March 30, 1497, Age of the Sea Circle
"Tekkai!" Orion said, tensing every muscle in his body.
He had finally managed to successfully use the defensive technique, although he could only do so briefly, and he needed to continue practicing before he could master it.
He looked at the system screen and saw that the new skill had been registered.
*Iron Body (Tekkai) (Level 0)*
Now, of the Six Techniques Cipher Pol agents trained in, Orion was able to use five of them in a basic manner, and he already knew the basics of the sixth technique, so he could learn it in the future, even without needing to be instructed by someone else.
One of his goals on this island, to master physical techniques and increase his combat power, was close to being completed, although the last of the six techniques, "Paper Arts," was the most difficult for him to learn.
On the other hand, his other two goals hadn't made much progress. After spending a few months interacting with the child recruits on this island, he realized how difficult it would be to free them from the World Government's control, not only because of the difficulty of escaping from this island, but also because these children didn't want to be released.
Even so, he had a plan to carry it out, and it involved using an item that had appeared in the system store over the past few months:
*Mysterious Mushroom: This is a mushroom that grew on the chin of the Named Character Jango. Consuming it gives you the ability to hypnotize others. Cost: 5000 SP*
He didn't know who this Jango was, or why there was a mushroom growing on his chin, but even though it was unpleasant to have to consume such a thing, the opportunity to obtain the "Hypnotism" skill was too tempting.
If he could obtain this skill, he could use it on the child recruits on this island to safely transport them off it.
Once they escaped, he could slowly try to undo the indoctrination and brainwashing the children had been subjected to, freeing them from their invisible chains.
The only problem was that the amount of points he needed to purchase this item was far greater than the amount of SP he had in reserve.
He currently had 3,520 SP, so he needed about 1,500 more if he wanted to buy the mysterious mushroom.
Unfortunately, on this island, there was almost no way to acquire that amount of SP unless he interacted with Named Characters and made a significant enough change in them.
However, the few interactions he'd had with these Named Characters hadn't gone very well; it was extremely difficult to establish a connection with them in such a short time, and even more difficult to influence their actions in a way that would change the original story of One Piece.
Perhaps the only way he could achieve this would be if he tried to eliminate one of them, or hurt them enough that they couldn't be agents in the future, but Orion didn't want to do that, since then all the effort he was putting into trying to rescue them would be pointless.
With the idea of earning the SP needed to buy the mysterious mushroom, Orion set his sights on another of his goals on this island: the Devil Fruit categorized as a source of power by the system!
From his experience absorbing Devil Fruits, he could obtain a large amount of SP whenever the system refined these mysterious fruits, so there was a chance he could obtain enough SP if he absorbed this "source of power" present in Guanhao.
Even if he didn't gain much SP, it was something he planned to do anyway.
Originally, he had planned to acquire the Devil Fruit the moment he escaped from the island, but now the situation had changed, and he had to adapt to the new developments.
In addition to training hard these past few days, he had explored the situation at the base and assessed his chances of successfully stealing the fruit without being discovered.
He had discovered, to his great surprise, that security on this island wasn't as strict as he had feared. Perhaps they thought it was impossible for an enemy to venture so deep into their territory, and that's why they weren't so vigilant.
Orion hadn't just acquired physical abilities during his months on the training island; he'd also gained several other skills derived from his academic studies
One of the most important skills he had acquired was the one called "Espionage," which, as its name indicated, was a compendium of useful skills for a spy.
He had spent 1,000 SP to upgrade this skill to level 2, and this was his main weapon for completing the Devil Fruit theft without being discovered.
It was ironic that the very skill Cipher Pol had taught him would be what he would use to steal their precious item.
For the past few days, Orion had been scouting the area, waiting for the right moment to act, and today that moment had finally arrived.
For some reason, today security in the central part of the base was even weaker than usual. Orion had seen several agents heading in the direction of the port, and seeing the small glowing dot that appeared on the map, he guessed a couple of possible reasons why the main building was so deserted.
Today, the Named Character Kalifa had finally arrived at Guanhao, and she probably hadn't arrived alone. Seeing how the agents were heading for the port, it was likely that some important figure had arrived with her, although from the complete absence of any notification from the system, Orion could conclude that said person wouldn't be a Named Character.
It was normal; not all the important and powerful people in the world were Named Characters, and it could be said that most Named Characters didn't fall into either of those two categories. After all, most of the Named Characters he had encountered so far were children or teenagers!
Orion stealthily moved through the central building, which was practically empty, and finally reached the place where the system indicated the presence of the power source.
Without wasting a second, he approached the safe hidden in the floor and began to force it open, utilizing the knowledge gained from his 'Espionage (2)' skill.
It didn't take him long to deduce the safe's opening sequence, and with a slight *Click*, the door opened, revealing its contents.
Inside the safe was a small chest and several folders with confidential documents.
Orion quickly opened the small chest, and three Devil Fruits appeared before his eyes.
A system notification sounded in his mind the moment his hand came into contact with the Devil Fruits.
*Ding*
*A power source compatible with the Global Improvement System has been found: Devil Fruit, Doa Doa no Mi. Do you wish to absorb it? Yes/No*
Orion's eyes lit up, but he didn't immediately consume the Devil Fruit.
The moment he opened the chest, he noticed a trap: a mechanism that would activate if he tried to remove the fruits suddenly.
There was probably a way to disable this safety mechanism, but he didn't know what that way was.
Luckily, he had increased his spying skills enough, otherwise, an alarm would probably have sounded by now, and he would have had to escape immediately.
Orion thought for a moment, and finally retrieved a stick of dynamite from his clothes. Then, he lit the fuse, and before the explosion occurred, he used his "Art Coating" ability to change the shape of the dynamite, transforming it into an exact replica of the three Devil Fruits in the chest.
Then, with extreme care, he swapped the real fruits for the camouflaged dynamite.
Seeing the three Devil Fruits inside the chest, Orion nodded in satisfaction. His heightened artistic skill, coupled with the power of "Art Coating," had allowed him to produce an exact copy of the fruits, although due to the limitations of the ability, he hadn't been able to make three individual fruits, but rather a cluster of fruits that simulated three.
As long as no one tried to move them from their current position, there would be no way to distinguish them from the real fruits, and no one would notice that the three fake fruits were fused together at the bottom. Either way, Orion didn't plan on keeping this camouflage active for long. As soon as he was in a public place and had an alibi, he would undo his ability and destroy this office!
This was something he had tested over the past few days. He had run the test and found that the object's state before being camouflaged remained after undoing the transformation. So when he undid the transformation of this dynamite, it would explode almost immediately, causing massive damage to the surrounding area.
His idea was to plant the dynamite in a location that would magnify the overall damage, but now he had changed his mind, deciding to use dynamite as a replacement for these Devil Fruits.
Orion closed the safe again, paying no attention to the confidential files. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in them, but right now his main objective was to escape as quickly as possible with his valuable haul; he couldn't risk being discovered now that he'd come this far.
With a flick of his mind, he absorbed the Devil Fruit, and a notification appeared on the system screen again.
*The Devil Fruit Doa Doa no mi has been absorbed. It will be refined to remove its impurities. This process may take a moment…*
A progress bar appeared on the screen, and it was moving quite quickly, so it wouldn't take long to complete the absorption process.
Orion climbed out the window and began to speed away from the central area of the base. Meanwhile, he focused his attention on the other two remaining Devil Fruits.
*Inu Inu no Mi: Model Wolf. Compatibility: (1%)*
*Gero Gero no Mi. Compatibility: (2%)*
Orion saw the descriptions of the two Devil Fruits, and his forehead filled with black lines. The first fruit was normal, but the second was completely insane!
"Duck! What kind of fruit is this!"
The Gero Gero no Mi was a fruit that only served to make its user vomit. What kind of stupid power was that?! And why was it more compatible with his system than the Wolf Devil Fruit?!
Orion took a deep breath and suppressed his indignation. Then, without much thought, he absorbed the Gero Gero no Mi. A fruit like this had no purpose! Now it would be food for the system!
*Gero Gero no Mi has been successfully absorbed. You have obtained 1000 SP*
Orion felt great joy at receiving so much SP for such a useless fruit.
He arrived at the stream where he usually trained in Observation Haki and focused his attention on the last remaining fruit. The Zoan-type Devil Fruit was undoubtedly a great power, and he didn't want to absorb it with the system, since with its low compatibility, he wouldn't receive any abilities and could only gain a few SP. It didn't seem like a good deal to him no matter how he looked at it.
However, his priority now was to buy the mysterious mushroom, and he still needed 1600 more points. Furthermore, it would be dangerous to have this fruit with him in the middle of this Cipher Pol base. If he was discovered, it would spell the end of all his plans.
Orion gritted his teeth, ready to absorb the fruit, but just at that moment, new notifications appeared on the system screen.
*The source of power has been successfully absorbed. New abilities based on the Devil Fruit have been refined*
*Space Door: You can create doors on any surface or in space itself*
*Space Gate: You can generate a door connected to a previously fixed point, regardless of the distance.
Caution: If you use this ability without first designating a destination point, you will be randomly transported to another location.
Number of fixed doors available: 1
Once a fixed destination point is designated, it cannot be removed*
*The remaining power has been transformed into system points. 1543 SP obtained*
*The system has been updated. A new function has been unlocked: Inventory*
*The special ability "Art Coating (incomplete)" has been improved. It can now be used with up to five items simultaneously. The new SP cost is: 0 (zero)*
Orion read the notifications that appeared one after another, and his eyes lit up. This time, he gained significant benefits from absorbing this Devil Fruit!
The system didn't tell him the compatibility percentage of the Doa Doa no Mi, but it was probably higher than that of the Toshi Toshi no Mi, and that was why he had obtained greater benefits.
Orion opened his inventory screen and saw that there were ten empty slots. He immediately thought of depositing the remaining Devil Fruit, and it disappeared from his hand instantly. In one of the inventory slots, the image of the Devil Fruit could now be seen.
With a thought, he took it out again without any problem, and confirmed that the new function was as magical as he had dreamed. Finally, he wouldn't have to carry everything in a backpack; now he belonged to the select group of protagonists who traveled without luggage!
Orion eagerly reviewed the new feature for a few moments, then focused on the two new abilities.
With a flick of his mind, he opened a door in space and peered curiously inside. He inserted his hand, confirmed there was no problem, and then jumped inside.
The door closed behind him, and Orion found himself in a strange space. Around him, he could see the surroundings of the stream, where he had been standing a moment before, but everything was blurry and reddish. It seemed as if he were inside a small sphere, separated from the spatial plane he had previously been in by a thin layer.
Orion walked inside this strange space and realized that it wasn't very large. Walking in a straight line, he could take about ten steps before reaching the edge.
He placed his hand on the thin membrane that separated this space from the outside, and ripples formed on the transparent wall, as if it were made of liquid. He tried to penetrate the wall lightly with his hand, but it was impossible. Despite seeming flimsy, this membrane was completely immovable, and he even felt a kind of force pushing his hand back when he tried to move forward.
Orion sat in this new hiding place he had acquired and thought about the possible applications of such a brilliant ability. This space seemed to be impenetrable from the outside, making it the perfect place to hide. With this ability, he could easily infiltrate places he had previously considered problematic, in addition to the usefulness of being able to escape the reach of his enemies.
If other people could enter this space, he could use it not only to protect the people within it, but also to enclose and isolate his enemies!
Orion amused himself for a long time thinking about the possible applications of his new powers, and finally left the alternate space and returned to the tranquil stream. The new "Space Gate" ability couldn't be used yet, since he only had one chance to set a fixed point, and he planned to do so when he returned to Pacific Town; after all, that would be his base of operations in the future. Of course, he wouldn't be so reckless as to use the ability without setting a destination first; if he appeared in the middle of a volcano or ten kilometers in the air, he wouldn't have a chance of survival.
Orion looked at the marker indicating the location of the newly arrived Named Character Kalifa and saw that she was in the residential area where the recruits lived. Orion was somewhat puzzled to see that she seemed to be in his own home!
Could Kalifa be the new roommate Gloriosa had mentioned earlier?
Out of curiosity, Orion used Soru and moved at high speed toward his house. A few minutes later, he arrived there, and upon opening the door, he found Gloriosa trying to feed a fruit to a little girl with glasses.
Kalifa turned around when she heard the sound of the door opening and looked curiously at Orion, who closed the door behind him and approached with a smile.
"Is this our new roommate?" Orion asked.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Kalifa and I'm almost four years old. I'm a member of the Medici family, who have served as agents for Cipher Pol for 800 years!" the little girl said, trying to sound imposing, though her tender appearance betrayed her.
"Nice to meet you, my name is O-"
"Kali, don't pay attention to Orion. Here, do you want some candy?" Gloriosa said, pulling out a candy that Orion didn't know where she had gotten.
On this island, the diet was strictly established by the authorities, and these kinds of sweets weren't available.
"No! I'm a future Cipher Pol agent, I have to maintain a certain dignity. Besides, I'm too old to eat sweets!" Kalifa replied in a voice that was far from capable of displaying the dignity she desired.
Gloriosa took the girl in her arms and lifted her into the air
"Want to play a little? You're flying!" Gloriosa said, happily lifting the girl above her head.
"No! No! Put me down! I'm a future Cipher Pol agent!" the girl said angrily, puffing out her cheeks, which made her look even more adorable.
Orion, who had been left completely ignored, watched the strange interaction between the two girls and wondered what the days to come would be like.
A new Named Character had arrived, and it was time to start planning his escape from Guanhao Training Island.