Year 1503 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
In a small town in the West Sea, a strange man appeared.
Dressed in a worn but neatly arranged black coat, his face concealed by a menacing skull mask, a long sword hanging at his waist, and holding a crumpled wanted poster—worth 79 million Berries for Nico Robin—he almost asked everyone he met.
This odd fellow, looking every bit the bounty hunter, walked slowly down the street, his steps echoing with a sense of loneliness.
This man was Shanter.
It had been exactly three years since Shanter escaped from Ohara.
Over the past three years, using the navigation skills he taught himself, Shanter had sailed across more than seventy islands on a crude, self-made raft.
Yet, Robin was still nowhere to be found.
During this time, Shanter had been marked for a bounty after killing Colonel Falin and a CP9 agent (though no one knew the truth about the CP9 incident, it was mistakenly attributed to Shanter). His bounty was set at 41 million Berries.
While not as high as Robin's, it was still "substantial."
Due to becoming a criminal, Shanter had attracted the attention of countless bounty hunters and navy officers. However, those who tried to harass him or capture him were all dead. As for Shanter, he had accumulated nearly a thousand kills and left nearly a hundred scars on his body.
After being hunted and counterattacked repeatedly, Shanter grew weary of it all. He decided to wear a mask and adopt the guise of a bounty hunter.
This served two purposes: one, it reduced the attacks from the navy and bounty hunters; and two, it allowed him to inquire about Robin without arousing suspicion.
In these three years, Shanter's progress was not negligible.
Apart from improvements in his strength, Shanter had accumulated vast experience in various aspects, and his navigation skills had significantly improved with the increasing time spent at sea.
Though Shanter's abilities had grown, his heart remained lost.
The dream of becoming a navy officer had long since faded, and Shanter still had no idea what he truly wanted to do.
Revenge, however, was certain. But now, the enemies were no longer just the small pirates who destroyed his homeland—figures like Aokiji, Akainu, and Sengoku, who stood at the pinnacle of the world, had entered the picture. It would be incredibly difficult, even for someone as proud as Shanter, to deal with them alone.
To be honest, if it weren't for his desire to find Robin, Shanter would probably have already fallen into despair and become a walking corpse.
Repeated searches, numerous leads, only to be met with repeated disappointment. How much longer could he endure such a life? Shanter had no answer.
Whenever he had a free moment, Shanter would reminisce about the times he spent with little Robin on Ohara—those were the happiest moments of his life.
Just as Shanter sank back into his memories, a sudden ruckus snapped him back to reality.
"Get lost, I won't sell to you!" a baker shouted, throwing the money to the ground and shoving a little girl in a purple-red dress, with black long hair, a cute and delicate nose, and deep black eyes.
The little girl stepped back, aggrieved, and picked up the 500 Berries that had fallen on the ground. Meanwhile, the people in the crowd began whispering.
"I heard that little girl is the last remnant of the Ohara Devil—Nico Robin!"
"They say when she was eight, she sank six navy warships. I still don't know how she did it."
"She's so bad at such a young age! Trying to create an ancient weapon to destroy the world!"
"She shouldn't be allowed to live!"
"Go find the navy and capture her!"
Shanter, almost unable to breathe, kept pinching his arm repeatedly, making sure this wasn't a hallucination. After confirming it wasn't, he took a deep breath and calmed his excited emotions.
Girl, it really is you!
Taking several deep breaths to steady his wildly beating heart, Shanter quickly strode forward, ignoring the crowd behind him, and rushed to the front of the bakery stall. He tossed 1,000 Berries on the counter and grabbed a few loaves of bread before turning to leave.
"Hey, how come you don't know how to line up? Really…" the baker grumbled, but Shanter shot him a cold glance, and a subtle pressure radiated from him. Immediately, everyone fell silent.
In these three years, Shanter's Conqueror's Haki had also grown substantially. While his Observation Haki was still weak, with a range of only thirty or forty meters and almost no ability to predict his enemies, his Armament Haki was now as familiar as his own body, allowing for both offense and defense. Though his Conqueror's Haki was the least developed, its suppressive effect had been significantly honed. Now, against these ordinary people who had no idea what Haki was, a mere flicker of his will was enough.
Shanter walked up to Robin, who was trembling in fear, and handed her the bread. His hands were shaking with excitement.
Robin didn't take the bread. Instead, she took two steps back, her face filled with wariness, as though she was ready to flee, thinking Shanter was another bounty hunter.
Shanter realized this and wanted to speak to explain, but his emotions were too chaotic. He tried three times to speak, but not a word came out. He could only swallow nervously.
As Shanter tried to speak, Robin seized the opportunity to suddenly turn and run. She reached down to grab at Shanter's legs, trying to stop him.
Shanter was stunned. If I let her escape like this, who knows when I'll get another chance to see her.
But Shanter was aware that if he hurt her arm, it would cause her pain. He carefully removed her hand from his leg and began chasing after her.
As they ran, the crowd began murmuring again.
"That must be a bounty hunter! He's terrifying!"
"Probably, he's holding a wanted poster!"
"So what if he's a bounty hunter? How unreasonable!"
"I hope he catches Nico Robin!"
After three years of running, Robin's physical condition couldn't compare to Shanter's, who had been fighting and killing across islands. Though Robin had pushed herself to the limit in trying to escape, Shanter always easily kept up. Even though Robin had built up great stamina in her three years of evading capture, shaking off Shanter was no different from chasing a fool's dream.
(If Shanter were to actually lose her, that would be a problem.)
Robin was running for her life, and Shanter, still emotionally unsettled, was shouting as he chased. His voice broke with emotion, causing Robin to run even faster.
Finally, exhausted, Robin found herself cornered in an alley.
She collapsed onto the ground, fear written across her face as she stared at the masked man, despair filling her heart. Am I going to die?
But to Robin's surprise, the man didn't draw his sword and decapitate her as she had expected. Instead, he trembled and knelt down, pulling her into a tight embrace.
What is he doing? Is he trying to hand me over to the navy alive? Doesn't he know that I'm 'dead or alive'? Life or death doesn't matter? Robin's thoughts were jumbled. His heart is racing so fast that I can feel it through his clothes. I guess 79 million Berries is no small sum. It's inevitable that he would be excited!
At the end of her thoughts, Robin couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
Just then, a faint sobbing sound reached her ears. Robin was puzzled, but then a familiar and affectionate voice called out softly, "Girl, I've found you."
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