Chapter 78
However, there was still one loose end to tie up.
"Nico Robin. Do you want to go with your fellow countrymen and join the Revolutionary Army?" Victor sat down, eating delicious food while asking.
"No, I don't want to go. I want to stay with you. I want to stay on the Plant Scholars." Nico Robin said with firm determination in her eyes.
After all, Heracles and the others treated her very well and were quite lenient. Even though she had to train and help with miscellaneous tasks, she felt very fulfilled. She thought this place was far better than Ohara.
"Alright then. From now on, your position is apprentice crew member on the Plant Scholars." Victor nodded and agreed to Nico Robin staying.
Afterward, Victor parted ways with Dragon and the others, and both sides exchanged Den Den Mushi numbers.
The Plant Scholars headed straight for the New World.
After dealing with other matters, the Plant Scholars now only had their own people left.
"Come on, everyone gather here. We're holding a meeting." Victor called all the crew members over, including Nico Robin.
"Victor, what's the meeting about?" Heracles asked curiously.
He was basically asking for the other crew members, so everyone looked at Victor.
"Hm, next up, I'm going to give everyone a gift. It's this necklace in my hand." Victor said, taking out the necklace and showing it to everyone.
"What is it? Is it something special?" Heracles looked on curiously, but since Victor was presenting it, it had to be something good.
"Crocus knows. Inside the pendant is a piece of pure gold—pure gold can preserve eternal youth." "So you should understand what this means."
Victor explained the purpose of the pure gold necklace to everyone.
When Victor finished, everyone on the ship—including Nico Robin—had stars in their eyes. Nora and Ellie, the twin medic girls, even had green light glowing from their eyes.
"Captain, I want it, I want it!" The three women immediately shouted anxiously.
No surprise—they were already middle-aged and starting to age. Which woman wouldn't care about her appearance?
"Don't rush—let me finish first." "Don't worry, every official crew member will get one." "But each necklace has my Devil Fruit ability. If a member leaves or dies, I'll reclaim the necklace." "If you want to pass it on to your descendants, you need my approval." "And Crocus's wife also received pure gold from me."
Victor waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.
"Roar roar roar, no problem! Captain, I can't wait—hand them out already!" Everyone expressed no issues and just urged him to distribute the gifts.
"Hahaha, what's the hurry? Everyone gets one." Victor laughed and tossed a necklace to each person.
Even Barrels got one—except for Nico Robin. She was too young to need it, and she wasn't an official member yet.
"Nico Robin, you can have one when you become an official crew member." Victor explained anyway.
"Yes, Robin understands." Nico Robin nodded.
"Roar roar, thank you Captain!" The others happily put on their necklaces and shouted thanks to Victor.
Immediately after, Barrels approached Victor.
"Captain, here's the thing—if I stay on the Plant Scholars, no other pirate crew will dare approach." "That means I'll miss out on a lot of fighting opportunities." "This will slow down my strength growth." "So I want to form an independent division under the Plant Scholars to fight on my own."
Barrels still went to Victor.
"I could tell you love fighting. But have you really thought this through?" Victor looked at him, confirming again.
"Yes, I've thought it through." Barrels answered firmly.
"In that case, I approve." "Then, Barrels, from now on you are the captain of the First Division." Victor said with a smile.
"Yes, thank you Captain." Barrels happily thanked Victor.
"Hm, but I have a few rules." "These apply to our entire team, no matter which division."
Protect your comrades.
No wanton harm to innocents.
No betrayal.
Blood for blood, tooth for tooth.
"Does everyone understand?" Victor laid down the crew rules for the first time.
"Understood!" Everyone agreed strongly and shouted in unison.
"Hm, very good." "Since everyone's training has been limited because of my overwhelming strength, there's no real challenge." "Then I'll take a break for myself—perfect time to wander around." "Heracles has eaten the Azure Dragon Fruit and gained self-defense ability, so the Plant Scholars is in your hands now." "As for Grayson, I have another Devil Fruit here. Think about whether you want to eat it."
Victor said, taking out a treasure chest.
When he opened it, inside was a fruit shaped like a sculpture. This wasn't the one Nami gave him—it was another Animal-type Devil Fruit he obtained by chance.
"Hm, this is the Horned Eagle Fruit I got while out traveling." Victor nodded, acknowledging the fruit.
After all, flight meant easier escape.
"Captain, I'm willing to eat this Devil Fruit. At least I can fly—not bad." Grayson saw it was an eagle-type Devil Fruit and found it satisfactory.
So he took the Devil Fruit and swallowed it in one bite.
Soon after, he transformed into a massive horned eagle and shot straight into the sky with a whoosh.
"Ho ho, that eagle is really huge. Nice, nice." Heracles was surprised seeing such a large eagle.
"This is a horned eagle—truly big. But it's not as fast as my falcon. Hahaha." Aaron saw the giant horned eagle and immediately boasted about his own falcon ability.
Hearing him, everyone burst into laughter.
Now, on the Plant Scholars, except for the Fish-Men and shipwrights, everyone had eaten a Devil Fruit.
Fish-Men definitely wouldn't eat one—otherwise they couldn't go in water.
The shipwrights weren't keen either—they had to maintain the ship and sometimes needed to dive.
So they trained in physical techniques and dual-color Haki.
After so much training, they had all awakened Haki—even the three shipwrights had basic Armament Haki.
The botanists were even more advanced.
Even Grayson had awakened Armament Haki—the others who ate Devil Fruits were no exception.
After reaching the New World, Barrels disembarked directly.
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