March 21, 1494, Age of the Sea Circle
Orion saw the columns of smoke multiplying, and the cries for help growing ever closer, and immediately his mind began to race.
He knew he currently didn't have enough power to take on a group of pirates. No matter how high his swordsmanship, his body was still that of a child, and if he tried to engage in combat, there was a high probability he would end up dead.
He didn't even know if they were being attacked by a large pirate crew, or what their power level was. The most prudent thing to do right now was to hide and wait for the pirates to retreat. That would be the best-case scenario. On the other hand, if the pirates decided to settle in this small town and use it as a base of operations... Orion didn't dare continue thinking in that direction.
Gion was frightened by the pirates' sudden attack, and she hugged his arm tightly. He could feel the little girl's body trembling beside him, and his heart trembled at the thought of her being hurt by these damned pirates!
If there was one thing that calmed him down a bit, it was that Gion was part of the original history of the One Piece world, so she should be safe even during this attack, although he couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't be hurt or harassed during this pirate attack. He wouldn't allow that to happen under any circumstances! He'd rather die than let the pirates hurt the little girl who had been by his side throughout his entire new life.
The thoughts, memories, and feelings of his childhood influenced his adult mind. Just as he felt great affection for his parents and considered them his true biological parents, his childhood self's perception of his best friend, Gion, also influenced his adult mind. In the minds of both of them, the little girl who was always by his side occupied an irreplaceable role, and it was something he had to defend tooth and nail, to the bitter end.
Orion gritted his teeth and made a decision. The most important thing was to ensure the well-being of his loved ones: his parents, Gion, and her parents.
"Gion, I want you to hide in the house with your parents. Don't make a sound, and no matter what happens, don't come out of hiding."
Gion listened to Orion's instructions and paled. She gripped his arm tightly and said with tears in her eyes:
"No! I'm not going to leave. If you don't come with me, I'm not going!"
Although she spoke firmly, she kept her voice low. She knew there were pirates around, and she had to avoid attracting attention.
Orion took her little hands in his and looked at her firmly, but also with overwhelming tenderness.
"Gion, I know you're worried, but I have to go find my parents. They're working on the farms, and if they're attacked by pirates, they'll have no chance of survival."
Gion lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Of course, she knew what he was saying was true, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to Orion's parents, who were like family to her, having grown up spending large amounts of time at their house. She was just afraid something might happen to Orion along the way; she didn't want him to be in danger.
"Then I'll come with you—"
"No!" Orion said firmly, interrupting Gion's words. He was worried about his parents and needed to go check on them, but Gion couldn't take the risk. She had to stay safe; he wouldn't allow her to put herself in danger because of him.
"Be obedient, Gion. Stay here and wait for my return. I promise nothing will happen to me,"
Orion said, stroking her head tenderly.
Gion wanted to object once more, but he took the wooden sword he had given her for her birthday, which she had dropped to the floor in surprise at the sudden pirate attack, and placed it firmly in her hands.
"Now is the time to show the results of our training, Gion. I promise I won't put myself in danger. If the pirates attack me, I'll run away and get to safety. I'm just going to find my parents and bring them here. Then, we'll all look out for each other."
Gion heard his words and saw his firm eyes, and nodded, tears still welling up in her eyes.
"That's a promise, you hear me? If you break it, I won't forgive you!"
Orion sighed with relief when he saw that she had finally given up on accompanying him and would remain hidden in his house.
"No problem, when have I ever broken a promise?" he said, flashing his signature sunny smile.
Before he could respond, Gion's father, Mr. Harewood, ran into the yard with a worried expression. Seeing the children were safe, he sighed in relief.
"Gion, Orion, it's dangerous outside. Come with me. Let's go home and hide. There are pirates attacking the town!" Mr. Harewood said, scooping his little daughter into his arms and reaching out to grab Orion, who was also like a son to him.
However, before he could grab the little boy's arm, Orion deftly dodged him and ran off toward the street.
Mr. Harewood paled and couldn't help raising his voice slightly.
"Orion! Come here, it's dangerous outside. Be a good boy and come home with us!"
"Don't worry, Uncle Robert. I'll be fine. I'll go find my parents and come back right away!"
Orion said, and continued running in the direction of the farms where his parents were working, leaving behind the worried Mr. Harewood, who could only watch helplessly as the boy he loved like his own ran into danger.
..............................…
The small Pacific Town had existed for only a few decades. It had been founded by people of Orion's grandfather's generation, who had migrated to this area because it was remote and far from the great kingdoms of the region.
These founders had named this new settlement "Pacific Town" hoping that it would always remain aloof from the world's troubles.
And for decades, this had been the case. This small village in South Blue had never experienced a pirate attack. Perhaps it was because it was far from naval trade routes, and it was not a wealthy village.
The small Peaceful Village was self-sufficient with its fishing and farmland; it did not maintain active trade with distant communities, and it was not fortified.
It was truly a remote and undefended village, which is why the attack by a small pirate crew had caused such a tremendous stir in the town.
The Flogi Pirates were a band of only 30 pirates. Therefore, they couldn't possibly raze a town the size of Pacific Town. After all, the town had about 700 inhabitants, and even without an armed guard, if all the inhabitants took up arms to defend themselves, they could cause trouble for the Flogi Pirates.
With this in mind, the group of pirates had a prudent plan in mind. They would attack quickly, looting as much as they could and kidnapping some women, and then escape immediately to avoid possible complications.
Furthermore, if they stayed in the town too long, they might attract the attention of the navy; after all, they didn't know if the people of this small town had any way to call for help. If they had a den den mushi to contact the navy, they could be in trouble, as there was a navy base about 200 kilometers away.
The pirates landed openly on the coast, opposite the village's port, and immediately began their savage attack. They began looting the houses near the coast and advancing further into the village. Along the way, they killed anyone who resisted them, although most people simply ran away in panic.
Pacific Town had two farm areas: one behind the village, toward the mountains, and another near the coast, where some vegetables and fruits were grown.
On the farms near the coast, Orion's parents, Paul and Lira, watched in terror as the pirates began their merciless attack. They immediately thought about hiding, but as soon as they remembered that their young son was alone at home, they didn't hesitate to start running toward their home, even though that was the direction the pirates were marching.
A shot rang out in Paul's ears, and he felt a sharp pain in his leg; he'd been shot.
He fell to the ground screaming, as his wife Lira looked on in panic.
He raised his head, gritting his teeth and trying not to faint from the pain, and he could see how the farms had been invaded by a small group of scruffy-looking pirates, laughing loudly and advancing haughtily as if they owned the place.
Lira looked at the pirates approaching in the distance, and her body began to shake uncontrollably. One of the pirates had captured Celia, one of her friends who used to work with her on the farms. He'd thrown her to the ground and violently ripped off her clothes, and now he was cruelly raping her, ignoring his victim's pleading screams.
Seeing Celia's fate, Lira felt her legs weaken, and she sank to the ground with her husband. The pirates approached, laughing and nudging each other. To her, they were like demons from a horror story.
So many years of living in peace had created in them the false illusion that the world was a peaceful and beautiful place. But this world was far from that image. It was a cruel world, where only the strongest survived, and countless innocent people suffered fates worse than death every day.
Lira took Paul's hand, as he was losing a lot of blood and seemed about to faint, and looked desperately at the approaching pirates.
Suddenly, behind the pirates, in the distance, she thought she saw a small figure running toward her at full speed.
"I must be hallucinating," Lira thought, refusing to believe the image she was seeing was real. The small figure continued moving at great speed, its image becoming increasingly clear. It was her little son, barely four years old, Orion, running with his wooden sword in his hand. There were traces of blood on his clothes, on his face, and even on his small wooden sword.
The hateful and cruel voices of the pirates reached her ears.
"Phew, I didn't think there were so many beauties in this small town! The world is a big place, hahaha."
"That's right, Ricky, this time we've really hit the jackpot!"
"I'll ask for this one! That guy over there seems to be her husband. I want to humiliate her in front of him! Hahaha."
"Haha, you always have your fetishes! Although I must admit it's not a bad idea, can I join in too? We can go one on each side! Hahaha."
The pirates' obscene conversation struck her heart again. Tears began to well up in her eyes. The idea of ending her life to avoid being humiliated surfaced in her mind. But she immediately rejected it; she couldn't simply abandon her husband and son; that would be a huge blow to them. For them, she was willing to suffer the worst humiliations.
Lira lowered her head in resignation, and tears fell onto the floor. Never in her life had she felt so afraid and helpless.
..............................…
Orion quickened his pace as much as he could. His childlike body didn't have the superhuman agility of the protagonists in the novels he'd read in his previous life. He'd used the system points he'd earned to enhance his innate talent and some of his skills, but his physical condition was still more or less that of a normal four-year-old, which made things very difficult.
After all, what did it matter if he was the best swordsman in the world if he didn't even have enough power to apply the techniques in combat?
If anything encouraged him, it was that the pirates didn't seem to be too numerous, and there weren't any named figures among them, so at least the chances of encountering someone very powerful were diminished.
He tried to stay positive, despite knowing he was in a critical situation.
Just before reaching the farm areas where his parents were located, near the coast, a pirate suddenly appeared in front of him.
The pirate was armed only with a large, rather crude wooden club. Seeing a small boy running down the street with a wooden sword in his hands, he saw the perfect opportunity to upgrade his weapon.
He was a new member of the crew and didn't have a very high status yet. He didn't even have a decent weapon, and he had to resort to using a crude club that didn't have much attack power. On the other hand, the wooden sword the little boy was carrying seemed to be of very good quality at first glance.
Is there anything easier in this world than robbing a small child? The pirate thought as he ran toward the infant, interrupting his stride.
Orion saw the pirate who had appeared in front of him, and his entire body immediately went into a state of alert. He stopped and looked at the pirate with teary eyes, then said in a pitiful tone of voice.
"Sir, please don't do anything to me. I'm so scared. I want my mom."
His broken voice and terrified eyes brimming with tears made the pirate lower his guard even further. After all, even if a child had a wooden sword, he's still a useless child!
"Don't worry, boy, I'm not going to do anything to you. But I need you to give me that sword you're holding."
Orion seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally nodded and approached slowly, offering the sword in his hand. The pirate's eyes lit up, and in an instant, he leaped forward, swinging his large club with all his might!
If the blow landed, the little boy's head would explode like a watermelon from the sheer force it carried.
However, to the pirate's surprise, the blow didn't make contact with the child, and the expected scene of brains exploding through the air didn't happen. Instead, the club slammed into the ground, sending up a small cloud of dust that entered his eyes, forcing him to close them momentarily.
And it was then that Orion seized the only opportunity he had to attack. He knew very well that if he didn't seize this opportunity, he would have no other chance to take the pirate by surprise and defeat him. With his underdeveloped body, his chances of victory, or even escape, were infinitely close to zero.
The pirate heard a loud sound. It was the sound of the wooden sword slicing through the air at high speed, approaching him, who was completely defenseless against the attack. He tried to raise his club to defend himself, but because he was blinded, he couldn't identify where the sword would strike.
Finally, his defense was unsuccessful; he felt a heavy blow to his neck, and fell to the ground, struggling to breathe.
However, Orion wouldn't give him a chance to recover. Seeing the pirate who had fallen to the ground clutching his neck, the little boy's eyes turned completely cold. There was no room for mercy on the battlefield!
He raised his sword above his head and brought it down with all his might, using the combat motion he had practiced day after day in his backyard. The sword descended again and again, raining down incessantly on the head of the unfortunate pirate, who was unable to offer any resistance, and finally fell at the hands of the little boy.
The ringing of a bell in his mind woke him from his state of concentration. During the barrage of attacks, he had been totally focused for fear that the pirate would recover. He had entered an almost manic state where he was not fully conscious, and was guided by his emotions.
It was the first time he had taken a life, and although he had not hesitated for a second, his psychological state was not entirely good.
He looked at the completely destroyed and deformed head of the pirate lying on the ground. White and gray matter were scattered all over the scene, forming a vomit-inducing image. His sword was covered in blood, and even his clothes and face had been stained with his enemy's blood without him even realizing it.
He wiped the back of his sleeve across his face to wipe away the blood, but he couldn't completely remove it, and only smeared it a little, making the little boy look like a tiny monster from some hell. If any of the inhabitants of this small town saw him walking around in this condition at night, they would undoubtedly run in the opposite direction, praying to whatever god they believed in.
He looked at the system screen, where new messages had appeared.
*Pirate eliminated, 10 system points earned*
*Cleansing the world of the filth that contaminates it is everyone's job. Pirates are a huge problem in this world, so you should make a greater effort to get rid of them. The bounty system has been activated. You can earn system points for eliminating criminals. The more powerful and dangerous the criminal, the greater the reward!*
*New Mission Available*
*Mission 01 - Defend your home:
Description: A group of pirates has arrived in your hometown and begun committing crimes. People have been murdered, supplies stolen, homes burned, women raped and kidnapped. It's time for you to step up and defend your home. If you can't even defend a small village, how will you change the world?
Objective: Defend the village from pirates.
Reward: A random skill at level 0, system points.
(Depending on the town's condition at the end of the pirate attack, the Host's performance will be evaluated. If the Host actively assists and plays an important role in defending the town, the system's evaluation will increase. The higher the evaluation, the better the reward received. Good luck!)
Pirates defeated: 1/30 *
*The Host's physical condition has been detected as too poor to complete this mission. To assist the Host on his first mission, he will be granted a skill that improves his physical condition. *
*Host has obtained the passive skill "Strong Body (Level 0)"