The culture of the Giant Race is quite unique. Due to the scheme initially devised by Carmel in collaboration with the World Government, the Navy now has a fair number of giant Vice Admirals.
However, the Giant Soldier Pirates are also quite famous in the Giant Country. Among the few Giant Countries, regardless of whether the giants hail from Elbaf or not, they have all heard of those giants' legends.
For instance, the bearded Yarl was known as the hero of the Giant Race, and Charlotte Linlin's anorexia nervosa in her childhood led to the death of this old giant, making her an object of loathing for all giants.
Even Buggy can entice five young giant mercenaries; with suitable conditions, luring out a few giants is not difficult, but it requires a lead. At this moment, Saul could become that lead.
According to the original storyline, he might have had a chance if he chose to leave at the beginning of the Buster Call, but he gave up that sliver of hope because of Robin.
With these scholars in hand, he didn't think Saul would do anything rash, and no one could pull off any tricks under his watchful eye.
With the help of Robin's Fruit Ability, the books inside the Tree of Omniscience were quickly collected.
Saul became the biggest transporter, as several scholars used leftover table boards and such from the tree to create a large bundle to store a vast amount of books.
"Don't talk too much, and don't ask questions. Just follow us, and as long as you don't stray, you won't be discovered," Olga said as she led the way out of the Tree of Omniscience, her illusion blocking external visibility.
"Lord Arceus, the defense is up to you, but where should we go?"
"To the west is the evacuation ship, and to the east is the Navy fleet. We'll just withdraw from the north," he said, moving the barrier he had created. Under the protection of the Defend Barrier, not a single cannonball could harm them.
Occasionally, shells would explode like fireworks when hitting the barrier, but to those inside, it was just a display of smoke and fire.
"Hey, hey, hey, big oaf, keep up! You almost stepped out of the illusion!"
Ohara's scholars were merely astonished that Arceus could protect them amid the artillery, but the impact on them was far less than on Saul. Saul understood well what Buster Call meant to the Navy.
From decades ago to the present, the Buster Call had been launched three times—Rocks, Bullet, and Ohara were its targets.
Even a monster like Bullet didn't survive the firepower of a Buster Call, which is why Arceus' actions left him dumbstruck.
....
Arceus blocked the artillery; Olga disrupted vision, and as they left, the shells wiped away their traces.
Not long after they departed, the Tree of Omniscience collapsed to the ground under heavy bombardment.
The wood had barely caught fire before subsequent shells blasted it to dust, and the Tree of Omniscience Library, standing for hundreds of years, was thus destroyed.
Tears welled up in the eyes of many scholars as they witnessed the tree's fall; it had been the place where they dedicated half their lives. Even though the data had been taken away, the memories of the past had vanished.
Upon reaching the coast, they all rose into the air under the influence of magnetic force. After their initial shock, they looked down at Ohara.
Prosperity was no more, desolation everywhere—this historic academic Holy Land had become history today.
"Mom, Ohara is gone..."
After six years apart, the mother and daughter reunited, but their home was gone.
"It's okay; Mom will be with you from now on..."
"It's okay, Robin, being able to leave safely is a blessing amidst misfortune. Come, like I said before, smile, hey ha ha ha..."
Saul comforted Robin, as she was his new friend during these days, and his strange laughter caught Yamato's attention.
"Foster father, are all giants so strange?" Saul's laughter was even more peculiar than Kaidou's, which confused Yamato, who was seeing the Giant Race for the first time.
"That's just an exception, but don't imitate that strange laughter, and don't mimic your old man's laughter either. I really don't know how they manage to laugh like that."
....
Despite being eerie, Saul's laughter eased the scholars' emotions. Apart from Robin, the expressions of ordinary people changed significantly. It's worth mentioning that they didn't take the Poneglyph but only the rubbings.
After all, the Poneglyph wouldn't suffer damage from bombing or burning, as the agents had already confirmed the existence of the Poneglyph earlier.
In further Navy inspections, if the Poneglyph disappeared, it would seem strange.
After reaching a certain height, they headed toward the hidden ships, and Saul continued to comfort the people of Ohara with his peculiar laughter, but soon, he couldn't laugh anymore.
From high up, they could clearly see the evacuation ship sailing away, but in the next moment, it exploded.
The artillery below never ceased, but all the scholars of Ohara fell silent.
Some were solitary, but many had family aboard the evacuation ship,
and under the bombardment, the evacuation ship vanished from the sea surface; ordinary people couldn't possibly survive such a violent explosion.
"How could this... Wasn't that the evacuation ship!?"
"The Navy... have they all gone mad? Hadn't the agents already screened everyone?!"
Saul's expression turned increasingly blank; the reason for killing the scholars and destroying Ohara was their grave crimes, but those on the evacuation ship were just civilians, and yet they didn't spare a single one.
"Is this... the Navy's justice?" At this moment, he was deeply trapped in self-doubt. Arresting criminals and maintaining peace on the Sea were undoubtedly the right things to do, but right now, these actions were completely different from his vision of the Navy.
...
On the Buster Call warship, the Navy on the four battleships didn't understand what had happened. That was a World Government-ordered evacuation ship for the civilians, and it had just sunk like that.
"What happened?"
"It appears to be the cannonfire from Vice Admiral Sakazuki's ship..."
On one of the warships, Kuzan's sunglasses reflected the flames of the evacuation ship, his face full of disbelief.
Because Saul hadn't approached the coast, no Navy discovered Saul was there.
There were people who knew, but all the informed had died in the bombardment.
Not having found Saul, Kuzan hadn't left the warship, and at this time, Kuzan was still a young man with a fiery temper, disappearing from the ship directly.
"Bastard..."
"Vice Admiral Kuzan! Where are you going!"
The calls from his subordinate soldiers couldn't stop Kuzan, leaving only an ice flower on the deck as Kuzan's figure appeared on Sakazuki's ship.
"Sakazuki, what the hell was that you just did!?"