May 31, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
"You're not that pretty," Hototogisu said, in her classic deadpan voice.
"You don't know anything! I'm clearly very beautiful. The Medici family is famous for their beauty!" said little Kalifa, shaking her fists, denying Hototogisu's words with all her might.
"Are you adopted?" Hototogisu asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Arrrrgg! I'm going to fight you!" Kalifa said, running toward Hototogisu and starting to hit her with her small fists.
"You're weak too," said the girl, who didn't flinch at Kalifa's blows, which felt more like massages.
Yukimura, who was standing to the side watching the situation, felt that the people around Orion were quite strange, and only he was normal in the group of direct followers.
He shook his head and resumed his sword training, even though his hands were bleeding profusely.
In a corner of the room, Helsing was hugging a small crocodile-shaped stuffed animal, which Orion had given her a few days ago. The girl continued to display her usual shyness, not daring to say a single word in front of this group of strange people who made up the core of Orion's followers.
"By the way, where is my husband?" Hototogisu said, paying no attention to little Kalifa, still assaulting her with her soft pink fists that couldn't cause any damage.
Yukimura listened to the strange girl's words and didn't try to question the way she referred to Orion. After all, the person in question wasn't bothered by it, so he had nothing to say about it.
Although he still couldn't get used to her referring to Orion as her husband, he decided to ignore it and not think about it too much.
"Orion said he was going out for a while and would be back in a few days," Yukimura replied, still brandishing his sword.
"Hmph! Orion doesn't take me on his adventures anymore. He left me here to babysit you all," Kalifa said, indignant at having been left behind by Orion.
"You're the most immature one here, so you can't be the babysitter," Hototogisu said tersely from the sidelines, prompting another wave of ineffective attacks from Kalifa.
Ever since Hototogisu had joined Orion's recruits, she had maintained this oil-and-water relationship with Kalifa. Their personalities were at two extremes and clashed constantly. However, Hototogisu didn't consider it a conflict because Kalifa didn't show her any real hostility, as the people in the village where she lived previously had.
The small group of four individuals had been designated by Orion as the core of his followers, and although they didn't seem very imposing at the moment, these people had enormous potential.
They just needed to be given the necessary time to develop.
Anyone who saw them now would be surprised, but not in a good way. They would think they were simply a group of strange children, and would keep their distance for fear of being drawn into their strange interactions.
On the other hand, right now, Orion was heading off on his own to a nearby island. He had left his four strange followers, and the people he had rescued, waiting on the last island they had stopped at.
Due to the large number of people he was transporting, it was impossible for him to bring them into his Pocket Dimension, so he had no choice but to leave them outside, as he had done the previous times he had visited villages along the way.
However, this time, that wasn't the only reason Orion had left them outside of his Pocket Dimension; he had also done so to preserve their safety.
Since the place he was heading to could be quite dangerous. He didn't know if he could defend them if the situation got complicated.
After rescuing the people of the village where Hototogisu lived from the pirate attack, he had received the gratitude of the villagers and tried to recruit some of them, as he had done throughout his journey.
However, no one in the village was willing to follow him, except for Hototogisu.
Orion didn't know it, but his strange interaction with the girl, coupled with the brutality he had displayed during his fight with the pirates, had caused the villagers to believe he was not entirely sound of mind. Therefore, they would never accept his proposal to follow him on an uncertain path.
For them, it was better to stay in the dangerous lands they knew than to venture into the unknown with a madman!
However, the townspeople were grateful for his help and had given him plenty of supplies in repayment.
After recruiting Hototogisu, Orion continued his journey towards Pacific Town.
Two days later, two new notifications appeared on the system screen.
*Named Character Lucky Roux (11) is within the identification area*
*Named Character Vasco Shot (14) is within the identification area*
Seeing that new Named Characters had appeared, Orion decided he would interact with them on the way to Pacific Town, just as he had with Yukimura and Hototogisu. Perhaps he could even recruit them.
However, next to Vasco Shot's name in the system's character list was a red exclamation mark, and when Orion focused his thoughts on it, a system warning appeared on the screen, indicating that Vasco Shot was a dangerous person and that caution was advised when attempting contact.
This was the first time the system had issued such a warning, so Orion didn't dare ignore it.
Seeing the position of the markers on the map, these two people were likely on the same island. Orion had thought about visiting them both, but now that he had received this warning from the system, he had changed his mind and would no longer attempt to contact Vasco Shot.
He would try to observe him from a distance, without alerting him, just to get an idea of what kind of person could cause the system to issue a warning for the first time.
For the next few days, Orion traveled towards the location of these two Named Characters, along with the rest of the people he had saved.
Eventually, he arrived at the island where Kalifa and the others were now, instructed them to wait for him there, and sailed alone towards the island where Lucky Roux was, which was quite close.
Upon reaching the island in question, Orion slowed his speed slightly so he could examine the situation there. This time, he hadn't sailed to a coastal village, since Lucky Roux's location wasn't close to the coast, but rather inland. So he decided to go straight ahead, taking the shortest route to reach him.
He sailed to an uninhabited beach, stored his ship in his inventory, and continued towards the Named Character.
The landscape on this island was somewhat desolate. There wasn't much vegetation, the ground was dry and cracked from the lack of water, and there weren't many animals to be seen in the vicinity.
Clearly, this wasn't a very favorable place to establish a human settlement, and Orion wondered how Lucky Roux would live, since he wasn't far from here.
Finally, after several hours, Orion arrived at the location indicated by the marker on the system map.
It was near a mountain range, and the place was just as barren and arid as the landscape he had passed through on the way.
Perhaps one particularly noticeable detail in this place was the constant presence of strong gusts of wind, which were quite bothersome for Orion, who was unused to such climatic conditions.
In the distance, Orion saw a gigantic crater, surrounded by a cloud of dust that didn't dissipate even with the strong gusts of wind.
He moved closer to observe the situation more clearly, taking in the complete panorama.
Next to the large crater, there were a large number of precariously built huts, so small that they could probably only fit one person each.
The smell that filled the place was nauseating, and it was clear that the sanitary conditions in this place were not very good.
In the large crater, there was a tunnel that extended deep into the ground. Countless people dressed in rags entered and exited this tunnel, transporting minerals, which they then deposited in a large container on one side.
All of this was happening under the watchful eyes of the guards, who were neatly dressed and armed with whips to 'incentivize' the workers.
Orion observed the entire scene around him and sighed, thinking that he hadn't expected to find the Named Character Lucky Roux in a place like this.
Clearly, he had come across a mine, where people who were likely slaves were working tirelessly under the watchful eyes of their captors.
He saw that the marker indicated that Lucky Roux was inside the mine, and decided simply to wait for him to come out so he could talk to him.
If he was a slave in this place, it would be easy to recruit him if he offered him an escape route—at least, that's what he thought.
Orion simply sat in a hidden spot and observed everything that was happening around him in minute detail, while the hours passed and the sun began to descend. Finally, as night fell, Lucky Roux emerged from the tunnel and headed toward his hut to rest.
Orion didn't immediately approach him, merely observing his actions.
Lucky Roux received some bread and water from one of the guards and retreated to his hut without a word.
Upon arriving, he simply ate the bread like an automaton, drank the water, and lay down on the arid ground to rest.
Orion, who had been watching him from his Pocket Dimension, opened a door, reached out, and took him by the arm, pulling him inside and shutting the door behind them.
Lucky Roux wasn't surprised at having been suddenly brought into the Pocket Dimension and remained calm throughout.
Orion looked closely at this Named Character.
He was a scrawny, almost rickety child, and it was clear that he suffered from malnutrition. His eye sockets were sunken, and his cheekbones were prominent and bony. He had short hair, dark skin badly weathered by years of forced labor in the mine, and he kept his eyes closed all the time, sporting a serious, somewhat desolate expression.
"You finally decided to show up. How can I help you?" Lucky Roux said, his tone unchanged.
Although he was expressionless like Hototogisu, the aura the two children of the same age had was completely different. In the girl's case, her expressionlessness was natural and didn't feel "cold" or isolating, but rather like awkwardness or a lack of social experience.
In Lucky Roux's case, however, the expressionlessness took on a completely different form, seemingly laced with tiredness and resignation.
"You knew I was here?" Orion asked curiously, grasping the implied meaning of his words.
Lucky Roux nodded.
"I sensed you were nearby a few hours ago, and when I left the mines, I could feel you watching me," he replied emotionlessly, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated to him.
This time, Orion was quite surprised. Lucky Roux had discovered him a few hours earlier, which meant he had noticed his presence even while working in the underground mines!
"How did you notice me?" Orion continued, having an idea of what had happened, but finding it hard to accept.
"I could simply sense that you were there. You're new to this place, so I was able to notice you right away."
Hearing the boy's words confirmed Orion's suspicions and couldn't help but feel a sense of amazement.
This Named Character, whom he had encountered on his way home, was undoubtedly a genius in the use of Observation Haki!
The fact that he was able to perceive his arrival even deep within the mines was a testament to his monstrous skill.
Orion wondered what the extent of his Observation Haki was, how massive his ability to "observe" the surroundings was?
"Aren't you afraid of revealing such information to me? I don't believe it's common knowledge that you can perceive your surroundings so well?"
Lucky Roux shook his head slightly and said,
"I can sense that you have no ill intentions toward me, so I'm not worried that you'll do anything to harm me."
Orion's heart leapt, and he marveled once again at the sheer talent of the boy before him. His use of Observation Haki was highly advanced, and it was no exaggeration to say that he was a prodigy on par with Rob Lucci, albeit in the field of Haki, which, in his opinion, made him far more powerful.
Orion calmed his turbulent emotions and bluntly said,
"I'm planning to create my own kingdom, and I'm recruiting capable people. Do you want to join me?"
Lucky Roux showed no emotion and simply responded in his monotonous tone.
"Thank you for your offer, but I'm afraid I can't accept."
Before Orion could say anything, he continued speaking, as if already expecting the questions to come.
"Let me tell you my story. "
"I am the youngest of six brothers. My parents were slaves, and naturally, and naturally, my brothers and I were also born into slavery."
"During my early years, I lived in the capital with the rest of my family, serving the royalty of this kingdom. However, three years ago, this large mineral deposit was discovered, and the royal family sent a large number of slaves to work in its extraction."
"Two of my brothers and I were sent here to work as disposable labor. Unfortunately, my two brothers were not as physically strong as I was, and they couldn't endure the hard work."
"Now, I am the only one of the three brothers who came here who is still alive, although the years of working in the mines hadn't come without a cost for me either."
Lucky Roux paused his story and opened his eyes, which he had kept closed until then.
Orion could clearly see that his eyes were damaged, not only from working in inhumane conditions, but likely also from malnutrition.
"At first, the light was just a nuisance to my eyes, but over time the nuisance turned into pain, and later my vision almost vanished."
"Now I can barely see anything with my eyes, but at least my body has developed the ability to perceive things differently. It's a strange feeling, but once you get used to it, it can be quite wonderful. After all, it lets me perceive things I never could with my eyes alone."
Orion didn't interrupt the boy's words, who continued speaking without showing emotion.
"For example, I could sense you today, and I can also sense the rest of my family in the capital. And that's why I can't accept your invitation"
"If I were alone in the world, I would certainly accept your proposal. But I still have family in this world, and if I escape from this mine, my entire family will be executed."
When speaking of his family, Orion realized that for the first time since meeting him, the boy was showing emotions. Although his expression didn't change much, he could sense the shift in his emotions. After all, he too could use Observation Haki, albeit not as monstrously as Lucky Roux.
"I understand, then, if I save your family, you would accept my proposal?" Orion said solemnly.
Lucky Roux simply shook his head again, closing his eyes once more.
"It's not that simple. If my parents and I disappear, others will suffer the consequences. If not my parents, then it will be my uncles, or my grandparents, or other slaves. Perhaps it's because I've spent so much time perceiving all the people of this kingdom, but I don't want my actions to cause harm to other innocent people"
Lucky Roux's voice was laced with an almost palpable resignation.
"The only way I could accept your proposal would be if you could free all the oppressed people of this kingdom, but to do that, you would have to confront the royal family directly, and that would be impossible"
Orion stared at him, his eyes blazing.
"And what if I could do that? Would you accept my proposal then?" Orion said with complete seriousness.
Lucky Roux, who could sense Orion's emotions, knew he was being sincere, and for the first time that night, showed an expression other than resignation: surprise.
It took him a few seconds to regain his composure. Finally, he shook his head and said:
"If you could do that, of course I would accept your proposal. But I don't recommend you attempt such a thing. Your level of power cannot compare to the strength of an entire kingdom."
Orion smiled and patted his shoulder, laughing happily.
"Then that's a promise! Once I free the oppressed people of this kingdom, you will follow me as my subordinate in the future," Orion said, disregarding Lucky Roux's well-intentioned recommendation.
Then he added:
"By the way, I didn't ask your name. I'm Lysander Orion, nice to meet you!"
Lucky Roux shook the hand Orion had extended, replying:
"I don't have a name. After all, I'm just a slave, though my parents used to call me Sixth."
Orion was surprised to hear that he didn't have a name, since on the system screen his name was 'Lucky Roux.' But he didn't question the boy's words, as there was already a precedent for a person's name not matching the name given by the system. This was the case with little Ina, whose name in the system was Inazuma.
Orion knew this was because these people had changed their names, or in Lucky Roux's case, he didn't even have a name at the moment, and would only have one in the future. Sometime between now and the beginning of the original One Piece story.
Orion didn't worry too much about that detail and simply said:
"Then it's a promise. Just wait for the good news!"
He then opened the Pocket Dimension door again, allowing Lucky Roux to return to his small shack.
Orion exited the Pocket Dimension and used Soru to move away from the mine.
Now he had a new objective on this island. He would have to investigate the situation of this kingdom in detail and free the slaves of this nation, probably having to confront the royal family.
It was a somewhat complicated and cumbersome task, but Orion believed it was worth doing. Not only because he could help people and recruit them at the same time, but also because he could gain a new follower with extraordinary talent, who would undoubtedly be a great asset in the future.
In the small shack next to the mine, Lucky Roux lay awake, 'watching' Orion, who was advancing at an incredible speed and had already traveled quite far away.
He felt an emotion rise within him, but immediately suppressed it. It was better not to expect too much. He lay down on the hard ground and tried to fall asleep, although his attention was still drawn to the strange man speeding away from the mine.