For example, what if, in order to become stronger, you need to devour something that would endanger the world, and I believe that thing should never be touched...?"
"Then we go our separate ways."
Bullet answered without the slightest hesitation.
"But before that, we are allies."
"I protect you. You help me decipher the script."
"A fair trade."
It was reasonable.
Anna fell silent for a long time.
The sea breeze swept across the deck, stirring her hair. Dawn rose above the eastern horizon, turning the sky a brilliant shade of gold. Far away, seabirds crossed the air, their cries sharp and clear against the quiet of the morning.
Everything looked peaceful.
But Anna knew that peace was only an illusion.
The World Government's pursuers were already on their way. There might be an ambush waiting at Crescent Bay. Her grandfather's condition could worsen at any moment.
She had no other choice.
Or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that even if she did have a choice, this was still the best one before her.
Working with Bullet would at least give her a chance to continue pursuing the truth. A chance to one day reach Laugh Tale and uncover every answer buried there.
For a scholar, that temptation was impossible to resist.
"Alright."
She finally spoke, her voice firm.
"I accept."
"I will decipher the ancient script for you and help you grow stronger until the day we reach Laugh Tale."
"In exchange, you will protect me and my grandfather, heal his injuries, and... when we reach Laugh Tale, I will be allowed to know the whole truth."
Bullet extended his hand.
"Deal."
Anna hesitated for only an instant before reaching out as well, pressing her hand against his large palm, the one marked with those dark golden lines.
The touch was strange.
His skin was warm, but the patterns beneath it seemed almost alive, faintly shifting as if something ancient and powerful was breathing beneath the flesh itself.
The pact was made.
And at that very moment, Bullet's Observation Haki suddenly spread outward.
Ships had appeared on the distant sea.
Not one.
Three.
And they were moving fast, closing in from different directions in a coordinated encirclement.
"The World Government's dogs are here."
Bullet rose to his feet, his crimson slit pupils fixed on the far horizon.
"Faster than I expected."
Anna's expression changed at once.
"What do we do?"
Bullet answered with calm certainty.
"You go back to the cabin and take care of your grandfather."
"Leave the outside to me."
"But they have three ships..."
"Three ships or thirty, it makes no difference to me."
Bullet strode toward the bow, already beginning to unfasten the buttons of his shirt.
Anna stared at his broad back, at those wide shoulders, at the dark golden markings moving beneath his skin, and at those blazing crimson eyes that seemed to hold fire inside them.
At that moment, a sudden thought rose in her heart.
Perhaps allying with this monster was the single most correct decision she had ever made in her life.
"Be careful," she said softly, then turned and ran back into the cabin.
She did not lock the door.
Instead, she did something far more important.
From her pack, she pulled out the manuscripts she had originally intended to preserve forever. She flipped through them at speed, then divided them into two piles.
The stack on the left was thick. It contained research on the fundamentals of ancient writing: basic theory, the evolution of character forms, and grammatical structure.
These were all outer-layer studies. Precious, yes, but not irreplaceable.
The stack on the right was very thin, carefully wrapped in oilcloth.
That was the true core of generations of Oliventa family research: the complete deciphering chart for the "cursive script" form of the Poneglyph text.
"Grandfather," she said as she sorted through them, "we may have to lose part of it."
The old man lay against the bed, struggling even to nod.
"Burn the false ones... keep the real ones... they won't be able to tell the difference..."
That was exactly what Anna had in mind.
The World Government's agents were not scholars. They could not distinguish the genuinely vital research from the outer material that could be replicated later.
As long as they saw a large number of manuscripts being burned, they would assume the Oliventa family was destroying evidence, and their investigation would naturally loosen.
As for the true core, she intended to keep it on her at all times.
Anna took off her scholar's robe, revealing the tight garments beneath. She rolled the core manuscripts into a narrow tube, wrapped them once more in oilcloth, and tucked them into a specially made hidden pocket inside her clothing.
The pocket was concealed well, pressed close against her abdomen. Even under a careful search, it would be difficult to discover.
When she was done, she gathered the thick stack of manuscripts from the left side into her arms and rushed out of the cabin.