At this time, Tesoro also had a need for money. After all, it was a necessity for maintaining a normal life.
When there are abundant material conditions, the quality of life also improves significantly.
However, without the stimulation from Stella’s death and without desperately trying to earn money for her freedom, Tesoro lacked a certain obsession with wealth.
At least for now, he was merely an ordinary man yearning for a happy life, not the Golden Emperor who believed money surpassed everything. It would still take some time for him to discover his true talent.
Wave after wave of pirates surged across the seas. There was hardly a peaceful place left along the routes of the Grand Line. Although the Marines conducted regular patrols, they still could not guarantee the safety of every island.
The territories of the affiliated nations, however, remained largely stable. They were closer to Marine bases, and their own national strength was sufficient to deal with attacks from ordinary pirates.
Some time later.
January 1st, Year 1519 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
The hunt for Roger’s offspring had already ended, but Roger’s son, Portgas D. Ace, had been born and entrusted to Garp, the man Roger had chosen as his guardian.
Meanwhile, at a Neptune Army garrison of the Ryugu Kingdom, the Fourth Company of the First Corps received a secret mobilization order.
Unlike those who specialized in poison and electric attacks, the composition of the Fourth Company was much more unique. Most of its members possessed Fish-Type abilities derived from creatures such as loaches and angel sharks, species capable of rapidly burrowing through soil and sand.
As long as the island didn’t have unusually hard rock formations, they could construct a special underground network in a short time and infiltrate silently from beneath the ground.
Whether laying foundations, building trenches, or manually excavating canals, they could accomplish the work with remarkable speed.
Even Big Pan, the user of the Swim-Swim Fruit, was among them. Many times, other members of the corp felt that this company leaned more toward being an infrastructure unit.
Beyond ordinary physical combat skills, most of their abilities were used for construction work. During the expansion projects of Fish-Man Island, their abilities had proven extremely helpful.
“Special mission. Destination: West Blue. Depart immediately.”
No ships accompanied them. Using several Sea Beasts as transportation, the group began traveling toward West Blue under the cover of the deep sea.
With Nereus personally leading them, crossing the Calm Belt was a simple task. Even without ships, the Sea Beasts’ natural speed allowed them to move faster than most ships.
The soldiers did not ask what the mission’s objective was. They simply followed Nereus’s orders and continued advancing toward West Blue.
However, no matter how fast they were, the journey from Fish-Man Island to West Blue still required time. Even after reaching West Blue, they would need additional time to arrive at their final destination.
They traveled almost entirely underwater. The sea’s surface became the perfect cover. In an era dominated by wooden ships, underwater troop movements were virtually impossible to detect.
Without spending too many days, this army from Fish-Man Island arrived in the waters of West Blue.
West Blue itself was far from peaceful at the moment. The Marines were carrying out a special mission there under official orders.
Jaguar D. Saul, who was currently serving as Marine Headquarters’ Vice Admiral, had an expression full of displeasure as he berated the Marine soldiers who had opened fire without authorization.
After the Great Pirate Era began, the Marines started recruiting Giant soldiers to strengthen their military forces and resist this unprecedented golden age of pirates.
Harald also hoped that Giants would enter the public eye as righteous Marines. He did not want people’s first thought upon hearing the word “giant” to be the fearsome Giant Warrior Pirates who plundered freely and spread terror wherever they went.
Under those circumstances, about ten Giants ultimately joined the Marines, and Saul was one of them.
At this point, it had been only about two years since he joined the Marines. Although his innate Giant strength had already earned him the rank of Vice Admiral, the concept of justice was causing him increasing doubt.
“Stop! Who gave the order to fire the cannons? Couldn’t you just sail up and capture them alive? Their ship wasn’t going anywhere!”
In his view, there was absolutely no need to use cannon fire against a group of weak scholars.
It did not align with a warrior’s honor, nor did it align with Marine justice.
“But Vice Admiral… they were trying to escape…”
Faced with Saul’s questioning, the soldier who had fired the cannon tried to explain.
“They aren’t vicious pirates. They’re just a bunch of weak scholars. Are you saying you can’t even handle people like them?”
Though Saul felt helpless, he did not harshly reprimand the soldiers. He merely ordered an investigation of the ship after the bombardment.
After all, what had happened could not be undone, and this situation was somewhat special.
As the highest-ranking officer aboard the warship, Saul’s order had been to capture them alive.
However, before the mission began, higher-ranking Marines had issued authorization for direct execution.
Why did these scholars have to die?
Saul had never figured out the answer to that question, but he continued carrying out Marine orders nonetheless.
Under the Marine bombardment, only Nico Olvia survived among the scholars aboard the ship. After being captured by Saul, she was imprisoned in a nearby Marine base’ jail.
Then something happened that Saul had never expected; he actually saw Sengoku in this remote corner of West Blue.
The Marines’ overall situation was not particularly good. Although the World Government had reached an agreement with Crocodile, and Crocodile had now become one of the Shichibukai, this new Shichibukai had failed to produce the expected results. Not long after becoming a Shichibukai, Crocodile headed to the New World and challenged Whitebeard.
The battle between a rookie and a veteran powerhouse drew considerable attention, but the outcome was exactly what many had anticipated.
Crocodile suffered a crushing defeat. He lost an arm and was left with a horrifying scar across his face, significantly reducing the deterrent value of the Shichibukai organization.
Logically speaking, Sengoku, as a Marine Admiral, should have been dealing with pirates in the New World. There was no reason for him to appear in a place like the Four Seas.
“Admiral Sengoku, why are you here? Is there some pirate that requires you to personally take action?”
Sengoku’s expression was grave, and he held a document in his hand the entire time.
“A secret mission from the World Government. After deliberation, it has been decided that a Buster Call will be launched against Ohara. You are one of the five Vice Admirals assigned to carry out the operation.”
Ten warships, five Vice Admirals, and the extermination of every living thing on an island—that was a Buster Call.
As someone who could already be considered middle-to-upper management within the Marines, Saul naturally knew what a Buster Call was. Years of dissatisfaction and confusion regarding such missions erupted all at once.
“Admiral Sengoku! They’re just scholars! Is there really a need to wipe them all out?
I’ve already arrested six groups of scholars. They were merely driven by curiosity about history, they aren’t heinous criminals!
If history is truly so dangerous, then why not allow the World Government to participate in the research? That way, the truth can be explored while the risks are controlled. We’ve already killed so many scholars… and now you’re launching a Buster Call… Please show me proof that they’re all terrible criminals!”
“Saul! Are you questioning the World Government? Carry out your orders!”
There was no explanation and no reassurance. Sengoku merely used the standard Marine approach of a superior issuing commands to a soldier.
But Sengoku did not fully understand the specifics of Giant culture.
Although Saul came from a Giant Kingdom in South Blue rather than Elbaf, and personally considered the Giants of Elbaf to be a bunch of barbarians, he still held great respect for Harald, the Giant King. Saul’s decision to join the Marines was partly influenced by Harald’s appeal.
Harald had never forced Giants to join the Marines. Instead, he encouraged those who were interested to volunteer.
Saul had come because he wanted to uphold justice. When he discovered that this justice seemed to have more and more problems, there was no way he would continue carrying out missions blindly and without question.
The result was Saul’s “defection.” He seized two warships and fled with Olvia.
Saul naturally wasn’t afraid of the Marines. Even Sengoku’s orders were merely to bring Saul back, with permission to fire if necessary.
After all, Saul had Harald behind him. The Marines had no desire to provoke the Giant King. Harald might not care what happened to himself, but if anyone laid a hand on his people, he would no longer tolerate it.
Virtually everyone in the World Government knew this, except perhaps Imu, who liked to micromanage from time to time, or rather, in Imu’s eyes, it simply wasn’t important.
At this moment, Ohara had no idea what was about to happen. Nor did they know that someone was carrying out a massive underground construction project beneath the island.
“Your Majesty, the tunnel has been completed. Lord Big Pan has already inspected it with his Devil Fruit ability, and the location is directly beneath that tree.
As long as you give the order, we can break through the remaining layer of soil in under a minute.”
The reason Nereus had brought the Fourth Company here was to conduct excavation work beneath Ohara.
He had no intention of commenting too much on the scholars’ research into the Poneglyphs, but he followed a simple principle: whatever his enemies wanted destroyed, he wanted preserved. If these scholars are allowed to continue studying the Poneglyphs, they might uncover something interesting.
When the Buster Call’s bombardment began, even World Government personnel would avoid the island. All they had to do was move the scholars through a tunnel to the seafloor, then have Big Pan use his Devil Fruit ability to seal the tunnel again.
Once the shelling was over, there would be no way to determine what had happened amidst the ruins. Relocating these people elsewhere would be sufficient.
“You’ve all worked hard. As for what comes next…. we just have to wait for the signal from those guys. Pan, you’ll have to work a little harder during this period. Keep an eye on the situation on the island.”
……
As time passed, the warships assigned to carry out the Buster Call gradually closed in on Ohara, forming a complete encirclement.
By now, CP9 Chief Spandine had already landed on the island with the World Government’s orders. Saul’s defection had shaken the World Government’s confidence in Marine reliability, so they had dispatched agents they trusted more directly.
Although Spandine’s combat ability was mediocre, and only his son was more useless than him in the entire World Government, he made up for it with extensive connections.
His promotions came much faster than those of agents working hard on the front lines.
“Hurry! Hurry! Arrest all the scholars on the island!”
Spandine urgently directed the Cipher Pol agents toward the Tree of Knowledge.
At the same time, an announcement from World Government officials echoed across the island.
“Attention all residents. Every scholar on this island is suspected of plotting to destroy the world. A comprehensive island-wide search will now begin. All unrelated personnel are to immediately bring identification documents and gather at the evacuation ship on the west coast!”
With Saul’s help, Olvia successfully returned to Ohara and was now confronting Spandine.
She fired a shot at him, attempting to take all the blame upon herself.
“I planned everything! The others are innocent! Let them go!”
Spandine merely sneered at her naivety. Seeing that Olvia still didn’t understand the situation amused him greatly.
“Olvia, don’t be ridiculous! Do you think the World Government targeted Ohara because you were captured? You’ve got it backwards! The order to destroy Ohara was issued before your capture! You were merely the fuse! The bait!
Did you really think the World Government didn’t know you were researching history? That they didn’t know scholars from all over the world were gathering here?
They were simply waiting for all of you to gather in one place so they could wipe you out in a single stroke!”
There were a few minor incidents along the way, but none changed the final outcome. As the order was issued, the Buster Call began its bombardment of the entire island.
“All ships in position! Prepare to fire! Open fire!”
A dense barrage of shells instantly blanketed Ohara. Even Spandine himself was nearly caught in the attack. Convinced that no one could survive a Buster Call, he hurriedly fled with a few trusted subordinates.
“The tree! The Tree of Knowledge is on fire! Put it out!” Faced with the devastating bombardment, the scholars chose not to flee for their lives. Instead, they rushed toward the burning Tree of Knowledge, desperately trying to save the precious knowledge stored within.
The books piled inside were gradually being moved away. And while no one was paying attention, an unfamiliar figure appeared inside the Tree of Knowledge.
“It’s you? You’ve come to take us away?”
Looking at the man before him, memories flooded back into Clover’s mind. Over the years, many scholars had joined Ohara, and many had left, or died during their expeditions.
The man before him was one who had suddenly appeared more than a decade ago with a collection of research materials, only to disappear just as suddenly.
“Though I am here to take you away, the way you phrased that makes it sound like I’m already dead.”
“You… who exactly are you?”
At first, Clover had thought this was a hallucination brought on by death, but now it seemed something was wrong.
More than ten years had passed, yet the man’s appearance had not changed at all. Naturally, Clover noticed something unusual.
“Ah, force of habit. I probably should’ve added a few wrinkles. Long time no see, Professor Clover. Aren’t you going to stop that bleeding first?”
Earlier, Clover had been shot by Spandine. Fortunately, the pistol didn’t seem very powerful, and Spandine’s marksmanship was terrible. Clover was still surprisingly lively, even having enough strength to move books while under artillery fire.
Boom!
The bombardment began spreading toward the central area. Nereus casually knocked away a falling shell and pointed toward a nearby passage.
“We can discuss everything else later. If you don’t leave now, you’ll really get the chance to reunite with all those people who died before you.”
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