had increased the power of his strings to ensure they pierced through Orion's body without the slightest chance of failure!
Everything happened in an instant. Doflamingo's hand descended rapidly, and just as it was about to connect with Orion's body, a massive number of trees suddenly appeared, placing themselves in the middle of the attack.
The strings pierced through the trees like a hot knife through butter, yet new trees continued to sprout in their place, generating a continuous clash of destruction and creation.
Meanwhile, Orion took advantage of the slight decrease in the speed of Doflamingo's attack to move away from the spot, narrowly avoiding a fatal wound.
Doflamingo, who had been smiling triumphantly upon having Orion in the palm of his hand, now looked utterly furious, and as he turned to the newcomer who had interrupted his attack, he spoke in a cold voice while suppressing his rage:
"Vice Admiral Lund, what is the meaning of this?"
Vidar Lund looked at Doflamingo's upset expression while maintaining his usual seriousness.
"There's no need for us to keep pretending. The moment I saw you appear here, I knew my cover had been blown," the vice admiral said, creating a large tree in his hand which gradually spread over his body, covering him like armor.
"Heh, I didn't expect you to be so sharp. I suppose that's the least one can expect from a soldier of 'Spear,'" Doflamingo said, returning to his usual mocking posture, although he was clearly still angry at Lund's intervention to save Orion.
Just as Vidar Lund had said, Doflamingo had known in advance that the vice admiral was a traitor. On the surface, Lund had been acting as a corrupt marine officer who facilitated Underworld dealings, especially those of the Donquixote Family under Doflamingo's control.
However, he was actually an undercover agent working for a special marine unit called "Spear." This unit was a new experimental project under Sengoku's direct command, and almost no one knew about its existence. Even Doflamingo had only recently learned about this group of marines, which had led him to suspect Vidar Lund and investigate him thoroughly.
Marines in Spear were essentially undercover agents or operatives working outside the usual sphere of influence the Marines controlled. One could say their function overlapped considerably with that of Cipher Pol agents, with the difference that they answered solely to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
The reason Doflamingo was here on this occasion was simply because he wanted to catch Vidar Lund off guard and eliminate him. The vice admiral was a potential threat, so Doflamingo had decided to get rid of him directly instead of trying to use him in secret any longer.
This time, Orion had simply been unlucky enough to find himself caught in the middle of this thorny situation, forcing him to face Doflamingo directly and unexpectedly. Even so, and fortunately for him, Vidar Lund was a powerful ally.
"Garp told me about you. I know you're not an ally of the Marines, but we should work together this time," Lund said as he looked at Orion, who was watching the interaction between the vice admiral and the Warlord with curiosity.
Orion knew nothing about Spear or about everything that had happened in the past between these two men which had culminated in the current situation, but upon hearing Garp's name, he raised his eyebrows in surprise and met Vidar Lund's gaze.
He finally understood why the morality of this marine, who was participating in Underworld transactions, was positive, and he could partially deduce what was going on. For that reason, he nodded, making a decision almost immediately.
At this moment, an alliance with Vidar Lund was the only thing that could help him face someone of Doflamingo's level.
"It's a shame you're so perceptive. If you had stayed still until I got rid of this pest, I could have taken my time torturing you slowly afterward," Doflamingo said as he glared at the vice admiral with an aggressive aura.
He had truly intended to eliminate Orion before dealing with Lund, but now he had to face both of them at the same time, which would undoubtedly complicate things. Even so, Doflamingo had great confidence in his abilities and did not believe he would lose the fight, even if he had to expend a bit more energy in the process.
After receiving Orion's affirmative response, Vidar Lund coated his entire body with his wooden armor, and new layers kept forming continuously until he transformed into a gigantic golem that looked truly imposing.
On the other hand, Orion was thinking about the best way to deal with Doflamingo by using the vice admiral's involvement to his advantage. The final phase of the battle between Orion and Doflamingo was about to begin, and it would unfold in a rather chaotic manner.
…
Meanwhile, approximately a day's distance from where Orion was fighting Doflamingo, two ships were clashing in the open sea, firing cannons while pirates hurled all kinds of powerful attacks at the opposing crew.
These two pirate ships belonged to Catarina Devon and Whitey Bay respectively.
The beautiful blue-haired pirate, the one Orion had dreamed of so many times and longed to meet again, had come all the way here after hearing that Doflamingo would be making a transaction in this place with an unknown seller.
This was Whitebeard's territory, which meant that Whitey Bay, as one of the pirate captains allied with the legendary pirate, believed she had the right to any treasure found in this area. For that reason, she had set sail without hesitation to steal from Doflamingo whatever he was trading so secretly.
Pirates on Doflamingo's level were not interested in ordinary treasures, so Whitey Bay knew that if she reached the location and stole it, she could obtain great benefits!
However, before she could arrive, she had encountered a troublesome pirate: the rookie Catarina Devon!
This detestable woman was not in her right mind and enjoyed hunting and decapitating beautiful women she found along her path. For that reason, she had set her attention on Whitey Bay, who was not only one of the most famous pirates of the New World, but also incredibly beautiful.
Catarina's objective was rather simple and chaotic; she merely wanted to defeat Whitey Bay and decapitate her to add her to her collection of eliminated beautiful women.
Even so, this was the first time the rookie pirate would be facing a woman as powerful as Whitey Bay, so in a way, it also served as a test to confirm whether her level was already comparable to the legends of the previous generation.
Although technically Whitey Bay could not be considered a legend like Charlotte Linlin, she had been part of Whitebeard's original crew and was recognized for her strength and beauty by pirates all over the world.
Now, she finally had a prey worthy of her—the beautiful Catarina Devon!
"Aaargh! What an annoying woman! She just had to show up now that we were busy robbing Doflamingo!" said Whitey Bay with some irritation while unsheathing her sword.
On the opposite ship, Catarina Devon stepped forward, coating her spear in Armament Haki, and with a powerful leap she closed in on the blue-haired pirate at full speed.
The weapons of the two powerful women collided forcefully midair, creating a shockwave that stirred the waters and caused both ships to lose stability.
While Orion was fighting Doflamingo alongside Vice Admiral Lund, Whitey Bay had her own battle to wage. One great conflict after another was erupting in this section of the New World, which was nothing unusual in this chaotic sea where the strongest in the world crossed paths.