Ice and Magma Clash

After Ross left toward Sakazuki's warship, Kuzan ultimately couldn't hold back any longer. He gave his adjutant an order, then entered Ohara alone once more.

He and Sauron had been friends, and each had deeply respected the other's sense of justice.

Seeing Sauron off one last time was something he ought to do as his friend.

With his hands in his pockets, Kuzan arrived at the bay where Sauron had died.

In the bay, the fading light of the sunset weakly spilled across the shimmering water, yet it could not illuminate this corner shrouded in tragedy. The sea breeze carried salt, dampness, and a trace of barely perceptible sorrow as it gently brushed over every inch of the space.

Sauron's enormous body, dozens of meters long, now lay lifeless in a horrifying pool of blood.

His fists were clenched, as though they still retained the unyielding struggle of his final moments. At his heart was a terrifying gaping hole, silently telling of the brutality of the fatal blow. Countless crisscrossing wounds covered his body. Some were deep as carvings, others thin as whips, like marks left by demons, recording the suffering he had endured.

"Sauron..."

Though he had been prepared for it, Kuzan still let out a sigh and gazed at his friend's corpse with utter confusion in his eyes.

Kuzan silently placed a hand on Sauron's body.

Bitter cold spread outward, and Sauron's body began to freeze.

In mere moments, Sauron's body was completely encased in ice, shaped by Kuzan into an ice coffin.

Kuzan silently watched the ice coffin. With a turn of his wrist, a cluster of ice flowers appeared in his hand.

Cradling the flowers, he gently placed them before the ice coffin.

This was his farewell to an old friend.

Sometimes, Kuzan asked himself whether the Navy's justice was truly right.

What had the historians done wrong? They had clearly harmed no one, yet they had to suffer the scourge of a Buster Call.

Since the World Government was so powerful, why did it not devote its efforts to purging pirates instead of using the Navy's already limited strength in a place like Ohara?

Was the Navy truly carrying out justice?

At that moment, Kuzan was lost.

"Hmph, so you really were here, Kuzan!"

A hoarse voice sounded from nearby, jolting Kuzan awake. He turned around sharply, his guard raised.

When the gap in Observation Haki was not great, if one person wished to hide, it was difficult for the other to notice.

Especially since he had just been consumed by confusion.

However, when he saw who it was, Kuzan relaxed his guard.

"Sakazuki, what are you doing here?"

"Of course, I'm waiting for any traitors who might appear. Sauron's presence in Ohara could not have been a coincidence. There must be an insider within the Navy working with him from within and without, trying to stop the Buster Call."

Sakazuki spoke blandly, offering an utterly lousy excuse.

When he had made the bet with Ross earlier, he had considered that Kuzan might come. But he had expected him to merely take a secret look and not make such a fuss.

He had not expected Kuzan to come not only in person, but also to give Sauron some dignity.

A Navy man giving dignity to a Navy Traitor—such a sinful act...

"Hmph!"

Sakazuki's expression darkened as scorching magma gathered in both hands.

Under Sakazuki's furious stare, Kuzan frowned slightly, finding it inexplicable.

Just because you, Sakazuki, were cold-blooded, did that mean every Navy man had to be cold-blooded too?

Sauron had once been a Vice Admiral in the Navy. He had shared friendships with Kuzan and a number of other Navy officers.

Even if Sauron was dead, how could coming here to mourn him make them traitors?

"Sakazuki, my purpose here is similar to yours, but I found no other traitors," Kuzan said calmly.

He did not want to argue with Sakazuki. Sakazuki was a madman who wanted to kill every pirate.

Reasoning with such a madman was like playing music to a cow.

"It had better be! I will report your presence here truthfully to Saint Ross and Fleet Admiral Kong."

Sakazuki gave Kuzan a long, piercing look, then turned and left.

So what if Kuzan was here? He had countless excuses to defend himself.

They were equals in rank now, so Sakazuki indeed had no grounds to do anything to Kuzan.

But once this matter was reported, someone would naturally deal with Kuzan.

In Sakazuki's eyes, a lazy Navy man like Kuzan was practically no different from a parasite.

Occupying a position without properly carrying out missions, someone like that belonged in the World Government, not the Navy.

The Navy should possess an iron will toward pirates and traitors.

Elsewhere, Ross quickly led his people back to the ship.

The moment he returned, Stella came forward to greet him:

"Master, you're back!"

"Mm. The newcomers need treatment. Heal them all, and don't let them miss the ceremony later."

Ross nodded slightly and pushed Olvia, whom he held in his arms, toward Stella.

Upon hearing Ross's words, Olvia's eyes immediately lit up, and she instinctively glanced at Robin.

The others were not injured. The only injured people here were Robin and herself, exactly two in total.

She had thought Robin was already dead. She had assumed Ross simply did not want Robin buried there and intended to let her bury Robin herself, which was why he had brought her back to the ship.

She had not expected Robin to be alive.

That was wonderful!

"Treat little Robin first."

Upon hearing Ross's further instruction, Stella hurried over to Gion and began using her Devil Fruit ability to treat Robin.

Robin's injuries were not serious. After the bullet was forced out, her wounds steadily improved under the effects of the Devil Fruit ability in only a short while.

Watching Robin's wounds gradually return to normal, Olvia unexpectedly became anxious and conflicted.

There was no doubt that she did not want Robin to die.

But what she had done just now had likely already broken Robin's heart.

In the future, Robin probably would not merely refuse to acknowledge her—she might even want to kill her.

Olvia instantly grew nervous.

Unless necessary, she did not want to lay hands on her daughter a second time.

But Olvia quickly thought of a solution.

"Saint Ross, may I ask something of you?"

Olvia looked at Ross pleadingly, her hands tightly clutching his right hand as though it were a lifeline.

"What is it? Let's hear it." Ross neither agreed nor refused.

"Even if Robin wishes to kill me, I beg you to protect me until I finish researching that period of history," Olvia pleaded.

"That request..."

Ross narrowed his eyes slightly. Olvia's obsession with history had likely already reached the point of madness.

But he could understand it.

Even without what had happened today, Olvia had been obsessed with studying ancient history. It was simply that, without today's choice, her stance had not been so firm.

Now that she had made her choice, nothing Olvia did for the sake of researching history would be surprising.

"I agree," Ross said calmly.

Hearing Ross agree, Olvia's entire body relaxed, and she went limp in his arms.

Already injured from the battle, she had been enduring the pain all this time. Now, her body had completely run out of strength.

Yet there was still a faintly unhealthy smile on her face.

Ross's words meant not only that he would temporarily shield her from Robin, but also that he truly intended to keep his promise.

On the way out of Ohara, Olvia had truly feared that Ross would go back on his word. If that happened, she would truly have nothing left.

But fortunately, Ross was a Celestial Dragon who kept his word. He was even willing to risk taboo and let her continue researching that period of history.

If she had met someone like this earlier, perhaps the Buster Call would never have happened, and the texts of the Tree of Knowledge could have been preserved.

As long as, as long as... she satisfied Ross and was allowed to continue her research.

Whether it meant sacrificing herself, sacrificing her companions, or sacrificing her daughter, she would...