One Piece: Global improvement system

283: Treating Flevance – An Ambiguous Moment with Toki

April 10, 1504, Age of the Sea CircleA month had passed since Orion arrived in Flevance. After he had successfully repelled the attack from the neighboring kingdoms, they had no longer displayed hostile attitudes toward the city-state, as they feared that if they attempted another assault, they would suffer heavy losses at the hands of the monstrous individual protecting Flevance.

Even so, that did not mean they had lowered their guard against the famed city of Amber Lead—quite the opposite. Over the past month, the three neighboring kingdoms had reinforced containment measures along their borders to ensure that no person infected with the mysterious disease could enter their territories.

Orion had let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the three kingdoms had not continued their hostile actions and were instead holding their positions at the borders, allowing him to focus entirely on treating the sick within the White City.

Although he possessed the formula for the medicine against ALP and had even manufactured a considerable amount before arriving in Flevance, his reserves had not been sufficient to treat the entire population of the city-state. As a result, he had entrusted Trafalgar Lazarus with producing more using the resources available within the city.

Fortunately, the materials required to create the cure for ALP were not rare, and Flevance had a substantial quantity in its reserves; unfortunately, however, it still was not enough to produce the amount necessary to treat the entire population.

Even after emptying all the city's medical supplies, they had failed to manufacture enough medicine to treat all patients, and with the blockade imposed by the three kingdoms, it was impossible to obtain additional medical resources. In the end, Orion had no choice but to contact the Northern Revolutionary Army, led by Karasu, to request their assistance.

Karasu and his men took nearly two weeks to arrive in Flevance in response to Orion's call, and during that time, he focused on treating the most severe cases. Just like Lami, there were many people in critical condition, as the levels of Amber Lead in their bodies had far exceeded the threshold at which the medicine alone could resolve the condition.

For that reason, Orion worked tirelessly throughout the past month, attending to patient after patient and performing multiple operations each day using his "Room" ability, just as he had previously done with Lami.

The fact that his "Strong Mind" ability had reached Level 8 proved to be a true blessing, as otherwise he would not have been able to endure performing so many operations continuously, and the time required to cure the people of Flevance would have multiplied several times over.

Now, after just over a month of working relentlessly to treat the most critical patients, Orion had finally completed his work in Flevance, and all that remained was for the patients to continue their treatment using the ALP medicine, along with supplementary therapies to address secondary health issues caused by the condition, such as muscular or skeletal weakness.

Orion had been working on treating the patients alongside Lazarus, so now that there were no more cases requiring special treatment with his Room ability, he could entrust the renowned doctor with handling the remainder of the treatment, freeing himself entirely to continue with his personal affairs.

Even so, not everything had been resolved in Flevance, as Orion had yet to complete the mission assigned to him by the system. To do so, he not only needed to cure the inhabitants of the White City, but also prevent the neighboring kingdoms from attacking and massacring them.

At present, he had already begun the treatment to cure the patients, and it was only a matter of time before they fully recovered, but the diplomatic situation with the neighboring kingdoms was far more complicated.

Although Orion had sent Toki—accompanied by Karasu and his soldiers—as diplomats to explain the situation in Flevance and request a cessation of hostilities, they had achieved no success, as the paranoia of the neighboring kings made any form of dialogue impossible.

For that reason, one afternoon Orion had gathered all the inhabitants of Flevance in the central plaza of the city and delivered a speech explaining the situation they were in, offering them a solution: to emigrate to Pacific Kingdom.

As Orion had explained to them, they could not remain in Flevance, as the overwhelming presence of Amber Lead in the area would cause them to fall ill again, even if the current treatment they were receiving proved successful.

Likewise, they would be labeled as dangerous infected individuals by the rest of the world, and even if they managed to escape the blockade imposed by the surrounding kingdoms, they would be forced to live the rest of their lives hiding their origin and identity.

For that reason, Orion had proposed a simple solution to their problems: to emigrate to Pacific Kingdom, where they could begin a new life with his support and face no discrimination.

Naturally, this was not an easy decision for everyone to make, so Orion had set the deadline for reaching a decision as the moment he finished treating the most critical patients; in other words, that final deadline had finally arrived today.

Over the past month, Orion had been using his Space Gate to transport small groups of people to Pacific Kingdom—those who had readily chosen to emigrate—and now only about half of the city-state's original population remained.

After taking a well-earned half-day of rest upon finishing the treatment of the last critically ill patient, Orion was ready to depart from Flevance and continue his adventures in the North Blue, though he first needed to take care of transporting the remaining inhabitants who wished to emigrate to his kingdom.

As for those who chose to stay, Orion had no intention of stopping them, for everyone was free to decide how they wished to live their lives. He was merely offering an opportunity—it was up to them to make the final decision.

Walking to the center of Flevance's grand central plaza, with Mitsu perched on his shoulders and Perona holding his hand, Orion looked out over the gathered crowd and declared in a strong voice,

"All those who wish to travel to my kingdom in the South Blue, form a line and enter the portal in an orderly manner!"

Then, with a movement of his hand, Orion deployed his massive Space Gate before the eyes of the inhabitants of Flevance.

Over the past month, Orion had used his Space Gate multiple times to send people to Pacific Kingdom, so the residents were no longer surprised by the appearance of the gigantic portal.

Even so, they could not help but feel a trace of nervousness now that the moment had come to step through it and travel to a distant and unknown land.

"Doctor Orion, thank you for everything. We'll be waiting for your return in Pacific Kingdom," Lazarus said with a smile, extending his hand for a handshake.

During the past month, Orion had been living in the Trafalgar household, and as a result, his relationship with the family of doctors had grown incredibly close. Moreover, after assessing the talent of young Law—who was classified by the system as a Named Character (VIP)—Orion had decided to take him on as his disciple, recognizing his immense potential.

This master-disciple relationship was not limited solely to imparting his medical knowledge to Law; Orion also intended to train him in combat, aiming to help the boy fully develop his latent talent in the future.

Their bond had strengthened to the point that the Trafalgars had agreed to let Law remain with Orion in the North Blue to travel by his side, rather than immediately heading to Pacific Kingdom with the rest of his family.

"Thank you as well, Lazarus. Without your help in treating the patients, it would have taken me twice as long," Orion replied, shaking the kind doctor's hand before turning to look at Lara and Lami, who stood off to the side, and adding,

"When you arrive at Pacific Kingdom, go directly to see my uncle Lolo. I've already given him instructions on what to do. He'll take you to your new home and help you integrate into the kingdom."

"Thank you, Doctor Orion," Lara said with a smile, giving a small, respectful nod.

Orion gently patted little Lami's head—who now that she was no longer so affected by the illness, she looked much livelier—and bid farewell to the family once more as they stepped through the portal and vanished without a trace.

Once the Trafalgars had taken the initiative and entered the portal, the rest of the inhabitants who had been waiting began to do the same, moving forward in an orderly line just as Orion had instructed.

Finally, after nearly half an hour of transporting people, Orion closed his Space Gate and let out a weary sigh, as sending so many individuals through it also consumed a significant amount of mental energy.

In truth, that was the reason why such a large number of people had remained in Flevance until the final day—the number of times Orion could use his Space Gate had been quite limited over the past month, since he needed to preserve his mental energy for treating patients.

Orion looked over the now completely empty plaza and extended his Observation Haki to its limit, sensing that a few people still remained in Flevance who had chosen not to emigrate to Pacific Kingdom. He had no intention of forcing them, so after asking Karasu to make one final offer for them to leave, he departed from the famed White City alongside his companions.

His stay in Flevance had lasted a little over a month, yet it felt much shorter, as he had spent the entire time focused on treating patients.

Now that he had accomplished the objectives he had set for himself, it was time to continue his adventures in the North Blue. Casting one last glance at the White City of Flevance, now nearly deserted, he used Soru and sped away from the area.

Several months would pass before the frightened kings of the neighboring kingdoms ordered an inspection of Flevance's territory, only to discover with astonishment that all its inhabitants had vanished without a trace—an event that would later become known throughout the world as "the disappearance of Flevance."

…

April 17, 1504, Age of the Sea Circle

One week after departing from Flevance, Orion and his companions were sailing smoothly across the calm waters of the North Blue without any trouble.

On the small sailboat they were traveling on, Law was reading with great concentration a medical book that Orion had prepared especially for him, while Mitsu and Perona were by his side, entertaining themselves with their own matters.

Now that Law had been taken in as Orion's disciple, he had decided to immediately teach him all of his current medical knowledge, since after all the boy possessed outstanding talent in that field of study, something he had clearly demonstrated over the past week of studying under him.

Despite not even being ten years old yet, Law displayed an understanding befitting a genius, and he was able to absorb the knowledge Orion imparted to him with remarkable ease.

Over the last week, Law's medical knowledge had increased significantly, and Orion was convinced that in just a couple of years the boy would be capable of surpassing his current level, which was quite astonishing, considering that Orion himself was undoubtedly one of the best doctors in this world.

Moreover, Orion had evaluated his new disciple's talents with the help of the system, so he knew that he also possessed great potential for combat, as well as for the use of the Ope Ope no Mi.

Unfortunately, Orion had consumed the Ope Ope no Mi as an energy source for the system a year earlier, so it was impossible for that fruit to have reappeared in the world yet.

The system absorbed the energy of Devil Fruits, but not their essence or spirit, which meant that the Devil Fruits consumed by Orion would eventually reappear in the world once they recovered their energy, something that could take a variable amount of time.

For the time being, Orion had no way of obtaining the Ope Ope no Mi for Law, because it simply had not yet reappeared in the world, but he had already begun training him in combat while teaching him medicine at the same time, although the boy did not have much interest in training to increase his strength, and instead wanted to spend all day reading medical books.

"Law, don't you get bored studying so much? Let's play house!" Perona suddenly said with a big smile, placing her stuffed toy between Law and the thick book, blocking his view.

Law was somewhat grumpy for his age, and he grew quite irritated at being interrupted by Perona, though he tried to keep his composure and not react too strongly. In truth, Law was a child who always tried to appear more mature than he really was, and Orion considered it very likely that he would grow up to become a man who constantly tried to look "cool" in the eyes of others.

"Learning medicine isn't boring! In the future I'll be the best doctor in the world and I'll be able to cure any disease!" Law declared energetically, while still trying to maintain his composed demeanor.

"Oh~ That's interesting! Can you cure someone whose head has been cut off?" Perona asked with shining eyes, imagining a rather grim scenario for some reason.

Although Perona had become much more cheerful than her counterpart from the original timeline thanks to living with Orion and his family, she still retained certain darker traits, such as her vivid imagination, which allowed her to envision the most disturbing scenarios, as well as her fondness for gothic aesthetics and horror stories.

Perona was a girl who was gloomy and cheerful at the same time, something that could unsettle some people emotionally, although everyone within Orion's inner circle was used to her and cared for her deeply.

Law had also spent more than a month interacting with Perona, so he was already familiar with her personality and accustomed to her eccentricities. Perona and Law were roughly the same age, just like Mitsu, so over the past month they had spent quite a lot of time together, forming a friendship.

"It's impossible to cure someone who's been decapitated! How am I supposed to cure someone who's already dead?" Law replied irritably, because even though he considered himself already a great doctor, there was no way he could cure something like decapitation.

"Hmm? So you can't even cure a severed head? You're pretty bad at medicine," Perona said, looking at Law with disappointment.

"Not only are you weak, but you're not even good at medicine? That's sad," Mitsu suddenly added, looking at Law with pity.

"Don't worry, we'll still be your friends even if you fail at everything," Perona concluded, patting Law on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Grrrrr."

Law growled in frustration, and abruptly closing his book, he stood up and ran off, trying to escape from the pitying and disappointed looks of the two girls. However, neither Mitsu nor Perona was very good at reading other people's emotions, so they simply got up and followed after him without any tact, intending to continue talking to him as if nothing had happened.

While Law and the two girls were interacting awkwardly as usual, Orion and Toki were elsewhere on the deck. Toki was sitting with her legs folded in a rather sensual posture, and her plump, white thighs were perfectly visible as her kimono slipped slightly to the side due to the way she was seated.

She was eating onigiri and drinking tea that she had prepared herself, all the while observing Orion with great interest.

Orion, on the other hand, was training as usual, since he spent much of his free time improving his abilities. At the moment, he was practicing with his sword, performing swift and imposing movements that, to Toki's eyes, looked almost like a complex and mysterious dance.

Finally, Orion thrust forward powerfully with his cutlass, and a wave of energy burst forth from his blade, slicing through the sea's waves and creating a rather astonishing visual effect.

Satisfied with his training, Orion sheathed his cutlass and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, then turned toward Toki and walked over to her with a smile, sitting down at her side, their bodies almost touching due to the closeness.

Toki could feel the warmth of Orion's body beside her, and she blushed ever so slightly as certain obscene images surfaced in her mind. Orion was training with his torso bare, and sweat traced along his body, outlining his sculpted muscles, making him appear far more attractive in Toki's eyes.

Even though Toki was a mature woman, she had lost much of her memory, so at this moment her mindset was closer to that of a young woman than that of a woman in her forties, and she could hardly endure such visual stimulation.

Especially after having heard Orion engaging in sexual relations with his companions for nearly a month—during the journey to the North Blue with Olive—it was impossible for her not to recall those nights when she had pleasured herself while imagining being in the place of Orion's companions.

Despite the fact that their relationship had grown considerably closer, there were still certain boundaries that remained firm and unbroken, and although both Orion and Toki had begun to develop certain feelings for one another, they had never made any intimate move, and had not even held hands.

The greatest intimacy they had shared had been the brief embrace Orion had given her during the enemy attack in Flevance, along with several similar interactions over the past months.

For Toki, the feelings she had toward Orion were confusing and new, yet she did not dare confront them directly, and at times her interactions with him ended up becoming somewhat awkward as a result.

At this moment, she felt her heart pounding strongly, while her eyes were fixed on the firm torso of the vigorous young man before her; it was a natural and entirely instinctive reaction of her body, responding in the most primal way to the masculinity of her traveling companion.

"Here, dry your sweat," Toki said as she handed Orion a towel, trying to mask her nervousness.

Orion took the towel she offered with a smile, but at the moment he grabbed it, their hands brushed by accident, and instead of pulling away, he took Toki's hand and looked into her eyes intently.

Toki felt as if electricity coursed through her entire body, and she tried to pull her hand free from Orion's grasp, only to find that he was holding it more firmly than she had expected, though not roughly.

Orion was not so oblivious as to miss Toki's subtle movements and emotional changes, so he had decided to take a step forward and create a bit of intimacy now that the conditions seemed favorable.

Even so, he knew he could not be impatient with Toki, which was why he always maintained a certain gentleness. Although he held her hand with firmness and determination, she could have easily freed herself if she truly wanted to, though it would require a deliberate effort on her part.

For a moment, Toki and Orion remained holding hands in silence, staring into each other's eyes as if communicating through their gazes.

In the end, it was Toki who could not endure the sexual tension building between them, and lowering her gaze, she avoided Orion's intense stare—which seemed to be undressing her with his eyes—and with a slight movement of her hand, she freed herself from his grasp.

"If you don't dry your sweat, you might catch a cold…" Toki said in an almost inaudible voice, looking downward.

Orion smiled, satisfied with the brief moment of intimacy he had shared with the beautiful woman from Wano, and dried his sweat with the towel Toki had given him, bringing an end to the ambiguous moment of sexual tension between them.

Toki sighed in relief upon seeing that Orion had not continued trying to deepen their intimacy, since at the moment this was the limit of what she could mentally handle. Although she felt a certain interest in Orion, and knew that he was also interested in her, she was not ready to move forward in a relationship, as she had not yet even recovered the memories of her past.

Orion finished drying his sweat and picked up one of the onigiri that Toki had prepared, savoring the delicious taste of her culinary skills. Then, lowering his gaze, he observed the beautiful, plump thighs of the mature woman, which were exposed due to the way she was seated, noticing the visible scar that seemed to have been caused by a projectile.

Orion grew thoughtful, and looking at the nervous Toki, he decided to make her a proposal, but at that moment he noticed that an island had appeared in the distance, and he stopped what he was about to say.

Opening the system screen, Orion checked the map and saw that there was a marker indicating the presence of a Named Character in that location: T Bone (34).