As the week passed, the situation in Arabasta began returning to how Vivi remembered. The citizens, who were shown the recordings of Crocodile discussing his own plans, showed great anger towards him to the point that they even attempted to attack the Marine ship holding him.
The rebels also surrendered as they all marched into Alubarna, laying down their arms in front of the castle, where the King pardoned them in exchange for rebuilding the destroyed towns. Vivi introduced the Straw Hat Pirates to King Cobra, who was so thankful that he attempted to kneel in front of the pirates, much to the dismay of Igaram, who was revealed to be alive.
Robin was introduced to the other Straw Hats as Luffy decided to recruit her into the crew. When Zoro, Sanji, Vivi, and Chopper heard about what Robin did for Usopp, they all immediately forgot that Robin had been a part of Baroque Works for most of the time, with Sanji not even questioning Luffy's decision to let her join the crew.
Now, the Straw Hat Pirates are all at the Tomb of the Kings, as all of them wanted to see what a Poneglyph is. This was what the Straw Hats requested from King Cobra, to which the King readily agreed as repayment for saving their kingdom.
"What kind of material did they use to make this? It looks like it has not deteriorated since it was made," Zoro said as he touched the Poneglyph, inspecting it like the others.
"No one knows, but it is said that even the strongest weapon could not destroy this," Douglas said as he touched the Poneglyph, which immediately transferred the contents of the Poneglyph directly to his head. It talked about a weapon of mass destruction, which is Pluton, and where it is located. Robin, who read the entire contents of the Poneglyph, was visibly disappointed, which Nami noticed.
"What is it, Robin?" Nami asked.
"It seems it was a failure," Robin said, to which the other Straw Hats turned their attention toward her as they waited for her to explain.
"It did not contain information about the true history of the world, but a location of a mass destruction weapon. Do you want me to tell you, Captain?" Robin explained as she offered to tell Luffy the weapon's location.
"No thanks, I don't really care about that," Luffy replied, visibly looking bored. This shocked Robin, as she hadn't encountered a pirate who didn't want to learn about the ancient weapons. But here she was, standing in front of Luffy, who confidently refused. The other Straw Hats also smiled at Luffy's refusal—especially Douglas, as he knew that it was Luffy's personality, from today until the future.
The group then decided to leave the Tomb of the Kings, while Robin followed them from behind with a sad expression on her face, feeling she had failed to uncover the true history of the world. Douglas, who was also coming in from behind, just patted her back, which made Robin shocked.
"Don't worry. In our would-be adventures, you will find what you're looking for. It is fated from the moment the chapters of our lives were written, and everything that is to happen— all of this is already written in fate," Douglas said to Robin, as he then walked ahead of her. Robin remained surprised by his words.
Later that night, while the other members of the Straw Hats were still sleeping, Robin and Vivi were seen discussing something—Vivi's hesitation about leaving Arabasta to join the Straw Hats.
"Why would a princess want to sacrifice her kingdom to join a band of pirates?" Robin asked curiously.
"They're just labeled as pirates, but they're really not that. Whether you just joined them for convenience for now, you'll realize that they have a specific appeal to them, which would make it worth the stay—believe me," Vivi said to Robin, who just smiled and looked up at the moon, while Vivi did the same.
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The next morning, Vivi entered the room where the Straw Hats had been staying, expecting to find them still asleep or packing up for departure. But the room was empty. The beds had been made, their belongings gone, as if they had never been there at all. The only thing left behind was a pair of recording devices, carefully placed at the center of the room.
Confused, she picked one up and pressed play.
One by one, the voices of her friends echoed through the room—gentle, sincere, and full of warmth. Douglas spoke first, laughing as he told her to stay strong and follow her heart. Nami's voice trembled as she thanked Vivi for teaching her what it meant to fight for something more than treasure. Zoro, ever blunt, simply said he'd see her again—no doubt, no hesitation. Usopp cried halfway through his message. Sanji promised to keep her in his heart, always. Chopper's voice cracked as he begged her not to forget them.
And then Luffy spoke.
"We know what you must do, Vivi. Your kingdom needs you now more than ever. But our ship… our journey… will always have a place for you. When you're ready. When it's your time. Come find us. We'll be waiting."
Vivi stood frozen as the recording ended. For a moment, she couldn't breathe. The silence that followed was louder than any words. Then the tears came, quiet at first, then all at once. She sank to her knees, clutching the device to her chest as sobs wracked her body. Every laugh they shared, every danger they survived—it all came crashing down. They had left without saying goodbye in person, not because they didn't care, but because it would've made it too hard to walk away.
Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Vivi stood. She couldn't just let them go like this. Without a second thought, she ran out of the palace, her heart screaming for one last glimpse, one last moment.
Meanwhile, far across the desert, the Straw Hats rode the Sand-Raider through the golden dunes. No one spoke. There were no jokes, no teasing, no shouting. Just silence—and the soft wind brushing against them. Luffy stared ahead, a rare, somber look on his face. Nami's eyes were red. Chopper held tightly onto Usopp's arm. They had done the right thing, letting her go… but that didn't make it any easier.
They had gained a kingdom's gratitude—but lost a friend who had become like family.
And sometimes, that's the price of the sea.