July 15, 1503, Age of the Sea Circle
Observing the vice admiral standing before him, displaying an aggressive yet casual stance with his finger gathering a large amount of energy, Orion frowned slightly but did not make any move.
At the moment, he was merely Suzanne's assistant, and as long as he did not reveal his true power, Kizaru would not be able to confirm otherwise. Orion wanted to avoid an open confrontation with the vice admiral, because if he were forced to fight seriously in order to survive, he would undoubtedly expose his real identity, turning himself into an immediate target for all the marines and Cipher Pol agents present.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Kizaru said mockingly, and before Orion could reply, he released the energy he had been storing at the tip of his index finger.
The beam of light shot forward at full speed, grazing Orion's face and exploding violently against a large rock behind him. Even so, Orion made no suspicious move; instead he displayed a terrified expression, his body beginning to tremble visibly.
The blood from the scratch inflicted by Kizaru's light attack ran down Orion's cheek, making his performance appear even more convincing. With his current acting level, he was entirely capable of presenting an almost perfectly fabricated scene.
Even so, Kizaru was not swayed by Orion's performance, since even if he truly were innocent and ended up dying at his hands, it would be a necessary sacrifice to uphold justice in this world. Despite Kizaru's laid-back and lazy appearance, he was quite dedicated to his work as a marine when it truly mattered, and he could be extremely ruthless when needed.
Mitsu, who was standing to the side watching the situation without any expression, frowned slightly and, looking at Kizaru, said:
"Dr. Vegapunk told me to bring this guy to him."
For the small girl who had been raised in Vegapunk's laboratories, the scientist's orders were absolute, and she had no interest whatsoever in the reasons behind the vice admiral's actions. As long as Kizaru stood in her way when carrying out the task assigned by Vegapunk, she would consider him an adversary.
"Silence, Gamma," Kizaru said, paying little attention to the small girl.
Then, without warning, he fired a new laser attack at Orion, and this time it was not a warning. The beam of light pierced through Orion's right shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground on his knees, clutching his arm as he pretended to be on the verge of fainting from pain.
Kizaru watched Orion's reaction, which was so well acted it appeared completely natural, and for the first time he doubted his earlier conclusions. He had decided that Orion was suspicious a couple of hours earlier due to his interaction with Vegapunk, but now he was beginning to question himself.
Even so, Kizaru had no intention of stopping, and with a wide smile he looked at Orion, who was kneeling on the ground howling in pain, while once again gathering the power of his laser on his index finger.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk? The next attack will be fatal~" the vice admiral said in a mocking tone.
Orion simply pretended not to hear him, remaining on the ground clutching his bleeding shoulder. Internally, however, he was insulting Kizaru vehemently while desperately trying to find a solution to his current predicament.
Suddenly, an idea came to him, and Orion remembered a reward he had received from the system after eliminating the pirate Vergo: the vice admiral insignia.
It was an official credential, and although it did not contain his real name, it had been manufactured with a Vivre Card, so its legitimacy could not be questioned. Even so, Orion had no idea how the system had produced such a credential or whether he could use this identity to escape Kizaru's assault.
Just as Orion was debating whether to risk everything on this method, a new voice echoed across the area, interrupting both his thoughts and Kizaru's.
"Uncle, don't finish him off. The old man wants to talk to him."
Kizaru turned his head and saw the newly arrived Sentomaru, who had noticed the commotion from afar and had come to see what was happening, only to find Kizaru besieging Orion in the middle of the field.
"Mmm, I'd like to make an exception, but I've got orders from the higher-ups to eliminate any danger to Vegapunk. It's a pain, but what can we do?~" the vice admiral said in his usual languid tone.
Then, wasting no time, he fired a laser attack at Orion, and this time he aimed straight at his heart!
The laser shot toward Orion at full speed, but before it could hit him, Orion vanished from the spot without leaving a trace, reappearing beside Kizaru and launching a Shigan coated with Armament Haki.
Kizaru's body dissolved into particles of light before the attack could land, leaving Orion briefly exposed to a counterattack.
"So you finally show your true colors~" Kizaru said, and waving his hands rapidly he unleashed several lasers in quick succession.
Orion used Soru once more, dodging the attacks with the help of his Prism Eyes and his Observation Haki. Now that he had finally decided to act, he had no choice but to take the confrontation with Kizaru seriously, because otherwise he could very well end up dead.
Even so, Orion had no intention of using all his abilities yet, since he still held a faint hope of escaping his current predicament and completing the Dyna Stones mission. If he used his cutlass Ace and his special spatial abilities, he would be immediately identified by Kizaru, as the Marines possessed information regarding part of his powers.
For that reason, Orion decided to use a slightly different combat style this time, even if that meant being unable to fight at his full potential.
Sliding his hands beneath his shirt, he pulled out two revolvers from his belt—although in reality he had taken them out from the system's inventory—then aimed at the vice admiral and began firing bullets coated with Armament Haki.
Although he still could not control the technique as well as Ginny, he was capable of achieving a 50% success rate when coating the bullets, making this type of attack quite dangerous for any enemy, even a Logia user like Kizaru.
Even so, the vice admiral's speed was truly extraordinary, and with several consecutive movements he dodged Orion's attacks while approaching him with a mocking smile, launching a kick coated with his light power.
Bang!
The kick struck directly against Orion's arm which, aside from the defense granted by his passive buffs, was also reinforced with Tekkai and Armament Haki, allowing him to avoid suffering major injuries from Kizaru's attack.
Even so, Orion was sent flying several steps backward, his arm going numb from the violent impact. The power behind Kizaru's kick was not normal, since the speed of his attack greatly amplified its force.
"You've got pretty good reflexes for a mere small-time criminal," Kizaru said with one hand in his pocket, pointing at him with his index finger as he generated another laser.
"Tell me, what organization do you work for? What's your objective in trying to approach Vegapunk? If you answer honestly, I can limit your suffering~" the vice admiral added, while launching more laser attacks at Orion.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Orion's forehead as he struggled to dodge the vice admiral's attacks, which came at full speed. A normal person would not have had any chance of resisting and would already be riddled with holes from Kizaru's attacks, and although Orion could defend himself with difficulty, he had not managed to fully dodge every laser.
Several bleeding wounds began appearing across his body, and it was obvious Orion would not be able to hold on much longer if things continued like this.
Suddenly, the left sleeve of his shirt began moving in a strange way, and a snake appeared, poking its head out through the fabric, looking curiously at the battlefield as if it had been awakened by the noise disturbing its nap.
This snake was none other than Orion's new beast companion, who had hatched from its egg only a few days earlier!
Orion saw that the lazy snake who did nothing but eat and sleep had finally woken up, and he immediately grabbed it in his hands, transforming its body into a small bow through the use of Armament Haki.
"Serpent Arsenal!"
Orion discreetly took arrows out of his inventory, and using the small snake as a bow he launched new long-distance attacks coated with Armament Haki.
Surprisingly, these arrows possessed even greater speed than the bullets he had fired moments earlier from his revolvers.
Kizaru saw Orion's new attack coming and raised his eyebrows in surprise, as he had not expected to witness a fighting style similar to the one used by the Kuja in this place—and with a male enemy, no less. Even so, he fired two lasers to destroy two of the arrows and dodged the rest with his remarkable speed.
"What is that strange creature? Is it really a snake?" Kizaru said, speaking to himself.
His confusion was quite reasonable, since Shesha's appearance—the new beast companion of Orion—was rather particular. This snake, which according to the system's description was the king of all serpents, had a jet-black body with red stripes that made it look quite striking.
Additionally, atop its head were small golden protrusions resembling a crown, giving it a slight resemblance to the classic form of the Chinese dragon from his past life.
Currently, Shesha measured only about 80 cm (31.5 inches) and was just two fingers thick, so its appearance was not very imposing. However, it was a newborn serpent, and it still had to undergo its maturation stage before reaching its final form.
In any case, its final size would not be massive, since it was a snake destined to be Orion's companion and fight alongside him, just like the snakes of the Kuja. At most, it would be slightly larger than a normal Kuja snake, but it would never reach a gigantic size.
Orion stopped injecting Armament Haki into Shesha's body and the snake relaxed, returning to its normal form and coiling itself around his neck like a black scarf, which looked quite stylish at first glance.
"Shesha, I know you're sleepy, but we've got a fight to finish!" Orion said, grabbing the snake again as he prepared to launch his new secret attack.
However, before he could do so, a new person arrived on the battlefield, and Orion's entire body tensed up instantly.
"I see you're having trouble here, rookie. Need a hand?" said Z, approaching slowly with an imposing aura.
This former Marine admiral, who now served as an elite instructor for young Marine prodigies, currently possessed a level of power comparable to Kizaru's, which meant that his arrival caused any possibility of Orion triumphing to vanish completely.
He had been watching the fight with interest from the residence assigned to his unit, using Observation Haki.
At first, he had not intended to intervene, since technically he had not come as a bodyguard but simply to escort his students. However, the moment he sensed that Orion was about to do something "strange," he decided to make his move to prevent any potential accident.
After all, he was still a Marine, and he could not simply ignore a conflict between a vice admiral like Kizaru and a strange enemy during an important mission for the World Government.
Seeing that Z had finally decided to intervene, Orion simply halted his movement as he reached for Shesha, letting the serpent continue sleeping comfortably on his shoulder. It was a shame he hadn't been able to test his new attack on someone of Kizaru's level, but he could no longer proceed now that he had two formidable enemies before him.
For that reason, Orion simply slipped his hand into his pocket and took out a Marine credential indicating his status as a vice admiral. The time had finally come to place his bet. If he succeeded, he could resolve his current dilemma, and if he failed, he would have no choice but to escape with everything he had.
From the beginning, Orion had never intended to fight Kizaru to the death, so it was only natural to end the battle now that he was at a complete disadvantage.
"You asked me which organization I belonged to. Here's your answer," Orion said, throwing his credential toward Kizaru, who caught it dismissively and read the information on it.
"Oh?"
The vice admiral displayed a truly surprised expression, and Z—who had also managed to glimpse the contents of the credential from where he stood—looked equally surprised and somewhat confused.
"So~ I'm supposed to believe you're a Marine, then?" Kizaru said, narrowing his eyes.
Orion shrugged, and using his spectacular acting skills once more, he said,
"It's not a matter of believing or not believing it. It's simply the truth."
Kizaru showed a thoughtful expression for a moment, then finally took out a Den Den Mushi while giving Orion a mocking look.
"Then if I call headquarters to confirm this information… I should get confirmation of your status, no?"
Orion clenched his teeth and decided to follow through with his bet to the very end. After all, he had no other choice right now!
"Of course," Orion said, appearing unconcerned by Kizaru's words, which were clearly a threat.
"All right, then let's see if you're telling the truth," Kizaru said as he directly called Sengoku.
Orion's presence near Vegapunk was definitely a serious issue, and the fact that he possessed a credential identifying him as a Marine vice admiral was even stranger. Kizaru suspected that Orion was part of a powerful organization opposed to the interests of the World Government and therefore of the Marines, so he was unwilling to take any risks.
Meanwhile, at the Marine power center, Marineford, Sengoku was eating rice crackers while carefully reviewing several reports.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi before him rang, and he answered the call without stopping his reading. It was unusual for Borsalino to call so abruptly, so surely there was some development related to the Dyna Stones mission.
Even so, Sengoku did not believe there would be problems with the mission—or at least not with Vegapunk's safety—since the presence of Borsalino and Zephyr at the site was enough to deal with most threats they might encounter.
"Borsalino, what's going on?" Sengoku said, taking a bite of his rice cracker.
"Sir Sengoku, I've encountered a small inconvenience during my mission on Jewel Island, and I wanted to make an inquiry about it," Borsalino began.
"An inconvenience? You? What happened?" Sengoku said, frowning.
"It's nothing serious~ I simply have someone here who claims to be a Marine vice admiral, but I've never even heard of him."
The number of Marines in this world was truly massive, but as one ascended through the ranks, those numbers became smaller and smaller. At the rank of vice admiral, there were not that many people, so it was almost impossible for someone to hold that rank without Kizaru ever having seen or even heard rumors about them.
The only situations where such a thing could occur were if Orion was an agent with a concealed rank, like the members of Spear, or if he had been recruited through some special process and granted his current rank directly—and in either of those cases, Sengoku would absolutely have to be aware of it.
"A vice admiral you don't know? What's his name?" Sengoku said, recalling a report he had received just two weeks earlier, containing special orders sent from above.
"His name?" Kizaru realized he hadn't bothered to read the information on Orion's credential carefully, and focusing his gaze on the identification, his expression grew strange. He couldn't help but lift his head and stare at Orion with uncertainty.
Orion saw the vice admiral's expression and immediately understood what he was thinking, since the name the system had chosen for his credential… was truly outrageous.
"His name is… Gaylord Focker," Kizaru said, his tone sounding somewhat off.
Sengoku picked up the report he had received not long ago, the one announcing the designation of a new vice admiral through a special appointment. The name of the person who had requested this addition to the Marines was none other than the most famous Celestial Dragon and God Knight in recent times: Figarland Shanks.
"Ah, yes, Gaylord Focker, code name 'Olga.' He really is a newly recruited vice admiral. He's part of Spear, so his status is a bit unusual… Anyway, there's no need for you to get into a conflict with him over his identity," Sengoku replied, handing the report containing Orion's information to his companion goat, who ate the document without hesitation.
Clank!
Kizaru ended his call with Sengoku and put away his Den Den Mushi, then looked at Orion with an odd yet mocking expression. The fact that someone out there had such an extravagant name, and whose code name was Olga… was genuinely hilarious to him.
Even so, now that he had confirmed that Orion truly was a legitimate Marine, he had no intention of continuing to clash with him.
Tossing the credential back with a teasing expression, Kizaru spoke in his characteristically irritating tone:
"Mr. Gaylord, I didn't expect you to actually be a Marine. I must admit this was all just a misunderstanding. I hope you can forgive me~ I was only doing my job, you know? By the way, should I call you Olga?"
Orion clenched his teeth in irritation and, after tucking the credential away again, simply walked toward Sentomaru and Mitsu, paying little attention to Kizaru.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm a bit busy right now," Orion said, not wanting to keep talking to the Marine in case he said something that might expose him as an impostor.
What Orion didn't know was that he wasn't an impostor at all, since he had already been registered as a Marine in the official archives of the massive organization.
Just like what had happened when he obtained the Duchy of Aït-Ben-Skar, his title in the Marines wasn't something empty or symbolic, but something backed by real-world foundations.
Although the system couldn't rewrite this world's reality outright, it could induce changes of varying importance by acting upon the minds of the people who lived in it.
The mechanism behind it was quite simple: mind control.
By spending part of its vital power, the system could influence an individual's mind to a greater or lesser degree, making them perform certain actions. However, this was extremely costly for the system itself, so it was a process reserved for rewards in special cases, such as during missions.
In addition, the degree of control it could exert over individuals varied greatly and depended on the affected person's mental strength.
For instance, when Orion obtained the Duchy of Aït-Ben-Skar, the system had influenced the mind of the previous duke—who lay on his deathbed in a distant kingdom from Tajine—so that he would officially pass his title on to Orion.
However, when it came to the position of official vice admiral, the system did not have enough power to manipulate the necessary individuals to produce such a drastic change, and it had only found a way to do so thanks to Orion's own actions throughout his years in this world.
Because Orion had formed a relationship with Shanks, the system had been able to use him to grant the official credential as backup. Even so, the red-haired pirate's mental strength was far too great for the system to control him directly, so it could only implant a subconscious thought that aligned with the pirate's existing ideas.
In truth, Shanks was planning something big and needed someone with a relatively high rank within the Marines to carry out one of his future plans that would change the world completely. The system had simply inserted the idea of using Orion for this role, and it had worked only because Shanks had already considered it a possibility in the past.
That day when Orion eliminated Vergo and obtained the vice admiral credential, Shanks had a sudden thought:
"I've done so much for Orion—he owes me one! I'll give him the rank of vice admiral, and when the time comes I'll ask him to help me with my plans!"
That was how Orion had obtained his official credential, though he would not learn the truth until much later. Additionally, the ridiculous name and the female code name were simply one of Shanks's classic pranks, since he enjoyed imagining the expression Orion would make when he had to use that name in the future.
...
Hearing Orion's words and seeing him ignore him, Borsalino shrugged and left the area with his usual lazy posture. He had only intercepted Orion because he represented a potential threat to Vegapunk and jeopardized the success of the mission.
However, now that he had verified Orion's secret status, he had no intention of preventing him from having an audience with the scientist. Even so, he would keep an eye on the situation from a safe distance, and if Orion tried anything suspicious, he could arrive instantly thanks to his absurd speed granted by his Devil Fruit.
Meanwhile, Z saw that the conflict had been resolved. Watching Orion's back and the two Vegapunk bodyguards from afar, he grew thoughtful for a moment, then returned to the quarters where the elite unit he commanded and trained was staying.
Orion sensed that both Marine officers of admiral level had dispersed, and he let out a relieved sigh, thinking that he had finally escaped the difficult situation from earlier. At the very least, he wouldn't have to give up on completing the mission related to the Dyna Stones.
Together with Sentomaru and the little Mitsu, Orion walked toward where Vegapunk was located, ready for his first official encounter with the famous scientist.