In the desert nation of Alabasta, many unique creatures have been nurtured, which is also the magic of this ocean. Thus, the Pokémon that spread to the outside world are considered products of nature.
In this ocean, there's no widespread example of artificial creatures, and the Kung Fu Sea Cows are one of the creatures unique to Alabasta.
They resemble sea cows but have a special structure like a turtle shell, amphibious creatures that reside in the desert rivers of Alabasta and the surrounding seas.
Though they appear cute, their temperament can be troublesome. They are avid kung fu enthusiasts, and most people who try to pass through their territory end up getting tangled with them.
They seem like ordinary animals, but they possess fighting power stronger than normal humans. People without training are truly not their match, and even if they win, the sea cows will tearfully seek apprenticeship.
In most cases, there are more good people than bad, and those who can defeat these sea cows can't bear to do anything to these little creatures, so the locals of Alabasta generally choose to avoid them.
However, Robin did not seek a local guide; she merely took a camel and a small lizard, walking alone along the map, inadvertently entering their territory.
The individual combat power of the small lizard is not as strong as its mother, but it's very easy to deal with these Kung Fu Sea Cows. With repeated Water Gun attacks, it quickly knocked down the surrounding sea cows, making them understand the overwhelming advantage of hot weapons against bare-handed combat in this environment.
The Kung Fu Sea Cows did not expect anyone to use a Water Gun to fight. They had no way to deal with the slim, tall figure, whether in long-range or close combat.
"Tsk..."
At this moment, Robin had put away her sketchbook. The Flower-Flower Fruit is convenient in this regard, allowing her to quickly sketch and record what she wants. The notebook contains records of the various ruins and magical creatures she encountered at sea.
These fascinating creatures also garnered some interest from Ghost Island during the search for Plates and Devil Fruits.
"Tsk~"
Looking at the Kung Fu Sea Cows surrounding it, the small lizard's mouth twitched a few times before it spat a thin Water Gun at a nearby rock.
Inteleon, known for fighting with Water Gun shots from its fingertips, doesn't mean it's limited to that method; this is an evolutionary distinction.
Inteleon is quite flexible in this regard, whereas after evolution, due to the special structure of their cannons, Blastoise cannot continue to spit water from their mouths.
The Water Gun left a hole in the rock, which attracted admiring glances from the Kung Fu Sea Cows.
"Tsk [Once you can achieve this with water, I'll come back to teach you more things.]"
The Kung Fu Sea Cows are quick learners. Their unique body structure lets them perform actions impossible for ordinary people; some outstanding individuals even learn Haki. However, with Water Guns, Kung Fu Sea Cows can't be like Pokémon; they lack specialized water storage and ejector organs.
The small lizard was merely finding an excuse to get rid of them, but these naïve sea cows truly believed it, and from that moment, Alabasta had a group of Kung Fu Sea Cows practicing spurting water against rocks every day.
Seeing these innocent creatures, it couldn't help but feel a slight sense of guilt.
But it still followed Robin and left for the capital of Alabasta, Albana.
The small lizard never expected that after prolonged practice, these Kung Fu Sea Cows, through their perseverance, had really developed something new due to its behavior, seemingly developing a new fighting method.
...
Some time later, Nico Robin had arrived at Albana and submitted her resume to the kingdom. Now, she wasn't a wanted member but someone with legal identification under the World Government, thanks to Hundred Beasts Fruit.
Excluding those shadowy experiences, her resume itself is quite impressive; having worked at many world-class large enterprises, she is undoubtedly considered a successful person, with much more insight than her competitors.
"Your Majesty, she is the right candidate. If you wish to choose a male, these few are good choices, but as for females, no one compares to her."
Igaram, with his big curls, recommended suitable candidates to Cobra.
"23 years old... really young, and the resume is quite rich."
Nico Robin's resume explained her reason for coming here: work pressure became too great, and due to some mistakes, she is no longer suitable for her original job. She wanted to experience different scenes across the sea, and she filled out her travel experiences as well.
This ocean's information is generally quite closed off. Not mentioning anything else, just the islands and some descriptions here would be hard to make up for those who haven't been there.
He didn't pay much attention to that part of her resume related to the Hundred Beasts Fruit. That enterprise is huge today, with branches around the world. Most people here are regular employees, and only those core high-level members are Hundred Beasts members.
As a king of an allied nation, he is aware of this.
"Princess Vivi is only 11 years old this year, and she might have better rapport with a woman."
"Let's recruit them all and have them try out individually."
Cobra did not exclusively choose a single person but recruited all the selected ones. After all, as Alabasta's royal family, they have a large estate and can afford to hire multiple teachers.
As time passed, Robin gradually stood out among a group of teachers. Although she only taught economics, it didn't mean she didn't know other subjects. At 11, Vivi is still a child, even if she's relatively mature.
Robin considered herself knowledgeable in entertaining children and quickly gained Vivi's favor through descriptions of other islands.
As for the small lizard, it was merely regarded as a special bodyguard. Alabasta also has Zoan-type ability users. For a "weak woman" traveling across the sea, having a bodyguard is reasonable.
Due to their good relationship, she even accompanied Vivi and Cobra on a trip to the port city of Dock Town, where she met an individual heavily mentioned in Doflamingo's intelligence—Crocodile.
At that moment, he had just vanquished a group of pirates invading the port, quietly exiting amidst the surrounding people's cheers of "Hero."
"There are indeed secrets here...."
She didn't believe a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea would stay here quietly as a good person. Even though her own strength wasn't top-tier, after living with the Hundred Beasts for so long, her vision has sharpened.
For a Logia-type ability user, dealing with ordinary pirates wouldn't require such hassle; he was merely showing off, enhancing his image among the people.
But what his ultimate goal was, Robin couldn't guess...