"Father..."
"Ah, good child."
Orin's obsession with collecting rare items was satisfied once again, and a smile involuntarily crept across his face.
The little one in front of him was holding a small "golden necklace" in his hands, eyes sparkling with joy, the very picture of happiness.
"This item will allow the one you wish to keep by your side to stay with you forever. Consider it a gift in return for how you addressed me just now."
In Sanji's eyes, Orin's image grew even more towering at that moment, like some omnipotent god.
After instructing the two not to reveal the necklace's pure gold composition to anyone, Orin left with the deed of sale in hand.
From that day on, he gained a little fan, and the World Economic News gained another loyal subscriber.
...
As it turned out,
The Four Seas were still too shallow. So shallow, in fact, that a single Donquixote Doflamingo who had mastered Ryuo was enough to suppress the mightiest nation of the North Blue—Germa 66.
By the time Orin arrived, Germa had already lost all fighting power. Even Judge was kneeling on one knee, blood spilling from his mouth in disgrace.
His face was pale as he raised his eyes with difficulty, finally realizing just what kind of terrifying being he had provoked.
Were all the rulers of the New World this terrifying?
From the depths of his heart, he coveted that power.
It was at that moment that Judge truly understood—personal power was the only unshakable law on this ocean.
And he yielded.
Orin didn't destroy Germa but left behind a single sentence.
Sitting cross-legged on Germa's royal throne, he looked down at the kneeling Judge.
"Be thankful you have a good son. He's destined for great things. Because of that, I'll spare your life."
But it wasn't without cost. From then on, Germa would have to pay tribute like the other underground giants—money they had no choice but to pay.
Afterwards, Judge pondered Orin's words.
A good son?
Could it be Ichiji, Niji, or Yonji? Or all of them?
To him, it was probably the talent of those three monstrous sons that changed Orin's mind.
As for Sanji?
He didn't even enter the equation.
...
Treating it like a casual journey, Orin and his crew sailed the seas.
In fact, after the initial purges, the subsequent clean-up operations became much easier.
Once word spread that Orin was cracking down, most offending parties scrambled to repay double or even triple the amount owed.
Targets worth eliminating became fewer and fewer.
Eventually, they found themselves without any targets at all.
And so, drifting leisurely, the calendar turned to the year 1502 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
A major piece of news recently hit the papers:
The once-every-four-years World Government Summit would be held in a month's time.
The Navy had gotten busy.
...
Marine Headquarters — Marineford.
Countless warships were setting sail. Many lower-ranked officers were being dispatched around the globe to act as escorts for various World Government member nations—much like how the cowardly king in the original escorted the royal family of Dressrosa.
And today, the Navy Headquarters had to set clear protocols and assign upcoming duties.
Numerous Marine officers gathered in the meeting hall—not just to discuss the World Summit, but also to revisit and coordinate on recent maritime affairs.
Before the key figures arrived, many familiar officers had already begun chatting.
After all, there weren't many surprises left at sea. They could more or less guess what the meeting would be about.
"Back to work again, huh? I barely just got off leave."
"No choice..."
"Hope I get assigned to a nearby kingdom."
"Those nobles, always looking down their noses at us—so annoying."
"Enough. The brass are here."
With the entrance of Kong, Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, and the Navy's three monsters, the hall gradually quieted down.
All eyes turned to the man who followed them in—Brannew.
The meeting began.
"First, I need to report on the recent global activity of the Black Gun. Any factions that failed to pay enough tribute have been completely destroyed. Due to special circumstances, the Navy will not be taking action against them for now. However, the responsibility of maintaining stability and performing cleanup still falls on us."
Brannew held up a few bounty posters and pinned one to the wall—an arrogant young blond man sticking out his tongue.
"This is the new suspected member of the Black Gun crew, Donquixote Doflamingo.
A Paramecia-type String-String Fruit user with exceptional mastery,
All three types of Haki,
And massive influence over the underground world.
Effective immediately, his bounty has been updated to 1.534 billion Belly."
As they looked at the poster—at that golden-haired maniac's wild smile—the expression in Tsuru's eyes turned dark.
She slowly closed her eyes and let out an almost inaudible sigh.
After countless failed captures, they now weren't even allowed to make a move. Despite the influence of the World Government and Orin,
Doflamingo's unrestrained rampage remained a glaring stain on her Marine record.
And now, they weren't even permitted to arrest him.
It was frustrating.
Brannew continued reporting on several key conflicts across the seas. The names of Mihawk and Crocodile also appeared on the board.
"Speaking of which, there's one person we must mention—
One of the New World's overlords, King of the Dark World,
Black Gun Orin.
Possesses one of the strongest Paramecia abilities in existence—the Warp-Warp Fruit—rendering him impossible to capture or define.
Top-tier mastery of all three forms of Haki.
Once severely wounded two Emperors single-handedly.
Commands an underground force capable of toppling the entire sea.
Suspected to be tied for World's Strongest Swordsman.
Undisputed World's Strongest Sniper.
World's Richest Man.
An overwhelming threat to global stability. His bounty should exceed five billion—but due to special conditions, it remains set at 4.049 billion Belly.
Though we cannot act against him, the Navy must continue monitoring him closely, to mitigate fallout from any of his future actions."
On the bounty poster was a handsome, long-haired youth cloaked in lightning.
Nearly every Marine present revealed intense hostility.
Two of them in particular—
Had they not trained restraint through repeated provocation, they might've already unleashed a Magma Fist or a Pheasant Beak shot right at the poster.
Their terrifying expressions did not go unnoticed by Kong, who sighed inwardly.
He understood all too well the hatred these two promising talents held toward Orin.
But... there was simply nothing they could do.
He could only hope that when assigning duties later, the two wouldn't act too impulsively...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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