As the three pursuing warships disappeared, the port no longer visible, Vivi believed the Straw Hat crew would always have a place for her. So—
"Alright, let's go."
Wiping away her tears, Vivi patted the running duck beside her.
"Let's go home too!"
And on the Going Merry, having shaken off the Marines:
"So, what do you mean, woman?"
The 'interrogation' that Vivi interrupted resumed, Zoro looking warily at Nico Robin. To most of the Straw Hat crew, this woman was too dangerous!
"I think..."
Witnessing Vivi's farewell, Robin put down her book with a lonely look in her eyes.
The benefits a princess of a country can bring are a thousand times greater than what a small 'wanted criminal' like me can offer! But the Straw Hat crew let go so easily, silently saying goodbye to their comrade with their backs...
It's really enviable. If she had met this group of people earlier, maybe she could have laughed and cried freely like this too...
"I want to be your companion."
???
——————
"I became an archaeologist at the age of eight,"
"And then I was wanted. A little girl couldn't survive on her own, so I had to rely on various 'bosses' to get by. That's why I'm good at logistics and planning."
In an instant, Robin, having composed herself, introduced herself to the Straw Hat crew.
"My most recent 'boss' was just beaten by you, and now I have nowhere to go, so—"
Nico Robin looked at the captain of this ship: Luffy.
"Let me stay."
"Hmm, so you have your reasons too~~" Roman rolled his eyes beside him, and Luffy nodded seriously.
"Alright, you can stay."
!
"Luffy!!" x3
Facing the angry shouts of Zoro, Usopp, and Nami, Luffy grinned.
"Don't worry, she's not a bad person."
...
"Hey, hey, hey, Luffy," Usopp said seriously, "This woman is the top officer of Baroque Works, Crocodile's partner, the one who planned the whole Alabasta incident—???"
Seeing Luffy and Chopper playing happily with 'arms' on the floor, Usopp slammed the table!
"Listen to me seriously!"
"Usopp—"
Luffy turned around, with two hands 'growing' from his straw hat like antlers.
"Look, I'm 'Chopper'~~"
"Hahahaha!!"
...
Watching Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy rolling on the deck, Zoro closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
I can't see, I can't see~~
"Hmph, only simple-minded guys like you would be fooled."
Nami, who had taken a bath and changed clothes, crossed her arms.
"If you dare to play any tricks, I'll throw you off the ship..."
Ding dong,
A money bag was placed on the table.
"I brought some of Crocodile's jewels..."
"Wow, good sister! I love you!!"
?
"Why are you looking at me?"
Facing Roman's puzzled look, Zoro shook his head helplessly.
"I'm wondering how much Nami would sell you for..."
??
"Ah~~ Robin-chan?"
"Cakes and afternoon tea, enjoy."
Looking at the attentive Sanji, Zoro had lost hope for this ship. But at least:
"Roman, is it really okay to let this woman stay on our ship?"
"Don't worry," Roman waved his hand, "I know Nico Robin quite well. — She's not exactly a good person, but she's not a 'bad person' either. And:"
Roman pointed at Luffy, "You should trust Luffy's judgment of people."
"Yes."
"Then I'll go set up the training room in the back. You guys rest for half an hour."
????
"Ahhh~~~"
Just a moment ago, Usopp, Nami, and Chopper were having fun, but now they all had gloomy faces, looking listless, which made Luffy laugh and comfort them.
"Don't worry, it's just a bit of swelling."
"You'll get used to it!"
"You, who no longer gets hit by the puppets, shut up!"
...
"Are you always this lively?"
Facing Robin's question, Zoro, who had been wary of her, nodded.
"Hahaha, that's really interesting."
---
"Alright, break time is over!"
After lunch, Roman clapped his hands and led the group, who looked like they were facing death, to the 'training ground' at the back of the Going Merry.
"Is this Roman's Devil Fruit creation?"
Looking at the spacious training room and various exercise equipment, Robin couldn't help but marvel.
"What a convenient ability."
"Alright, except for Luffy, everyone else starts the puppet dodging training."
Now Luffy could perfectly dodge Roman's paper puppets with his eyes closed, so Roman took out the Seastone 'bracelet.'
"Luffy, your next step is to strengthen your body as much as possible."
Only with a strong enough body can he use his famous 'Gear Second' and 'Gear Third' techniques. —With Luffy's current body, Roman didn't dare let him develop these moves prematurely, because:
Forcing these moves with insufficient physical fitness would shorten his lifespan!
"Ahhh, do I have to wear this thing again?"
Luffy grumbled, dragging his feet.
"You can eat as much as you want after training."
"Ohhh!"
"I'm fired up!"
...
Is this kind of captain really okay?
Seeing the Straw Hat crew's daily life for the first time, Robin was speechless, feeling like she had boarded a pirate ship.
"Next is Robin."
After assigning training tasks to the others, Roman walked over, raising the Seastone 'bracelet' in his hand.
"Am I going to wear this—?"
Seeing Robin instinctively take a step back and cover her wrist, Roman calmly put the bracelet on his own wrist. Then he nonchalantly pointed to a nearby paper puppet.
"You should also wear a blindfold and train your perception and dodging."
"...Thank you."
Facing Robin's inexplicable gratitude, Roman just sat down and focused.
He only wore one 'Seastone' bracelet, but his physical strength was still mostly sealed, and he could barely control a few paper puppets. He couldn't even maintain the 'White Knight,' so he had to let Nami steer the ship outside.
Judging by how quickly Nami escaped, it was clear she was happy to do so.
---
"Whew~~~"
"Is this your daily life in the Straw Hat crew?"
I've learned a lot!
Sitting on the deck, Robin turned to thank the little reindeer beside her as Chopper applied medicine.
"Thank you, Chopper. You're really good at this."
!
"Idiot~~ Saying that won't make me happy~~~ Dummy~~~"
...Is that pose Sanji's doing?
"Phew, the day's training is finally over."
Nami lay on the table, tilting her head to look at the mature and intellectual beauty opposite her. A hint of envy flashed in her eyes! Those curves, those legs, that...
"If I didn't know you guys took down Crocodile, I'd think you were from some fitness club."
Faced with Robin's teasing, Nami couldn't help but complain.
"Who says we're not?"
"Roman makes us train every day. Anyone who didn't know would think we're out to participate in the World's Strongest Martial Arts Tournament."
"Well..."
Robin glanced around at the Straw Hat crew. How should she describe them?
Zoro sleeping against the ship's rail, Sanji looking dapper, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper goofing around, and the orange-haired girl Nami in front of her. —They looked more like a tour group than pirates.
"Do you all train regularly? What about your income..."
Nico Robin was very curious about this. —On the ships she had been on before, the captains always made her prove her 'value' immediately, through assassinations, espionage, strategizing...
This kind of time spent training and joking together... had never existed in Nico Robin's life!
"Ahhh," Nami, lying on the table, looked dejected, "Don't mention income. No amount of money is enough to feed our gluttonous captain. I'm worried sick—"
"Don't worry,"
Roman walked over and waved his hand, a bundle of Berries landed on the table with a 'thud', the dark green stack exuding the fragrance of money.
"I got a hundred million from the Alabasta royal family—"
Bang!!
"Roman!"
However, Nami didn't even look at the money on the table. She stood up angrily.
"How could you take Vivi's money?"
"Alabasta's reconstruction needs a lot of funds. Vivi needs the money more than we do! And we were the ones who decided to take on Crocodile!"
"Yeah, yeah, what's the money for?"
Luffy chimed in righteously.
"You can't eat it—"
Bang!!
Luffy, his head embedded in the deck, fell silent.
"Shut up! You eat the most!"
Uh...
Robin looked on in astonishment. The crew hitting their captain—
Is this the captain's position?
"Anyway, we're turning back to return the money to Vivi..."
"Uh, this money has nothing to do with Crocodile." Roman rubbed his chin and thought carefully: "No, this money is related to Crocodile. It's the gambling money we confiscated from Rain Dinners."
"Even so—"
"Don't worry, this money isn't our reward for defeating Crocodile. —Besides, Luffy was the one who defeated him. If anyone should get it, it's Luffy."
Roman waved his hand. As the 'strategist' of the ship... or 'chief of staff' in this world, he didn't want to see headlines like "Shocking! The Great Pirate Straw Hat Crew Refuses to Pay 100 Berries for Newspaper, The Reason Is..." someday.
"This is the payment for a 'project' I collaborated on with Alabasta."
"By the way, this 100 million Berries is just a symbolic amount. If you ever decide to stop sailing, there's a mayor's position waiting for you in Alabasta."
?
"What kind of project is worth that much—"
"Desalination."
In an instant, Nami held her head in regret.
"I'm so stupid, I didn't think of your convenient ability, Roman."
"If I sold you to Alabasta, wouldn't that be tens of billions of Berries in income every year?"
??
This...
"Of course,"
Nami stood up and smiled with her hands behind her back.
"Roman, you're not that 'cheap.'"
...
"Well, thank you very much," I hope when you see 'Golden Emperor' Gild Tesoro and 'Diamond King' Jozu, your first reaction isn't to sell them.
——————
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