The room was clearly a bedroom, yet a large cross stood in the center.
A pregnant woman was bound to the cross, enduring the relentless whipping of a man. Her skin had a bluish glow, with scales resembling those of a fish covering her body.
These blue scales were incredibly tough, and despite the man's vigorous whipping, her body remained unscathed. However, when the whip struck her swollen belly, her eyes flashed with pain and anger.
"Please," she begged, "hit me anywhere else, but not my stomach. That's your child too!"
Her pleas only fueled the man's rage, and he struck her harder.
"You monster!" he spat. "That bastard is not my child! How could someone as great and noble as a Celestial Dragon have such tainted blood?"
The man continued whipping her until he was exhausted, then finally let go.
"You wretched creature," he sneered, "you've always wanted to leave, haven't you? Fine, you can leave! Tomorrow, you're out of the Holy Land!"
He dropped the whip and turned to leave, but then he noticed the shocked expression on the woman's face.
He assumed she didn't believe he would actually let her go, so he laughed cruelly. "A wretch like you doesn't deserve to live in the Holy Land! If your scales weren't so hard, I would've beaten you to death!"
But then he realized her eyes weren't focused on him—they were looking past him. Confused, he turned around and saw a man dressed in black standing behind him.
"Hello," Arias greeted with a smile. Before the Celestial Dragon could scream, Arias grabbed him by the throat and covered his mouth.
"Make a sound, and I'll kill you," Arias whispered.
The Celestial Dragon nodded frantically, terror written all over his face. He knew about the intruder in the Holy Land, the one even Ancient Saint Green couldn't capture. This man in black had to be the same intruder.
Slowly, Arias removed his hand from the Celestial Dragon's mouth, watching him closely. The slightest hint of a scream, and he would snap his neck.
"I'll ask, you answer. Nod if you understand."
The Celestial Dragon, still gripped by fear, nodded quickly.
"Good," Arias said. "How do you make an object eat a Devil Fruit?"
"I—I don't know!" the Celestial Dragon stammered, panic filling his eyes as Arias tightened his grip. "I swear, I don't know! When we want objects to eat Devil Fruits, we just ask, and World Government specialists handle it. I don't know the technology behind it!"
The process of transferring Devil Fruit abilities into objects was one of Vegapunk's many secretive studies. While the Celestial Dragons could theoretically learn about it, they never needed to, as it wasn't their responsibility.
But with the city under martial law, if this Celestial Dragon tried to contact the World Government for help, it would only expose him further.
As Arias thought about this, his grip tightened reflexively, causing the Celestial Dragon to panic even more.
"Don't kill me!" the Celestial Dragon cried. "I really don't know how!"
Arias lifted him slightly off the ground. "If you know a way, you better tell me now!"
"Yes, yes!" the Celestial Dragon sputtered. "The technology is stored in the Holy Land's database. We can access it anytime!"
Before Arias could press further, the Celestial Dragon hurriedly explained where the database was located.
"It's in the center of the Holy Land?"
That was problematic. With the entire city on high alert, sneaking into the center would be dangerous. But there wasn't another option.
Arias decided, and with a swift motion, he snapped the Celestial Dragon's neck, letting the lifeless body drop to the floor.
He turned his gaze to the pregnant woman still tied to the cross. She was watching him intently.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The woman seemed hopeful, almost excited. Anyone bold enough to kill a Celestial Dragon had to be an enemy of the World Government.
"Ginny?" Arias asked.
The woman's eyes lit up. This man knew her name—could he be someone sent by the organization to rescue her?
Though she was close to death, her child was innocent. It couldn't be allowed to die with her.
"Are you with the Revolutionary Army?" she asked, her voice trembling with hope.
Revolutionary Army? Arias thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, but I can't rescue you now. Stay here. If I find a way, I'll come back for you."
Ginny was suffering from a terminal illness known as "Jade Scale" and was already on the brink of death. Carrying her with him would be a burden, but she could still be useful in leveraging the Revolutionary Army.
On Upside Down Mountain, the Revolutionary Army's ships had arrived at the summit. Arias stepped out of the room and approached Dragon.
"My people infiltrated Mariejois and found Ginny. Do you want to rescue her?"
Dragon and the others were shocked. "How is Ginny?" they asked.
Arias replied, "She's in a bad state. The terminal illness Jade Scale is ravaging her body. She's also pregnant and was just whipped by a Celestial Dragon."
Ivankov immediately spoke up, "Dragon, we have to rescue Ginny!"
But upon hearing that Ginny was pregnant, Dragon hesitated. If Ginny was carrying a Celestial Dragon's child, what would they do with the child after rescuing her—kill it or let it live? Moreover, rescuing Ginny from Mariejois would come at a high cost. Even if they succeeded, her terminal illness meant she wouldn't live much longer. Wouldn't the Revolutionary Army's sacrifice be in vain?
But Dragon couldn't voice these doubts to Ivankov.
On one hand, it would damage his reputation as a leader. On the other hand, Ivankov, Ginny, and Kuma had been close friends since childhood. If he refused to save her, it would create a rift between them.
Arias had clearly timed his revelation to force Dragon into a difficult position.
"How did your people infiltrate Mariejois?" Dragon asked, avoiding a direct response.
"I have my ways," Arias said. "I've delivered the message. Whether you decide to rescue her is up to you."
Dragon frowned. Ginny had been part of the Volunteer Army before it became the Revolutionary Army, and she had been the first commander of the Eastern Army. If they didn't save such an important comrade, how would the rest of the Revolutionary Army react?
Ivankov grew impatient. "Dragon, we had no way to save her before. But now that Arias's people have infiltrated Mariejois, this is our best chance to rescue Ginny. We can't miss it!"
Ivankov hurriedly went inside to retrieve a phone transponder, intending to contact Kuma.
"Ivankov, is this true?" Kuma asked when he heard the news.
Kuma and Ginny had been lovers once, though he hadn't dared to accept her feelings. Still, he was willing to do anything for her, even now.
Even knowing that Ginny was pregnant with a Celestial Dragon's child, Kuma was determined to raise the child as his own.
That child was Jewelry Bonney.