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444 Roger Pirates Apprentice
🕑 Added 2026-01-08 06:13:01 +0000 UTC"Man… you really can make a mess of things…"
The New World, the Punk Hazard sea region.
The cumulus clouds dispersed. A colossal bird that blotted out the sky circled high above, hurricanes coiling around its body like a divine bird passing through the world.
On its back, a long-haired man in a black robe, his hair casually tied into a braid, reclined half-seated. One hand held orange juice, the other a newspaper.
His pupils lazily swept across the contents, and a few amused smiles escaped him.
On the newspaper was a vast chain of massive islands.
Already sparse to begin with, they were now even more shattered and ruined.
Countless wrecked Marine warships littered the area, with emergency rescue operations underway.
And in the center of the photograph was a giant soaring high into the air, raising a fist as large as a small island.
This kind of report wasn't supposed to be allowed, but News King Morgans didn't care about any of that.
I'm just doing my job.
If you've got a problem, go find my boss.
And so, after the war that erupted at the starting point of the New World—dubbed by the headlines the [Black and White Island War]—came to an end, the young giant of the giant race named Sadgeo officially entered the sights of the world's top powers.
Bounty: 1.6 billion Belly.
Battle record: Escaped a Buster Call, injured Fujitora, seriously wounded Rob Lucci.
At the end of the paper were images of Fujitora with his head wrapped in bandages, and Lucci being hauled out of the sea.
"The thing I made… seems a bit too active, huh~"
Orin didn't mind much. After all, he had created Sadgeo precisely to replace Joy Boy and give the World Government a headache.
"It's just that Little Shirahoshi sticking with this guy… that might be a bit unstable…"
One issue was that Sadgeo, just like Luffy, was far too good at stirring up trouble.
Even though Shirahoshi, as Poseidon, was practically unbeatable in naval warfare, once she reached land she'd inevitably be affected by aggro-drawing effects.
The other issue was that Sadgeo was far too overbearing. Scaring Shirahoshi wouldn't be good either.
"Yeah… still not suitable. I'll deal with it after some time…"
Right now, he had more important matters to attend to.
"Punk Hazard, huh~ The place where Akainu and Kuzan fought to the death?"
Orin stood up and walked to the edge of the Seagull King's back, looking down below.
Amid the raging winds, the black leisure robe on his body didn't even flutter at the hem.
"It does look pretty convincing. They even permanently altered the island's terrain…"
Orin pinched his chin, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"But it's still too crude. Aokiji, the intel didn't say you lost a leg, so this was definitely a fake match, right~"
Based on decades of interaction between the two, Orin believed he understood Kuzan fairly well.
No lost leg meant he probably hadn't fought seriously—or maybe hadn't fought at all. Leaving the Marines was most likely to go undercover or something similar, continuing to uphold his own sense of justice.
As for the target~
Obviously, that would be Orin himself.
Who knows, he might be holed up in some corner of the New World right now, just waiting to ruin Orin's plans~
Shaking his head, Orin felt a twinge of sadness at Kuzan's hostility, then patted the Seagull King's back.
"Descend."
"Ke—!"
The Seagull King understood and began diving downward, its destination unmistakably the ice-and-fire duality of Punk Hazard.
"Speaking of which, after the experiment ended, Caesar was released, right~"
It was just unclear whether he was still working with Doflamingo on artificial Devil Fruits.
The Seagull King slowly landed atop an iceberg, then reverted to its original seagull form, perching on Orin's shoulder.
Facing the extreme cold and snow, neither seemed affected as they walked forward unhurriedly.
"Come to think of it, that Momonosuke should be arriving about now. The timing's about right."
Hands in his pockets, Orin strolled through the icy wasteland.
It wasn't like he'd come to finish anyone off. If he had wanted to kill Momonosuke, he could've done it twenty years ago—just a snap of his fingers.
The current Momonosuke had already been turned by him from a [cowardly, lecherous kid] into a [cowardly, useless kid].
No lustful thoughts, no lustful courage. So this trip wasn't just to see an old friend's son, but also for a Devil Fruit.
[Zoan-type Devil Fruit · Fish-Fish Fruit · Mythical Type · Pink Dragon Form]
Not that he intended to eat it himself—he just felt it was a waste for someone like Momonosuke to have it.
After all, it was a Mythical Zoan. Even if Orin didn't want it, he could give it to someone else.
As for the reason…
Pink dragons were just too ugly for his taste.
Even someone as proud as Vegapunk had deemed the final product—the [Pink Dragon Fruit]—a failure solely because of its color.
So how could Orin possibly eat a fruit with such a flaw?
At Orin's current level, if he truly wanted to advance further in strength, eating another Devil Fruit wouldn't solve anything.
The gap lay in Haki.
If Orin wanted his raw power to reach Joy Boy's level, then unless his Conqueror's Haki became just as strong, eating any number of Devil Fruits would make little difference.
Quality over quantity.
Before long, Orin spotted an experimental site. In fact, "spotted" was hardly the right word—one sweep of Observation Haki made it plainly visible.
He headed toward it, but first encountered someone completely unexpected.
"Orin-sensei!!!"
A delighted female voice rang out. Orin turned back, a hint of confusion on his face.
"Oh? Isn't this Kuina~"
"Long time no see."
The woman before him, dressed lightly and shivering from the cold, was none other than Zoro's childhood friend, Kuina.
Although Orin had taken Zoro as his disciple and not her, he had still taught her swordsmanship. Calling him "sensei" was entirely appropriate.
He just hadn't expected to run into her here.
He snapped his fingers, and a black cloak appeared instantly. Once wrapped in it, Kuina's trembling body finally eased.
"Didn't expect you to come to the New World too~"
After so many years, Orin had almost forgotten this little girl he'd once saved on a whim.
"Yes! To close the gap between Zoro and myself, I followed your teachings from back then and resolved to seek breakthroughs through battles with strong opponents!!!"
Orin's famous-teacher philosophy continued to spread, influencing countless people.
Even old Keek now treated it as gospel—the training method being: if you don't die, beat yourself half to death.
And although Orin himself believed in this grow-strong-through-battle theory, when he looked at Kuina's thin, damp clothes clinging to her shapely figure, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.
After all, this method only truly suited monsters with naturally high ceilings.
After a brief silence, Orin's lips curved slightly upward.
"Do you want to become strong, Kuina?"
