At that moment, Saint Warcury looked over.
"God Valley twenty-one years ago was ultimately erased from existence. At that age, how exactly did he survive?"
As soon as the question was asked, the other four simultaneously turned toward Saturn.
Among the Five Elders, Saturn had been the one who personally went to God Valley twenty-one years ago.
"A Buccaneer slave ate the Paw-Paw Fruit during the chaos, allowing roughly five hundred people to escape the God Valley incident."
Saturn spoke while slightly raising his head.
"Out of temporary curiosity, and because I wanted to conduct an experiment using those slaves, I chose not to execute him."
An experiment?
Warcury seemed to recall a project from Mariejois about twenty years ago, one that had failed repeatedly.
The test subjects would become sensitive to light after failure.
Whether under the sun during the day or moonlight at night, blue crystalline stones would grow across their bodies until they eventually died.
But the purpose of that experiment...
"This time I changed the method."
Saturn's voice remained completely calm.
"After all, the slaves in Mariejois didn't possess a strong enough desire to live. Many of them even believed death would be preferable."
The way he spoke was so detached that it seemed as though he wasn't discussing human beings at all.
"Among those slaves, some still retained hope."
"But that hope had not yet reached the level of true willpower."
"So I selected a group of them, initiated the first stage of the experiment, and then deliberately allowed them to escape from God Valley."
Willpower.
The Five Elders all understood the experiment Saturn referred to.
Negative emotions.
Hatred.
Fear.
All were crucial components.
Yet despite years of testing, the project had continuously failed.
The illness known throughout the lower world as Sapphire Scales was merely a discarded byproduct of those failed experiments.
After abandoned test subjects were cast into the outside world, people eventually gave the disease its current name.
"Is it time to collect the results?"
Saint Peter asked.
"Some of them, yes."
"But not enough to establish comparative data."
Saturn's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Many of them still haven't fully experienced what they consider happiness."
"In that state, activating the next stage would be meaningless."
"Their desire to live would not reach the threshold required by the experiment."
The process was simple.
Allow slaves who desperately wished to survive to escape God Valley.
Then, one or two decades later, reclaim them.
They would go from slaves facing certain death...
To survivors.
From survivors...
To people who had finally found happiness.
Such an extreme reversal would make their attachment to life stronger than ever.
Even when faced with unbearable suffering, they would still desperately cling to existence.
And then the question became:
What is required to survive?
Power far beyond ordinary people?
A body immune to blades and bullets?
No.
Those things were nowhere near enough.
At best, they were merely insignificant pieces contributing to the creation of a legend.
"The Cloaked Man wasn't a slave."
"He was a native resident of God Valley and was never subjected to the initial phase of the experiment."
Saint Mars spoke with visible confusion.
"Then was everything he knows about God Valley told to him by that Buccaneer?"
Saturn replied,
"We don't know."
"Even now, we still haven't identified the Cloaked Man's true public identity."
"However..."
His gaze turned cold.
"Judging from the corpse of the Celestial Dragon killed at Sabaody Archipelago, merely hearing a story isn't enough to generate that level of hatred."
Saint Samit.
The first Celestial Dragon ever killed by the Cloaked Man.
Although he shared Saturn's family name, his death was discussed with the same indifference Saturn would show toward the death of an insect.
However, after Saturn spoke those words, the Room of Authority fell silent for a long time.
The five monsters who stood just beneath the throne of the world all wore solemn expressions.
"Is that even possible at that age?"
"If he was only one year old, he shouldn't have even understood what hatred was. How could he possibly have awakened?"
"But if it wasn't an awakening, then there is no explanation for the source of those special abilities. Wano's ninjutsu has never reached that level."
"After all, they are abilities not hated by the sea..."
"If it truly was an Initial Awakening, then it wouldn't be some ordinary power."
"Teleportation, flames, ice, transformation... If those four abilities are combined, perhaps we can identify his true name."
"That is one avenue of investigation. But I still refuse to believe that a one- or two-year-old child could possess such an unwavering will that his desires manifested as an Initial Awakening."
When the discussion ended, silence once again filled the room.
"Let's return to the matter of Flevance. And the Op-Op Fruit."
Saint Mars looked toward the other four.
"The Perpetual Youth Surgery. While it remains a secret for now, if the Revolutionary Army has obtained the fruit, they will undoubtedly search for a doctor to become its user."
Saturn replied,
"The Amber Lead Syndrome of Flevance can only be cured by the Op-Op Fruit's ability to remove the heavy metal toxins."
"If the Revolutionary Army truly acquired the fruit, then the people of Flevance..."
The implication was obvious.
The people of Flevance had endured nearly a year of despair.
The Five Elders were not surprised that the Op-Op Fruit had appeared there.
But if the Revolutionary Army became involved, then the collective will born from nine months of suffering and desperation would become something much more significant.
Combined with their previous suspicions, the Five Elders' expressions darkened further.
Was another side of the world beginning to emerge?
Its weight within the world was increasing.
Yet at present, they seemed unable to catch these rats hiding in the shadows.
The few they captured were little more than insignificant pawns.
Flevance.
After sending the children and the nun away from the church, Rowan returned to the White Town.
The prosperity of the past had become rubble.
Flames consumed the white buildings.
The stench of burned corpses hung over the city.
The fighting was already nearing its conclusion.
The Revolutionary Army's Northern Army forces had selected some of their best mid-level fighters for this operation.
They might not be able to match Marine Headquarters officers, but against the troops sent to purge Flevance, they held a decisive advantage.
Above the city, Karasu continued his surveillance.
Crows filled the skies, watching every battlefield and every street corner.
"Sir."
Inside an alleyway, a Revolutionary Army squad had gathered surviving civilians in the center of a defensive formation.
Many of the civilians still carried kitchen knives, clubs, and other makeshift weapons.
The squad leader recognized Rowan immediately.
After saluting, he reported the battle results and casualties.
Twenty soldiers.
One severely wounded.
Six lightly wounded.
No deaths.
Rowan walked toward the injured revolutionary.
With a wave of his hand, both the man and his stretcher vanished.
A moment later, Rowan returned.
"He has already been sent back for treatment."
"But you still need to move toward the evacuation point."
"T-thank you, Sir."
The squad leader's eyes reddened.
"The Murton family only has him left. We are truly grateful."
Rowan helped him back to his feet.
"It was only what should have been done."
"No need for this."
"If one day I die in battle too, you can thank people then."
After speaking, Rowan turned toward the gathered survivors.
"Don't worry."
"A cure for Amber Lead Syndrome has already been found."
"I will take all of you away from here and later explain the method that will cure you."
The moment those words were spoken, every surviving resident of Flevance raised their heads.
Hope returned to eyes that had long since gone dark.
"R-really?"
"Amber Lead Syndrome can be cured?"
"There's truly a way?"
"We're saved..."
"My child can be saved!"
Some began crying.
Some collapsed to their knees.
Others simply stared blankly at Rowan, unable to believe what they had just heard.
For nearly a year, they had been abandoned.
Abandoned by their king.
Abandoned by the World Government.
Abandoned by neighboring nations.
And now, at the very bottom of their despair, someone had finally told them:
They could still live.
"Can we... really live?"
Amid suppressed sobbing, Rowan nodded.
"Yes."
"I'll explain the details after we leave this place. As for what choice you make afterward, that will be up to you."
As the evacuation group moved past him, Rowan thought for a moment before activating the communicator at his ear.
"Karasu, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you, Sir. What are your orders?"
"Use the communicator and notify all operational squads. I've found a way to cure Amber Lead Syndrome. Tell every survivor from Flevance during the evacuation."
"Understood, Sir. Thank you for your efforts."
Efforts?
Rowan shook his head slightly.
This wasn't his achievement.
The reason the Op-Op Fruit had appeared in Flevance was because of the doctors who had struggled through months of despair.
He himself was simply a selfish person.
His Observation Haki spread outward once more, sensing every presence throughout the city.
The Flevance operation had been a carefully planned strike.
The people of Flevance, tempered by suffering, would become the finest seeds for the Revolutionary Army.
Their story.
Their pain.
Their betrayal.
All of it would spread throughout the Revolutionary Army and ignite resistance against the World Government.
"Lami! Lami!"
A small figure carefully watched the street from an alleyway.
A little girl was strapped to his back.
His father and mother had already been killed.
He had to protect the only family he had left.
The soldiers wearing protective suits had begun slaughtering everyone in Flevance.
Now, only the church remained.
Only there might still be hope.
After securing his sister onto his back, Law hurried through the smoke-filled streets.
The thick black smoke hanging over the city seemed to be affecting Lami.
Soon she stopped responding.
"Lami?"
"Lami!"
After calling twice, he finally received a weak reply.
"B-Brother..."
Law let out a breath of relief.
"Don't fall asleep."
"Use the cloth we prepared to cover your mouth and nose."
"We'll be there soon..."
Bang!
Before he could finish, a gunshot echoed nearby.
Then came a rapid succession of rifle fire.
Screams.
Even artillery.
A few moments later, the fighting seemed to stop.
Then a voice shouted:
"Captain! We found survivors here!"
Instantly, cold sweat erupted across Law's body.
Run.
Without hesitation, he turned and sprinted deeper into the alleyways.
His parents had been shot dead.
It didn't matter who these people were fighting.
Their attitude toward the people of Flevance was all the same.
Maybe they were looters.
Maybe they wanted spoils.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was surviving.
As a child born and raised in Flevance, Law knew the city's streets well.
Without looking back, he took several sharp turns through narrow passages.
Soon he managed to shake off whoever had been following him.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
His breathing suddenly stopped.
He turned toward his back.
"Lami?"
"Lami..."
No response.
Panic immediately filled him.
Ignoring the danger, he hurriedly untied the ropes securing her.
After laying his sister on the ground, he began examining her condition.
Why now?
Why at a time like this?
His fists clenched tightly.
But despite everything he had learned from his parents...
There was nothing he could do.
Nothing except offer water and pray.
"You seem to have misunderstood something."
A voice suddenly echoed through the alley.
Law jumped in shock and fell backward.
Then he scrambled to his feet and placed himself in front of Lami protectively.
Standing before him was a figure wearing a cloak and a mask.
No protective suit.
No rifle.
"W-Who are you?"
Facing the question, Rowan replied calmly:
"A member of the Revolutionary Army."
"You can call me Sir."
His gaze shifted toward the unconscious girl.
"But right now... her condition is very dangerous."
Law's body tensed.
Years later, he would become one of the most notorious pirates on the seas.
But at this moment, he was still just a frightened child.
A child who had lost everything in a single day.
Rowan continued:
"If you're willing to trust me pick up your sister and come here."
"Hold onto me."
"I can take both of you somewhere safe after that, we'll stabilize her condition first."
For a moment, Law stared silently at the masked man.
Then he looked down at Lami.
At the white patches spreading across her skin.
At the bloodstains still on his own clothes.
At the city that had become a living nightmare.
Finally, his trembling hands tightened around his sister.
And for the first time since his parents had died a tiny spark of hope appeared in his eyes.
----------
Advance Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic