Leaving behind just a single sentence for Queen Otohime,
Orin's expression remained indifferent as he placed the corpse of Hody Jones—the very one who would have killed her in the future—into her arms and patted her lightly on the shoulder.
Then he simply turned and walked away.
Crushing a fish-man brat to death was nothing. No one dared to utter a word.
Mihawk and Crocodile didn't even spare the scene another glance. They silently followed Orin, heading toward the Oro Jackson.
Jinbe and Hachi stood there anxiously, torn between the dazed queen before them and the departing Orin and his crew, unsure whom they should tend to first.
Orin, on the other hand, couldn't be bothered. In the blink of an eye, he and his companions vanished from sight and reappeared on the deck of the Oro Jackson.
The ship slowly began leaving the depths, space manipulation shielding it from the crushing seawater as the Oro Jackson dove deeper like a submarine, heading toward the abyss.
"Wuuuuu…"
Queen Otohime stood rooted in place, staring blankly at Orin's crew disappearing into the distance, clutching Hody Jones's lifeless body in her arms.
Eventually, her kind and gentle nature gave way. She bit her lip, tears streaming down her face as muffled sobs escaped her throat.
To rely on violence… to force peace…
Must the world really walk this path?
...
"A heart too pure and kind is always the most indecisive."
Arms crossed, Mihawk sat on a chair at the stern of the ship, the shadow of his hat partially hiding his gaze as his sharp eyes slowly revealed themselves, fixed on the steadily fading silhouette of Fish-Man Island.
Perhaps overcome by sentiment, he muttered softly.
"Yeah…"
Beside him, Crocodile strolled over holding a bottle of red wine, placing it on the small table in front of Mihawk.
She took out two glasses and poured for both of them.
Mihawk lifted his head to glance at her, silently accepting the offered glass before bringing it to his lips for a sip.
The moment the liquid touched his tongue, his eyes widened instantly.
"What a rich, full-bodied flavor!!!"
"Right?~" Crocodile smirked proudly. "This is a top-tier vintage crafted by the Wine Kingdom just to curry favor with Orin. Price tag: nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand Belly. I intercepted two bottles midway."
Chuckling smugly, Crocodile refilled her glass without hesitation.
Taking a slow drag from her cigar, Crocodile let her gaze drift toward the distant Fish-Man Island, her voice calm but firm.
"If it were me, I'd make full use of the fish-men's innate advantage. Each one of them is five times stronger than a human—that's an entire nation of natural-born soldiers…"
"Combined with the financial support Orin has provided me, I could easily build the strongest military nation in the entire world!!!"
Crocodile's ambitions had never been small. Even though she now worked under Orin, enjoying wealth and a life free from any nation's control, her vision stretched far beyond personal comfort.
The very fact she dreamed of establishing a powerful, self-sufficient military state said it all.
Her dream was beautiful—but it came with a condition: Orin had to be willing to fund it… and let her eventually break away on her own.
"Oi, oi, oi… When did I ever say I'd fund you?"
Orin's amused voice came from the bow of the ship as he strolled over with a grin tugging at his lips. Dropping into the seat next to Mihawk, he casually poured himself a glass of the rare wine.
"Don't act like my money's automatically yours."
Crocodile: "…"
She clenched her fist, a dark vein twitching on her temple, clearly not expecting Orin to shoot her down like that.
"Oi!!! Orin! Mihawk already told me!!!"
"You'd rather back that clown Buggy with a mere 9 million Belly bounty to become Pirate King than give a little funding to a long-time crewmate to help her fulfill her ambition?!!!"
Grabbing Orin by the collar, Crocodile bared her sharp teeth and glared at him furiously, leaving Orin speechless for a moment.
He sighed, raised his hand slightly in surrender, and chuckled.
"Alright, alright, fine. A few years from now, I'll fund you. Since you're that determined, I won't crush your dream."
Orin had assumed that Crocodile, who had spent years living lavishly by his side without worry, wouldn't still harbor grand ambitions.
But apparently, she still wanted to establish her own force.
Perhaps… strong people really could never be satisfied living quietly?
Well then, when the time came, Orin decided he'd make sure to get a share of Baroque Works' profits.
"But right now, we're still far from the true Great Era. There's no rush to establish your own organization."
"When the time comes, I'll let you go. Same with you, little hawk."
Mihawk: "???"
What do you mean, "let us go"???
Shooting Orin a deadpan glance, Mihawk stayed silent as the three of them sat on the deck, drinking, chatting, and letting the Oro Jackson glide forward through the depths.
...
Before long, however, a massive shadow surged from another direction deep in the ocean.
It was… some kind of humanoid sea monster?
"What the hell is that?"
"A… giant dumpling?"
The strange creature roared as it charged toward them, yelling loudly:
"I'll avenge Captain Vander Decken!!!"
Orin raised an eyebrow. He vaguely remembered this one—one of Vander Decken IX's lackeys.
"Perfect timing. Using Observation Haki to navigate is tiring… We'll make him tow the ship."
The Oro Jackson slowed to a halt as the three calmly watched the charging bald-headed sea monster.
Orin raised his hand slightly.
The next instant, the monster's charging figure suddenly froze mid-motion, its stomach contorting as if struck by an invisible, devastating blow. Its once-furious gaze turned instantly dazed and clear.
Then came a barrage of invisible slaps—dozens of them—until the beast finally went completely quiet.
"Go tow the ship. Head for the surface."
"U-uh… y-yes, sir."
Sporting a swollen, pig-like face and utterly terrified, the sea monster obediently grabbed a rope and began towing the ship without complaint.
When they finally broke the ocean's surface, Orin waved his hand, dismissing the poor creature and setting it free.
Reaching the surface,
They immediately spotted a news seagull soaring overhead, delivering newspapers as it prepared to cross the Red Line.
Orin didn't bother disturbing it; instead, he casually teleported one of the newspapers straight into his hand and began flipping through it.
As a top-tier boss, minor discrepancies between the number of papers delivered and the money collected didn't bother him in the slightest.
Right now, his only concern was whether Morgans had printed any wild stories about him.
One glance at the headlines, and Orin's brow arched slightly.
Quite a lot had happened these past two days.
The battle between Whitebeard and the Black Emperor had concluded, with the Black Emperor seemingly gaining the upper hand. The title of "Strongest Man in the World" now hung in doubt.
Chaos was erupting across the seas, pirate numbers spiking rapidly.
And the World Government had just announced the official establishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system. The list read as follows…
"Hmm???"
The other news was expected, but this early introduction of the Seven Warlords system…
"Beru beru beru…"
"Moshi moshi, this is Orin."
Still flipping through the paper, Orin casually dialed a call straight to Mary Geoise.
Within moments, a CP0 agent connected him directly to the Elders.
"Orin, it seems you've already resolved the situation with Fish-Man Island."
The Elders' faces remained calm as they gathered around the transponder snail, their collective gazes fixed on the line.
They had already anticipated this. Once Orin wrapped up matters on Fish-Man Island, they knew he'd call regarding the sudden formal establishment of the Seven Warlords.