One Piece Nine Tails

"That's a question I should be asking you! What have you done?! This is the Tree of Knowledge, a treasure trove of human civilization, and every book here is priceless!" Dr. Clover roared.

He, too, had no idea what had happened. The suddenly darkened sky and the completely still clouds signaled something terrifying had occurred.

Even for Dr. Clover, who had resigned himself to his fate, the unsettling atmosphere instilled a deep fear—an unspeakable terror that took root in his heart.

The world seemed dark and silent as if forgotten in an unobserved corner.

CP9 agents raised their guns due to the sudden change.

They pointed their weapons at the scholars, ready to shoot at the slightest movement.

In this seemingly dead world, they wouldn't mind adding a few more corpses.

At the heart of the world's archaeological sanctuary, Ohara, a standoff was taking place under the Tree of Knowledge.

Scholars intent on reading, writing papers, and studying were pitted against armed agents, and the outcome seemed inevitable.

But before that inevitable result arrived, something incomprehensible happened.

"Priceless treasures?" Spandine, who had no reverence for knowledge, sneered. "I've heard that your so-called Tree of Knowledge knows nothing about the Eight Great Demons! How can such trash be called the Tree of Knowledge? What a joke!"

When the demons appeared, the World Government sought help from Ohara's scholars to unearth information about them.

Many records about demons were in the books, but none were useful.

Ohara's scholars had no clue about the Eight Great Demons!

The World Government was highly disappointed, but upon reflection, the Tree of Knowledge had only a few thousand years of history. At the same time, the demons were remnants from tens of thousands of years ago. It was understandable that the Tree of Knowledge hadn't gathered information on them.

Spandine was mocking them out of sheer spite.

"The records on demons must be in the Tree of Knowledge, but we just haven't deciphered them yet!" Dr. Clover insisted. "Give us enough time and…"

"Dream on, old man! Enough time...? Haha, you have no time left!" Spandine laughed maniacally.

Though he didn't know why they had suddenly lost contact with headquarters, he had plenty of CP agents. Even without support from headquarters, killing these scholars would be easy.

But just as he was thinking this, a deep, resonant male voice approached, followed by a massive shadow.

"Is that really so?"

The figure bore apparent injuries, but none were fatal, for he was a giant. Standing several meters tall, his head was encircled by an orange beard.

The moment he appeared, Spandine nearly had a heart attack. He stepped back several paces, trying to distance himself from the giant while stammering, "Sa... Saul!"

Indeed, this man was none other than the Marine giant Vice-admiral Jaguar D. Saul!

Years ago, he had fought alongside Garp and others in the battle of Gerusalemme, where the Marines suffered heavy losses, and even leaders like Garp and Sengoku almost died.

But Saul had survived, perhaps due to the greater resilience of giants.

During the battle in Gerusalemme, he had trained under Admiral Aokiji, learning the Monk Palm technique. As a member of 'Sword,' he was among the first recruits. Many years had passed since then, and he was far more potent than the original Saul.

"What are you doing?! Are you defying the orders of Marine Headquarters? Don't forget your position!" Spandine shouted, his voice shaking with fear but still trying to sound authoritative.

As he spoke, the surrounding CP agents pointed their weapons at Saul, but Saul replied in a deep voice, "Admiral Aokiji often tells us, 'If good and evil are not rewarded, the universe must be biased.' Justice means that good is rewarded and evil is punished. And now, I see you as evil!"

His presence was imposing, and despite the numerous CP agents, Spandine felt a wave of panic.

In the next moment, his fears were realized. Saul swung his massive palm, imbued with powerful Haki, sending all the CP agents flying before they could react!

"For some reason, it seems we've lost contact with the outside world. So even if I do this, Admiral Aokiji won't face any repercussions."

Seeing all the CP agents down, Saul finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Dr. Clover and the others, saying, "Thank goodness, I made it in time. Robin, are you okay?"

The last sentence was directed at a young girl in the crowd—none other than a young Nico Robin.

"Saul?!"

Robin, who had felt hopeless, was overjoyed at Saul's sudden appearance. But another person also called out Saul's name at that moment.

A white-haired woman appeared behind the giant, also shouting Saul's name.

Saul turned to see the white-haired woman and said, "Olvia, you're safe too! That's wonderful!"

Olvia?!

Robin's eyes widened as she looked at the white-haired woman.

Olvia carried a rifle on her back, her body covered in wounds, looking as if she might collapse at any moment, but she still ran over determinedly.

"Saul, do you know what's happening here? Is this the World Government's doing?"

Saul shook his head and said honestly, "I don't know. I left Marine Headquarters before the operation was completed, and as a member of 'Sword,' the World Government wouldn't inform Admiral Aokiji about this."

Aokiji, aligned with Garp within the Marines, had inherited Sengoku's position but wasn't as compliant. To avoid complications, the Marines bypassed Aokiji for such tasks.

Aokiji had been sent to the New World on missions with only Zephyr and An as admirals in Marine Headquarters.

As Aokiji's subordinate, Saul wasn't privy to the Marines' plans.

"However, it seems even the CP agents don't know what's happening. I believe this change is beyond the World Government's expectations."

...

I'm still feeling unwell. My temperature has fluctuated between 40, 39, 38, 37, and 35 degrees, but it won't stabilize at 36 degrees, which is frustrating.