"My advice is this—if you don't want Klee Meow, Sanji Meow, and those other Felynes to fall into danger, then you'd better avoid getting involved with Nico Robin. Find a chance to 'hand her over' to someone else. The existence of that woman itself is a danger."
Sherwin fell silent once again.
It wasn't just because he had no intention of following Uncle Cody advice, but also because…
The man demeanor didn't seem like that of a CP agent at all. On the contrary, just as he said himself, right now he seemed more like that "good-natured guy" Cody he claimed to be.
"I knew you wouldn't agree so easily…" Cody sighed helplessly again, but there was a trace of relief in his expression. "You really are a good kid."
"Uh…"
Sherwin scratched his head awkwardly. After all, his true age wasn't as young as he looked now, so hearing such praise felt rather uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Cody didn't continue with the compliments. "I know you must have a lot of questions in your heart. And since no one will come here to interrupt us, I'll explain everything to you little by little. You can ask whatever you want."
So Sherwin asked his first question without hesitation—
"You care so much about me and Klee Meow and the others, and of course, I'm grateful for that. But… I don't quite understand. Why are you doing this? Aren't you a member of CP? You seem a little different from what I've heard about them…"
"Because I'm not one of those CP agents who were brainwashed and raised by the World Government since childhood," Cody shook his head and added kindly,
"I was recruited into CP only after showing exceptional intelligence-gathering skills in the Navy. Though there are quite a few agents who joined midway like me, don't ever think the others are as easy to talk to. Among CP agents, I'm already an oddball among oddballs."
Sherwin could understand that. In the manga, the CP members escorting Robin on the Sea Train didn't all seem to be raised from childhood either.
"Then what the World Government real stance on Robin?" After putting aside that minor detail, Sherwin continued asking.
"The World Government current attitude is to leave her alone. If she dies at the hands of pirates or gets captured by the Navy, that just her bad luck.
But if she continues doing what she did back in the West Blue—causing the deaths of pirates one after another, even the Four Emperors—then all the better."
"In truth, Nico Robin isn't the only one who can read the Poneglyphs. Members of the Three-Eyed Tribe can also decipher the text once their abilities awaken. So to the World Government, she not as crucial as you might think."
"Of course…" Cody tone shifted slightly, "if someone were to obtain Nico Robin and then gain access to the One Piece treasure, the World Government would immediately dispatch forces to eliminate her—and the faction she aligned with—altogether. So… are you really not considering distancing yourself from her?"
After hearing Cody explanation, Sherwin frowned—not because of his repeated persuasion, but because what Cody said didn't quite match how things unfolded in the manga. Still, Sherwin didn't think Uncle Cody was lying to him… there was no reason for that.
So, it had to be one of two things: either the World Government would suddenly change its stance on Nico Robin a few years later—which, according to Cody, was unlikely—or something must have happened that forced them to change their attitude.
And since Sherwin already knew how things would play out in the future, it wasn't hard for him to guess the key reason behind that shift—Nico Robin would eventually join Luffy Straw Hat crew.
The Nika Fruit and the Revolutionary Army—these two alone were enough to make the World Government extremely wary.
And Luffy not only ate the Nika Fruit, he was also the son of Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
So even back when he was just a newly emerging Supernova, the World Government would never have wanted to see Nico Robin get involved with him.
That also made it reasonable why Lucci and the others would suddenly make a move on Robin and reveal their identities even before confirming from Franky whether he actually possessed the blueprints for Pluton.
After understanding this, Sherwin asked again, "So Robin whereabouts have actually been under your surveillance all this time?"
"For the most part, yes—but we don't monitor her too closely."
Cody noticed Sherwin tension and explained, "After the Alabasta incident, we temporarily lost track of her.
But with her constant movement in search of the Poneglyphs, she can't really stay hidden. Most of the time, we don't even have to search seriously—she'll expose herself sooner or later.
If we want to find her, it easy: just spread some information related to the Poneglyphs, and she'll definitely take the bait."
"That also why I said the World Government hasn't really put much effort into catching her—because if they truly wanted to, it would be far too easy… It just that idiot Spandine couldn't figure it out."
Cody shook his head as he spoke, unsure whether he was despising Spandine lack of intelligence or lamenting how easily Robin curiosity could be manipulated—or perhaps both.
Aside from that…
"The reason I found out she was on your ship so quickly—I've already told you before. You didn't even bother to use a proper alias."
At that, he glared at Sherwin, his expression filled with exasperation. "You already knew taking Nico Robin in was dangerous, so how could you still act so carelessly?"
"Uh… who would've thought I'd run into you here in Water 7, old man…" Sherwin said with a guilty smile, trying to deflect the tension before quickly changing the subject.
"But aren't you guys worried that Nico Robin might find the Poneglyphs? Isn't that something the World Government strictly forbids anyone from studying?"
"Technically, yes," Cody replied coldly.
"But with just Nico Robin and a bunch of insignificant pirates, even if they manage to study a few of the Poneglyphs, what of it? If the CP organization wishes, they can be wiped out at any time."
He paused briefly before continuing, "However, if Nico Robin were to join a truly dangerous force, then of course, we'd adjust our approach."
At this point, he couldn't help but sigh. "That why your situation fits perfectly, not only for the title of Warlord of the Sea but also for how the World Government wants to handle Nico Robin.
You have no great power behind you, no ambition to become Pirate King, and you wander around the world freely.
You're practically a natural target that can attract the attention of the Four Emperors and other ambitious pirates."
"Ah, well…" Sherwin smiled helplessly. He hadn't expected his situation to match the World Government 'requirements so precisely.
He then asked with a puzzled look, "So you're not worried that I might also know what written on the Poneglyphs?"
"Of course not," Cody shook his head.
"Didn't I tell you already? Once the organization Nico Robin joins is deemed 'dangerous,' CP agents will take action accordingly. Maybe we'll move directly, or maybe we'll guide other pirates to attack you… even if Nico Robin hasn't told you a single thing."
Then he added, "In fact, we had already guessed that Crocodile stayed in the Alabasta Kingdom because of the Poneglyph guarded by the Nefertari family.
Originally, the plan was to wait until he obtained the translation, then capture him and force out the information from his mouth.
But who would've thought he'd have the audacity to try and seize the Nefertari family throne?"
Sherwin mouth twitched slightly — he hadn't expected that Crocodile had already been under CP surveillance for some time.
Yet in the manga, the CP organization hadn't appeared until Crocodile began his plan to seize the kingdom. Maybe something had gone wrong somewhere in between.
After letting Sherwin digest the information for a moment, Uncle Cody spoke for the third time, trying to persuade him again.
"So, you'd better stay away from that woman. Her title, 'Demon Child,' is actually quite fitting in a certain sense. Everyone who gets close to her ends up meeting misfortune in the end."
"Don't bother trying to persuade me anymore," Sherwin said, shaking his head and once again declining Uncle Cody goodwill.
"Robin is already our companion now. Whether it me or the Felynes, there no way we'd abandon one of our own."
Uncle Cody sighed again. "If that the case, then you all need to be much more careful in the future. You won't always be lucky enough to run into someone like me — an odd one within CP — who willing to cover for you and hide Nico Robin whereabouts."
"Eh?"
To be honest, Sherwin had always thought Uncle Cody was just here to warn them — to urge them to leave Water 7 quickly — and that Robin situation would still be reported to the higher-ups.
But what completely caught Sherwin off guard was that Uncle Cody actually offered to hide Robin whereabouts for him.
"Is that really okay? Wouldn't you be in serious trouble if someone else found out?" Sherwin asked, grateful yet clearly worried.
"As long as you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who going to know?" Uncle Cody replied casually.
"After all, the other CP agents don't know that Nico Robin once used the name Otilia, nor do they know that you had contact with her back in the West Blue. Even if Robin gets exposed later, no one would think I had already discovered the truth."
He shrugged nonchalantly, looking completely unconcerned.
"Also, that little trick you pulled — using that new Felyne girl to divert attention — was pretty clever. The CP agents operating in Water 7 have been successfully misled, thinking the main reason you went after Crocodile was because of that Felyne named Purah…"
Uncle Cody suddenly brought up the small stunt Sherwin had pulled in front of Iceburg, then looked at him with a confident, knowing smile and said in a statement rather than a question, "That move wasn't something you came up with yourself, was it?"
Tsk! Uncle Cody, that a pretty rude question to ask.