Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice-Chapter 451: Orin’s Shadow

The crumbling laboratory, the spreading poison gas SAD—these disasters seemed isolated from this place, quietly serving as nothing more than background scenery.

Orin sat atop the railing, looking out at Punk Hazard, an island like a human tragedy incarnate.

"From the very beginning, when Law called out the name of Warp-Warp, you were already affected."

Vergo fell silent.

He admitted it was true.

Originally, having trained his Armament Haki to an extremely high level, he would not have feared strange Devil Fruit abilities—but the Warp-Warp Fruit was another matter entirely. He had been careless at the time, and tension had begun to creep in.

Orin, on the other hand, found it all very amusing, because Law had actually gone and pirated his technique in reverse—and done it so clumsily at that.

Orin sat on the railing, right beside Vergo’s dangling head, conjuring a bottle of orange juice and pouring it straight into his mouth.

"Come to think of it, it’s really hilarious. You didn’t seriously think that brat Law’s Devil Fruit could actually make you unable to move, did you?"

"That..."

Vergo froze. He really had felt, earlier, that sensation of being unable to advance. It was extremely similar to one of Orin’s legendary signature techniques, "Don’t Move," which was said to instantly warp anyone back to their original state if they exceeded a certain range of motion.

Seeing Vergo’s expression, Orin burst out laughing.

This was way too interesting~

"You really got bluffed by Law. You wrapped your whole body in Armament Haki and panicked, didn’t even properly use Observation Haki~"

"Law couldn’t warp you at all. What he warped was the ground and the surrounding buildings."

"???"

Even someone as cold and reserved as Vergo couldn’t help his face stiffening when he heard that.

Orin, as an observer—and at the pinnacle of Observation Haki—had seen everything perfectly clearly.

After frightening Vergo at the start, Law expanded his room to a terrifying scale as Vergo advanced, then moved himself and the entire structure backward at the same speed Vergo was moving forward.

From Vergo’s perspective, the surroundings and Law himself were advancing, creating the illusion that he was still standing in place. Vergo truly believed this was something only a Devil Fruit ability like Orin’s could accomplish, causing a moment of disorientation.

And Law?

Perhaps inspired by Orin’s awakened Devil Fruit—projecting the power of warping outward to control external space—combined with the absurd luck of a chosen one gaining +100 comprehension when pushed to the brink of death, he actually managed to grasp the barest outline of Devil Fruit awakening. He crudely applied the power of room onto his blade, and in the instant Vergo faltered, he cut him apart with a single slash.

If Vergo had learned even a fraction of Orin’s perseverance, his pursuit of power, his fearlessness in the face of death...

Then what had Law learned?

It couldn’t be underhandedness, could it?

Vergo remained silent, Orin’s laughter echoing in his ears.

The victor takes all. No matter how you put it, he had already lost.

"So? Over on Joker’s side, you’re basically already dead. Want to come work for me?"

"Orin-san..."

Vergo’s expression shifted. Then came the sound of a finger snap. His body—previously scattered into pieces by Law—began to reassemble.

Torso, limbs, head—drawn together, reconnecting.

At last, the figure of a burly man was fully restored. In his hand was the final piece of his body—

His own heart.

"Think it over.

In a little while, Joker might just give the order to destroy this island, you know~"

Orin said with a smile. Vergo remained silent for a moment, then knelt to the ground.

He raised his heart with one hand.

"Thank you for granting me new life, Orin-san."

That was a symbol of loyalty. After he had been willing to give his life for Doflamingo—and after Doflamingo chose to destroy this island—their lord-vassal relationship had already come to an end.

He had proven his loyalty with his resolve to die.

From this moment on, the one he would serve was the man before him—the man who had granted him a second life.

"I offer you my heart."

...

Elsewhere,

Aboard the Thousand Sunny,

Zoro was grabbing Sanji by the collar, shaking him nonstop, looking extremely agitated.

"What did you say, you perverted cook!!!"

"Kuina showed up on Punk Hazard?!!!"

"Let go of me, moss-head!!!"

The two pressed their foreheads together, locked in a contest of strength. It was only when Robin asked that Sanji finally explained patiently.

"It was like this,"

"Back then, Father and that beautiful lady suddenly appeared in the laboratory."

"You should have felt it—the aftershock from that moment."

Luffy nodded at that.

"Yeah! The whole island suddenly started shaking~ I thought it was an earthquake."

"And there was that huge fissure that appeared, like a canyon."

Law, who had been sitting quietly, his body wrapped in bandages, shook his head.

"That wasn’t a fissure. It was a slash Orin-san unleashed using that lady’s body."

"Even using the weakest body, Orin-san is still Orin-san. That Marine Vice Admiral and I had almost no chance against him."

The group continued chatting,

But in a corner of the Thousand Sunny’s deck, a small boy who overheard the name they were discussing had eyes filled with deep terror.

Kin’emon noticed something was wrong with him.

"What’s the matter, Momonosuke-dono!?"

That’s right.

The timid-looking boy huddled in the corner was none other than the rescued Kozuki Momonosuke.

At this moment, unlike before, he was no longer trying every possible way to bury his face in beautiful women’s chests.

And thanks to Kozuki Oden’s tough constitution, even after undergoing physical castration and suffering long-term starvation, he was still lively and full of vigor—

"It’s just... just that man... he... he..."

Momonosuke stammered, unable to finish. He knew that in Wano, if he lost his status as a man, then he would also lose his legal claim to legitimacy. So he could only mumble vaguely.

"Are you talking about Lord Orin? He was once Lord Oden’s companion!!!"

Kin’emon seemed to sense nothing wrong at all.

Momonosuke felt even more despair.

Right now...

He had completely lost all desire and impulse toward beautiful women.

And just as they departed, heading toward Dressrosa,

Doflamingo, burning with rage, had already flown from Dressrosa to Punk Hazard.

He caught Smoker, who hadn’t yet left, and the killing intent in his eyes was impossible to suppress.

"Ara ara..."

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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