One Piece: Global improvement system 74: Arriving at Rum Wolf

September 24, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle

Orion placed the heavy box on the large cargo ship and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He had been infiltrating the Umit Shipping Company for almost two weeks, and he still hadn't found the location of the large bridge ntioned in the mission.

When he arrived at the company's headquarters in South Blue, the first thing he did was use his espionage skills to review all the files and gain a complete picture of the activities taking place there.

With the powers of his Space Door, which had been enhanced after he had linked Giolla as a secondary wife, it was easy to move great distances without being detected, making that power a perfect tool for this type of infiltration mission.

However, he hadn't found anything in the files related to the large bridge he was looking for, and the files related to his grandfather and uncle simply ntioned that they had disappeared without a trace while shipping an order to a nearby kingdom. There was speculation that they had suffered an accident and perished on the high seas.

Orion didn't know whether Umit Shipping was directly related to his relatives' disappearance or not, but if they were, their ability to hide relevant information was quite decent. They had left no trace of their criminal acts, if they had even been criminals to begin with.

Finding himself unable to further his investigation through espionage, Orion decided to infiltrate the company directly as a regular worker and see if he could find firsthand information about his relatives' disappearance.

Finally, after only two weeks, he heard a rumor that caught his attention: the company was offering a well-paying transport job, which would soon sail to a nearby kingdom.

There was nothing unusual about offering financial incentives for specific trips, but on this occasion, the composition of the workforce was a bit peculiar. These were people who had no relatives or were from distant areas. Basically, people no one would look for if they suddenly disappeared.

Orion's relatives also fell into this category as, if it weren't for the presence of a monster like Orion in the family, his parents would have simply had to accept the mysterious disappearance of the two n.

With a little maneuvering, Orion managed to sneak in among the people designated for this trip with extra pay, and was now finishing loading the materials to be transported.

To avoid attracting attention, Orion had limited the use of his superhuman strength and adopted a sowhat disheveled appearance using his "Distorted Future" ability.

"Kairos! You've finished your work here, prepare to set sail," said one of the Umit Shipping supervisors, who was in charge of monitoring the cargo transported on this occasion.

"Yes, Mr. Thompson!" Orion responded hurriedly, and hurried away to pack his luggage before boarding the ship and setting sail.

An hour later, the large cargo ship set sail north, and Orion simply gazed thoughtfully at the horizon.

He still didn't know if there was sothing strange about Umit Shipping's operations or not, but his instinct told him it was almost certain there was sothing fishy going on. During the two weeks he'd been there, he'd seen the massive scale of this company, which grew larger and more powerful with each passing day.

If it continued at this pace of growth, it wouldn't be long before this company beca a true global conglorate, with strong roots and great economic and political power.

If this company was truly directly related to the disappearance of his grandfather and uncle, Orion couldn't simply ignore it and let it continue to grow in power. At least not in the South Blue, which was where his future sphere of power would lie.

The large cargo ship sailed at full speed, while Orion retreated to his room, opened his Pocket Dinsion and took out a file with the information he had gathered so far.

The space within this alternate dinsion was much larger than before, allowing him to store a large amount of things. Now, this place resembled a warehouse, with all sorts of objects scattered about in a sowhat haphazard manner.

However, for Orion, this type of storage was far inferior to the inventory, which could keep things safe and frozen in ti in their state before they were stored.

The Pocket Dinsion, on the other hand, was 'open' to other people, as he often used it during his battles.

For example, in his fight against Vasco Shot, his enemy's fire attack had ruined a large amount of the things he had stored in his Pocket Dinsion at the ti, so it wasn't a very safe place to leave important things.

Orion lay down on the bed, and a small ball of fur poked its head out from under the covers.

It was his new pet companion, whom he had nad 'Nibble' because of its cute appearance, which was similar to that of a small hamster.

The little animal sniffed the air, and upon sensing Orion's presence, imdiately approached with great joy. This little beast was only an infant, and spent most of the day sleeping.

Orion played a little with his new pet while reviewing the system screen, thoroughly analyzing the information on it. The system progressed with each passing day, and the amount of information it contained increased accordingly.

There were a large number of different screens, giving him information about his subordinates, skills, missions, and so on.

In addition, he had an entire parallel subsystem specifically tasked with the developnt of his kingdom.

Looking at his skill screen, he nodded with satisfaction when he saw his 'Paper Arts (Kami-e)' skill that had reached Level 1. Now, the only physical technique that remained at Level 0 was 'Rokuogan,' which was impossible to increase naturally, since he couldn't execute it without damaging his body.

He then looked at his new 'Canvas Realm (incomplete)' skill, which he had obtained thanks to Giolla, and smiled rembering the beautiful artist.

This skill was basically a second Pocket Dinsion, though it had many more limitations.

For starters, this new dinsion wasn't present all the ti like the Pocket Dinsion. it was only actively created when he used the skill, which made it useless as a storage facility.

Furthermore, Canvas Realm couldn't be transported with him when he moved to another location, and instead remained in a fixed location, which was the one designated at the ti of its invocation.

For these reasons, this ability wasn't very useful for him, as he already had the Space Door ability with his Pocket Dinsion.

However, Orion wasn't disappointed by the lack of versatility of his new ability, because he knew that the functions of this ability and the Pocket Dinsion weren't destined to follow the sa path.

His Canvas Realm seed to be an ability more focused on controlling a space and what happened within it, while Space Door was simply a way of utilizing space that could be applied to different occasions.

Orion suspected that in the future, if he managed to improve his Canvas Realm ability, then its true potential would be revealed.

After a few hours traveling on the sea, a series of notifications appeared on the system screen.

*Nad Character (VIP) Bartholow Kuma (24) is within the reconnaissance zone*

*Nad Character Ginny (27) is within the reconnaissance zone*

*Nad Character Bekori (...)*

Orion looked at the system notifications and saw that nine new markers had appeared on the map, indicating the presence of a large number of Nad Characters grouped together.

In the seven and a half years he had been living in this world, this was the first ti he had encountered more than two Nad Characters together in a single location. From what he could infer, the place they were in had most likely appeared in the original One Piece story.

Unfortunately, he was busy with other matters right now, so he didn't have ti to go check on the situation there. He was deeply curious, especially about the presence of a Nad Character VIP, which was extrely rare, but he would have to suppress his curiosity until he finished his current mission.

There would be ti to go take a look after he found the whereabouts of his relatives.

.................

October 6, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle

"Prepare to dock!" the ship's captain shouted loudly.

The workers on the cargo ship began running from one side to the other, and not a single one was unoccupied at the mont.

Orion had silently disappeared without a trace and was already standing on the large platform that was barely visible on the horizon.

Looking up, Orion observed the massive structure that rose like a mountain in front of him, and he couldn't help but marvel at such a feat of engineering.

Even in his past life, which had taken place in a world with highly advanced technology, there weren't many structures as massive as the one before him now.

"I'm finally here," Orion murmured, carefully observing his surroundings. On this platform at sea level, there wasn't much to see, as it was rely a logistics hub. There was a large elevator, much larger than the cargo ship he had been traveling on during the last two weeks. But currently, this elevator was located high above the gigantic structure.

Orion could use his abilities to climb onto the large bridge without using the elevator, but he decided to remain on the platform until the Umit Shipping ship arrived, so he could observe the interaction between the company's personnel and the people here.

Finally, after almost an hour, the ship finally reached the platform at sea level, at the foot of the gigantic bridge.

The elevator finally descended, and a large number of red-clad soldiers appeared. They emitted an oppressive aura, which made the cargo ship workers feel sowhat nervous.

The captain of the cargo ship, who was one of the high-ranking officers within the Umit Shipping Company, stepped forward and approached the senior soldier with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Your Excellency. I have brought the order as agreed," said the rchant, rubbing his hands together in a fawning manner.

"Very well, it is always a pleasure doing business with Umit Shipping. You guys sure know how to provide good service," replied the senior soldier with a knowing smile. Then, he raised his hand and signaled to his soldiers, who imdiately grabbed their rifles and surrounded the group of terrified workers.

The soldier stepped forward and bared his teeth in a gruff smile. This was one of his favorite parts of the job. The feeling of holding the lives of so many people in the palm of his hand, and being able to decide their fate with a word, was sothing that made him tremble with pleasure.

"From today on, this will be your new ho, and I will be your new master. If you wish to stay alive, you will obey my every command without question!" the high-ranking soldier said in a powerful voice.

The workers were taken by surprise by these words and imdiately began to panic, trying to retreat back to the ship. However, it was too late; the World Governnt soldiers had already completely surrounded them and would not allow them to escape.

One of the workers decided to attempt a surprise escape and ran toward the sea. His efforts were sowhat ridiculous, as he couldn't escape by swimming in the open sea, and there was nowhere to hide on this platform. Nevertheless, panic had driven him to act without thinking.

Sotis, people could take senseless actions in the face of a difficult situation.

The worker ran toward the sea, but didn't get far before being struck down by a shot that passed clean through his head, sending gray matter splattering into the air.

The group of workers panicked even more, but none dared to move, as the cold barrels of the rifles were pointed rcilessly at them.

"If you obey my orders, you will survive without problems, and as soon as you finish your work, you can return ho. Otherwise, you will suffer the sa fate as that individual," said the soldier in charge, pointing at the corpse of the worker who had tried to flee.

Of course, it was a lie that these workers would have the chance to return ho. They would die working on this bridge, just as countless others had done for centuries.

The soldiers made the workers kneel on the ground and began placing shackles on them to restrict their movents.

anwhile, the soldier in charge walked alongside the high-ranking officer of Umit Shipping. They both boarded the large cargo ship, and the officer led them to a special hold, which was packed with won.

"Just as you requested the last ti we t, this ti I have brought you so special workers to serve in your noble cause," said the rchant, with the sly expression of a fox.

The soldier's eyes lit up at the large number of won locked inside the hold, and he had to wipe his drool with his forearm.

"I am very pleased with your service! I will definitely inform my superiors about the great help your company has provided us!" said the soldier, patting the rchant on the shoulder with great joy.

Umit Shipping had been providing them with capable workers for so years, but the vast majority were sullen, strong n, well suited for hard labor on the bridge.

However, the soldier in charge wasn't entirely happy with this situation. Officers of a similar rank to him elsewhere enjoyed all sorts of benefits, and he alone had to remain on this cursed bridge overseeing a bunch of stinking male slaves.

For this reason, whenever he could, he tried to recruit so female workers, as it was one of the ways to make his stay in this cursed place more bearable. Otherwise, what would be the difference between him and those cursed slaves building the bridge?

"I greatly appreciate your words, Your Grace, but it was very difficult to obtain these female workers. They are of the highest quality, and many were specially obtained to be brought here, even at the risk of being discovered by the inhabitants of their villages..."

The soldier narrowed his eyes, inwardly cursing the rchant.

These damned rchants only had money on their minds, and if he tried to repudiate his debt, he would have trouble obtaining 'goods' of such high quality in the future.

Looking at one of the naked won, who was particularly beautiful, the soldier in charge of the bridge simply put aside his stinginess and took a pouch from within his coat.

"Of course. I understand the hardships you must have endured. Here is a token of my appreciation for your efforts."

The rchant took the pouch and, without inspecting the contents, put it away with a smile. From its weight, he knew it was the amount they had previously agreed upon. He wasn't afraid that the soldier would try to cheat him, as that would only hurt himself. After all, it was certainly a hard job finding 'high-quality' won to supply him.

"Now if you'll excuse , I'd like to inspect the goods, to see that everything is in order," the soldier said with a lascivious smile.

The rchant nodded imdiately and opened the door to the large hold so the soldier could enter.

The rchant simply walked away, leaving the soldier to inspect the goods uninterrupted. He was a great rchant, and he knew how to provide the best service possible.

The soldier in charge of the bridge dropped his pants, ready to enjoy one of the best monts of the year, but before he could approach the won, a door opened in the air, right next to him.

Orion, who had been silently observing the situation, could no longer bear the soldier's actions and suddenly erged, grabbing him by the neck and tossing him into his Pocket Dinsion.

The soldier imdiately assud a fighting stance, ready to confront Orion, but there was no comparison between the two's combat power.

This soldier had a fairly high rank, but his power was quite low. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been relegated to remaining in this remote place, overseeing a construction project for his entire life.

Orion pumled the man, releasing so of the negative emotions that had arisen in him upon seeing the situation here. Then, he approached the man, who was lying on the ground, enduring the pain of his wounds.

He grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head, forcing him to look him in the eyes.

The soldier's heart sank, and he began to beg for rcy.

Orion showed a radiant smile and said,

"Now I'm going to ask you so questions. If you tell what I want to know, you'll be able to survive without any problems, and as soon as you finish answering , you can return ho. Otherwise, you'll suffer the sa fate as that worker."

The soldier felt a chill invade his entire body, because he knew Orion was mocking him, saying the sa words he had said to the workers monts before.

The soldier saw a small, furry animal appear from between the smiling man's clothes and land on his shoulder, looking at him curiously, with a tender expression.

Orion took the small animal in his hand and said with so reproach.

"This is not a place for you. It's best not to see what will happen next. I don't want you to develop violent behavior."

Orion spoke with great affection toward the small animal, even though his words were quite scary to the soldier.

With a wave of his hand, a small, multicolored sphere appeared in the air, and Orion placed the small beast inside. Then the sphere disappeared without a trace, and once again, only Orion and the soldier remained on the scene.

Orion imdiately put to use so of the knowledge he had learned during his ti in Guanhao, and only the soldier's heart-rending cries for rcy and Orion's incessant questions were heard in the silent sphere for the following hours.

Finally, after a long ti, the hold door opened again and the soldier in charge of the bridge appeared with a solemn expression on his face.

The senior manager of Umit Shipping approached with a smile, intending to ask if he had liked the goods. But before he could open his mouth, the soldier drew his sword and cut off his head without a word.

Then he continued walking toward the platform. Behind him, only the rchant's decapitated body and the now completely empty hold remained.