One Piece: My code name is Green Bull

"Let's go. We need to catch up. These people are not amateurs—ordinary soldiers may not be able to capture them."

Judging by that man's reaction earlier, he wasn't an ordinary person. His physical abilities were almost on par with a first-class Navy soldier.

When you think about it, it made sense. Being an archaeologist wasn't easy—it involved traveling long distances, climbing mountains, and enduring constant hardship. Without a certain level of physical endurance, they wouldn't be able to handle it.

On top of that, they were also constantly avoiding pursuit by the World Government. Even if not all scholars were physically strong, most of them would have developed some basic means of self-defense.

It was clear that these historians had been pursuing historical texts for a long time—this wasn't a recent endeavor. They had likely been at it for years and were well aware of the kind of enemies they were up against. This was how they had managed to avoid capture by the elite intelligence agency, CP9.

"Jon, what was that just now? The man didn't do anything—how did you figure it out? Was it his eyes? No, wait—he closed his eyes later. Was it his expression?"

Pemberton was curious about how Jon had determined the truth. While Jon had only asked a few simple questions, Pemberton, with his knowledge of interrogation, knew that something else had been at play.

Since it wasn't a big secret—and Pemberton was a close friend—Jon didn't hide anything.

"You're aware that I have Observation Haki, right? It's not as simple as you think. It doesn't just allow me to detect the number and strength of targets—it can also sense emotions and thoughts."

"Just now, I used Observation Haki to sense his emotional changes and heartbeat during the conversation. When I said the right answer, his heartbeat sped up noticeably, and his emotions shifted."

"That's how I was able to confirm it."

"Hiss... Observation Haki is that powerful? That's practically unbeatable! Who could ever lie to you?"

Pemberton's face was full of astonishment and envy. He was already jealous that Jon had Observation Haki, but hearing this made him even more envious.

Jon shook his head.

"It's not as easy as you think. Observation Haki isn't invincible. I was only asking simple questions—if I wanted to dig deeper, it wouldn't work."

"Also, against someone with a strong will or someone skilled at lying without revealing any signs, it doesn't work well. Especially when facing strong opponents—those people have incredibly resolute minds. It's extremely difficult to sense their emotions or thoughts using Haki."

Having had Observation Haki for over a decade, Jon was very familiar with its abilities and limitations, having tested it in various ways.

For ordinary people, detecting lies was easy. But when it came to powerful figures, it was a different story. For example, when facing Zephyr, Jon couldn't sense any emotional fluctuations at all—unless Zephyr lost control of his emotions, there was nothing to pick up.

Still, having Observation Haki at Jon's level made him suitable for many roles within the Navy. Even without overwhelming combat strength, he would always have a place in the organization.

Jon and Pemberton soon caught up with the main search group, but they still hadn't found their targets and had no choice but to keep moving forward.

"Pemberton, you take them and continue the search. I'll scout ahead on my own."

Jon gave the order to Pemberton before they split up. With his advanced Observation Haki, Jon's individual scouting could be just as effective as a group search.

After they split, Jon moved swiftly along one of the branching paths, searching alone.

From the fact that the man had stayed behind as bait, it was clear that the others were fleeing as quickly as they could.

The island wasn't very large, and since the group had discovered that the Navy was searching for them, their main goal would naturally be to escape the island.

After all, this wasn't just a small group of a few people. If it had been, they could have hidden somewhere. But with so many people who all knew each other, if a key member was captured, information about the others was bound to leak out. Hiding wasn't a safe option.

Spandine had mentioned before that there were five teams in the archaeological group. This particular team was likely one of those, and they probably wouldn't separate easily. Jon decided to focus on tracking larger groups.

Jon moved quickly, searching as he went. When he reached the island's edge and still hadn't found any trace of them, he was surprised. After thinking it over, he turned back and started searching in another direction.

"I wonder how Vagel is doing. He must have been caught by the Navy to buy us time."

In a forest on the western side of the island, a group of around twenty people was running swiftly. They were the archaeologists and historians the World Government was after.

As they fled, panting heavily, they finally decided to pause for a brief rest.

During their rest, they couldn't help but think of their comrade who had stayed behind to distract the Navy. One of them spoke mournfully:

"Poor Vagel..."

A man in his thirties stood up, his face filled with emotion, and said firmly:

"Now is not the time for despair! Vagel sacrificed himself so that we could escape. We must not let his efforts be in vain. We have to continue our search for the historical texts and uncover the true history that's been hidden. The world deserves to know the truth!"

"The captain's right! We can't let Vagel down!"

The discouraged group gradually regained their resolve. As archaeologists and historians, they had traveled far and wide and honed their willpower. They wouldn't be defeated by setbacks like this.

"The World Government doesn't want us to find the historical texts, which proves that the history we're after poses a significant threat to them. Based on the history we already know, we can already infer as much."

"Now they've even sent the CP organization and the Navy after us. Their goal is to capture all of us and stop us from continuing our search. But our purpose is to complete the history that was lost. Many of our comrades have already fallen... and that's exactly why we can't give up. Otherwise, we'll be letting down those who sacrificed their lives."

The young man who had spoken earlier seemed to be the leader of this archaeological team. His words received unanimous approval from the others.

"Let's rest a bit longer and then get moving again. Our ship isn't docked at the port—it's hidden along the western shore. Once we board, we can leave the island. I hope the others manage to escape too."

"Right." "Understood."

Most of the people in this group were archaeologists and historians from O'Hara. They weren't particularly strong, and they were known for their stubbornness. But they also had qualities worthy of respect.

Even though they knew they were being targeted by the immense power of the World Government, they refused to give up. They continued to work tirelessly to piece together the true history and find the historical texts. Their unwavering belief gave them the courage to face even death without fear.

After a brief rest, the group resumed their journey. As the distance to their ship shortened, they began to feel a glimmer of hope.

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