"V-Vice Admiral Garp! Is this true?!"
"Saul? What are you doing here?" Garp naturally recognized the famously kind-hearted giant vice admiral.
"Why have you come here?"
"I... deserted. I'm no longer a Marine."
"What? Why?" Garp frowned.
He truly despised traitors.
But given the giants' nature, betrayal should have been unthinkable.
Unless... something had happened that crossed their principles.
Faced with Garp questioning, Saul slumped his face and spilled out all his recent experiences in one go.
"The World Government ordered me and CP9 Spandine to pursue an archaeology team" Saul sighed, scratching his head in distress.
"Along the way, I witnessed a series of commands the World Government issued to the CP organizations... I believe this is anything but justice! So I had no choice but to defect and help Olvia escape!"
"Who would've thought! That bastard Spandine! He actually initiated a Buster Call right away!"
The more Saul spoke, the angrier he became, slamming his fist into the ground so hard that the entire area trembled faintly.
"And I am Nico Olvia" Olvia stepped forward in front of Saul, but her eyes were fixed on Robin beside Michael, filled with guilt.
"Robin, I'm back... I'm sorry."
Olvia had just overheard the conversation between Robin, Michael, and Garp.
She realized this was her daughter, Nico Robin, whom she had entrusted to her brother years ago.
She never imagined her eight-year-old daughter would be so frail, her dress a little better than a beggar.
...Had she placed her trust in the wrong person?
In these times, could even her own brother cannot be trusted?
"What did you say? You're... my mother?"
Robin, who had never cried even when villagers treated her as a monster and an omen, even pelting her with stones, burst into tears the moment she saw her mother.
And once the floodgates opened, there was no stopping it.
Just seeing Robin frail body and ragged dress had already made Olvia feel as though her heart were being squeezed violently, the pain nearly suffocating.
And Robin tears shattered the composure of the usually intelligent and rational Olvia.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
All the words she had prepared in her mind for this reunion were forgotten.
Only "I'm sorry" remained.
The long-separated mother and daughter finally embraced, their tears conveying both apology and longing.
Only then did Michael tightly furrowed brow begin to relax.
But his overall expression remained cold.
He waited until the mother and daughter sobs gradually quieted and their emotions settled before speaking.
"Nico Olvia, O'Hara's finest archaeologist, wanted criminal of the World Government. That's you, correct?"
"Yes, that's me."
Though Olvia hadn't fully shaken off the physical tremors from crying, her emotions had stabilized.
It didn't matter that her status as a wanted criminal had been exposed.
After all, the Marine standing before her was the legendary "Hero of the Marines," Garp.
Even as a civilian, she had heard his reputation.
To ordinary people, Garp was the very image of what a Marine should be.
So escape... was impossible.
Instead, she felt strangely at peace.
At worst, she would be arrested.
But getting to see her daughter one last time... was worth it.
"You... are undoubtedly a great woman," Michael stepped forward, crouching down to meet Olvia at eye level.
"But you are a failure as a mother"
"...What did you just say?"
Olvia was momentarily stunned by Michael's words.
What was this Marine talking about?
Shouldn't he be arresting her?
Why was he suddenly criticizing her failures as a mother?
...
Not that he was wrong, of course.
Looking at Olvia, Michael eventually sighed.
"Don't be so tense. I have zero interest in the World Government's persecution of political prisoners" Michael shrugged and continued.
"You're not on the Marine bounty list. Arresting you would be overstepping my authority... I'm a law-abiding Marine, after all."
"BWAHAHAHA!"
Michael shot a glare at Garp, who had burst out laughing.
Then he turned back to Olvia. Her face was full of shock, but Michael remained perfectly calm.
His assessment of her was, in fact, quite objective.
Anyone who had seen her entire story in the original work would understand.
This woman absolutely deserved to be called "great."
But it was also undeniable... Great people often made terrible parents.
One could not serve both family and country.
This truth held in any world.
"Where are the other archaeologists?"
"All dead" Olvia shook her head.
Though her tone seemed steady, the seething hatred in her eyes was visible.
"Killed by CP agents and Marines."
Saul sat silently to the side.
Though he hadn't lifted a hand himself, he was the Marine Vice Admiral leading the operation.
These innocent deaths... were tied to him.
That was why he had risked everything to save Olvia, the last surviving archaeologist, betraying the Marines in the process.
The values of the Giant race were simple and uncomplicated.
They were fiercely loyal, to the point others saw it as foolish or even ignorant.
Stubborn beyond persuasion.
But... the injustice in his heart was a line Saul could not tolerate.
"Olvia, with the archaeologists already decimated, I shouldn't be reopening your wounds, but... your actions were so reckless it's almost laughable!" Michael stood up, looking down at her.
"Deciphering and revealing the Poneglyphs? How many forces did you have to have a guts doing such a suicidal move like that? It was your recklessness that drew CP9 and the Buster Call!"
"Couldn't you have investigated in secret, uncovered the truth, and then found someone powerful enough to protect you before going public?"
"Did you really have to announce it to the whole world with fanfare?"
Michael tone was full of frustration at her and It only made Olvia more uneasy.
This young Marine was handsome... but there seemed to be something wrong with his head.
Though his words were mocking her...
The underlying message almost sounded like... support?
Michael then turned to Dr. Clover, whose face had gone deathly pale.
Placing both hands on his shoulders, Michael spoke in a voice so calm that it was kinda scary.
"If you want to live, leave Ohara."