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Chapter Opening Serial・Big News 18・Leaping Through the Fog
Grand Line, First Half. A newsbird carrying newspapers flies through the sky. Below, a sea covered in fog can be seen, with vague, gigantic shadows looming in the mist...
---
"Coral!"
Liam nodded. There wasn't much more to discuss beyond that one word. After all, what else could be said about it?
At the moment, Hancock was too preoccupied to clone herself back into the City Fortress. With Snake Princess nearby, it wasn't convenient for her to open the fortress's gates either. As for having the headless armor write down the situation outside with charcoal, it wasn't so urgent as to warrant that.
The mask hadn't returned yet; it was probably still hiding outside. Knowing himself well, Liam guessed that B.I.B.'s mask was likely lurking somewhere nearby, watching over Hancock and Snake Princess.
Where else would it be? Hiding outside the palace to avoid the limelight? That would be incredibly dull.
Once the mask returned and Liam recalled B.I.B., he'd naturally be able to know what had transpired. There was no need to rush.
Robin crouched near the ancient characters written with charcoal and reflected on what Hancock had just explained. "Coral…" she murmured to herself.
Why was there a piece of paper with ancient writing in one of the books from the Kuja Palace Library?
What was the original text it had copied?
While Robin pondered this, Liam resumed his one-on-one "man's battle" with B.I.B. The more he trained with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) and Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), the more he felt a flicker of inspiration, like a flash of lightning in his mind, teasing him with its elusive presence, making him itch with curiosity.
"Haki…"
The First Stand Cup Haki Tournament.
The only two contestants: Liam and B.I.B.
The winner: Liam.
Liam, after all, had one more face than B.I.B., giving him a significant advantage…
He lay on the floor of the Snake City Fortress, panting heavily, utterly exhausted. The headless armor lay beside him, equally drained. Even though it couldn't voice its exhaustion, its Haki had also been completely depleted.
Completely depleted…
A bolt of realization shot through Liam's mind as he suddenly sat up.
"I got it!"
On the other side of the hall, Robin sat cross-legged, bored, and playing around with her Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) ability. Across from her sat another figure, though its face kept changing as petals bloomed and withered on its face.
Sometimes, it formed a slightly chubby girl; other times, a slender and handsome woman; and sometimes, it seemed like it was trying its best to imitate Hancock's appearance with limited materials.
Hearing Liam's sudden shout, Robin turned her head. The "Hancock-inspired face" on the flower clone also turned in sync.
"Not bad, you've got some impressive craftsmanship there," Liam commented, surprised by her "creation." After all, the Robin from the manga never displayed such a skill. "Keep developing this, and you might earn the title 'Thousand Faces Girl.' But wait…" He quickly pointed out the flaw in Robin's disguise technique, given that he'd been a Flower-Flower Fruit user for a few days himself. "You won't be able to pull off a lot of faces! Your own skin is too smooth; you can't mimic someone with rough skin."
The flower clone smiled slightly before disintegrating into a flurry of petals.
Robin remarked, "It's been quite a while now… I wonder how Hancock's doing outside."
Liam looked up at the ceiling adorned with hundreds of serpent sculptures hanging down. "Our Kenbunshoku Haki can't reach outside from here... How long has it been?"
Robin calculated, "About three or four hours."
Liam stroked his chin, looking around at the enclosed environment of the Snake Den City Fortress, lost in thought.
Robin speculated, "Maybe she's staying for dinner at the palace…"
Feigning shock, Liam teased, "You think I'm worried Hancock is purposely locking us in this City Fortress, and I'm planning to use my ghost's wall-phasing abilities to sneak into her body, break down the fortress, and escape?"
Robin: "…"
Though she knew Liam was joking, the fact that he described it in such detail made her wonder if he really had thought through potential escape strategies in case they ever got trapped in such a situation.
.........
Suddenly, a door to the Snake Den City Fortress opened.
A stream of aromatic food wafted in, carried inside.
White fluid surged from the floor and walls, forming into lifelike White Snakes that delivered the food to Liam and Robin.
Hancock appeared beside them, her bright eyes open, just in time to hear Liam ask, "Did you bring this for your younger sisters?"
"Are you going to eat or not?" Hancock scolded in her soft voice. "If not, forget it."
Raising her eyes, she saw that Liam had already devoured half of the pile of food…
Robin, eating politely, asked Hancock what had happened outside during the time the City Fortress was sealed.
"Hmph…" Hancock snickered smugly. "You'll never guess what fun thing I saw at the palace!"
As she remembered, her Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) activated instinctively, scanning her surroundings. Sure enough, she spotted a black shadow beside Liam— but the figure's face was empty.
Hancock was confused. The face mask hadn't returned?
Just then, a shadow flew in from outside the City Fortress door, quickly circled, and seamlessly reattached itself to B.I.B.'s face. Its eyes glowed faintly as it gazed at Hancock.
Hancock exclaimed, "Impossible! How were you outside? Where…?"
She questioned, "Where were you hiding?"
"Well…" Liam paused his chopsticks mid-air, continuing to eat as he replied, "I think I can guess."
Hancock, puzzled, asked, "Where?"
Liam answered, "You wouldn't want to know."
"Tell me now!" Hancock demanded angrily.
"Nope," Liam calmly continued eating.
Hancock, frustrated, snapped, "Then I won't tell you what happened today!"
Liam casually responded, "Wow, I'm so scared~~ Don't tell me then, I'm not interested anyway."
Hancock was furious!
Her eyes darted around, and she grumbled, "I'll tell Jolyne, but I won't tell you."
Robin glanced helplessly at Hancock while eating.
Since Liam's ghost was outside, it wasn't much different from him seeing what had happened with his own eyes… Whether Hancock told him or not didn't make much of a difference.
Robin's gaze shifted between Liam, who was happily eating, and the empty space beside him, silently wondering where exactly B.I.B.'s face mask had been hiding that Hancock "wouldn't want to know."
Hancock leaned close to Robin and whispered something in her ear.
"What?!" Robin's chopsticks shook, and she gasped in surprise.
"Why are *you* so shocked?!" Hancock was startled by her reaction. She was just talking about how she and Snake Princess saw a big rock— why the huge reaction?
.........
After bidding farewell to Hancock, who returned home alone, Liam and Robin headed to the forest outside Kuja City.
"A Poneglyph, huh…"
Liam nodded. He had already suspected something when he saw Robin's strong reaction earlier. As he thought, the only thing that could make Robin react like that was a Poneglyph.
Robin sat with her knees drawn to her chest, leaning against a tree, looking at Liam with slight anticipation.
"It's quite rare for Kuja Island to have a Poneglyph…"
Liam sat cross-legged on the ground as B.I.B., after removing the Gasu Gasu No Mi (Gas Gas Fruit) chip, transformed into a dark shadow and effortlessly leaped back into Liam's body.
(End Of Chapter)