It took Vivi a moment to process what was happening. She rushed forward a few steps, her voice trembling slightly:
"Ms. All Sunday! Where... where have you taken Igaram?!"
Robin sat elegantly on the railing as if she were merely visiting the Merry for a casual chat. She smiled gently, her tone unnervingly soft: "Alabasta~ Isn't that where you want to go next?"
These words made Vivi freeze completely. Not only did the other party know their destination, but they even had complete control over their movements.
She chuckled lightly, her gaze sweeping across everyone on the deck before finally settling on the black-haired swordsman at the bow who had already become alert.
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Giyu's peculiar haori and black uniform, flashing with intense curiosity and scrutiny.
"It seems..." Robin's voice remained gentle but carried a hint of amusement, "the information was incorrect~ The lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes doesn't appear to be here~"
"Instead... we have what appears to be a rather special samurai gentleman~"
Her red lips parted slightly, her tone purely investigative. "This attire... is really quite an old style."
Before the words faded, a pale arm abruptly "grew" from Giyu's shoulder, fingers gently stroking the fabric of his haori.
Giyu's body instantly tensed. Almost by instinct, his left hand shot like lightning toward the unfamiliar wrist on his shoulder!
However, the moment he touched it, the arm scattered and disappeared like flower petals, leaving only a faint, fleeting sensation of skin.
Giyu's eyes turned cold, his left hand firmly gripping his sword hilt. This woman's abilities were truly not to be underestimated.
"Ahhhhh~ This beautiful and intellectual lady! May I ask for your esteemed name?!"
Just then, Sanji emerged from the kitchen carrying after-dinner black tea and immediately spotted Ms. All Sunday on the railing.
His eyes instantly transformed into bouncing heart shapes as he spun over. "To encounter a lady like you on this lonely night must be heaven's blessing!~"
Robin responded to Sanji's enthusiastic flattery with only a mysterious smile, completely shifting her gaze from Giyu to Luffy who was still making faces. She seemed to find this group increasingly fascinating.
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled a Log Pose from her pocket and lightly tossed it to Luffy.
"Well, let's get back to business." Her tone was cheerful, as if merely offering friendly advice.
"If you follow your current pointer, the next island will be Little Garden. That place... if you want to pass through there alive, it might be quite difficult~"
She paused, watching Luffy catch the pointer, then added: "And what I'm giving you now is an Eternal Pose to Alabasta. This is a secret route even ordinary Baroque Works employees don't know about. Consider it a greeting gift~?"
Luffy held the pointer, looked down at it, then up at Robin, his face expressionless.
The next second, he suddenly clenched his fist!
Crack!
The Log Pose instantly shattered into pieces in his hand!
"You idiot!!!" Nami immediately screamed, rushing over and punching Luffy on the head.
"What if she really is a good person?! What if that route is safer?! What are you doing!!!" She stared at the shattered pieces of the Log Pose on the ground, looking so distressed she was almost in tears.
Luffy rubbed his head, his expression showing unprecedented seriousness and determination.
Pointing at Robin, he loudly declared:
"The course of this ship is for us to decide! We don't need you telling us what to do!"
Robin froze.
She looked at the serious-faced Straw Hat Kid, then at the crew members behind him who all had different expressions but none contradicted him. After a few seconds, she suddenly raised a hand to cover her mouth and let out a light, amused chuckle.
"Pfft... You really are... an interesting bunch~"
Her smile carried less mockery this time, as if she had thought of something, then she said with a laugh:
"Alright then~ I'll look forward to seeing... whether we meet again at the next stop in Little Garden~"
With these words, Robin stepped off the railing and leaped onto a large sea turtle with a saddle on its back beside the Merry, then slowly drifted away from the ship, silently disappearing into the night.
A brief silence fell over the Merry.
Zoro picked at his ear, watching the direction the sea turtle had gone, and asked Vivi: "Hey, whose partner was that one this time?"
"That was... Mr. 0... Crocodile's partner..."
"Oh, I see. Doesn't look that strong anyway, though that ability of hers was pretty weird, wasn't it?" Zoro rubbed his chin, seemingly still recalling the arms that had suddenly appeared on Giyu earlier.
With Ms. All Sunday's departure, Vivi finally couldn't hold on any longer and slumped down with her back against the railing...
Nami stepped forward and gave Vivi a firm hug, comforting her: "It's okay. Isn't he the captain of the guards? He'll definitely be fine."
"Yeah... yeah." Vivi bit her lip and nodded.
...
Meanwhile, on a prehistoric island somewhere in the Grand Line - the next destination for Luffy, Giyu and the others - Little Garden.
Inside an exquisite wax cottage, Mr. 3 was elegantly sipping black tea while Ms. Goldenweek quietly painted nearby.
Suddenly, a cold, powerful presence approached.
Two figures appeared at the doorway. One was a tall, muscular man - Mr. 1. The other was a woman with a hot figure and hair styled like thorns - Miss Doublefinger.
"What brings you two here?"
"The boss's orders." Mr. 1's voice held no emotion.
"The Straw Hat crew and that traitor are heading to this island next. Intercept them. Eliminate them completely."
Mr. 3 adjusted his glasses, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face: "Hmph, they're just rookie pirates who just entered the Grand Line. Why do we need you two to personally handle this? My wax will freeze them here forever."
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
"Then less talk." Mr. 1 said coldly. "Let's each use our own methods. We'll see who takes their heads first."
"Suits me just fine." Mr. 3 smiled confidently.
Just as Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger turned to leave, Miss Doublefinger seemed to remember something, stopped, and looked back:
"By the way, Mr.3. Consider this a gift—the latest intelligence specifically mentions that there's an exceptionally powerful sniper on the opposing ship."
"I heard his attacks... can be launched from extremely long distances. They suggest prioritizing taking him out first."
Upon hearing this, Mr.3 merely let out a contemptuous snort and waved his hand dismissively, completely unconcerned.
Nearby, Miss Goldenweek continued quietly painting, the tense atmosphere around her seeming entirely irrelevant. She simply dipped her brush once more into the red on her palette.