As the warship entered the waters of Totto Land, the heavy rain and thunder that had been pouring down just a moment ago suddenly vanished, replaced by clear skies and gentle breezes.
Drenched from head to toe, Morgan stood excitedly beside Orion, pointing at the endless expanse of sea ahead.
"We're about to reach Whole Cake Island."
Orion didn't respond.
Standing at the bow with his hands behind his back, he slightly raised his head to look ahead, his eyes gradually narrowing.
At that moment, Mihawk, Hancock, and Gunko emerged from the ship's cabin, standing one after another to his right.
Glancing at the two women who had followed him out, Mihawk frowned slightly then stepped forward to stand beside Orion.
Tentatively, he asked "Orion, by personally coming to the New World, are you planning to take down the Big Mom Pirates as well?"
Before Orion could respond, a little girl holding an umbrella floated over, positioning herself to his left.
She shifted the red umbrella slightly to shield Orion from the sun.
"Idiot Mihawk, isn't it obvious?"
Perona, floating in the air, glared down at Mihawk from her elevated position.
"The Fleet Admiral has come to the New World, of course, to take down the Big Mom Pirates! Why else would he rush here? For a vacation?"
Mihawk face was filled with question marks as he looked up at the cheeky little girl, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably.
But for some reason, ever since Perona had entered the headquarters, he found that he didn't dis Ghost Princess from Thriller Bark at all.
In fact, he thought she was just a little bit cute.
It was this inexplicable fondness that made him not get angry, even when Perona had been teasing him relentlessly in the cabin earlier.
This made him feel somewhat strange.
After all, when Hancock and Gunko moved into Orion residence at the headquarters, he had immediately grabbed his supreme-grade sword and left, preferring to avoid the situation altogether.
Mihawk, who had been left speechless by Perona, decisively ignored her and turned his head toward Orion.
"I think the ideological reform should continue. Since we're idle now, why not have Perona recite that... what was it again? That scripture you mentioned earlier?"
Seeing Mihawk reaction, Orion couldn't help but feel amused.
It was clear that whether it was encountering Perona at this time or meeting her in the original timeline, Mihawk paternal instincts would inevitably be triggered.
Earlier in the ship's cabin, Orion had seen it clearly—when Perona confronted Mihawk, he chose to ignore her. But if Hancock and Gunko started arguing, Mihawk would be the first to slip away.
Just moments ago, when Hancock and Gunko merely followed Mihawk onto the deck and stood beside him, Mihawk had quickly taken a step forward to create distance.
Yet now, with Perona finger almost pointing at his nose, Mihawk merely suggested that she recite some scripture.
The "scripture" Mihawk referred to was the Three Character Classic that Orion had made the Shichibukai and their subordinates memorize during morning exercises, having them recite it while jogging.
Suddenly, just as Orion was about to speak, his pupils contracted sharply.
A flash of red light burst from his eyes and vanished in an instant, followed by a flood of images from the future that he absorbed in a single glance.
In the vision, the towering figure of Charlotte Linlin radiating Conqueror's Haki, descended from the sky, stepping on a thundercloud and wielding Napoleon, a longsword transformed from her pirate hat.
With overwhelming force, she brought the blade down in a devastating slash.
Sakazuki, standing on the prison ship, was clearly prepared.
Without hesitation, he activated his Magma-Magma Fruit, his arms transforming into molten rock as a massive magma fist surged upward to meet the attack.
The moment the two forces collided, Sakazuki who had been battling Kaido all night, was sent flying backward.
Immediately after, the massive cage on the prison ship silently disintegrated and the seastone chains and shackles binding Kaido mysteriously fell away, clattering onto the deck.
Before Sakazuki who had been sent flying or the returning forces led by Gion could intervene, Kaido, now free from the seastone restraints, stood side by side with Charlotte Linlin.
Together, they swung their weapons at Sakazuki.
A cataclysmic shockwave erupted and the vision abruptly ended.
The entire sequence had taken only a split second.
In the blink of an eye, the smile on Orion face vanished.
"Sakazuki, you've let your guard down!"
The sudden statement left everyone present stunned.
Before Mihawk could react, Orion spun around and reached for the supreme-grade sword behind Mihawk.
As Orion hand gripped the hilt of the supreme-grade sword, an invisible yet immense wave of energy erupted from the black blade Mihawk had tempered, as if protesting Orion action.
At the same time, Orion Conqueror's Haki quietly surged forth, ruthlessly suppressing the aura emanating from the supreme-grade sword.
In the next moment, an overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki enveloped the blade of the supreme-grade sword yoru.
The entire process was completed in the blink of an eye.
By the time Mihawk realized what had happened, the Supreme Grade Sword, infused with Conqueror's Haki, was already in Orion grasp.
Then, as Mihawk eyes widened in shock, the sword flashed out, instantly carving a kilometer-long trench across the sea surface, carrying an overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki as it raced toward Whole Cake Island at breakneck speed.
The Supreme Grade Sword moved so fast that in the blink of an eye, it had left a seemingly endless trench on the sea before disappearing.
Everyone on the warship was caught off guard, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the deep, visually striking trench that remained unfilled by the sea even after the sword had vanished.
After a brief moment of silence, Mihawk suddenly snapped out of his daze and, with a historic outburst, roared at Orion.
"THAT'S MY YORU, NOT YOUR DAMNED SWORD!!!"
"Sorry, force of habit!"
With that, Orion turned his gaze to Gunko and barked in a commanding tone.
Gunko stepped forward, unleashing her unique Arrow-Arrow Fruit ability.
In an instant, a massive arrow wrapped in bandages materialized and hovered in front of her.
Seeing this, Orion didn't hesitate.
He and Gunko simultaneously leaped onto the bandage-wrapped arrow.
The moment they landed on it, the arrow shot forward at an astonishing speed, heading straight for Whole Cake Island.
"Hey hey, Fleet Admiral, wait for me!"
Seeing Orion and Gunko riding the 'arrow' away, Perona shouted anxiously.
Before her words even finished, Perona, holding her red umbrella, soared into the air and chased after them.
However, her flying speed was no match for Gunko arrow.
After a short distance, Gunko and Orion disappeared from her sight.
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