It had been two days since Robin joined the crew.
It was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly. On the Going Merry, a certain green-haired swordsman was at the stern, going through his daily training routine.
However, compared to his usual single-minded focus, Zoro was clearly distracted today.
(Seriously, how do they not have a single shred of caution? That woman who plunged into the darkness joined us on her own initiative—there is definitely something wrong!)
Under the various ingratiating methods of a certain charming woman, everyone on the Merry—except for him and Sherlock—had completely accepted Nico Robin as one of their own.
As he swung a giant dumbbell equipped with exaggerated weights, making a whoosh whoosh sound, Zoro silently grumbled with dark lines continuously forming over his head:
"Luffy is an idiot. That love-struck Curly-Brows goes without saying; to him, she's just a beauty! It's understandable that Chopper is naive, but what is going on with Usopp? And Nami, she was actually bought off by a small bag of jewels... that money-grubber really leaves me speechless."
"Fortunately, Sherlock is here. I don't have to worry about that woman pulling any tricks in the shadows." In Zoro's heart, the Sorcerer was far more reliable than the rest of them put together.
(Though speaking of Sherlock...)
Clang.
The massive dumbbell was set heavily onto the deck. Zoro let out a long, murky breath. As he wiped his sweat with a towel, he thought to himself:
(I don't know why, but I feel like the way Nico Robin looks at Sherlock is a bit strange. What exactly happened between them?)
(Well, if it's Sherlock, I probably don't need to worry about it.)
Thinking this, Zoro shook his head and intended to head back to the cabin for some water. However, he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he saw Chopper, Luffy, Nami, and Usopp hiding around the corner of the cabin. They were quietly poking half their heads out, staring toward the front deck as if secretly observing something.
Hilariously, a certain blue-nosed reindeer was, as usual, hiding the wrong way round.
"Oi, what are you guys peeking at?" Zoro asked, puzzled.
"Shhh~~~~" Nami and Usopp hurriedly turned around, pressing their index fingers to their lips. They then pointed forward with odd expressions on their faces.
"What is it? Being all mysterious..."
Zoro leaned in with curiosity. When he focused his eyes on the scene, the expression on his face instantly became quite colorful.
There was Nico Robin, half-reclining on the deck chair that previously belonged to Sherlock. She held a book in her hands, reading quietly, fully displaying the unique intellectual beauty of a woman.
(PS: Ever since Robin came aboard, that deck chair Sherlock was rather fond of had been very consciously commandeered by this charming woman.)
Beside her, a certain bespectacled man who had been robbed of his chair had resorted to using his Mirror Image ability to project a replica of the deck chair. He was also half-reclining on the mirrored chair, holding a book, the expression in his dark eyes behind the lenses exceptionally focused.
The same elegant crossing of the legs. The same noble, cool, and aloof aura. The same act of holding a book. The same focused expression. The same quietness. The same calmness.
Even the frequency at which they turned the pages was surprisingly similar!
At this moment, a certain love-struck cook came pirouetting and skipping out of the kitchen with a tray in hand.
"Robin-chwaaaan~~~ This is my love-filled, aromatic coffee~~~~. And Sherlock, here is the black tea you wanted." As he spoke, Sanji placed the two beverages on the small table between the two deck chairs.
Next, something even more interesting happened.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Cook (Sanji)," the two said in unison.
Robin and Sherlock simultaneously extended their right (and left) hands, picked up their respective coffee (and black tea), blew on the steam, took a gentle sip, nodded, and then placed the cups back down, returning their attention to the books in their hands.
"(⊙o⊙)?!"
Sanji looked at Robin, then glanced at Sherlock. His expression instantly turned extremely bizarre. He then silently walked back to the kitchen, seemingly shocked by the synchronized movements that had an off-the-charts synchronization rate.
"Are those two playing a mirror game?" The corner of Zoro's mouth twitched slightly.
"I didn't notice it before, but their temperaments and movements are just too alike! Especially when they are reading quietly," Nami whispered.
Usopp nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if Robin wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses right now, I'd think there were two 'Sherlocks'!"
"But, aside from the glasses, their scents are different." Chopper, whose nose was extremely sensitive, sniffed the air gently. "Robin has a very pleasant floral scent, while Sherlock has a faint smell of mint."
"Eh? Really? Why can't I smell it?" Luffy's attention was instantly drawn to the little reindeer. "Chopper, what about my scent?"
"Luffy smells like meat."
"What about me? Chopper." The long-nosed brother joined the fun.
" The smell of gunpowder."
"Oh, that's because I'm researching new ammo." Usopp grinned and continued asking, "What about Sanji?"
"Tobacco and seafood."
"Tch, that idiot Curly-Brows." Zoro curled his lip in disdain.
"Hahahaha! Chopper, you're amazing!" Luffy laughed loudly. "What about Nami? What does Nami smell like?"
"Idiot!" The navigator lady smashed her fist onto the blockhead captain's head, revealing her sharp teeth in a roar: "Don't ask such rude questions in front of me!!!"
After this, the group seemed to forget they were secretly observing others and started a heated discussion revolving around scents, filled with laughter, applause, and playful scolding.
On the other side.
"It really is lively. Is this ship always this lively?" Closing the book in her hand, Robin looked smilingly at the Sorcerer beside her.
"That's right. This bunch of idiots is always this lively." A gentle breeze blew past, swaying Sherlock's jet-black hair slightly to reveal a small tuft of silver-white hair.
"They are a group of very interesting people."
Saying this, Sherlock put down his book, pushed up his glasses, and turned to look at the beautiful woman filled with unique charm, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"You will get used to it soon, and you will come to like life on this little ship."
"Is that so? I look forward to it."
The two exchanged a smile, understanding each other without needing to speak.
Marine Base G-17, Northern Alabasta.
Previously, nearly half of this Marine fortress's buildings had been turned into rolling dunes by the Sand Crocodile. No matter how efficient the Marines were, this fortress would be unusable for at least a short while.
In one of the rooms that had survived the disaster, Vice Admiral Hisoka's precious sister—Major Pearl—was writing furiously. The desk was piled high with documents and intelligence reports. Among them, three brand-new wanted posters stood out conspicuously within the stacks of data.
"Yo, my precious little sister, did you miss me these past few days?" With an excited shout, a certain blonde with naturally curly hair pushed the door open and entered.
Pearl looked back at her older brother. Seeing that Hisoka was uninjured, her heart settled slightly. She then lowered her head again to look at the half-written report in her hand, responding without looking up:
"Welcome back. How did it go? Did you catch the Straw Hats?"
"Nope. Old Smoker and I tacitly agreed to go easy on them." Hisoka slightly restrained his lazy demeanor, a strange light gleaming in his turbid eyes.
"I couldn't bring myself to strike against such kind-hearted pirates."
"Is that so?" Knowing her brother's style well, Pearl wasn't surprised by this result. She stopped writing and swivelled her chair around.
"But even if you and the White Hunter went easy on them, weren't Vice Admiral Lehman and Captain Hina there? Especially that blazing Lehman who believes in Absolute Justice—how could he fail to strangle evil in the cradle?"
In Marineford, multiple factions existed, and most people within a faction held similar views on Justice. Vice Admiral Lehman had previously answered directly to Admiral Akainu. Later, due to the Sunlight Fruit, the higher-ups reassigned him to Enies Lobby, the island where the sun always shines.
Incidentally, five years ago, the "Golden Shura," who also believed in Absolute Justice, was once a capable subordinate under Akainu and was deeply favored by him.
"Lehman? Don't mention that bearded guy who only knows how to sleep." Hisoka rolled his eyes, his expression turning odd. "I heard from the Marines nearby that he fired a 'Solar Flame' at the Straw Hat boy's ship with full power, but it was reflected back by that Sorcerer."
"The result was Lehman's ship exploding instantly. Not only did his subordinates suffer heavy casualties, but he himself was critically injured by his own signature move."
"The Sorcerer." The Marine Major with short pale-blonde hair changed her expression slightly. "That Sarsalian again..."
After pondering for a moment, Pearl sighed lightly.
"Brother, you all let a very formidable group of people get away this time. Especially that Sorcerer—the bounty assigned to him by Headquarters is seriously underestimating him!"
"Underestimated? 97 million Berries is quite a lot for a rookie like him, isn't it?" The blonde natural-curl picked his nose skillfully, looking puzzled.
"I remember he just defeated that trash Gasparde, right? That disgrace of a Marine had an inflated bounty too; he wasn't that strong."
Translator's Note: Gasparde's bounty of 95 million Berries was largely due to the tricky nature of his Candy-Candy Fruit and his status as a Marine traitor. His personal strength wasn't that high, otherwise, he wouldn't have been taken down by Hisoka with a single slash back in the day.
"Brother, why are you as rigid as those people at Headquarters?" The blonde girl closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, explaining patiently:
"I admit, there is some logic to assessing a pirate's bounty based on strength and threat level." Saying this, Pearl reached out and picked up a certain green-haired head's wanted poster.
"Take this Pirate Hunter for example. First, he single-handedly took down 100 bounty hunters at Whiskey Peak. Then, at Little Garden, he defeated the 'Gale Swordsman' with a bounty of 47 million Berries. And in Alubarna, he defeated Daz Bones, who had a bounty of 51 million Berries!"
"Oh? That famous bounty hunter from the West Blue?" Hisoka had heard of this person. As a swordsman himself, he knew exactly what it meant to defeat the user of the Dice-Dice Fruit.
(Did he grasp the secret of cutting steel at such a young age?) Hisoka stared at Zoro's wanted poster, silently admiring him.
Pearl nodded. "Based on the enemies he defeated, a starting bounty of 63 million Berries for Roronoa is very appropriate. But the Sorcerer is different."
Speaking of this, Pearl patted the documents on the table. "These past few days, I have been collecting and organizing intelligence regarding this incident. I found..."
Secretly stockpiling weapons, kidnapping... a chain of events interlaced to frame the Sand Crocodile... destroying evidence, Robin... forcing the Sand Crocodile to attack and raid the prison, murder with a borrowed knife...
After detailing her various conjectures about Sherlock's plan combined with the reality to her brother, Pearl pointed to her head, her expression extremely serious.
"Therefore, even excluding that bizarre Devil Fruit ability, the threat the Sorcerer poses to the Marines relying solely on his intellect is enough to rival pirates with bounties over 100 million! But his bounty didn't cross the 100 million mark, which shows that the people at Headquarters haven't realized the severity of the situation."
The Marines were very strict about setting pirate bounties; being over or under 100 million were two completely different concepts.
"So, I am currently writing a report to Vice Admiral Tsuru, hoping to make Headquarters take that Sorcerer seriously."
"With the Sand Crocodile arrested, only six Warlords remain. The three-way balance of power will face turmoil. This is the perfect opportunity for those with ulterior motives to fish in troubled waters!"
As she spoke, the blonde girl's fair face was filled with worry. Although she had left the Headquarters' staff office because of Hisoka, she remained absolutely loyal to the Marines.
Hisoka glanced at his precious sister, thought for a moment, and then chuckled. "My cute little sister, don't worry blindly. That Sorcerer won't get away."
"Oh? Has someone gone to pursue them?"
"Yeah." The blonde natural-curl nodded. "That [Natural Enemy] went after them with Old Smoker. I believe they should be able to bring the Straw Hat crew to justice very soon."
"Rear Admiral Aran!" Hearing this name, Pearl's expression changed abruptly. She almost subconsciously covered her chest. Clearly, this not-so-well-endowed, calm female Marine had often fallen victim to the wandering hands of a certain unscrupulous loli.
(That most bizarre Rear Admiral in Marine history...)
Thinking of this, Pearl silently turned around and continued writing furiously. It seemed Hisoka's words had the opposite effect.
(...I'd better finish writing this report quickly.)
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