Somehow, Rengoku managed to halt the Buster Call.
He gave no thought to the aftermath or the punishment that awaited him for such defiance. Instead, he turned his steps back toward Enies Lobby's Bridge of Hesitation with Robin in tow.
Meanwhile, a little earlier, Robin's situation had taken a sharp turn.
The Straw Hats and Franky, combining their strength, had defeated Rob Lucci, the commander of CP9.
Though each of them had taken their share of damage, none were gravely injured or lost.
The greatest loss in fighting power was Franky, who had burned through even his emergency cola reserves.
Still, thanks to keeping their captain from charging recklessly ahead this time, the crew managed to preserve most of their strength and arrived at the Bridge of Hesitation intact.
"Robin's right there!"
Seeing Robin standing near the far end of the bridge, they broke into a sprint.
"Robin! We came to save you!"
Luffy grinned wide as he dashed forward, the others following close behind. Smiles filled their faces, their victory seemingly at hand.
Everything had gone according to plan.
But as they ran, they spotted cannon fire from distant marine warships.
Oddly, the shells were not aimed at them—but instead rained down upon Enies Lobby itself.
"They're bombarding their own judicial island without hesitation."
"But why aren't they targeting us?"
"Because of Robin, right? The World Government and CP9's true objective has always been to capture her alive."
"Ohohoho♥ Once again, Robin-chwan shields us with her very existence~♡" Sanji swooned.
As the crew drew closer to Robin, they suddenly noticed a massive wall of fire looming above.
"Gyaaahhh!! W-What the hell is that?!" Usopp shrieked.
"A wall of flames…?!"
"The marines' cannon fire can't get past it!" Nami shouted after quickly observing the situation.
"Whatever it is, it works in our favor! Wait for us, Robin!!"
The Bridge of Hesitation was not long, yet not short either—it felt endless, but the crew closed the distance quickly.
"Robin! Come back with us!!" Luffy called out, arms flailing with excitement.
Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky—all of them beamed, drunk on the high of their victory.
But only Robin's trembling face broke that illusion.
"Don't come any closer!!"
Her voice shook as reason finally returned to her.
"What are you saying, Robin?! You asked us to save you! Look—here we are!" Luffy cried.
But Robin's body shook as she shouted back, "That's not it! You have to leave here immediately!"
On the roof of the courthouse, she had been overwhelmed by emotion and Luffy's persuasion. She had forgotten.
Forgotten who Rengoku truly was.
Forgotten what level of strength he truly possessed.
"You don't understand how terrifying that man Rengoku is! Leave while he's still away!"
"Why are you saying this, Robin?!"
To Nami, Rengoku wasn't someone to fear. Hadn't he visited Bellemere's grave to honor her, a marine of true justice?
Usopp felt the same. To him, Rengoku wasn't a monster like CP9 or Rob Lucci—he had acted fairly back in Syrup Village and even negotiated honorably at Water 7. To Usopp, he seemed like a good man.
Only Zoro remained silent, unable to answer.
For he remembered.
Roronoa Zoro—acknowledged by the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk—had seen with his own eyes how easily Rengoku had broken through his Santoryu.
He remembered that overwhelming aura Rengoku had unleashed at the Tower of Justice.
And now, as Zoro drew upon his own spirit to awaken Asura, he realized that the image of the wrathful guardian Rengoku had projected was no mere illusion.
If the towering wall of fire blocking the marines' bombardment was indeed Rengoku's doing, then none of the Straw Hats yet truly grasped the depths of his power.
"Listen to me carefully," Robin said, voice trembling. "I'll explain as simply as I can…"
....
It was five years ago. Robin and her then-boss had returned from a brief outing for a transaction when chaos erupted.
"Boss! Bad news! The navy is attacking!"
One of the men stumbled into the boss's office, battered and bloodied.
The boss, however, didn't even flinch.
"The navy attacking? Hah. That's hardly unusual. What of it?"
Even in the face of a marine assault, he remained utterly unshaken.
If she had been the type to cower at the thought of a navy raid, she never would have joined the smuggling business in the first place.
"This time it's different, Boss! A Vice Admiral from Headquarters is here himself! The entire company is surrounded, layer upon layer!"
"Tch, enough. Coward. Aren't we a legitimate logistics company on paper?"
"Y-Yes, but…"
"All those documents here are perfectly clean. The real ledgers? I pulled those out long ago."
The boss rose from his chair with infuriating calm and asked,
"Where are the lads? If the navy's here, they should have already wrapped things up and sent them off."
"Boss, shall I try to negotiate with them?" Robin volunteered.
"No need. You stay put. For this kind of thing, it takes a man's face to answer."
With that, the boss went straight toward the company building to face the Vice Admiral himself.
Robin remained at the lodging, but in case of trouble, she sprouted an eye from his coat with her powers to see everything.
What she saw through that eye was her boss stepping forward, relaxed as ever, to face the marine commander.
Her angle was poor, and since she had only manifested an eye, she couldn't make out the Vice Admiral's face. But the outcome was unmistakable: her boss was cut down on the spot.
No doubt he had been carrying information far too damning to be left alive.
Robin already knew the smuggling ring's security was weak. She wasn't surprised such swift execution followed.
....
"What? That's all? You're scared over something like that? Don't worry! When that guy shows up, I'll beat him to a pulp!"
Luffy, only half-listening to Robin's words, slung her over his shoulder and turned to run.
"No! He's not something you can brush aside so easily!"
Robin shrank in panic as she remembered what she had witnessed.
She had seen it clearly with her own eyes—
A towering skyscraper of steel, 666 meters tall with a floor space of 400,000 square meters, a monument of corruption and a landmark of the island. And in a matter of seconds, the entire colossal structure had been engulfed in a pillar of flame and reduced to ash.
Not ordinary fire, but a far more violent crimson blaze.
"Hey… look! The wall of fire's fading!"
"Maybe he's exhausted?"
"And the cannons aren't firing either…"
Hearing her crewmates speak, Robin began thrashing in Luffy's grip, desperately tearing free and bolting toward the Gate of Justice.
"Robin!!"
"Run while you can! Leave me behind!"
Luffy, unwilling to see her terror, stretched his arms out and seized her again.
"No way!!"
At that moment, from the far end of the Bridge of Hesitation, a figure appeared—slowly ascending the steps, golden hair catching the light.
"Let me go! If you don't, we'll all die!!"
"Then we'll die together! I won't abandon my crew, Robin!!"
Robin collapsed to her knees.
She had seen him.
Rengoku, standing there in the distance.
His eyes fixed squarely on her fleeing form.
-------------
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