"Nico Robin!?"
The moment that name—one carrying a special meaning—was spoken, Smoker's expression behind the Straw Hat crew instantly changed. His eyes turned severe.
Nico Robin!?
Wasn't that the Devil Child wanted by the World Government!?
Smoker clearly remembered his days at the recruit training camp, during cultural studies class…
Back then, their instructor had taught them a lesson introducing the world's most dangerous figures.
Among them, the name Nico Robin was listed alongside Yonko pirate crews and Revolutionary Army executives—people capable of threatening the entire world!
Letting such a terrifying person remain on their ship—wouldn't the Straw Hat crew's future become extremely dangerous!?
Smoker grew worried almost instantly.
But the very next second, he froze.
…Wait a minute!?
Why am I worrying about pirates!?
If they get captured by the World Government, wouldn't that be a good thing for the seas!?
For a moment, conflicted emotions surged within him. After glancing around, Smoker noticed that everyone around him had their eyes fixed on Robin. He let out a sigh.
Forget it.
What does the World Government's most-wanted list have to do with a Marine like me!?
…
…
And so, after quite a bit of turmoil—
Robin, suppressed by Seastone, officially became a captive of the Straw Hat crew.
At Sanji's strong insistence, they tied Robin to a chair.
Other than the weakness induced by the Seastone, she wasn't subjected to any additional mistreatment.
"So then…"
"How should we deal with her? Kill her?"
Zoro, who seemed unfriendly toward every captive, once again voiced a brutal suggestion.
Naturally, this earned him a flying kick from Sanji!
Clang—!!!
A blade infused with Armament Haki instantly clashed with a leather shoe likewise coated in Armament Haki.
Sanji clenched his cigarette and snarled viciously at Zoro.
"Bastard! Don't be so rude to women!"
"You damn cook!"
Zoro bared his teeth in rage as lightning-like power crackled around his body, clearly intent on teaching this softhearted, woman-loving idiot a lesson.
Sanji didn't back down either—blazing flames erupted from his body.
In the blink of an eye, the two were sparring on the deck of the Going Merry.
But as for their love-hate routine, not only the Straw Hat crew, but even outsiders like Vivi and Smoker were long since used to it.
No one paid it any mind.
Everyone's gaze subconsciously turned toward the Straw Hat crew's usual brain—Red.
This time, however, Red unexpectedly chose to side with Sanji.
Chuckling, he nodded and said, "Haha, Zoro, this woman really isn't someone you can just lay a hand on~!"
"Hm!?"
Red's words successfully cut off the standoff between Zoro and Sanji. Both of them looked at him with curiosity.
At that moment, Red stepped over to Robin and then turned his gaze toward Luffy.
With a light smile, he said:
"Luffy, do you remember what I told you about how to become Pirate King, around two years ago?"
"Eh? The way to become Pirate King?"
Luffy scratched his head blankly, half thinking, half recalling—then suddenly slapped his palm with a righteous expression.
"I forgot!"
"..."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Red laughed in resignation.
"Well, that's not surprising."
Having spent the longest time with Luffy aboard the Going Merry, Red had long passed the age where little things like this could make him angry.
Even so, forgetting something that important was still pretty outrageous.
Two years ago, though he hadn't planned on sailing with Luffy himself, Red had done quite a lot of preparation for him.
Clearly, all those years of explanation had been swallowed by Luffy along with his meals.
"Ah, whatever~"
Red let out a helpless sigh, then lifted his head and swept his gaze across the Straw Hat crew.
"Since that's the case, let's use this opportunity to explain it again to everyone."
"There's still a long road ahead, but it's something we were bound to face sooner or later…"
Under the puzzled looks of everyone present—including Robin—he began to speak slowly, explaining the secrets of the Poneglyphs and the red Road Poneglyphs.
He also pointed out Robin's identity as a historian capable of deciphering the ancient script.
Half an hour later—
Everyone's gaze toward Robin had completely changed.
"Wait, wait a second…" Nami interrupted Red in disbelief. "So you're saying… if Luffy wants to become Pirate King, then we have to sail with this woman?"
"What does that make her!? Our captive? Or our crewmate?"
Red simply smiled, giving no direct answer, and instead handed the decision to the real owner of the ship.
"Luffy, what do you think?"
"Hmm…"
Luffy tilted his mouth to the side, looking troubled.
"This is such a pain~"
"Do we really have to sail with a bad person who tried to assassinate Vivi!?"
"A bad person?" Red laughed lightly. "That's not quite right."
He then explained to Luffy:
"Nico Robin might not be a good person, but she's definitely not a bad person."
"After all, there are far worse beings in this world."
"Besides, as pirates, we ourselves aren't exactly good people either."
Red smiled gently.
Of course, he knew that by "bad person," Luffy didn't mean good or evil—he meant someone who tried to hurt their friend.
So he continued:
"And besides… I think she never planned on carrying out the assassination in the first place, right?"
"Otherwise, why would someone board another's ship when they clearly know they're no match?"
"Nico Robin isn't a fool."
Red wasn't defending her out of sympathy.
Given Robin's Devil Fruit ability, if she truly wanted to kill Vivi, she could have snapped Vivi's neck from afar in an instant.
Of course—
That was assuming Vivi was still the same as before, and not already one of Red's Pokémon.
"..."
Under Red's all-seeing gaze, the captured Robin remained silent, showing no intention of speaking.
After some hesitation, Vivi finally spoke up.
"If you put it that way… this woman really is a bit strange."
"It was her who gave me information about Baroque Works and Crocodile."
"I thought she had some bigger scheme, but now…"
"Maybe, just like Red said, she really isn't a bad person."
"I see~"
An unusually obedient Luffy nodded in understanding, then immediately made his decision.
"Well, if I can't become Pirate King without her…"
"Then she should become our partner!"
Decision made, Luffy turned to Robin and grinned widely.
"You're called Robin, right!?"
"Come be my partner!!!"
Simple and straightforward—that was Luffy's style.
Watching this, Nami and Usopp instantly wore speechless expressions.
Still, since Red's words clearly hinted that he too wanted to invite Robin to join, they held back their objections.
It was just that—
One moment an enemy, the next a companion.
That kind of absurd transition really left them struggling to keep up.
"Wait… you're inviting this woman to be your companion!?"
At that moment, Smoker—who had remained silent until now—finally couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up.
"Do you even understand who she is!?"
"She's someone directly wanted by the World Government!"
"If you get involved with her, the World Government will hunt you down!"
"Huh? So what?" Luffy looked at him indifferently.
After training together for so long, he didn't completely disregard Smoker's words.
But Smoker remained utterly stunned.
"What do you mean 'so what'!? That's the World Government we're talking about!"
"If you associate with Nico Robin, you won't be viewed as ordinary pirates anymore!"
"But…" Luffy scratched his cheek in confusion, "We weren't ordinary pirates to begin with, were we?"
"I'm the man who's going to become Pirate King!"
"Being chased by the World Government is only natural, right!?"
"Uh…"
Smoker was left completely speechless.
At that moment, Robin suddenly spoke up instead, supplementing his words.
"That gentleman is right."
Even as a captive, her expression remained eerily calm, as if she had already made peace with both life and death.
Though she had been startled earlier by how Red seemed to know everything.
"If you get involved with me, you won't meet a good end."
"Not just one of the Seven Warlords like Crocodile…"
"If the World Government finds out I'm on your ship, they'll keep you under strict surveillance and make your journey extremely difficult."
"After all, the World Government will never allow someone like me—who can read the Poneglyphs—to continue living in this world."
She spoke placidly, as if discussing someone else entirely.
In truth, just as Red had said, she had long since investigated the Straw Hat Pirates thoroughly.
She even knew that they had destroyed the Arlong Pirates and Marine Branch 16 in the East Blue—becoming great heroes in the eyes of many.
That was why she had shown herself and spoken of assassinating Vivi.
Though she had always struggled to survive, Robin's heart was already riddled with scars.
Living no longer brought her joy, and death inspired no real fear.
Everything was simply left to fate.
Even if she truly died at the hands of the Straw Hat crew, that too would have been part of her plan.
However, after hearing her words, Luffy only looked even more confused and asked:
"So… what does that matter!?"
"Huh!?"
Robin suddenly lifted her head and saw that Luffy's expression was completely genuine.
Luffy said:
"Becoming enemies of the World Government… wasn't that something we already prepared for when we set sail!?"
"Then why would that stop you from becoming my partner!?"
"After all, even Red said…"
"Without you, it'd be really hard for me to become Pirate King!"
(End of Chapter)