Yashiro stared at the oversized hamster avatar bouncing around on his attribute panel, and his whole mood collapsed on the spot. With a sigh, he dismissed the display, hopped off the boulder, and turned his gaze toward the sky.
The brilliant blue stretched endlessly above him, the sea shimmering beneath it.He let out a long exhale. He'd been wrestling with his situation for days, and still nothing had changed. Even with a system, he couldn't complete any of its missions.
For now, the only thing he could do was slowly restore the chakra inside his sealed body.Two years… how much can I even recover in two years?
"Little Robin… it's getting late. I'm heading to work. Keep reading, and don't lose track of time."
Yashiro sprinted into the small grove where Nico Robin liked to sit and read. He opened his mouth wide and roared in excitement. He could finally speak again—smoothly, fluently—and he couldn't help wanting to share that joy with her.
A flock of birds scattered from the trees at his sudden shout.
Robin, completely absorbed in her book, jumped in shock."Ah—!"
Before she even had time to react, the startled birds burst out of the branches, fluttering in all directions. A glob of bird droppings plummeted from above and splatted directly onto her head.
"Maeyingga—YOU'RE DEAD!!"
Robin clenched her tiny fists in fury. She slammed her book shut and hugged it to her chest, as though shielding it from another aerial attack.
In the One Piece world, "Maeyingga" referred to a castaway or a lost wanderer—someone swept away by storms or pirates and stranded on a strange island. After a week together, Robin had started calling him that because introducing himself had been impossible for him back then. Yashiro hadn't understood any of it; his carefree personality meant he didn't mind whatever name she used.
But now that he'd installed the One Piece language pack and finally understood the meaning, he yelled back reflexively:
"By the way—Little Robin, my name is Yashiro, not Maeyingga!"
Right on cue, another droplet of bird waste fell from the sky and landed perfectly on top of Robin's head.
Her little face instantly darkened.
Though she was surprised that Yashiro suddenly seemed able to speak so clearly and fluently, she quickly rationalized it. Just a week ago, trying to teach him even basic words had been harder than tutoring a gorilla.
A gorilla might've learned faster…
But he didn't look like some wild child who'd never encountered human society. He acted noisy, irritatingly normal—aside from the fact that he couldn't speak or understand anything back then. She had guessed he'd probably hit his head in a shipwreck and lost his memories—maybe even his instinct to speak—and now he was gradually recovering it.
So Robin was only mildly surprised. Right now, she just wanted to smack him with her book.
Yashiro scratched the back of his head. Surely Robin had heard him shouting. Since she didn't respond, he turned to jog back toward the tavern—dishwashing paid 50 Berries, after all.
But the moment he took a few steps, an itch spread across his back, followed by a strange sensation—like something was growing out of him.
A slender hand suddenly sprouted from his back and cracked him sharply on the head.
The punch wasn't strong, but because he had just shifted his weight mid-step, it knocked his balance out completely, sending him tumbling face-first into the sand.
He pushed himself up, spitting out grit, and snapped irritably:
"Robin! What was that for?! That hurt!"
A small figure emerged from the grove, holding an old parchment book. Bird droppings clung to her wine-red dress and still dripped from her head as she puffed her cheeks out angrily.
"Look what you did."
Yashiro followed her gaze down to her stained skirt and the bizarre, misshapen glob stuck on her hair.He rolled his eyes. He already knew exactly what happened, but still lifted his fist stubbornly and tilted his chin up.
"What does that have to do with me? Don't tell me I personally pooped on you."
Robin gritted her teeth, shaking with prehistoric fury. She crossed her small arms, activating her Hana Hana no Mi powers.
Several hands sprouted across Yashiro's body, instantly binding him.With a thump, he hit the sand again.
"It's absolutely your fault! If you hadn't been yelling like a dying sea king, those birds wouldn't have panicked—and they wouldn't have dumped all that filth on me!"
"Ohh, so that's what happened. Then I'll be more careful next time. I promise."He grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, Little Robin, it's getting late. I have to get to work. You don't want to sit there all day covered in bird poop, right? How about you let me go, and tonight I'll bring you your favorite cream puffs?"
Yashiro flashed his trademark smile—his ultimate weapon. After a week of interaction, he already knew exactly what Robin liked: puffs from the dessert shop near Gusclari's place.
Whenever he washed dishes at Paiwa Tavern, he always caught Robin sneaking peeks at the dessert shop's display case.Ten Berries per puff. Expensive for him.But even so, he always bought them for her.
Robin's stern expression faltered immediately. She was still only six years old—of course she loved sweets. Long before she grew into the calm, tea-drinking scholar she would one day become, she was a child who adored desserts.
Feeling the hands binding him start to loosen, Yashiro quickly raised his offer. Time was running out. If he was even a few minutes late, that mountain of a woman—Paiwa—would dock his entire pay.
"Fine! Two puffs! I can afford two. But not more! Even though I am a financially stable young man, I also believe in frugality!"
Robin considered his words seriously, then let his arms go."Well… you'd better not forget. Two puffs tonight."
She lowered her petite frame and extended her little finger toward him for a pinky promise—believing wholeheartedly that a promise sealed that way could not be broken.
Two puffs were a luxury. Even though she received a tiny allowance from her mother, most of it was taken away by her uncle. He didn't like her—barely tolerated her. As soon as she became capable of basic self-care, he dumped her back in her mother's old home and left her on her own.
Feeling her ability fully release him, Yashiro scrambled to his feet and sprinted off toward Paiwa Tavern.
"Don't worry! I'll grab your two puffs tonight. Go take a bath—seriously, you stink! Hahaha!"
Robin clenched her fists, itching to trap him with a hundred hands and dropkick him, but she forced herself to let him go.
Two puffs were worth the restraint.
She watched Yashiro's figure shrink into the distance until it completely disappeared.Without meaning to, a faint smile tugged at her lips.
Ever since she'd been abandoned back at her mother's old home—ever since the neighbors and her uncle's family treated her like a monster—she'd grown quiet, withdrawn, numb.
But ever since meeting this strange, chaotic boy…
"…he always disturbs my peaceful reading."
She muttered softly while brushing off her book with her small hands. Then she stepped barefoot across the warm sand, heading home for a much-needed bath.
The walk back was quiet. Even the three children who usually bullied her were nowhere in sight.
As she approached her uncle's house, the front door creaked open and her tiny cousin toddled out, eyes lighting up at the sight of Robin. She ran forward to hug her.
Robin instinctively moved to catch her—but remembered she was covered in bird droppings. She quickly stepped back.The little girl, confused and rejected, plopped onto the ground and burst into tears.
Robin crouched down, smiling gently as she reached out to comfort her—
But a sudden boot connected with her side, kicking her away.
Robin hit the ground hard and rolled several times. When she looked up, her tall uncle was standing over her, holding his wailing daughter protectively and glaring at Robin with pure disgust.
"You monster. What were you planning to do to my daughter?"
Robin stared up at him from the dirt, trembling. His expression was cold, shadowed, terrifying.
"N-no, Uncle—"
"I don't want to hear it!" he snapped, cutting her off. "Stay away from my family. And don't call me your uncle. We're not related. Not to a monster with too many hands."
He turned away, slammed the door shut, and locked it.
Robin sat on the ground alone, shoulders shaking. Bird droppings and sand smeared across her little body. She looked like a tiny, abandoned beggar—fragile, filthy, unwanted.
Quiet sobs slipped from her lips as the evening breeze brushed past.