After last night's talk, the three girls—Carina, Nami, and Robin—changed quite a bit.
First, Carina and Nami realized how narrow their horizons were, and they proactively built a good relationship with Robin.
After returning to the starting island, they went straight to a local bookstore, bought a pile of books, and set out to seriously expand their knowledge base.
Next was Robin, who had only just joined; she fully accepted her current role and latched onto Yami's golden thigh.
So a few days after they got back to the starting island, Robin put on the tailored skirt suit Yami had ordered at the clothing shop, satisfying his taste and a bit of his mischief.
It had to be said: Robin already radiated intellectual beauty, and in a secretary outfit her mature figure and queenly aura became even more flawless.
If she added a pair of glasses, she'd be a "glasses girl" far outshining Kalifa.
When Robin in her secretary suit, together with Carina and Nami in maid outfits, walked behind Yami, they drew countless heated gazes, and a few pirates even couldn't help tossing out lewd remarks.
But once Yami flicked his finger and erased those foul-mouthed types in an instant, no one dared catcall again.
A few people even recognized Yami.
Very quickly, his name spread through this country.
Every fresh arrival learned not to provoke the man followed by two little maids and a beautiful secretary.
He had dropped a 68-million pirate and snuffed out several people with a finger; both his identity and strength were out of the ordinary.
And since the ones he erased were outsiders who didn't pay taxes, not locals, the kingdom's regular troops didn't arrest Yami.
...
Time flew; in the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
During those ten days, they kept playing on the starting island, and Carina and Nami bonded with Robin fast, becoming close sisters who shared everything.
They had plenty in common, and Robin and Nami's experiences were especially similar—both had their lives upended at the age of eight.
As the three opened up and learned about one another, the looks Carina and Nami gave Robin carried more recognition.
Robin's gaze at them held a touch of warmth.
It was the look you give your own kind, the look of an elder sister to her younger ones.
She didn't envy that Nami had Yami's help while she'd had no one to reach out a hand.
On the contrary, she felt happy Nami had met Yami.
This way, Nami wouldn't have to suffer as she had.
Only someone who has lived Robin's life can grasp how despairing it is for an eight-year-old girl in the West Blue with nowhere to belong, who must stay on guard against everyone at every moment, for whom even a full meal is so hard to come by.
If Robin hadn't had a kind heart, she would have blackened long ago.
While their bond grew, Yami—who had basically not slept for ten days, only dozing with his eyes shut now and then—finally awaited the prison ship he'd been watching for day and night.
"The prison ship. Time for me to move."
The moment he saw it, Yami called the three to leave the inn.
By the time the anchor was weighed and the sails hoisted, the prison ship was just leaving that island.
Nami, under Yami's direction, steered their sailboat to trail the prison ship at a slow distance.
The gap between the two vessels widened bit by bit.
There was no helping it—their boat was only a small lateen-rigged sloop.
The prison ship was a large three-masted sailing vessel.
Such large ships not only carry three mainsails but more than a dozen staysails and topsails, giving them astonishing speed.
And a prison ship for transporting pirates is outfitted even better than a warship.
Fortunately, Yami's Clairvoyance range was enormous; as long as the distance didn't exceed four thousand kilometers, he would never lose them.
With nothing else to do, Yami took the helm himself and kept their boat on the prison ship's wake.
The three girls, meanwhile, worked on lifting one another up.
"...Rokushiki?!"
When Robin took from Carina the Rokushiki notes hand-written by Yami, her expression suddenly shifted; a flicker of fear passed through those blue-black eyes.
Clearly, the notes dragged up childhood memories.
"Mm. Master gave them to me. He used the Gaze-Gaze Fruit's mind-reading on a certain agent to steal them."
Carina nodded slightly and explained, "The move Master used to wipe those guys—Finger Pistol's extension... Flying Finger Pistol."
"I see."
Staring at the detailed Rokushiki notes, Robin—for the first time—felt the sense of safety Yami brought her.
Is this what having backing feels like?
Those people who are everywhere don't seem so terrifying now.
Gazing at Yami's back as he helmed the boat, a glimmer seemed to light in Robin's eyes.
The sealed door of her heart cracked open a little more.
Robin then started serious physical training, striving to reach the threshold to practice Rokushiki.
Compared with Carina and Nami, whose bodies were still growing, Robin's physical base was much stronger; she barely met the conditions to begin Kami-e.
Yami would occasionally guide her as well, passing along all the experience he'd gained from Lucci.
Learning Rokushiki five years early, Robin had a chance to become superhuman like Kalifa by the time the story begins.
Beyond Rokushiki, Yami planned to get Robin into Fish-Man Karate.
Fish-Man Karate suits Robin's Fruit ability even better than Rokushiki.
If she can combine the two, then awaken Armament and Observation Haki, Robin will absolutely awaken earlier than in the original, becoming a top executive on a Yonko crew's level.
But only to that extent.
Having eaten the Paramecia Flower-Flower Fruit, Robin's potential was locked.
Carina and Nami, on the other hand, are still young, not Devil Fruit users, and have a chance to defy fate.
As long as he finds them top-tier Fruits to rewrite their ordinary bloodline factors, their potential is sure to surpass the original.
These days, Yami had been drafting training plans for all three.
Once he obtained the More-More Fruit, the plans could roll.
...
In a flash, another half month went by.
In that half month, the prison ship stopped at several Marine branches, took on quite a few wanted criminals, and finally set course for Impel Down in the Calm Belt.
The prison ship didn't go through the Gates of Justice; using Clairvoyance, Yami found Impel Down's location ahead of time.
So he stopped tailing the prison ship and sailed to the nearest island for resupply.
Once the resupply was done, Yami didn't leave Carina and the others waiting in place; he opened a massive Air Door and sent the sailboat and the girls into the subspace.
After letting them stay in the subspace shelter, Yami took a small lifeboat and set off for Impel Down.