"As expected, these two Devil Fruits were already in Moriah's hands."
"They were probably dug out of some tomb."
Setting the box down, Blake praised Aramaki: "Well done. Did you have any conflict with Moriah?"
Aramaki's expression was somewhat disdainful: "Your Highness, there was a small skirmish, but that guy's combat power is not worth mentioning. He doesn't even have Haki. This subordinate defeated him in just two moves."
This was actually a bit unfair to Moriah.
No matter how weak Moriah was, he was still a great pirate who had been in the New World; he wouldn't be so incompetent as to not even know Haki.
However, the Haki setting was very contradictory. Moriah had lost his spirit after Kaido hit him with a few blows, so he naturally couldn't use Haki.
Looking at it this way, Teacher Kaido's teachings are not something an ordinary person can withstand.
"Moriah lost his spirit because his crew members were killed by Kaido, but that doesn't mean all great pirates are only at that level."
After a reminder, seeing that Aramaki seemed to have taken it to heart, Blake didn't say anything more.
The following days returned to peace. Blake once again resumed his life of cultivating to become stronger and visiting local customs and traditions...
The next day, before dawn, faint breathing sounds came from Stella's room.
Suddenly, her door opened, and Perona, with her pink hair, poked her small head out, furtively looking around. Seeing no one, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I finally waited until there was no one around."
Perona clenched her small fists: "That hateful guy wants to make me a Slave. I must escape while they're not paying attention."
She slung a small bundle, obtained from who knows where, onto her back, stumbled, and almost fell.
"Damn it! Why is it so heavy?"
The bundle contained all the trinkets Stella used to tease her yesterday afternoon. Perona picked through them, found she couldn't bear to leave any behind, and simply packed them all.
Gritting her teeth, Perona tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door.
"Huh? Why is my shadow suddenly so big?"
The Moonlight spilled onto the ship, casting Perona's shadow on the door. Just as she had closed the door, she saw her own shadow suddenly enlarge.
She carefully turned her head and saw Blake, dressed in pajamas, standing behind her, a smile on his face full of mischievous intent.
"I... I was just going to the restroom..."
Perona couldn't think of a clever excuse right away and decided to try a desperate measure.
Blake smiled and nodded: "Do you think I believe that?"
"You believe it?"
What the hell did he believe?
Blake picked Perona up and walked into the room.
"Damn it! Let go of me!"
Perona, like a kitten, was held by the scruff of her neck by Blake's one hand, still flailing and struggling.
Her voice woke Stella, who was sound asleep in the room. She saw Blake carrying Perona and walking towards her.
Just as she was about to salute, she saw Blake completely ignore her, pressing Perona onto her bed, and raising his hand to give her several slaps on her bottom, making Perona teary-eyed.
"Waaah... Damn it... I will definitely escape..."
Slap! Slap! Slap!
"Waaah... Stop hitting me... I won't dare to do it again!"
...Two months later, Ohara, the tree of knowledge.
"Respected Saint Black, this is the tree of knowledge. It houses hundreds of thousands of books, collecting important documents from scholars all over the world."
Beside Blake was a short man.
The man looked middle-aged, with his forehead shaved bald, leaving green hair on the top and back of his head, plus an exaggerated large beard, making him resemble a clover.
He wore a red and white striped top, a large belt, trousers, and a blue-Blake coat.
He was the leader among the Ohara scholars: Clover D. Clover.
Commonly known as Dr. Clover.
Sunlight, filtered through specially made glass, evenly illuminated the bronze bookshelves. One hundred thousand ancient books were categorized by subject, their spines embedded with copper nameplates, the text on them gleaming.
The suspended spiral bookshelves were forged from special metal, their surfaces covered with an anti-corrosion matte coating.
Whether in his previous life or this one, Blake had never seen the interior of the tree of knowledge before, so he was quite curious.
To be honest, less than a million books couldn't even compare to any municipal library, but the sheer size of the tree of knowledge and the modifications made to its interior by generations of Ohara scholars still felt refreshing.
If Blake felt this way, not to mention Stella and Perona, who came along.
"Wow! So many books here!"
Perona was held in Blake's hand. Less than a meter tall, Perona looked like a large hot dog in the hands of the over three-meter-tall Blake.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked around, exclaiming loudly.
After two months of battling wits with Blake, Perona, who still hadn't managed to escape from the sanctuary, had completely lost her fear of Blake. She even frequently provoked him, making the servants on the ship tremble with fear.
They were afraid that one day Blake, angered by Perona, would unleash his punishment upon them.
Blake pinched Perona's small face, making her revert to a pouting expression: "This might be the largest library outside of Mary Geoise. There should be many history books, right?"
Saying this, Blake glanced at Dr. Clover.
Cold sweat immediately broke out on Dr. Clover's head.
"What does he mean by that?"
"Have the World Government already discovered our actions?"
"No, if Olvia's affairs were discovered by the World Government, it wouldn't be a Celestial Dragon coming in person. Calm down... calm down..."
With a myriad of thoughts in his mind, Dr. Clover's demeanor remained composed: "May I ask what aspect of history Your Highness wishes to see? The books here are all deposited by scholars from around the world."
"It's shameful to say, but even I haven't finished reading all the books in the tree of knowledge. There are some history books, but I don't know if they will meet Your Highness's needs."
Blake chuckled: "Never mind then, I was just asking casually."
But in his heart, he thought:
"This old man acted like a bookworm in the original story, but I didn't expect him to have some quick wit."
One must know that in the original story, before the Buster Call was launched, the World Government had arranged evacuation ships for the civilians on the island.
But this old man talked for a long time when he was on the phone with Saturn, completely exposing Ohara's research findings.
Saturn heard it and thought, 'Good heavens, you already know so much?'
That won't do, they must be completely wiped out.
Only then did he order the Marine to destroy the evacuation ships.
Based on this incident, Blake had always thought Dr. Clover was an honest person.
But that wasn't important; Blake wasn't here for him this time.
It was now the year 1499 of the Sea Calendar, less than a year before Ohara's destruction. Robin should have mostly completed her study of Ancient Script, and Blake decided to take her away first.
Firstly, having someone who can decipher Ancient Script by his side would reduce a lot of trouble.
Although there must be people within the World Government who understand Ancient Script, these people are not someone a good-for-nothing Celestial Dragon like Blake should be in contact with.
Secondly, Blake quite liked the personality of Robin in the original story.
Thirdly, Perona is a child after all. If she doesn't have a friend of similar age, she might develop the somewhat neurotic personality she had in the original story.
No matter what, she was his little Slave, and it wouldn't be good if she developed psychological problems.