Ancient Saint Green, Top-Notch Knowledge And Color

The Celestial Dragons' treasure house was surprisingly under-defended. Perhaps they believed that being within the holy land of Mariejois made it impervious to theft. The only guard present was an elderly Celestial Dragon, responsible for overseeing the vault.

While it wasn't entirely without protection, the treasure house's walls and floors were made of Seastone—the hardest material in the world—designed to neutralize the powers of Devil Fruit users. Anyone relying on such abilities would find themselves powerless against it.

But Seastone had no effect on Arias's puppet. Despite its mystical properties, Seastone was still just a form of earth and stone, and Arias's puppet, with its mastery over earthly elements, could pass through it with ease.

The puppet quietly infiltrated the treasure house, a grand palace filled with the world's most precious treasures. Each hall within the palace held priceless items: famous calligraphy, paintings, antiques, pearls, gems, rare materials, and, most importantly, Devil Fruits.

In one of the smaller palaces, the puppet found rows of wooden boxes filled with Devil Fruits. After a quick count, there were thirty-six in total—a remarkable number, though not infinite, even for the Celestial Dragons. Arias quickly consumed all the fruits, devouring the mystical powers they contained.

After securing the fruits, he turned his attention to the rare materials. There were ten tons of meteorite iron from a previous auction, along with Adam wood, titanium crystal ore, and other rare resources—perfect for crafting weapons. Arias filled his bag, though it barely made a dent in the treasure trove.

"It seems I need to expand the capsule space. It's frustrating to be in a mountain of treasure and not be able to take it all," Arias thought, begrudgingly leaving much of the hoard behind.

As he continued to survey the materials, outside the treasure house, an elderly Celestial Dragon, tall and dressed in luxurious robes with a sword at his side, approached.

"Old Saint Green!" the elderly guard at the entrance immediately stood up and saluted. Despite his age, the guard treated Old Saint Green with deep respect, as if facing a deity.

"No need to fetch anything for me. Who's in the treasure house?" Old Saint Green asked, his tone serious.

"Reporting to you, my lord, there's no one in the treasure house at the moment!" the guard replied.

Old Saint Green frowned. "No, there is someone in there."

He narrowed his eyes, as if sensing something invisible. "An intruder!" he declared, vanishing instantly.

The guard was stunned. "An intruder? How could that be possible?" he thought. But Old Saint Green's observation abilities were unparalleled, capable of predicting moments into the future. If he said there was an intruder, there was no doubt about it.

The guard cursed his own incompetence but decided to stay at his post, knowing that Old Saint Green could handle the situation. With him involved, there was no chance for any intruder to escape.

Meanwhile, inside the treasure house, the puppet sensed an impending threat. Arias quickly pulled back, just in time to block a powerful attack aimed at him.

Clang!

The Seastone arm of the puppet was almost severed. Arias was startled—someone had managed to get close to him without him noticing, and their attack was incredibly strong.

When he turned to see his assailant, his surprise was clear. "Is it you?" he asked.

"Oh? You know me?" Old Saint Green sheathed his sword, standing opposite Arias. The man in black had somehow sensed and blocked his attack—a rare feat. Old Saint Green, the supreme commander of the Knights of God, was both curious and suspicious. He was hardly known to anyone, so how did this intruder recognize him?

"You know me? When I capture you, you'll explain everything," Old Saint Green declared, drawing his sword once more. The blade shimmered with Conqueror's Haki as he unleashed a strike more powerful than even Garp's fist of love.

"My goal is complete; I don't have time to play with you," Arias smirked, attempting to retreat.

But Old Saint Green anticipated his move, launching another wave of sword energy at the ground to prevent his escape.

"Advanced Observation Haki?" Arias realized as he blocked the attack. Deep slash marks formed on his puppet's arms, making it clear that this was a formidable opponent.

Facing such an adversary, Arias knew that without his own advanced Observation Haki—or some way to negate the opponent's predictive abilities—there was little chance of victory.

"Resistance is futile. Although I don't know how you managed to infiltrate the ground, all your abilities are useless before me," Old Saint Green stated, his eyes gleaming as he continued his relentless assault.

Clang!

Another blow landed on Arias's puppet, forcing him to retreat. If the fight continued, the puppet would be destroyed. But retreating now meant leaving behind his hard-won spoils.

Switching tactics, Arias activated the puppet's stealth mode, though he knew it wouldn't be effective against someone with advanced Haki. Still, it might provide some confusion.

The puppet's nails extended into sharp claws, and Arias launched a series of aggressive attacks, focusing on Old Saint Green's vital points. The puppet's speed was enhanced by the Ghost Shadow ability, making it difficult for even Old Saint Green to react in time.

"How long can you keep up this pace?" Old Saint Green countered with his own rapid attacks, surprised by the resilience of his opponent. The puppet's body was unnaturally tough—certainly not human.

"Are you from a rare race?" he asked, but Arias didn't answer. Instead, he launched one final, powerful claw strike, which Old Saint Green blocked. Taking advantage of the brief moment of contact, Arias made his escape, burrowing into the ground.

In just one minute, Arias had launched thousands of attacks. Processing that many predictive insights in such a short time had taxed even Old Saint Green's advanced Haki, leaving him momentarily dazed. By the time he realized what had happened, Arias was gone.

"Damn it, he got away!" Old Saint Green cursed, frustrated that the intruder had slipped through his grasp.