Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice

Among the things stored there was the Devil Fruit he had obtained three years ago—

A Paramecia-type — the 〖Warp-Warp Fruit〗.

In the original story, it was used by Van Augur, the sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates.

It could be said to be a Devil Fruit especially suited for snipers.

But for Orin, this was clearly more than just a sniper-supporting fruit.

When his strength could no longer make any progress, Orin might consider eating this space-related Devil Fruit.

Once fully developed and awakened, it might bring many surprises — for instance, teleporting all enemy attacks thousands of miles away; instantaneous teleportation creating the "Kamui intangibility" effect to become immune to all attacks; casually teleporting Devil Fruit users into the sea...

If even the Paw-Paw Fruit could slap pain away and travel the world, then why couldn't the Warp-Warp Fruit?

In Orin's view, maybe Mythical Zoans were indeed powerful, but Paramecia types were not weak either — especially those with conceptual abilities.

As for why he hadn't eaten it yet...

Orin was waiting.

Because he had a certain suspicion — that before the right time, Devil Fruit users might be rejected by the final island.

In the original story, Buggy mysteriously developed a high fever right before landing, which caused him to miss the discovery of the One Piece.

No one else had such symptoms.

And the biggest difference between Buggy and the others was that Buggy was a Devil Fruit user.

So Orin didn't dare to gamble. The fruit wasn't going anywhere, and he wasn't in a rush for just another two years.

Besides, during those two years, he could focus entirely on improving his Haki. After all, as Kaido-sensei had said: "Only Haki can reign above all."

Naturally, Orin wouldn't abandon the basics for the sake of the secondary — he wouldn't let himself become a flashy Devil Fruit user who crumbled like paper once hit with advanced Haki.

Is Kid powerful?

After awakening his electromagnetic cannon, he could seriously wound a Yonko with ease. One blast could wipe out fleets.

But because his Haki couldn't keep up, Shanks predicted his future with Observation Haki, caught him in a moment of wind-up, and then casually one-shotted him with Divine Departure.

Three billion Belly.

So no matter what, Orin would never abandon Haki training.

He wanted to master the strongest Armament Haki in the world, see further with Observation, and wield Conqueror's Haki that rivaled anyone's.

And sailing with the Roger Pirates was currently the fastest way for him to improve his Haki — essentially replicating Shanks's rise to power...

...

Knock knock...

Just as Orin was lost in thought, a knocking sound came from the door.

"Petermoo-san?"

A strange red glow flashed in Orin's eyes. He instantly saw an image of a fat man opening the door in his mind.

He put on some pants and opened the door. Sure enough, it was his sniper mentor—

Roger Pirates' sniper, Petermoo.

"Orin, still awake?"

Petermoo had a long, bandage-wrapped object in his hand. Familiar as always, he patted Orin on the shoulder.

Orin nodded and invited him in to sit.

"What's that?"

"I'm here to congratulate you, Orin. Not everyone has the potential for Conqueror's Haki."

Grinning, Petermoo directly handed the item to Orin.

To be fair, Petermoo was a pretty solid mentor — he'd taught Orin advanced Observation Haki and sniper techniques wholeheartedly. He deserved to be called "sensei."

The moment Orin took the object, he instantly recognized it —

It was a rifle.

And a heavy one at that...

As he unwrapped the bandages layer by layer, what emerged was a sleek black sniper rifle — stylish design, high-quality from the barrel to the scope.

The material was top-notch...

Wait — the whole damn thing was made of Seastone!

What the hell...

Orin was speechless. He had been planning to become a Devil Fruit user — strong, durable, and good at sniping. So what now?

Was the Warp-Warp Fruit and a Seastone sniper rifle mutually exclusive?

"Uh... it's definitely a great gun!"

Looking at the hopeful gleam in Petermoo's eyes, Orin couldn't bring himself to complain.

Worst case, he'd just keep the bandages on in the future.

Besides, it really was a great weapon. Any experienced sniper could tell right away — it could fire thousands of meters with no issue.

And if the bullets were coated in Armament Haki or enhanced with fruit abilities, theoretically it could fire even farther.

"Hahahahaha, of course! I paid a fortune for that back in the day. But I've grown used to my old partner, so I never switched. Lucky you!"

Petermoo laughed heartily, clearly pleased to see such a fine weapon find a worthy new owner.

Because Orin deserved it.

There were very few snipers with Conqueror's Haki. Orin was practically the only one in decades — his future was limitless.

Petermoo didn't have Conqueror's Haki. So he'd never be one of the world's strongest snipers.

But Orin had the potential.

So giving him this gun was, in a sense, an investment in the future of sniping itself!

"I was planning to give it to you tomorrow, but I saw that Shanks was still awake, so I figured you probably were too."

Hearing this, Orin — who had been playing with his new toy — raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What's Shanks doing up in the middle of the night?"

"Probably because of you."

Seeing Orin's confusion, Petermoo grinned.

"Seeing someone his age easily defeat enemy officers... it probably hit him hard."

...

He burst out laughing.

As a child raised by Captain Roger himself, Shanks was extraordinarily gifted — the one Roger saw as the inheritor of his will.

And Orin was Petermoo's disciple.

Now Orin > Shanks.

So in a way, doesn't that make Petermoo > Roger?

"Looks like Shanks has the heart of a true warrior too."

It actually made sense. When Shanks first boarded the ship, Roger had already given him the Straw Hat, marking him as the future "King of the Next Generation."

But Orin's arrival had completely shattered his invincible status among his peers.

How could a genius raised on Roger's ship lose to a kid who grew up in a small town?

It called everything into question — maybe Roger's will shouldn't be inherited by Shanks, maybe the Straw Hat didn't belong to him after all.

Shanks couldn't accept that.

Even though Orin hadn't targeted him at all, the difference in ability still made Shanks instinctively compare himself — hoping that one day he could again become the MVP of the trio.

The moment Orin awakened Conqueror's Haki that day, Shanks had started pushing himself relentlessly that very night.

"Keep working hard, Orin. If you let your guard down, you might get surpassed."

Orin didn't feel any real pressure from Petermoo's words.

After all, he had no desire to inherit anyone's will or become Pirate King.

He just wanted to see what the One Piece was — out of nostalgia and curiosity.

If he really wanted the title of Pirate King, it'd be easy. Once Roger died, he could take the eternal log pose to Laugh Tale, retrace the route, and announce he found the treasure.

But when it came to strength — that was something he did care about.

He couldn't have Shanks blocking his way when he wanted to show off or have some fun.

Especially since that guy loved meddling in others' business.

Shanks might have some clout with other people,

But in front of him and Buggy—

He had no clout.

----------------

Pls Drop some Power Stones

+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo