"Family... the future?"

Orin was stunned for a moment, but then came back to his senses. Right, if it were Rocks, saying something like this would be perfectly normal. And as for Rocks? The reason he asked such a question had nothing to do with any other worries. On the one hand, it was to test whether Orin’s Observation Haki, which he took pride in, was really as godlike as he claimed.

On the other hand, even if he told Orin that he had family in this world, so what? If Orin’s Observation Haki was truly strong enough to see everything, then whether he said it or not made no difference. And if Orin couldn’t see it, then even if he did say he had family, the world was so vast that Orin would never be able to find them anyway. Still, Rocks was more willing to believe that this man, who was no weaker than he had been in his youth, might actually have that kind of ability.

He poured Orin a bowl of wine. Orin took it in silence; even though he didn’t like drinking, having a cup with a man like this wasn’t something he couldn’t accept. Two men who had dominated two adjacent eras—one already middle-aged, the other still young. They clinked bowls and drained them in one go. Orin smiled and wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth. Drinking with a monster on the same level as himself for the first time—pretty nice~

Rocks didn’t seem in a hurry to get Orin’s answer, nor did he seem to care whether Orin could really see the "future." Instead, his gaze slowly shifted downward to the crowd of underlings, to that utterly unremarkable burly man among them.

"That combatant—do you know him?"

Orin raised an eyebrow slightly and looked in the direction Rocks was pointing. A burly man had a sword at his waist and was bragging about something to the other pirates, who were all looking at him with envy and drinking and eating meat with him. Seeing the old man’s face flushed red from drinking, looking happy, Orin’s lips curved slightly upward.

"Yeah, that’s a very important family member of mine."

He understood Rocks and knew what kind of person he was, so he said it without any misgivings. Though he couldn’t be called a righteous hero, he was a true overbearing hero.

"Family, huh..."

The corner of Rocks’s mouth lifted. He downed the freshly poured wine in one breath, then, looking ahead as if casually, said,

"No wonder that kid Kaido got beaten so badly, hahahahaha!!!"

"I’ll apologize to you on that kid Kaido’s behalf. That guy is simple-minded; he didn’t mean to hurt your family."

When Orin heard this, his motion of drinking paused for a moment. Even though it was said in Kaido’s name, for Rocks, this could be considered truly lowering himself. Or, from another angle, it showed that he really did care about Kaido, and that he truly regarded Orin as one of his own. Between men, sometimes all it takes is a meal, a few simple words, or a clash of Conqueror’s Haki, because bearing never lies. A two-faced, scheming petty man could never possess Conqueror’s Haki potential on par with Rocks. And as for Orin, toward those he respected and was willing to befriend sincerely, he naturally wouldn’t refuse. And toward friends, although Orin sometimes had a mischievous habit of stabbing them in the back, he had never fallen short when it came to loyalty.

He waved off Rocks’s attempt to pour more wine and instead poured orange juice into both bowls. Rocks was taken aback, a look of disdain appearing on his face, as if to say, men shouldn’t be drinking something like this—they should be drinking wine!!! Even so, despite the disdain, he still clinked bowls with Orin. Orin gulped it down. After a moment of silence, he raised his eyes and slowly spoke, saying something that made Rocks’s eyes widen.

"What you’re talking about... should be God Valley."

He stared at Orin in disbelief, but met only Orin’s calm gaze. Even a man with Rocks’s bearing couldn’t help but feel his mind surge at this moment. Could there really be someone in this world who could peer so far into the future?!!!

"This is really ridiculous... something like that."

Rocks seemed genuinely shocked. After all, he hadn’t told anyone about this—not even the World Government, that existence which controlled the world, could find it out in a short time. Yet the man before him had laid it bare with a single sentence.

"I’m starting to believe it—seeing the ultra-distant future and all that..."

Rocks looked at him with a solemn expression.

"Then... can you really tell me? Won’t it lead the future down some unpredictable path or something?"

Although Rocks said it that way, Orin could clearly tell that he wanted to know.

"There’s nothing I can’t say, but changing the future isn’t that simple."

Orin knew that no matter where this world’s future went, it wouldn’t affect his original world, and he might not even be able to truly change everything. Even without God Valley, there would be Devil Valley, King Valley... What mattered was the overall trend of the world. Sooner or later, Rocks would face off against Imu—that was something Orin couldn’t change, because he couldn’t stop Rocks from pursuing his ideals and ambitions, nor would he impulsively go looking for trouble with Imu.

After he arrived, what he cared about boiled down to two things: one was fighting the strong and breaking through the limits of Conqueror’s Haki; the other was helping the old man fulfill his dream, so that when this world’s old man left the Rocks Pirates, he would still carry hope in his heart.

So Orin didn’t rashly speak of all the future, because the future was uncontrollable. If he told Rocks now that his family was in danger and had them moved elsewhere, those who might have lived could instead die because of all kinds of accidents, and the entire historical trajectory would be thrown into chaos—whether they lived or died would become completely unpredictable.

"Saying too much might not be a good thing for you and your family either..."

Orin said slowly,

"But I can tell you this: your son counts as a warlord-like figure in the future."

"Son, huh?"

Rocks thought of Teach, that child who looked somewhat like him, and the corner of his mouth pulled into a grin.

"The future, huh. Looks like that kid managed to live to see the future."

Although the word "warlord" wasn’t really praise to Rocks, having a future already said something: his son was still alive decades later.

But Orin’s next words made the joy on his face freeze, and several dark lines appeared across his expression.

"Yeah. That guy Newgate—he seems to have died at your good son’s hands in the end."

Orin said with a smile. Talking about recent events might have a big impact, but as for a story forty years in the future, it was still far from certain. Orin felt no psychological burden at all saying it, and as he looked at the strange expression on Rocks’s face, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

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