March 10, 1502, Age of the Sea Circle
"Ahhhh, watch out, it's falling on us!" shouted one of the Nakamura family soldiers as he saw Lily Enstomach's gigantic leg descending at full speed.
In the middle of the battlefield, the giantess from Elbaf was fighting joyfully, demolishing buildings around her as if they were toys and mercilessly crushing her enemies. There was no denying that the giants were truly a race capable of tipping the world's balance of power, for their massive bodies made them nearly weapons of mass destruction to the tiny humans.
Just a single giant like Lily was capable of destroying half an enemy army, so it was easy to imagine what a full force of Elbaf warriors could achieve. The only defense against such threats were humans with supernatural strength—but in this battlefield, there were not many of those.
"Aim for the head! Fire!" commanded one of the soldiers, directing his subordinates to fire the defensive cannons mounted on one of the inner walls of the fortress in an attempt to stop the giantess's rampage.
However, before the cannons could strike Lily, she vanished without a trace, as if she had never been there.
Of course, she hadn't truly disappeared—she had simply used the powers of her Devil Fruit, the Mini Mini no Mi, to shrink down to a minuscule size that allowed her to move unnoticed among the enemy soldiers.
This ability was perfect for a giant like her, as it eliminated one of the few disadvantages of her enormous body: the large surface area that enemies could target.
Moreover, even in her tiny state, she retained her original giant strength, which meant there was absolutely no drawback!
Lily dashed through the battlefield, attacking the legs of enemy soldiers who couldn't even see her because of her small size, knocking them out of the fight. Once she had moved far enough away from the cannons that had targeted her earlier, she returned to her natural size and continued her assault with a cheerful smile.
Although she wasn't as battle-hardened as the ancient warriors of Elbaf, she undeniably enjoyed taking part in these kinds of fights.
Two of the high-ranking members of the Nakamura family immediately realized they couldn't allow Lily to keep acting freely if they wanted any chance of victory. For that reason, they rushed toward her, intending to take her down.
However, two figures suddenly appeared, intercepting their path.
"Yukimura, I'll take care of these old men. You go back and deal with the cannon fodder," said Hototogisu, who had stayed close to Lily in case someone attacked her—as was now happening.
Curiously, aside from the little Kalifa, with whom Hototogisu argued almost daily, the person she got along best with was Lily Enstomach. That was thanks to the young giantess's cheerful, carefree personality, which contrasted starkly with her own.
"Forget it! This is my chance to shine! It's for moments like this that I've been training so hard!" said the passionate swordsman, one of the first subordinates Orion had ever recruited.
Although he didn't possess the monstrous talent that most of Orion's top subordinates had, he was by no means weak. Thanks to his relentless dedication to improvement, he had reached a level of power similar to that of his original self in the One Piece story—though nearly twenty years earlier.
It was obvious that joining Orion's forces had been a positive turning point for him and for his future development. Even if he didn't have the potential to reach the level of an admiral, he could probably attain that of a mid- or even high-ranking vice admiral.
Hototogisu ignored the swordsman's words and launched herself at the two men, attacking them immediately with her spear. Her technique was nearly flawless, and in just an instant, both enemies had to halt their advance to avoid being fatally wounded.
Yukimura, unwilling to miss his chance to prove himself, stepped forward. Focusing his entire mind on his blade, he performed a simple attack—a clean downward slash, free of embellishment. He still couldn't coat his sword with Armament Haki, so his attacks lacked that extra power, but he compensated for it with impeccable technique.
Moreover, one thing that set him apart from other swordsmen was his preference for simplicity. His techniques were as straightforward and efficient as possible, and he trained each basic movement until he fainted, turning techniques even a beginner could use into the strongest versions imaginable.
The Nakamura family member saw the sword falling toward him and smirked at the simplicity of the attack. However, when he raised his own blade to block Yukimura's strike, he was horrified to find he couldn't stop it.
Yukimura's sword came down swiftly and cleanly, slicing through his opponent's weapon, then his arm, and finally his torso, splitting him in two and marking the tragic end of that man.
Meanwhile, Hototogisu began launching thrusts with her spear at incredible speed, leaving her enemy unable to defend himself, even though he was using Armament Haki in a rather rudimentary manner to try to prevent fatal attacks.
After only a few brief moments, the man collapsed lifeless to the ground, his body completely covered in wounds from the relentless strikes of the expressionless girl, who showed no trace of mercy as she eliminated her opponent.
Suddenly, Lily descended from the skies, landing on Hototogisu's shoulder. With a wide grin, she said,
"Hototogisu, let's go to the central building! I want to loot their warehouses and take all the food there!"
Hototogisu nodded slightly and began sprinting toward the central building, just as her friend wanted, cutting down any enemy that dared cross her path.
"How naïve—they must not realize that our king has surely already looted all the riches in this fortress!" Yukimura said to himself, thinking proudly of the decisive actions of his admired king. Then he ran back to the unit he was leading, continuing to suppress the enemy forces in a steady and methodical manner.
Meanwhile, on the only land route to escape from the massive fortress, the pirates under Olive's command were fighting fiercely, driven by the desire to avenge the injustices their captain had endured when she was captured by the enemy.
Garride and Reira were fighting side by side, as after years of cooperation, they complemented each other quite well in battle. The young man with the rose in his mouth leapt into the air and, with his peculiar weapon, cut down several surrounding enemies, while Reira used her new whip technique to cover Garride's flanks.
"I have to admit, we work pretty well together, Garride," Reira suddenly said, flashing a smile that made the young pirate with the rose in his mouth tremble in fear, already knowing she must be scheming something that could not possibly end well for him.
And just as he suspected, her next words nearly made him faint from fright!
"What do you think about telling Orion that you're secretly in love with me, and that you tried to kiss me? He'll surely get furious and punish me like never before! Just thinking about it makes my heart race!"
Garride stepped back in panic, nearly taking a blow from an enemy due to his distraction, but a flick of Reira's whip took the attacker down before he could land a hit.
"No! Reira, I thought we were friends—do you want Orion to kill me?" Garride shouted, trembling at the very thought of his childhood friend's outrageous idea.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic! I'm not actually going to let you touch me; it's just a lie to set the stage! It's so obvious you're a single dog—you know nothing about love!" Reira huffed indignantly, thinking Garride was making too much of a fuss.
Although she was a shameless masochist who enjoyed devising all kinds of interesting roleplay scenarios, she would never truly betray Orion's trust, and both of them knew it well. Therefore, if she were to tell Orion about the scenario in which Garride supposedly tried to kiss her, she knew her beloved would immediately understand that it was just one of her usual games, and he would simply play along.
However, from Garride's point of view, the situation was utterly insane. Even if Reira threatened to kill him, he would never dare utter such words! Whether true or not, he wouldn't even pretend to have romantic interest in Reira. What if, by some terrible coincidence, Orion happened to be in a bad mood that day and decided to kill him on the spot?
There were certain lines one simply could not cross, and he knew that very well. Participating in Reira's stupid scenario was completely out of the question.
Seeing how terrified he looked, Reira tried tempting him with a few extra "benefits."
"Hmm… I can't let you watch, but what if I let you listen behind the door while Orion and I have sex? Maybe you could cry a little for losing your beloved?" Reira said with sparkling eyes, unaware that she was beginning to develop an entirely new fetish.
Fortunately, Garride—now utterly horrified—put an end to her strange ideas at once, exclaiming,
"Reira, I'm not joking! If you keep talking about that weird stuff, I'll drop dead right here in front of you!"
Reira snapped out of her odd thoughts, and with a swift motion of her arm, used her whip to take down two more enemies.
"Alright, alright, no need to be such a little bitch about it," Reira muttered disdainfully, finally giving up on her idea.
After all, Garride was a good friend, and seeing him so serious… he really did look as if he might end his own life right there if she kept pushing.
Orion would never know, but that day, Reira had almost awakened a new fetish within him. Many years later, however, someone would make a proposal eerily similar to the one Reira had come up with—but that time, it wouldn't be a fictional scenario!
Swish
Ginrummy, now in her hybrid form and looking like a werewolf, was charging across the battlefield, brutally cutting down her enemies without a shred of remorse. She too was furious at the people who had kidnapped her beloved captain, and she had no intention of forgiving them.
Meanwhile, Olive soared into the sky using her white Pegasus wings, then swiftly descended like a hawk.
"Silver Wind!" shouted the beautiful pirate, releasing from her wings a flurry of sharp silver-colored wind blades that cut down a great number of enemies.
"Woah! That's our captain!" cried the pirates of her crew, raising their hands cheerfully and acting almost like a crowd of fans.
"Heh, that's nothing! Watch this!" said Olive, who, encouraged by the cheers and compliments of her crew, felt a strong desire to show off and demonstrate her power.
"Pegasus Meteor!!" Olive shouted, as her fists began to move at blinding speed, creating afterimages.
A rain of blows fell upon the enemies, who couldn't defend themselves at all and were instantly defeated.
"Ohhhh!!! That's the strength of our captain, Olive!"
"Long live Captain Olive!"
"Long live!!"
"Captain Olive, show us another attack!"
The pirate crew reacted with even greater enthusiasm, begging their captain to unleash more of her powerful attacks and display her abilities in all their splendor. However, contrary to their expectations, Olive didn't perform another magnificent attack. Instead, she blushed slightly and said softly,
"...Those are all my attacks..."
The pirate crew—mostly composed of young women whom Olive had personally recruited—fell silent for a moment. Then, upon seeing their captain's embarrassed expression, they exploded into another deafening cheer.
"Ohhhhhh! Our captain is so adorable!"
"Kyyyaa! Captain, I love you!"
Olive's female crewmates began shouting passionately, completely overwhelmed by their captain's blushing expression. It was as if they had been injected with stimulants, and they suddenly launched fierce attacks against the surrounding enemies with renewed energy.
On the other hand, the male members of the crew kept solemn expressions and didn't flinch at all at their sexy captain's display. After all, they knew full well how powerful Orion was and didn't dare show even the slightest hint of emotion on their faces, fearing it could lead to a fatal end.
However, Orion was watching the scene at that very moment, and even if the male crewmates had shown signs of infatuation, he wouldn't have cared in the least. He knew that a woman as sexy as Olive would draw that kind of attention no matter where she went.
He wasn't so insecure as to feel threatened by such low-level pirates, and more than anything, he trusted that his wife would never betray his faith in her. After all, the 100-point favorability—the maximum possible—shown by the system was not merely decoration; it represented the true strength of his beloved pirate wife's feelings.
From atop the tower where he was observing the battle, Orion shook his head as he watched his subordinates' actions.
"It seems they're enjoying themselves a little too much," Orion said with mild exasperation, recalling the unserious attitudes of many of his core subordinates.
Even so, he wasn't disappointed, for he knew that these Named Characters had such distinct personalities that acting "normal" was nearly impossible for them. One could even say that their eccentricity was proportional to their strength, so it wasn't unusual for so many bizarre little situations to unfold simultaneously across the battlefield.
If there was one positive thing about it, it was that the situation was completely under control—allowing them the freedom to behave that way.
"Well then, it's time to bring this battle to an end," Orion said as he stood up. Using Geppo, he descended toward the center of the battlefield, where Christina Kelly was facing Rear Admiral Nakamura.
…
"So it's you who's behind all this, you damn bitch!" Nakamura shouted furiously, looking around at the destruction surrounding him.
"What, is this all because of what happened with my nephew Yarisugi? I was just giving you an opportunity! If you had obediently spread your legs, you could have easily climbed the ranks—and maybe someday, you could've been the most important woman in the South Blue and in the Nakamura family!" the enraged Rear admiral continued.
Christina, who had despised this corrupt marine for years, now found him utterly pathetic. For a moment, her mindset shifted slightly—she realized that even though she had abandoned the vast organization of the Marines to join the small Pacific Kingdom, her worldview had expanded immensely, allowing her to see things from a far broader perspective.
"Silence," Christina said sharply, irritated by Nakamura's endless babbling.
"You damn bitch! You think you can silence me?! I am Nakamura! The South Blue is under my power! I am the law here!" Nakamura roared, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
However, just as he was preparing to spew another string of nonsense, he felt a heavy impact on his back and fell to his knees. Looking up, he saw the figure of the newcomer who had used his back as a landing pad.
"You…" Nakamura stammered, immediately recognizing Orion, though he couldn't continue his words as Orion interrupted him.
"You keep talking about the South Blue and your supposed power, yet here you are—on your knees before us," Orion said with a mocking smile.
"As for the South Blue… to us, it's merely our starting point. Our ambitions exist on an entirely different level," Orion added, then stopped paying Nakamura any further attention.
Walking toward Christina, Orion took the hand of his serious wife and gently kissed her. Then, in a soft voice that Nakamura could still hear, he said,
"It's up to you what happens to Nakamura. I'll accept whatever decision you make."
Christina looked into Orion's eyes lovingly and nodded slightly, feeling a deep sense of joy. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, fixing her classic, composed expression on the corrupt Rear admiral.
"Heh! Damn bastard, you think you can get rid of me that easily? Your abilities may be strange, but it won't be that simple to defeat me!" Nakamura shouted, suddenly standing up and charging toward Orion with a punch covered in Armament Haki.
However, Orion didn't even move—he just looked at him as if he were an idiot. Christina, standing between the two men, made a swift movement using Soru and stopped Nakamura's attack with the palm of her hand, which was also coated in Armament Haki.
"Don't get confused, Nakamura. I'm not the one you should be worried about. Don't underestimate my wife—she's not as weak as you seem to believe."
Christina, maintaining her serious, emotionless gaze, stepped forward and threw a punch, forcing Nakamura to react instantly to avoid a severe injury. Despite having used Haki to protect himself, he could feel her strike pierce through his defenses, damaging his muscles.
"H-How… how is that possible…?" Nakamura muttered, stunned by Christina's strength.
In truth, it wasn't all that surprising, for her talent had always been extraordinary. If not for the suppression from Nakamura and other high-ranking officers, she would have risen through the ranks rapidly, making the South Blue far too small for her in no time.
After all, Christina's talent had even caught the attention of Bogard, Garp's right-hand man, who had wanted to recruit her as an elite Marine. According to the system's evaluation, Christina Kelly possessed enough potential to reach an admiral-level of power in the future, placing her in an entirely different world from someone like Nakamura—a small frog trapped in the well of the South Blue.
Four years had passed since Christina left the Marines, and during that time she hadn't been idle. Under Orion's guidance, and training alongside powerful companions in the Pacific Kingdom, she had advanced by leaps and bounds—she was no longer the same woman she once was.
The last time they had met, Nakamura had been able to defeat Christina without much effort. But the current situation was completely different, and the Rear admiral was about to learn that in the harshest way possible.
Though Christina's preferred weapon was the curved saber, she decided it wasn't necessary to use it against Nakamura. Using Soru, she appeared in front of the astonished rear admiral, unleashing two punches and a kick in quick succession.
Nakamura managed to block the punches, but Christina's kick struck him squarely in the stomach. He felt his organs shift inside his body, and a wave of excruciating pain paralyzed him.
After years of living comfortably at the top of the food chain, he hadn't fought a serious battle in a long time, leaving him completely out of shape. Even the sheer sensation of pain sent him into a panic, his body refusing to respond the way he wanted.
What followed was a one-sided beating from Christina. Even without using her sword, she unleashed a storm of attacks, landing nearly eighty percent of her blows despite Nakamura's desperate attempts to defend himself. Within minutes, the rear admiral's face was completely disfigured, and his body could barely stay upright.
Finally, seeing that it was time to end it, Christina drew her curved saber and struck the hilt against Nakamura's solar plexus, forcing him to his knees before her, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.
"You know, for many years I resented you for what you put me through," Christina said slowly, "but now I understand—it wasn't really your fault."
Nakamura lifted his tear-filled eyes toward her, a faint glimmer of hope appearing in them.
"If it hadn't been you who harassed me, it would have been someone else, because it's the system itself that's corrupt. That's why I no longer feel hatred toward you—I understand now that you're simply a product of the world we live in."
Christina paused briefly, her gaze flickering toward Orion for a moment before focusing again on the kneeling Rear admiral.
"After all, even though I left the Marines, I don't hold any grudge against the organization itself. In the end, there are many people there who truly want to do what's best for the world. I'd even say that good people make up the majority within the Marines," Christina continued, though her words seemed directed more toward Orion than Nakamura.
She knew that her beloved husband held a deeply negative opinion of the Marines, and it was precisely for that reason that she wanted to share her conflicted feelings about the organization she had once been part of.
"In this world where pirates, slavers, and criminals of all kinds are free to ruin people's lives at any moment, the existence of the Marines to keep them in check is absolutely necessary.
And it's precisely because of that that, while I bear no personal grudge against you for what you did to me, I can never forgive the fact that your corruption weakened the Marines' ability to help people."
Christina, now showing a slightly angry expression, unsheathed her curved saber as she continued speaking.
"Even though I fully understand that you're merely the inevitable product of the world we live in, that doesn't mean I can forgive you. It's true that in any organization made up of people there will be corruption—but that doesn't mean I have to accept it!"
The words of Christina Kelly, the former Marine, rang out powerfully, even drowning out the sounds of the fierce battle raging in the background. Raising her curved saber high above her head, the sunlight glinted off the blade, creating a blinding reflection that momentarily dazzled Nakamura's eyes.
"For that reason, Rear Admiral Nakamura Yoichi, I sentence you to death for your vile actions against humanity!"
Swish!
The saber came down at full speed, without the slightest hesitation, and the Rear admiral's head flew through the air, bringing an end to a life of corruption and malice. The last thing his eyes saw before fading into darkness was his territory consumed by the flames of destruction—and the imposing figure of Christina Kelly, shining brilliantly under the sunlight.