Meanwhile, at the Revolutionary Army's North Army base.
Rowan looked at the already prepared Karasu.
"Flevance ultimately failed to find a cure for Amber Lead Syndrome. The citizens have chosen to take up arms and fight for survival, but the World Government has also decided to send in troops and kill everyone in Flevance."
Karasu gave a slight bow.
"Mr. Spark. Why didn't we enter earlier and save them?"
"Karasu..."
Rowan looked at the man Dragon had recruited.
He was extremely capable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been entrusted with overseeing the Revolutionary Army's development in the North Blue.
"Changing this world and giving everyone the right to live, that's the goal shared by all of us who walk the same path."
"But the lives of Revolutionary Army members are lives as well."
"Before Amber Lead Syndrome broke out, Flevance was prosperous. They would never have believed us."
"And after the disease appeared, without first experiencing despair, they would never have thought about resisting."
"Empathy can only exist when someone has truly experienced the same suffering, Karasu."
As he finished speaking, Rowan stood and patted Karasu on the shoulder.
Soon afterward, Revolutionary Army forces began gathering on the island nearest to Flevance.
Squad after squad assembled.
None of them wore protective suits.
Instead, every soldier was fully armed, equipped with newly developed firearms and protective gear capable of stopping ordinary bullets.
They also carried portable mortars and communication devices for battlefield commands.
Orders were followed instantly.
In just five minutes, nearly four hundred combat personnel had assembled.
"Mr. Spark, we're ready."
Karasu stepped back behind Rowan.
Rowan then spoke, revealing the World Government's lies regarding the White Town of Flevance.
"For us, this is a world where living can be worse than dying!"
"But as human beings, we also long to live. We long to live with dignity."
"There is no hierarchy among lives, and yet simply surviving is so difficult."
"The nobles of Flevance have already fled. They took the wealth brought by Amber Lead mining and left all the suffering behind for ordinary people."
"Amber Lead Syndrome is not contagious."
"But to hide the truth that they sacrificed ordinary lives for profit, the World Government sealed off all of Flevance."
"And now, they are carrying out a massacre."
At that moment, the assembled revolutionaries thought of their own experiences.
There had once been a time when they too had desperately hoped someone would come to save them.
And it had been the Revolutionary Army that gave them hope.
Now they had grown.
They had become members of the Revolutionary Army themselves.
Yet the world's injustices remained countless.
There were still countless people waiting for salvation.
Flevance needed them.
Only when all those who were oppressed united together could this world truly be changed.
Rowan's gaze swept across the crowd.
To them, Mr. Spark, the founder whose teachings they had studied for years, was the person they admired most.
Just meeting his eyes through the mask was enough to further strengthen their resolve.
"All units, prepare!"
The order was given.
The formation of four hundred soldiers moved as one.
Rowan raised a hand.
The immense flow of energy within him surged outward.
This was the physical enhancement brought by the Steel Bone talent.
After months of adaptation, his body had become a true monster.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a total of 402 people were transported from the base near Flevance directly into the church within Flevance.
Bang!
Barrels kicked the nun away.
The sound echoed through the church.
At 9:00 PM, inside the church at Flevance, the atmosphere instantly froze.
Just ten minutes earlier, at 8:50 PM, the nun had still been pleading with Barrels to wait a little longer.
That afternoon, the son of Doctor Trafalgar had come looking for her, asking if he could return home and bring his younger sister so they could leave together.
The nun knew Doctor Trafalgar.
His family frequently donated to the church and had always been kind people.
She had told the boy to hurry back as quickly as possible.
Yet after all this time, he still hadn't arrived.
And now Barrels had finally lost his patience.
He looked at the girl standing behind the nun.
The girl who had been absent at five o'clock that afternoon while searching for food.
"We can wait a few more minutes."
Letting out a breath, Barrels asked,
"Did you bring all the food? Once we're past the border, it'll be a long time before we find anything else to eat, so..."
The nun nodded.
"Thank you, Mr. Soldier. Although there isn't much left, it should be enough until then. Are you hungry, Mr. Soldier? We still have..."
Before she could finish speaking, Barrels finally dropped the smile he had been wearing this entire time.
With a wave of his hand, he shoved the nun aside and stared directly at the girl behind her.
"What are you doing?!"
"Sister!"
"Mr. Soldier..."
The nineteen remaining children froze.
Some of the older ones trembled as they demanded an explanation.
Annie hurried forward and helped the nun back to her feet.
Barrels cracked his neck.
"Do you know something?"
"My patience is almost gone."
Then he grabbed Annie by the collar and lifted her into the air.
"Brat."
"Tell me where that heart-shaped fruit is."
"Okay?"
Annie froze.
That fruit Barrels tore off the patched little bag hanging from her back.
Opening it, he immediately saw the fruit inside.
A heart-shaped fruit.
A Devil Fruit.
Even the most common Zoan-type Devil Fruit could sell for 100 million Beli.
At that moment, Barrels' heartbeat accelerated.
In a place like the North Blue, one Devil Fruit was enough to create a powerful pirate.
Being hated by the sea didn't matter.
What mattered was its value.
And the fact that it was almost impossible to buy one even if you had the money.
Thud!
Crack!
A wooden stick smashed into the back of Barrels' head.
The stick snapped in half.
Yet the man didn't even stagger.
Not even slightly.
The one who had struck him was Annie.
"Brat..."
"You want to die?"
"Mr. Soldier!"
The nun lunged forward and wrapped both arms around his leg.
"Mr. Soldier... please!"
"Please!"
"Whatever you want, we'll give it to you!"
"Just take these children away. Please..."
"Leave?"
Barrels sneered.
His other foot came down hard on the nun's head.
"You think you're leaving?"
"The moment the World Government discovered the Amber Lead mines, the fate of everyone in this country was already decided."
"Amber Lead Syndrome has no cure."
"That poison has been buried deep inside your bones for over a hundred years, you idiots!"
Bang!
Thud!
With a vicious kick, Barrels continued mocking them.
"If it weren't for this Devil Fruit, do you think I'd willingly come near a bunch of people infected with Amber Lead Syndrome?"
"It may not be contagious, but just look at those disgusting white patches all over you."
"Let go, you idiot!"
The nun's head split open from the blow.
Blood ran down her face.
Yet she still clung tightly to his leg, refusing to let go.
This was the children's only hope of survival.
She had no other options left.
So even after realizing she had been deceived, she couldn't bring herself to give up.
"Please!"
"Please save the children!"
"They..."
"Let go, you stupid woman!"
As the words fell, the gun barrel lowered toward the nun.
"Die!"
At that instant, the children screamed.
Annie grabbed a stone and hurled it at the back of his head.
"Mm?"
The moment Rowan appeared, he threw a Flying Thunder God kunai.
The tremendous force pierced straight through the soldier's wrist.
The trident-shaped blade hooked into the bones of his hand and pinned it to the wall, dragging his entire body along with it.
Thunk!
At the same moment, something struck the back of Rowan's head.
Normally, he could have dodged it effortlessly.
But the attack wasn't even strong enough to scratch his skin, so he chose to deal with the gunman first.
"Damn it! Who are you?!"
Enduring the agonizing pain in his hand, Barrels turned his head and shouted.
Then he saw what stood before him.
The sight nearly made him wet himself.
The church wasn't particularly large, yet it was packed with over four hundred people.
Every single one of them was staring at him.
They carried rifles.
Some even carried artillery.
And then he looked at the person he had just been insulting.
Thud.
Even with his hand still nailed to the wall, Barrels immediately collapsed to his knees.
The Cloaked Man...
The mask.
The cloak.
The sudden appearance.
The armed personnel.
In that instant, terror overwhelmed him.
He instantly recognized the bounty poster.
The Revolutionary Army's Cloaked Man.
Bounty: 2.6 billion Beli.
Worth the equivalent of twenty-six Devil Fruits.
Rowan ignored him completely.
Instead, he turned toward the Revolutionary Army soldiers behind him.
"Begin the operation."
"Liberate the people of this country."
"Let them know they haven't been abandoned."
"Understood!"
The response from four hundred revolutionaries shook the entire church.
Immediately, squad after squad moved out.
Every aspect of the mission had already been planned.
Rescue.
Recording evidence.
Evacuation.
Assembly points.
Retreat routes.
Everything.
"Karasu."
"Yes, Mr. Spark."
"Although the new communication devices allow short-range real-time communication, we still need aerial support in case anything unexpected happens."
Karasu nodded.
"Understood, Mr. Spark."
As soon as he finished speaking, his body transformed into dozens of crows and shot upward.
The flock flew through the church windows and into the skies above Flevance.
The children were completely stunned.
For a moment, they even forgot that Sister was still bleeding from the head.
Rowan helped the nun to her feet.
"Revolutionary Army."
"Codename: Spark."
"You can simply call me Mr. Spark."
The nun froze in place.
But in the next moment, tears mixed with the blood running into her eyes and began pouring out uncontrollably, as if a dam had burst.
"Y-You... are you here to save us?"
She had gone from despair to hope, only for that hope to become deception.
Yet even after realizing she had been tricked, she still refused to let go, enduring the beating so the children might have a chance to leave Flevance.
Because at that time, that was the only hope she had left.
Rowan's expression grew complicated.
At this moment, every child, including Annie, the little girl who had sold flowers to him in Flevance more than two years ago, was looking at him.
Every pair of eyes was filled with a desire to live.
Just like his own eyes had been twenty-one years ago at God Valley.
"We... will save everyone who is still alive."
Rowan spoke softly.
Then he looked at Annie.
"Only those who dare to resist can obtain the strength to resist."
"That stone throw was pretty good. You were brave."
Annie scratched her head awkwardly.
Giving Rowan a small bow, she clasped her hands together.
"The Lord will protect you, Mister."
Rowan shook his head slightly.
"No."
"The Lord you speak of didn't protect you, did He?"
"Neither this disease nor the soldiers trying to slaughter everyone in Flevance were stopped by Him."
He then looked at all the children.
"The people who came to save you are those who once faced the same despair."
"So I hope you'll remember the helplessness and pain you feel today."
"And in the future, let it become the driving force that helps you grow and take control of your own fate."
Most of the children looked confused.
The older ones, however, seemed deep in thought.
A moment later, Annie remembered something.
She hurriedly retrieved her little bag from beside Barrels.
And the heart-shaped fruit inside entered Rowan's field of vision.
The Op-Op Fruit...
Why is it here?
For some reason, the moment Rowan saw the Op-Op Fruit, he didn't feel any desire for the Eternal Youth Operation.
Instead, he was puzzled.
The timing was wrong.
According to the memories he possessed, the Op-Op Fruit should not have appeared here yet.
It should have surfaced much later, around the period when Law's condition was nearing its worst.
After escaping as the sole survivor of Flevance, Law wouldn't join the Donquixote Family until nearly a year later.
Which meant his illness would continue progressing for several more years.
So how had the fruit appeared in Flevance now?
His butterfly effect shouldn't have altered Flevance to such an extent.
"D-Divine... Divine Cloaked One..."
At that moment, the long-forgotten Barrels finally spoke up.
He couldn't stay silent anymore.
The little girl who had hit him with a stick earlier was already about to mention the Devil Fruit.
"Hm?"
Rowan looked at the man kneeling on the ground.
One hand was still mangled from being pinned to the wall, sweat pouring from his face from the pain.
"A Marine?"
"A World Government agent?"
"Or someone from a neighboring country?"
"That fruit was your objective, wasn't it?"
Barrels didn't bother denying it.
"I know a section of the blockade where there are very few soldiers."
"I can guide you there."
"As long as... as long as you spare me."
"I... I can join the Revolutionary Army."
Rowan looked at him with open disgust.
"The Revolutionary Army doesn't want people like you."
"And we don't need the route you're offering either."
As he spoke, Rowan stepped forward and pulled the Flying Thunder God kunai free.
Barrels immediately let out a miserable scream and curled up on the floor.
"However..."
"I'm curious about your name."
"What's your name?"
"Marine? World Government? Or from one of the neighboring kingdoms?"
Barrels refused to answer.
He only continued begging for his life.
That shameless, thick-skinned attitude gave Rowan a headache.
Turning toward the nun, Rowan said:
"What happens next isn't suitable for children under five."
"Could you take the younger children into another room for a while?"
The nun snapped out of her daze.
She immediately understood what was about to happen.
However she wanted to take all of the children into the room.
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