In a superior hotel suite with an ocean view, Nico Robin stared blankly at the silver-haired young man before her, a look of abject horror clearly etched on her face. She stumbled back a step, her heart pounding.
"Hahaha!" Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "I'm not particularly interested in your 79 million Beli bounty. In the past, I worked as a Bounty Hunter because I lacked money. However, I am not short of money now, so you don't need to worry about me handing you over to the World Government."
Sephiroth let out a soft sigh, observing Nico Robin's shabby dress and shoes. He finished the chocolate cake on his plate in a few bites, rose, and walked to a closet in the room. Two large suitcases were pulled out and opened on the white bed. One case contained various clothes and masks, while the other was filled with stacks of 10,000 Beli banknotes.
Sephiroth thought for a moment, then took half a stack of money from the case and tossed it beside the girl. He closed the empty case and placed the remaining half-stack of banknotes next to Nico Robin.
"There's fifty million Beli in here. Just keep it for your needs, it's enough for a lifetime. One more thing, that 'money' shouldn't be seen. I suggest you hide it in different places and wait until you need it before taking it out..."
As if remembering something, Sephiroth looked at the girl's cheeks, which still seemed a little childish. He took out a white half-face mask from inside his leather jacket and placed it in front of Nico Robin:
"And... can't you wear a mask when you go out? Do you want to constantly be chased like this? Wear a mask that covers your whole face, or at least half of it. As long as it's not a close acquaintance, it will basically be difficult to recognize you."
"Why? Why are you helping me this far?" Nico Robin stared blankly at the silver-haired young man who kept chattering. She didn't even know the man's name until now. She didn't understand why this person was so kind to her? This was no longer merely seeing a stray cat and wanting to offer help out of sympathy and pity.
Hearing that, Sephiroth paused for a moment. He thought, then smiled and extended his right hand, gently stroking the top of Nico Robin's head. He explained:
"This might feel very significant to you, but... For me, this is truly just an ordinary act of help! Influenced by factors such as identity, status, wealth, and situation, the standards for things each person can do casually are indeed different."
As if thinking of something daring, Nico Robin gathered her courage and asked, "In that case, can you take me in, and I will work hard to help you?"
Seeing the black-haired girl's yearning gaze, Sephiroth was silent for a moment before finally speaking:
"I'm sorry, Nico Robin. What happened in Ohara, I know everything, but... At present, I have no intention of becoming an enemy of the World Government. If the matter of me taking you in were known by the World Government, it would cause me a lot of trouble."
"Oh~! I understand." Nico Robin bowed her head in disappointment, and a trace of gloom flashed in her eyes. Just now, she thought she could finally end this life of wandering and running.
Seeing this situation, Sephiroth felt a faint pang of conscience and, for some reason, a slight agitation. He sighed, "Haaaah!... Although I can't take you with me, I can teach you how to live better in the darkness.... Do you want to learn?"
"Um~!"
Without a moment of hesitation, Nico Robin nodded and complied. After four years of wandering and suffering, she now only wanted to protect herself better and try to survive.
Nico Robin looked at the silver-haired youth with a serious look on her face, "Right, what's your name? After talking to you so much, I still don't know your name."
"Karl D. Sephiroth."
"Speaking of names, I think you need to give yourself a pseudonym in the future." Nico Robin placed her index finger on her chin, she thought and said, "Then what kind of fake name do you think would suit me?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth also found himself in a pickle. The girl was asking him this question. After all, he wasn't very good at naming things or anything like that! He thought about it and decided it would be easier to use a ready-made name!
Sephiroth thought that Nico Robin would be proficient in intelligence espionage and assassination in the future, and she could be considered a female assassin. So, teasingly, he said, "Um!?... Ammonette... how about it?"
"Why is it called this?" Nico Robin wondered.
Sephiroth gently stroked the young girl's brown hair, and he slowly explained, "Because she's an assassin, proficient in assassination and intelligence espionage. And I'm also ready to teach you these things, and I hope you will master and use them later."
For the next nine days, Sephiroth, besides going out daily to inquire about Gecko Moria's whereabouts, he secluded himself in the ocean-view suite and taught Nico Robin camouflage, assassination, tracking, wilderness survival, Devil Fruit development, Armament Haki and Observation Haki, as well as Rokushiki. In short, Sephiroth felt Nico Robin had the potential to utilize Haki, and he imparted all his knowledge to the girl.
And Nico Robin indeed proved worthy of being a genius who could obtain a bachelor's degree at the age of 8. She had extremely high comprehension and memory, and was also very diligent in her studies. This made him, a young man who was teaching for the first time, feel quite challenged.
For Nico Robin, these nine days with Sephiroth were the easiest she had experienced in four years! She didn't have to worry about starvation or someone coming to catch her at any moment, other than her studies.
Morning, in the ocean-view suite.
Sephiroth opened the door, pushed the food trolley that the waiter had left in the hallway, and casually closed the door. He placed the bread, fruit plate, milk... and other food items from the food trolley onto the table one by one.
Finally, Sephiroth casually picked up the newspaper he had placed on the food trolley, sat down at the table, and quickly glanced at its contents.
The World Government had officially established the Seven Warlords of the Sea system to curb the momentum of the Great Pirate Era. If a pirate was "recruited as a Warlord of the Sea, the bounty order for him and his crew would be stopped, and the World Government would no longer pursue all crimes he had committed previously." Members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had the power to plunder non-World Government members.
Sephiroth, looking at the news report in the newspaper, couldn't help but purse his lips and whisper, "The Seven Warlords of the Sea system has finally arrived!"
The Great Pirate Era was becoming increasingly intense, and the strength of the Marines was already stretched thin. Moreover, the frequent battles between Marines and pirates resulted in countless casualties and extremely high casualty rates. Even general-level officers were killed, so many eventually chose to retire. The Marines' extremely high casualty rate had also affected the recruitment of new forces. The number of people signing up for the Marines each year had plummeted. On the pirate side, there were countless ambitious newcomers, setting black sails and rushing out to sea.
Therefore, the establishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system by the World Government was based on the calculation of using pirates to fight pirates. The World Government was trying to recruit pirates who had shown themselves to be strong for their own use through some insignificant power! If such members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea lost their usefulness, they would not hesitate to discard and eliminate them.
After reading the main news, Sephiroth read a few more pieces of news, such as the massacre of a town called Rosanna by pirates in the West Blue, or the excavation of the recently deceased swordsman's tomb from the Ilusia Kingdom.
Nico Robin, dressed in a light blue long dress, picked up a milk jug, poured a glass of milk, and placed it in front of her, then asked, "Sephiroth, what are we learning today?"
"Today..."
The silver-haired young man glanced at the black-haired girl. He pondered for a moment before speaking, "It's time for me to go."
Hearing this, Nico Robin took the cup and drank some milk for a slight pause, and a sad mood emerged in her heart.