A fierce gust sent countless precious pages flying into the sky. They drifted down one after another, scattering everywhere.
"Sha, sha, sha..."
Uniform military boots stepped over the scattered pages and broken pieces of the door. The sound alone was enough to make anyone's heart tighten.
A group of expressionless agents in black suits quickly flooded into the Tree of Knowledge.
"Don't move! Everyone, drop whatever you're holding!"
"Robin!" Professor Clover's face turned pale. He instinctively grabbed the stunned Robin and pulled her behind him, using his old body to shield her.
Robin clutched the corner of the professor's robe in terror. She peeked at the intruders through the gaps.
"Forget those scraps of paper!" the lead agent said in a hoarse voice. "Everyone, gather in the open area outside the library immediately! Anyone who resists will be executed on the spot!"
The agents moved like wolves, roughly driving the professors out of the sacred Tree of Knowledge.
Pushed and shoved, the professors were forced into the clearing in front of the tree.
The wind began to pick up. It tugged at the corners of their clothes and carried the damp chill of the sea. At some point, the sky had turned terrifyingly dark.
As the professors stood there, anxious and afraid, the crowd suddenly split apart. A man in a suit with a mustache and an arrogant expression walked forward. Two agents followed behind him, dragging a woman who was barely conscious.
"Thud." The woman was thrown onto the muddy ground like a worthless object.
She was tall, with rare pale silver hair. But now her hair was matted with blood and mud.
Her coat was ragged and torn, and a deep knife wound in her abdomen was still bleeding. Every breath made fresh blood foam at the corners of her mouth.
Robin stared at the woman.
Even though this was their first meeting, it felt as if an enormous invisible hand had seized her heart. A sharp pain came from nowhere. An indescribable sadness nearly swallowed her whole.
"Olvia..." Professor Clover looked at the woman. All the color drained from his aged face, leaving only pain and shock.
"Pro... Professor..." Olvia slowly lifted her head. Her blurred gaze swept across the crowd until it finally stopped on the black-haired little girl hiding behind the professor.
Her pupils shrank. Tears mixed with blood and instantly carved two pale streaks down her face.
"Ro... bin..." Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
"Professor!" Spandine walked over, clearly pleased with himself. His leather shoes stopped beside Olvia. He couldn't even be bothered to glance down at the heavily wounded criminal. "This woman is a fugitive. A few days ago, all of her companions were executed for the crime of interpreting the ancient text."
"If you have any connection to her, this will make things much easier."
Professor Clover understood instantly.
He saw the unbreakable gaze between Robin and Olvia. He also saw the cruel smile on Spandine's face.
"Robin!" The professor's expression changed completely. He suddenly shoved Robin in the opposite direction and roared with all his strength, "Go! Don't look back! Get to the evacuation ship at the port! Run!!"
"Oh? And where do you want her to go, Professor?" Spandine let out a sharp, cold laugh. "It's too late! Everyone is here. Now all we do is wait for the result."
The moment he finished speaking, a muffled boom sounded.
A violent explosion came from the entrance to the basement of the Tree of Knowledge.
The professors cried out in despair. "What are you doing?! That's the Tree of Knowledge! Do you even understand what it is?!"
"Found it!!"
A CP9 agent rushed out through the smoke and rubble. Ignoring the scorched corners of his clothes, he excitedly held a book high in the air.
"Sir!" the agent shouted excitedly, his voice twisted with joy. "We found it! Proof that they were studying the ancient text! We found it!!"
"Haha... Hahahaha! The credit is mine!!"
The moment Spandine heard that report, he could no longer hide his extreme joy.
He threw his head back and laughed. His face twisted with pride as he strode into the center of the clearing.
Under the desperate, furious, and terrified eyes of all the professors, he slowly pulled the symbol of absolute destruction from his coat, the Golden Den Den Mushi.
"All fleets, listen to my orders!" Spandine roared into the handset, spraying spit everywhere. "This is CP9 Director Spandine! The evidence that Ohara was studying the ancient text is conclusive! In the name of the World Government, I hereby announce the activation of the Buster Call on Ohara!"
He slammed his finger down on the button of the Golden Den Den Mushi.
"BOOM!!!!!"
At the same moment, the warships in the distance roared.
Terrifying cannonballs tore through the dark sky. With shrieks of destruction, they flew over the coast. Several of them struck the trunk of the Tree of Knowledge.
Flames shot into the sky.
"No!!"
"The Tree of Knowledge is on fire!"
The professors looked at the burning giant tree and let out heartbroken wails.
The knowledge they had spent their lives protecting was being swallowed by the flames without mercy.
"Spandine!!" Professor Clover's eyes turned bloodshot.
He broke past the agents blocking him and shouted at Spandine.
"I don't care what you plan to do to us! But before that, let me speak to the Five Elders!!"
Spandine had no interest in dealing with the old man now that his mission was complete. But after a moment's thought, he let out a cold laugh and connected the line.
He wanted to watch the old man's final performance.
The Den Den Mushi connected. An old voice came from the other side, aged, powerful, and cold.
"Is that you, Clover... At this point, what are your last words?"
"Five Elders!" Professor Clover gripped the handset with both hands, as if it were Ohara's last hope. "We study the Poneglyphs only to learn what happened in the past! We have absolutely no intention of opposing the World Government."
"Even a harmless desire for knowledge can sometimes lead to a disaster that cannot be undone," the voice on the other side replied coldly. "For the stability of the world, some things must remain buried forever."
"That's ridiculous!!" Professor Clover roared. "History is the shared wealth of all mankind! No matter what happened in the past, it is still the path humanity once walked! If we refuse to face the past, how can we move toward the future?!"
"The future has no need for those dangerous voices. Ohara's desire for knowledge has crossed the line."
"No matter what happened in the past, that history was created by humans! It belongs to everyone! You have no right to erase it!"
After a brief silence, the person on the other end seemed to lose patience. "If those are your last words, then you may die now."
"Wait!!"
Seeing that the other side was about to hang up, Professor Clover knew he could not persuade them. He could only throw out his final card. He took a deep breath, and despite the cannon fire, his voice became completely clear.
"Since you are so determined... then at least hear our final conclusion!"
"We already know why you fear that 'Void Century' so much!"
The breathing on the other side of the Den Den Mushi seemed to stop for a moment.
"...During that lost part of history, there existed a 'Great Kingdom' that was your enemy!!"
"Shut up!!"
A cold, furious roar exploded from the other side. Even through the handset, the pressure of that voice made Spandine's ears ring.
"You pest! You know too much!!"
"Spandine! Kill him! Right now! Immediately!!" The voice ended there, and the line was cut.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Spandine was terrified by that roar. He immediately yanked the pistol from his waist and frantically aimed it at Professor Clover's head, even though the professor was standing right in front of him.
"Die, you devil!"
"Bang!!"
The gunshot rang out.
The fire, the wind, the cannon fire, the wailing, everything seemed to go silent at that moment.
The spray of blood everyone expected never came.
Spandine's eyes widened in shock. His gun hand froze in midair.
Professor Clover slowly opened the eyes he had already closed in preparation for death.
A tall figure was standing in front of him now. No one had seen when he appeared.
He wore simple black casual clothes. His back was as straight as a pine tree.
He had a lean build and neat short black hair. The man slowly raised his right hand, which was blocking the area in front of the professor's forehead.
Held steadily between his index and middle fingers was a slightly deformed lead bullet, still smoking.
The force from the bullet had not fully faded yet. A faint sizzling sound came from between his fingers.
"I have to say..."
His voice was calm, almost emotionless, like he was making a casual complaint.
But that calm voice clearly cut through the wind, the fire, and the cannons. It spread across the deathly silent clearing.
"Pulling a gun like that... isn't it a little impolite?"