After a long while, Olvia's sobs gradually faded from loud weeping to quiet sniffling, her voice growing softer and softer until it disappeared.
Only then did Xia Luo realize that she had fallen asleep against him. She slept deeply, her face covered in tear tracks.
Looking at Olvia asleep yet still frowning tightly, Xia Luo could not help feeling heartbroken. He carefully picked her up and carried her back to her room.
After wiping the tears from Olvia's face with a wet towel, Xia Luo gently closed the door and turned toward the kitchen.
More than an hour later, Olvia slowly woke up. The moment she opened her eyes, she caught a rich, enticing aroma.
Just then, Xia Luo entered carrying a spatula. Their eyes met, and Xia Luo smiled. "Sis, you're awake. Perfect timing. Come eat with me."
"You've lost at least ten jin this past month. You definitely haven't been eating properly!"
"Of course, it's all your little brother's fault. To apologize, I'll handle all the cooking at home for the next three months. I'll make sure you gain the weight back."
Seeing how serious Xia Luo looked, Olvia burst out laughing.
"Fine, I forgive you. But remember, don't let it happen again."
"Yes, yes, yes." Xia Luo hurriedly nodded.
"Where's Oran?"
"Who knows where he ran off to fool around. Leave him alone for one day and he'll tear the roof off. After we eat, I'll go drag him back."
Olvia did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Enough. Stop picking on him all the time. He's your younger brother."
"A younger brother is meant to be picked on," Xia Luo muttered under his breath.
"Oh? Is that so? Are you sure?"
"Ahem, well... let's eat already. The food won't taste good once it gets cold."
After eating, Xia Luo casually made up an excuse and left home.
He went to the newsstand, flipped through the newspapers at random, and asked as if it were an afterthought,
"Aunt Merry, are all the newspapers from the past few days here? Which one is the latest issue?"
"Xia Luo? Long time no see. When did you get back?"
"The newspapers from the past month are all here. The latest one is on your right. Yes, the one on top. It arrived this morning. It's big news."
"Mm, I came back this morning." As he spoke, Xia Luo picked up several newspapers and placed 100 Beli on the counter. "Aunt Merry, I don't need to buy them. I'm just browsing."
Merry cheerfully picked up the Beli from the counter. "No problem. I'll get back to work, so look all you want."
One hundred Beli was enough to buy ten newspapers. Letting Xia Luo read them would not stop her from selling them to anyone else.
By then, Xia Luo's attention was entirely on the papers. He quickly leafed through the newspapers from recent days and found not a single report concerning God Valley.
"Just as I thought."
Xia Luo was not surprised. The World Government was practically an old hand at suppressing information.
Of course, the World Government had only suppressed information concerning God Valley. The Celestial Dragons' hunting game, their cruel method of wiping out an entire country every three years—none of that could be made public for the world to learn. It would not benefit the World Government's rule.
Besides, taking things out of context and twisting the truth were also specialties of the World Government.
The latest newspaper mentioned Garp, claiming that he had stopped the Rocks Pirates' attempt to destroy the world and successfully defeated them. He was hailed as a Marine hero.
"A Marine hero who dared throw a punch at the World Government's supreme ruler?" A cold sneer curled across Xia Luo's lips.
Sometimes, Xia Luo had to wonder whether the World Government had deliberately given Garp that title just to disgust him.
Others might not know, but did Garp himself not understand? What kind of Marine hero was he? Under normal circumstances, the World Government would absolutely have labeled his actions as those of a traitorous Marine, a heinous pirate beyond redemption.
Garp knew it, the Marine higher-ups knew it, and the World Government's upper echelon knew it too. Yet everyone tacitly chose not to mention it, pretending it did not exist.
At the same time, portraying Garp as a "Marine hero" could conceal the truth, pacify the Marines and erase the impact of Imu's indiscriminate attack on them at God Valley, while also severely intimidating the other pirates. Three birds with one stone.
See that? Even "Marine hero" Garp could wipe out the Rocks Pirates. What are small fry like you worth? Behave yourselves!
At that thought, Xia Luo could not help laughing. "Heh. Garp must be furious right now. No wonder he refused to be promoted to admiral later on."
"Oh, right. Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Roger, and the others have also seen their bounties rise sharply. The Whitebeard Pirates and Golden Lion Pirates have been established too..."
Several newly issued wanted posters were tucked into the newspaper. Whitebeard's title was finally no longer First Division Commander of the Rocks Pirates, but Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. The same was true for Golden Lion.
After Rocks died, the Rocks Pirates instantly fell apart. Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Charlotte Linlin, and the others each formed their own pirate crews, beginning legends that belonged to them.
The wheels of history rolled onward in a mighty, unstoppable tide. Xia Luo was within that current as well. Whether he drifted along or rode the momentum to rise would depend on the choices he made next.
In the world of One Piece, there were not many paths to choose from. He could sail out as a pirate, find like-minded companions, and form his own pirate crew.
Or he could become a free bounty hunter and live as he pleased.
Or he could temporarily join the Marines, use them as a stepping stone, secretly build up his strength, and develop in silence.
Or he could seek out Dragon and create the Revolutionary Army alongside him.
Of the four paths, Xia Luo leaned more toward becoming a pirate or joining the Marines.
The Revolutionary Army? It was not even remotely in the works yet. Dragon was still lost at the moment, with no idea what he should do next. By the time he established the Revolutionary Army, who knew how many years would pass? Xia Luo could not afford to wait.
Sixteen years remained until Ohara's destruction. Xia Luo had to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Ohara was his hometown, the place where he had grown up, filled with countless memories. He would never allow anyone to destroy it!
As for stopping the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge and Olvia from researching the history of the Void Century, Xia Luo would naturally try to persuade them. But what reason did he have to stop a group of historians from pursuing history? They were not the ones at fault!
Besides, the scholars of the Tree of Knowledge had not even started researching the Void Century yet. What the hell was he supposed to persuade them about?
What if persuasion backfired and made the scholars interested in the Void Century ahead of time, causing them to study the Poneglyphs early? Would that not be utterly disastrous?
What? Moving away?
Olvia would be the first to refuse. Ohara was her root, her home. No matter what, she would never leave.
If Olvia would not leave, Xia Luo was even less likely to leave on his own. Besides, if Ohara was destroyed before he transmigrated, and it was still destroyed after he transmigrated, then would his transmigration not have been for nothing?
Then why had he racked his brains and endured so much hardship to obtain the Azure Dragon Fruit? Was it not to protect everything he possessed now?
With that thought settled, Xia Luo put the newspapers back where they belonged and headed toward the forest.
He could not waste time. He had to seize every minute and every second to make himself stronger.
On a huge rock deep in the forest, Xia Luo sat cross-legged and activated the Six Treasury Immortal Thief, turning the nutrients within his body into energy to strengthen his internal organs, meridians, muscles, bones, and skin bit by bit...
Xia Luo greatly enjoyed this feeling of improving little by little, of becoming stronger little by little. It made him feel secure.
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