There Were No Scholars on the Evacuation Ship

"Don't turn it off."

The dragon's words came from the Revolutionary Army's supply line.

Akainu's hand was still next to the close button.

"This is the victim's dying account; it should not be made public directly."

"You almost cut the whole page off."

"I'm preparing to move to restricted review."

Lin Qi first covered up the names on the boat.

"Only the shelling orders and crew composition are verified; the personal details of individuals' passings are not disclosed."

Akainu withdrew his hand.

"Can."

The Throne Page has begun loading older reports.

To prevent Ohara scholars from infiltrating, Marine Vice Admiral Sakazuki ordered the sinking of the refugee ship.

The identities of the people on board could not be confirmed.

[Military necessity established]

Robin looked at the ship's cabin plan.

"That ship was inspected three times before leaving the shore."

Kuzan stated, "The first inspection was conducted by local personnel from Ohara, the second by the Navy, and the third by World Government personnel."

Has anyone discovered the scholars?

The report states that it cannot be ruled out.

Nami asked, "Can we fire if we can't rule it out?"

Akainu opened his mouth.

"If even one scholar had escaped, the Buster Call mission would have failed."

Luffy yelled from the Straw Hat Pirates's route, "So you killed the entire crew?"

"Yes."

"You actually dare to admit it."

"The orders are given by me, and the shelling will be carried out by my warships."

Robin asked, "Twenty-two years later, do you still think that shot should have been fired?"

Akainu did not answer immediately.

Dragon opened another naval record for him.

"The Ohara scholars list contains eighty-five people. On that day, seventy-nine were at the Tree of Knowledge, five were on the escort ship, Olvia had returned to the island, bringing the total to exactly eighty-five."

Akainu looked at the list.

Is the source reliable?

"This was based on your navy's statistics after the shelling."

"The list may have omitted secret scholars."

Robin found that the Ohara resident register matched the institute's roster.

"The Tree of Knowledge forbids unregistered personnel from entering the underground research lab. Secret research can be concealed from the World Government, but not from Dr. Clover."

You were eight years old then.

I passed my archaeology exam when I was seven.

You weren't selected for the core research group either.

"I know how many chairs they have, who sits in which chair each day, and how long the chairs have been empty since Olvia left."

Akainu checked each item one by one.

All eighty-five scholars have found their place in the workforce.

There were no scholars available to fill the vacancy on the refugee ship.

Kuzan asked, "Can you answer now?"

"Able."

Akainu watched the burning ships and made records.

"According to the existing list, there were no Ohara scholars on that ship."

"I'm asking if you still think that shot should have been fired?"

"Based on the existing evidence, it shouldn't be."

The dragon did not let him go.

"This list didn't exist back then, and you shouldn't have used the inability to exclude certain individuals as grounds for executing 279 people."

Akainu raised his head.

"If a scholar who possessed Ancient Weapons had been released back then, it could have led to even more deaths."

"Possible."

"Soldiers must assess the risks."

"You've placed all the risks on the civilians on board."

The sound of a file closing came from beside Akainu's communicator.

I'll take responsibility for this.

Robin asked, "How will you take responsibility?"

"Submit to naval trial."

"Would the World Government your claim of sinking a ship they wanted to sink?"

"Internal Navy review."

"Twenty-two years ago, you wrote down the military necessity for this matter; now who will overturn it?"

Akainu didn't give any empty promises.

"First, revoke the necessity conclusion, restore the civilian status of the victims, identify the participants in the shelling and the chain of command, and then proceed according to existing naval regulations."

The dragon said, "Spandine and the Five Elders are still missing."

"World Government chain of command needs further investigation."

"Another investigation is needed."

Lin Qi temporarily interrupted their argument.

"Let the ship's records finish first."

The knocking on the cabin door continued.

Mo'er listened to several rounds.

"Three long and three short sounds; the people inside are announcing the number of people."

"How many?"

"The initial number was 279."

What happened next?

Two hundred and sixty-one.

The knocking on the door was reported less frequently.

Two hundred and forty.

196.

Eighty-three.

In the end, only seven taps remained.

Chopper no longer goes near Den Den Mushi.

Robin turned the volume down.

Who recorded it?

Akainu found the lookout logs of the warships that had been shelled.

A marine threw Den Den Mushi into the sea. The Den Den Mushi drifted to the side of the ship and received its last sound.

What are marines called?

"The record was overwritten on the disciplinary page."

What was the reason for the disciplinary action?

"Unauthorized preservation of the sounds of cleared targets disrupts morale."

After peeling back the pages, the name of an ordinary marine appeared.

He retired three months after the end of Operation Ohara.

He disappeared six months later.

The final application consisted of only one sentence.

[Please confirm whether there are indeed scholars on board.]

The application was never answered.

Akainu placed it on the Navy's pending review page.

"Reply now."

He wrote down the conclusion himself.

[After cross-checking with existing rosters, there are no known scholars on the refugee ship, nor is there any evidence to support the existence of unregistered scholars.]

The knocking stopped.

The deathbed record in the ship's cabin was not yet finished.

The last seven survivors stuffed a child into the Water Storage Barrel.

Someone wrote an address on the inside of the bucket lid.

[West Blue, Four Seasons Island, a gift for her uncle]

Nami asked, "Did the child go out?"

Akainu went through all the Navy's salvage records.

No survivors were found.

Unanswered, he circled the edge of the Water Storage Barrel.

[Death not confirmed]

The Throne immediately rejected it.

[The mission has been completed as all crew members on the evacuation ship have perished.]

Lin Qi looked at the Death Page.

"Also completed."

The Water Storage Barrel was recorded as drifting away from the ship with the ocean current.

A warship passed by.

The people on deck saw it.

The man didn't attempt to salvage the object; instead, he used ice to create a waterway at the bottom of the bucket, keeping it away from the artillery fire.

Robin recognized the figure from the record.

"Kuzan."

Kuzan did not deny it.

I thought it contained supplies.

Did you hear crying?

"I heard you."

"Then why didn't you open it?"

"There are still Spandine's men on the warship."

What happened next?

"I left the coordinates with a merchant ship."

Akainu searches for the population records of Four Seasons Island.

Twenty-two years ago, an unnamed girl was brought to the area by a merchant ship.

The adoption record only existed for three days.

On the fourth day, the World Government took her away on suspicion of being a survivor of Ohara.

The destination field reads "Enies Lobby Witness Training Center".

The status bar is still working.

A new scene unfolds from the bottom of the Water Storage Barrel.

An adult woman sits in a windowless room with Ohara refugee survey form in front of her.

She looked up at Lin Qi's screen.

"You've finally found the ship."