"I am Orion, Fleet Admiral of the Marines,"

Orion slightly raised his head to meet Zunesha's gaze, speaking calmly.

"I've come for one purpose—to retrieve the Road Poneglyph from Zou's Whale Forest."

The moment Orion began communicating with Zunesha, Yamato—standing to his right alongside Perona—involuntarily narrowed her eyes before exclaiming with undisguised admiration.

"The Fleet Admiral can truly converse with Zunesha? Incredible!"

Similarly, Mihawk, Gunko and Robin all turned their attention towards the young marshal engaging in conversation with the ancient elephant.

Zunesha showed no immediate reaction to Orion's words, simply staring intently at him.

After several long seconds, Zunesha repeated, its voice trembling with disbelief.

"Who are you? You carry the same power like him, yet you are not him!"

"I am myself—replacing no one, and irreplaceable by any,"

Orion took a step forward, allowing his admiral coat to billow dramatically in the wind as he stated coolly.

"The reason I came specifically to speak with you isn't because we lack means to enter Mokomo Dukedom, but because I believed this meeting necessary."

"Wait no longer for the Drums of Liberation to echo across Zou again, for I shall lead this world towards a brighter future."

Before the words fully faded, Orion's aura surged abruptly.

Then came an irresistible command resonating through the void, "Your only task now is to become my instrument—to help me purge all pirates and forge a new world of universal harmony!"

As Orion spoke, an overwhelming, invisible pressure erupted from his body, shooting skyward to instantly envelop the colossal Zunesha, causing faint low-frequency vibrations in the surrounding air.

"What's happening?"

Caught off guard by Orion's sudden unleashing of tyrannical Conqueror's Haki, Yamato—still processing her admiration for his ability to communicate with Zunesha—widened her eyes in shock, exclaiming.

"The Fleet Admiral doesn't just want to talk—he means to subjugate it!"

No sooner had Yamato spoken, Mihawk, sensing the dangerous shift, abandoned all pretense of his world's greatest swordsman demeanor, urgently calling out.

"Orion, what are you doing? This is Zunesha!"

"How dare you, Mihawk!"

Perona instantly floated over, jabbing a finger at Mihawk's nose as she scolded.

"Still addressing the Fleet Admiral so casually! You're utterly uncute!"

"Perona, not now!"

Before Mihawk could respond, the normally composed Gion interjected gravely, "Everyone, fall back behind the Fleet Admiral! Zunesha's about to rampage!"

"Oh~"

Realizing her poor timing, Perona obediently complied, becoming the first to float behind Orion.

Robin, along with Baroque Works agents and Absalom's group, swiftly followed suit, retreating behind their commander while warily observing the enraged colossus before them.

Mihawk, Gunko, and Jinbei were the first to arrive by Gion's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with Orion.

Mihawk immediately drew his blade, gathering power with intense focus.

Gunko naturally followed suit, quietly activating her Devil Fruit ability, awaiting Orion's command.

Gion didn't dare let her guard down either, gripping Konpira tightly with one hand while the other rested on the hilt of the Supreme Grade blade at her waist—its form forcibly altered by Orion.

Though Jinbei made no overt movements, his expression grew unprecedentedly grave as he felt the invisible pressure radiating from Zunesha, clashing against the Conqueror's Haki unleashed by Orion.

At the same time.

"MOOOO—"

Zunesha, releasing terrifying pressure to resist the Conqueror's Haki, seemed to be struggling against something else entirely, letting out a deafening roar.

Its massive trunk reared high, churning the surrounding sea into towering waves that surged towards the two Marine warships like an unstoppable force.

"You dare attempt to control me?!"

With an enraged roar, Zunesha swung its colossal trunk, wreathed in destructive gales, directly at the warships.

The moment the trunk swept forward, Mihawk raised his supreme Black Blade—now charged to its limit—sending a dazzling slash soaring into the sky.

"SWOOSH—"

Without hesitation, the radiant blade light cleaved through the oncoming tsunami, splitting the mountainous waves in two.

One half crashed against the warships while the other surged past, collapsing into the sea a hundred meters behind them, sending violent swells rolling outward.

Yet, though Mihawk had severed the tsunami, he couldn't halt the trunk's devastating swing.

Just as Gion prepared to intercept it, Orion suddenly stepped forward from between them.

THUD—

The moment his foot landed, a deep reverberation echoed, followed by a near-tangible wave of Conqueror's Haki erupting beneath him.

Instantly, the warships—previously rocking violently from the turbulent sea—froze in eerie stillness.

Before anyone could react, a dark crimson gleam flashed in Orion's eyes. Ignoring the incoming trunk, he growled.

"Control you?"

"No! This is an order!"

"By my authority as the Fleet Admiral, you will cease resistance—"

"Submit to me, or perish!"

BUZZZZ—

As Orion's domineering voice rang out, even fiercer Conqueror's Haki surged forth like thunderbolts, crashing relentlessly against the descending trunk.

The very air trembled under the overwhelming pressure, each pulse striking deep into the hearts of all present—slowing Zunesha's trunk mid-swing.

"MOOO—"

Struggling against the Haki's suppression, Zunesha let out a furious roar, its voice shaking the heavens.

"How can you... influence my will?! Who... who are you?!"

With that, the trunk suddenly recoiled as if breaking free from unseen chains, gathering power once more.

It was clear that Zunesha, with its formidable willpower and millennia of experience, had broken free from Orion's suppression via Conqueror's Haki and the silent manipulation of his supreme Observation Haki.

"If this is all you're capable of! Forget surpassing him—you can't even become him!"

"Because he is Joy Boy!"

Fully freed from control, Zunesha descended into utter frenzy.

Its low, thunderous voice exploded in the ears of Orion and his companions.

"A mere Marine Fleet Admiral like you is far from worthy of commanding me!"

Orion's eyes sharpened.

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his sword, Justice, from its sheath.

"A joke. Why would I ever need to become him?"

"Eight hundred years ago—whether he was outmaneuvered, betrayed, or whatever else—in my eyes, he was nothing but a defeated mutt. That's all!"

"Zunesha, since you insist on futile resistance, today I'll show you what true power looks like!"

Before the words faded, Orion gripped the hilt with both hands and slowly raised the blade overhead.

As the tip pointed towards the skies, his Conqueror's Haki—a swirling mix of black, red, gold, and other hues—burst forth like a radiant rainbow.

Instantly, the surrounding space plunged into absolute silence, illuminated only by the dazzling Haki that nearly blinded everyone present.

Then, as their vision blurred under the overwhelming brilliance, a familiar voice echoed in their ears like the whisper of a god.

"I.."

"AM..."

"Atomic"

BOOM—

A deafening explosion erupted as a shockwave, bright as the Milky Way, surged skyward.

In that instant, the world lost all color, and silence reigned.

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

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