"I'll leave this to you!"
Fang Huo had no intention of meddling in Rocks's purchase of intel; after all, the money would still come out of his own spoils.
He simply took Stussy, his little girlfriend, straight to the tree of knowledge.
This scientific bandit Stussy might be a bit of a hack, but she still possessed some learning and research ability; she wanted to look up certain materials.
Coincidentally, Fang Huo also wanted to learn more about the world.
Information from the main storyline alone could no longer satisfy his 'prophetic ability'.
He also planned to get hold of some ancient-language study materials and courses to play around with.
It would come in handy later for translating poneglyphs and the Pluton blueprints.
Right now, on Ohara Island, archaeology and ancient philology were perfectly ordinary academic disciplines.
Even by Nico Robin's era, one of the heroines had earned a PhD in archaeology at the age of eight.
Which showed these disciplines had been running smoothly for decades.
If an eight-year-old girl like Nico Robin could master the ancient script, there was no reason Fang Huo couldn't.
He was, after all, a man fluent in his hometown dialect, Mandarin, and Cantonese, with a smattering of Japanese and a CET-4 pass in English.
After transmigrating, he'd spent just over a year to grasp the world's common tongue.
So picking up another ancient language shouldn't be too hard.
The world's official language was something like a hybrid of an alphabetic script and the Sakura tongue.
Many noble surnames were in alphabetic script—take the Celestial Dragons and royal families of affiliated kingdoms… Right now, the black sail of the Gibeck's Sword bore the name Rocks·D·Xebec.
In the future, the Roger Pirates would have Gol·D·Roger emblazoned on the red sail of the Oro Jackson.
And the personal battleship of future Admiral Fujitora Issho would carry the kanji for [Issho].
—"I'm coming too!"
Seeing Fang Huo and Stussy leaving, Charlotte Linlin hurried after them.
Besides her dream of gathering ten thousand races to build Totto Land, Charlotte Linlin also wanted to collect every rare creature.
In the future, on Cake Island, the Minister of 1, Mondor, would use the Book-Book Fruit to gather most of the world's animals as Big Mom's collection.
Among them were even unicorns and three-headed dogs… Right now Linlin was already fascinated by picture books and catalogs describing the myriad races and creatures.
Facing the menacing Rocks Pirates, the directors and curators of the tree of knowledge, though terrified, bravely stood in their way.
But once they learned that the great demon Fang Huo had come only to borrow and buy books…
Under Fang Huo's pressure, the curators reluctantly let them through, though they assigned people to tail these fiendish pirates at every step.
They feared the pirates might damage the tree of knowledge.
Fang Huo headed straight for Devil Fruit catalogs and intel; Stussy looked for life-science tomes; Linlin pored over race and animal catalogs… Meanwhile, Rocks, through bounty and menace, finally got a scholar to speak, just to make the world's worst pirate crew leave sooner: he revealed information about the Red Line Island's Earl Barlorick.
Though this might bring disaster upon the Barlorick Family, they had no choice.
Who told Rocks, the world's worst pirate, to look as if he'd never give up until someone talked?
Better them than us; for the sake of humanity's treasure-trove of knowledge—the tree of knowledge—the Barlorick Family would have to be sacrificed.
"worororo! Red Line Island…"
Rocks laughed in satisfaction and tossed the cooperative scholar a small chest of Berries.
Berries in ten-thousand-denomination stacks—one stack equaled a million.
A hundred stacks made a hundred million, easily fitting into a small case.
"I don't want it; donate it to Ohara."
The scholar, conscience-stricken over the Barlorick Family, dared not accept the blood-money.
Rocks couldn't be bothered with the scholars; the intel he wanted was already in hand.
"Captain Rocks, I want to read too!"
Fūgetsu Kisaburō quickly asked permission; this was the 'holy land' holding all knowledge from the outside seas, and he meant to explore every corner.
If he ever returned to Wano Country, he'd bring back its advanced institutions and systems as models to emulate.
"Ohara is one of our West Blue's prides,"
Maron remarked, gazing at the colossal tree of knowledge.
Though only a small-time Yakuza punk, he held scholars and scientists in the highest respect.
His Mafia family once took in a down-and-out weapons scientist who helped develop and upgrade their guns.
That technological edge let them win gang war after gang war.
Maron didn't understand knowledge or tech, but he revered them.
If Germa's transformation battle-suits were the dream of most North Blue children…
Then Ohara's tree of knowledge was the dream place of countless West Blue students.
In this world, scientists, scholars, officials, doctors, lawyers, bankers… remained the lofty mainstream professions.
Yakuza and pirates were the lowly scum and criminals.
"To study and grow up on a safe, peaceful island is the dream of so many children from non-affiliated nations."
Whitebeard Newgate gazed at tranquil Ohara, honestly envious.
Thinking of his chaotic homeland, still a mess after all these years…
Once he grew strong enough, he'd return to crush Sphinx Island and give his hometown peace!
If Rocks tried to move against this peaceful scholars' island, he would stop him.
He showed no mercy to warlike kingdoms, but for peaceful islands he had his own principles and bottom line.
—Inside the vast library within the tree of knowledge.
Fang Huo avidly read an illustrated guide to Devil Fruit users.
Among past ability-users he might find novel development directions.
Just then, behind him came the thud of a fallen tome; a figure trembled violently, as if fighting to control itself.
"Sir! What is that bug on you!! Why does it carry the power of the full moon!!"
A Mink scholar in a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses stared at Fang Huo in terror; his
body seemed on the verge of losing control, his eyes growing redder by the second.
"Power of the full moon?"
"A Mink?"
Fang Huo was startled by the scholar's extreme reaction.
Was this the prelude to a Sulong transformation?
But it was broad daylight!
And still several days from mid-month.
No—
Could it be his Moonlight-Moonlight Fruit ability?
Shock!
His moonlight power could actually trigger a Mink's transformation?
Watching the goat-Mink's white fur sprout and muscles bulge…
Fang Huo quickly recalled the strolling moonlight gu.
As the gu vanished back into his body, the Mink scholar's fur stopped growing, his inflated muscles deflated like a punctured balloon, and his blood-red eyes returned to normal…—