Dragon's voice echoed through the empty room.
"…"
As expected, there was no response.
Seeing this, Dragon (Shenlong) let out a sigh.
"If cola sits out too long and loses its chill, it loses its soul. It has to be put back into the freezer to cool again."
"Just like a person who finally gets a chance to fulfill their true value, but misses it for one reason or another—and in the end has no choice but to retreat back into a dark corner… Is that what you desire?"
His words were undeniably ridiculous—after all, he was just talking about drinking cola, yet he sounded like a philosopher.
But at this moment, Dragon spoke with complete seriousness.
Because right now, he could clearly see the text displayed on the light screen before his eyes.
[Devil Fruits analyzed this time:
Dice-Dice Fruit LV1, Mole-Mole Fruit LV1, Kilo-Kilo Fruit LV1, Wax-Wax Fruit LV1, Clone-Clone Fruit LV1, Bomb-Bomb Fruit LV1, Spike-Spike Fruit LV1, Dog-Dog Fruit: Dachshund Model LV1]
Those eight fully analyzed fruits were already an enormous gain for him.
But the reason Dragon had come to Alabasta this time still went beyond that.
So at this moment, his gaze rested on the line of text at the very bottom of the screen.
[Currently analyzing Devil Fruit: Flower-Flower Fruit — Progress 76%]
That was also the true source of his words just now.
"I know what you seek, and I know why you've stayed in Baroque Works."
"You want to uncover the hidden history and learn the truth of this world—so I believe we can talk."
As he said this, he grinned.
"Even after all that, you still won't come out?"
"Miss All Sunday—or perhaps I should call you by another name… Nico Robin."
As his words fell—
He saw it.
On the sofa in front of him, a pair of eyes and a mouth silently appeared.
Deep blue, clear eyes, and thin lips—judging by just those features alone, it was obvious she was a beauty.
But at this moment, those eyes looking at Dragon were filled with shock and disbelief.
"Who… are you, exactly?"
Her voice carried an indescribable wariness and fear.
Seeing that she had finally revealed herself, a soft chuckle escaped from beneath Dragon's mask.
"How strange—you should already know who I am."
"After all, this assassination attempt against me should have been an order passed down by Crocodile through you."
"But since you've asked so sincerely…"
He raised his cola cup in a casual toast.
"I am one of the highest-ranking executives of the Twelve Zodiac. Codename: Dragon."
"And if you've never heard of me, then I assume you've heard of Rooster—he's my colleague."
Hearing this, Nico Robin's heart grew even colder.
"Dragon… Rooster… Just as the intelligence speculated."
As a member and vice president of Baroque Works, she handled most of the organization's internal affairs on behalf of the hidden president, MR.0 — Crocodile.
This assassination was no exception: it was authorized by MR.0, with her acting as the one who issued the order.
As such, she had access to a great deal of intelligence—including information about Dragon's appearance, especially the distinctive sea-beast mask.
This was enough for her, just like King Cobra earlier, to reach a similar conclusion: that Dragon was likely connected to Rooster, the criminal who had seized the Celestial Tribute.
However, because the Alabasta royal family had kept all information regarding Dragon extremely well hidden—leaving behind no written records—
Until now, Robin's understanding of Dragon's identity had remained only a hypothesis.
Only now did she finally get formal confirmation—Rooster and Dragon indeed belonged to the same organization.
But clearly, this explosive revelation was no longer worth much to Nico Robin at this moment.
Because right now, the questions filling her mind were simply too numerous to count.
For example—how did he know her identity and her purpose? How did he know of Crocodile's existence? How did he discover her ability?
And most importantly—
This man's abilities are very similar to Aokiji's.
The moment that thought arose, Nico Robin felt her mind plunge into chaos.
That's right.
Through the power of the Flower-Flower Fruit, she could make any part of her body bloom from any solid surface.
Which meant that during the assassination attempt carried out by the agents earlier… she had actually been watching the entire time.
She had personally witnessed the overwhelming power displayed by the monster called Dragon.
It was truly crushing, absolute strength.
And among it all, his control over ice was disturbingly similar to the nightmare from her childhood.
Yet she had also seen with her own eyes that, beyond frost and cold, he possessed another ability that was its complete opposite—otherwise, she would almost have suspected that the one hidden beneath the dragon mask was none other than the Marine Admiral Aokiji himself.
So what kind of Devil Fruit user is he, exactly?
Countless doubts left Nico Robin's thoughts in utter disarray.
Fortunately, having survived and grown under the World Government's relentless pursuit, her mind was indeed sharp enough.
So even amid the chaos, Nico Robin was still able to ask a question that went straight to the core.
"What is your goal?"
"And also…"
She clenched her teeth as she asked the next question.
His power, and how he knew her identity and Crocodile's identity—none of that mattered anymore.
What mattered was what he intended to do, and—
"What do you need me to do?"
She asked it outright.
Yes. Now that she had calmed down slightly, she had realized something crucial.
He knew her real identity and her codename, and his organization's intelligence capabilities were terrifying—seemingly aware of everything about Baroque Works.
Under those circumstances, given the power he had displayed, she should not have been granted the opportunity for this conversation at all.
"Talking to someone smart really is convenient."
Hearing her words, Dragon seemed to smile.
"Indeed. I could have gone straight to the Spider Café and captured you."
"Or I could have directly revealed your whereabouts and identity to King Cobra, the World Government, or the underworld. Plenty of people would be interested in the 'Devil Child'—and with Alabasta actively sealing its waters, you'd have had little chance of escape."
"Once your identity was exposed, I doubt Crocodile would continue protecting you. Sheltering a survivor of Ohara could very well cost him his position as one of the Seven Warlords."
Every sentence he spoke made Nico Robin's heart sink further.
The Spider Café—a café located west of Erumalu—was also Baroque Works' headquarters in Alabasta.
She had indeed planned to return there to report to Crocodile after this assassination attempt.
"But… I didn't do any of that, because as a businessman—"
"I want to discuss a deal with you."
As he said this, Dragon raised his hand slightly.
"A win-win deal."
"A deal?"
Hearing that, Nico Robin let out a soft laugh.
"Let's hear it."
Her laughter was cold.
Ever since she was eight years old, she had heard that word countless times.
But to her, that word had always meant only profit and betrayal.
Dragon, however, seemed not to notice the chill in her tone.
"I know what you need—you want to research the truth of history, so you need the Poneglyphs."
"At the same time, you also need an organization willing to shelter and protect you."
He spread his hands. "And coincidentally, our organization happens to know the locations of some Poneglyphs, including the one in Alabasta."
Hearing this, the coldness in Nico Robin's eyes deepened.
"So you're saying that you can help me obtain the Poneglyphs, but in exchange I must tell you their contents?"
"For example, the one in Alabasta, right?"
She had heard this far too many times.
In fact, the very reason she was in Baroque Works, cooperating with Crocodile, was because Crocodile needed her to decipher the Poneglyphs in order to search for clues about the ancient weapon hidden in Alabasta—Pluton.
And now, Nico Robin naturally assumed that the Twelve Zodiac had the same goal.
At their core, the two organizations were no different!
But—
The very next moment, Dragon's words left her completely stunned.
"Of course not."
"We're very familiar with the contents of the Alabasta Poneglyph—after all, everyone knows where Pluton is."
"We know its location."
Dragon said calmly.
"If you're willing to pay a sufficient price, we can tell you its location and its contents as well—that's also part of the 'cooperation' I mentioned."
He raised a finger and looked at the utterly stunned Nico Robin.
"We will protect you, and we will share—with compensation—some of the Poneglyph locations and contents that we already know. But we won't search for Poneglyphs on your behalf. Whether you can obtain those hidden Poneglyphs depends entirely on your own ability."
"As for whether you choose to share their contents with us after obtaining them—that's also your decision. We won't interfere."
Behind the mask, Roy's words were spoken sincerely.
To be honest, he was certainly curious about the truth from eight hundred years ago, the contents of the Poneglyphs, and even the final island—Laugh Tale.
But curiosity aside, he wasn't obsessively determined to uncover the truth at all costs.
To him, the value of a Poneglyph was far less than that of a rare and powerful Devil Fruit.
Moreover, Roy understood one thing very clearly.
If you forced Nico Robin to share the contents of a Poneglyph, she would never tell the truth—just as she had lied to Crocodile in the original story.
So he genuinely didn't care whether Nico Robin told him the truth behind the Poneglyphs or not.
"If I really want to know someday, the solutions aren't hard to find—the Kozuki Clan of Wano, or an awakened Three-Eyed Tribe. There are plenty of ways." He muttered to himself inwardly.
But at this moment, Nico Robin was nearly dumbfounded.
"Wait… wait—what did you just say?"
Even through the eyes she manifested with her ability, one could see her doubt, confusion, and shock.
"You know the contents of the Poneglyphs… which means… there's someone in your organization who can read them?"
This was the hardest thing for her to believe.
"That falls outside the scope of our deal, Miss Robin."
Dragon simply smiled in response.
"…"
Nico Robin fell silent for a moment.
Then she said, "I don't believe you."
"If your organization truly has no interest in the Poneglyphs, then I can't imagine why you'd want to cooperate with me at all."
She knew it herself—her most valuable asset was her ability to read the Poneglyphs.
If, as he claimed, they weren't interested in that ability—
Then what could they possibly want from her?
At the very least, Robin couldn't find an answer.
And yet, at the same time, she also knew—Dragon had no reason to lie to her.
Because just as he had said earlier, since the Twelve Zodiac already knew her identity, her life was essentially in their hands.
"You're mistaken, Miss Robin."
At that moment, Dragon let out a soft laugh.
"Your identity isn't limited to just 'the Devil Child.'"
"In fact, what truly interests us is another identity of yours…"
As he spoke, he stood up and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Miss All Sunday."