The day before Shaya went to meet Nico Olvia.
Meanwhile, in the West Blue.
At Dr. Clover's call, all the renowned scholars from around the world had gathered!
Around Ohara, the island known as the Island of Scholars!
One marine warship after another completely encircled the entire island...
For a time, the atmosphere on the island grew grave, and its people were gripped by fear.
However, just as Dr. Clover had expected, the worst outcome facing Ohara, the Island of Scholars—the World Government using a Buster Call to erase it completely, destroying the island along with its scholars and books—did not seem to have happened.
These Marines appeared to be merely surrounding the island, without taking any further action...
This left Dr. Clover perplexed. He frowned as he stared at the Marine warships surrounding Ohara without making another move, muttering to himself, "What exactly are the World Government and the Marines up to? What are they plotting?"
"Ah, my..."
"There sure are a lot of books here~"
"As expected of Ohara. Its reputation is well deserved."
Just as Dr. Clover was feeling puzzled, a casual, slightly hoarse voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.
"When did this guy get in?!"
For a moment, Dr. Clover and the scholars around him, who had sworn to live and die alongside the books within the Tree of Knowledge on Ohara, all froze in place. The next instant, cold sweat slid down their foreheads...
A young man, seemingly only in his twenties or thirties, had somehow appeared inside the Tree of Knowledge. He wore a dark blue trench coat, a headscarf bearing the emblem of the World Government's Marines, and small sunglasses perched on his nose.
At that moment, the man was leisurely flipping through the books inside the Tree of Knowledge, repeatedly voicing his