Orion smiled at the Marine , a competitive smile that was challenged with a confused glare.
" I like you're ship , marine " the pirate said.
" It's a marine battleship. Pirate's like you aren't supposed to like it " the Marine replied.
" I said I like the ship , not the owners. So I think imma take it off you're hands " Orion stated.
The marine raised an eyebrow at the pirate.
" Care to explain what you mean by that? "
" I mean , I'm taking you're ship "
The Marines aboard the battleship gasped and their jaws dropped.
" I'd be careful if i were you , that's a vice admiral " Zayn stated with a chuckle , pointing at the man with glasses.
He wore a Marine coat with epaulets and a suit and tie worn underneath.
" Can't be any different from the one I knocked out back at the marine base " Orion said as he gripped his Naginata.
The Vice Admiral had his arms crossed the entire time , turning his back to the pirates and clicking his tounge.
" Vice admiral Comil , huh? He's been in the navy way before I came , yet I'm confident in saying that I'm way stronger than him " he stated.
" Take them in " he ordered.
" YES VICE ADMIRAL FRANCIS!!! " They answered while saluting.
Just as they were about to aim at the smaller ship , a loud thud rocked the ship. They all looked to see Orion and Zayn on the deck of their ship.
" I saved you the trouble , now which one of you is strong enough to try and take me on " Orion stated as he stuck is Naginata into the dock and cracked his knuckles.
" If this is how you are to all Marines , then I think we'll get along for a while " Zayn said as he drew his katana.
The marines stood for a while , before letting out Battle cries and charging at the men.
With half of the Marines surrounding them , the two began to attack.
Orion swung his Naginata twice , wiping a hole lane of Marine's before jumping up and landing on a whole group of them , crushing them while sending some overboard.
He looked behind him to see Zayn cutting up the marines on his side.
" You all good over there? " He asked as he kicked some Marines.
Zayn did three vertical slashes with his katana , before slashing in a circle around him while advancing.
" Spirit Roundslash "
Slicing up the marines Infront of him while sheathing his katana.
Once his hands were free , the dual blades appeared and he dashed towards the marines who held guns.
Cutting them before they even had a chance to shoot.
" Doing a fair amount of hurting on my side. You killed anyone yet? " Zayn responded as he spun around like a cyclone of electricity.
" Not too sure , I've just been swinging my weapon blindly at this point. Not like they're worth the trouble of thinking about " Orion said. As soon as he did , some of the Marines froze at the insult.
Leaving themselves open to another attack from the tall and strong man.
" That was cold " Zayn said. Throwing one of his dual blades at a marine. Its hilt hitting the marines and bouncing it back to Zayn who caught it and sliced him across the chest.
Before they knew it , they had cleared half of the Marines on board.
Leaving the others staring in fear.
" How is this even possible!? " One of them said.
" Maybe that really is Whitebeard!?! " Another said.
Upon hearing that comment , the Vice Admiral appeared behind the Marine and smacked him over the head.
" Don't be ridiculous , the fool Infront of you is 664cm tall. Whereas the criminal monstrosity you speak of was 667cm tall " he pointed out.
Zayn sweat dropped.
(" That's not much of a difference (٥↼_↼) ") he thought.
Orion heard this and turned to the Vice Admiral.
" You call the great Whitebeard a criminal monstrosity? " Orion said , murderous intent in his eyes.
Francis stood , not close to as tall as Orion , but not showing that he cared in the slightest.
" Yes , and he was just that. Couldn't even live up to his name during the paramount war " he answered.
Orion chuckled darkly , stalking towards the man.
" You obviously think lightly of him , despite the fact that he had alot against him during that war. " He said , a visible Purple glint in his eyes.
Taking a few steps forward , Francis unfolded his hands.
" An old man past his prime had no place on a battlefield. " he said.
" You wouldn't understand , its called being legendary "
Vice Admiral Francis scoffed.
" He can keep his legend in the grave for all I care "
With a laugh , Orion swung his Naginata at the man.
But with one hand , Francis stopped the weapon. Shocking the two pirates.
" He stopped it!?! " Orion and Zayn said.
The marines began to cheer and clap for their superior.
" Whitebeard died a pirate , his life was meaningless and deserved to have ended " Francis asked as he pushed the blade aside , not out of Orion's grip though.
" Looks like I struck a nerve "
Orion scoffed and spun the weapon in the air before bringing it down hard on the Vice Admiral.
However , Francis stopped the attack once more with the same hand.
" That's not possible! " Zayn said , relaying his experience with Orion's attacks and knowing vividly how powerful they were.
" It sure is " one of the Marine said.
Zayn turned to him.
" He has the power of a Devil fruit. And that power combined with his intelligence has skyrocketed him through the Marines ranks " the Marine stated.
" Did I ask? ಠ_ಠ " Zayn asked causing the marine to willingly jump off the ship.
Francis pushed the weapon away , this time forcing it and Orion back.
" He was telling the truth " Francis said as he walked towards Orion and put his left hand on his stomach.
As he did a strong force push hit the tall man , causing him to skid backwards cracking the floorboards under him.
Zayn dashed towards the Vice Admiral and struck his dual blades against the man , only for the man to turn and block the blades with his right forearm.
The blade didn't cut through him , shocking the swordsman.
Zayn then let go of the dual blades and unsheathed his katana , slicing in an upwards motion before twisting the blade and bringing it back down to slash again.
" Rising and Setting Slash "
The attack however didn't injure that Admiral at all , and instead just damaged his attire and glasses.
" And I was starting to like this attire " Francis said as he put his hand on Zayn , sending a force push that knocked the wind out of him.
(" Gack!! That was strong! ")
" Thanks to the powers of the Sogeki-Sogeki fruit (" Impact fruit ") , I can absorb the impacts given to me from any kind of attack. swords hammers guns other devil fruit users , and send it right back to the enemy " he explained.
Orion chuckled.
" So you weren't just withstanding my attacks , instead it was your Devil fruit powers at work " he said.
Zayn sighed in relief.
(" At least that's cleared up ") he thought.
Orion planted his weapon into the deck of the ship.
" so what you're saying , is that you can take any impact. And send it right back? " He asked.
The Vice Admiral nodded.
" It was this power that I used , in tune with my knowledge of Haki and the rokushiki techniques that made me go from cabin boy to Vice Admiral in the short span of 5 months " he boasted in a calm tone.
Raising his right hand , the vice admiral showed his physical features.
" I'm so confident in my strength that I'd even go far as to say that I would be able to beat that man you call a legend if he were here "
This claim definitely made the Marines eyes shine in awe , however there was a pause before Orion began to laugh , catching the Marines off guard.
" Gurararararaa!! That was a good one " Orion stated as he cracked his knuckles.
" Something funny? Do you think otherwise? " Francis asked showing signs of irritation on his face.
" Yes " Orion answered.
" However.....you said something bout how he life was meaningless "
He disappeared and appeared Infront of the Vice Admiral.
His fist coated in a shiny black substance , just before crashing with it's target.
Francis stood still , surprising the Marines and Zayn.
" Was that all? " Francis asked.
Just then , a loud rumbling noise was heard from the Vice Admiral as he expanded for a second.
" That man was a savior to his country , a hero to the fish men and a father to his crew. His final moments were an example of how he lived , with full pride and no regrets!! His last words inspired so many lives and caused one of the biggest rise of action since Roger's death!! " Orion completed as he drove his fist upward sending the Vice Admiral skyward. And in the air , another rumbling noise thundered before the admiral glowed so bright emitting sonic booms before falling down like a smoking meteor.
His body landed on the deck of the Marines vessel , everyone stood with open jaws and wide eyes.
The Vice Admiral's body lay like a husk , smoke coming from his mouth and eyes white.
" So don't you dare say that his life was meaningless " Orion stated.
Zayn was just as shocked as the others.
(" In an instant....he ended the fight....even before the fight could go anywhere....and with such an attack!! What was that anyway.....and was that haki!? ") Were the thoughts in the swordsman's mind as he stared at the near dead man on the floor.
" He had the ability to absorb impacts yes? " Orion started , getting all their attention.
" So I delivered a punch so powerful that it filled him up to the point of blowing up. Think of it as a battery , putting too much electricity in it and it combusts mainly because it can't store it all " he explained.
And everyone marveled, fully understanding what the pirate had said.
" Just now , he said that he could've beaten Whitebeard " he continued pulling his blade out of the ground and turning to the marines.
" With what I've seen , he wouldn't even have been able to stand Infront of him. He's nothing compared to the person who's going to be the world's strongest man "
Time froze , and Zayn saw the man staring at him. He saw strength beyond anything.
The towering figure with such a drive that it was unstoppable , he practically radiated strength. Making it very clear that at that moment , nobody could tell him otherwise.
" By the way , this ship is mine now " Orion stated.
" Eeehhh!?! " All the remaining Marines yelled in unison.
Orion raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
" What? Did you think I was joking earlier? "
Zayn shook his head with a smirk.
A old voice speaking in his head making him question something.
(" Was he the person that Lady Yukomo was talking about? ") Zayn wondered.
While he thought to himself , the tall pirate came up to him.
" Who's that? " Orion asked now Infront of him , startling the swordsman.
Startled , Zayn replied quickly.
" What are you talking about!? " He asked , looking around he noticed that all the marines we're either on the floor or jumping overboard.
" And what just happened!? "
" Oh , well. Remember how I said I wanted the ship " Orion said leaning forward.
" Now that they know I was serious , they are jumping off so that they don't face the same fate that their fellow men have" he finished , pointing at the unconscious men on the deck.
Zayn pushed the man's face away and walked towards the edge of the ship.
" Who would want to get smashed anyway " he said looking over the edge and seeing the many Marines either unconscious , dead or just floating.
" And the Vice Admiral guy? "
Orion picked up Vice Admiral Francis's body and chucked it overboard , no regards that it was a human body at all.
" He's not dead , but he'll probably sink since he's a devil fruit user " he said getting to the helm of the ship.
Zayn raised an eyebrow to him.
" Wouldn't your rather finish the job? "
" No. If he's serious after recovery , then he'll make for a fine rival later on " Orion laughed.
* Time skip *
The marine ship was now sailing without any marines on it , but rather two pirates who took control of it without any difficulty.
" So how'd you learn how to use haki? Thought you said you grew up on the Timeless island " Zayn asked.
Orion dropped his big box of valuables which he took from his old ship onto the deck.
" We had access to knowledge about it thanks to a woman. Didn't know her name back then so we used to call her Miss Power (" not in anyway related to the one from another anime ") "
Orion explained as he sat down.
" Why? "
" Because she knew all about haki , training us and showing us how to control it. She was able to bend it to her will , teaching that skill to some of the others while still making sure we didn't get left behind " Orion continued.
" All in all , she was a great teacher "
Zayn nodded and unsheathed his katana.
" We made a promise to see her once our training was finished , all of us. " As he reached this part , the man clenched his fist.
" But...... "