Chapter 158: The Omen Before Ohara’s Destruction

After the meeting of the Marine high command concluded, Kuzan walked out wearing a look of obvious dissatisfaction.

He couldn’t have cared less about being demoted.

Outside the Fleet Admiral’s office, in the corridor...

Vice Admiral Saul silently followed behind Kuzan, equally unhappy with the outcome of the meeting.

"Are Government officials angels protected by the gods?" Saul said bitterly. "They can take lives whenever they please. How is that any different from pirates?"

Kuzan answered with the same frustration.

"If a pirate kills someone, it’s a crime. But when a Government official does it, it’s justice? Then what exactly is justice?"

At that moment, Sengoku, still covered in bandages from Arthur’s sword wounds, caught up with them.

"Kuzan."

He stopped in front of the young Marine.

"How many times have I told you? Don’t let your temper get the better of you. Offending Government officials won’t do your future any favors."

"I just... don’t want..." Kuzan struggled to find the words. "...my sense of justice to become so... blind, Mr. Sengoku."

"Don’t lose your way, Kuzan."

Sengoku rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone makes mistakes. But we always stand on the side of justice. Don’t let one incident shake your faith."

"One incident?"

Kuzan clenched his fists inwardly.

"This isn’t some small incident, Mr. Sengoku... Staying here will drive people insane. I’m not Sakazuki."

He didn’t voice those thoughts aloud.

For the first time, he realized the Marines’ idea of justice wasn’t what he had imagined.

Rather than justice...

It felt more like serving as the World Government’s bodyguards.

A gathering of people with different personalities and beliefs, all fighting pirates while ultimately obeying every order from the World Government.

"I understand, Mr. Sengoku."

"I’ll reflect on it."

Remembering the hardships of his childhood and everything he had achieved since then, Kuzan wasn’t willing to throw away his current position.

At the same time...

He understood he needed to become even stronger.

Only then would he have enough political influence to speak for justice.

Perhaps...

He could change things from within.

After calming Kuzan down, Sengoku turned toward Saul.

"Saul, both of you should remain at Marine Headquarters and take some leave. There won’t be any assignments for a while."

"Get some rest."

"And don’t lose faith in justice."

"I... I don’t understand..."

Saul lowered his head.

"What kind of history has to be hidden away...?"

"But... I’ll do my best, Admiral Sengoku."

Sengoku looked at him silently.

He knew Saul carried the forbidden initial...

The D.

According to legend...

The D. Clan were the enemies of the gods.

And those who now called themselves gods...

Were none other than the Celestial Dragons.

"Your future is in your own hands."

Sengoku’s expression grew stern.

"Don’t do anything foolish, Saul... Kuzan."

"There are some dirty tasks that someone within the Marines has to carry out..."

"...if peace is to be maintained."

With that, Sengoku left for another conference room.

The purpose of the meeting...

Was to determine the official report regarding the Clare Island Incident.

"Without any apparent objective or prior planning, Arthur suddenly appeared at the site of the Buster Call on Clare Island and engaged Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Garp in an unprecedented battle."

Before entering, Sengoku heard the briefing from inside.

Leaning quietly against the doorway...

He listened as the young staff officer Brannew addressed the assembled officers.

His normally upright posture had unconsciously bent forward.

The wounds left by Arthur’s Black Blade still throbbed with pain.

Even the incredible defenses of the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Daibutsu Model, combined with Armament Haki...

Had failed to stop Arthur’s sword.

"At first, we believed he came to rescue Barrett out of loyalty to the Roger Pirates."

Brannew continued.

"However, subsequent analysis suggests he appeared solely for the purpose of retaliation."

Before Sengoku could enter—

Garp walked over.

Without even looking at him, he spoke.

"If you’d approved his request to leave instead of sending him to the Kingdom of Jaltzburg..."

"Arthur would’ve still called you ’Senior.’"

"He would’ve still called me ’Master.’"

"So tell me..."

"What exactly did you accomplish?"

Only then did Garp turn toward the man who had stood beside him through multiple generations.

His gaze carried unmistakable disappointment.

Yet if another battle came...

He would still stand shoulder to shoulder with Sengoku.

Sengoku lowered his head.

For once...

He had no answer.

"I’ve never regretted anything I’ve done."

He finally spoke quietly.

"My only regret... is that I failed to resolve the problem."

Then he walked into the conference room.

"You’ll regret it one day, Sengoku."

Garp sighed.

"And when that day comes... even I won’t be able to help you."

The two men took their seats and silently listened as Brannew continued the meeting.

Once...

Sengoku believed Arthur was simply the descendant of some extinct race.

Someone who happened to know too much about history...

And the World Government’s darkest secrets.

Now he realized...

Arthur knew far more than that.

Unlike what had happened at Enies Lobby years ago...

He no longer exposed those truths openly.

Instead...

He quietly grew stronger in the shadows.

Until one day...

He stood before them as one of the world’s greatest powers.

The meeting continued.

The capture of Barrett had been celebrated worldwide as a great Marine victory.

Because of that...

Arthur’s intervention—

And Sengoku’s serious injuries—

Would never appear in the official report.

Suppressing inconvenient truths had long become standard practice.

The final decision was reached.

Arthur’s bounty would be raised to...

1,500,000,000 Berries.

This increase was based purely on his combat ability.

It excluded political influence, crimes, affiliations, or other factors.

Only his overwhelming strength had been taken into consideration.

After Arthur’s case concluded, Brannew picked up another report.

"Next..."

He glanced down at the document.

"The matter concerning the Red Count, Redfield, searching for Poneglyphs."

At that moment—

Fleet Admiral Kong entered the conference room and took his seat at the head of the table.

"Fleet Admiral!"

Everyone immediately stood and saluted.

"Have you finished discussing Arthur?"

Kong asked as he motioned everyone to sit.

"Yes, sir."

Brannew reported.

"The Frost Sword Saint Arthur has been assigned a bounty of 1.5 billion Berries, dead or alive."

"Are you satisfied with the result?"

Kong let out a long sigh.

"1.5 billion..."

He smiled bitterly.

"This truly is one of the greatest headaches in Marine history."

"Continue."

"Yes, sir."

Brannew nodded.

"The next matter concerns the Red Count, Redfield, and his search for the Poneglyphs."

"Redfield?"

Kong’s expression immediately became serious.

"What does he want with the Poneglyphs?"

"Our assessment..."

Brannew answered,

"...is that he intends to reach the same heights Gol D. Roger once reached."

"He wants to find the One Piece too?!"

Kong slammed the table.

"Roger’s final words already plunged the world into chaos."

"I won’t allow anyone to throw it into even greater turmoil."

The room fell silent.

No one had expected the usually calm Fleet Admiral to lose his temper.

"Our Headquarters currently lacks sufficient manpower..."

Brannew began.

Before he could finish—

Kong stood up.

"I’ll handle Redfield personally."

Faced with a pirate whose strength rivaled Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion Shiki...

The Fleet Admiral himself would lead the operation.

"If there’s nothing else for me..."

Garp rose from his seat.

"I’d like to return to the East Blue for a while."

"Hold it, Garp."

Kong immediately stopped him.

"You’re coming with me."

Garp’s mouth twitched.

"...Fine."

He had no choice but to obey.

Kong wasn’t taking chances.

Anyone recognized as a legendary pirate possessed power comparable to a Marine Admiral.

To suppress someone like that...

At least two Admiral-level fighters were necessary.

Marine Headquarters Harbor

Having been granted leave, Saul and Kuzan arrived at the docks together.

"Where are you going, Saul?"

Kuzan watched as the giant boarded his battleship.

Standing on the deck in his Marine cap and Justice coat, Saul spoke quietly.

"Kuzan."

"Come with me."

"I want to learn the truth."

Kuzan stared at him in disbelief.

"Didn’t you realize what happened in the Fleet Admiral’s office earlier?"

"If we keep digging into this..."

"We could become criminals ourselves."

"They’ll kill us without hesitation."

"I don’t care!"

Saul roared.

"If justice only exists to protect scum like them..."

"Then our beliefs have already become twisted."

Kuzan turned away.

"I’m not going."

Between his future...

And his friendship...

He chose his future.

Neither of them had the power to interfere with something of this scale.

Even if it meant abandoning the justice in his heart.

"I’ll live in the present."

He spoke without looking back.

"I won’t challenge authority head-on."

"My way is different from yours."

He intended to change the Marines...

From within.

Not through reckless defiance.

"Goodbye... my friend."

Saul gave the order.

His battleship slowly sailed toward Impel Down.

Several Hours Later

Saul arrived alone at the great underwater prison...

Impel Down.

Wild laughter and deafening cheers echoed throughout the prison.

News that former Roger Pirate Douglas Bullet had been captured had spread through every level.

Even someone of his strength...

Couldn’t escape the darkness of the world’s greatest prison.

"Vice Admiral!"

Chief Warden Magellan greeted Saul respectfully before quickly following him inside.

"Where is Nico Olvia being held?"

Saul asked immediately.

"Level One."

Magellan answered.

"She is an important prisoner scheduled for public trial by the World Government, so excessive punishment is prohibited."

As a Marine Vice Admiral...

Saul possessed unrestricted visitation authority.

At this point in time...

Even the Warden of Impel Down held less authority than a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral.

"Take me to her."

Before long...

Magellan led Saul to a prison cell.

Inside...

A woman with white hair sat kneeling on the floor.

She wore a thin coat.

Her injuries had already been treated.

Heavy chains bound both of her hands.

It was...

Nico Olvia.

Saul saw a woman kneeling inside the prison cell.

She wore a light overcoat, her long white hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Although the wounds covering her body had already been treated, both of her wrists remained bound in heavy iron chains.

It was Nico Olvia.

Hearing footsteps, Olvia slowly raised her head toward the visitor outside the cell.

The moment she recognized Saul...

Fear and helplessness filled her eyes.

"Why...?"

Her weak voice trembled.

"Why did you kill all those innocent people aboard our ship...?"

At this point, the two of them had yet to form the friendship they would one day share.

"You were fugitives the World Government had been hunting for years," Saul replied quietly.

"I had no choice but to order the bombardment..."

He lowered his head.

It had been his order that sank Olvia’s expedition ship.

His command had killed everyone aboard.

Now that he knew the truth behind the World Government’s actions...

That decision had become one of the greatest burdens on his conscience.

"Then why are you here now?"

Olvia asked.

"What do you hope to accomplish?"

"To make up for my mistake."

Saul’s expression hardened.

"And change the future!"

The instant those words left his mouth—

His fist became coated in Armament Haki.

BOOM!

Without any warning, he punched Chief Warden Magellan.

Caught completely off guard, Magellan was blasted away before he could react.

The surrounding prison guards suffered the same fate, each being knocked flying by Saul.

"I can’t accept it!"

Saul shouted toward Olvia.

"They’re planning to launch a Buster Call simply because of a piece of forgotten history!"

"They intend to wipe out an entire civilization!"

"I refuse to accept the Marines making a decision like that!"

"A... Buster Call?!"

Olvia’s mind went blank.

The Marine Vice Admiral standing before her...

Was the very man who had ordered the destruction of her expedition ship.

And now—

He was risking everything to break her out of prison.

She couldn’t understand it.

But she could tell his intentions were genuine.

So she chose to trust him.

Sabaody Archipelago

After surviving a shipwreck, Silvers Rayleigh was rescued by a young octopus fish-man...

Hatchan.

"Shakky! Shakky!"

Supporting the unconscious Rayleigh, Hatchan rushed across the lawn outside Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar.

"Over here!"

Inside the bar, Shakky—wearing a pink T-shirt, long pants, and an apron—heard the shouting.

She casually stepped outside.

"Oh my..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Hatchan... and Old Ray?"

She looked over Rayleigh’s unconscious body.

"What happened?"

"I don’t know."

Hatchan scratched his head.

"When I found him, he’d already passed out."

"A shipwreck?"

Shakky folded her arms.

"Or was he being hunted by the Government?"

She knew Rayleigh better than almost anyone.

Swimming from Sabaody to Amazon Lily was effortless for him.

A simple shipwreck?

She didn’t believe that for a second.

"Cough...!"

Rayleigh suddenly spat out a mouthful of seawater before slowly opening his eyes.

"Oh?"

Shakky smiled.

"Feeling better, Old Ray?"

"I managed to shake off the Government’s pursuers."

Rayleigh gave a tired smile.

"I can finally settle down and live quietly."

"That makes sense."

Shakky chuckled.

"Besides them, who else could leave you looking this miserable?"

Relieved that he was safe, she helped him inside the bar.

Half an Hour Later

Having changed into clean clothes, Rayleigh sat at the empty bar with one leg crossed over the other, leisurely drinking.

His eyes drifted toward a newspaper lying on the counter.

The front page featured large photographs of Arthur and Barrett.

"Is this today’s paper?"

"Oh, that?"

Shakky answered while cooking in the kitchen.

"Barrett was captured by the Marines."

"And Arthur caused quite a scene fighting Sengoku and Garp."

"What an incredible man."

"So Barrett finally reached his end."

Rayleigh simply nodded.

He felt no sympathy.

Indiscriminate slaughter had always been one of the Roger Pirates’ greatest taboos.

Even when Roger once destroyed an entire nation’s army...

It had only been to avenge one of his crew.

"1.5 billion Berries..."

Rayleigh raised an eyebrow after seeing Arthur’s bounty.

"His strength is worth much more than that."

"That’s true."

Shakky nodded.

"Maybe it’s because he hasn’t directly threatened the World Government."

"Though..."

She smiled.

"1.5 billion isn’t exactly low."

"Arthur?"

Hatchan, sipping fruit juice beside them, suddenly spoke up.

"Isn’t he the guy who almost caused the Marines to destroy Hachinosu?"

"Oh?"

Shakky laughed.

"You really know your news, Hatchan."

"Not really."

He scratched his head sheepishly.

"Everyone’s been talking about him."

"All those unprecedented incidents..."

Rayleigh muttered thoughtfully.

"I wonder if he carries the initial ’D.’ as well."

On Laugh Tale...

There had been a message.

One day...

The Clan of D. would rise again and overthrow the gods.

Even now...

Rayleigh didn’t know who Roger had truly been waiting for.

Shanks...

Or someone else entirely.

"Yes..."

After making sure no one else was nearby, Shakky lowered her voice.

"He killed a member of the Figarland Family."

"Just like Byrnndi World once did."

"But strangely..."

"The Government hasn’t treated Arthur the same way they treated World."

Byrnndi World.

The pirate known as the World Destroyer.

He too had killed a Celestial Dragon.

Yet the Government buried the truth.

Eventually, he was betrayed by his own crew through a Marine scheme and captured.

Because he was too dangerous to control...

He had been cryogenically frozen inside Level 6 of Impel Down.

"Red Count Redfield..."

Shakky continued.

"When you and Roger were younger, he could fight both of you single-handedly."

Rayleigh smiled faintly.

"Back then..."

"Redfield was a lot like Arthur is now."

Shakky lit a cigarette.

A puff of smoke escaped her lips.

"The Hachinosu Incident, where the Four Emperors united against the Marines..."

"No matter which event we’re talking about..."

"They’ll all become part of pirate history."

Rayleigh quietly finished his drink.

"It doesn’t matter anymore."

"Unless it’s about the person Roger was waiting for..."

"I’ll spend the rest of my life here as a simple ship coater."

After escaping the pursuit of the God’s Knights, he had finally disappeared from the world.

From now on...

He intended to stay out of everything.

West Blue — Ohara

The setting sun bathed the island in orange light.

Disguised in plain clothes, Tensei entered the Tree of Knowledge, his eyes settling on the enormous globe standing at its center.

"What are you doing here again, outsider?!"

Professor Clover immediately stepped forward.

"There’s nothing here for you!"

"You suspicious man!"

Tensei had originally been sent to Ohara years ago by the Marines to investigate the island.

He had uncovered the truth long ago...

Yet had never reported it back to Headquarters.

"Calm down, old man."

Tensei sighed.

"What you’re researching has already drawn the World Government’s full attention."

"I’m only here to warn you."

Standing behind Professor Clover...

Was a girl who was almost eight years old.

Nico Robin.

She listened attentively to the red-haired man who had visited the Tree of Knowledge so many times over the years.

"We’re not researching anything forbidden!"

One scholar spoke up.

"We simply want everyone in the world to be able to read."

Another added,

"The forgotten languages..."

"The truths buried by history..."

"We only want to reveal them so civilization can continue to progress."

Not one of them admitted...

That beneath the Tree of Knowledge...

They were secretly studying the Poneglyphs, a subject strictly forbidden by the World Government.

To Tensei...

Their words sounded absurd.

"These scholars..."

"They’re all insane."

They were walking toward their own destruction...

Completely unaware of the catastrophe they were bringing upon the island.

"Forget it."

Tensei shook his head.

"If you refuse to listen... there’s nothing more I can do."

He wandered through the Tree of Knowledge like an ordinary visitor.

After all...

What was the point of trying to stop people determined to embrace their own ruin?

Only one thing saddened him.

The countless books collected over centuries...

Would soon disappear forever.

"Who is he, Professor?"

Robin quietly asked.

Professor Clover looked unusually tense.

"You only need to remember one thing."

"He’s a bad man."

Robin tilted her head.

"Then... why would a bad person try to warn us?"

"Bad people don’t do things like that... do they?"

Seeing how perceptive Robin was, Clover knelt beside her and gently hugged her.

"You don’t need to worry about these things."

He smiled warmly.

"You’re one of the most gifted children I’ve ever met."

"Just like your mother."

"My mother...?"

Robin looked confused.

"She left six years ago."

"I miss her..."

"But I can’t even remember what she looks like anymore."

Clover could only sigh.

Olvia hadn’t sailed out to sea solely to study the Poneglyphs.

She had also been fulfilling...

Her late husband’s final wish.

"Olvia..."

"You loved him so deeply... yet you had no choice but to leave your daughter behind."

For all these years...

Clover had tried his best to give Robin the warmth she lacked.

He never realized...

That Robin’s life in her uncle Oran’s home had become increasingly miserable.

At first...

Oran had treated her kindly.

But after his own daughter was born...

Robin had gradually become nothing more than a servant.

"Professor..."

Robin looked up hopefully.

"What color is my mother’s hair?"

Clover blinked away the tears in his eyes before smiling again.

"White."

"She looks a lot like you."

"It’s getting late."

"You should head home."

Robin silently repeated the word to herself.

"White..."

"When can I become a scholar?"

She asked eagerly.

"Very soon."

Clover smiled warmly.

"When that day comes..."

"We’ll hold a grand celebration just for you."

Neither of them knew...

That celebration, four months later...

Would instead become a living hell.

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