"My hometown is called Ohara. It used to be…"
Leaning against Kaito Arisawa's chest, Robin slowly began telling her story.
The warmth from his body behind her gradually eased the tension in her heart. Bit by bit, she opened up and spoke about the past she had buried for so many years.
Just as Robin had always shown restraint and never questioned why Kaito had suddenly become so powerful, Kaito himself had never forced her to talk about her past after she joined him.
But now things were different
With Kuzan's name appearing once again, the memories that had been suppressed for years resurfaced. And now that Kaito had become the person she relied on the most, Robin had finally reached the limit of what she could endure alone.
At last, she chose to open her heart.
Robin's story covered everything.
She spoke about her childhood in Ohara.
She spoke about the scholars who had studied the lost history known as the Void Century.
She spoke about how the World Government had discovered their research.
And finally, she spoke about the destruction of Ohara.
Kaito listened quietly.
Although memories from his previous life had already allowed him to know much of this story, he also understood something important.
Robin didn't need explanations.
She needed someone to listen.
So Kaito simply remained silent, acting as a patient listener.
Neferpitou was also sitting nearby.
Among everyone in the pirate crew, aside from Kaito, she was closest to Robin.
When she noticed Robin behaving differently earlier, she had already sensed something was wrong. Now she simply sat quietly to the side, listening.
"In the end… with Saul's help and Kuzan's mercy, I managed to survive."
Robin's voice softened as she finished her story.
"At the same time, I became what the world calls the 'Devil Child.' From then on… I could only live while hiding my identity."
At the end of her confession, Robin's face revealed a bitter smile.
"That's enough. The past is already the past."
Kaito's voice was gentle.
His arms tightened slightly around her as he held her closer.
"There's a saying: 'What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.'"
"As long as you're still alive, it means Ohara's will hasn't been extinguished. It lives on through you."
He comforted her quietly.
"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger…"
Robin repeated the words softly.
Feeling Kaito's arms around her tighten, she didn't feel uncomfortable.
Instead, she felt safer than ever.
"That's right," Kaito said with a laugh.
"What doesn't kill us will only make us stronger."
"Just like this time. The Marines sent Admiral Kuzan to deal with us."
"Not only you—my ambition will eventually bring me into conflict with the World Government sooner or later."
"So from now on, let's use this pressure to grow stronger."
"And then achieve our dreams."
Robin turned her head to look at him.
In Kaito's confident laughter, she saw no fear.
No hesitation.
Only the same overwhelming ambition she had always seen in him.
For a moment she was stunned.
Then slowly, Robin smiled as well.
"Yes."
"Let's grow stronger together… and achieve our dreams."
Her voice rose with emotion.
In the next moment, Robin wrapped her arms tightly around Kaito's neck and kissed him passionately while laughing.
"Hahaha! My bounty finally passed one hundred million! Now I'm officially a pirate worth over a hundred million!"
"Not bad. That barely meets the standards in my mind."
"Hmph. My bounty is still so low. It must be because they underestimated me the first time."
"One, two, three, four… four in total!"
"That means there are now four people in our pirate crew with bounties over one hundred million—including the captain!"
"Incredible. The captain's bounty jumped straight to 350 million!"
"With a bounty like that, even in the Grand Line it would still be impressive, let alone West Blue!"
Although Robin's story had briefly changed the atmosphere earlier, once the emotional moment passed, everyone's attention quickly shifted to another topic.
Their new bounties.
After Kaito revealed the updated bounty posters, the entire deck immediately became lively.
Mangu, Lafayette, Law, Sandy, and the others all gathered around the cabin wall where the bounty posters had been posted.
Some cheered loudly.
Others commented calmly.
Everyone was excited.
The new bounty posters were displayed clearly:
Kaito Arisawa — Captain of the War Pirates
Bounty: 350,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Mangu — War Pirates Cadre
Bounty: 120,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Nico Robin — War Pirates Cadre
Bounty: 110,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Sandy — War Pirates Cadre
Bounty: 150,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Neferpitou — War Pirates Cadre
Bounty: 100,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Trafalgar Law — War Pirates Cadre
Bounty: 100,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
Lafayette — War Pirates Cadre
Bounty: 80,000,000 Berries — Dead or Alive
The new bounty posters had been issued only a few days after the battle at the capital of the San Lorenzo Kingdom.
It was obvious that the massive increase in bounty amounts was mainly due to the impact of that battle.
After all, the War Pirates had invaded the capital of a World Government–affiliated nation.
They had destroyed the royal palace.
They had wiped out the royal family.
For the World Government, it was an enormous humiliation.
Naturally, the War Pirates were now viewed as an even greater threat.
Because of this, even though Kaito and the others had received updated bounties not long ago, the World Government had quickly issued another set of new bounty posters.
It was a way of asserting their authority.
This time the changes were significant.
Not only had the bounties of Kaito and Robin increased dramatically, but Neferpitou, Law, Lafayette, and several others had also been officially added to the bounty list.
Even more impressively, some captains who participated in the battle had also received bounties.
The battle in the capital of the San Lorenzo Kingdom had simply been too large.
Too public.
There had been many witnesses during both the battle and the looting afterward.
This allowed the World Government to gather detailed intelligence about the members of the War Pirates.
So when the new bounty posters were released, the list had grown much longer.
Kaito watched the excited crowd with Robin still sitting comfortably in his arms.
Finally, his gaze landed on Lafayette.
Among all the cadres, Lafayette was the only one whose bounty had not yet reached one hundred million.
Seeing Lafayette's slightly depressed expression, Kaito couldn't help but laugh.
"Lafayette, you need to work harder."
"You're the only cadre who hasn't broken the one hundred million mark yet."
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