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"Damn it, what are you trying to do with all this?" Vivi frowned, looking straight at Miss All Sunday.
She was clearly nervous. It was hard to deal with someone whose motives were completely unreadable.
But Miss All Sunday's expression didn't change at all. She even walked into the room and casually sat down across from Bai Ye.
Crossing her long legs, she said in an indifferent tone, "Who knows what I'm really after?"
Then she glanced at the Straw Hats.
"I just came to check out what happened to a foolish princess who thought she could save her country. Never expected to run into you guys."
"The Straw Hat crew, starting off with a bounty of 240 million berries."
"What a pleasant surprise."
Bai Ye chuckled from across the room. "Running into you here is a surprise too, isn't it?"
"Nico Robin."
Hearing her full name, Robin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled with interest.
"Didn't expect the 'Celestial Master' to know who I am. What an honor."
"What can I say," Bai Ye replied with a helpless shrug. "I've got a little hobby—collecting every wanted poster across the sea."
"You know how it is. In this world, there are all kinds of ridiculously strong people with insane backgrounds, pretending to be nobodies."
"And since our captain has a knack for causing chaos, I figured it's better to be prepared than not."
As he spoke, Bai Ye flipped his wrist and pulled out a wanted poster.
"Eight years old and already destroyed six Marine battleships. Bounty: 79 million. The 'Devil Child.'"
He smiled. "By comparison, I didn't hit a hundred million until much later. Kind of embarrassing, really."
Everyone in the room froze in shock.
"Amazing!" Luffy's eyes sparkled.
"Seventy-nine million..." Zoro muttered, falling into silent thought.
"Destroyed six warships, huh? Heh~" Robin chuckled lightly, then returned to her usual icy tone. "That kind of thing doesn't matter anymore."
Then, just like in the original story, Robin warned the crew about the dangers of Little Garden and handed Luffy a Log Pose pointing to Alabasta.
While Vivi was still hesitating...
Luffy crushed the eternal Log Pose and said, "You don't get to decide our course!"
But unlike the original story, Robin offered to escort Igaram to Alabasta.
"What?" Vivi was completely lost. "Are you helping Crocodile or Alabasta? What exactly are you trying to do?"
Faced with her question, Robin stayed perfectly calm.
"Who knows? Maybe I'm just acting on a whim."
"Anyway... what are you all gonna do?" she asked, turning to Bai Ye.
"I already know your plan. And I know you've got Mr. 5's eternal Log Pose."
"But on the Grand Line, with all its dangers... what do you think the odds are that he survives alone?"
She was obviously referring to Igaram.
"Sure, maybe a Celestial Master like you has a way, but having me escort him is definitely the safest option."
She stared directly at Bai Ye, and for a second, there was something almost expectant in her gaze.
"So, what's your choice?"
Bai Ye smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Miss Robin."
Robin blinked—she hadn't expected him to say yes so easily.
Out of all the outcomes she had considered, this wasn't one of them.
She couldn't help but look at Bai Ye with a hint of warmth in her eyes.
"How interesting. Now I really want to know what kind of person you are, Mr. Bai Ye."
"Well, who knows? Maybe someday we'll be crewmates," he joked casually.
Just then, Vivi spoke up.
"Bai Ye, are you seriously gonna let Igar—"
"Princess, I'll go," Igaram said firmly.
"To help you and Alabasta sooner, I'll go with Miss Robin."
Even Bai Ye was a bit surprised by that.
He had agreed because he knew Robin wasn't actually evil.
But Igaram's decision basically meant walking toward a possible death.
That's the captain of Alabasta's royal guards for you.
Good thing these people were loyal—otherwise, Vivi might not have made it in time to uncover the truth.
"Igaram…"
Vivi was touched. She stepped forward and hugged the frizzy-haired man tightly, whispering:
"Wait for me to come back."
"No problem, Your Highness."
Then they all went to the harbor and watched as Robin and Igaram rode off on a giant turtle, swimming away into the distance.
Luffy, of course, freaked out.
With all that sorted, it was time to prepare for their journey.
Nami looted the town's treasure as fast as possible. Most of it had been handed over to Crocodile, but thanks to years of hoarding, she still managed to find close to 100 million berries' worth of loot.
The Cat Burglar (Nami) was over the moon.
As for Bai Ye, he still had a few loose ends to tie up.
First was the Unlucky Duo—those two weirdos who showed up out of nowhere and vanished just as fast.
He could've just taken them out, but in the end, he decided to let them go.
Of course, not before using his puppet talismans to get some control over them.
That way, Crocodile would know Vivi survived, but wouldn't realize the Straw Hats had helped her.
It might even make Crocodile start suspecting his own people.
Then there were the Exploding Guy and his partner. Bai Ye followed his usual routine.
He had plans for them too.
Once the Log Pose was fully charged...
The Straw Hats, Vivi, and her duck (who's totally not Psyduck) boarded the Going Merry.
"Wait... are these things even people?"
The moment she stepped on deck, Vivi was stunned. She stared at the paper humanoids walking around doing chores, completely baffled.
"They're paper dolls—one of Bai Ye's treasures," Nami explained.
"They're his treasures too?" Vivi looked over at Bai Ye.
From the puppet talismans, to the rain charms, to these weird paper workers... everything was like magic.
She couldn't help but ask:
"Bai Ye, just how many treasures do you have?"
To her surprise, the whole crew froze.
"Right?!" Luffy slapped his palm. "I still don't know how many tricks Bai Ye's got! Also, when do I get to go into that inner world of yours?!"
"Exactly!" Nami turned to him too. "Elixirs, talismans, those paper guys—what else are you hiding?"
"Don't forget about that golden light thing!" Usopp chimed in. "That's the one that helped Luffy and the others awaken their Haki!"
"I'm more interested in how many spiritual herbs Bai Ye's got," Sanji added.
"Now that you mention it... I wonder if he's hiding some better booze," Zoro said, glancing over.
Faced with all these curious stares, Bai Ye simply clapped his hands and said—
"Since that's the case, let's talk it through properly. And while we're at it—"
"Let's boost everyone's combat power a little!"
"....."