The night wind brushed softly through the alleyways of Water Seven, carrying the faint scent of the sea.
Lucian Vale stood in silence, the air still humming faintly from the energy he'd unleashed moments ago. His thoughts were calm, detached—but behind that calm, his mind moved like lightning.
Not far away, hidden among the shadows, Nico Robin was trembling.
Her instincts screamed for her to flee.
This was her last chance.
But the image of the man she had just witnessed—effortlessly killing CP9 operatives, draining their strength as if they were nothing—killed that thought instantly.
If she ran, it wouldn't be her that suffered.
It would be the Straw Hat Pirates.
Her hands tightened around her coat. She exhaled slowly, steadying herself before she finally stepped forward, out of the darkness.
"…Can you tell me why you sought me out?"
Her voice was soft but firm. "Do you want the Ancient Weapons too?"
Lucian shook his head lightly.
"Ancient weapons?" he said with a faint smile. "They're interesting, yes. But they aren't why I came for you."
He said it so casually—as if the very things that drove kings and warlords mad were nothing but idle curiosities.
Robin's brow furrowed. She had met all kinds of men—greedy, cruel, ambitious—but the calm in his eyes didn't belong to any of them.
"Then what?" she asked quietly.
Lucian smiled faintly.
"Nico Robin, you should already know. I've escaped from Impel Down. It's time for me to form my own crew."
He turned his gaze on her—sharp, deliberate.
"And what I need… is someone with your intellect. Your ability to find and read what others cannot."
Robin bit her lip.
"There are plenty more skilled than I am," she said softly. "And I've finally found a crew I can trust… why choose me?"
Lucian's smile faded.
"Trust?" He let out a quiet laugh. "The Straw Hat Pirates are still children. The first true storm they face will destroy them."
He took a step closer.
"Tell me, Robin. Do you really believe they can withstand the power of a Marine Admiral?"
Those words hit her like a physical blow.
Her breath stopped. The air itself turned cold.
The word Admiral tore open old wounds—memories she'd buried deep.
The sky burning crimson.
The sea boiling with magma.
Civilians screaming as the bombardment fell.
Ohara, the island of scholars—gone in a single night.
And she… the only one left alive.
Lucian's tone was calm, but each word landed like a hammer.
"The ones I killed today were CP9. You were part of their mission. Do you think the World Government will let you live now?"
"If you stay with the Straw Hats, the Admirals will come. And when they do… they'll die for you."
Robin's fists clenched so hard her nails drew blood.
She wanted to deny it, but deep down, she knew he was right.
If she stayed… she would destroy them.
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the sound of the sea.
Finally, she looked up.
"Then tell me," she whispered. "How do I know you won't sacrifice me when things turn against you?"
Lucian laughed—a low, rich sound that filled the empty street.
"Sacrifice you?" he said, amused. "You think an Admiral deserves that much respect from me?"
The confidence in his voice wasn't arrogance—it was absolute certainty.
"If we were talking about forty years ago," he said quietly, "the World Government might have been troublesome. But now…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Unless the ones standing before me are Sengoku, Garp, the Five Elders, or that thing sitting on the Empty Throne…"
"The Admirals?" He smiled faintly. "They aren't worthy."
Robin stared at him in disbelief.
This wasn't the tone of a fugitive.
It was the tone of a ruler.
Someone who didn't just defy the world—
but stood above it.
And for the first time in decades, Robin felt something strange bloom in her chest.
Safety.
With this man, the crushing fear that had haunted her since childhood… began to fade.
Lucian's voice softened.
"Nico Robin. On Skypiea, you saw the message Roger left on the Poneglyph, didn't you?"
Robin nodded slowly. "I did."
Lucian's eyes grew distant.
"I reached Skypiea long before Roger," he said. "I just didn't leave my name."
Her heart skipped. "You… what do you know?"
"I know how many Poneglyphs exist," Lucian said quietly. "I know what they record. And I know how many people have tried to gather them… and failed."
Every word rang with truth.
Robin's pulse quickened.
Because the Poneglyphs didn't just hold the location of the Ancient Weapons.
They contained everything—
the Blank Century, the Celestial Dragons' sins, the true history of the world.
Her life's purpose.
Her reason for living.
"…Can I trust you?" she asked at last.
Lucian stepped closer, his gaze unwavering.
"That's something only you can decide."
For a long moment, she said nothing. Her shoulders trembled. Decades of running, hiding, losing—every wound of her past pressed against her soul.
The Straw Hats had given her hope. But this man…
He offered something even rarer.
A chance to end the fear.
She closed her eyes.
"…If I stay by your side," she whispered, "will I find the answer?"
Lucian looked at her—the faintest warmth flickering in his eyes.
"Stay with me," he said softly.
"And find out."
The moonlight reflected off the water behind them.
And for the first time, the Devil's Child didn't run.
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