Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

"Damn it! How can I fall here?"

Tiger gritted his teeth and forced his right arm back into place, letting it hang limp at his side before clenching his fist and charging again.

"Can't you see the gap in our strength?"

Shirou muttered to himself, throwing another punch that collided with his.

This time, Fisher Tiger didn't get sent flying, but his left arm suffered a severe fracture, leaving it useless.

"Damn it! Damn it... He's just a kid, how can he be this strong?"

Roaring, he charged again, but his legs were broken one after another, forcing him to kneel on the ground, glaring at Shirou with fury.

"Bastard! Is this as far as I go? Take my head, but please spare the innocent people behind me. They were all forced to follow me in this escape."

"Even at this point, you're still thinking of others. You're a hero, Fisher Tiger."

"What kind of hero am I? In the end, I couldn't do a thing."

Just then, a series of angry shouts erupted from the crowd behind Tiger.

"No! Tiger-sama is a hero through and through!"

"Don't hurt Tiger-sama! We'll fight you to the death!"

"Let Tiger-sama go!"

The next moment, the slaves surged forward.

Among them were not only strong adults but also children around Shirou's age.

Every single one of them glared at Shirou with rage and a fierce determination to protect Fisher Tiger.

This scene made Shirou involuntarily recall the past.

Adopted by Kirei Kotomine, he wasn't the kind-hearted do-gooder like Shirou Emiya. The children locked up in the church were used by Kirei to supply mana to the Hero King, and behind the scenes, Kirei had done plenty of evil.

And he himself, though never taking part, had never stopped it either, always keeping a mindset of "not my problem, not my concern," watching coldly from the sidelines.

If it weren't for his good relationship with Rin, he would never have gone with her to save Sakura back then.

Ever since being reincarnated as a Celestial Dragon, he'd deemed this world too dangerous and spent his days training his Devil Fruit ability at home, never stepping outside.

Slaves like Hancock were countless, and he had the power to help, yet he always stood by indifferently, never offering any aid.

In the end, he had always been a cold-blooded creature.

Lifting his head, watching the tens of thousands of slaves who had already rushed close, Shirou softly uttered a few words:

"Snow Burial!"

Instantly!

Snow appeared out of nowhere, enveloping all ten thousand slaves at once.

Three seconds later, everyone was frozen into ice sculptures from the neck down.

"Why! Why are you doing this?"

Fisher Tiger, with all four limbs broken, suddenly let out a roar:

"Don't you have any shred of compassion?"

"Compassion? Of course I do." Shirou shook his head slightly. "But where you sit determines what you see. My identity dictates that I can only act this way."

If I had no compassion, I would have wiped you all out in an instant.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Taking others as slaves like it's your birthright—you Celestial Dragons all deserve to die!"

Fisher Tiger roared again, feeling the gazes of the tens of thousands behind him, his heart filled with agony.

He had failed so many people's expectations. He was utterly useless.

If he hadn't come, they would still be living as slaves, but at least their lives wouldn't be in danger.

It was he who had led them down a dead-end road.

"You bastard Celestial Dragon! Every single one of them has parents, family, friends—but you captured them as slaves, forcing them to live in a sunless hell."

"You destroy others' happiness, treat all humans as lower lifeforms, and take it all for granted—and you tell me it's just because you're a Celestial Dragon?"

"Because you're a Celestial Dragon, you have to do this vile thing of enslaving others? Because you're a Celestial Dragon, you have to sit above everyone else?"

"Bastard! Don't you have your own conscience? You know it's wrong, yet you insist on going all the way?"

Looking at his face, twisted with rage, Shirou remained silent.

Indeed, what he said made sense.

He knew it was wrong, yet he planned to see it through to the end.

In terms of knowledge and insight, he far surpassed this man.

Yet here he was, a well-educated man, being lectured by a fool who never had a proper education.

What was right and what was wrong—he didn't need to ask. He had known it all along from the start.

What the correct course of action was—he knew that just as clearly.

But he had been doing wrong things all along, taking them for granted.

"Heh... what you say makes sense. But what meaning does your action really have?"

"Even if you save these ten thousand people, as long as the slave trade continues, neither the world nor the Holy Land will change one bit."

"They'll just buy a new batch of slaves, and Holy Land Mary Geoise will return to its former splendor, just like before, without a single change."

A flicker of confusion passed through Fisher Tiger's eyes, but it quickly hardened into resolve as he shouted:

"Even so, I have to do it! I'm a fool who doesn't know a permanent solution, so this is all I can do."

"Maybe I'll die here today, but so what? Even if I save just one person, my actions have meaning."

Shirou laughed again.

He never expected to be lectured repeatedly by a dumb native who hadn't read many books.

But he was right.

In his past life, he'd stood by and watched only because he lacked the strength to do anything else. Over time, the fire in his blood had cooled, turning him into a cold-hearted man.

But in this life, with power unrivaled in the world, still standing by and watching was simply inexcusable.

The sages said: In poverty, cultivate your own virtue; in success, benefit the world.

How ironic—he'd always remembered that line, but only now understood its meaning.

Fortunately, it wasn't too late.

"Hahaha... you're right. All along, I've stood by and watched. Knowing it was wrong, I still turned a blind eye."

"Water Clone Jutsu!"

His hands flew through seals, and in the next moment, another Shirou appeared beside him.

"Transformation—Acunologiya."

The clone Shirou's body swelled instantly, taking on the form of Black Dragon Shirou.

Dark-skinned, with black hair reaching his neck, a fierce aura radiating from between his brows—he gave off a very dangerous vibe.

"Under pursuit by the CP Organization and the Navy, you won't get far. From now on, I'll escort you out personally."

"There are plenty of empty ships over there. Not mine, but I'll buy them later. Use them as you please."

Chapter 32: Queen Otohime, You Were Right

Butler Hyman glanced nervously at the Acunologiya-shaped clone Shirou, then leaned in and asked cautiously:

"Master, are you going to free these slaves?"

"Well... these slaves have seen the light, their hearts filled with longing for freedom. They're no longer fit to be slaves. Let them go."

"But—"

"No buts. Just treat it as if our family bought them. I'm freeing my own slaves—surely that doesn't bother anyone?"

"Yes, Master!"

As he spoke, Butler Hyman breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Though his strength was absurdly high, and he had those incomprehensible clone and transformation abilities, the familiar tone, manner, and aura proved that the master was still the master, not replaced by someone else.

"Also, is there a way to suppress this incident? Don't put a bounty on Fisher Tiger."

"That's impossible, Master. Before Mr. Tiger came here, there was blood on his clothes. He must have killed quite a few people. The other Celestial Dragon families won't let this slide."

"I see. Forget it, then. A bounty is a kind of motivation for pirates anyway."

Hearing their exchange, hope flickered back into Tiger's eyes. He hesitated, then asked:

"You're letting us go? Why?"

"No reason. If I had to say one—congratulations. You've beaten me, Mr. Fisher Tiger."

"Beaten you? I couldn't even take one punch from you."

"Strength can be honed through training, but your conviction moved me."

Shirou glanced at the slaves in the distance, waved his hand to release them from their frozen state, and sighed:

"Some things are clearly wrong, but when everyone around you does them, you go along with it, feeling at ease. But some things can't be brushed off so easily."

"I won't say your methods are useless, but from now on, I'll try other ways to change this world."

"As a fool who can only do it this way, just watch from afar."

"Soon enough, the world will change because of me."

With that, a smile tugged at the corner of Shirou's mouth:

"So, Mr. Fisher Tiger, please let me treat your wounds first."

Though he didn't have any Recovery Potion made by the slime on hand, using the Water Shadow's own Medical Ninjutsu to give Tiger some basic treatment was no problem at all.

"Thanks."

Watching the green light in Shirou's hand, seeing his fractured arm gradually heal, Fisher Tiger muttered softly.

He never imagined there could be a Celestial Dragon so different from the rest.

With such strength, such presence—perhaps the world really would change because of this?

If so, he'd just keep his eyes wide open and watch from afar.

Queen Otohime, you were right.

Still, this trip of his didn't seem entirely pointless.

In the blink of an eye, Tiger's injuries had fully recovered.

Not completely healed, but enough for him to walk normally.

Many of the slaves who had thawed from their frozen state hurried over, supporting Tiger while casting fearful glances at Celestial Dragon Shirou.

"Thank you so much. May I ask your name?"

Shirou glanced at the clone beside him and said with a smile:

"I'm just a child. The one who'll be dealing with you all from now on is him."

"Just call me Acunologiya," the clone Shirou added immediately.

Under Tiger's arrangements, the rescued slaves began boarding the ship one after another.

This went on for nearly a minute before dozens of CP Organization members came running from a distance.

The one at the front scanned the area and barked:

"New orders: kill all slaves. Not a single slave is to escape the Holy Land."

"Stop!"