Im gracefully placed a cup of tea in front of Ezra, then sat across from him.
"Thank you, Im," Ezra said.
The tea before him was part of the reason he enjoyed coming to Mariejois. It was delicious truly exquisite. But beyond the taste, every time he drank it, he felt a fullness, a sense of energy and clarity spreading through his body.
Im smiled and asked, "How have things been at the Navy lately?"
Ezra set down his cup and shrugged.
"Same as always. Suppressing pirates. Fighting pirates. Always fighting pirates."
Im chuckled softly.
"Have you still not uncovered the truth?"
Ezra paused mid-sip, his hand frozen in the air.
"Im, it's too difficult. Ever since the Ohara incident seven years ago, I've been trying to understand the connection between us, but I've found nothing. I even asked Morgans and Stussy, but whenever they tried to answer, their bodies convulsed and they passed out immediately."
Using his spiritual pressure, Ezra scanned their bodies and discovered something shocking a strange energy embedded in their hearts, deliberately preventing the truth from being exposed.
"Im, it's been seven years. Aren't you going to tell me?"
Im shook her head with a smile.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I need to investigate a few things myself first."
The mystery she wanted to uncover was why Ezra had ended up on that deserted island. The only certainty was that it involved either the Celestial Dragons or the Navy, since only members of these two groups could have reached the island.
But so much time had passed. Ezra had spent three years there. Even with all her power, Im would need to investigate carefully, without alerting the Celestial Dragons or the Navy. If the mastermind fled, she might be tempted to eliminate all the Celestial Dragons herself. And she was certainly capable of it. Over the years, Ezra had come to understand some of Im's perspectives, such as her belief that the Celestial Dragons were nothing more than arrogant pigs.
As the two chatted, a sudden roar shattered the calm.
Boom!
A massive explosion echoed through Mariejois. Ezra's brow furrowed, and his spiritual pressure immediately spread, covering the entire city.
"Ezra, have you found anything?" Im asked, knowing his perception was incredibly sharp.
Through his senses, Ezra saw countless slaves rushing toward the outskirts of Mariejois. His gaze focused on a single fishman.
"Fischer Tiger."
Ezra's past-life memories began to stir.
The Mariejois attack! Fischer Tiger, of the Fishman Tribe, had climbed the Red Soil Continent's tallest peak by hand to infiltrate the Celestial Dragons' home and free thousands of slaves.
Ezra had no intention of intervening. This was the chaos caused by those arrogant pigs, and the Celestial Dragons had brought it upon themselves. Were the Celestial Dragons inherently superior? From his prior conversations with Im, the answer was no. Their existence was guaranteed solely by the Five Elders' oversight; otherwise, Im would never allow such creatures to live in Mariejois.
"Im, this is the Celestial Dragons' mess. No need for us to intervene. The Five Elders will handle it."
Im's brow furrowed slightly.
"Those idiots…"
The scene shifted to the Celestial Dragons' residence. Saint Rosward slammed objects in rage within his palace.
"Damn it! Damn the Fishman Tribe!"
Indeed, over half of the freed slaves had belonged to him. Saint Rosward looked down on ordinary people, considering everyone outside the Celestial Dragons as mere slaves.
At that moment, CP0 arrived at Rosward's residence.
"Go! Bring that damn Fishman back!"
"Yes, Saint Rosward!"
CP0 immediately went to apprehend Tiger.
Meanwhile, the recently freed slaves ran frantically toward the edge of the Red Soil Continent. Three young girls in particular drew attention they were the future Boa Hancock and her sisters.
At that moment, Hancock looked back toward Tiger while her younger sisters, Marigold and Sandersonia, called anxiously.
"Sis! Sis!"
"Stop staring, we need to move!" Hancock nodded firmly, and the three ran forward.
Tiger glanced at CP0, closing in nearby.
"Time's about up," he said with a cold snort.
"You want to catch me? You're far from ready!"
With that, Tiger leapt off a cliff beside the Red Soil Continent.
CP0, clearly unprepared for such audacity, cursed.
"Damn Fishman!"
Saint Rosward, upon hearing this, flew into a rage.
"This cannot end like this! Send for the Five Elders!"
Having vented his anger, Rosward stormed toward the Five Elders' conference room.
The Five Elders were also angry, but even more concerned for Ezra, knowing that if the situation escalated, the Celestial Dragons themselves might pay the price.
Just as everyone worried, the conference room door opened, and Saint Rosward stormed in, seething.
"Five Elders! You must do something! The slaves I painstakingly collected… all gone!"
The Five Elders groaned. One of the more irritable members slammed his staff to the floor.
"Hmph! I told you not to cause trouble! Look at yourselves now. It's gone. Should we really retrieve them for you?"
Rosward froze. Today, the Five Elders were acting strangely. They usually helped recover anything lost.
Before he could protest, a figure slowly emerged from a side door. It was Ezra, who had just finished speaking with Im.
Unable to withstand Im's enthusiasm this month, he had slipped away. Opening the door, he saw Rosward with tear-filled eyes.
Ezra barely glanced at him and continued walking out.
Rosward had never been ignored like this, especially by someone who wasn't a Celestial Dragon!
"Stop right there!"