Chapter Cover Side Story - The Days on Kuja's Eastern Route · Hello, Nico Robin
In the dead of night, inside the fortress of Den Den Mushi City, Robin removed her disguise and gazed at her true face in the mirror. She picked up a lipstick, twisted it open, and lightly brushed it across her lips.
Pressing her lips together, she examined herself from side to side in the mirror and muttered softly to herself.
…..
The Flower Clone raised its eyes and immediately saw Liam battling a gigantic wolfdog that was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar. Between fists, kicks, and the clashes of iron rod and rapier, Haki surged wildly while lightning crackled everywhere.
From another direction, a pitch-black suit of armor rushed through the darkness. From afar, it glanced toward the battlefield between the main body and Sulong Inuarashi. Hidden among the woods were many mink race spectators who had gathered after hearing the commotion… and on the trunk of one tree, Robin's upper-half Flower Clone appeared as though it had grown directly out of the bark.
Sulong Nekomamushi stood even closer, watching the duel between Giorno and Sulong Inuarashi. Snorting, he said, "And he actually claimed he'd fight two at once. Seriously… hm?!"
A sudden sense of danger struck him. Turning his head, he saw a black shadow charging straight at him.
Sulong Nekomamushi was instantly caught by B.I.B., and the two erupted into fierce combat. Haki exploded everywhere, accompanied by dazzling arcs of electricity.
Liam smashed his rod against Sulong Inuarashi's rapier wrapped in crackling lightning and laughed loudly:
"I said one against two, and I meant one against two! Hahaha…!"
So that's it…
Sulong Inuarashi struggled against the overwhelming force surging from the Golden Iron Rod.
That Black Shadow…
Sulong Nekomamushi coated himself in Busoshoku Haki and fought relentlessly against the Black Battle Armor.
At the same time, the same shock rose in both their hearts:
…So this power was Giorno's own all along!!!
Thus, beneath the Full Moon, while Giorno and Duke Inuarashi in his Sulong form battled with heaven-shaking intensity, Shopkeeper Nekomamushi in his Sulong state was also locked in a fierce fight against an enemy of equal caliber.
Throughout the nighttime forest, all the mink race spectators hiding among the trees were completely dumbfounded. Never had they imagined that Giorno could still hold his ground against the two kings in their Sulong states, no, more than that…
He was gradually suppressing both kings?
"So this is Sulong? Does every mink race transform as long as they stare directly at the Full Moon?"
The sudden voice of Nico Robin startled Sicilian, who had been fully focused on the battle. He jerked his head around, only to nearly leap in fright.
"Why is there a person growing out of the tree?!!!"
Under the calm gaze of the half-bodied Flower Clone, Sicilian steadied himself and swallowed nervously.
"Yeah… but completely controlling that power also requires harsh training. Unless there's a special circumstance, even on nights of the full moon, we avoid staring directly at it."
Inside the Den Den Mushi City fortress in Whale Forest…
After sending out a Flower Clone to watch the battle on-site, Robin removed her makeup, untied her ponytail, and rubbed her slightly messy long hair as she shuffled toward the bathroom in slippers to freshen up.
She reached out and wiped the mirror clean. While brushing her teeth, she remotely observed Liam and his Stand fighting the two overwhelmingly imposing "Moon Lions." When she saw Liam accidentally unleash a burst of flames during his clash with the lightning-covered Sulong Inuarashi, and even he himself looked shocked by it, Robin couldn't help but smile and shake her head. She brushed her hair behind her ear and spat out the toothpaste foam and water.
.........
By daylight, many trees in Left Abdomen Forest had been destroyed, snapped cleanly in half along the roadside…
Some looked as though they had been struck by lightning, while others appeared scorched by raging flames. Wisps of smoke drifted through the forest, and the air itself carried an oppressive tension…
Nekomamushi had already exited his Sulong form. Leaning against a smoking broken tree, he panted heavily. Before him, the black ghost-like armor slowly withdrew its fist, its narrow eyes turning thoughtfully toward the other side.
Wrapped in blazing flames, the Golden Iron Rod swept forward with a shrieking roar, smashing away the incoming rapier and sending Inuarashi flying with a single strike.
Boom!
Inuarashi spun backward through the air, crashing through several trees before finally collapsing into a seated position like Nekomamushi, exhaustedly hanging out his dog tongue.
After watching the battle all night long, Sicilian and the other mink race spectators had become completely numb with shock.
This human wasn't human at all.
Even after Old Boss Nekomamushi and Duke Inuarashi entered their Sulong forms, they still couldn't defeat a single human,
And even more incomprehensible was just how bottomless this human's stamina was. After battling all night long and defeating the two kings of the cat and dog, how could he still have the strength to remain standing?
They had overpraised him.
At this moment, Liam's breathing had actually become somewhat uneven as well…
However, after taking a deep breath, he slowly steadied himself. Once the cat and dog entered their Sulong states, their strength had increased enormously. Whether speed or power, both had risen by an entirely new level, making them truly difficult opponents.
Strong as they were, though, compared to him, there was still a certain gap.
If Liam's main body had fought both of them alone, the difficulty might have been extremely high. But with him and his Stand each holding off one opponent separately, victory had been completely secure.
"At least this trip wasn't for nothing…"
Liam raised the "Flame-Plated Staff" in his hand, staring at the orange-red flames burning atop the Golden Iron Rod. From the corner of his eye, he noticed a graceful figure approaching, so he swung the flaming Golden Iron Rod and flashed Robin a smug grin.
"Leaving already?" Robin asked with a smile, arms folded.
"Yeah," Liam replied with a grin. He casually slung the Golden Iron Rod over his shoulder, only for the flames on the staff to scorch him with a sharp sizzle, making him hurriedly pull it away again.
.........
At the edge of Zou, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had treated their light injuries somewhat before coming together to see Nico Robin and Giorno off.
Only Darcy and Carrot followed them, both little ones reluctantly hugging Liam and Robin around their legs.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi looked down at Zou beneath their feet. In just a few short days, their perception of the ancient elephant that had carried the mink race for a thousand years had undergone a complete upheaval.
Thinking about what they had learned in the underground tomb chamber, the rulers of day and night both fell silent.
"No need to keep seeing us off," Liam waved his hand. "If fate allows it, we'll meet again somewhere on the sea."
Darcy hugged his leg and looked up.
"Next time, I treat chu to fish~~"
"I'll treat you to meat," Liam said while rubbing the little cat's head.
Robin bent down and stroked Carrot's fluffy head.
"I'll treat you to carrots."
"Mhm!" Carrot narrowed her eyes happily in delight.
Just as Liam and Robin turned to leave, Inuarashi's voice suddenly came from behind them:
"Are you really leaving just like this?"
Robin immediately halted, though she did not turn around.
Liam raised an eyebrow and looked back. Inuarashi stared solemnly at Robin's back, while beside him, Nekomamushi bit down on his smoking pipe-gun and said calmly:
"There were some things written on those Seastone walls… things you didn't tell us, right?"
Robin lowered her gaze silently, saying nothing.
Inuarashi spoke in a deep voice:
"Why did the Wolf Lord fight Kozuki Musashi to the death? Why has nothing about them ever been passed down?
"And also… why could Zou's wife write the ancient language?
"She may have hated Zou and Amatsuki Kumi for the mistakes they committed, but why… why did she feel a guilt toward us that 'could never be repaid through countless lifetimes'?"
Confusion filled Darcy and Carrot's wide eyes as they looked at the adults around them.
Nekomamushi exhaled smoke and chuckled.
"Tell us, Nico Robin… Didn't Kozuki Musashi leave those words behind so you could pass this history on to us?"
"…"
After a moment of silence, Robin replied softly:
"He didn't want that."
The pupils of the cat and dog rulers trembled violently.
Robin turned and glanced at the innocent-faced Darcy and Carrot.
"You two should head back first."
Nekomamushi waved a hand, sending the two little fluffballs back toward Kurau City.
Robin sighed softly.
"It was after the Wolf Lord learned the truth of the history from many years ago that he fought Kozuki Musashi in a deadly duel… After accidentally killing the Wolf Lord, Kozuki Musashi was overcome with grief and remorse. After leaving those ancient writings on the Seastone wall… he committed seppuku."
"Seppuku?" Liam clicked his tongue.
Meanwhile, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi looked as though they had suffered a massive shock.
"Kozuki… Musashi fought the Wolf Lord? And even killed… the Wolf Lord, who was like his own brother?!"
Robin looked at them and slowly said:
"Amatsuki Kumi… his real name… was actually 'Kozuki Gushi.'"
(End Of This Chapter)
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