"What a fascinating man, Monkey D. Luffy~" Robin's lips curved up in an elegant smile, deliberately emphasizing the "D" in his name as she pronounced it. Then, ignoring the Straw Hat boy who was baring his teeth at her, she flicked her pale hand and tossed a small object to Vivi.
Princess Vivi instinctively caught it. Upon closer inspection, it was a delicate glass orb with a needle inside, trembling as it pointed steadily in one direction.
"This is... an Eternal Pose?" Nami's beautiful eyes widened in shock.
"Mhm. This is an Eternal Pose pointing to Alabasta." Robin smiled warmly as she adjusted her slightly crooked glasses—perhaps Sherlock's glasses were a tad too big for her.
"It's a highly secretive route. Even the members of our company don't know about it, so no one will come chasing after you..."
"Tch, there's definitely some kind of scheme!" Zoro scoffed at her words, curling his lip. Usopp, hiding behind the mast, nodded in vigorous agreement.
Robin didn't rush to deny it. She continued, "Your next island is called 'Little Garden.' It'd be such a shame if your whole crew were wiped out there, wouldn't it?"
With that, Robin released the bindings on Sherlock and removed the glasses, gently handing them back with a faint smile. "Consider that Eternal Pose my 'ticket' to board your ship~"
Sherlock took the glasses but didn't put them on right away. He gave the bold woman a strange look, but she met his gaze fearlessly.
Their eyes locked. After a moment, Sherlock sighed in helpless resignation. With a thought, he dismissed the pistol aimed at Robin. In those captivating, beautiful eyes of hers, he saw only calm sincerity. It seemed everything this woman said was true.
Even someone as clever as him couldn't quite figure out what this strange woman was really after.
To accept it or not?
Vivi clutched the Eternal Pose tightly, her mind torn with indecision.
She desperately didn't want to accept a gift from this enemy who had wronged her, but she feared her stubbornness might doom the Straw Hats.
Fortunately, Princess Vivi didn't have to agonize for long—the ship's owner made the decision for her.
"Something like this... it doesn't matter if we have it or not..."
Luffy snatched the Eternal Pose from Vivi's hand in one swift motion. Then, under everyone's stunned gazes, he crushed it to powder in his fist. This decisive act infuriated the navigator so much that she immediately kicked the idiot captain right then and there.
"You absolute moron! What if this woman was genuinely trying to help us?!" Nami roared in frustration.
Meanwhile, Miss Valentine—who had turned pale the moment she heard their next stop was Little Garden—petrified into a gray, ashen statue at the sight of Luffy's actions.
Luffy tumbled onto the deck, lifted his head, and declared firmly to Robin: "The direction this ship sails in doesn't need you deciding it!"
In Luffy's mind, this wicked woman—who had killed Igaram and made Sherlock "disappear"—could never be trusted, no matter what.
"That's so in line with Luffy's style..." Sherlock remarked as he put his glasses back on and pushed them up the bridge of his nose.
Robin showed no embarrassment at the Straw Hat boy's blunt rejection. Her face retained that same serene, composed expression.
"Is that so? What a pity." Robin sighed softly. Then, the mysterious woman adjusted the purple jazz hat on her head, turned to Sherlock beside her, and curved her lips in an elegant smile.
"I don't dislike people with backbone. If you manage to survive, we'll meet again."
With that, Robin turned and walked toward the ship's railing, leaving Sherlock with a graceful view of her retreating back—she wasn't the least bit afraid he might attack her from behind.
"What a strange woman..." After hesitating repeatedly, Sherlock ultimately gave up on capturing her. Her fearless demeanor made the sorcerer deeply wary. As for killing her? That meaningless option had never even crossed his mind.
Robin departed on the back of a gigantic turtle, which was even wearing a hat. This left Luffy and Usopp gaping in astonishment.
Once the mysterious woman was gone, Princess Vivi collapsed weakly onto the deck.
"What the hell is that awful woman thinking?!..." Vivi was on the verge of breaking down, her eyes gradually losing focus. "Am I really cut out to be on this ship? I'm just going to cause everyone so much trouble..."
"Oh, come on! What are you saying?" Nami crouched down, jabbing Vivi's smooth forehead with her slender, pale finger. She narrowed her eyes and said:
"Thanks to you, Baroque Works' assassins are already after us. If you didn't want trouble, you shouldn't have done what you did in the first place~"
Then Nami gave Vivi a warm smile. "So don't say stuff like that anymore."
"Sniff... I'm sorry..." Vivi bit her lip, lowering her head in genuine apology. The sparkle gradually returned to her beautiful big eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey! What assassins? Tell me—what the heck happened last night?!"
The moment he heard the word "assassins," the "invincible" Captain Usopp tensed up. He scanned their surroundings, then pointed at a certain hat-wearing giant duck and the bound Miss Valentine, asking Zoro:
"What's with this ostrich? And who's that woman who tied herself up? Some kind of performance artist?"
Zoro, who hadn't slept all night, was starting to feel drowsy. He lay down right there on the deck, squinting as he answered:
"That ostrich seems to be ingredients Sherlock caught. As for the woman... she's an assassin from Baroque Works... Ahh~~..." Mid-sentence, the green-haired swordsman yawned, ignoring the long-nosed sniper who was now scared witless, and drifted off to sleep.
"Nico Robin, Crocodile, Alabasta..." Leaning against the railing, Sherlock gazed at the brightening sky, lost in thought.
"Yo! Sherlo!" A familiar voice snapped Sherlock out of his reverie.
Luffy grabbed Sherlock's shoulders and shook him excitedly. "You're finally back! Where did that weird woman send you? You had me so worried!"
Then the idiot captain flashed a carefree grin and shouted down below: "It's morning! I want breakfast, Sanji!" He turned back to Sherlock, gave a firm thumbs-up, and bared his teeth in a wide grin:
"I won't lose this time either, Sherlo!"
Sherlock's mouth twitched a few times, but he didn't respond.
As for Sanji, the lovestruck cook was still passed out on the deck, his face a picture of blissful idiocy...
East Blue, Loguetown, headquarters of the Goldglint Trading Company.
In the vast office, there were only two women—both far above average in beauty.
Anna wore her usual sharp yet sexy outfit as she sat at the desk. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the side of her face and edging it in gold, creating a hazy, ethereal beauty.
Influenced by Sherlock, Anna loved collecting and analyzing intelligence. The process of deducing conclusions from countless clues filled her with immense satisfaction.
But today's intelligence report made the president's expression turn grim.
"Ha, these sculptures are really interesting." The voice was pleasant and full of energy.
The other beauty in the room was a young-looking girl with orange hair. She wore a small red hat equipped with goggles, a pale pink shirt that concealed her slender waist, and sexy black stockings paired with a red miniskirt edged in lace—forming an irresistibly alluring absolute territory.
At that moment, the orange-haired girl leaned forward with her red-gloved hands on her knees, staring at the sculptures in a nearby cabinet. Her big blue eyes sparkled like stars.
She seemed utterly fascinated by the fish-men and merfolk sculptures.
Anna glanced over and said faintly, "These were collected by the previous president..." Her gaze flickered as she unconsciously reached up to touch the pendant at her chest. The golden iris flower gleamed as brightly as ever.
"Eh? The previous president? You mean that sorcerer? I hear he has a deep connection with 'that person.' Our leader is very interested in him!"
At that, the orange-haired girl straightened up, turned to Anna—who looked somewhat off—and asked with concern:
"Miss Anna, did something troubling happen?"
Anna pushed up her glasses. As someone in a high position, she quickly composed herself and replied coolly:
"It's nothing major. According to reports, a notoriously vicious pirate crew from the Grand Line seems to be heading back to the East Blue. What's more, this crew's captain has deep ties to the Kohler Trading Company. This is a critical time for the Goldglint Trading Company, and Smoker has gone to the Grand Line, so I'm a bit worried..."
"Ma, ma, no need to worry, Miss Anna..." The orange-haired girl waved her tiny fists, which held zero intimidation.
"If they dare come to the East Blue, we'll help you take care of them. After all, the leader sent me here to assist the Goldglint Trading Company's growth!"
Looking into the orange-haired girl's beautiful big eyes, Anna smiled reservedly and said, "That's truly appreciated...
Miss Koala!"
Koala waved it off and said seriously, "No, we're the ones who should be thanking you. If not for Miss Anna's generous support last time, the Revolutionary Army's influence in the East Blue wouldn't have expanded so quickly!"
"Heh, well, our goals are the same, after all..." Anna stroked her pale golden hair, thinking to herself:
(Just watch, Sherlock. Since you entrusted the Goldglint Trading Company to me, I'll show you what I'm capable of!)
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