"She doesn't look like it at all!"
"Huh?"
Nico Robin tilted her head, not quite catching what was said.
"Ah! It's nothing! Robin, hurry up and finish mopping!"
Deceip stiffened with a jolt and quickly walked away without looking back.
"...??"
Watching Deceip's hurried retreat, Robin scratched her head, completely puzzled.
Deceip-san... is going the wrong way. That's not the direction of the port—it leads to the tavern.
Is he... going for a drink?
Isn't he afraid Aunt Martha will be mad?
"I guess I should finish cleaning quickly and go check on him."
Robin glanced outside the door—no unfamiliar faces in sight. She shut it and activated her ability.
Petals burst forth, and from the mop on her back bloomed four arms and a single eye.
One hand held the mop, another a rag.
The cleaning began.
Triple the productivity!
Meanwhile, Robin tied a scarf around her head and quietly dashed toward the tavern.
She had to protect kind-hearted Deceip-san.
...
On the other side, Deceip pushed open the tavern door, his heart heavy.
In an instant, several bloodthirsty gazes locked onto him like knives.
Deceip froze as he saw a room full of vicious strangers. His mind went blank.
Snapping back to his senses, he bowed deeply and forced himself to speak up:
"I—I'm sorry to interrupt! Excuse me, is there a bounty hunter here? I have a job I'd like to commission!"
A brief silence followed.
Then came the flood of mockery.
"Bwahaha! Look at this clown!"
"Get lost before I chop you up!"
"You think this dump has anything worth hiring me for?! With that pisswater you call booze?!"
One furious bounty hunter hurled his bottle at Deceip's head.
The man had chased this damned Nico Robin across multiple islands—and couldn't even find a decent drink.
"Ah!"
Panicking, Deceip instinctively raised the bounty poster he'd been clutching in his pocket, shielding his head.
Crack!
The bottle shattered mid-air—sliced clean in half.
"Ah! Thank you! Thank you so much, sir!"
Deceip looked gratefully at the bald man with the number 8 tattooed on his chest.
"You got a death wish, interrupting me?"
The bald man glared, lifting his blade, face flushed from drink.
"I'm Sierra from the East Blue!"
If he had a job, he worked as a bounty hunter. No job? He became a pirate. Either way, he killed.
The local West Blue bounty hunters instinctively backed away.
They recognized him.
The bald head. The tattooed numbers.
He was from the infamous West Blue assassin clan—the Rokuro Family.
Slick!
Steel flashed.
Sierra split cleanly in two.
The bald man didn't even look at the corpse. He calmly sheathed his blade.
Daz turned to Deceip with an uncharacteristically gentle smile.
"I'll come with you. What's the job?"
"Ah!"
Deceip snapped out of his shock, tearing his gaze from the bloody mess.
He glanced around at the crowd, then whispered nervously:
"Can we... talk somewhere more private?"
Daz caught sight of the corner of a bounty poster poking from Deceip's pocket and grinned.
"Good point. Too many eyes and ears here. Let's go somewhere else."
He'd practically worn out the bounty poster in his pocket.
It had to be Nico Robin.
And today, the Rokuro Family would make their name known to the world.
...
Not long after, in a secluded spot, Deceip pulled out a crumpled bounty notice from his pocket.
"Sir... I've been sheltering a child. Could you... help me check..."
Everything was heard—by an ear hidden among the trees.
Farther off in the forest...
Robin's conjured hands clamped over her mouth to muffle any sound.
Canceling her technique, she simply couldn't bear to hear more.
Her heart brimmed with despair and fear.
Saul... it really seems like no one is willing to protect me...
"Ha! Hahaha! So where's your home?!"
But Robin didn't need to hear more—because Daz couldn't hold back either.
He suddenly grabbed Deceip and hoisted him up.
So the fat man really was connected to Nico Robin!
He could already taste the 79 million Belly bounty!
Deceip trembled in fear as Daz's face twisted into a wicked grin.
He pointed shakily.
"O—Over there!"
He must have made a mistake.
Bang!
Daz took off at full speed with Deceip in tow.
...
Robin let out a heavy breath and bolted toward the port.
She never imagined the place she'd finally found to call home...
Could be destroyed by a single bounty notice.
All she could do now—was run.
...
Elsewhere...
After scouring the restaurant with no success, Daz returned with a dark expression.
His sharp, blade-like glare fell on the bound Deceip and Martha.
"Where is she?"
"We—we really don't know!"
Deceip threw himself in front of his wife, filled with regret.
Why had he gotten involved? He should've pretended nothing happened!
"It's true! We just gave her a place to stay! She just helped us clean!"
Martha cried out, terrified.
"If you don't know... then die."
The blade flashed.
Both fell to the ground, lifeless.
Daz turned and walked away.
The 79 million Belly was still out there—he had no time to waste.
...
Moments later, a message spread through the tavern:
"Nico Robin is on this island! I'm Daz! In the name of the Rokuro Family—whoever finds her gets a quarter share of the bounty!"
"Seriously?!"
Someone was skeptical.
"Idiot! If it were fake, would he say it out loud?!"
Smarter ones rushed out without another word.
As for Daz?
He was already racing toward the port.
An eight-year-old girl couldn't have gotten far.
If she was hiding on the island, the other bounty hunters would smoke her out.
If she was heading to the port—even better.
He'd ambush her there.
No matter who caught her, he'd take the biggest cut.
...
Soon, fire lit the night on the darkened island.
Terrified villagers were dragged from their homes.
Some bounty hunters rushed to the port with the same idea.
Out on the sea...
A tiny boat drifted away, a cloaked figure standing atop it.
Daz had just set sail on another vessel.
"Nico Robin!!!"
"Seventy-nine million!!!"
"After her!!!"
Ships launched from the island one after another.
Not long after—
Daz leapt onto the small boat.
But all that remained was a cloak.
He looked ahead—another small fishing boat was farther out.
"Damn it!!!"
...
In the lower deck of one vessel, in the food storage hold—
Robin exhaled deeply, watching the scene unfold through a crack.
With all the chaos up top...
It was unlikely anyone would come looking for her down here.
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg