"Still as reliable as ever..."
Click.
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Orin's face carried a smile.
He didn't know why, but whenever he heard Mihawk's promise, he naturally felt reassured—almost as if the moment Mihawk said it, then during the time Orin was away, the seas really wouldn't descend into chaos.
At the very least, the territories under Orin's control wouldn't see any problems.
That was the charm of the ever-reliable Vice King~
Next, Orin made a round of calls to Crocodile, Sammi, Enel, Doflamingo, Tesoro, and the various underworld bosses one by one.
Officially, the reason was that he would be taking a one-to-two-year vacation, and if anything came up, they should contact Mihawk.
Apart from Crocodile and a few others, he didn't tell anyone else the truth. After all, none of these people were particularly honest.
He had to give them the illusion that Orin was always secretly watching from the shadows.
Of course, he believed that even if he was absent for a short time, these people wouldn't dare rebel.
"Seagull King, you should go train out at sea for a while."
Looking at the Seagull King perched on his arm, Orin stroked its head and released it into the ocean.
With its ability to fly across the sea, control the wind, and wield both types of Haki, it was unlikely anything would go wrong.
Training would do it good anyway—only through battle could power grow faster.
Watching the Seagull King flap its wings and look back three times before flying off into the distant sea, Orin stood gazing for a moment, then his figure slowly faded away.
He appeared in Vegapunk's laboratory.
"I'm ready. Let's begin."
"The timing is about right—let's set it to one year before the God Valley Incident."
His body trembled with excitement, which made Vegapunk a bit uneasy. Sticking out his tongue, he adjusted the instruments while reminding him:
"You're really going to such a dangerous era? Fine... but you must be careful. If you die there, it's real death."
"And after this jump, the next time the machine can be used will be at least ten years later..."
Hearing his warning, Orin just smiled and nodded, clearly not taking it too seriously.
"Alright, alright... I got it."
In this world, if he truly wanted to escape, then even if he ran into Rocks in the past, Orin was confident he wouldn't die.
Vegapunk sighed helplessly and activated the device. At once, a stream of multicolored light enveloped Orin's body.
This feeling...
Orin's eyes flickered.
He had seen this before—where was it? Wano?
Yes—when he witnessed Momonosuke and the others being sent away by Lady Toki, this strange sensation was almost the same.
"The power of time is truly mysterious..."
Before the words finished, Orin's figure vanished.
...
"Hey!!! Quit dawdling! The ship's about to sail!!!"
"Coming, coming!!!"
Sea Circle Calendar Year 1483.
One year before the God Valley Incident.
At this time, Rocks was still the most powerful pirate on the seas.
That year, the Roger Pirates reached Sphinx Island, only to discover it was not the end of their voyage.
"The Log Pose is completely confused. I deduce... this is definitely not the final island!!!"
Standing on the mist-shrouded island, Roger's face was grim as he looked at the pointer on his wrist.
"Of course not. To reach the true final island, you need the Poneglyphs~"
"Who's there!!!"
"Enemies!!!"
The sudden voice stunned the Roger Pirates, and they quickly looked around in alarm.
Roger drew Ace from his waist, Haki instantly wrapping around the blade. With his trademark grin, he scanned his surroundings.
"I didn't sense any presence at all. It's like he just appeared."
"Long time no see, Roger..."
From the mist, a tall figure slowly emerged—draped in a black coat, dressed in a dark red suit. His eyes gleamed with a scarlet light.
Orin almost slipped out the word "Captain."
At this time, Orin stood taller than Roger. Roger himself was still young, with only a scruff of stubble on his face.
Looking closely, there were traces of Ace's features in him.
"Long time no see? I don't recall ever meeting you!!!"
Roger burst into laughter, instinctively sensing that this man was interesting.
How to put it...
He felt oddly familiar.
On the other hand, Orin showed little reaction to the Roger Pirates drawing their weapons. Instead, his eyes stung slightly.
It had been so long... everyone.
Compared to when Orin first boarded the ship, they were still youthful—not just Roger, but also Rayleigh, Gaban, and the others. The difference wasn't too great, though the three little ones from his memories were not here.
"Who are you?"
To Roger's question, Orin only smiled.
"Me? Just a pirate for fun..."
"A pirate, huh?"
Roger grinned too, his aura turning terrifying. Threads of black-and-red lightning crackled from his body.
"So that makes you an enemy!!!"
"Let me take the first shot!!!"
Gaban groaned beside him.
"Roger, fighting isn't a privilege only for the Captain, you know!"
But Roger was no longer listening. He was fixated on this mysterious powerhouse.
A wave of overwhelming Conqueror's Haki burst forth—the aura of the Pirate King in his prime, surging like the sea itself, pressing toward Orin.
It was enough to make one's blood boil!!!
"Such terrifying Conqueror's Haki..."
Orin's long hair whipped in the wind under the crushing aura, yet his face showed no fear.
"Starting with a fight, huh? Truly the pirate way..."
"But that suits me just fine!!!"
With a calm smile, Orin's eyes snapped open. Scarlet light erupted from within them, no weaker than Roger's dark Conqueror's Haki—deep as the abyss, oppressive as hell itself.
He slammed the aura back against Roger's, and instantly, the world shook with a heaven-splitting crash!!!
"You've got to be kidding!!!"
"That young man's Conqueror's Haki is clashing evenly with Roger's?!!!"
"No way... how could someone like him not be known on the seas..."
Cold sweat broke across the crew's faces. Rayleigh's eyes widened as he prepared to jump in at any moment.
But he also knew Roger hated others interfering when he met a strong opponent.
Roger himself was shocked by the force of that Haki—but more than that, he was thrilled.
"Truly incredible! Hey!!! How about joining us?!!!"
"That's something we can talk about... after you defeat me."
Then, to Roger's surprise, Orin slowly drew Ace from his waist, raising it against Roger.
But the next instant left him even more stunned, his mind buzzing—
"Divine Departure!!!"
"Divine Departure!!!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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