Robin stood in silence, her eyes fixed on Renn Hawk.
The crisp white coat of a Marine Rear Admiral draped perfectly over his tall frame. His posture was straight as a blade, and the chiseled lines of his face seemed carved by discipline and power. Behind those calm, deep eyes, however, lurked something vast and unfathomable like an ocean in perpetual stillness.
A striking man, Robin thought. But what does that have to do with me?
Ever since the flames of Ohara had devoured everything she loved, Robin had lived like a drifting leaf upon the sea of betrayal. Every alliance she'd sought, every hand she'd grasped for safety, had eventually turned on her. One master after another, one prison after the next what difference did it make? Whether in the depths of Impel Down or beneath the execution platform, fate had always made sure she wore her chains.
So when the man before her spoke, she had already resigned herself to whatever verdict he would pass.
"Nico Robin," Hawk said softly. "There's no need to be afraid. I was sent by Kuzan."
The moment the name left his lips, Robin froze.
That man the one who had spared her life amid the inferno of Ohara; the one whose icy justice had always stood apart from the rest. Admiral Aokiji, the man who walked the thin line between law and mercy.
But what could he possibly have to do with this man? Hawk's justice was known across the seas as sharp and merciless an embodiment of order through overwhelming power. The two men could not have been more opposite.
How could such opposing flames burn together?
Hawk watched her carefully, reading the flickers of doubt and fear that crossed her expression. He knew exactly why Kuzan had entrusted her to him it was a strange form of faith, and an even stranger test.
Because Hawk had a vision.
The Navy's power was at its peak. Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru their names alone held the world steady. The three Admirals, each unmatched in strength, formed the core of absolute justice. And now, a new generation was rising Zoro, Sanji, Dane, Hibari all forged under Hawk's command, destined to shape the Navy's next era.
From top to bottom, from veterans to rookies, the Marine "machine" was now stronger than ever. But raw strength alone could not conceal its flaw.
"The Navy," Hawk said, walking slowly along the quiet pier, "is still nothing more than a weapon."
Robin's eyes flickered toward him, caught off guard by the quiet gravity of his tone.
"Violence can tear down what's corrupt," he continued, "but it can't build what comes after. Justice enforced through power alone is temporary it fades with the next explosion, the next battle cry."
He glanced at the horizon, where the desert sun met the glimmering sea.
"To truly change this ocean, we need more than soldiers. We need education. Schools. Minds capable of asking why before they act."
Robin followed him in silence, each step feeling heavier than the last.
"The truth is," Hawk said, "this world is hollow. Thousands of years of history have brought us here and yet most people still can't even read a newspaper. For them, knowledge itself is a luxury. The voice of history has been cut off."
His words sliced through the air like a surgeon's scalpel, clean and merciless.
"The chain of history was severed," he said. "The flow of culture erased. The depth of this sea still exists it's simply been hidden... buried by those who fear it."
Robin stopped dead in her tracks. Her breath caught in her throat, her entire body trembling.
Was he really saying this?
A Marine officer a high-ranking one at that speaking openly of the world's forbidden truths? Of the Void Century?
He was either insane or suicidal.
Did he not know that even whispering about such things could bring down the full wrath of the World Government? That they would send a Buster Call those monstrous weapons of annihilation to erase everything in their path?
The memories came flooding back the roar of the flames, her mother's final smile, the scholars' last cries as the bombardment fell.
For twenty years, she had lived as the Devil's Child, running from one cage to another, burdened by sins she never committed.
And now this man dared to speak the very words that had destroyed her world.
"Make no mistake," Hawk said, his gaze never leaving hers. "The Navy is changing. Kuzan wanted me to convince you to join us to become part of a new Marine order, one that stands for more than fear."
"But my plan goes beyond that."
His voice hardened, carrying an unmistakable conviction.
"The spread of knowledge, the preservation of history these matter as much as any fleet or fortress. You, Nico Robin, are the last scholar who can read the true history. You're not just a survivor. You're a living archive of everything this world has tried to erase."
He paused.
"That's why I intend to create something new The Department of Naval History and Education. A place where knowledge, not just strength, becomes the foundation of justice."
Robin's lips parted in shock.
"I want you to lead it," Hawk said. "To establish the first Marine Academy under G-3. Soldiers shouldn't just train their bodies they should learn to think, to understand the sea they fight for, and the justice they claim to uphold."
He turned to face her fully, his eyes blazing with resolve.
"It starts here, with G-3. From here, we'll reignite the light of knowledge throughout the Navy and eventually, across the world."
Robin's heart pounded violently.
Every word struck something deep inside her something she thought had died long ago. The dream of Ohara. The dream her mother had died for.
To preserve history, not through rebellion or destruction, but through understanding.
It was everything she had ever wanted to believe in. And yet it sounded impossible.
Could one man, even one like Hawk, really reshape the world?
Her doubts were written all over her face. Hawk didn't argue. He simply reached into his coat and pulled something out.
A golden Den Den Mushi.
The sight of it made Robin's blood run cold.
Her eyes widened, her body trembling as though she'd been struck.
That gleaming shell... that gilded pattern...
No one knew its meaning better than her.
That device was no symbol of hope. It was the very embodiment of annihilation.
The weapon that had turned her homeland into ash.
"Buster Call...?" Her voice was barely a whisper, cracked and trembling.
Hawk nodded, his tone calm, almost indifferent.
"Yes. The Buster Call."
He smiled faintly.
"I have four of them."
And for the first time in two decades, Nico Robin could not tell whether she was standing before a savior or another devil wearing the face of justice.
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