Ohara, Aboard the Oro Jackson.
Staring at the little Robin in front of him, who was visibly terrified of him, Orin had a mischievous smile on his face.
He was probably going to traumatize this poor child for life.
In the kitchen, little Robin stood there trembling.
Orin watched her with interest, lounging on a chair with his legs crossed and a straw in his mouth, sipping orange juice.
Beside him, Mihawk stood upright, his hawk-like eyes coldly fixed on Robin.
"So? Are we kicking her off the ship?"
To Mihawk, Robin was no different from anyone else on the island. He felt no particular sympathy toward her.
The only reason he hadn't thrown her off already was because of Orin— he seemed to have some interest in this little girl.
"Kicking her off, huh... Doesn't sound like a bad idea..."
Orin deliberately dragged out his words, as if he was seriously contemplating it.
Robin's fear deepened.
She thought of Saul's sacrifice for her.
She thought of her mother's final wishes and dying message.
She thought of Ohara, falling into ruin.
And she thought of her own desire to survive...
Thud—
"Please... I'm begging you, please don't throw me off the ship! I'll do anything, as long as you let me live!!"
Tears welled up in Robin's eyes as she cried out to the towering young man in front of her:
"I want to live!!!"
"You'll do anything?"
That caught Orin's interest.
If she had just stood there crying like a fool, Orin might've really sent her back to Ohara—just to see whether this world truly had something like 'fate of the protagonist.'
Without Aokiji, would this little Robin still survive?
But since she had said something like that, Orin wasn't so heartless.
In fact, it sparked an idea—something quite interesting.
With a thought, paper and pen appeared in his hand. He gripped the pen and quickly began to write.
Mihawk, arms folded, glanced over curiously.
But when he saw the content of what Orin was writing, his usually stoic face briefly froze.
At the top, in big letters: "Contract."
And after reading through the entire thing, Mihawk finally saw the hidden message between the lines—
A Slave Contract!!!
"Didn't you say you'd do anything to survive?"
Orin smiled and handed the paper to her, fingers interlaced over his crossed legs as he watched her reaction.
As expected—
Robin hesitated as she accepted the paper, and after reading it closely, her face instantly turned deathly pale.
The gist of the contract:
Orin saved Nico Robin's life during the destruction of Ohara.
Once she reached adulthood, from that moment onward, if Orin wanted her life—it would be his to take.
Orin was consistent in this.
No special treatment for anyone.
In this regard, Robin was no different from Sammi, Doflamingo, Mihawk, or even future people like Crocodile.
A debt of life, a debt of mercy, a debt of protection...
These were debts that could only be repaid over a lifetime.
Orin might have been taking advantage of the situation—but he was undeniably fair.
At her age, Robin was already quite accomplished in archaeology and had a love for reading.
She definitely understood what the contract meant.
It was precisely because she understood that she was so terrified—so pale.
This... this was basically a contract to become Orin's slave, wasn't it!?
No doubt about it!
Robin clutched the paper, staggering as she sat down on the ground.
But she had no choice.
Biting her lip and holding back tears, she signed her full name at the bottom.
"I understand... I will repay you for saving my life."
Robin respectfully handed the signed contract back to Orin.
He casually glanced at it, smiled, and tucked it away into his coat.
Seeing him say nothing more, Robin silently walked to the table, picked up a cloth, and began scrubbing the floor—
Just like she used to do at her aunt's house.
"You don't have to do that,"
Mihawk said coolly, watching her bent over scrubbing.
"Orin will take care of that."
He didn't know why Orin let her board, nor how long this kid would stay.
But now that she was on the ship, Mihawk wasn't going to question it. For now, she was part of the crew.
"Then... is there anything I can do?"
Robin looked nervously at the cold-faced man.
Having something to do would clearly help her feel safer.
Mihawk, with the black blade on his back, looked down at her. Arms still crossed, he stared until Robin grew uneasy.
After a pause, he finally said:
"...Then help wash the vegetables."
"Huh?"
Watching Robin bustle about in the kitchen with Mihawk, Orin simply sat and watched in silence.
Unlike the grown-up Robin with her pale skin, beauty, and long legs, little Robin was dark-skinned and skinny—far from what you'd call a cute child.
And unlike when he was on Roger's ship, Orin had no plans to recruit interns at the moment.
So Robin wouldn't be staying long.
Once they passed through a safe town, he'd drop her off.
Orin took another sip of orange juice as he controlled the Oro Jackson to slowly leave the cliffside.
As the ship drifted away, Orin glanced up toward the distant cliff.
A big head, poorly hidden, was poking out.
Orin grinned and shouted:
"Hey! Saul!!
Nico Robin is under my protection now! Don't forget—say hi to Gaban-san for me!!!"
...
At that moment, in the kitchen, Robin was washing vegetables.
Hearing Orin's voice, tears welled up and began to fall.
But she didn't stop.
Through her quiet sobs, she continued carefully scrubbing each leaf.
Suddenly, a large hand reached out with a tissue in it.
Robin looked up, startled, and saw the ever-expressionless young hawk-like man.
"Mihawk-san..."
"Wipe your snot and tears. Otherwise, they'll drip on the vegetables."
He handed her the tissue without a hint of tenderness, then turned back to chopping vegetables without saying another word.
...
"See? Little Hawk might look cold and distant, but he's actually really gentle."
At some point, Robin turned her head—
And found Orin's tall figure crouched beside her, smiling as he spoke.
Robin blinked in surprise, then slowly nodded.
And when she saw Mihawk's face flush with quiet embarrassment and his blade chasing after the teleporting Orin,
In that moment,
For the first time, she felt—
That maybe signing that slave contract... wasn't such a bad thing after all.