Robin and Nami both froze as their eyes landed on the green-haired man standing before them the unmistakable white coat of the Marines fluttering behind him.
Robin's heart dropped.
The Marines had already arrived? So soon?
That meant she had missed her window of escape.
There was only one thing left to do she had to alert Mr. 0.
Her expression hardened. The arms restraining Nami loosened slightly as she slipped her free hand into her coat, fingers brushing against a small object tucked close to her chest a tiny emergency transponder snail. Only she and Crocodile possessed one.
Her final card.
The moment Robin pressed the switch, Nami broke free.
"I'm saved!" she cried, clutching her chest as she yanked out a small badge and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Seaman Third Class Nami of Marine Branch G-3, requesting immediate assistance!"
Zoro blinked, caught off guard. His gaze swept over her.
"G-3, huh? When did we start recruiting people like her?" he muttered under his breath, scratching the back of his head.
But his eyes soon drifted toward Robin and something about her face made his instincts flare.
He couldn't quite place it, but he'd seen that face before.
Not in person in a briefing.
Hawk had personally held a strategy meeting aboard the fleet before they reached Alabasta. It was G-3's first large-scale operation the "Paradise Cleanup Plan." Every officer had been drilled on the mission's goals: eliminate Baroque Works from top to bottom, root and stem.
But Hawk had also given one specific warning.
There was one person they could not underestimate.
Zoro's mind flashed back to the scene Hawk pulling a bounty poster from his coat, his voice sharp with intent.
"This target comes directly from Admiral Aokiji. If anyone encounters her, you don't fight you capture."
The image on the poster showed a young girl with cold eyes and a detached expression.
Now, standing in front of him, was that same girl grown into a woman, but unmistakable.
Zoro's eyes narrowed. "You're… the Devil Child, Nico Robin?"
Robin froze. Her pulse spiked. One wrong word and her fate was sealed.
Damn it. She'd been exposed.
"Ha! I knew my instincts were perfect!" Zoro grinned wide, a triumphant spark lighting in his eyes.
Inwardly, he was elated.
That stupid curly-browed cook! The only reason Sanji got promoted to Major was because he lucked out in Skypiea and took down two priests first!
But this time was different.
This time, he had caught the Navy's most wanted woman the one personally named by an Admiral!
A living, breathing promotion!
Hawk wouldn't deny him credit now.
He didn't care about rewards or medals he just wanted the promotion.
He would finally outrank that damned chef.
Just imagining Sanji's furious face made him feel ten years younger.
"Hey, orange-head," he called lazily to Nami, gesturing for her to move behind him. "Stay back."
"Orange-head?"
Nami twitched, glaring at him. But seeing the serious glint in his eyes, she bit down her temper and ducked behind him.
Zoro's hand moved. Wado Ichimonji slid half an inch from its sheath, gleaming like cold lightning.
A single, invisible surge of sword aura lashed out, locking onto Robin like the edge of death itself.
Robin's pupils shrank. The killing intent was suffocating.
Such a swordsman…
Even without moving, his blade's presence alone made her feel as if countless invisible edges were pressed against her skin. If she so much as twitched, she'd be carved apart.
Her eyes flicked down to the small transponder snail lying by her feet. The signal had already gone out.
Crocodile would receive it soon.
But would he come for her?
Or would she, once again, be abandoned like every "comrade" before him just another disposable pawn in the grand scheme of survival?
A bitter smile curved her lips. "So be it."
Whether she lived or died, stayed or fled that could wait.
For now, resistance was meaningless.
"I surrender," she said quietly, raising her hands.
Zoro relaxed slightly and slid his blade back into its sheath. "Good. You made the right choice."
He gestured with his chin. "Come on. You two are coming with me to see Hawk."
"Hawk?" Nami repeated, her eyes widening. "Wait you mean Renn Hawk, Commander of G-3?"
Zoro grinned, pride flickering in his voice. "That's old news."
"Renn Hawk's already been promoted. He's a Rear Admiral now straight from Headquarters."
Nami froze as if struck by lightning. Her jaw fell open in disbelief.
What?
When she'd left East Blue's 16th Branch, Hawk had still been a newly minted officer. Now, in barely any time at all, he was a Rear Admiral?
How fast was this man climbing?
Beside her, Robin's calm façade finally cracked.
Renn Hawk.
The name alone sent a ripple through her composure.
So the commander of this massive naval invasion the man who dared to storm Alabasta despite Crocodile's Warlord status was him.
The same "Blood Eagle" who leveled Magic Valley Town with a single order.
The same rising star whispered about across the Underworld the man who believed in Justice through Slaughter.
No wonder the Marines moved without hesitation.
Of course it was him.
Her gaze darkened with a complex mix of dread and curiosity. She had studied his file. She knew his record.
And now… she was his prisoner.
As they began walking, Nami's endless chatter filled the air.
"So, uh, how's the food in G-3?"
"Do you get paid on time?"
"What's the training like?"
"How did Rear Admiral Hawk rise so fast?"
Zoro's eyebrow twitched. Veins pulsed on his forehead.
He tried to focus on the route ahead, but after the third turn, something felt off.
Wait.
Hadn't they just passed this same alley?
He stopped, frowning, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, why aren't you moving?" Nami asked, puzzled.
"Quiet, orange-head! You're distracting me! My sense of direction's off because of your nagging!"
"Sense of direction?" Nami blinked, then gave him a look that screamed idiot.
She pointed down the street. "We walked through that alley five minutes ago going that way."
Then she turned, pointing behind them. "And ten minutes ago, we came from the same spot also that way."
She crossed her arms. "You're not lost, Zoro. You're going in circles!"
Zoro's face turned red. "Y-you're lying!"
"Oh, I'm lying?!" Nami exploded. She smacked him on the head so hard it echoed.
"You absolute road hazard! You're a walking compass malfunction!"
"And stop calling me orange-head! This is radiant tangerine-colored hair, you moss-brained idiot!"
She grabbed him by the collar and shouted in his face, "Now tell me where's Rear Admiral Hawk?!"
Zoro winced. "T-the docks…"
"Good." Nami fixed her uniform, then immediately latched onto his ear and began dragging him down the street. "Then we're going to the docks!"
Behind them, Robin followed silently, a faint, amused smile tugging at her lips.
For the first time in years, she felt… something human.
A trace of warmth.
Meanwhile, across Oilflower Town, the battle had nearly ended.
Baroque Works agents were collapsing one after another under the relentless advance of G-3's forces. Against this iron tide, their resistance was meaningless.
Smoker, Tashigi, and Peacock didn't even wait for new orders. After clearing their sectors, they consulted their maps, then regrouped and pushed toward the next target with unwavering focus.
The mission remained the same total eradication of Baroque Works.
That was the justice they served.
On the main street, Renn Hawk stood beside Hibari, preparing to move toward Rainbase Crocodile's stronghold.
And that was when he noticed it an orange-haired girl dragging a green-haired Marine by the ear, storming toward him with enough fury to make the sand tremble.
Behind them walked a black-haired woman, calm and elegant despite the chaos.
Hawk raised an eyebrow, a wry smile touching his lips.
"Well now," he murmured, "what do we have here?"
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Already drawn into the tides of this story? Share what pulled you in your words and reviews keep the fire burning. And every 300 Power Stones will unlock a bonus chapter, pushing the voyage forward even faster!
Renn Hawk's journey is only beginning, and the evolution of justice is far from over. Stay with Unbound Evolution and keep sailing ahead of the horizon!
[email protected]/_tey
Change @ to a.