Chapter 502: Chapter 502: God Valley Arc — Orin’s Kick to Kaido

"So that means you ran into a troublesome guy, right?"

On the Den Den Mushi, a domineering face that looked similar to Blackbeard, with streaked hair, slowly spoke.

"Ah... yeah."

Whitebeard had nothing to hide. He had always held genuine respect for true powerhouses.

Just as he was about to say something more, the Den Den Mushi suddenly flashed, and then... it vanished from the spot.

"What?!"

Whitebeard’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in disbelief, but he quickly noticed Orin’s figure. Wasn’t the one in his hand Whitebeard’s Den Den Mushi?

On the other side, Rocks, who was holding a banquet on Hachinosu, also noticed something off with the Den Den Mushi. The face that originally had a white crescent mustache suddenly switched, turning into a smiling face with eyes bursting with crimson light.

"You... you’re the troublesome enemy Newgate mentioned, right?"

Rocks bared his teeth and asked in a domineering tone, seemingly not bothered at all by Whitebeard’s description of "troublesome."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Orin."

Orin said calmly.

"Orin, huh? How about joining my pirate crew? I’m called Rocks!!! No matter what kind of ambition you have, the Rocks Pirates can accommodate it!!!"

Since he had already decided to join the Rocks Pirates for a while, there was nothing to hesitate about.

"The Rocks Pirates?"

"Well... sure."

Hearing that, a grin spread across Rocks’ imposing face, and he laughed loudly.

"That was surprisingly easy. But whatever—after all, this is a pirate crew made up of monsters!!!"

Orin smiled as well.

Rocks, huh? What a truly domineering man...

In terms of strength, Rocks might be a bit weaker than Imu, because the latter’s schemes ran too deep and too dirty—more like a mechanics monster. But Rocks was the real deal: the most commanding, kingly man Orin had ever seen.

In this respect, even Captain Roger, and Shanks in later years, couldn’t compare to him in sheer presence. You could say he was the closest among mortals to being the "King of the World."

"My goal is to conquer the Holy Land. If you want to join me, be prepared!!! As for whether a monster like you will still be willing to lend me a hand when the time comes, that’s up to you!!! But if you are willing... then follow me, and let’s go see the very pinnacle of this world together!!!"

A true world overlord never fears the ambitions of his subordinates.

Listening to these words, even though Orin had no interest in playing the game of conquest, he couldn’t help feeling stirred.

In this regard, even though Orin’s ideals were completely different from Rocks’, he had to admit it: this was a ruler whose bearing and personal charisma were in no way inferior to his own.

Such a figure—whether in strength, in steadfastness to ideals, or in emotional resilience—was someone people looked up to and acknowledged.

The difference was this: Rocks wanted to realize his own ambitions, while Orin wanted absolute freedom and the joy of living; what Rocks cared about were his wife and children, his family; what Orin cared about were the old man Keek who raised him, and those "family" who accompanied him on life’s road, like Captain Roger, Buggy, and others.

As for strength, someone with such conviction and presence could not possibly have weak Conqueror’s Haki—he truly had the qualifications to charge at the pinnacle of the world.

It was just that Orin was still in his younger years, while Rocks had already stepped into the peak of his life and begun marching toward the world’s summit.

Thinking about it that way, temporarily joining the Rocks Pirates to hang around didn’t seem so unacceptable after all.

With that in mind, Orin joined the Rocks Pirates, planning to use this chance to truly witness the youthful years of the older generation of pirates.

...

A few days later,

"Shocking!!! Only in his early twenties, the new captain of the Rocks Pirates!!!"

"Rocks’ illegitimate son? Or Roger’s biological brother?"

"Overlord of the Seas!!! A monstrous rookie makes his debut, bounty set at two billion Belly!!!"

"The Marines should really go into journalism—sniffing things out like bloodhounds..."

Orin stood on the deck of a Rocks Pirates ship, draped in a black coat, looking at the newspaper in his hand. He was currently heading toward Hachinosu together with Whitebeard and the others, yet his bounty had already been issued and spread across the world while they were still on the way.

"That’s amazing!!! Two billion Belly!!!"

Keek, who had now become one of Orin’s subordinates, stared at the bounty notice with sparkling eyes. He looked even happier than if his own bounty had been raised.

Orin, however, was noncommittal and just smiled faintly.

"Only two billion, huh..."

Kaido, on the other hand, was clearly displeased. He seemed to still remember Orin’s shot, and seeing Keek so happy made him frown immediately. This guy Orin gets a bounty and you’re jumping around like that?

"Hey!!! You brat—"

Even as a trainee, Kaido was already showing impressive strength and was clearly positioned as a captain candidate in the Rocks Pirates. He grabbed Keek by the collar with visible irritation. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Calm down, you bastard!!!"

Keek had been happy, but the next second he was yanked by the collar. The one doing it was Kaido, known on the ship as one of the monsters and someone close to Captain Charlotte Linlin. His pupils trembled, and a few beads of cold sweat appeared on his face.

This is bad...

Just as he was getting nervous and bracing himself for a beating—

"Bang—!!!"

A huge foot suddenly appeared and kicked Kaido square in the face, sending him flying and plowing a deep trench across the deck.

The young Kaido ended up with a big black shoe print—dragon-sized—stamped firmly on his face. The hand that had been gripping Keek’s collar also loosened.

That kick was no light one. Even with Kaido’s monstrous physique, his eyes rolled back for a moment.

Keek fell to the ground and couldn’t help looking toward the man who had kicked him.

At that moment, the man’s face no longer carried his usual easygoing warmth or smile—only a sheet of ice remained.

Orin’s eyes burst with crimson light. If he hadn’t known that Kaido had no killing intent toward the old man, it wouldn’t have ended with just a single kick.

"If you dare mess with him again, I’ll kill you."

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