Upon hearing Dr. Clover's bold hypothesis, the large room fell silent. Olvia and the other scholars looked at Dr. Clover in shock, as his conjecture was truly astonishing.
"But Dr. Clover, how is that even possible?"
One of the Ohara scholars couldn't help but voice their objection. If 'D' were the 'Celestial Dragons' before the Void Century, it would mean that the Celestial Dragons, who overthrew the great kingdom, would be the heroes of this world. But why would they then go to such lengths to bury the truth of history?
"Exactly. Those cruel and selfish Celestial Dragons, how could they have done something like that?"
Indeed, if Dr. Clover's hypothesis were correct, they couldn't possibly reconcile the image of the Celestial Dragons with that of the ancient kingdom's overthrown rulers.
"I understand this hypothesis seems hard to believe," Dr. Clover acknowledged. "But something Nicholas once said made me realize something important: the only lesson humanity learns from history is that humanity never learns anything from history.
'Those who fight monsters must be careful not to become monsters themselves.'
The current Celestial Dragons are indeed cruel and selfish, but what about their ancestors, from 800 years ago or even before the Void Century? We didn't live in their time, so we can't know what they were like. Perhaps they fought to liberate the seas, but over the centuries, the dragon slayers became the new dragons.
Maybe human history is a cycle, and we are forever trapped within it..."
Dr. Clover's voice carried a note of melancholy, and the mood of those around him grew somber as well.
...
The night grew deeper.
Dragon stood on the balcony, looking up at the sparkling stars. Only at night did he allow the winds that enveloped Baltigo to calm for a while.
"Those who fight monsters must be careful not to become monsters..."
Dragon muttered to himself, contemplating the phrase.
In his contemplation, he pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket.
In his palm was a tiny piece of Vivre Card, only the size of a fingernail, slowly being eroded by lightning at the edges. Judging by the slight movement in a certain direction, it was clear this was a Vivre Card.
"Nicholas, what has happened to you? Why is your Vivre Card in such a state?"
Dragon's voice was filled with concern. To him, Nicholas was a friend and mentor. Although he didn't know what Nicholas intended to do, his instincts told him Nicholas stood with the Revolutionary Army. In fact, much of the Revolutionary Army's current platform was based on Nicholas's ideas.
Despite his worry for Nicholas's safety, Dragon couldn't leave at will. The World Government's CP0 agents were hunting them down like hyenas worldwide. If Baltigo were attacked while he was away, all their efforts over the years would be in vain.
...
"He's still alive. That's the only thing we can be sure of."
Simon spoke gravely, "But judging by the Vivre Card's reaction, Nicholas is in bad shape. And it seems he's very far away from us..."
"So Captain Nicholas might have encountered something extremely dangerous, so dangerous that he couldn't even use a Den Den Mushi to contact us?"
Looking at the lightning consuming the Vivre Card, Brook's face was serious.
"Vista, prepare to set sail. We're going to find Nicholas."
June made a quick decision. To her, the Vivre Card's abnormal reaction wasn't new, but this time it was much more severe.
"Got it."
Understanding the urgency, Vista immediately agreed. The group quickly headed for the Sea Sovereign.
Before long, under the curious gazes of many in Wano Country, the Sea Sovereign took to the air and flew southward.
...
Fish-Man Island is located directly beneath the Red Line's Holy Land of Mariejois. Due to its unique geographical position as one of the few passages to the New World outside of Mariejois, and coupled with racial prejudices and the high value of mermaids in the human world, as well as a lack of military power, the island has long been plagued by troubles. Since the advent of the pirate era, Fish-Man Island has faced countless pirate attacks, with many mermaids being sold into slavery and many fish-men being captured as slaves.
However, this situation has now completely changed.
With the rapid growth of the Ryugu Kingdom's military strength, Fish-Man Island has become a forbidden zone for slave traders. Even pirates seeking passage through the island now behave themselves and dare not overstep their bounds.
Neptune, the king of Fish-Man Island, looked upon the current state of the island with great satisfaction. At least, in a hundred years, he would not be remembered as an ineffective king. He might even be seen as the king who led Fish-Man Island back to the surface!
He was well aware, though, that the improvement in Fish-Man Island's situation was not largely due to him. Without Nicholas's intervention, the island might have inevitably fallen into complete subjugation.
Neptune understood that Nicholas had his own agenda for helping Fish-Man Island, but compared to those who sought to completely enslave the island, Nicholas had done quite well. At least he had managed to make it so no slave traders dared openly sell mermaids anymore. Of course, this wasn't entirely eradicated because when profits exceed 300%, those slavers no longer care about their own lives.
Suddenly, outside the palace hall, the voice of the Right Minister sounded in alarm.
"King Neptune... something terrible has happened...!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing the Right Minister's alarmed tone, Neptune's expression tightened, and he instinctively looked towards the palace doors.
As he directed his gaze towards the doors, the Right Minister stumbled through, hastily pushing them open and rushing inside in a panic.
Seeing the Right Minister's state, Neptune realized something was wrong. He stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with concern as he looked at the Right Minister.
"Right Minister, what has happened?"
"King Neptune... it's... it's Nicholas's Vivre Card!"
"What?! What exactly happened?"
Hearing the Right Minister's news, Neptune's face darkened. He knew that Nicholas was an essential part of Fish-Man Island's plan to return to the surface. If something happened to Nicholas, while Fish-Man Island could protect itself for now, their hope of returning to the surface would be greatly diminished.
Soon, Jinbei and Tiger arrived at the palace in response to Neptune's summons.
When Tiger and Jinbei arrived, they saw the Vivre Card being constantly eroded by lightning and the worried expression on Neptune's face.