Chapter 105: Illiterate, Knowledge is Useless
Chapter 105: Illiterate, Knowledge is Useless
Sister?
One with black hair and blue eyes, the other with white hair and black eyes. They resembled each other, yet there seemed to be no blood relation between them.
"Impossible!"
Robin exclaimed, "I don't remember having a younger brother like you! Mother only had me!"
"Since we're talking about blood relations, there's no need to get so worked up," Sag replied, knocking on the stone and glancing at both sides. "Ever since I can remember, my family has spoken of a 'monster' living nearby. This 'monster' was always shunned and eventually disappeared. Later on, I heard that you left with the scholars."
Monster... Shunned...
Robin's eyes widened in realization, "You are...?"
Long before he met the scholars, Sag was fostered in his mother's brother's home. Even then, he was shunned by his relatives because of the Devil Fruit he had eaten.
It was only when he left with the scholars that he escaped his fostered home.
"Yes, I am the child of your mother's brother," Sag admitted. "I was born after you departed with the scholars."
As for why he called her 'sister' instead of 'cousin', this world lacked such specific terms. They simply used the term 'sister' for all such relations. Besides, even if the language had such distinctions, he was an illiterate brute, not an erudite scholar, so how could he be expected to know such intricate words?
As long as people understood him, that was enough.
"Since you're siblings,"
Cobra interrupted, his voice filled with shock, "why are you here? Knowing that the history recorded here only pertains to the location of weapons, why would you still come to this place?"
"Isn't it possible that we're not that close, and to be stricter about it, she probably dislikes my family quite a bit?" Sag suggested. "Although, at this point, it doesn't really matter anymore."
"This is our first proper introduction, I suppose," Sag continued. "I know your surname is Nico, which was my father's surname as well. That's all there is to it."
Indeed, that was the truth. Ever since his 'sister' disappeared after his birth, he often heard curses and disdain from his family, all because of the Devil Fruit.
"But your surname isn't Nico," Robin murmured.
"There's a reason for that," Sag replied. "It's not important anymore, but yes, I used to be called Nico Sag when I was under two years old."
However, after he escaped, he took on his foster father's surname, and that was how he had lived ever since.
"Aside from me, are there any other survivors from Ohara? Or is it that you escaped by changing your surname, my brother?" Robin persisted, her gaze fixed intently on Sag. "I clearly saw it—they all died, even the refugee ship! And you set out from the East Blue Sea!"
"Yes, how did I end up in the East Blue Sea?"
Sag lifted his head slightly, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
Back then, he had no idea where he was in the world. He thought he had been transported to some magical, fantasy world. Although he still had the surname Nico at the time and had seen the massive tree, he never made the connection.
It was only when he turned two and the 'Demon-Slayer' incident occurred that he realized where he had ended up.
The refugee ship had been destroyed, but he hadn't died. Instead, he had fallen into the ocean, and whether by luck or misfortune, he had been swallowed whole by a sea beast along with an old man.
It was then that he awakened his 'Conqueror's Haki'.
Using the power of his Haki, he intimidated the sea beast into carrying him and the old man to a safe island and spitting them out.
The old man later became his foster father, and after hiding out in the West Blue Sea for a while, they decided to venture into the Grand Line. However, their ship capsized as they crossed the Reverse Mountain Range, and they ended up flowing back to the East Blue Sea, falling from the very top.
"Somehow, I survived, and that's how I ended up living in the East Blue Sea."
As for why he couldn't read, it was because his foster father, overwhelmed by fear, wanted to erase all traces of Ohara from existence. Thus, he forbade Sag from learning how to read or write, and Sag himself...
"Learning? Screw that! I always thought that I must have used up all my luck by surviving, which is why I've been so unlucky ever since."
Or perhaps his foster father was a man blessed with incredible fortune, and that's why he was able to suppress Sag's bad luck.
But none of that mattered anymore.
"The sea is a mysterious place; asking so many questions is pointless, whether you believe it or not is irrelevant!" Sag scoffed.
Aside from being relatives and fellow survivors of Ohara, their connection was as distant as that of strangers.
Relatives?
They mattered less to him than his subordinates.
He found the spot he was looking for, stood at the side of the historical text, and thrust his fingers into the ground. With a loud boom, he flipped open the historical text and held it up with one hand.
"Let's take it!"
It had excellent hardness; even his Haki couldn't damage it. It would be perfect for the training method he'd been wanting to try.
After lifting the historical text, Sag turned to Robin and asked, "Since we're relatives, I'll ask out of curiosity: do you want to come aboard my ship?"
Robin paused, taken aback, and asked, "Are you a scholar too? Are you interested in uncovering the true history?"
"I'm only interested in getting rich," Sag replied.
"Despite having the knowledge of Ohara..."
Robin shook her head and smiled, pondering for a moment before her body went limp again. "We're not cut from the same cloth. You should go; one person from Ohara is enough to draw attention."
Sag had been planning to leave anyway, but he paused at her last sentence, his gaze fixed on Robin's blue eyes.
This woman...
Suddenly, a figure crawled out of the mud, ran over, and hoisted Robin onto his shoulder before grabbing Cobra and glaring at Sag.
"She saved me, so I'll save her too!" Luffy shouted, "Are you going to get in my way?"
It was Robin who had pulled him out of the quicksand outside!
"Did you just wake up? You've been quiet this whole time," Sag remarked, rolling his eyes. But then he looked at Robin on Luffy's shoulder and relented, "Fine, be that way. If you've made up your mind, I won't force you to stay. Have it your way."
As he spoke, he leaped into the air using Moonwalk and soared high into the sky, looking down at the gate that was shaking violently.
It didn't matter who did the saving, as long as someone did.
He truly had no interest in Robin; he had only made the offer out of familial obligation. If it weren't for her last sentence...
Robin's meaning was clear: she had already given up on life, and even though Sag's appearance had stirred something within her, it wasn't enough to change her mind.
However, Sag could have forcibly pulled her out of her despair because her last sentence implied that the World Government would be keeping a close eye on them. With two people from Ohara, they would be notable.
If she died, Sag would no longer be under scrutiny.
Deep down, she was a good woman.
Even if he had forcibly saved her, she probably wouldn't have boarded his ship anyway, considering they were both from Ohara. But Sag didn't mind; he saved people based on his mood.
But now that Straw Hat had intervened, so be it.
Although Sag didn't care about the World Government, he also had no interest in history, especially since he couldn't read a single word. Knowledge was useless to him.
A landlord didn't need knowledge; they only needed to know how to rule.
(End of Chapter)
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