Aiden's ship continued at full speed for over ten minutes under the power of the wind flask.
Only after confirming that they had completely escaped that stormy stretch of sea did Aiden let out a breath of relief.
With a thought, he closed the lid of the small wind flask and stopped its power.
The strong east wind that had been driving the sails finally began to die down.
At the same time, the massive storm in the distance seemed to have finished its job.
Without any warning... it stopped.
Within a few minutes, the sea returned to calm, and the sky cleared once more.
The professors on the ship were stunned at first.
Then one of them ran to the stern on trembling legs.
He looked back.
Ohara had become a distant black dot on the horizon.
As for the Marine fleet, there was no sign of it left.
"There are... there are no pursuers."
"..."
After a brief, dead silence.
"We're... we're saved!!!!"
"We escaped!! We really escaped!!!"
"Waaaaah!!"
The professors who had survived this nightmare could not hold it in anymore.
A wave of cheers and sobbing broke out across the ship.
Some hugged each other and cried, some dropped to their knees and kissed the deck, and others simply stared toward Ohara in silent tears.
Aiden finally let go of his sword.
He leaned against the main mast and let out a long breath.
"Phew... I finally... won the bet..."
He knew better than anyone how much he had risked.
If Sakazuki had really caught him, or if Kuzan had taken him down on the spot, he would have been branded a traitor to the Marines.
And if that happened, he would not only be hunted by the Marines. There would be no place left for him anywhere in the world.
"As for now..." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Aiden's mouth.
"On Ohara, there's an unknown powerhouse going by the name Arise, and he even managed to wound Vice Admiral Kuzan."
"After Rosinante returns to the fleet, he'll report what happened with Smoker and me.
We'll most likely be listed as missing in action. That gives me a perfect excuse for whatever I want to do next."
Once he thought that through, he finally began to relax.
He glanced at the bottle and felt completely satisfied.
"I don't care if you have some kind of bug or not. Bottom line, I got myself a real treasure!"
The cheering and crying went on for a long time.
Gradually, the sounds of laughter and sobbing faded.
A different kind of silence slowly spread across the deck.
The professors helped each other to their feet.
They wiped away their tears and looked around. The deck beneath them was unfamiliar, and the sea around them stretched endlessly in every direction.
They were alive.
But the Tree of Knowledge was gone, and so was their home.
They had become rootless drifters, "demons" wanted by the entire world.
Once the joy faded, what remained was fear and uncertainty about the future.
At that moment, Professor Clover walked up to Aiden.
He said nothing.
He simply led the dozens of professors behind him and gave Aiden a deep bow.
"Mr. Aiden." Professor Clover looked up, and for the first time, light returned to his old eyes.
"You have given Ohara a future."
Aiden met his gaze and answered calmly, "Even without my help, the flame of Ohara would never have gone out."
"Yes... it won't go out..." Professor Clover did not understand Aiden's deeper meaning.
Instead, he followed Aiden's words and asked the question that was weighing on everyone's heart.
"So... where does our future lie?"
That question plunged the deck into silence once again.
Everyone looked at Aiden with eyes full of hope and dependence.
He was their only savior.
Aiden smiled, but did not answer right away.
Instead, he turned to Smoker. "Where's the chart?"
He took the sea chart Smoker handed him and slowly spread it out across the deck.
Because Aiden possessed the [A-rank] Navigation skill, the chart looked as clear as a three-dimensional map in his eyes.
His finger moved across it and finally stopped at the entrance to Reverse Mountain, where the West Blue met the Grand Line.
"Our next stop is Clockwork Town, before Reverse Mountain.
We'll stop there briefly to resupply."
Aiden's voice was calm and steady, sweeping away the last of the confusion in the professors' hearts.
"We're going through here, sailing against the current, and entering the Grand Line."
Aiden looked up at the sky.
"Then we're heading to the legendary Sky Island."
The moment he said that, the deck erupted again.
The reaction was even bigger than when he had mentioned the Grand Line.
"Sky... Sky Island?!"
"Mr. Aiden, are you talking about that Sky Island that only exists in legends?"
"Isn't that just a fairy tale? Could it... could it really exist?!"
The professors began talking all at once, their faces full of shock and disbelief.
Aiden smiled and did not explain directly.
He turned to Professor Clover.
"Professor, with everything you know, do you really think Sky Island is just a legend?"
Clover froze for a moment, then understood what Aiden meant.
A knowing smile appeared on his face.
"In a world where even the Void Century truly exists, and is hidden at any cost, what could possibly be impossible?"
"Exactly." Aiden nodded.
"Alright, everyone go get some rest, especially the wounded."
Just as Aiden was putting away the chart and preparing to let everyone settle down...
"Mr... Mr. Aiden..."
A weak but grateful voice came from behind him.
Aiden turned around and saw that Olvia had somehow managed to stand with the support of others.
Although her stomach wound had been treated in an emergency, the sharp pain from moving still left her face deathly pale, and cold sweat covered her forehead.
Meanwhile, Robin was clutching one of Professor Clover's hands tightly.
She peeked out from behind him, her large eyes, exactly like Olvia's, fixed on the injured woman.
"You should be lying down, Ms. Olvia." Aiden frowned.
"Your injury is serious."
"No... I have to..."
Olvia took a breath.
She did not look at Aiden.
Her eyes were locked on the little girl clutching the professor's coat.
That face, those eyes...
Olvia's breathing suddenly caught.
She gave Aiden a deep bow, her voice trembling.
"I had to... thank you in person..."
"Thank you for saving all of us..."
"Thank you... for saving..." Olvia's lips trembled.
She could no longer hold back. Tears streamed from her eyes, and her voice turned hoarse.
"Thank you... for saving my daughter...!!"
Hearing that, Professor Clover let out a long sigh of relief.
He looked down at little Robin beside him.
"Professor... she..." Robin's small hand tightened even more.
She looked at the injured woman, and a bitter, familiar feeling she could not explain rose inside her.
"Go on, Robin." Clover's eyes were full of love and sadness.
He gently pushed her forward.
"She is the person you have been waiting for."
"Eh?" Robin froze.
"Robin!!"
Olvia could not hold back anymore.
She suddenly pushed away the people supporting her.
Ignoring the pain tearing through her wound, she stumbled forward.
"Olvia!" Professor Clover was startled and rushed to help her.
But Olvia had already dropped to her knees in front of Robin with a thud.
She grabbed Robin's small shoulders.
Her tears poured down without stopping, and her voice was hoarse.
"Robin... my Robin...!!"
Robin stood completely frozen.
She looked at the crying woman in front of her.
The word "Mom" felt distant and blurry in her mind...
but her instincts, her feelings, and her blood were all giving her the same answer.
"Mom?"
Robin tested the word in a voice so small it could barely be heard.
"It's Mom!!" Olvia pulled Robin into a tight embrace, as if she wanted to hold her forever.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Robin... Mom is back... Mom is back."
"MOM!!!"
The tension that had been stretched tight inside Robin finally snapped.
The pain of being bullied by other children, the loneliness of being treated like a monster, the endless longing for her mother... all of it burst out at once.
"Waaaaah!! Mom!! Mom!!!"
For the first time, the little girl cried her heart out in her mother's arms.
The entire deck fell quiet.
Everyone watched the reunited mother and daughter, silently wiping away their own tears.
Saul sat down heavily on the deck.
He covered his face with his giant hands, and tears streamed through his fingers.
"Gahaha... That's great... Olvia... you found her... that's really... wonderful."
Smoker looked uncomfortable in the face of such an emotional scene.
He turned away with a click of his tongue and faced the other direction.
He took a deep drag from his cigar, but the smoke that left his mouth wavered slightly.
Aiden stood at the bow, facing the sea breeze.
He did not look back, but a real smile appeared on his face.
"That's good."