Spandine, at this moment, looked imposing and majestic, like a grim reaper holding the book of life and death, stepping with an evil smile toward the Omniscient Tree. According to reports from his agents, all the Ohara scholars were inside the library of the Omniscient Tree; no one had escaped. The entire island was now surrounded by the Navy. Not a single one could get away!
When they arrived at the main gate beneath the tree, Spandine suddenly felt something strange. Wasn't it a little too quiet here?
"Open the door!"
At Spandine's command, CP9 members on both sides charged forward and instantly smashed the huge doors of the Omniscient Tree!
However, when Spandine and his men entered the ancient tree—said to be five thousand years old—they were stunned! The inside of the huge tree was indeed a library.
But where were the books? Where were the people?!
"Search for me! Dig three feet underground if necessary, find those people!" Spandine roared in anger. How could a cooked duck just fly away? Those people must still be on the island. Was there a secret passage in the library that let them escape? Damn it, I was careless!
Spandine began to think rapidly. Soon, he picked up his Den Den Mushi and dialed a number.
"Hello, Vice Admiral Sakazuki, this is Spandine!"
"Oh? I'm Sakazuki! How's the arrest operation going?" On the other side came a stern and authoritative voice—the future Navy Admiral Akainu!
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, all the people and books in the Omniscient Tree are gone! I suspect they disguised themselves among the civilians. Please watch the harbor carefully, don't let any ships leave. Those scholars must have blended in with the locals boarding the ships!" Spandine's first thought when he couldn't find anyone was that the local Ohara residents who were boarding ships were hiding the scholars!
"Understood. I'll block all the evacuation ships. You also need to carefully search, especially the city's basements. There might be some corners we don't know about—search thoroughly!"
"Got it!" Spandine hung up and began a new round of citywide searches.
From a distance, James saw Spandine making calls but didn't know what he was doing. He hid in the room, watching Spandine grow increasingly frustrated and giving orders nonstop. James felt great! He had saved the Ohara scholars and made CP9, whom he hated most, look utterly defeated. What a sense of accomplishment!
However, as the sun set and the evening glow appeared on the horizon, Spandine dialed the Five Elders' golden Den Den Mushi! Afterward, the atmosphere among the surrounding Navy changed. James felt their eyes held... pity?
Spandine called Akainu again, transmitting the highest order from the Five Elders: "The Ohara scholars are hiding among the crowds. The local residents know but do not report. Now order all warships to open fire on the evacuation ships! No Ohara residents will be spared!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!!
Five warships fired simultaneously, instantly tearing the defenseless Ohara residents into pieces under the bombardment!
Hearing the distant cannon fire, James's expression changed. He quickly used the Anywhere Door to reach a cliff overlooking the harbor. He saw three sailboats once filled with residents now reduced to floating burning wooden debris, black smoke rising, and the sea stained red!
Damn the Navy! Damn CP9! Damn Spandine!
James's eyes reddened. Was this all his fault?
He thought he had saved the Ohara scholars and was feeling proud, but instead, these survivors from the original story became scapegoats. Was it really worth sacrificing an entire island's residents to save dozens?
Anywhere Door—go to Mist Island!
On Mist Island, about thirty scholars were tidying up the books that had been hastily thrown down earlier. Dr. Cloverbell came over and smiled, "We are truly grateful. These books are more precious than life itself. If the Navy had burned them all, we would have been unforgivable!"
James looked at them busily working and didn't know what to say. It was better not to tell them what had happened. Let them focus on researching history—that was good!
Back at home, James took out the drawing he had made when he first came to Ohara—the Omniscient Tree. He went to the city and bought a frame to mount it. Returning to Mist Island, he handed it to Dr. Cloverbell.
"This is a drawing I made before. It's for you. Ohara and the Omniscient Tree will forever live in your hearts!"
"What's this?"
Seeing the picture, the old doctor's eyes welled with tears. This was their hometown!
"I'm leaving now. You will live here from now on. Next time I come, I will bring the world's best shipwright to build you a ship that the Navy can never catch. Then you can go all over the world to pursue the truth of history."
Turning around, James opened the Anywhere Door, but then heard a shout behind him: "Wait!"
James turned back to see Orbiya holding Robin's hand, saying, "Please take this child with you, okay? She shouldn't stay here with us. I beg you!"
"Mom?" Robin had just been reunited with her mother and was confused hearing this. She looked up with big eyes, tears welling.
"Ms. Orbiya, how about this—I'll come back in a month. If Robin wants to go with me then, I'll take her. You two just reunited; don't separate so soon."
Before Orbiya could say anything else, James stepped into the Anywhere Door and went home.
After taking a shower and lying in bed staring at the empty ceiling, his mind was full of the image of the destroyed evacuation ship and countless voices in his ear. James buried his head in the blanket, feeling for the first time that he was not omnipotent.
The best cure for grief is the companionship of friends and the passage of time. In the days that followed, James spent all his time hanging out with Flam, Espaggan, and others. When he had free time, he worked on drawing Naruto manuscripts. A month later, Robin appeared at James's house. It was clear that little Robin, now with a mother, was completely different from before.
The Ohara incident: To cover up the massacre of the entire island, the World Government published news in the newspapers claiming that Ohara was conducting experiments to destroy the world, which accidentally exploded, destroying the entire island and killing all the residents.