"Please, darling~ Just take out the Poneglyph for a second! I'll take a photo and study it slowly, okay?"
Robin clung to Malverick's arm, voice soft and teasing, full of charm and mischief.
But Malverick didn't budge.
"I said, we're going back first!"
"Nooo, I wanna see it now!"
Smack!
Malverick gave her a sharp swat on the backside, then stood up decisively.
Truth be told—he had almost lost control just now.
"I'm leaving first. Follow me or not, it's up to you."
With that, he opened the window and flew out into the sky.
Robin stood there, cheeks flushed red. She rubbed the spot he'd just hit, gritting her teeth in embarrassment… then hurried after him.
"You said you couldn't fly. What's this then?"
Malverick raised a brow at the sight of Robin hovering beside him, a pair of wings made entirely of small hands sprouting from her back.
Robin only glared at him fiercely.
"You big bully! Just get us home already!"
After passing through a sea of fog, the two finally arrived above Germa Kingdom.
Looking down at the vast clusters of snails, Robin's eyes widened in recognition.
From her bag, she pulled out a manga volume.
"Germa 66… they're real?"
Before coming to the North Blue, she had studied its history carefully — and Germa's legend was one of the more famous ones.
"They're real," Malverick replied. "And they're also my subordinates."
"Come on, let's go."
He took Robin straight into Germa's castle.
Along the way, rows of identical soldiers saluted them — just like the ones from the manga.
"Captain, welcome back!"
Corazon arrived first, followed by Judge and his children, Alice, Susanoo, and Xiaobi.
Corazon looked curiously at Robin standing beside Malverick.
"And this lady is…?"
Malverick opened his mouth to explain—
But Robin stepped forward and declared proudly,
"I'm his woman! You can all just call me Lady Robin!"
Corazon: "???"
He looked at Malverick in confusion.
"Don't listen to her nonsense," Malverick sighed. "We're not in that kind of relationship."
Robin pouted but didn't argue further. She wasn't going to press it — not while he still had the Poneglyph she wanted.
After introducing everyone, Malverick turned to Xiaobi.
"Xiaobi, here."
He tossed her a Devil Fruit — the one he'd taken from Wapol, the Baku Baku no Mi (Munch-Munch Fruit).
Xiaobi caught it in her mouth and chomped down immediately.
A second later, her face twisted in disgust.
"Blech!" she stuck out her tongue, trembling from the awful taste.
Malverick chuckled, patting her head. "Good girl."
Then he looked at his crew.
"Reiju, Alice — take Robin around, let her see the place."
"My Poneglyph! Take it out already!" Robin insisted, eyes shining.
"Fine, fine. Here."
With a wave of his hand, Malverick summoned the massive stone slab.
Robin immediately rushed forward to study it, her fingers tracing the ancient script with reverence.
"Susanoo, keep watch here," Malverick ordered. "Corazon, Judge — with me."
"Captain, everything's ready. We can set sail anytime," Corazon reported.
Malverick nodded — but before answering, he quietly used his Fivefold Vision to read Corazon's thoughts.
After all, Corazon's ties to the Marines — and Sengoku in particular — weren't something to ignore.
They were about to directly oppose the Navy; even if Corazon was trustworthy, Malverick preferred to be certain.
After scanning his mind, he relaxed. There was no sign of betrayal.
"Good. We leave tomorrow morning, at dawn."
He turned to Judge.
"Judge, stay here in the North Blue and await my orders. Once I've carved out a foothold in the New World, you'll bring the troops to join me."
"Yes, sir!" Judge responded firmly.
Corazon, however, looked uneasy.
The New World — that wasn't a place one simply entered.
It was chaos, power, and death.
And they only had seven people…
It was suicide.
Before he could voice his fears, Malverick smiled knowingly.
"Don't worry so much, Corazon."
"We may be few, but I've got plenty of friends in the New World."
"One of them's doing quite well for himself, actually."
He smirked.
"If worst comes to worst, we'll just… take his territory instead."
ACHOO!!
Somewhere in the New World, a red-haired man suddenly sneezed mid-drink.
Shanks wiped his nose — and the wine he'd been sipping sprayed all over the deck.
The Red-Hair Pirates burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Look at the captain choke on his drink!"
"Boss, you okay? You look cursed!"
Shanks looked annoyed.
"What the hell…? Don't tell me someone's plotting against me?"
Back in Germa's harbor, a massive sea snail was happily munching on feed — this was Malverick's new "ship."
Unlike ordinary vessels, it could move freely over both sea and land, even crawl over the Red Line itself.
Germa's entire mobile kingdom was built on such snails — and this one was a custom-modified version, fitted with Judge's propulsion engines for extra speed.
Atop the snail's shell stood a grand fortress-like structure, with space for dozens of people to live comfortably.
Above it fluttered a single, simple pirate flag — black, with a white skull and crossed blades.
No flashy designs. No theatrics.
In a world full of gaudy emblems, this plain flag had a kind of raw, original power.
The Dark Night Pirates.
(The name had been changed — "Nether Pirates" sounded too weird.)
Malverick looked up at the flag and nodded, satisfied.
At sunrise, the crew assembled: Malverick, Robin, Corazon, Reiju, Alice, Susanoo, and Xiaobi — seven in total.
They stepped aboard their enormous "ship."
"Alright," Malverick commanded.
"Set sail!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Reiju took the helm, and the colossal snail began gliding forward across the waves.
After a while, Malverick walked over to Robin, who was standing by the rail.
"You've finished reading the Poneglyph," he said. "So, what was written on it?"
He only knew it mentioned Poseidon, but not the exact details.
Robin glanced at him, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Hmph, not telling you!"
She stuck out her tongue playfully — then ran off to tease Xiaobi.
Malverick sighed, smiling helplessly.
The Dark Night Pirates had officially set sail.
—------------------------------
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