It was like a mouse meeting a cat.
The once ferocious, terrifying, and monstrous Cerberus, a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit wreathed in smoke and fire—the so-called optimal answer—
Was now faced with a rule-breaking force.
"Impossible!!!"
Shamrock's once confident and stern expression froze instantly.
Because they had the same face, Orin had seen this exact look before—
On Shanks' face.
The two weapons, both imbued with Conqueror's Haki Infusion, clashed without even touching directly, but the thunderstorm-wreathed aura on Orin's side clearly held the upper hand.
Breaking through the limits, it charged straight at Shamrock's saber.
Ding!!!
In just a moment of contact, accompanied by a sharp clash of metal, the ferocious Cerberus let out a miserable howl as if a mouse had met a cat—and then...
It wilted.
The blade—drained of all power and will.
"No matter how powerful a Mythical Zoan-type is, can it really compare to my high-purity Seastone?"
Thankfully, Shamrock hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, or else the purity of that Seastone Black Rifle, if it were pressed to his face, would've left him paralyzed on the ground for half a day.
In contrast, Shamrock's saber, under the pressure of the high-purity Seastone, was now slowly returning to its original form.
"Orin!!! You son of a—ugh..."
Taking the opportunity, Orin didn't give him the slightest chance.
Harnessing monstrous strength, and with the Black Rifle suppressing the beast blade, he followed through with a rising strike—
Absolutely undefendable. Using the gun's sheer mass combined with the internal destruction of Ryuo, Orin shot forward like a thunderbolt and drove the weapon straight into Shamrock's stomach!
Still trying to talk tough?
Tell it to my Black Rifle!
Shamrock swallowed his words on the spot, choking instead on stomach acid and bile.
That blow nearly knocked him unconscious!
"You..."
Shamrock grabbed his fallen blade. In his panic, he only managed to wrap it in Armament Haki before swinging it forward—
Whoosh—
Orin sidestepped, then followed up with a kick that sent Shamrock crashing back to the ground.
"Bastard..."
Boom—
The terrifying kinetic force surged from Orin's foot. Shamrock's sword swings grew weaker and weaker—it was clear that the earlier fight had already pushed him beyond his limit.
Meanwhile, Orin, wrapped only in Ryuo-coated Armament Haki, relied on sheer brute strength to force Shamrock into retreat again and again.
With his height advantage and Ryuo-infused long legs, Orin kicked again and again like an adult disciplining a child.
Shamrock had already vomited three liters of blood.
"Alright, Orin. That's enough for this battle."
...
Several Elders of the Holy Land now approached the garden path slowly.
In the stunning scenery of this heavenly place, a tall, slender figure strolled leisurely.
A butterfly gently landed in his hand as he stood deep in thought for a long time before finally turning around.
"Imu-sama, the battle has ended. Orin emerged victorious."
"Moreover, the combat wisdom and strength he displayed truly shocked us..."
"In the past 800 years of the World Government's history, we've never seen a genius more dazzling than this."
The Elders reported, their faces laced with grave concern and awe.
If Garling hadn't stepped in to interrupt, they suspected Orin might've literally kicked Shamrock to death.
According to the intelligence reports,
Forget the monster-level physique—his terrifying perceptive advancement and learning ability via Observation Haki made him unmatched among his peers.
Sometimes, they couldn't help but wonder...
Would there come a day when even Imu-sama couldn't stop Orin?
But such things could neither be said aloud nor dared to be.
Bad news: Orin's uniqueness appears nearly impossible to restrict.
Good news: He's on our side now (probably).
In a way, this had silently neutralized a threat that was potentially even greater than Roger or Rocks...
Imu narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing those words.
He had observed everything through his Observation Haki.
Every era has its own "strongest monster." Imu wasn't overly surprised; in the era when he rose to power, there had been twenty such geniuses.
In other words, if Orin had been born 800 years ago, at his peak he would've been fully qualified to rule a nation, and alongside the "gods," establish his own bloodline among the Celestial Dragons.
"Give him the identity of a Celestial Dragon. Think of it as doing him a favor."
Imu made the decision swiftly, without hesitation.
The Elders all bowed their heads in agreement.
They hadn't been opposed to it either. Whether it was nominating members for the Seven Warlords of the Sea, or cooperating with the underground world for business and profit-sharing,
Orin had always been cooperative. Their relationship had remained strong.
Whether using Orin as a mediator to deal with various powers across the Grand Line and stabilize the situation through the Warlord system,
Or leveraging the massive profits of the underground world to gain more control over a lucrative cake—
Orin was an ally they had to win over.
After leaving the garden—
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter spoke.
"If we revealed to the seas that Orin is actually a Celestial Dragon, maybe this era of chaos would finally calm down."
"This..."
The other four turned to him, strange gleams in their eyes.
Could it be... are you a genius?
"We should at least inform Orin beforehand, or it might seem like we're using his reputation without consent."
Saint Saturn considered for a moment and advised.
Honestly, they just wanted to ride the wave.
Given Orin's identity as a member of the Pirate King's crew, the emperor of the underground world, (and secretly a sponsor of the Revolutionary Army), combined with the existence of that birdman Morgans—every one of Orin's actions could sway the tide of the times.
If they could make it public—
The shock it would bring to the seas would be more inspiring than the establishment of the Seven Warlords system or the execution of Pirate King Roger!
They had it all figured out.
The group headed back to the training grounds where Orin and the others had been.
Only, when they arrived—they were stunned.
"What... what the hell happened here?!"
Before them, the once ruined field was now completely devastated. The flat area on the Red Line had been forcibly carved down dozens of meters, forming a massive crater!
At the center of this forcibly lowered terrain, two figures slowly emerged.
"What happened?"
"We were only gone for a short while..."
"Don't tell me!!!"
The knights who had been spectating had already withdrawn several kilometers back. Only now that the chaos had subsided did they dare approach again.
The two who walked out, slowly sheathing their blades—
Were Orin and Saint Garling.
"Orin? Garling? You two were sparring?!!"
They were in disbelief, especially seeing Garling's slightly tattered clothes—
While Orin stood completely unscathed, not even flushed or out of breath.
This... this...