One Piece: Global improvement system

January 13, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle

The summer sun shone with great intensity.Orion was sailing toward the island where the group of Named Characters was located. while checking his system screen.

His physical skills had increased once again thanks to his daily training, and both Shigan and Tekkai had reached Level 2.Moreover, his accumulated SP was about to hit 10,000, which was quite a respectable amount.

Orion wasn't planning to invest those points right away. He preferred to improve his abilities naturally whenever possible and save his precious SP for critical moments.

That way, if another important mission popped up, like the last time, and the system allowed him to teleport directly to the location, he might just have enough points to accept it.

Checking the mission screen, Orion looked with some bitterness at the mission related to the Ohara incident that had failed as he had guessed it would. However, something unexpected had happened afterward.

After the system marked the mission as failed, it didn't disappear, instead, it changed its content.

* Mission 15 - Tragedy of Ohara (2)

Description: The great Tree of Knowledge burned under the cowardly attack of the World Government. The island's inhabitants were exterminated, but a single soul managed to escape the tragedy, becoming the last vestige of that civilization.

Objective: Find the sole survivor, Nico Robin, and recruit her.

Reward: SP, Random Special Skill, +1 Main Wife Slot on the Companions screen*

Clearly, he could no longer participate in the historical event as required by the mission's original version. Now the focus had shifted to recruiting the sole survivor of the tragedy.

The only problem was that Orion still had no way of reaching the West Blue, which was literally on the other side of the world. So he had no choice but to postpone this mission for the time being.

All he could do was pray that nothing bad would happen to this lone survivor in the meantime, and that she would remain hidden from the World Government.

On the mission screen, there was another quest related to Ohara that he had never managed to complete: "Mission 07 – The Power of Knowledge."Which required him to study at the Tree of Knowledge for at least six months.

Orion wondered why that mission hadn't failed too. After all, the Tree of Knowledge had been destroyed. So there was no way to complete it, he thought.

In any case, although he was quite curious, he wasn't too worried. Eventually, he would go to Ohara and check the situation with his own eyes.

Looking out over the horizon from his small sailboat, Orion remembered that today was Gion's birthday, his childhood friend and fiancée.He hadn't heard anything from her in a long time. The last news he had received was the letter she sent before leaving to train with Shimotsuki Ren.

Orion thought it was a shame that Gion had gone so far away and that he wouldn't be able to see her again anytime soon. Right now, she was probably in the Grand Line, training to improve her combat skills before officially joining the Marines.

The fact that she was going to become a Marine also gave him a bit of a headache, as Orion was destined to clash with that institution in the future, and he didn't want to be on opposite sides with his first friend in this world.

That's why he was planning to go find her and recruit her the moment he had the chance.She was a swordsmanship prodigy and would probably surpass even some of his current subordinates, like Yukimura, for example.

Besides, she was his fiancée, and he didn't want his future wife getting involved with the turbulent waters of the Marines, as it was an utterly corrupt and dangerous organization.

Suddenly, a sensation interrupted his thoughts about Gion, and with a wave of his hand, Orion opened a door in midair. From it emerged Lucky Roux, who had been sleeping on the luxurious bed within the Pocket Dimension.

This time, Orion had decided to bring Roux along, since he was the strongest among his subordinates and the one who could provide the most help if problems arose.

"Yawn—Orion, are we there yet?" asked Lucky Roux, scratching his belly, still half-asleep.

"Still a long way to go. If you're bored, you can do some training," Orion replied bluntly.

Roux instantly snapped awake and took two steps back, even though there was nowhere to run on the small sailboat.

"N-No, I'm not bored! In fact, I'm completely focused on the journey!" he said, clearly worried that Orion might actually make him train.

The past few months in Pacific Kingdom had been like a dream come true for him.He had worked his whole life as a slave without a moment of rest, but recently he'd been able to experience what freedom really felt like.

He spent his days learning how to cook and eating all kinds of delicacies, which had made his belly start to grow at a rapid pace.

However, if there was one downside to his new home, it was the brutal training.He had pledged to become Orion's subordinate and pay his life debt in full. He had always been prepared to die for Orion if needed—but what he hadn't expected was that his savior would be a training-obsessed fanatic!

Orion had crafted a strict and merciless routine just for him, and every time they crossed paths, he was dragged into another round of intense training, leaving Roux with a mild trauma.

He, who had tirelessly worked in the mines as a slave for years, simply couldn't keep up with Orion's pace during training.

To make things worse, Orion always told him he was his most talented subordinate and had high hopes for him, so Lucky Roux didn't have the heart to refuse.

Seeing Roux get nervous just at the mention of training, Orion chuckled.

"Well, if you don't feel like training, you can just sit back and relax. The weather's nice right now," Orion said, dropping the topic.

Of course, he had already noticed Roux's growing reluctance to train, and he had to admit it was partly his fault. The problem was that Roux was simply too talented, and Orion had wanted to help him reach his full potential, forgetting that not everyone had buffs that made their bodies six times more resilient than normal.

Maybe he had gone a little overboard with the training load and would need to adjust his approach moving forward.

That was partly why he had brought Roux along on this trip, as there might be chances for him to gain some real combat experience.

Orion wasn't planning to fight the Named Characters he was going to meet, nor to stir up conflict with them. But if something did happen, it would be a good opportunity for Lucky Roux to gain practical experience.

Roux sighed in relief and sat on the deck, munching on a piece of cured meat he had brought along.

Just then, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out. Orion walked over to where it sat and picked up the call.

"Kairos! I need your help!" said a voice from the other end, filled with urgency.

"Christina? What's going on?" Orion replied, recognizing the voice of the Marine captain.

He had been in touch with Christina over the past few months, since the Marine base she commanded was quite close to Pacific Island. On several occasions, he had helped her deal with pirates in the area, earning some berries and SP in the process.

They couldn't really be called friends, but at least they were acquaintances, and to some extent, allies when it came to pirate control.

"I'm on a mission to capture a famous pirate crew, but I underestimated their strength, and now I'm in trouble. Can you help me? I can offer a good reward," Christina said urgently.

"Give me the details," Orion responded. He was currently quite far from Pacific Town, so he didn't know if he'd be able to help this earnest Marine captain.

Christina quickly explained where she was and gave a brief overview of the situation.

Apparently, she had been assigned a special mission to deal with a dangerous pirate group outside her jurisdiction. Since the order came from the higher-ups of the South Blue branch of the Marines, she had no choice but to follow through—even if the mission was completely unreasonable.

With her current strength and limited troops, it was basically a suicide mission. But Christina Kelly had a strong sense of duty and didn't hesitate to charge headfirst into battle.

Now her forces had suffered a crushing defeat, and she was at risk of being captured.She had already requested reinforcements from the Marines, but had been ignored—and even mocked to her face.

This was because the mission had been a punishment from Rear Admiral Nakamura, after she refused the advances of his nephew Yarisugi.

Obviously, the Marines weren't going to help her, especially after receiving explicit orders from South Blue's top brass not to intervene.

Cornered, Christina decided to call Kairos, who was someone she had worked with before and trusted enough to hope he might lend her a hand in this dire situation.

Orion opened the system map and checked the coordinates Christina had provided.She wasn't too far away, but if he decided to help her, he'd have to detour and delay his plans to investigate the Named Characters.

Still, he didn't hesitate for long and agreed to help her.

Christina Kelly was a noble person with a strong sense of justice, someone who genuinely worked hard to protect people. It would be a shame for someone like that to be buried and forgotten by history because of a petty order from someone more powerful.

Orion ended the call with Christina and altered the boat's course.

"Change of plans, Roux. We're making a quick stop to eliminate some pirates," he said, checking the system's Bounty Hunter tab, which showed info on the pirates Christina was facing.

Lucky Roux nodded without pausing his meal.

Meanwhile, after ending the call with Orion, Christina continued hiding in the forest.

She had been working this mission for two weeks and wasn't ready to act yet.However, without warning, the pirates she had been surveilling launched a surprise attack on her troops, catching them off guard and massacring most of them.

They had been well hidden and hadn't alerted the enemy, yet the pirates had somehow found them and struck directly at their weak points, as if they knew everything: their location, tactics, formations, and even personnel details.

Clearly, someone had leaked information. A traitor.

Thinking back to the terrified faces of her subordinates as they were ambushed and slaughtered, Christina clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in rage.

Why did everything always have to be so unfair?

It wasn't the first time she had faced something like this. Throughout her life—even before joining the Marines—she had been subjected to all kinds of injustices.

Her parents had been humiliated and murdered by the local mafia of her hometown, and she had escaped, abandoning them like a coward.

In truth, she had only been a ten-year-old girl when it happened, and she fled only because her parents had desperately ordered her to.But in her mind, she had run away, leaving her parents behind to suffer a terrible fate. She had never forgiven herself, and she swore never to run away like that again, leaving important people behind.

After their deaths, she had joined the Marines with the dream of fighting evil and protecting the innocent.Her sense of justice was simple, but in a world full of tragedy, that was only to be expected.

Most Marine recruits joined with similar ideals, though things often changed as they climbed the ranks.A corrupt system leads to the corruption of its members; that truth remained unchanged over the years. Still, there were always a few individuals who refused to be corrupted—like Christina—and they usually met tragic ends.

She had reached the rank of captain through pure effort, even though with her talent and strength, she should already be much higher.

Over the years, she had faced many different problems, but one in particular became more prominent when she reached adolescence: her beauty.

In this world, beauty was often more of a curse than a blessing.

Beautiful women were prime targets for pirates and slavers, and they often met tragic fates.Even though she was in the Marines, it still brought trouble.

Time and time again, she had been offered positions as a mistress or concubine to high-ranking officers. And whenever she refused, they made her life miserable—blocking promotions, restricting training resources, or assigning her difficult missions.

She had considered disfiguring herself more than once, but every time she looked in the mirror and saw her parents' faces in her own, she backed down.

Until now, she had endured the harassment, though with great difficulty, but everything changed when the new recruit Yarisugi was assigned to her base.

The young man, whose family had deep roots in the Marines, was uncontrollable and had no respect for her whatsoever.At their very first meeting, he tried to grope her, and when she beat him up in return, he swore revenge.

Threatening a superior officer was no small offense, so Christina immediately filed a report and ordered his expulsion from the organization.

However, she was shocked to find that her order had been overturned, and she was even reprimanded for mishandling the situation.

She soon discovered Yarisugi had powerful backers who expected great things from him.This perverted, arrogant, and idiotic young man was destined for greatness, even if he had to be dragged there by force if needed.

Once again, she felt the injustice of the world, and the helplessness that only the weak truly understand.

Seeing Yarisugi leer at her around the base was like a cruel joke after all her years of hard work.

It was't the first time she had been desired by someone so influential, as she'd been harassed by Commodore Sebastian once before. He had once tried to abuse her, but luckily, that corrupt man had failed, and he was eventually arrested by Cipher Pol for his multiple crimes.

This time, however, things were even worse, because she was being pressured by a Rear Admiral.

She knew that if she didn't give in and become Yarisugi's plaything, Nakamura would take it as a personal offense, and he wouldn't hesitate to make her disappear.

After all, she was just a Marine captain.How many captains disappeared without a trace every year?

"Over here! There are tracks in this direction!" barked the rough voice of one of the pirates, snapping Christina from her thoughts.

She immediately pocketed the Den Den Mushi and took off running deeper into the forest.All she could do now was pray she held out long enough for Kairos to arrive and give her a fighting chance.

With the strength he had shown in their past encounters, she knew he could help her out of this nightmare.

Christina Kelly gripped a small cross tightly, a memento from her parents, and prayed silently as she ran at full speed...........................

Meanwhile, on a Marine ship sailing the South Blue, Bogard approached Garp, who was sleeping standing up, a bubble of snot growing from his nose.

He walked over to the Marine legend and woke him mercilessly.

"Wha—What is it, Bogard? Is it lunchtime?" Garp asked irritably after being shaken awake.

"We've picked up a distress call. Apparently, a pirate group attacked the unit commanded by the Marine captain named Christina Kelly."

"Christina? Why does that name sound familiar?" Garp said, stroking his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"She's one of the most promising candidates to join HQ. I've mentioned her recruitment several times," Bogard replied flatly. He was used to Garp's carefree personality, especially when it came to administrative matters.

"Oh! Now I remember! The girl with the angry face. Didn't you recruit her already?" Garp asked, recalling her image. The fact that he even remembered Christina was the strongest testament to her talent.

"No. With everything going on with Roger, I haven't had time to recruit her. I was planning to do it now, since we're already here in the South Blue."

"Alright then! We have to help her, right? Let's go straight there!" Garp said with great energy—then promptly fell back asleep on his feet.

Bogard didn't bother waking him again. He simply gave the order to change course.

They were still quite far away, and he didn't know if they'd make it in time, but they still had to try. Christina Kelly was one of the candidates with the most potential they had ever evaluated.

Garp usually didn't care much about these matters, so Bogard handled all the administrative tasks.Naturally, they recruited talented people into their ranks, not only from HQ, but also from the other Marine branches across the four Blue Seas.

For their team, strength was secondary. Character and values were what truly mattered.

In Christina's case, she had both excellent talent and a firm sense of justice, making her an ideal candidate.

Still, things likely wouldn't be so simple this time, Bogard thought as he reviewed the information.

A promising captain, sent by special order to take on pirates outside her jurisdiction, with limited forces and no reinforcements after an emergency call?

The whole situation reeked of corruption.

Garp was on an unofficial trip, so it was best not to stir up too much trouble, but Bogard knew that if his superior found out what was really happening, there was no way he wouldn't cause a scene.

After all, that was the kind of man Garp was—the Hero of the Marines.It was Bogard's job to make sure things didn't reach that point.

Staring out at the horizon, Bogard muttered:"I hope we make it in time."