"Can't the Buster Call... be stopped?" Dr. Clover asked, clinging to the last shred of hope.
"Ten of the largest top-tier warships, five elite vice admirals and over ten thousand elite marine soldiers."
"Guess if that can be stop?"
Michael didn't answer directly but threw a rhetorical question back at Dr. Clover.
Yet this rhetorical question carried more despair than any direct response could.
"But... sigh." Dr. Clover led everyone out of the Tree of Knowledge.
He raised his head, gazing at the sky-obscuring Tree.
Its canopy resembled a green ocean, rippling with waves under the gentle breeze.
"All of Ohara's—no, the entire world's most precious knowledge is preserved within this library, the Tree of Knowledge. And the spirit of us scholars and archaeologists... is entirely entrusted to this very tree."
Michael couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance.
Damn it, what's with this old fuck suddenly acting up?
They're about to lose their lives, and he's still going on about spiritual attachments!
But even though he was speechless, he looked around at the others—many oddly-shaped scholars emerging from the Tree of Knowledge—and then at Olvia...
Their eyes all reflected the same sentiment.
Even Robin who's only eight years old, was no exception!
Michael slapped his own forehead.
Damn it, the whole family's caught this intellectual disease!
But what could he say?
To these scholars, whether knowledge or life was more important was genuinely hard to determine.
However...
"I only said the Buster Call is coming, not that we're completely out of time!"
"And if you can't bear to part with these books, fine—as tangible vessels of knowledge, they are indeed more reliable than your forgetful, aging brains... Time may be tight, but we can still take all the books with us!"
"But what baffles me is why you're so fixated on this tree!"
"Sure, a five-thousand-year-old tree is rare, and it even grew with a natural hollow structure, as if born to house these books..."
"But symbols... will never outweigh human lives."
Olvia shook her head and looked at Michael.
"You... don't understand."
"Don't understand? Tch, this is exactly what I hate most about you nerds."
Michael stared at Olvia, seeing the unshakable resolve in her eyes and felt an overwhelming frustration.
"Let me tell you! This tree is worthless!"
"What you scholars must do is ensure this precious knowledge is passed down!"
"To achieve that, you must survive by any means necessary!"
"Cowardice? Absolutely necessary! Compromise, humiliation? Do it if you must! In short, discard anything that hinders your survival and speading of knowledge!"
"If you die, what's the point of leaving this tree behind? To serve as your tombstone?"
Michael words grew increasingly loud, drawing the attention of all the scholars inside the Tree of Knowledge.
They gathered around him, their expressions complex...
Watching this scene, Michael sighed inwardly.
Ever since he decided to oppose the world goverment, he had prepared himself to frequently plant the seeds of doubt and rebellion on their souls.
No choice—being the only transmigrator, he had to handle strategy, principles and ideology all by himself.
"You seek the truth of the world's history, but have you ever considered whether the oppressed commoners—crushed by the World Government, Celestial Dragons, gangs and pirates—would even care?"
"Only when these ordinary people gain knowledge and shed their ignorance will more of them desire to understand the 'truth' you speak of!"
"When such people become the majority among the populace, even if the World Government tries to extinguish those sparks... the wildfire will already be unstoppable. That is what you should strive for!"
Silence fell.
Every scholar present was stunned and conflicted.
Originally, upon learning of the "Buster Call," they had resolved to perish with the Tree of Knowledge...
But Michael's words had shattered their conventional thinking.
To them, this was an entirely new world!
It wasn't that they couldn't grasp Michael's logic—their worldview simply hadn't allowed them to consider such possibilities.
This thing was called...The Limitations of an Era.
Michael spread his wings, the Holy light drifting toward the Tree of Knowledge.
"Where the leaves dance, the fire of knowledge shall never die!"
"When the flames of wisdom spread across the seas, Ohara will no longer be a remote island but a sacred sanctuary of knowledge for the entire world!"
"You pioneers shall become the Tree of Knowledge in the eyes of all future generations!"
***
One day later.
Ten massive warships breached the horizon where sky met sea, advancing toward Ohara.
Standing on the flagship's deck at the forefront was Vice Admiral Sakazuki.
Amid the howling sea winds, he grinned broadly, puffing on a thick cigar, exhaling Cloud after Cloud with pleasant expression.
Truth be told, his appearance was anything but that of a Marine—more like a high-ranking underworld boss!
He calmly gazed at the approaching island of Ohara.
Though this was his first time executing a Buster Call, in his eyes, it was no different from an ordinary pirate extermination mission.
Just kill, then return victorious.
But the man standing behind him was anything but calm, fidgeting like an impatient monkey.
"Sakazuki! I'll be taking CP9 spies ashore to investigate Ohara! Every piece of knowledge those scholars possess must be recovered and handed over to the World Government! You stay anchored here—only open fire after we finish our investigation! Wipe this cursed island off the charts!"
The speaker was none other than the infamous "clown" of the original story—Spandine.
His urgency stemmed from his eagerness to capture Olvia himself and claim credit from the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
"Hmph!" Sakazuki glanced at him dismissively, offering no response.
This single scoff ignited Spandine's fury—after all his demands, this was all he got?!
The Buster Call had been authorized by him, Spandine!
So why wasn't he in command?
These damned Marines couldn't even play their role as obedient dogs!
Of course, these words remained locked in his mind.
After all, Sakazuki ruthless reputation was well-known—his willingness to sacrifice civilians and even allies was legendary, not to mention his status as a... Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki! We'll be within firing range in three minutes!"
Sakazuki nodded, took a deep drag from his cigar, then...
Exhaled a thick Cloud of smoke directly over Spandine head.
"By Acting Fleet Admiral Sengoku orders! In three minutes, all ships will commence bombardment on Ohara!"