Inside the grand and lavish palace hall,
The usually scruffy old Keek was, for once, wearing glasses and staring seriously at the report in his hands.
"You almost look the part for once, old man."
Hearing that voice, Keek looked up to see a young man in a dark red suit and a black overcoat.
He was well over three ters tall, with long legs, a perfectly muscular build, long black hair, and sharp, chiseled features—"handso" was an understatent.
At the mont, he was sitting beside the office desk, casually munching on a piece of palace fruit.
Seeing Orin dressed like this, a smile finally broke through Keek’s serious expression.
"That new outfit suits you, brat!"
"Well, sotis you gotta change up your style."
Orin casually picked up a sheet from the desk—so stuff about taxes, public order, and the like.
"Hey, old man, you beca king to enjoy life, not to work yourself to death. Besides, no matter how relaxed your governance is, it’s still miles better than the last king’s oppression. The people will thank you."
"Well... that’s true, I suppose..."
He relaxed his aching shoulders and jumped down from the throne.
Honestly, he wasn’t great at managing affairs anyway—he just scribbled whatever he wanted on the reports.
For example, during the recent transition of power, when a mob of commoners started a riot, Keek read the report and scrawled:
"Screw ’em!"
Or when more and more young people were setting out to beco pirates, he wrote:
"Good for them! Remind them to visit ho often!!"
These bizarre responses always left his subordinates dumbfounded, but they still followed his instructions to the letter.
"Co on, let’s go out for a stroll. I actually prefer a freer life."
The old man and the young man sat by the garden table in the royal courtyard.
"Hey, brat, you can definitely do that thing, right?" Keek seed to recall sothing, leaning forward on the table and looking at Orin, who sat with eyes closed, resting.
"What thing?" Orin opened his eyes, a bit puzzled.
"You know... that black-and-red lightning stuff. With the crackling and the boom—whole groups drop at once..."
Keek couldn’t explain it well, but the mory was vivid. In his younger days, those world-shaking battles...
As a bystander, he’d seen the strongest of the strong fight like that—the aftershocks alone would blow him away.
"Oh... that."
Orin didn’t mind humoring the old man’s curiosity. After all, his greatest dream in life had been to beco a great pirate like Whitebeard.
Now that Orin had fulfilled that dream in his own way, of course he was curious about everything.
Orin slowly extended his hand, clenching it into a fist. A devastating aura began to rise around him.
Keek’s pupils trembled instantly, his body shivering involuntarily—
But he was thrilled. "Yes! That’s the feeling! The kind that shakes you to the bone!"
Then, Orin condensed his aura, slowly channeling it into his fist, compressing dense black-and-red lightning around it.
Keek could barely breathe from the pressure, yet he couldn’t help but clap in amazent as he gazed at Orin, who seed like a ruler ready to dominate the world.
"What an incredible power! Hey, Orin, right now... Can you beat Whitebeard, Edward Newgate?"
Keek asked excitedly.
Orin felt overwhelmingly strong to him. Back then, Whitebeard had also felt overwhelmingly strong. Funny thing was—he couldn’t tell which one was stronger.
It was like comparing a thousand-ton boulder to a ten-thousand-ton one. Either way, no one could lift them.
The difference was too massive.
But that question made Orin pause. He stroked his chin and thought for a mont.
"In terms of raw power, I’m still not quite there. I’ve seen Whitebeard’s monstrous strength, his Devil Fruit powers, and his Conqueror’s Haki Infusion—he was on par with Captain Roger. And I’m still too young."
That disappointed Keek a little, but he understood—it was reasonable. A bit comforting, even.
Yeah, Orin was still young. It was only a matter of ti.
But then Orin continued, and Keek lit up again.
"But that’s only in terms of stats. If we were in an all-out, no-holds-barred fight out on the sea... I’m confident that not a single mber of the Whitebeard Pirates would survive."
"Not even the Fish-n."
Orin’s calm tone hit Keek like thunder. And sohow, he didn’t doubt it—after all, Orin had been stirring up trouble at Marine Headquarters since his teenage years.
All Keek felt was growing pride.
If even monsters like them couldn’t stop Orin, then this brat would be safe in the future.
No need for this old man to nervously read the papers every day, worried sick whenever Orin’s na showed up.
...
After that,
Orin and Mihawk lived on Duramos Island for a few months, spending ti with Keek and taking a much-needed break.
During that period, Orin also managed to get in contact with Morgans through a news-delivery gull.
"Beru beru beru beru..."
Click.
As the Den Den Mushi connected, a stylized bird face appeared on its surface, smiling broadly.
"Nice to et you, Black Gun Orin-san. This is the World Economic Journal—Morgans speaking."
"Yeah, I know. You’ve been writing about in the papers for years."
Orin looked at the Den Den Mushi, which now wore an awkward smile and was sweating a bit. His voice was calm.
He hadn’t forgotten that at least half of his current fa ca from this guy hyping him up.
Though most of it was true, he never gave his consent.
"Ah... hahaha... So, what can a big-shot like you want from today?"
Morgans hurried to change the subject.
He couldn’t even rember how many stories he’d made up over the years to chase clout. Being called out by the man himself was a little embarrassing.
"There are two reasons I called today."
Orin sipped his orange juice through a straw, speaking casually.
"First, from now on, the Kingdom of Duramos in the New World is under my protection. Run a story about it."
"Anyone who dares attack it— Be it a major pirate or a World Governnt affiliate—better be ready for total annihilation."
"That’s easy. Black Gun Orin claiming territory in the New World? That’s headline material~"
Morgans grinned slyly. He already had titles in mind:
"Shock! The Legendary Pirate Enters the New World Turf War!!!"
"A Man with a Four Billion Belly Bounty—What Is His True Goal...?"
"Kill Them All! The New World’s New Overlord Declares His Rule!!!"
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