“Rear Admiral, civilian rescue efforts are mostly complete,” the Sergeant said, wiping sweat from his forehead and closing his ash-stained notebook.
“The severely wounded soldiers have been prioritized for transfer to the medical ship to be treated in conjunction with the doctors on Hachinosu Island.
As for the lightly wounded, they are receiving treatment at the temporary town medical station, and the remaining survivors have also returned to town.”
“En, good,” Rear Admiral Gern nodded slightly, his fingertips tapping the hilt of black blade eight desolations.
In the distance, the setting sun dyed the sea blood-red, shimmering with the unextinguished embers on the island.
He was about to inquire about the follow-up work when he was interrupted by a rush of footsteps.
“Report!” a young Marine, out of breath, ran over, his uniform sleeve still bearing scorch marks from fighting fires.
“Rear Admiral Gern, we found a hijacked adventure ship on the west coast, and the people on board claim to be Ohara scholars.”
“Ohara?” Rear Admiral Gern’s tapping finger suddenly stopped.
“That’s right!” the soldier swallowed and continued, “But what’s strange is that they refused Marine medical examination and are rushing to repair their ship, wanting to leave.” He lowered his voice, “This unusual situation made the captain suspicious, so he specifically sent me to ask for Rear Admiral Gern’s instructions.”
The appearance of Ohara scholars in the New World was already abnormal, and even more peculiar was that this group of frail scholars seemed to avoid their saviors.
“Interesting,” Rear Admiral Gern suddenly chuckled.
“After being rescued by the Marine, they don’t feel relieved, but instead are rushing to escape?” As he turned, his Justice cloak cut a sharp arc.
“Let’s go, we’ll go see these scholars who are so eager to leave.”
Libo trotted to catch up, her carrot dagger clinking at her waist: “Rear Admiral Gern, could they be bad guys in disguise? Like that slave trader who pretended to be a merchant last time?”
“Libo, what are you thinking? Ohara is a scholarly holy land,” Tesoro said in a deep voice, “All Ohara scholars are only interested in knowledge!”
“Is that so? I never imagined that someone would like ‘knowledge’! That’s too terrifying.”
Rear Admiral Gern, Tesoro: “…”
… …
At the same time, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the west coast of Hachinosu Island.
The adventure ship, plundered by the World Pirates, lay quietly by the shore, its gruesome cracks silently narrating the atrocities it had endured.
The main mast was broken in half, like a snapped long sword obliquely inserted into the deck, and scattered nautical charts and broken instruments gleamed in the evening light.
“Phew~ They’re finally gone.” The middle-aged scholar with round-rimmed glasses let out a long breath, taking off his sweat-soaked fedora.
His eyes behind the lenses cautiously scanned the departing Marine soldiers, “Compared to pirates, encountering the Marine is truly deadly!”
“Your reaction is too suspicious, Wei,” a cool female voice came from the shadows of the ship’s cabin.
Accompanied by the soft creak of the wooden deck, a robed woman slowly walked out.
Her waist-length snow-white hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and her deep eyes held a calm expression.
It was the archaeologist Nico Olvia, Nico Robin’s mother.
The scholar called Wei suddenly turned, his brows furrowed into a knot: “Olvia! Do you understand what we are researching?”
He lowered his voice, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the spine of an ancient book he had picked up from the ground.
“Getting involved with the Marine now is more dangerous than encountering ten Walds! My behavior just now was completely normal.”
“Normal?” Olvia gently stroked the deep cracks on the ship’s hull.
“Would an ordinary scholar who just escaped the pirates’ clutches be eager to refuse Marine escort?
Would they deliberately avoid the help and treatment offered by the Marine? All your reactions just now were full of problems.”
“You…”
“Enough!” A frail yet booming voice came from the upper deck.
Doctor Clover walked down the gangplank, leaning on his oak cane, his silver-white beard trembling slightly with each step.
The two scholars immediately fell silent and saluted.
The old doctor’s gaze lingered on Wei’s flushed face for a moment, finally resting on Olvia.
“She’s right, the look in that Marine soldier’s eyes when he left… I’m afraid he’s already suspicious.”
“Then if they discover the Poneglyph rubbing on the ship…” Someone’s gasp in the crowd caused a stir.
The scholars looked at each other, some nervously counting the scattered documents, some despairingly looking at the broken mast.
This ship would take at least three days to repair, so they couldn’t escape now.
“Alright! Quiet down!” Doctor Clover’s cane heavily struck the deck, sending wood chips flying.
“Panicking is the path to death!”
After everyone quieted down, he looked at the sea, “Now we can only hope that the leading officer won’t focus his attention on us ‘ordinary shipwrecked scholars’…”
“With all due respect, that’s very difficult, Doctor,” Olvia walked to the ship’s side, coldly shattering everyone’s hopeful illusion.
“Don’t forget, the one who hijacked and attacked us was the ‘World Destroyer’ with a bounty of almost two billion.
Anyone capable of pursuing a great pirate of that level wouldn’t be simple…”
.......
On the other side, Rear Admiral Gern stood on the shore with Libo and Tesoro, his gaze sweeping over the heavily scarred ship not far away, his brows slightly furrowed.
Libo followed beside him, her rabbit ears gently twitching as she curiously surveyed her surroundings.
Tesoro stood a little further away, arms crossed, his eyes vigilant.
“Ohara scholars…” Rear Admiral Gern murmured to himself, memories of this “Island of Scholars” flashing through his mind.
Ohara was famous for its historical research, originally a normal holy land for scholars and a place scholars yearned for.
But as they privately attempted to research the “Void Century,” they were directly hit by a Buster Call, resulting in a complete defeat.
“Rear Admiral Gern, they’re packing their things so hastily!?” Seeing the bustling scene below, even the naturally naive Libo tilted her head, sensing something was amiss.
“Perhaps there’s something they don’t want us to know,” Rear Admiral Gern smiled faintly and stepped towards the ship.
At this moment, the scholars noticed Rear Admiral Gern and his two companions approaching, and their expressions visibly tensed.
And Wei once again quickly stepped forward, forcing himself to remain calm as he called out,
“Are you the commanding officer for this mission? I am a scholar from this adventure ship, my name is Wei, and I truly thank the Marine for the rescue!
But we are fine now and are preparing to leave!”
Looking at the man who had just introduced himself, Rear Admiral Gern stopped, his gaze fixed on the other party, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“So… after being hijacked by pirates, you don’t even have a formal thank you, and you’re in such a hurry to leave?”