"Hahaha, don't panic. I don't have any ill intentions toward you."
Seeing the surge of vigilance in Robin's mind, El reached out and lightly patted her shoulder, his tone calm and open. Then, without hesitation, he took something from his coat and handed it to her.
A bounty poster.
"I have nothing to do with Mary Geoise or the Navy," El said casually. "On the contrary… I'm just like you."
"When I was eight years old, they put a bounty on my head."
Robin's eyes lowered to the paper.
"Young Swordsman" ElBounty: 250,000,000 BellyDead or Alive
For the first time since their meeting, Robin slowly removed her hood.
Long, smooth black hair fell down her back. Her face—far more mature than someone her age should be—was calm, but her eyes carefully examined El, as if trying to peel him apart layer by layer.
"…'Young Swordsman' El?"
"Yep. That's me."
El smiled openly."Nico Robin—no, let me call you Sister Robin."
"I came all the way from the Grand Line to the West Blue just for you."
"The news from a week ago…" Robin said softly. "You were the one who caused it, weren't you?"
Judging from the timing alone, she could already guess the answer. The moment she stepped onto the coast, the sky had already begun to descend.
El raised his thumb.
"Sharp as expected. I did it."
Then he took out a Dial and handed it to her.
"This is a specialty from Sky Island. Similar to a Camera Den Den Mushi—it can store images and recorded information."
He paused briefly.
"Do you want to read what's written on this Poneglyph?"
"Really?"
The moment the word Poneglyph was spoken, a spark lit up in Robin's eyes.
"Then I won't hold back."
She took the Dial without hesitation. Without needing any explanation, she quickly figured out how it worked—her fingers moving with practiced ease.
Soon, images appeared.
Robin's expression became serious.
So serious that not even the slightest emotion leaked from her face.
But El, who could read her inner thoughts, knew—
This Poneglyph wasn't about the Void Century itself.
It recorded something else.
The disappearance of the Three Ancient Weapons.
And the shocking conclusions Gol D. Roger had reached after uncovering history.
"…So," Robin finally said, lifting her gaze from the Dial,"you were looking for me to help you translate this Poneglyph?"
El shook his head.
Then he grinned.
"I learned about your existence from CP agents I killed."
"I realized we're the same kind of people."
"And since I already had a Poneglyph in my hands… I decided to try my luck."
"Robin—no, Sister Robin."
"I came here to invite you to become our companion."
"…Companion?"
That single word struck Robin harder than any request to decipher history.
For a brief moment, her mind went blank.
Then—
Fifteen years of betrayal surged back like a tidal wave.
Partners who sold her out.Organizations that abandoned her.Hands that reached out—only to push her into the abyss.
Almost instinctively, Robin's guard rose to its highest level.
Someone deliberately coming from the Grand Line.Manufacturing news to lure her out.Finding her the moment she appeared.
There had to be a hidden agenda.
El saw all of it.
And inwardly, he smiled.
Outwardly, he sighed and spoke honestly.
"Well… to be precise, through the CP agents I killed, I learned something."
"You're the last person in the world who can read Poneglyphs."
"So yes, I want to recruit you."
"But not for this Poneglyph."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"I want you to help me read a very special Poneglyph."
"One that is entirely red."
Robin's breath caught.
"A red… Poneglyph?"
El nodded.
"The Road Poneglyphs."
"The four stones that point the way to the final island of the Grand Line."
Laugh Tale.
"If you are the key to understanding history," El continued,"then the Road Poneglyphs are the puzzle pieces."
"Even if someone else finds all four stones…"
"…without you, they will never reach the end."
"Such a Poneglyph really exists…"
Robin's eyes shone.
"…Could it be that these red Poneglyphs hide the true history of the Void Century?"
El met her gaze directly and smiled.
"So, Sister Robin."
"Are you willing to become my companion…"
"And help me interpret them?"
"I will."
Almost the instant his words ended, Robin nodded.
She extended her hand toward him.
"Then please take care of me, Captain."
Just like how she once chose to assist Crocodile—
For the sake of history, for the sake of the Poneglyphs—
Robin had never been afraid of walking into danger.
She didn't care whether El had his own ambitions.She didn't expect trust to come easily.
And El never expected her heart to open with just a few words.
There were other companions.A ship with warmth.A crew with boundaries.
He believed that, over time, the Pegasus would change her—just as the Straw Hats once did.
Using his understanding of the plot and the people within it—
El spent just one week.
And gained his second strategist.
A child scholar at eight.A world-class historian at twenty-three.
Nico Robin was, without question, a far superior strategist to the current Carina.
With her joining—
The Pegasus gained not just a beautiful elder sister—
But a mind capable of standing at the center of the world's storm.
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