"YOU!!!"
Ace's face lit up with surprise.
"You know Orin-san too?!!!"
"Eh???"
Hearing that, Yamato was left dumbfounded.
"Wait... you too?"
...
"So that's how it is. You met Orin-san when you were little too?"
Sitting on the edge of a cliff, Ace gazed out at the sea. He watched as crew members rescued people one by one, while he and Kaido's daughter sat drinking together.
Gulp, gulp... haa...
Yamato's face was full of smiles. After taking a swig of sake, she nodded and said,
"After I parted ways with Orin-sama, Kaido—who had been gravely wounded by him—chained up my hands as soon as his injuries healed.
Back then, I didn't understand why he would put such heavy shackles on me."
"Do you know what he said?"
Ace shook his head, but his eyes gleamed with curiosity.
What's this?
From the sound of it... Kaido was defeated by Orin-san back then?!
He knew Orin-san held incredible weight on the seas—his power was absurd—but this was the first time he'd ever heard someone say...
That even the Yonko, Beast Kaido, had been seriously injured by him!!!
Yamato didn't notice Ace's expression. She simply faced the ocean and mimicked Kaido's voice:
"He said... 'Who told you to keep thinking about pointless things? You actually want to imitate that bastard Orin? From now on, you're staying on Onigashima forever!!!'"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Ace burst out laughing, even though that memory was a painful one for Yamato.
Seeing her glare, he quickly waved his hand.
"Sorry, sorry!"
"You don't sound sorry at all!!!"
Yamato playfully punched him, but Ace caught her fist with ease. The two laughed and scuffled.
...
Before they knew it, the two of them had grown quite close.
"Hey, Ace, tell me about the sea—anything will do."
Yamato's eyes shone with longing as she looked at the sunset.
Ace smiled—he was more than happy to share with a friend.
"Sure thing. But it's gonna be a long story, so be ready."
They drank and talked deep into the night, their spirits high.
"...And then, Orin-san used to smack Luffy on the head all the time. Back then, none of us knew why it hurt so much, since Luffy's head was made of rubber. It wasn't until later that we realized—Orin-san was secretly using Armament Haki!!!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Yamato burst into laughter, face flushed from the sake, completely engrossed—especially in anything related to Orin.
"As expected! Always acting on his own terms—so cool!!!"
Ace chuckled in agreement.
"Yeah... I heard he was already like that since his days as an intern."
Yamato, fascinated by tales of the outside world, asked again,
"So what's the situation out there now? Any promising newcomers?"
Ace thought for a moment.
"There are plenty of big names stirring up trouble across the seas."
"Really?!!!"
Yamato's eyes lit up with excitement, her cheeks glowing.
"In the South Blue there's Kid, in the North Blue there's Law, in the West Blue there's Bege—and of course, my little brother who'll set sail in a few years! He's definitely going to be the strongest!!!"
"How many times is your little brother gonna show up in your stories?"
Yamato laughed. But what she really wanted to hear were stories about Orin. So she asked Ace directly.
That, however, made Ace a little awkward.
"Orin-san, huh..."
He scratched his head.
"Well... it's been years since the name Black Gun disappeared from the seas. But the entire ocean still remembers it. Even now, the Yonko, the Marines under the World Government, and the SShichibukai—they all still act under his influence in some way."
Hearing that, Yamato looked disappointed.
"How could that be..."
She had thought that after all these years, Orin would've caused some world-shaking events. After all, he was that cool.
But instead, he'd vanished for many years...
That night, they drank a lot.
Ace eventually fell into a deep sleep, and when he woke up, still half-dazed, he mentioned his little brother's dream.
Unexpectedly—it was exactly the same as the dream Orin once told him, the same dream once held by his most respected captain, Gol D. Roger.
At that moment, Yamato finally understood the answer to a question she had asked when she was a child—when she sat on Orin's lap as he told her stories, both of them gazing at the sea just like now.
"Hey... Orin-sama, since you're the strongest on Roger's ship, why didn't you become the next Pirate King?"
Back then, Orin had answered with a complicated expression. But in the end, he smiled.
"Dreams are different for everyone. Only those who share the same dream can inherit another's will. As for me... what I seek is my own true happiness and freedom!!!"
He also said back then—
Though Roger's dream might seem childish, maybe even impossible to truly achieve...
Anyone who dares to chase that ultimate ideal will always earn Orin's respect.
"Then..."
Yamato fidgeted with her fingers, a little embarrassed.
"In the future, you, me, and your little brother—we'll go to sea together!!!"
Yamato too wanted to become someone worthy of Orin's recognition.
...
"Well then... goodbye for now! I'll keep your Vivre Card safe!!!"
Yamato ran down the hillside, waving her arm.
"We'll meet again, Ace!!!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Ace laughed heartily, tipping his hat.
"Hahahahahaha! Of course we will!!!"
...
"Seriously... there are traces of Orin-san everywhere I go..."
Remembering all that, Ace couldn't help but think of Otama from Wano—a little purple-haired girl who worshipped Orin-sama like a god.
It was from her that he learned Orin had once saved her family from disaster.
"What? You said Orin?"
Hearing that name immediately caught the attention of everyone on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship. Their expressions turned strange.
Especially Teach—pretending not to care, but his ears were clearly perked up.
In the end, it was Marco who answered Ace's question.
"You didn't know, Ace? That was long ago... When Pops was younger, he once fought Black Gun in a battle that destroyed an entire massive island."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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