Starting as a Roger Pirates Apprentice

"Turns out, changing history isn't that easy after all."

Orin squatted beside Buggy, whose entire body was flushed red, and shook his head with regret.

Even though he had repeatedly reminded Buggy to eat healthy and exercise, as their journey neared its end…

Buggy still ended up falling ill.

There was nothing Orin could do. He couldn't force Buggy to continue traveling at the risk of his life.

Just like in the original story, Shanks volunteered to stay behind and take care of Buggy.

Orin also understood that as long as Buggy didn't push himself to land, a few days of rest on the island would be enough for him to recover. So he wasn't too worried.

After saying goodbye to Shanks, Orin realized that the final moment was drawing near—the novice protection period was about to end.

So in those last few days, he sought out Gaban and Rayleigh more frequently, trying to learn as much as he could to use as his foundation for dominating the seas in the future.

In fact, if he wasn't worried that fighting Roger before reaching Laugh Tale might cause the captain to die prematurely, Orin would have wanted to formally challenge such a powerful opponent.

A battle where he wouldn't be killed, but could clearly understand the gap between himself and the world's top.

Unfortunately, that chance never came.

Once Gaban-san finished drawing the map, Orin stared at the island marked "Final Island" and couldn't help but feel excited.

...

They landed on the island.

Orin walked forward along with the rest of the crew, with Roger leading the way.

But after a few moments, everyone suddenly burst out laughing.

"Looks like we got here a bit too early!"

Orin had imagined many possibilities, but when he finally saw it for himself, he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

"So this... is the One Piece, huh? You bastard, Oda."

...

The ship slowly departed from Laugh Tale. Orin sat at the stern, holding something like a bracelet in his hand.

Embedded within it were a few glass spheres, inside of which floated three pointers.

Roger stood by the rail, watching the island grow more and more distant.

"Captain, I'm recording a Log Pose. Hope you don't mind."

Orin didn't try to be sneaky. He openly spoke as he looked at Roger, who was lost in thought.

He had expected to be refused. But surprisingly, Captain Roger didn't object.

"Go ahead. But I trust you won't let that thing get passed around lightly, right? Orin?"

"Just a keepsake," Orin replied with a smile.

Just like on the way there, the crew drank and laughed on the return journey. No one seemed to be troubled by the end of their adventure.

Only Orin felt a little downhearted inside.

Because he knew…

The time to part ways was coming soon.

Lying silently beside the ship's edge, Orin boredly tossed the Eternal Log Pose into the air, caught it, and tossed it again.

Gaban noticed his mood. Holding a newspaper in one hand and a bottle in the other, he walked over slowly.

"Orin, want a drink?"

Orin was momentarily stunned. He wasn't a fan of alcohol, but seeing Gaban-san extend his hand, he uncharacteristically took the bottle and clinked it with his.

"...So bitter."

"A man of the sea must drink to show his spirit!"

"I don't get it…"

Though he said that, Orin clinked bottles with Gaban again.

They downed the bottle between them in just a few gulps and casually tossed it into the sea. Then Gaban handed him a small slip of paper.

"Here. This is my Vivre Card."

"Huh?"

"If you ever change your mind and come to appreciate how good alcohol is, come find me and drink with me."

"That day might never come."

Orin chuckled. He hadn't expected that, on the eve of their parting, Gaban—usually one of the strictest 'parent figures' on the ship—would show such a sentimental side.

Still, Orin was happy. If he had the time, he wouldn't mind visiting Gaban-san sometime.

After all, he'd been meaning to explore Elbaf and maybe get a look at how Gaban tamed a wild female giant.

The fact that Gaban even managed to produce a giant child… Orin still had no clue how that worked.

Did he climb inside her or something?

Orin felt a little itchy with curiosity.

He was definitely going to Elbaf.

...

The round trip took about ten days.

As they neared land, Orin stood at the bow, looking at the island gradually coming into view. Standing beside him were Oden, Rayleigh, and Roger.

Standing next to Roger, who was 2.7 meters tall, Orin didn't seem all that different from a kid.

"Orin, do you remember what you said when you first boarded the ship?" Rayleigh asked, gazing into the distance.

"Of course I do." Orin naturally wouldn't forget—though he had only said that line to get on board in the first place.

"Actually, I told Rayleigh the same thing once. Technically, you're the one who's most suited to inherit my will. But somehow, I feel like you're not the type of man who follows destiny, Orin."

Roger ruffled Orin's hair with a smile, but his words carried a deeper meaning.

Orin didn't refute it—he just silently nodded.

"I'm pretty good at judging people. That's why I left behind Shanks and Buggy, but took you along, Orin. You're not the one this world is waiting for."

"But your talent and power remind me of someone… someone even I feared once. The former ruler of the seas—Rocks."

"So just as a favor to me, Orin… Give the future of this world to [Hope], just like we saw at Laugh Tale."

Orin hadn't expected that carefree Captain Roger could be so introspective.

The world's "hope," huh?

Thinking about the new era that Roger would bring forth with his life, Orin fell silent for a long time.

"I understand, Captain. I promise you."

Truthfully, he'd never wanted to support the World Government's rule, but neither did he care about overthrowing the old world.

He only wanted to grow strong enough to live freely, do what he liked, and live without being bound by any rules or forces.

He lived only for himself—doing whatever made him happy.

In other words, his shoulders couldn't bear the weight of the world's destiny, and he would never sacrifice his life to move history forward.

Hearing Orin's reply, Roger looked visibly relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart. He turned and began chatting with Rayleigh about their youth.

Before they knew it, the ship had docked.

From a distance, Orin spotted an excited Shanks and then called Buggy out as well.

The two of them were overjoyed. Buggy rushed up and threw his arms around Orin's shoulders. Everyone laughed and talked happily.

But it wasn't long before Shanks, who was chatting with Roger, suddenly began to cry—breaking the cheerful reunion atmosphere.

Orin didn't listen in on their conversation, but he could guess.

Roger had probably told him… that the pirate crew was about to disband.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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