Michael's timing couldn't have been more perfect.
The rebel army led by Donquixote had once again gone underground.
Thus, in terms of intelligence gathering and transmission, extreme caution was necessary.
They needed to confirm how Nefertari's widow would be transported to the capital of the Great Kingdom... and then determine when and where she would arrive.
Had the intelligence arrived any later, this girl named Nefertari D. Lily might have vanished from history entirely.
Michael thought about how close history had come to changing and let out a slightly guilty sigh.
Fortunately... he had arrived in time.
Otherwise, what would they have done if one of the Twenty Kings who would overthrow the Great Kingdom's rule died before she even grew up?
Michael looked down at the girl's infatuated and worshipful gaze, shaking his head.
In the past, this kind of situation might have given him a headache, but now he was long accustomed to it...
It was just a matter of raising one more child.
After all, this rescue mission was intended to take one of the widows to divert the Great Kingdom's attention, while the others would be secretly sent to Doflamingo's Dressrosa to be raised...
"Don't be afraid, Lily... you're safe now." Michael reached out and gently picked up the little girl, feeling the tremors echoing through her small, frail body.
"There's no need to fear... I will protect you until you become the valiant Queen Nefertari."
"Angel... are you really an angel?" Lily pointed at the motionless guards of the Great Kingdom.
"They don't even dare to defy your divine presence!"
"Little kid, why do you smell so much like a fanatic?" Michael reached out and tugged at Lily's blue hair, matted with dirt and grime.
"They didn't dare offend... because they couldn't even if they wanted to."
As Michael's words fell, multiple sword marks instantly appeared on the bodies of the guard members.
Upon closer inspection, all the wounds were precisely at the joints and tendons.
In that brief moment, Michael had severed every joint in their bodies that controlled movement.
Now, aside from letting out shrill screams from their throats, they couldn't properly move their bodies at all.
They could only writhe weakly on the ground like maggots.
"Angel... could you please put me down?" Lily looked up at Michael with her large eyes—the only clean part of her face.
"I want to say a few words to them."
Michael didn't know what this little girl was thinking, but since these people were already crippled by him...
There wouldn't be any danger.
"Your body is still too weak right now... don't push yourself too hard."
With that, Michael placed Lily—whom he had only picked up minutes ago—in front of the Great Kingdom's guards.
"Thank you for your concern. I know my limits."
Lily nodded gracefully at Michael, her manners impeccable.
For the first time, Michael sensed... the girl's unyielding side.
The courage and will to face her persecutors so fearlessly in such a moment...
No wonder she became one of the legendary Twenty Kings.
Alabasta really had a great ancestor... Wait, no.
According to Alabasta's historical records, although Lily was one of the Twenty Kings, she never returned to Alabasta with the later Nefertari family, vanishing completely from history.
Alabasta's ancestor was Lily's younger brother—the other surviving child in the prisoner cart.
At this thought, Michael couldn't help but recall the famous theory from before his transmigration...
That Imu achieved immortality by continuously possessing the bodies of Nefertari women, with Lily being the first vessel.
There was even a more radical claim—that Imu was actually Nefertari D. Lily herself.
And the continuous targeting of Nefertari women, like Crocodile... seemed to align with this conspiracy-level speculation.
But the second idea only flickered through Michael's mind.
How could such a tenacious little girl become the future big boss?
Michael sighed.
It seemed he'd have to devise a plan before leaving this era—one that could protect Lily without disrupting the broader course of history.
After being set down by Michael, Lily's legs nearly gave out from exhaustion.
But leaning against Michael's leg, she managed to stand upright.
Then, step by step, she walked forward.
Lifting her head, her crimson eyes locked onto the despair-filled gazes of the guard members.
"Look. Who's the pitiful one now?"
"The Bucaneer Tribe, as a hybrid subspecies of the Giants, actually dares to call others mongrels?"
"Lie forever in your graves, engraving this day into your memories!"
"Every torment your souls endure in hell will make you relive this day! The day you dragged your own race into the abyss!"
"You... will live to regret this."
With these final words, the last vestige of strength left his body. His form went limp as he collapsed to the ground.
Michael remained silent, simply lifting Lily into his arms once more.
According to the rebel army's intel, Lily should have been eight years old...
Yet after enduring such torment, she appeared even smaller and frailer than Toki at six years old.
Rising to his feet, Michael turned his gaze upon the remaining members of the guard unit.
No wonder these towering figures had seemed vaguely familiar...
They were Bucaneer tribesmen.
Before crossing over into this world, Michael had only ever met one person with half-Bucaneer heritage - Kuma.
His knowledge of this race came solely from background lore.
Like how the Five Elders claimed this race had committed grave crimes against the World Government and Celestial Dragons, even being classified as natural slaves by the latter...
Could it be because during the Ancient Kingdom era, the Bucaneer served as loyal hounds to that regime, only to face brutal retribution?
Reconstructing truth from fragmented history...
One could only say the wheel of karma turns inexorably.
The oppressors of eight centuries past had now, due to the historical void created by the Void Century, become victims under mysterious circumstances.
Michael wouldn't presume to judge right or wrong at such a moment...
But some actions, once taken...
Demand repayment.
That was this world's eternal truth.