"Wow, you travel to all sorts of places for your business!"
"Yes, indeed. To the west, to the east, all over. My job is to deliver what my customers desire."
"That's amazing!"
Maraptonoka, having seen through Chopper's true nature despite their first meeting, was now leisurely strolling with Chopper towards the heart of "Upper Yard"—the place where Nami assumed the gold was.
Chopper, who had experienced direct malice but had very little experience with deception, was somewhat unable to see through Maraptonoka's true intentions.
Maraptonoka, on the surface, was smiling—and considering Chopper's inherent honesty, it wasn't just on the surface, she was genuinely fond of him—and had offered to guide him.
She was thorough in her efforts, making sure not to meet anyone and preventing Chopper from realizing he was being misled.
"By the way, Chopper-san, are you a Devil Fruit user?"
"Yeah! I ate the Hito Hito no Mi, I'm a human reindeer!!"
"My, my. A fellow Devil Fruit user, were you?"
She had, of course, noticed that he was a Devil Fruit user, having seen him transform from a small raccoon-dog-like form into a reindeer.
But, of all things, the Hito Hito no Mi, Maraptonoka thought.
The Hito Hito no Mi was special among the currently known Devil Fruits, with only Mythical Zoan types confirmed.
The only one Maraptonoka knew of was Sengoku's Hito Hito no Mi, Model: "Daibutsu," but considering that Chopper's human form wasn't a complete human form, she thought it was no exception to the special cases.
Maraptonoka herself was special in another sense, though.
"But, to be a doctor... Studying medicine must be difficult. You must have worked hard."
"Sh-Shut up!! It's not like that!!"
His words were rebellious, but he said them with a happy, smiling face, causing Maraptonoka's cheeks to loosen involuntarily.
He was truly pure, a child who seemed easy to deceive.
"How truly unfortunate... Do you have no intention of coming with me?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I want to adventure with Luffy! Luffy was the one who invited me to sea, and he's reckless, so I have to be there to treat him if he gets hurt!!"
"..."
Maraptonoka knew of Luffy. She had met him once, but he hadn't left a strong impression.
She could take him by force, but Chopper's purity probably remained precisely because he was with Luffy.
Unfortunate... Truly unfortunate, but Maraptonoka reluctantly gave up on taking Chopper with her.
Chopper's goodness would be lost if he became jaded.
"Unfortunate... Truly unfortunate... If I could, I'd take you home with me right now...!!"
"What scary things are you saying while looking at me!?"
"Drool. Well, it's just that Chopper-san is so adorable."
"It's not 'just'—!!"
Feeling like a herbivore in front of a carnivore, Chopper instinctively backed away and bumped his back against a nearby giant tree.
Such gestures only made him appear even cuter to Maraptonoka, but Chopper himself was unaware of this.
***
In any case, the two emerged from the forest and arrived at the city center.
Maraptonoka surveyed the crumbling ruins and the encroaching clouds. Chopper, beside her, had sparkling eyes, gazing at the ruins with interest.
"I wonder if Robin and the others haven't arrived yet. Could it be that I'm the first one here!?"
"No, unfortunately, it seems someone is already here."
Maraptonoka pointed, and in the distance, a bag could be seen placed in the shadow of the ruins.
Chopper looked slightly disappointed, but the joy of reuniting with his comrades seemed to be greater, and he rushed over.
Robin, who was hiding behind a pillar of the ruins, seemed to be observing the situation, but seeing that she had been discovered, she revealed herself and greeted Chopper.
"Doctor-san, you're here with her?"
"Yeah. I got lost in the forest, and she guided me here!"
"...I see, she did..."
Without even trying to hide her caution, Robin looked at Maraptonoka.
Maraptonoka, on the other hand, made a deliberately sad face, saying, "Oh, my."
"I only wanted to help, and I brought Chopper-san here out of pure goodwill... To be suspected like this, it makes me sad."
"That's precisely why. You're not the type to act out of pure goodwill."
"That's not true! Even I, at times, act out of goodwill!!"
"Those words already sound like a lie."
Robin responded bluntly to Maraptonoka's theatrical acting.
Having had several encounters with her during their time as members of Baroque Works, Robin judged that Maraptonoka was not someone to be trusted.
Crocodile had also been a formidable opponent, but Maraptonoka's actions were even more difficult to predict because her objectives were unclear.
"If you're connected to the World Government, I'd like you to leave, now that you know this is 'Twilight' territory. Is there a reason you're staying?"
"Oh, did you hear that from Martin-san? He has quite a loose tongue, doesn't he?"
"Answer the question."
"Do you think I have an obligation to answer?"
"Even if you answered, there would be no way to prove it wasn't a lie, would there? But..."
Robin immediately sprouted six arms on Maraptonoka's body, restraining her hands and neck.
Strength and speed were meaningless in front of Robin.
"Robin!?"
"Be quiet, Doctor-san. She's dangerous. I don't know about her strength, but at the very least, she has the intelligence to maneuver between various organizations. It wouldn't be surprising if you were taken in by her words."
"What an unpleasant way to be trusted..."
She firmly secured both hands behind her back and choked her neck from behind, as if embracing her. She could sprout more arms and break her spine in this state.
However, Maraptonoka only sighed, showing no significant resistance, and simply narrowed her eyes and looked at Robin.
"Since you're connected to the World Government, I'd rather you not snoop around this island."
"-You should be precise with your words, Robin-san. Not this island, but that island. In other words, you don't want me snooping around 'Ohara', isn't that correct?"
"!?"
"Oh, my, that was a slip of the tongue."
As Robin tightened her grip, intending to break her spine, Maraptonoka began to resist with her own strength.
To resist a joint lock with just muscle strength was an act that directly challenged the structure of the human body, causing Robin to widen her eyes in surprise. She increased the number of arms and applied more force.
Unless the body was made of rubber like Luffy's, it was difficult to resist a perfectly applied joint lock, no matter how strong the muscles were.
Nevertheless, Maraptonoka was forcibly pushing back Robin's arms.
"Certainly, with joint locks, you can restrain someone even if there's a difference in strength, as long as you understand the structure of the human body. But that's only when the opponent is at an average human level."
"That's absurd...!"
"I'm confident in my physical abilities. No matter how perfectly you apply a joint lock, if the arms applying the lock are as weak as this, it's impossible to restrain me."
Having escaped from Robin's joint lock, Maraptonoka shrugged mockingly, showing her composure.
Her provocative words were likely due to her confidence in her absolute strength.
"I've grasped 'Ohara' to some extent. You, your mother... and the former Marine, Saul. The World Government has been investigating your relationship with 'Twilight' for some time, but this evidence is conclusive, isn't it?"
In the past, Nico Olvia, Nico Robin, and Saul were reported by Cipher Pol to have been taken away from "Ohara" by Octavia.
The five Marine Vice Admirals who participated in the operation also gave the same testimony, making it a sensitive incident within the government and the Navy... But two years later, Octavia was defeated by Kanata.
So where did Olvia, Robin, and Saul go after that?
Saul's figure was found in "Twilight," and Robin was confirmed to be sailing with Pedro and Zepo.
But even now, Olvia's whereabouts were unknown.
In addition, "Ohara" disappeared after Octavia's defeat. The name vanished from the map, and it was years before anyone noticed, because no one went near the island.
If these were connected in a place like Skypiea—the political position of "Twilight" would become very precarious.
"Robin-san, who acts to protect this place, which exists as if hidden in 'Twilight' territory. And Saul-san's presence working in 'Twilight' has already been confirmed... At this rate, Olvia-san is probably being sheltered as well. The connections are becoming clear, and if we can find clear evidence, the government will use various means to undermine 'Twilight's' credibility."
The World Government did not look kindly upon the existence of "Twilight," which had roots all over the world and possessed enormous financial power.
If it was an organization they couldn't control, it was a threat not much different from the Four Emperors.
In order to reduce the influence of "Twilight," which had connections with many countries, they would gladly engage in a negative campaign using the World Economic Journal.
Taking this opportunity, they would strengthen the influence of the World Government and become eager to establish a shipping industry to replace "Twilight."
"Things are getting interesting, aren't they? This could even lead to all-out war between 'Twilight' and the Marines."
"Twilight" sheltering Olvia, Robin, and Saul, and the Marines pursuing them.
With this setup, even the two organizations that had been cooperating could clash, and the pirate alliance of Beasts and Big Mom might move to take advantage of the situation.
The unpredictable ones were "Whitebeard" and "Red-Haired," but if more organizations of the Four Emperors' level moved, it would be a global catastrophe.
Maraptonoka predicted a future of chaos and smiled with amusement.
"Don't you think so, Robin-san?"
"How could I think that!! People can't be seen from a map... You know nothing about what everyone in 'Ohara' felt!!! No one wants war!!!"
"You're the only one who thinks that. That 'witch' has done many shady things that you don't know about."
Shaking hands with a smile on the surface while clenching a fist to punch the other party behind the scenes is what politics is all about.
It was also a well-known fact that Kanata had taken prisoners from Impel Down and used them for human experimentation.
Whether this was true or not, prisoners had actually been taken from Impel Down, and since no one had seen the prisoners who were taken afterwards, it could be said to be a credible rumor.
"If you want to stop me, kill me here. If you can, that is."
"I'll do it. I won't let a war happen!!"
Robin confronted Maraptonoka with strong hostility, and Chopper, though he didn't understand the situation well, understood that Maraptonoka was an enemy and took a stance in his Brain Point form.
Whatever it took, she had to be stopped here.
Otherwise... there was a possibility that a war involving many people would break out.
***
"...What is this?"
Genbou and the others, who had left the Going Merry and returned to the village, saw a tragic sight—the village, burned by Martin's hand.
They were stunned, looking at the burning village, but thinking that someone might still be left, they slapped their cheeks to regain their composure, covered themselves with water, and ran into the still-burning village.
Most of the buildings had already burned down.
The warehouse where food was stored, the house full of memories, everything.
But.
"There's no one here...?"
"Genbou, over here too! There's no one!!"
"They must have escaped! We need to get out of here too, the fire doesn't seem to be letting up!!"
"Yeah... No, wait!"
It was for the best if the villagers had escaped. Genbou and the others were about to evacuate when they saw someone collapsed at the edge of their vision.
They immediately rushed over and found four people collapsed, in critical condition.
They were covered in blood and it was hard to tell, but judging from their clothes, they weren't Shandian compatriots.
"Thank goodness, they're not our people... But, why are they here?"
"It must be 'Twilight'! Did they invade!?"
"That can't be. There's no reason to do that, and besides..."
The flames that burned the village reminded them of the enemy they had fought yesterday.
Although it was a battle that Genbou and the others had initiated, it was also quite hostile. The possibility that their comrades had attacked was quite conceivable.
In any case, they couldn't leave them here. They had to give them first aid in order to find out what had happened and where the villagers had gone.
Thinking this, Shura grabbed Genbou's hand, which was about to lift the collapsed Shura.
"Ugh, uu...!"
"You're conscious! Hey, hang in there!!"
"You, are... Shandian..."
"That's right! Why is the village like this! Who did you fight!?"
"My, bag... Fuzza...!"
He formed a whistle with his trembling hand, and blew it with all his remaining strength.
A giant bird called Fuzza, which must have been circling in the sky, descended and looked at Shura anxiously, right next to him.
"There's a Den Den Mushi... in the bag..."
"Is this it?"
As Shura said, he took out a Den Den Mushi from the bag, and Shura entered a number into it.
He had sent a code indicating an emergency.
After a short ring, a mechanical voice replied, "Acknowledged," and the Den Den Mushi went silent.
"After, that... After escaping, from here, I'll explain."
"...It can't be helped. Hey, you guys! Carry those three too!"
Reluctantly, Genbou had the two warriors help him, and the three of them carried the four. One was placed on Fuzza's back, which was a great help.
(...After this, Komurasaki-sama will have to take care of it.)
Maraptonoka's strength was extraordinary.
Shura, who had actually fought her, understood her abnormality.
He had to tell Komurasaki as soon as possible about the monster whose attacks didn't work at all, while enduring the pain and keeping himself conscious so as not to lose consciousness.