One Piece: Global improvement system

January 1, 1498, Age of the Sea Circle

*Ding*

*You have completed Mission 08 – 'Save a Mother' *

*You have received 3000 SP*

*You have received 1 'Sanctuary Vine'*

*Your physical attractiveness has been enhanced*

*Your skill 'Charm Halo(Level 0)' has increased by three levels*

"Waah Waaah," cried the newborn baby, his voice loud and clear, showing off the strength of his healthy lungs.

Orion looked at the scene before him and smiled in relief.

Rouge, completely exhausted, was holding her baby Ace in her arms, smiling peacefully as she hummed a soft song, trying to soothe him.

After several intense hours of effort, Orion had successfully helped Rouge give birth. He had not only ensured the well-being of the newborn but also the health of the mother.

It hadn't been an easy task, and if Orion hadn't recently received a significant boost to his medical skills, he might not have been able to save Rouge's life.

Fortunately, everything had gone well, and he had kept his promise to his master, Roger, to look after Rouge and her baby.

"Congratulations, Rouge. Your baby is absolutely adorable. I'm sure he'll be a heartbreaker when he grows up," Giolla said, watching the little baby with fascination.

Ever since the beautiful artist's mind had stabilized and she had begun living a peaceful life in Pacific Town with her beloved, she had thought many times about starting a family. Though she had already discussed it with Orion and knew it wasn't something that would happen anytime soon.

Still, seeing the precious baby and Rouge's contented smile as she held him like the greatest treasure in the world made Giolla's desire to start a family even stronger.

"He really is adorable, isn't he? Definitely takes after his mother," said Rouge with a broad smile as she gently rocked the baby, who had already started to calm down.

Giolla used her Devil Fruit ability to create small animals and made them dance in the air around Ace. Orion knew that a newborn like Ace couldn't yet perceive Giolla's art, but he didn't stop her from displaying the tender gesture—especially since the little animals she created were quite funny and, at the very least, could lift Rouge's exhausted spirits.

Little Ace, now calmer, began fussing again, instinctively reaching out with his tiny hands and making a sucking motion with his mouth.

Rouge quickly realized he was hungry and tried to nurse him. It was her first time, and she struggled a bit to help her baby latch properly.

Thankfully, one of the women who had assisted Orion during the birth offered her some advice, guiding her on how to position the baby so he could feed, and within moments, Ace was eating eagerly, under his mother's tender gaze.

Rouge smiled as she nursed her baby, but the image of her late love suddenly filled her thoughts, and tears welled up in her eyes. At least the fruit of their love had been born without problems thanks to Orion, and she would get to watch him grow up, which filled her with immense joy.

When she finished nursing Ace, her eyelids began to droop from the fatigue. She had endured a very difficult labor and had tried her hardest to stay conscious beside her baby for as long as possible.

But she couldn't fight it any longer. It was time to rest.

Orion stepped forward and took baby Ace in his arms. Then he looked at Rouge and said,

"Rouge, it's time for you to get some rest. Don't worry about little Ace—he'll be perfectly fine with me here to look after him!"

Rouge smiled one last time before drifting off to sleep, whispering softly,

"Thank you for everything, Orion."

Once she was asleep, Orion placed little Ace in a bassinet they had prepared next to the bed where Rouge was resting.

He then turned to the system screen, ready to check the rewards he had earned for completing the mission to save Rouge's life. But before he could do so, his eyes fell on a notification that had appeared while he was busy with the delivery, and his mouth opened in surprise.

*Recruitment of Named Character Shyarly (6) has been completed. She has been transported to your territory *

Immediately, Orion opened the system map and saw, to his astonishment, a new marker indicating Shyarly's presence in his kingdom!

"Giolla, I have to take care of something urgent. Please keep an eye on little Ace, and if anything happens, contact me immediately," said Orion quickly as he opened a door to exit the Pocket Dimension.

Giolla nodded and told him not to worry, and to go and do what he needed to do.

Orion gave her a kiss on the cheek, thanked her, and ran out of the Pocket Dimension toward Shyarly's location.

Meanwhile, the little mermaid was curiously looking around. She had arrived at this strange place a few hours ago and had been confused and amazed by the things she'd seen.

It had all started the night before, while she was sleeping at home in the Fish-man District, when she suddenly felt someone calling to her and woke up with a start.

Still groggy, Shyarly looked around for the person who had called her, only to find no one there. The only one who lived in the same house was her brother Arlong, but he was hardly ever home, always out on the streets with his group of friends.

She figured the voice she had heard was just part of her dream and closed her eyes again, intending to fall back asleep.

But once more, she felt the call—only this time, she instinctively knew who it was: Orion, her best friend.

The sensation she felt was similar to what she experienced every time they spoke mentally.

Unlike Orion, who had the system's help to serve as a communication medium, Shyarly experienced their conversations in a far more vivid and personal way.

She had first heard Orion's voice when she was only three, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say he had been part of her life for as long as she could remember.

She still recalled how scared she had been the first time a voice had magically echoed in her mind. But over time, the connection between them had grown stronger and more mysterious, allowing her to talk to him as if he were right in front of her. If she closed her eyes, she could even picture his face during their conversations.

So now, experiencing that familiar feeling again, she instantly knew it was Orion. It wasn't a call in words—just an instinctive pull.

Shyarly closed her eyes and focused on the call, and immediately tried to respond. That simple intent to answer Orion's call was what triggered the system to teleport her. The system couldn't forcibly recruit Shyarly; it could only offer the method of transport, and the final choice to respond to Orion's call was entirely hers.

If Orion had known that his 5000 SP investment might have gone to waste had Shyarly simply chosen not to respond, he probably would have cursed the system yet again.

As soon as Shyarly unconsciously agreed to be transported, a portal opened beneath her, and she fell through.

She traveled through the space-time tunnel for a few seconds and finally arrived at her destination. But to her surprise, the portal exit wasn't on solid ground—it was high in the clouds.

Luckily for her, the portal had appeared above the ocean, and she landed safely, using her superb swimming ability. Otherwise, things might have turned out terribly wrong.

That was how Shyarly had been transported from the underwater island in the Grand Line to this remote corner of the South Blue.

Upon arrival, she saw no sign of Orion nearby, so she headed toward the closest island, where there was a lot of activity, even in the middle of the night.

Shyarly conjectured that perhaps humans were nocturnal creatures, and her curious mind began coming up with all sorts of theories.

She had never been to the surface before, so everything she was experiencing now was incredibly new, and certainly the greatest adventure of her life to date!

She quickly reached the island and found that the small village by the coast was completely deserted, like a ghost town. Shyarly was used to being surrounded by fish and all sorts of sea creatures, so the absence of life made her feel uneasy.

Seeing the darkness of the place and finding herself on solid ground for the first time, Shyarly grew afraid and didn't dare leave the sea for quite a while.

She watched the empty village from the shore and listened to the distant sounds of the celebrations taking place at the heart of Orion's kingdom for a long time.

Eventually, after hours passed without anything happening, she gathered her courage and left the sea, taking her first steps on land—or rather, her first crawl, since she didn't yet have legs as older mermaids did.

She was only six years old, and it would be a long time before her tail split into legs. So she was forced to move by dragging her tail.

Fortunately, she was happy to find that it wasn't hard for her to move on land with her tail. She was slower than a walking person, but not so sluggish as to be helpless. Her tail's thick scales protected her from discomfort, and the movement didn't hurt at all.

Shyarly cautiously explored the village, curiously studying the human architecture. The houses weren't all that different from her homeland's, but some small things caught her attention.

One of them was the presence of stairs—a novelty to her, since underwater, people simply swam freely between floors.

Thinking of her home, she became aware of the stark difference between being underwater and on land. Despite her excitement to explore the surface, she missed the sensation of water around her and the freedom of swimming at high speed.

On land, she felt more restricted, as if invisible chains bound her, preventing her from moving freely.

She wondered if humans always felt this way, or if they didn't notice the limitation simply because they'd never had the chance to swim freely underwater.

With some effort, she crossed the village and reached the heart of Pacific Kingdom.

She didn't dare get too close and chose instead to watch the celebrations from afar, hidden in some bushes. With her eyes shining, she stared at the great pillar of fire burning in the distance and the people dancing joyfully around it.

It was her first time seeing fire, and she curiously wondered what it was. At first glance, it looked like a red torrent of water rising toward the sky. Yet, no one swam in it, making it all the more mysterious.

Shyarly watched the New Year's celebration for a long time. Although curious about the joyful humans, she didn't dare approach.

After all, they were humans, and as a little mermaid raised on Fish-man Island, she couldn't help but feel wary of them.

Though she didn't think humans were terrible like her brother Arlong did, she was still a bit afraid of them, especially since the only ones she'd encountered had been lawless pirates.

Of course, Orion was an exception. He was a human, yet also the most important person in her life—but she didn't know if the others here were as kind as he was.

After all, Orion had warned her many times not to venture to the surface and to be wary of human pirates.

She was still watching from a distance when suddenly, a pair of hands covered her eyes, plunging her into darkness.

Startled, she feared a human with ill intent had found her. But the panic quickly faded the moment she heard the voice whispering in her ear.

"Guess who?"

She could recognize that voice anywhere. How many times had she heard it over the years? How many hours, days, and months had they spent together? This was the voice of the person closest to her, and she'd never mistake it.

"Orion…" said Shyarly emotionally, and Orion could feel the tears soaking the hands covering her eyes.

"Bingo!" said Orion happily, pulling his hands away and appearing before her in his true form, without using 'Age Change'.

Shyarly couldn't hold back. She threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly and even wrapping her long tail around him.

"Orion! Waaaah!"

She burst into tears, letting out all her mixed emotions—the joy of finally being with Orion, and the profound relief that he had come for her.

Though she'd been on a great adventure, being in such an unfamiliar place had been nerve-wracking.

Now that Orion was here, she felt like she'd found her anchor. As long as he was around, everything would be fine, she had no doubt about it.

"Welcome to my home, Shyarly. I'm so happy you're here," said Orion warmly, thinking the 5000 SP he had spent was more than worth it.

He had always worried about Shyarly's safety, especially with her living so far away in a dangerous environment.

More than once, he had feared something bad might happen to her and that he wouldn't be able to help her. So now, having her here in front of him, he felt an immense sense of relief.

Under his protection, nothing would harm Shyarly. He would make sure of it personally.

Orion gently patted her back until she calmed down. Then, seeing the New Year celebration still going strong, he smiled, took her hand, and looked into her eyes.

"Come on, Shyarly. Let me show you how we humans celebrate!"

Shyarly quickly nodded, and with a big smile, leapt onto Orion's back, who started walking toward the great bonfire in the distance, while the little mermaid hugged his neck and looked around with shining eyes.

Now that Orion was with her, she could fully enjoy her surface adventure, all worries gone.

This night was destined to become one she would never forget.

It was the night in which Pacific Kingdom welcomed one of its most important residents.

...........................

Meanwhile, in Baterilla, South Blue.

A Marine ship had anchored at the port, its crew on standby, waiting for their commanding officer to return from the town.

Bogard, who had been left in charge while Garp handled his business, remained quiet as always.

There weren't many Marines accompanying them this time. They hadn't brought their usual massive warship either, instead using a medium-sized vessel from a nearby base.

Garp hadn't wanted to draw too much attention from the World Government with his movements. Though with his status, staying unnoticed was nearly impossible.

Still, even if his whereabouts were discovered, he possessed a way to erase the relevant records if needed.

In a small house outside the city, near the forest, Garp looked for signs of life.

But it was clear that no one had lived there for a long time.

This was undoubtedly the place Roger had told him about, but upon arrival, Garp found only an abandoned house.

He felt a headache form. Rouge's absence meant he'd have to keep searching, or he would never fulfill the promise he made to his rival to protect his son.

But finding someone in this vast world was no easy task.

Even the World Government had launched a global search to locate any potential child of Roger, and failed, despite their unimaginable resources.

Luckily for Garp, he had a small clue. A name Roger had mentioned in his final moments.

"Orion…" Garp muttered thoughtfully.

Now, he had only one lead to track down Roger's child. But strangely, he didn't feel discouraged; something deep inside him told him he would find him soon.

Garp left the small house and began his walk back to the ship.

He would have to extend his stay in the South Blue a little longer.