September 20, 1496, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion's adult consciousness recovered more quickly than usual.
The little boy's eyes suddenly changed, deepening.
Memories of his child self flooded back as he looked around.
A piercing gaze appeared in front of him, and his entire body involuntarily tensed.
This person gave him a feeling similar to the one his teacher Roger gave him. It was as if he were looking directly into a stormy sky, which could explode at any moment.
From his younger self's memories, he knew who the owner of this piercing gaze was: Shimotsuki Ren.
Gion had brought him to meet this person, who was teaching her the knowledge of a geisha.
They had spent a long time in the house of this woman, who lived next to the dojo where Gion trained.
Ren was elegant and graceful, yet also charged with sensuality. It wasn't a crude sensuality, like that of a prostitute, but rather a disposition of the soul. Evidently, this woman had taken the geisha profession to such an extreme that sensuality had become a kind of second nature to her, etched in her bones.
The entire time his younger self had been visiting here, this woman had been calm and courteous, not even making a rude face at the presence of the two children. But now, she was glaring at him aggressively, and Orion didn't dare move a muscle.
"...And then Orion fell into the mud and was covered from head to toe! Haha."
Gion was telling stories of his childhood in Pacific Town with Orion, unaware of the change in the geisha.
Ren smiled amiably, still looking at Orion, then placed a hand on her cheek and said in her melodious voice:
"Gion, dear, I forgot I had to pick up a package from Vincent's shop. Could you go get it for me?"
Gion stood up briskly and accepted the request without thinking twice. She then approached Orion and took his arm, intending for him to accompany her to retrieve the order.
She didn't want to leave his side for even a second now that they were together again.
However, Ren reached with the fan she was holding and placed it between the two children. She said with a smile:
"Let Orion stay. I'd like to speak with him privately. That way, he can tell me your dark and shameful secrets."
Gion paused for a moment with a thoughtful expression, but finally smiled happily, accepted the proposal, and ran out of the room with her characteristic high energy.
Ren and Orion were left alone in the room.
She continued to stare at him, and finally said,
"So, who are you?"
Orion was covered in sweat from the pressure the beautiful woman exerted on him. Trying to remain calm, he answered,
"What do you mean? I'm Orion-"
A projectile whizzed past his cheek, creating a small cut from which a little blood began to flow.
Ren had thrown one of the chopsticks she used to tie up her hair. She had done so with such force and speed that Orion hadn't been able to react.
The chopstick grazed his cheek and slammed hard into the wooden wall, burying itself there.
"I don't like being lied to so blatantly," Ren said, still smiling.
"I'm not blind. I can see the sudden change that just happened in you. You're no longer the adorable little boy I was talking to just now."
Ren paused, picked up another of the chopsticks in her hair, and continued with a smile.
"So, who are you?"
Orion, whose back was covered in sweat, didn't answer immediately.
He looked Ren Shimotsuki in the eye and contemplated what the correct answer would be.
However, there were no options. If he decided to lie, Ren would probably see through his lie, and that would be his end.
But he also couldn't admit that he was a reincarnated person; that would just cause even more trouble.
Finally, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and stand his ground.
"I told you. I'm Orion."
Ren didn't attack him like he had before. She simply looked into his eyes intently, as if searching for the truth in his gaze.
They remained silent, staring at each other, for a few moments that seemed like an eternity to him.
It was Ren who broke the silence once more.
"Just answer me this question. What are your intentions with Gion?"
This time he didn't hesitate for a second before answering; there was nothing to think about. It was a simple answer.
"I have no intentions with Gion. She's my friend and my fiancée, and someone very important to me. I just want her to always be happy"
Ren remained silent, pondering the boy's words. Her eyes lost focus for a moment, as if lost in a distant memory, and the expression on her face became extremely gentle, heightening her beauty.
Orion didn't interrupt the woman and remained silent, alert.
Ren came to, lowered the hand holding the chopstick, and stood up.
"Let's see if you're telling the truth," she said with a smile, and Orion's blood ran cold.
At that moment, Gion returned carrying a package and smiling brightly. Before Orion could react, Ren disappeared from where she had originally been and reappeared behind Gion.
Then, before the girl's astonished gaze, she grabbed her and sealed the movement of her arms with one hand, while with the other, she held the sharp-tipped chopstick against the little girl's throat.
It all happened in an instant. Ren's speed was something Orion couldn't compete with, even in his adult form.
"You said she was important to you and that you wanted nothing more than her happiness, right? So, you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself to keep me from hurting her?" Ren asked with a sly smile, as if she expected Orion's lies to crumble before her eyes.
Orion didn't hesitate for a second. He simply nodded and opened his arms to indicate that he wouldn't make a move.
"That's right. If you let Gion go, I don't care what you do to me," Orion said solemnly.
"Oh? I'm not playing, you know? Are you sure you don't want to think about it again? I promise I won't hurt you if you step back now. Otherwise… hehe."
Orion said nothing. He stood firm in his stance, staring at Ren without blinking, and Ren, in turn, was observing the boy's every microexpression. She had reached the pinnacle of geisha's techniques and could read people like open books.
"Very well, I hope you don't regret it. This was your decision."
Ren waved her hand with great force, and the chopstick flew toward Orion, who made no attempt to dodge it.
It only lasted a second. The chopstick made contact with Orion's right arm, and in the next instant, his right arm was gone.
That's right, the power of the chopstick Ren threw was such that it had managed to tear off a large part of his right arm.
Orion felt a searing pain and saw the blood spurting out violently. He immediately made a tourniquet to stop the flow of blood. Then, completely pale and overcome with pain, he looked at Ren and said,
"It's time for you to do your part. Let Gion go."
Orion felt extremely weak from the blood loss, but he struggled to stay on his feet. The most important thing now was to take Gion and leave this place. This woman was dangerous. Very dangerous.
Ren laughed joyfully and released Gion, who ran terrified to check Orion's wounds. The little girl's eyes were filled with tears and worry.
Ren clapped her hands excitedly and looked at the pair of children.
"Very well, I must admit you surprised me. I didn't expect you to be telling the truth."
A big smile appeared on Ren's face, which looked truly happy. However, her smile disappeared in an instant, as if it had been an illusion.
She moved again at such high speed that she seemed to have teleported. Every muscle in Orion tensed. He couldn't follow the woman's movements at all.
Ren appeared at her side and took one of the cutlasses at his waist.
When she placed her hands on the sword, she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Oh? You're full of surprises. This sword... Is it a camouflage? How fitting. A camouflaged sword for a camouflaged person."
Orion stepped forward and pulled Gion behind him, shielding her with his body, but it was useless; Ren's speed made any attempt at resistance futile.
"You truly surprised me with your actions, but the world is an unfair place. Once your fate is in someone else's hands, no matter how you follow their rules, they might not keep their promise, and you'll end up empty-handed. After all, the powerful don't need to keep their promises to the weak."
Ren's voice echoed behind him.
Orion turned around and saw the elegant woman standing behind Gion, the cutlass sword his master, Roger, had given him resting against the girl's throat.
"No—"
Orion wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the incredible scene before him.
Little Gion's head had been severed from the rest of her body, which still remained upright, like a vile mockery.
"The world isn't a fair place. Sometimes you can lose everything for no reason. Just because of someone's whim," Ren said in an icy tone.
Orion's mind exploded, and he felt like a fire had been lit inside him.
Unforgivable.
What had happened was unforgivable.
Orion had completely lost his mind, and there was only one thought in his mind: to tear the damn woman in front of him to pieces!
"AAAAArghhh"
Orion let out a guttural roar, like that of a wounded beast, and his body even transformed into that of an adult, to the surprised look of Ren, who hadn't expected events to unfold this way.
Orion wasn't in a condition to fight as he usually did, and simply attacked using the most violent attacks he could muster.
After his initial surprise at the change in Orion's physique, Ren's expression returned to normal. With the "Ace" cutlass in her hand, she parried all of Orion's attacks without too much trouble. Finally, she sighed softly and said:
"I guess it's time to end this."
Orion was attacking vehemently, but none of his attacks could even scratch Ren's clothes, that's how great the difference in power was.
She took a small, graceful step and appeared in front of the completely uncovered Orion. Then, she simply slammed the hilt of her sword into his solar plexus.
Orion fell to his knees, feeling great pain and struggling to breathe.
Ren approached him and placed the cutlass in the sheath at Orion's waist. Then she walked back to the spot where she had originally been sitting, as if nothing had happened.
Orion was still overcome with rage and wanted to stand up and continue fighting, but at that moment, Ren's voice sounded again.
"Calm down, look around you."
Orion looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Gion's body was gone!
But she hadn't been moved; the bloodstains on the ground had disappeared too.
He looked to his side and saw that his right arm was completely intact, without a single scratch.
"What's going on?" Orion asked uncertainly.
Ren unfolded her fan and waved it, creating a bit of wind.
"Look around you. If you pay attention, you'll be able to see it," Ren said calmly.
Orion looked closely at his surroundings and saw a thin, almost imperceptible layer of what appeared to be pink... Mist?
He turned his gaze to Ren and saw how the wind produced by the fan stirred the pink mist floating in the air.
"It's an advanced technique used by geisha in my country. It's usually used for other, more harmless purposes, but it can be used aggressively as well."
"An inexperienced person can be murdered under the influence of illusions. I understand ninjas use a similar technique," Ren said indifferently, as if she weren't talking about murdering people.
"An illusion? So Gion…"
"Obviously the little Gion you saw was an illusion. She hasn't returned yet. It'll probably take a while longer."
Orion placed a hand on his chest and sighed in relief; he was on the verge of tears. The shock of the image of little Gion's headless body was still having an effect on his mind.
"I'm sorry if I was a little harsh with my methods, but I had to make sure you didn't have any malicious intentions toward Gion. After all, she's like a little sister to me," Ren said with a smile, ignoring the fact that she was old enough to be Gion's grandmother.
"I'm very pleased with your performance! I can see that you're truly sincere toward Gion, so I won't delve further into your strange behavior. I know everyone has their secrets, and as long as it doesn't pose a danger to Gion, I'm not too interested."
Orion didn't answer. He was still deep in thought, reliving everything that had happened in the illusion over and over again.
Ren frowned slightly at the sight of him in this state and closed her fan abruptly, producing a loud noise that echoed in the quiet room like thunder.
This sound seemed to wake Orion, who looked up and saw Ren Shimotsuki.
"Although I am very pleased with your pure feelings toward Gion, I must say that your mental strength leaves much to be desired."
"This type of illusion-generating technique can be more or less effective, depending on the person. In your particular case, you were lucky that I didn't want to really hurt you, otherwise I would have been able to destroy your mind without having to lift a finger," Ren said with a certain solemnity in her tone of voice.
Orion listened to Ren's words and once again felt the urge to increase his power.
He put aside the images that were repeating in his mind, took a deep breath, and looked firmly at Ren Shimotsuki. Then, he drew his cutlass "Ace."
Ren saw him drawing his sword and raised her eyebrows slightly. Then she covered her mouth with her fan and said in a playful tone.
"Orion, I already apologized. Are you really so angry that you want to fight me knowing you have no chance of winning?"
Orion paid no attention to her joking remarks. He simply looked at her firmly and said,
"Mrs. Ren, please spar with me. I'm sure my swordsmanship will improve if I can train with you."
Ren hadn't expected Orion to make such a request, and she was pleased to see the boy's ambition.
"I don't accept male students, but I suppose a sparring match doesn't count as teaching you swordsmanship. So why not? Consider it my apology for being so harsh on you just now," Ren said, standing up once more.
"That's perfect. A sparring match is all I want. After all, I already have a master" Orion replied with a smile. His mental state had finally returned to normal.
Ren Shimotsuki looked at the sword in Orion's hand thoughtfully and said, "Indeed, you already have a master."
Then she turned around and opened a door, revealing a small room.
It was Ren's bedroom.
On the back wall were countless papers containing paintings and poems she had made herself.
She walked to the wall and picked up the elegant sword that lay there, which hadn't been wielded for a very long time.
"Let's practice outside," Ren said. "We won't be able to move comfortably here."
Orion saw the sword in Ren's hands and opened his mouth in surprise.
This was the sword for sale in the system store, and according to the description, it was the sword Gion used in the original One Piece story.
Seeing the elegant woman before him, and thinking of the hellish test she had put him through to test whether her intentions toward Gion were impure, Orion immediately understood the situation.
The way he looked at Ren Shimotsuki also changed slightly without him noticing. Now, his gaze was much more respectful than before.
Ren saw him standing there, motionless, and said uncertainly, "Aren't you coming? Have you changed your mind already?"
Orion came to his senses and quickly followed her, intending to leave the house and spar with her.
However, Ren stopped, looked him up and down, and said, "By the way, is this your true form?"
Orion, who had transformed into his adult form without thinking, was still unconsciously using his ability. Hearing Ren's question, he shook his head.
"No, this isn't my original form. I can increase my body's age thanks to a power similar to a Devil Fruit. But I can't stay in this form for long."
After all, every minute he spent in this state consumed his SP, although Orion would never explain in detail how his ability worked, and Ren had no intention of delving into it either. There was now a tacit understanding between the two.
"Oh, in that case, maybe you'd like to return to your original form, because Gion is about to return."
Orion heard that Gion was about to return and immediately reverted to his child form. He didn't want Gion to see him in his adult form, otherwise he wouldn't be able to avoid giving long and complicated explanations.
"Haha, look how scared you are. I can see I was worrying too much about you. As soon as I finish training Gion in the geisha arts, she'll be able to bend you to her will without any problem!"
"I hope you're ready," Ren said in his playful tone, teasing him.
The two left the house, preparing to begin their sparring. In the distance, Gion came running happily, carrying a large package.
Seeing her, Orion couldn't help but smile with joy.
Ren, who was standing in front of him, saw his genuine smile and nodded in approval.
Perhaps, his little apprentice could obtain what she had never been able to.
She knew this was a cruel world, and she could only pray that the little girl, who was like a ray of sunshine, could always keep that smile.