"Conqueror's Haki!"
"You even have Conqueror's Haki?" Seeing the six of them, especially Moonlight, Crocodile's face first sank, and then he saw the unconscious people all around him, and his eyes jumped. He had never expected that Moonlight actually possessed the power of the legendary Chosen One. "It seems I underestimated you. Are the Straw Hats really this powerful? But it doesn't matter. My real goal is about to be achieved. Since you are all here, then you can stay here and be buried with everyone else." He then sneered, and his body suddenly turned into sand and flew off in a certain direction. He had actually left without a fight.
"Don't go!" Luffy immediately chased after him.
"Chopper, come with me. Everyone, please, take care of things here," Moonlight said, and his body also shook, following closely behind. Crocodile's next goal was probably there. Just in case, he took Chopper with him. Chopper nodded and immediately jumped onto Moonlight's shoulder, and the two of them quickly left.
"Is it over?" Zoro shrugged, looking at the unconscious people on the ground.
"I just don't know when they'll wake up," Sanji said, taking a deep breath of smoke. "But if they do, I'm afraid there will be some trouble. All of this is not over yet."
"Everyone!" at that moment, Vivi's voice trembled, and a look of alarm was on her face. "It's not over yet. Somewhere in this square, Crocodile has left a bomb that could blow the whole square away. In five minutes, it will detonate. We have to find it quickly, or we will all die here!"
"What?!"
"Damn Crocodile! He still had a trick like this up his sleeve?"
"He's really insidious!" Hearing this, Zoro and the others were all shocked. Who would have thought that Crocodile would still have such a method? To shell the square and kill everyone... it was truly insidious.
"Time is running out! Everyone, split up!" Nami cried out. Everyone nodded and quickly dispersed, looking for the bomb.
At this time, in the royal tomb of Alabasta, Robin had brought King Cobra to the underground palace where the tomb was located. As she led the way, Cobra looked at her with an inexplicable expression. "Nico Robin," he said, "Crocodile's goal is Pluton. Why are you helping him? Do you want to destroy this world?" A flash of fear was on his face. It seemed he was more afraid of Robin than of Crocodile.
"Destroying the world?" Robin said lightly. "That's a good idea, but I'm not interested for the time being. I just want to know the truth of history. What happened in the hundred years that disappeared, the hundred years that were erased by the World Government? And what are they so afraid of?"
"You... you..." Cobra's body trembled violently. "You're the one the World Government has been hunting for twenty years. Are you not afraid of death?" He was dignified, and even in the face of Crocodile's death threat, he had not been afraid, only compromising for the sake of his people. But now, hearing Robin's words, it was as if he had heard the roar of a demon, and his body shook violently. Because this was to be an enemy of the World Government. At sea, to be an enemy of the World Government was to be an enemy of the world. He looked at the woman in front of him again. Though she was as glamorous as a night elf, in his eyes, she was a devil, a devil who only wanted to reveal the truth of the world. He didn't know the truth, but he knew that once it was revealed, the whole world would be overthrown.
"Dead? Since you know that I've been hunted for twenty years, you should understand that I've already put life and death out of my mind," Robin said with a slight smile, not paying him any mind. "The only thing that keeps me alive now is the Poneglyphs. Alright, Cobra, the tomb is here. Take me to the place where the Poneglyph is, and don't play any tricks."
Cobra fell silent for a moment, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he stopped talking nonsense and took her to the King's Tomb, where the Poneglyph was stored.
"This... this is..." Seeing the Poneglyph, Robin rushed over and began to read it with excitement. She had really found it. And the things recorded on it surprised her. It turned out that the ancient weapons really did exist, but they were hidden in an unknown place, and the location of that place was right here.
"Did you find it?" At that moment, Crocodile came in, a gloomy expression on his face.
"I found it," Robin said, a strange light in her eyes. "But what is recorded here is only the history of Alabasta. There is no news about Pluton."
"Really? Read it to me," Crocodile sneered.
"Alabasta, the first king..." Robin nodded and began to read. But it was just a piece of history from Alabasta. Cobra couldn't help but look very weird. Robin, why is she lying to Crocodile? Isn't their purpose the same?
Stab!
At that moment, Robin's voice stopped abruptly. Crocodile had pierced her body with his hook.
"Ah!" Cobra was shocked.
Robin turned her head with difficulty. She had thought that Crocodile would turn on her. A man like him would never trust anyone but himself. And the last link of his Operation Utopia was to kill all the members of Baroque Works, including her, and then whitewash himself. But why now?
"A woman like you... did you really think I would believe your nonsense?" Crocodile said with a grin. "In this world, you can only believe in yourself. This records the information of the ancient weapon Pluton. It doesn't matter if you don't tell me. Anyway, it must be somewhere in this desert. After I master this country, I will find it myself." From beginning to end, he had never believed in this woman. Wanted since the age of eight, for twenty years, a little girl had survived in this sea. That showed how terrifying she was. How could he believe such a person?
"Does a woman like me deserve to be believed?" Hearing this, Robin's eyes were filled with a gray despair. Thinking back on her life experience, she suddenly felt so tired. "Perhaps dying here is a good relief," she said with a soft smile, leaning back against the Poneglyph.
"Crocodile! You're even turning on your own companion!" At that moment, Luffy arrived and, seeing the seriously injured, dying Robin, he was furious. He had no bad impression of Robin; on the contrary, she had helped him twice. Once on Whiskey Peak, she had come to give them the Eternal Pose to Alabasta, but he had refused. Another time, she had let them go and had even provided them with some information, including methods to deal with Crocodile. Seeing this scene now made him angry.
"Companion? Don't be naive," Crocodile sneered. "In this sea, the only thing you can believe is yourself. What's more, a woman like her... if you believe her, you'll be deceived and die without even knowing how."
"Cheating? I don't understand why people cheat," Luffy said angrily. "I only know that in this sea, the only thing that can be trusted is your companions. What kind of person are you, trampling on your companion's life?!"
"Companions... only the weak need companions," Crocodile sneered, dismissing what Luffy said. "The strong do not."
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy said, lowering the brim of his hat, his voice a low growl. "My dream is to become the King of the Pirates. I don't know how to use a sword, or how to sail, or how to cook, or how to lie, but..." He suddenly raised his head, his expression extremely firm as he looked at Crocodile.
But before he could finish, Crocodile interrupted him, a scornful smile on his face. "But what? You are truly weak. Being weak is a sin in itself, and dreams are something only the strong are qualified to talk about. And people like you who don't know anything and can only talk big are everywhere in the Grand Line."
Luffy ignored his ridicule and, his eyes fixed on Crocodile, said firmly, "But I can beat you."
"Beat me? You?" Hearing this, Crocodile seemed to have heard a joke and looked at Luffy, amused. But what responded to him at this time was Luffy's fist. With Robin's hint, he knew how to deal with the Logia-type Crocodile. He was sand, so he was afraid of water. As long as he used water, he could cause harm.
When Moonlight arrived, the battle was over. Luffy was covered in blood and lying in a pool of his own blood. He had been poisoned, and the toxins were now invading his body. King Cobra was trying to save him with an antidote. Robin was pierced and leaning against the Poneglyph, breathing weakly.
"Luffy!" Seeing this scene, Chopper immediately ran towards him. "I'm a doctor! Let me have a look!"
"Okay, please, Mr. Doctor," Cobra said, quickly stepping aside. Chopper quickly checked Luffy's body.
"Although you are also injured," Moonlight said, coming to Robin's side, "it looks like your heart is more exhausted than your body. If I were to invite you again now, I'm afraid you would refuse." Though her injury was serious, it wasn't fatal. It was just that her expression was extremely exhausted, and her whole person seemed to have let go of all her burdens, a kind of death-seeking relief.
"That's right," Robin said, nodding in an affirmative tone. "Thank you for inviting me again and again, but ideals and reality are two completely different things. My dream... there are too many enemies blocking my way. I've been running for twenty years, but they still haven't stopped chasing me. I'm tired of this path of life, so it's not bad to be buried here. So, I'm sorry. I no longer have the motivation to live."
At that time, the surrounding hall began to tremble violently, and huge stones fell one after another. The stone pillars collapsed, and the entire hall showed a tendency of collapse.
"When I first came in, I had already triggered the mechanism," King Cobra said with a bitter smile. "I had planned to bury you here, but I didn't expect things to develop to this point."
"So it was me you really wanted to kill," Robin said, a dark look in her eyes. It was clear that Cobra feared her even more than he feared Crocodile.
"Moonlight, we have to get out of here quickly! This place is about to collapse!" Chopper shouted.
"It's okay," Moonlight said, shaking his head. He drew the Pheasant Sword, his backhand clasping the blade, and a crescent-shaped sword energy condensed on it, not diverging, but forming a crescent-shaped balloon of energy that grew larger and larger. "Armament Haki! Sky-Shattering Sword Draw!" A touch of black wrapped around the sword, and he slashed out in all directions.
WHOOSH!
A massive crescent of sword energy, with Moonlight as its center, spread out, its range extremely large, instantly enveloping the surrounding hundreds of meters and slashing on the huge stones that were constantly falling. The stones were immediately shattered into dust, and the sword energy, mighty and raging, violently penetrated the wall of the underground palace. The sun suddenly poured in, shining on everyone. The sword energy roared and hit the void, and a strong storm burst out, blowing away all the scattered rubble. The huge underground palace seemed to have been taken away by the gods, and only half of it was left. The few people at the moment couldn't help but look at Moonlight in shock. Was his sword power really so terrifying?
Moonlight turned to look at Robin and, under the sun, stretched out his left hand and smiled brightly. "I don't know how strong your enemy is. It doesn't matter if you feel tired and want to rest. Come on our ship. We have a group of companions who can protect you, recognize you, and even have the same mind as you, Robin." He extended his invitation again.
"Moonlight, you..." Robin was stunned, staring at him in a daze, her eyes crystal clear. The ant still lived, let alone her. She was so young; how could she want to die? Everything was just being forced into helplessness. Now, Moonlight had repeatedly used his strength and sincerity to invite her, and the Straw Hat crew... she had secretly investigated them and knew what kind of people they were. She was a little moved.
Seeing this, Moonlight took out the Poneglyph rubbing he had made in the desert and struck the iron while it was hot. "I think on the ship, at least my purpose is the same as yours. This is something I found somewhere in Yuba."
"This is... a Poneglyph," Robin's body shook, and then the light of hope rose in her eyes, just like a dead-hearted person who had seen a reason to live. She quickly took it.
"Yes," Moonlight said with a bright smile, extending his palm again. "Let's explore the historical truth together. You are responsible for the interpretation, and I am responsible for finding the Poneglyphs and protecting you."
"Alright," Robin said, no longer refusing. The two hands were suddenly held together.
"Moonlight! I'm so hungry! Do you have any meat?" At this time, under Chopper's treatment, Luffy had regained consciousness, and the first sentence he said when he saw Moonlight after waking up was that he was hungry.
Seeing this, Moonlight shrugged and looked at Robin helplessly.
Robin pursed her lips. So this was the future captain? It wouldn't be difficult to get along with him.