"Old man, the coming era might get out of hand. Do you want to go live on the Sabaody Archipelago?"
At the banquet, Orin and Keek were drinking together. Seeing the old man's happy smile, Orin felt good himself, but he still offered his suggestion.
It wasn't that he couldn't protect him — it was that Orin was likely to be busy in the near future and couldn't shadow Keek every moment.
And strong fighters like Hawke Eyes and the others couldn't be stuck guarding one small island forever. It would be better for him to stay on the Sabaody Archipelago.
What if in a couple of years some reckless Supernova showed up and, without thinking, used the old man's head to make a name for themselves…
Those hotheads and provincials from the Four Seas wouldn't care whether you were some sea emperor or king — they'd just come up and try to take your place.
But when Keek heard this, he hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.
"I'm used to living here. Besides…"
"I heard that Roger's crew's Silvers Rayleigh is on that island, right?"
"Uh…"
The corner of Orin's mouth twitched — he hadn't expected the old man to still hold such a grudge against the Roger Pirates.
"Well… take care of yourself."
Orin shrugged helplessly, and his mind began to run through Devil Fruits with strong survival abilities.
Barrier-Barrier Fruit?
Mythical Zoan?
He considered them, though he wasn't overly worried — the Worst Generation was still some time off, and with the security forces he'd planted on Duramos, as long as an admiral didn't assault the island, there wouldn't be much to worry about.
The banquet went off very smoothly, without a single ripple.
Those who had been on edge — convinced that killing a Celestial Dragon would surely invite huge trouble but too afraid to leave Duramos for fear of seeming rude — were now visibly relieved.
They broke up in small groups. Doflamingo wanted to invite Crocodile to take a look at Dressrosa, but was immediately refused with the reason,
"I don't team up with anyone."
Doflamingo, always a bit of a jerk, laughed at Crocodile's refusal, but his smile vanished quickly.
Because after refusing him, Crocodile turned and invited Hawke Eyes.
"Come see the military power I'm planning and preparing, Mihawk."
"But—"
"My subordinate Daz Bonez has been wanting to ask you about swordsmanship."
"…Fine."
Hearing a swordsman would be there, Mihawk reluctantly agreed.
Of course, he didn't expect Crocodile's men to be master swordsmen — even seeing a different school of swordplay would be entertainment enough.
...
East Blue — Goa Kingdom —
Foosha Village.
Strictly speaking, Shanks' Red-Haired Pirates should already have set off and be heading toward the New World, trying to make a name for themselves and chase Yonko status.
But because of Shanks' insistence, the departure had been repeatedly delayed. Luckily Orin had finally returned.
"Great, I thought you—"
"What?"
"Never mind."
When Shanks got the small box containing the Rubber Fruit, he finally exhaled in relief.
"But that's normal. If an ordinary person ate it, at most they'd use it as a Paramecia rubber-type fruit."
"Is that so~"
Orin crossed his legs at the bar and watched idly as Shanks placed the box in a very conspicuous spot on a table.
If the awakening of the Nika Fruit proved difficult, they could always, at worst, give Luffy a syringe of green blood.
"So that's how you schemed the kid?"
Hearing that, Shanks waved a helpless hand.
"Don't say it like that, Orin. It's the fruit's own choice. If it was eaten, you can only say fate arranged it."
Orin curled his lip, not wanting to argue.
Fatalism was disgusting.
As expected, it wasn't long before Luffy came running over. The moment he saw Orin, his eyes lit up.
"Orin!!!"
"Can you teach me how to walk on the sea? It's so cool!!!
But whenever I try, my legs sink into the water."
Lately Luffy had been sprinting along the shore nonstop, trying to get himself to run over the surface.
In theory it could work, but at his age his physique wasn't ready for Geppo-level technique yet, so he kept coming home soaking wet.
"Hahaha… we'll talk about it when you grow up, kiddo."
Orin grinned and gave Luffy a light bonk to the head with Armament Haki — Luffy yelped and howled.
While a few of them joked and laughed, several swaggering figures approached from the street outside.
Orin had noticed them in advance and a faint smile crossed his face.
He wasn't particularly interested in getting involved, but it promised to be a memorable scene. Quietly, he took out a small video den-den mushi and tucked it into his collar, resting his chin on his hand as he glanced toward the tavern entrance.
Shanks was drinking and eating fried rice when the door behind him was kicked off its hinges and fell to the floor.
"Sorry to disturb you."
A tall, scruffy man swaggered in with a pack of lackeys, ignoring the assembled pirates. He slapped the bar with one hand.
"We're mountain bandits, but we're not here to cause trouble."
"Sell us some booze — twenty barrels will do."
Makino looked troubled.
"The shop's already out of liquor, sorry."
Hearing this, the man looked at the glass in front of Orin and the bottles in the hands of the pirates. His face darkened.
"That's strange. You mean these pirates are drinking water?"
Shanks smiled and explained,
"Sorry, we've finished all the booze." Then he picked up a bottle beside Orin and handed it to the man.
"If you don't mind, take this one — it's unopened."
Orin's grin widened — he'd caught sight of something interesting on his advanced feed.
Higuma swung a punch —
Smack—
The bottle shattered, splashing wine all over Shanks, but when the liquor neared Orin it vanished without a trace.
"I'm a wanted man with a bounty of eight million Belly. One bottle isn't even enough for my bedtime drink — don't look down on me."
While Shanks was tidying up on the floor, Higuma finally noticed Orin behind him. The guy had been smiling, obviously amused.
He wanted to get angry, but looking at Orin's three-meter-tall frame and his strong, well-proportioned physique, he hesitated and eventually gave up.
Swallowing, he spat one last vicious line toward Orin.
"Don't act so arrogant here. Guys like you — I've already killed fifty-six of them!!!"