"Enough already, you idiot!" Zoro yelled as he kicked Luffy, sending him flying into the approaching Baroque Works agents. All three were knocked into the rubble together.
"Seems like I'll have to get rid of you two nuisances first!" Mr. 5 climbed up from the ground, casting a glance at Luffy, who was still lying on the ground.
"Hahaha, alright then! If that's what you want, I won't argue!" Miss Valentine floated above Zoro, holding an umbrella. She had the powers of the Kilo-Kilo Fruit, allowing her to control her own weight.
"Mr. Swordsman, get out of the way!" Vivi shouted in warning, seeing that Miss Valentine was descending over Zoro.
"This isn't the time to dodge!" Zoro's eyes were fixed in the direction where Luffy had been kicked. There, Luffy had grabbed the unconscious Mr. 5.
Meanwhile, on the ship, Ryu had casually made himself some food. After eating, he felt some of his strength returning, and that's when he remembered he had potions to restore vitality and stamina in his backpack.
Ryu typically avoided relying on external aids, so he never used these potions in battle. But for recovery after injuries, they worked well. After drinking a healing potion and eating two drumsticks and a bowl of fried rice, his life and stamina were mostly restored, though his internal energy had yet to recover.
But Ryu had no intention of using pills to restore it. Restoring his internal energy was also a form of training. Training on an empty internal reservoir actually yielded the best results.
"Well, time to check in on our lovely princess!" Now that he was fed and rested, Ryu left the ship and headed toward the island.
"Heh, let's see who's stronger: a swordsman or a martial artist!"
When Ryu found Luffy and Zoro, they were in the middle of a duel. Seeing Nami approach, Ryu decided not to get closer; that girl had the power to keep this entire crew in check!
"I remember Robin makes her appearance around this time, right?" Satisfied that things were under control, Ryu turned his gaze toward the coastline.
"Oh, I see. So because of the internal conflict, your country doesn't have much money?" After getting Luffy and Zoro under control, the group found a place to sit and talk. Vivi shared her story, and Nami immediately deduced that the princess wasn't capable of paying them a hefty sum of 1 billion berries.
"Huh? So who's the boss of this Baroque Works you're talking about?" Luffy asked curiously.
"I can't say. That's the one thing I absolutely can't tell you. If I told you, you'd be in danger too!" Vivi said, quickly waving her hands.
"Fine by us! Anyone trying to take over a country has to be powerful, right?" Nami nodded with a smile.
"Yes, while you're strong, you're definitely not a match for Sir Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!" Vivi said earnestly.
A brief silence followed before Zoro muttered, "Didn't you just say it?"
"No worries, no worries! No one else is around to hear this. Just pretend you didn't hear anything, okay?" Vivi realized her slip-up and hurriedly apologized.
Nami, who had been feeling hopeless moments ago, perked up. But before she could say anything, the sound of flapping wings interrupted them.
"What's with that otter and vulture?" Nami asked curiously, pointing at an otter perched on a vulture.
"T-That's Unlucky, one of our boss's messengers!" Vivi replied in surprise.
"What? Does that mean they're going to report everything back to your boss?" Nami nearly lost it. Why did things like this always happen to her?
She forgot that it was she who'd forced Zoro to save Vivi in the first place.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Vivi kept apologizing to Nami; it truly had been a slip of the tongue.
"Forget it, I'm leaving! This has been a short but eventful journey, but it's time we part ways!" Nami headed toward the harbor on her own.
"Where are you going, Nami?" Luffy asked, puzzled.
"Since they haven't seen our faces yet, it's the perfect time to run!" Nami said without turning around.
But just as she finished her sentence, the vulture and otter reappeared, hovering above her as the otter sketched furiously on a piece of paper. When it was done, it even held up the sketch for Nami to see, and she trudged back, crestfallen.
The otter held up a sheet with portraits of Nami, Zoro, and Luffy.
"Great, now we can't even escape. Just my luck! We're barely into the Grand Line, and we're already on the bad side of a Warlord of the Sea! Life is hopeless!" Nami sulked in the corner, crying to herself.
Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro were getting excited, wondering what kind of person this "Crocodile" might be.
At the same time, Ryu flew along the coastline using Moonwalk. Soon, he found his target—a giant turtle, with a tall woman seated on its back.
"Hey there, beautiful! What's a lady like you doing out here all alone?" Ryu descended onto the turtle's back, greeting her with a smile.
Robin, wearing her hat, turned to look at Ryu with a smile of her own. "So, what exactly are you planning to do, boarding someone else's ship like this?"
"Oh, nothing much. I was just curious about what's so special about you that Vice Admiral Saul would sacrifice his life for you, Nico Robin." Ryu said, standing and looking at her.
At the mention of Saul's name, Robin's body tensed up. But seeing that Ryu made no move to attack, she held back, though she began gathering her strength.
"Who exactly are you?" Robin asked, staring at Ryu.
"Well, I'm just an injured guy who happened to be saved by a rather interesting group of pirates. When I noticed you were here, I thought I'd drop by to say hello!" Ryu waved a hand, signaling for Robin not to be on guard.
"Just to say hello?" Robin asked skeptically.
"Yep! Seeing that you're alright puts me at ease. This world wouldn't be the same without you, after all," Ryu said with a grin.
"What exactly is your goal?" Robin could sense the air of mystery around Ryu, making it impossible to gauge his intentions.
"Relax. I really am just here to say hello. Time's up, so I'll be on my way. See you around!" With that, Ryu leapt into the air and disappeared.
"Sky Walk? Are you with the government?" Robin's eyes narrowed as she watched him use the technique.
Elsewhere, Luffy was on the shoreline bidding farewell to Igaram, chuckling about how amusing the man was. But suddenly, Igaram's ship exploded in the distance, engulfing the area in flames.
Everyone standing on the shore wore dark expressions. Luffy clenched his fists in anger. "Alright! I won't forget this!"
"Luffy, wake the others up. We need to leave now—pursuers might already be on their way!" Zoro said, his face serious.
"Vivi, let's go! If we're discovered here, everything will be over!" Nami urged, noticing that Vivi hadn't moved.
Vivi stood silently, biting her lip. Nami's heart ached seeing her like that—she knew this princess was strong.
"Don't worry. Luffy and the others are incredibly powerful. We'll get you safely to Alabasta. After all, they freed the entire East Blue with just four people. A mere Warlord of the Sea is no match for them!" Nami hugged Vivi, comforting her gently.
After a flurry of preparations, Luffy and the crew finally set sail. A brief explanation from Nami managed to quiet down the usually loud Usopp and Sanji, who lay resting on the deck.
"You all be careful sailing now. Try not to crash into any rocks—especially since you just escaped from your pursuers!" Robin appeared on the Merry once again, seated on the railing and greeting them casually.
"Who are you?" everyone except Vivi asked in shock.
"Why are you here, Miss Sunday?" Vivi glared at Robin with hostility.
"I just met Mr. 8 back there," Robin replied, resting her chin in her hand with a smile.
"So, it was you who…" Vivi stared at Robin with hatred.
"Who is this now? Another code name? What number partner is she?" Nami asked curiously.
"She's our boss's partner, Mr. 0's right hand. Only she knows our boss's true identity!" Vivi replied, her gaze fixed on Robin.
"To be precise, I allowed myself to be followed so you could find out who he is," Robin said with a smile.
"Oh? So she's actually a good person?" Luffy pouted, sounding disappointed.
"Not quite. She's also the one who informed the boss that we'd discovered his identity, isn't that right?!" Vivi shouted at Robin.
"Huh? So she's a bad person after all!" Luffy's judgment of people was notoriously whimsical.
"What exactly do you want?" Vivi's voice trembled with anger as she shouted at Robin. It felt oddly familiar—she had recently asked someone the same question.
Robin shook her head and used her Devil Fruit powers to toss Usopp and Sanji, who had just woken up and were aiming weapons at her, off the deck. "You really shouldn't point dangerous things at people!"
"A beautiful lady!" Sanji, finally seeing Robin's face, was instantly captivated. Had he known she was a woman, he never would've aimed a weapon at her.
"Don't worry, I haven't been ordered to kill you. But you are rather unlucky to have picked up a princess being hunted by Baroque Works!" Robin remarked with a smile.
"Oh really? I don't see them as unlucky. If anything, maybe it's Crocodile who's unlucky to have crossed paths with them!" The door to the cabin opened, and a familiar figure stepped out, one the crew instantly recognized.
............
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