"How are you feeling? Any better?" Rosen stepped out of the room holding Robin in his arms. Although her bleeding had stopped thanks to the healing agent, her clothes were still soaked in blood from the earlier injury.
"I'm fine," Robin replied. Though a bit uncomfortable being carried, she said nothing after seeing the concern in Rosen's eyes. In truth, she could already walk on her own.
On deck, everyone had gathered, including the recently wounded, who were lying on stretchers again. They formed a defensive circle, staying alert in all directions.
Rosen's expression was grim. This was his oversight—he shouldn't have left Robin alone to search for clues. He assumed the thing wouldn't return, but he had clearly misjudged.
That lapse nearly cost Robin her life. It also served as a wake-up call—whatever this thing was, it was strong and moved like a ghost, making it a serious threat.
After setting Robin down, Rosen looked at Hathaway. "Any findings?"
"Nothing. It probably knows we're harder to deal with as a group. But what is it?" Hathaway stood calmly with her Sun Blade, ready to strike at the slightest movement.
"It didn't feel human," Robin analyzed calmly. "I didn't see its face when it attacked, but its touch was icy cold. It didn't have body heat or a pulse. The weapon it used was just a fruit knife from the room. And if it really wanted to kill me, it wouldn't have gone for a minor wound—it would've gone straight for my head."
The others couldn't help but break into cold sweat hearing her calmly dissect her brush with death. Did she even realize she'd just escaped death?
"Possibly not human," Rosen speculated. "And it didn't aim to kill right away—just to terrify us. It's trying to sow panic within the group. That means it's strong, but likely doesn't believe it can take us all on in direct combat."
A cunning enemy indeed—dead bodies were less terrifying than hearing the screams of the injured. That kind of psychological warfare was definitely a human tactic.
Still, Rosen trusted Robin's instincts. Maybe the enemy had a different body structure, or maybe it wasn't even alive.
"Natalie, use your gift. See if you can detect anything," Rosen said, growing desperate.
"I'll try." Natalie nodded and closed her eyes, spreading her powerful Observation Haki like an invisible web across the ship.
After a long moment, she shook her head in frustration. "Nothing. I can't sense any unfamiliar presence."
"In that case, let's return to the room. It might already be gone. We'll go over our options there." Rosen was left with no choice but to revisit a plan they had previously discussed.
"Yes, Boss."
"Bones, you and Mr. 5 cover the rear. The rest, follow me."
"Got it."
The group moved in a line, but Hathaway's room couldn't accommodate them all, so they gathered in the main hall.
Once everyone was inside, Bones and Mr. 5 entered last. Rosen then spoke. "Does anyone have a plan for dealing with this unknown enemy?"
"It's probably a Devil Fruit user. If we had seastone powder, this would be easier. But I've never heard of anyone being able to grind seastone into a usable powder," said Mr. 5, trying to be helpful for once, though his idea wasn't practical.
"Maybe bait it out. I'll volunteer to stand guard alone," Bones offered—an idea that actually held potential.
"Natalie can keep scanning the area with her Haki. If anything moves, she'll notice."
"If we can figure out which ship it's on, we can just burn it down. Even if it's invisible, it won't escape the flames," Hathaway added. It was a drastic solution, but one worth considering—though Rosen would avoid sacrificing the Dawn unless absolutely necessary.
So far, it didn't seem like an invisibility-type power. Even if someone were invisible, their movements would still stir air and make noise—it was impossible to be completely undetectable.
"Robin," Rosen said.
Robin didn't reply—she just nodded. In the next instant, her powers activated. Pale arms sprouted from the windows and doors, slamming them all shut.
Boom!
Rosen's body exploded into sand, which spread through the air, enclosing the hall in a sealed dome.
"Forbidden Sand Prison!" Rosen didn't hesitate. Robin had given the prearranged signal, and her judgment was usually spot-on. Hathaway drew her Sun Blade, her aura flaring violently.
Scarlet mist filled the air—imbued with Conqueror's Haki. The pressure was so overwhelming that some of their crew fainted on the spot.
They were springing a trap—Rosen's last-ditch plan. If the enemy wasn't already in the room listening in on them, then this would likely fail, and future chances to catch it would drop dramatically.
To make the setup convincing, Rosen had even allowed Bones and the others to pitch plans, though he had little intention of actually following them—unless something better than this came up.
He had suspected the enemy might be eavesdropping. If it had the guts to rummage through Hathaway's belongings while she was on the same floor, it likely felt confident it couldn't be caught.
From its previous behavior and logic, Rosen believed it would sneak in to spy on their meeting. It probably assumed it remained invisible to them, and thus had nothing to fear.
But now, the cage was closed. The question remained—were they battling thin air, or had they finally trapped their invisible foe?
It was still unclear. But if they hadn't caught it, their trouble was only beginning.
If this thing kept harassing them for days or even weeks, they might just be worn down and picked off one by one.
"Nobody move!" Rosen barked. "Hathaway, release your Haki at full strength. Natalie, monitor every inch of the room and anything that changes. Even if it's a Devil Fruit user, I don't believe it has an ability without limits!"
Anyone bold enough to harm his crew—if it really was trapped in here—was going to be torn apart.
(End of Chapter)
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