After parting ways with Saul, Liam Ross shot through the air with Moonwalk, heading east. But before long, a dense cluster of buildings appeared below him clearly not the harbor he was looking for.
He sighed. Once again, he had gone the wrong way.
With a grimace, he turned around and retraced his steps, soon spotting Saul again. The giant looked at him with a puzzled expression as Liam awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh… sorry to bother you again, but can you point me to the harbor?"
Saul's expression turned strange. After a brief pause, he raised one massive hand and pointed. "Just keep walking straight in that direction and you'll reach it."
"Thanks," Liam said with a nod. "The Buster Call's about to start. If you don't want to die, you should leave while you still can."
It was his way of repaying Saul's kindness. Whether the giant listened or not wasn't his concern.
While the two spoke, a small, weathered ship appeared offshore, carrying Nico Robin's mother, returning to her doomed homeland.
At the same time, in the harbor, a large battleship bearing the World Government's insignia slowly approached. After a brief exchange with the Navy, it docked. From its deck descended a group of men in black-and-white suits the infamous CP9 agents.
Flanked by armed marines, they marched directly toward the Tree of Knowledge.
An hour later, following Saul's directions, Liam finally reached the harbor. In the distance, faint shadows of enormous warships loomed across the horizon. They were too far to make out clearly, but their presence was unmistakable.
Liam activated his Invisibility and took to the sky once more, moving closer to the ten colossal battleships stationed offshore.
Suddenly
Boom!
A deafening explosion tore through the air. Liam froze, eyes narrowing, as a black cannonball streaked straight toward him.
"Holy—!"
He twisted sharply, barely avoiding it. Then realization struck he was invisible. No one could even see him.
That meant the cannonfire wasn't aimed at him.
His expression darkened.
He turned just in time to see the projectile sail past him, tracing a perfect arc through the sky before slamming into the harbor below.
BOOM!
The dock erupted into a fireball, wood and stone splintering into the air.
Liam's heart sank.
The Buster Call had begun.
One after another, cannonballs whistled past him, trailing smoke. They fell like black rain upon the island, painting Ohara in explosions and flames.
Panic swept through the towns.
"What's happening?"
"Is it pirates?!"
"Mom, I'm scared!"
"Don't just stand there! Find shelter! Call for the Navy!"
But their cries were swallowed by chaos. Shops shuttered, parents grabbed children, and lovers clung to each other, fleeing for their lives.
Moments later, a squad of marines arrived. They spun a comforting lie, urging the terrified citizens to board evacuation ships.
Meanwhile, near the Tree of Knowledge, CP9 agents had captured Olvia, Robin's mother.
As they led her away, a small voice trembled behind them. "Are you… my mother?"
Olvia froze. The question tore through her heart, but she swallowed the truth and said nothing. Protecting her daughter mattered more than any reunion.
Before she could respond again
Boom! Boom!
A thunderous barrage drowned out everything.
Even this area wasn't spared. Explosions tore the ground apart, sending the CP9 agents scattering in panic.
"What's going on?!"
"The Buster Call it's already started!"
"Run!"
In a frenzy to survive, they abandoned Olvia and fled.
The island burned. Homes collapsed. Screams mingled with smoke and fire.
Olvia turned to Saul, her voice trembling yet firm. "Saul, please… take Robin. You must protect her. Promise me you'll get her off this island."
"Mom, come with us!" Robin cried, tears streaming down her face.
Olvia shook her head, resolve shining in her eyes. "There's still something I have to do. Robin, listen carefully. History is humanity's treasure. Even if Ohara falls, knowledge must live on. We have to open a path for the future, no matter the cost."
She handed Robin into Saul's massive hands and ran back toward the library, toward the flames and the ancient texts that needed saving.
Saul held the trembling girl close and began his desperate escape toward the harbor.
But the nightmare wasn't over. More battleships had arrived. Marines flooded the shore, rifles raised, cutting down anything that moved.
Saul gritted his teeth. "We need a ship!"
He lunged toward one of the warships, but cannonfire rained down, forcing him back.
That was when Aokiji appeared, stepping lightly across the ice forming beneath his feet. "Saul, stop! You know I can't let you go."
Before either could act, another large vessel emerged from the smoke a civilian evacuation ship, packed with terrified survivors.
From the air, Liam saw it. So did Aokiji and Akainu.
Akainu's eyes narrowed. "That ship… what's aboard?"
A subordinate replied quickly, "Sir, we've checked their identities. They're innocent civilians none of them are scholars."
"Sink it," Akainu said coldly.
The marines froze. "W-what? But sir, they're just ordinary people!"
Akainu's gaze was hard as steel beneath his cap. "Justice cannot be compromised. If even one scholar hides among them, all our sacrifices will be meaningless. Absolute justice spares no one."
Without hesitation, he raised his hand. Cannons fired.
BOOM!
The evacuation ship exploded, fragments scattering across the sea like shattered hope.
Everyone who saw it soldiers, Aokiji, even Liam fell silent.
Aokiji's face twisted with anger. "That man's lost his mind!"
Liam clenched his jaw. The indifference he'd maintained cracked. "Tch… so that's Akainu's so-called justice. Cold-blooded, merciless."
His eyes burned with quiet fury. For the first time, he considered stepping in.
But before he could act, a new sound rose over the crashing waves
Boom! Crash!
Saul and Aokiji had begun to fight.
"Is this what the Navy calls justice?!" Saul roared, his voice shaking the heavens. "Can you still sleep at night after seeing this?"
"I didn't think Sakazuki would go this far!" Aokiji shouted back, dodging a massive punch.
Saul seized the moment and grabbed Robin, trying to flee. "Run, Robin! The farther, the better! We can't win this!"
He knew he couldn't defeat an admiral. But he also remembered Olvia's plea: protect her daughter at all costs.
"Even if I don't agree with Sakazuki's justice," Aokiji said, his voice low, "you've still betrayed the Navy. I can't ignore that."
He thrust his hand forward. "Ice Time Capsule!"
Frost raced across the ground, engulfing Saul's legs. The giant stumbled and crashed to the earth, ice climbing up his body.
"Saul!" Robin screamed.
"Robin…" His voice softened. "Run. Take my ship and go. No matter how hard life gets, face it with a smile. Remember, no one born into this world is truly alone. Out there on the sea, you'll find friends who'll protect you."
Aokiji's next move froze him completely.
Robin wept, running through the ruins, her tiny figure swallowed by smoke and snow.
Aokiji watched her, lifting his right hand as cold mist gathered around it.
Then, from beside him, a voice spoke quietly tired, almost disappointed.
"Haven't enough people died already?"
It was Liam Ross, materializing from thin air, eyes cold as the winter sea.