September 1, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
In the end, Orion slept far longer than expected, missing the duel he had scheduled with Galus and remaining comfortably in the bed of the beautiful blue-haired pirate.
Whitey Bay felt a bit of pity for Orion, who had exhausted himself so much while treating her wounds, so she chose not to disturb him and allowed him to continue sleeping until he was fully satisfied.
Meanwhile, Galus was quite angry because Orion had failed to attend the manly duel they had agreed upon earlier that morning, believing that he was intentionally disrespecting him. For that reason, he had stormed off to look for Orion in Whitey Bay's room, only to find Mitsu standing guard at the door with great seriousness, exactly as Orion had asked her to.
Galus tried to enter the room while ignoring the little girl, but she refused to let him pass, taking on a combat stance and clearly showing her willingness to fight him if he insisted on pushing forward.
For a moment, Galus felt a headache coming on, since he did not want to fight the small girl. He had already struck Mitsu with force earlier that morning when she had stepped in the way of the attack he had directed at Orion, and the other pirates of Whitey Bay's crew had been teasing him all day for picking on a defenseless child.
Galus had repeatedly told them that Mitsu was a little monster capable of using Armament Haki with great skill and of enduring his attack at almost full power, and therefore could not be classified as a "defenseless child," yet the other pirates of the crew paid no attention at all to his arguments.
For most of the day he had been forced to endure the mockery of the other pirates for having fought a little girl, and that was precisely why he did not want to get into another conflict with Mitsu now, since if he did, he would surely become the target of their ridicule again.
Because of this, Mitsu had been able to prevent Galus from interrupting Orion's rest, "frightening" him merely through her presence as a guard posted at the door of the beautiful pirate's room.
Galus had shouted several times from outside the room, calling Orion and telling him to come out and face him, urging him not to be a coward, yet Orion was so exhausted that he did not hear the pirate's shouts at all.
Eventually, Whitey Bay grew tired of listening to Galus's persistent yelling and angrily ordered him to stop bothering them.
Thus, the duel for the love of the Ice Witch was postponed until today, two days after what had originally been agreed upon, when Orion finally recovered fully from his fatigue.
In truth, he had already recovered the day before, but he had spent the entire day remaining beside Whitey Bay in bed, simply talking with her and deepening his intimacy with the beautiful pirate.
Even so, beyond the occasional brief kiss, Whitey Bay had not allowed Orion to "misbehave," and of course she had not let him grope her or engage in any other ambiguous act of intimacy. She had no intention of going back on her word, and Orion would have to wait a while longer before being able to take the final step with her.
Regardless, Orion was quite satisfied with the benefits he had obtained, enjoying the hugs and the few tender kisses from the beautiful pirate that he had managed to receive. He had advanced significantly in his relationship with her, and although she had not admitted it openly, their relationship had basically already been decided.
At present, their status was essentially that of betrothed, since they merely had to wait for some time to pass before formally consummating their relationship, even though both were already willing to become a couple.
Now, Orion and Galus were finally standing face to face in the enormous inner courtyard of the pirate base, prepared for the manly duel over the love of Whitey Bay. Of course, only Galus was fighting for the pirate's love —in a battle already lost— while Orion was fighting to gain a new high-level subordinate for his forces.
Although Galus was a bit irritating to Orion, he was powerful, and his morality was not negative, so he qualified to become an elite subordinate capable of helping him greatly in his future conflict with the World Government.
Above all else, Orion was very interested in Galus's Devil Fruit, about which he had managed to obtain some information over the last two days.
The famous rookie pirate had consumed the Gensō Gensō no Mi, which allowed him to create illusions in order to confuse his opponent. It was quite a powerful Devil Fruit, since even someone as strong as Orion could be affected, if only briefly, which granted the pirate an advantage to perform all sorts of powerful attacks.
If one added to the use of this Devil Fruit Galus's physical abilities, his mastery of the rapier, and his use of Haki, then it was only natural to consider the rookie pirate a true threat across the New World and the entire world in general.
Orion had no intention of underestimating his opponent, and so he planned to fight with all his strength from the very beginning of the duel.
"Are you ready? Once I defeat you, you'll no longer be able to keep bothering our captain with your sexual harassment!" said Galus, as if trying to convince himself of his own victory.
Orion simply nodded and rolled up his sleeve, allowing the midday sun to shine directly onto the lazy serpent that was coiled around his arm, sleeping without paying the slightest attention to its master's problems.
"Come on, Shesha, it's time to work!" said Orion as he lightly tapped the king cobra's head with a finger, which finally made Shesha open his eyes with a somewhat irritated expression, looking rather adorable.
Orion merely shook his head, ignoring the behavior of his companion beast, and taking him in his hand he injected Armament Haki into his body, causing him to take the shape of a bow.
"Serpent Armament!"
Orion pulled three arrows from his inventory and, after imbuing them with Armament Haki, he shot them toward Galus, who stepped forward while brandishing his rapier and eliminated two of the three arrows with quick thrusts, whereas the third struck him square in the chest, causing him serious damage.
Orion activated his Prism Eyes and focused his Observation Haki in his eyes, which allowed him to finally see beyond the illusion: Galus had not actually been hit by the third arrow, but rather it had all been a trick created with his Devil Fruit so that Orion would lower his guard.
The large wound on the pirate's chest began to disappear without leaving a trace once the illusion created by the Devil Fruit shattered, and Galus clicked his tongue in irritation when he saw that Orion had discovered his little trick before he could take advantage of the situation.
Orion had already seen the abilities of the famous rookie pirate during their previous fight, so he would not fall so easily for his tricks. Using his serpent companion Shesha, Orion once again launched five arrows covered in Armament Haki, and this time Galus had no choice but to dodge the attack in order to avoid being injured.
Orion used Soru and appeared behind the pirate like a specter, unleashing several Shigan in succession and forcing him into a defensive stance that was quite passive.
Galus once again felt a strong irritation at not being able to take control of the battle, and gritting his teeth, he deliberately took one of Orion's Shigan, if only to gain the opportunity to attack freely with his rapier.
The pirate's strategy was simple: if it was impossible to take the initiative and dominate the fight with his ability, then the only thing he could do was drag the combat into murky ground — into a blow-for-blow exchange!
Galus attacked Orion with a violent thrust of his rapier while enduring the piercing pain in his left shoulder; however, before his attack could land, Shesha moved into the way, blocking the sword strike after coating his body in Armament Haki.
Even though Shesha was still an infant and his size was not very large, he was perfectly capable of using Armament Haki at will to strengthen his body and assist Orion on his own. Even so, he did not possess the capacity to produce Haki himself, and could only use the Haki that Orion had deposited in his body a moment earlier.
Bang!
Galus's sword collided forcefully against Shesha without causing any damage to the miniature king cobra, which left Galus open to a new attack from Orion, who took advantage of the opportunity to finish the pirate off.
"Rokuogan!"
Orion pressed both fists against Galus's body and unleashed one of his most powerful techniques, intending to end the fight quickly. To his surprise, however, the pirate's body shattered like glass, leaving no trace behind.
"Damn it, another illusion!" said Orion to himself in irritation as he expanded his Observation Haki through the surroundings.
Orion had been able to dispel the illusions produced by Galus thanks to his Prism Eyes, so he believed he would no longer have problems with the pirate's ability, yet the situation was a bit more complex.
Galus could modify the intensity of his illusions, although the more powerful they were, the more energy they consumed. For that reason, he usually used the illusions created with his Devil Fruit in a measured way. On this occasion, however, it was impossible to deceive Orion's eyes without using more power than usual, which had ultimately led him to spend almost all of his energy creating this illusion.
The young pirate was aiming for a swift victory, so after Orion destroyed his illusion with his Rokuogan, he appeared in his blind spot, launching an attack with his rapier that struck Orion squarely, causing a severe wound in his abdomen.
Orion used Room and exchanged the position of his body with that of a distant rock, thus moving away from Galus while pressing against his stomach to contain the blood that was pouring from his wound.
"Tch, I see you've got all kinds of tricks," said Galus as he looked at Orion from afar, then adopted a somewhat strange and slightly comical stance.
He was crouched down with his legs apart and leaning forward, while he drew his rapier back as if he were preparing to launch a thrust like a slingshot.
Orion exhaled a long breath and relaxed his muscles, while simultaneously retrieving his cutlass, Ace, from his inventory. . He knew that it was best not to drag the fight out too long, and upon seeing Galus's posture he realized the pirate was thinking the same thing.
For that reason, Orion prepared himself to end the fight with the next attack.
Galus, who had remained motionless in the distance while holding his strange posture, suddenly shot forward like an arrow, unleashing a deadly thrust toward Orion's face. In midair, his sword began to distort, and three rapiers appeared simultaneously, confusing Orion's senses.
Galus did not have much energy left to create high-quality illusions, so he had decided to pour everything into a single large illusion for this attack. He was convinced that Orion would not be able to dispel it, no matter how hard he tried, which made the attack truly dangerous.
Even so, Orion was not worried in the slightest, since he trusted in his own power. Although, at this moment, he was not overwhelmingly stronger than Galus, he still believed he could emerge victorious from this confrontation.
Taking a step forward, Orion released his Conqueror's Haki in a wave of invisible energy that struck Galus head-on and caused him to briefly lose focus, which in turn made his attack lose some of its initial intensity.
Then Orion used what was undoubtedly his most powerful sword attack.
"Kamusari!"
The attacks of the two men exploded violently in the air, generating a wave of energy that shook the surroundings and affected the pirates who were watching the confrontation with great interest.
All of the illusions Galus had created in this decisive strike were destroyed by the sheer brute force of Orion's attack which, after a brief stalemate, shattered his opponent's strike and cut Galus's torso from shoulder to hip, producing a horrendous wound.
The illusions vanished at the same time that the blood of the famous rookie pirate burst into the air like fireworks. Even so, Galus's rapier was not destroyed; instead, it simply went flying through the air, being launched high above before descending and thrusting into the ground just a few centimeters from the pirate's face.
He was now lying on his back with his arms spread in a cross, smiling with blood flowing from his mouth as he stared up at the sky.
"I suppose… this is how my love dies…" said Galus with difficulty, as he closed his eyes in bitterness, knowing that he now had to give up Whitey Bay, his first love.
At that moment, Galus was not thinking about anything else other than the death of his first love, paying no attention to his wounds or to the fact that he would have to become Orion's subordinate, which clearly showed the passion with which he lived his life.
"If you keep living with this kind of intensity, you'll find a new love in the future," said Orion as he approached the pirate to treat his injuries.
"Heh… maybe…" replied Galus in a low voice, while his consciousness faded away as he fell into a deep sleep.
Aside from his severe wounds, he was completely exhausted from using his Devil Fruit. Orion had finally discovered the weak point of his abilities: their extremely high energy consumption.
After making a quick calculation, Orion concluded that Galus probably consumed more energy than he did when using Room, which imposed serious limitations on the use of his powers. Even so, Orion believed that with specific training, Galus could use his powers far more efficiently, thereby increasing his strength enormously.
Orion could see that Galus's use of the powers of the Gensō Gensō no Mi was somewhat crude, although he did not know whether it was because he had only recently acquired those powers or simply due to a lack of talent or training.
In any case, Orion believed that with a bit of help, Galus could greatly improve his combat level in a short time, so he was pleased to have found a new elite subordinate during his journey back home.
Orion gave Galus first aid, stabilizing his condition by stopping the bleeding from the large wound in his torso, and then opened a door in the air, sending him into the Pocket Dimension with a snap of his fingers through the combined use of Room.
Afterwards, he turned toward Whitey Bay, who had come up beside him and was now looking at the wound Galus had inflicted on Orion's abdomen with a worried expression.
"Are you alright?" said the Ice Witch with concern, gently placing a hand on Orion's cheek.
The pirates around them widened their eyes as if they were seeing a ghost, and they immediately understood that Orion was someone special in their captain's heart. They had never seen her show that expression before, so it was easy to perceive her feelings for him.
Many of the pirates who were secretly in love with Whitey Bay felt their hearts break, yet they quickly encouraged themselves by thinking that, in any case, they would never have been able to "have something" with their beautiful captain, and it was better for her to be happy with someone else.
After all, their feelings were not truly love but rather admiration, like that which fans feel for idols — although even these rough pirates could distinguish reality from fantasy and did not hold any resentment toward Whitey Bay for having a romantic life, unlike certain fans that existed in Orion's past life on Earth.
"I'm fine, don't worry," said Orion as he caressed the soft blue hair of the beautiful pirate, before adding,
"Although Galus's wounds are a bit complicated, so I'm going to perform an operation to heal him right now."
Whitey Bay nodded quickly, then turned around and said to her crew,
"What are you all staring at? The show's over — get back to your posts!"
The pirates responded in unison and began to withdraw from the area to return to their routines. Even though Whitey Bay had told them to "get back to their posts," they were pirates, and they did not possess that much discipline or fixed positions; they would simply return to their daily pirate routines, which were fairly relaxed.
Once the crew members had left, Whitey Bay wrapped her arms around Orion's neck and kissed him tenderly once more, just as she had done so many times over the past few days. She felt comfortable with this level of intimacy, and it was the unspoken limit they had established between them.
Orion enjoyed the soft touch of Whitey Bay's lips for a brief moment, until she took a step back and said with a smile,
"Then I'll let you take care of your business. Once you're done, come see me and we'll have a conversation about the future."
After saying what she wanted to say, Whitey Bay walked away without looking back, leaving Orion gazing at her sensual figure and her seductive butt in the distance.
Both of them knew that the end of their short daily routine together was drawing near, and that Orion would soon depart to continue his life in a distant place, so it was undoubtedly necessary to have a "serious" talk about the future.
Watching Whitey Bay's figure in the distance, Orion felt great tenderness, yet also deep concern. The reason for this was the wounds the Ice Witch had received on this occasion.
Six years earlier, when Orion had rescued Whitey Bay, the system information he had received upon saving her indicated that she would have suffered damage to her uterus and become sterile as a result of the attack by the vice admirals commanded by Grodiger.
At that time, Orion had changed Whitey Bay's future by preventing her from suffering that fate, and he had even earned SP for doing so. However, a new situation had now arisen that once again resulted in Whitey Bay receiving an injury to her lower abdomen and becoming sterile.
Orion had been able to solve the problem and successfully treat her wounds, yet this time he had not received any SP. This indicated to him that the timeline had changed and that he was now in a world where Whitey Bay was not sterile anymore, which meant he would no longer gain SP for helping her with that kind of injury.
However, if the pirate's future had changed, why had she still ended up with the same wound as in the original timeline?
The only possible explanation Orion could think of was that it was the corrective effect of the universe, which was trying to redirect the current timeline to make it as similar as possible to the original. If that were the case, Orion would have to remain vigilant in order to prevent tragedies he had already avoided, which was undoubtedly a headache.
He did not know whether this was truly the case, but he did not want to find out the hard way, so he would have to make arrangements in the future to keep certain situations under watch. A perfect example was Rouge, whom he had saved from death years before.
After that, she had never again been in danger, so Orion had stopped worrying about her. However, now he would once again have to remain alert regarding her situation, just in case.
What Orion did not know was that there was a logic behind these events, and fortunately for him it was not as negative as he was imagining, although it was certainly something he needed to keep an eye on. Even so, a long time would pass before he could obtain enough information about it.
After spending a few moments thinking about these matters, Orion shook his head bitterly and opened a door in the air. The most important thing now was to treat the wounds of Galus, his new subordinate.
"Come on, Mitsu — once I'm done treating Galus, I'll prepare something delicious for you," said Orion with a smile as he walked into the Pocket Dimension with the little clone.
…
Meanwhile, the gears of the world continued to turn without stopping. Little Ace, who was currently only five years old, had begun secretly saving money in a small treasure chest, with the intention of using those funds to start his life as a pirate in the future.
He wanted to set out to sea and be free like his father Roger, and discover what kind of world he had seen during his legendary journeys.
On the other side of the world, a blond boy dissatisfied with his family had run away from home to live in a garbage dump, and he too had begun to gather money for his pirate life just like Ace, almost as if they were connected telepathically.