Ch. 181The More They Thought, the More Afraid They Became

The Five Elders feared an unknown force after the destruction of the Buster Call fleet and chose to issue bounties rather than pursue the escaped Ohara scholars directly. Mousse stayed with Nico Olvia, Nico Robin, and Sauron, but realized Sauron’s size and the lack of game near the Flower Kingdom would make their journey difficult.

  • The Five Elders questioned the rescued survivors, connected the Rock Giant to the Stone-Stone Fruit, and concluded that an unknown force had killed the generals with a blade.
  • Fearing more attacks and unwilling to risk their strongest agents, the Five Elders issued bounty notices for the Ohara scholars instead of sending a force after them.
  • Mousse urged the scholars to stay in the Flower Kingdom long enough to check their disguises, but most left despite Nico Olvia’s support.
  • Mousse recognized that traveling with the conspicuous Sauron would draw attention, while Sauron’s plan to find refuge and hunt for food in the Flower Kingdom was unreliable.
  • Mousse told Sauron that they had seen no Sea Kings or Sea Beasts near the Flower Kingdom, leaving his plan to hunt for food in doubt.

Ch. 182A Good Place

Mousse searched for a safe place to hide Jaguar D. Saul, but Saul rejected Whitebeard’s crew and Elbaf. Mousse persuaded him to go to Little Garden by appealing to Saul’s interest in history and biology, while keeping quiet about the two Elbaf Giants living there.

  • Mousse suggested sending Saul to Whitebeard, but Saul refused because he would not use the Whitebeard Pirates as cover.
  • Mousse proposed Elbaf, but Saul rejected it because he disliked its Giants and did not want to owe them a favor.
  • Mousse chose Little Garden as a remote refuge where Saul could hide from the World Government.
  • Mousse told Saul that Little Garden had living dinosaurs, stirring the Giant’s interest.
  • Mousse suggested that Nico Olvia entrust Saul with most of the books for the journey, and he concealed that two Elbaf Giant pirates lived on the island.

Ch. 183Dinosaurs and Giants

Jaguar D. Saul arrived on the island of dinosaurs, where his excitement led him to inspect a Tyrannosaurus Rex before searching for food. He discovered another giant roasting a dinosaur and the two giants began questioning each other about their origins.

  • Mousse wrapped Jaguar D. Saul in an Origami Book so Amon could safely fly him to the island.
  • Amon released Jaguar D. Saul on the island, and Saul eagerly examined and took notes on a Tyrannosaurus Rex before letting it go.
  • After Amon departed, Jaguar D. Saul headed toward the shore for food but followed the smell of roasted meat into a clearing.
  • Jaguar D. Saul confronted a giant who was roasting a dinosaur, then recognized the stranger as a fellow giant and asked whether he was from Elbaf.
  • The other giant questioned how Jaguar D. Saul could be from Elbaf when he had no memory of him, and wondered whether giants lived beyond Elbaf.

Ch. 184A Not-So-Little Garden

Jaguar D. Saul met Blue Ogre Dorry on Little Garden, where the two Giants had lived and hunted dinosaurs for nearly eighty years. After sharing a meal and setting off to hunt together, Saul learned why Dorry and his fellow captain had stayed, and recognized that their rivalry had kept them there.

  • Dorry expressed surprise that Saul had grown up in human society, while Saul was astonished by the island’s vast size and learned Dorry had eaten dinosaurs there for decades.
  • Saul recognized Dorry as one of the missing captains of the Giant Soldier Pirates and peppered him with questions before joining him for a roasted dinosaur.
  • Dorry welcomed Saul’s hearty appetite and challenged him to fight, but Saul persuaded him to wait until they had caught more food.
  • Saul and Dorry hunted together, then Saul asked why Dorry and the other captain had stayed on the island for so long.
  • Saul learned the captains had abandoned their crew after a little girl’s remark and concluded that their stubborn rivalry had kept their daily duels going for eighty years.

Ch. 185Little Garden Oath of Three Brothers (Part 1)

Jaguar D. Saul proposed a new way for Dorry and Brogy to compare their strength after realizing their daily duels would never produce a winner. When Brogy and Dorry challenged him to fight barehanded, Saul quickly knocked them both down and claimed no giant could beat him without weapons.

  • Dorry and Brogy finished their meal and fought their usual duel, which ended in another draw.
  • Saul stopped the giants before they could begin another duel and suggested they compare how quickly they defeated other opponents.
  • Saul uprooted a tree to make a staff, but Brogy cut it apart and insisted they fight barehanded instead.
  • Brogy charged Saul and was thrown onto his back, prompting Saul to explain that he specialized in unarmed combat.
  • Dorry attacked more cautiously, but Saul feinted and punched him squarely on the nose.

Ch. 186Little Garden Oath of Three Brothers (Part 2)

Jaguar D. Saul befriended Dorry and Brogy on Little Garden and explained his Marine defection, the World Government’s pardon of the Giant Soldier Pirates, and the danger of its schemes. He continued helping the two giants settle their dispute by arranging more fights, then beat each of them again.

  • Dorry and Brogy asked Jaguar D. Saul about his unusually long arms and powerful unarmed fighting, and he credited his training with Monkey D. Garp.
  • Jaguar D. Saul revealed that he had been a Marine vice admiral but had defected and become a wanted criminal, prompting Brogy to laugh with relief that their new friend was also a criminal.
  • Jaguar D. Saul explained that the World Government had pardoned the Giant Soldier Pirates and warned that it might still scheme against Dorry and Brogy.
  • After hearing Jaguar D. Saul’s account of the World Government’s actions, Dorry and Brogy vowed to protect him from the Marines.
  • Jaguar D. Saul proposed two more fights to compare the captains fairly, then defeated Dorry and Brogy again.

Ch. 187Little Garden Oath of Three Brothers (Part 2)

Jaguar D. Saul earned the respect of Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy by defeating them and helping resolve their eighty-year rivalry. The three Giants became sworn brothers, and Dorry and Brogy began teaching Saul Elbaf's secret Elbaf Spear technique.

  • Jaguar D. Saul explained how unfamiliar opponents and strange Devil Fruit powers made adaptability and intelligence essential, convincing Red Ogre Brogy of Blue Ogre Dorry's strengths.
  • Blue Ogre Dorry insisted Saul deserved to be their big brother and offered to teach him the Elbaf Spear.
  • Jaguar D. Saul proposed that the three become sworn brothers, and they performed the ceremony using dinosaur blood and makeshift incense.
  • The three Giants became brothers, with Saul named eldest, Dorry second, and Brogy third.
  • Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy taught Saul the Elbaf Spear, which he recognized as a special application of Armament Haki.

Ch. 188Women, Children, and Monks

Jaguar D. Saul struggled to master Elbaf Spear because he could not set aside his careful nature and disregard life and death. In the Flower Kingdom, Mousse and Nico Robin stopped a bandit ambush without killing anyone.

  • Jaguar D. Saul found that his thoughtful nature made it difficult to enter the mindset needed to use Elbaf Spear.
  • Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy reassured Jaguar D. Saul that they could wait for him to master the technique.
  • Mousse warned the bandits that women, children, and monks traveling together were dangerous targets.
  • Nico Robin tripped and knocked out the first bandit who rushed at Nico Olvia.
  • Mousse froze the bandits and explained that his ice ability would leave them unharmed once he released them.
  • Nico Robin knocked down another bandit as he charged Mousse with a hoe.

Ch. 189Unable Even to Become Slaves (Part 1)

Mousse learned that the Flower Kingdom’s impoverished farmers had turned to banditry because crushing taxes and deflation had made food unaffordable. He explained why the country’s powerful landlord clans offered ordinary farmers little protection, leaving the causes of their desperation unresolved.

  • Nico Robin demonstrated her improved Flower-Flower Fruit abilities, and Mousse judged that she could defeat opponents far stronger than herself.
  • Mousse questioned a subdued bandit and learned that the former farmer had taken up robbery because he could no longer afford taxes.
  • Mousse traced the farmers’ hardship to rising taxes, silver deflation, foreign trade deficits, and cheap imported goods that hurt rural producers.
  • Mousse explained that powerful landlord clans could evade taxes and protect dependents but had little incentive to shelter ordinary male farmers.
  • Mousse described how the Flower Kingdom’s strong, self-sufficient landlords and rapidly growing population left impoverished men with few ways to earn a living.

Ch. 190Unable to Become Slaves (Part 2)

Mousse reflected on the desperation of the Flower Kingdom’s impoverished farmers and the lack of heroes willing to defend them. He spared the would-be robbers and arranged for them to earn food by carrying the group’s luggage, though their subdued gratitude left him puzzled.

  • Mousse considered how corruption and rising taxes had driven self-cultivating farmers into poverty while powerful landowners evaded taxation.
  • Mousse asked the farmers about the Flower Kingdom’s legendary heroes and reasoned that the ruling class had little reason to defend the poor.
  • Mousse had the Homies unfreeze the would-be robbers and decided not to punish them with death or release them to starve.
  • Mousse made the robbers carry the group’s luggage and advanced them enough rations to reach the next major city.
  • The former robbers knelt and thanked Mousse, but their eyes showed little gratitude.

Ch. 191Deleted and Altered?

Mousse learned that Flower Kingdom law forced anyone who knew about people deemed “demons” to report them or face execution, so he dismissed the farmers he had brought along and continued to the capital with Nico Olvia. There, they entered the neglected royal library and found its historical records had been deliberately altered, while Mousse reached the limit of developing his Book-Book Fruit abilities.

  • Mousse questioned a distressed middle-aged man, who explained that Flower Kingdom law required citizens to kill or report people considered demons or be executed themselves.
  • Mousse gave the former bandits rations and silver, then dismissed them before continuing toward the capital with Nico Olvia.
  • Mousse and Nico Olvia entered the neglected royal library after paying a small bribe and began reading its collection.
  • Mousse and Nico Olvia discovered that the historical records had been deliberately deleted and altered.
  • Mousse reconstructed much of the missing text and gained valuable knowledge, but his Book-Book Fruit abilities reached their limit of development.

Ch. 192Leaving Without a Word

Mousse realized the Book-Book Fruit had reached its limit and concluded that Book World required a different development approach, but Nico Olvia and Robin left the Flower Kingdom without telling him. After finding Olvia’s delayed-reveal note, he used Observation Haki to confirm they had left the capital, then ate dinner and went to sleep before deciding what to do next.

  • Mousse concluded that Book World had not appeared because he had developed the Book-Book Fruit in the wrong direction.
  • Mousse discovered that Nico Olvia and Robin had left after a waiter told him they had not returned to the inn.
  • Mousse found Nico Olvia’s delayed-reveal message among the papers and decided to find the mother and daughter to confront them.
  • Mousse searched the entire capital with Observation Haki and confirmed that Nico Olvia and Robin were already gone.
  • Mousse ate dinner, calmed down, and went to bed instead of pursuing them overnight.

Ch. 193An Encounter with an Eccentric

Mousse pursued Nico Olvia and Robin by air but lost time after they slowed their journey, then encountered an eccentric with extraordinary mental energy and weak vitality. After people on the ground shot arrows at him, Mousse retaliated with a cloud of yellow gas, leaving the attackers collapsing and screaming.

  • Mousse set off with provisions and pursued Nico Olvia and Robin on Amon, while they continued by horse.
  • Nico Olvia slowed down to spare Robin pain and decided she would entrust her daughter to Mousse if he caught up with them.
  • On the third day, Mousse sensed an unknown person whose mental energy far exceeded Nico Olvia's and Dr. Clover's, despite having extremely weak vitality.
  • Mousse descended from Amon using his book-powered wings to meet the eccentric, but people on the ground shot arrows at him.
  • Mousse evaded the arrows, flew back to safety, and released yellow gas that knocked down the attackers.

Ch. 194Stifling Hope (Part 1)

Mousse saved a child from being burned alive, but his Homie Xuanhuang’s poison killed the villagers who had attacked him. He learned the child’s extraordinary strength made him the Flower Kingdom’s hope, though the child woke only long enough to discover his parents were dead before fainting again.

  • Mousse descended after Xuanhuang poisoned the crowd, sparing only a gaunt middle-aged man and the child tied to the stake.
  • The middle-aged man thanked Mousse for saving the child, then pleaded with him to spare the villagers; Mousse explained that Xuanhuang’s poison damage could not be reversed.
  • Mousse reflected that Xuanhuang was dangerously lethal and resolved not to use its yellow mist again except in a life-or-death situation.
  • The middle-aged man told Mousse that the Flower Kingdom executed children born with strange abilities or immense strength, and that the child’s parents had hidden his strength until it was exposed.
  • The middle-aged man admitted he had taught the child some martial arts, and explained that the child could grasp the principles instinctively and was the Flower Kingdom’s hope.
  • The child woke, told his teacher that his parents were dead, and fainted again.

Ch. 195Strangling Hope (Part 2)

Charlotte Mousse learned how the Flower Kingdom’s rulers suppressed talented commoners after he helped save a gifted boy from execution. He left the village with the boy and the middle-aged man, who explained that the kingdom’s policies protected the ruling families at the expense of the nation’s future.

  • The middle-aged man explained that the village head had beaten the boy, killed his parents, and planned to burn him alive after the boy resisted capture.
  • He told Charlotte Mousse that he had failed to save the boy until Mousse intervened, and that he considered the boy’s martial talent exceptional.
  • Mousse questioned why the Flower Kingdom executed talented commoners, and the middle-aged man said the policy helped the royal family maintain control.
  • The middle-aged man explained that the royal family and allied martial arts lineages kept promising fighters for themselves while suppressing talent among ordinary people.
  • Mousse urged the middle-aged man to leave the corpses behind, and they departed the village together with the child as the man continued explaining the kingdom’s injustice.

Ch. 196Demon Fruit

Mousse and the middle-aged man discussed why the Flower Kingdom could not produce enough powerful fighters to resist the Western nations, even with Devil Fruits. Mousse suggested that a suitable fruit might greatly strengthen the man, who then asked whether Devil Fruit abilities included everything.

  • The middle-aged man explained that the Flower Kingdom’s upper class avoided hardship and risk, while the poor lacked the food and land needed to train.
  • Mousse argued that hard training and challenging stronger opponents could overcome poor talent, but the man cited the deaths of countless people during the Nine Dragon Rebellion as the cost of that process.
  • The man said Devil Fruits were too rare in the Flower Kingdom to change its fortunes, and Mousse reflected that fruits alone rarely made their users top-tier fighters.
  • Mousse realized that a Devil Fruit could help the middle-aged man overcome his physical limitations and suggested that it might make him difficult to threaten within the country.
  • When Mousse asked what kind of Devil Fruit he would want, the middle-aged man asked whether Devil Fruit abilities included everything.

Ch. 197The Hope of Thousands of Years

Mousse learned that Li Dayong wanted a terrain-altering Devil Fruit to solve the Flower Kingdom’s flooding, drought, and shortage of farmland, and Li explained that he hoped to win popular support against the country’s rulers. Li then recounted how the World Government conquered the Flower Kingdom and how the resulting devastation led to the Eight Dragon Rebellion.

  • Li Dayong described how a terrain-altering ability could deepen Murky Water, redirect rivers, and flatten mountains to improve life in the Flower Kingdom.
  • Li explained that he wanted to use practical improvements to win the people’s support and challenge the baseborn slaves’ rule.
  • Li identified himself as Li Dayong and told Mousse that he was a frail scholar who had been unable to make use of his learning.
  • Li said the Flower Kingdom had avoided outside threats for millennia but went to war with the World Government after its establishment.
  • Li recounted that the World Government’s invasion and the ensuing chaos reduced the Flower Kingdom’s population from over ten million to under one million.
  • Li said that eight supreme masters emerged during the resistance and civil strife, beginning the era later called the Eight Dragon Rebellion.

Ch. 198Eight Dragon Rebellion

Li Dayong explained how the Eight Dragons resisted the World Government and how the Blood Emperor united the Flower Kingdom, while Mousse noticed the account placed the rebellion before the World Government’s recorded founding. Mousse asked where Li Dayong had found the history, and Li Dayong said he needed to finish explaining the country’s affairs first.

  • Li Dayong recounted how the Blade Master killed the World Government’s strongest fighter and described the Sea King and Martial God’s legendary feats.
  • Li Dayong said the Blood Emperor, despite being the weakest martial artist among the Eight Dragons, united the Sea King and Blade Master and drove the World Government away for centuries.
  • Mousse noticed Li Dayong said the invasion had happened more than eight hundred years ago, earlier than the World Government’s public founding date.
  • Li Dayong said the event had taken place more than eight hundred years ago and stunned Mousse by claiming it appeared in the Flower Kingdom’s historical records.
  • Mousse asked where Li Dayong had read about it, but Li Dayong asked him to wait until he finished explaining the country’s history.

Ch. 199Past Dynasty Affairs (Part 1)

Li Dayong explained how the World Government recovered from its defeat by adopting indirect rule, while Mousse considered how it could be brought down. He also recounted the Flower Kingdom’s lost strength, from the Sea King’s mysterious death at Holy Land Mary Geoise to the decline caused by hereditary rule and restrictions on martial arts.

  • Li Dayong told Mousse that the Founding Emperor’s counterattack helped provoke a World Government civil war, after which the victors reorganized the government and adopted indirect rule.
  • Mousse concluded that repeated losses could overwhelm the World Government’s resources and governing structure, regardless of its national treasure.
  • Li Dayong explained that the Flower Kingdom’s Sea King died after visiting Holy Land Mary Geoise, along with two younger experts, and that the Founding Emperor later made peace with the World Government.
  • Li Dayong described how the Flower Kingdom’s reach into the New World ended and how its supply of exceptional fighters dwindled after the era of the Eight Dragons.
  • Mousse recognized that hereditary rule had weakened the Flower Kingdom, and Li Dayong explained that its rulers suppressed martial artists and military officers while favoring civil officials.

Ch. 200Past Events of the Previous Dynasty (Part 2)

Li Dayong explained how the later dynasty’s policies weakened the Flower Kingdom and allowed the Evil Spirits to grow into a major threat. Mousse learned that the Evil Spirits’ rise was brief, as their former allies eventually abandoned them.

  • Li Dayong explained that the World Government had helped preserve the Flower Kingdom to prevent prolonged chaos and improve its own public image.
  • Li Dayong described how the later dynasty’s Jiedushi system strengthened local clans while weakening the court’s control.
  • Li Dayong recounted how the court recruited foreign warriors, then employed the northern Evil Spirits and allowed them to retain their tribal structures.
  • Mousse asked whether the Evil Spirits had founded the current dynasty, but Li Dayong explained that the Long-Hand Tribe, Long-Leg Tribe, and other allies eventually deserted them.
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