"Whoa... they shattered the whole island! Are these the monsters who reign supreme over the sea?!"
"Orin-sama definitely won't lose, right?"
"I'm starting to doubt if these monsters can even die at all."
On the outskirts of Whole Cake Island, nearly every capable fighter had fled the island.
Thanks to the chaotic brawl between the three, the terrifying shockwaves had forced them to distance themselves from the battlefield, choosing instead to fight along the island's outer edges.
Which, in turn, made escaping a lot easier.
"Hey!! Kaido, you bastard, you're not dead yet, are you!!!"
A tall, disheveled woman stood up from a crater, flames under her feet. She looked battered but still imposing.
She turned to look at an even larger crater in the distance and asked in a deep voice.
Though really, she didn't need to ask.
With her Observation Haki, she could still sense the stubbornly persistent life force inside that crater.
"Warororororo... That punch from that bastard Orin really hurt. Reminded me of some other damn bastard!!!"
From the massive crater, a fan-sized hand suddenly stretched out, gripping the edge of the pit. Kaido slowly emerged, rubbing his head.
As the man who would one day tank dozens of enemies at once, Kaido's durability was clearly at the top of the world.
To push him to the brink of death, even the peak version of Whitebeard—known for destructive power—would have a hard time.
Watching the two still full of fight, Orin appeared in front of them at some point.
Seriously... these two.
Still, the truth remained: taking on two Yonko-level beings alone, Orin didn't know whether even someone like Imu or Joy Boy could do it.
Even with his recent breakthrough in Conqueror's Haki Infusion, Orin knew he didn't have that kind of power—
Not unless he was fighting for his life.
Especially...
When he didn't have his gun.
He couldn't use his "Ultimate Technique: Warp-Warp · Conqueror's Infusion · Ryuo · Seastone · Foresight" to slowly break them down from the sides.
"Since that's the case..."
Orin sighed slowly and turned his head to look at Mihawk, who was drifting on a boat in the distance.
"Hey!!! I'm about at my limit here—if this doesn't work, I'm counting on you two!!!"
"You idiot! You're pulling this reckless crap again?!!"
Hearing the shout, Orin simply tilted his head with a carefree smile.
"Just wanna... test the limits of my close combat."
On the distant Queen Mama Chanter, Katakuri was still bleeding as his sister tended to his wounds.
But he stood firmly at the bow, eyes locked on the battlefield with growing tension. Crimson light flashed in his pupils.
"This... this is..."
As if witnessing something unbelievable, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, shattering his usual calm demeanor.
"Mama!! Look out—"
Just as he was about to shout a warning, a massive emerald-green slash split the sea and came roaring their way.
Clang—
A human-like expression of terror appeared on the giant homie face at the ship's bow.
The front of the ship was sliced clean off!
"Dracule Mihawk..." Katakuri's expression darkened as he stared at the distant figure standing on a lone boat.
But Mihawk simply glanced at him, then fixed both eyes on Orin—who looked like he was "saying his last words."
"This fight... isn't one for you to interfere in."
To allow any outside interference, to let anything affect this man's pursuit of his limits—would be an insult to Mihawk.
"Still fighting after taking that much damage... this guy… does he really not fear death?"
Crocodile didn't get it, but he respected it. Silently lighting a cigar, wiping the blood off her face, she coldly observed the battlefield.
"Only a man like this deserves to have us follow him...
Only someone like this is worthy of the title 'World's Strongest'."
Mihawk admired Orin's spirit. If he didn't even have the resolve to become stronger—if he was just all about drinking, eating, and goofing off—
Then Mihawk would've left the ship a long time ago.
"The world's strongest man, huh..."
Hearing this, Crocodile glanced sideways at Mihawk with her usual jaded look but didn't argue.
Yeah...
A man like this—he'll definitely become the world's strongest someday.
Talent, willpower, intelligence...
He lacked nothing. There was no reason he couldn't surpass that old man Whitebeard...
She kept her eyes locked on that lone figure standing proudly on the battlefield,
She wanted to see how far this man could go.
In her view—
Orin slowly stepped forward, heading straight toward Kaido and Big Mom.
He didn't move fast—so slow you could see each step clearly.
"Warororororo... So you're going all in now? Orin!!!"
Kaido raised his kanabo, and Big Mom glared fiercely at him too. Clearly, that last attack hadn't dampened her will to fight:
"Mamamamama... Once I catch you, I'm gonna drain you dry!!!"
"And for someone as troublesome as you, a two-on-one shouldn't be called unfair, Orin~"
The two towering figures gripped their weapons, surrounded by their own surging Conqueror's Haki.
But in the next second—they both sensed something was wrong.
"What... is this?"
"Did my eyes just trick me???"
The scene shifted.
Orin's calm figure suddenly glitched like a broken frame—behind him, a residual image appeared.
Normally, only extreme speed would leave afterimages in one's path.
But this—
That bizarre afterimage slowly solidified. Eventually, a second Orin appeared.
"That's... two Orins?!?!"
And that was far from the end.
By the end, there were four identical Orins, all staring at Kaido and Big Mom with scarlet glowing eyes.
"Two versus one? I wouldn't call you two shameless..."
"This... is what real two versus one looks like. After all, when taking on two of the sea's emperors—don't call me the shameless one."
Faced with four Orins, Kaido and Big Mom had to admit—they were mentally shaken.
And it wasn't until Divine Departure and Galaxy Impact from all four Orins slammed into them that they finally snapped back to reality.
What kind of monstrous technique was this!!??
After suffering consecutive ambushes and heavy hits—
As two Emperors of the Sea with high mastery in Haki, their Observation Haki soon noticed something off.
"Teleporting continuously across four fixed points... combined with absolute control of the battlefield using Observation Haki, to create both visual and physical illusions of clones?"
"What a freakish Devil Fruit power... Orin."