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And if you don't want to wait for public releases and are interested in reading more advanced chapters of this fic, you can always check out my Patreon page. There, you'll find over twenty advanced chapters of this fic and another Bully fic I recently started: patreon.com/_Luizinho_
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Grand Line – Paradise
Departing from Whisky Peak
"Vivi, do you know her?", Nami asks, confused by the mixed reactions to the appearance of this woman, while Vivi seemed to hate her, Luffy was being friendly with her, and apparently knew her as well.
"Yes, this is Miss All-Sunday, partner of Mr. 0, and from what I know, the only one who knows his identity, but apparently, it's not much of a well-kept secret since a lot of people have that information. Anyway, it was by following and investigating her that we discovered the identity of the leader of the Baroque Works", Vivi says, clenching her fists, wanting to attack Robin for what she did to Igaram.
"Or, to be more precise, I let you follow me. I even made it easier for you to discover Crocodile's identity", Robin says, resting her chin in her palm.
"You... you were the one who compromised our disguises, why? Why do all of this? What do you gain by letting us follow and investigate you?", Vivi asks, boiling with anger.
"What do I gain from this? Well, fun, firstly, and I did it because you seemed so committed to this noble goal that I felt obligated to help. What can I say? I found your desperate effort to save your country so pathetic and ridiculous that it was actually funny", Robin says with her calm voice, in a playful tone.
"I know you're lying and playing the villain's role, but don't mock other people's efforts, Robin, especially someone from my crew", Luffy interjects, warning Robin with a serious face.
"... It seems like it's not just my past that you're aware of. Should I be worried about having a stalker following me?", Robin comments playfully after a few seconds of silence.
"Nah, I just know a lot about the world and the various figures that reside in it. I know the reason why you joined Crocodile: Poneglyphs, cool stones. I found one once; it was in a ruined temple, the place was full of inscriptions in the same language used on the Poneglyphs", Luffy says, shrugging.
"... You found a Poneglyph? Do you remember where?", Robin asks impulsively, before quickly composing herself.
"More than that, I know what was written on it", Luffy says, like a child showing off.
Robin then looks at Luffy in silence for a few seconds, her expression changing slightly to surprise before quickly returning to her normal expression. "... How? You know how to read-"
"No, I can't read the language of the Poneglyphs. It's just that I can hear the Voice of All Things, and it turns out these little stones are always eager to share what's written on them", Luffy explains, clearing things up.
"Hmm, interesting. Tell me, what did those 'little stones' tell you?", Robin asks, setting aside for now the information that Luffy somehow can 'hear' the Poneglyphs speak.
"Oh, and here's where this conversation ends for now. If you want to know what was written there, how about joining my crew, huh?", Luffy says with a smile, inviting Robin to join the crew.
"Luffy, are you crazy? She's evil, right? She's the one who killed Igaram", Nami yells at Luffy, thinking his action was stupid and disrespectful to Vivi, although she herself was confused about what was really going on.
"Tempting proposal, but I'll have to decline for now. The conversation was quite interesting, not how I imagined it would be, but still interesting. Well, I think it's time for me to leave. Monkey D. Luffy, honestly, you and your crew are out of luck. You guys ended up rescuing a princess who's being hunted by the Baroque Works, and will have to escort her with such a small group. And of all, your biggest misfortune is that the next island on your route is Little Garden. But you know what, here! For the interesting conversation, this will take you guys to an uninhabited island near Alabasta, and the best part is, it's a route unknown to any member of the Baroque Works, which means no one will be following you", Robin says, tossing an Eternal Pose to Vivi.
"An Eternal Pose? Why?", Vivi asks, confused, not understanding why Robin was helping them.
"Is she helping us?", Nami asks, confused by all the interaction they've had with Robin from the start.
"It's obviously a trap", Zoro comments, still on alert and ready to strike.
"Who knows! Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. There's only one way to find out", Robin says, shrugging.
At that moment, Luffy walks up to Vivi, takes the Eternal Pose from her hand, and in front of everyone, crushes it mercilessly closing his fist, looking seriously at Robin and saying, "I don't like and barely tolerate fate guiding our way. Now, letting an Eternal Pose guide us? No, I'm the Captain of this ship, and it's me, and only me, who decides where this ship goes. Not you, and certainly not an Eternal Pose!"
"Luffy!", Nami exclaims in surprise, and although she respects the decision of her boyfriend and Captain, deep down she was agonizing over the lost opportunity to follow for a safer route.
"Hmmm, too bad, you're all going to die then. You guys probably won't even make it to Alabasta. Anyway, see you later, that is, if you survive Little Garden", Robin says before exploding into flower petals and disappearing in front of everyone.
"What? Akuma no Mi? Where did she go? I can't feel her anywhere on the ship", Nami asks, getting on alert after using Observation Haki to try to find Robin on the ship.
"Well, first of all, she was never physically on the ship, that was a clone. The real Robin is on that smoking turtle moving away over there", Luffy says, pointing to a distant spot where Robin could be seen sitting on top of a giant turtle, heading in the opposite direction of Merry.
"I... I don't understand why she came here", Vivi says, sitting on the deck, pushing her hair away from her face, looking shaken.
"She obviously wanted to lure us into a trap", Zoro says, stating it like an obvious fact.
"You say that because you don't know who she really is", Luffy says, walking to his spot on the figurehead of the Merry and sitting down.
"So enlighten us, who is she?", Nojiko asks, getting straight to the point.
"Her name is Nico Robin, and she joined Crocodile for protection and to be able to read the Poneglyph of Alabasta. She let you follow her and uncover about Crocodile and his plan not for fun but because she doesn't want to feel guilty and decided your kingdom should at least have a chance to defend itself. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who spread those rumors that got you and the wig-wearing uncle to infiltrate Baroque Works too", Luffy says, laying out the bigger picture for everyone.
"But... but she killed Igaram", Vivi says, gritting her teeth.
"Did she? First of all, I'd like to inform you that the wig-wearing uncle is alive and well, without a scratch. I saved him before the explosion happened. He's now in a boat with supplies, already far away. And even if I hadn't saved him, he would have survived, very injured, but still alive. The explosion happened at the stern of the ship, and the wig uncle was at the bow. So before the fire from the explosion could reach him, he would have already been sent flying far away from the ship by the force of the blast", Luffy says, revealing to everyone that Igaram was alive and well.
"Igaram is alive?", Vivi asks, surprised.
"Yes, I just didn't tell you earlier because Robin had eyes and ears all over the ship", Luffy says, explaining why he didn't say anything sooner.
"Wait, so this Robin, what is she? An ally?", Usopp asks, confused.
"Don't be fooled, she's still an enemy, at least for now. I only said those things to explain why I invited her to join the crew", Luffy says before stretching and then lying down to take a nap outdoors.
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(AN: 1,366 Words)
Hey everyone, just dropping by to let you know that for every 100 Power Stones you manage to gather before the ranking resets on Sunday, I will post a bonus chapter immediately.
Thank you for reading another chapter! If you enjoy this story, leave comments on the chapters, rate the story, and add it to your library.
Leave your Power Stones on this fic, it helps a lot to this story get more visibility.
And if you don't want to wait for public releases and are interested in reading more advanced chapters of this fic, you can always check out my Patreon page. There, you'll find over twenty advanced chapters of this fic and another Bully fic I recently started: patreon.com/_Luizinho_
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