Chapter 147: Sanji Actually Aimed the Gun at...
The Going Merry set sail once more, its sails billowing in the night wind, carrying a ship full of complex emotions as it slowly departed from the port of Whiskey Peak.
Igaram had already set off just moments ago.
Sailing in that small boat, disguised as Princess Vivi, carrying the "Eternal Pose," he raced at full speed toward Alabasta.
His mission was clear: to act as bait, drawing the attention of Baroque Works.
Ralph stood beside Vivi, silent.
He knew what would happen next.
But some things could not be spoken.
Sure enough, not long after they set sail, a blinding flash of fire suddenly lit up on the distant horizon.
The muffled roar of an explosion echoed across several nautical miles, sending ripples across the sea's surface.
Flames engulfed the outline of the ship, thick smoke billowing upward, forming a dark pillar against the night sky.
"Igaram..."
Princess Vivi covered her mouth, her eyes reddening, but she could not cry.
Everyone on the deck fell silent.
Nami walked over and gently patted Vivi's shoulder.
Zoro opened his eyes, glanced at the distant flames, and closed them again.
Lufia looked at the blaze and sincerely praised:
"That guy is so incredible!"
The Straw Hat crew gained a new understanding of Baroque Works' brutality.
And Princess Vivi's resilience filled Nami with admiration.
Only Ralph knew the truth.
Igaram was still alive.
The mastermind behind that explosion had intentionally spared him.
And that mastermind...
"It's about time she arrived."
Ralph thought to himself.
Nami had just explained the situation to Usopp and Sanji, who had been sleeping, when a voice suddenly spoke beside them.
"You didn't think such an obvious bait would let you escape pursuit, did you?"
A voice, calm and elegant with a hint of faint mockery, abruptly sounded from the second deck.
Everyone looked up simultaneously.
Under the moonlight, a woman sat on the railing of the second deck.
She wore a cowboy hat, a slight smile curling at the corners of her lips.
Her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, gently swaying in the night breeze.
She was dressed in a fitted denim vest and skirt, with high-heeled leather boots.
She sat casually on the railing, relaxed, as if she were not an intruder who had suddenly appeared but the owner of the ship.
"Who?!"
Zoro was the first to react, Wado Ichimonji instantly unsheathed.
Nami grabbed her Clima-Tact.
The woman's gaze fell on Princess Vivi, her smile deepening:
"Princess Vivi, I was the one who blew up that ship just now."
Her tone was casual, as if she were saying, "I brewed that cup of tea."
Princess Vivi shuddered violently.
She looked up, staring intently at the woman, her voice squeezing through gritted teeth:
"Miss All Sunday... the vice president of Baroque Works."
Vivi suppressed her anger and quickly sorted through the questions in her mind:
"Mr. 0's partner. It was by tracking you that we discovered the president's true identity."
"To be precise," Miss All Sunday corrected, "I intentionally let you track me, intentionally let you discover Mr. 0's true identity."
"Why?"
Vivi's voice trembled, "Why would you do that?"
Robin smiled.
"Out of pity, I suppose."
She looked at Vivi.
"A princess who has given her all to save her country, only to realize that all her efforts have been in vain... It's just too pitiful."
"So, I gave you an 'answer.'"
Princess Vivi thought of Igaram, who had just "sacrificed" himself, and finally couldn't hold back any longer.
She took a step forward, her voice hoarse:
"You—!"
But someone was faster than her.
Usopp pulled back his slingshot, a specially made chili smoke bomb already loaded.
And Sanji...
He did something that surprised everyone.
He pulled out a Pistol, aiming it directly at Robin.
"Though I don't know who you are," Sanji's voice was serious, completely different from his usual lovesick demeanor, "Threatening a woman with a gun goes against my principles as a man."
He paused:
"But I feel that you pose a threat to my beloved Miss Wednesday. So I have no choice but to do this."
These words... carried weight.
Whether it was because he was still drunk, or because he had been surrounded by a group of girls at the banquet and was now in a "post-climax clarity," or perhaps Sanji's mindset had genuinely progressed—
In any case, at this moment, he had broken through his own limits.
Robin watched this scene, the smile at the corner of her lips deepening.
She didn't even move.
Just gently raised a finger.
"Swish—"
Several arms appeared out of thin air, emerging from the wooden planks of the deck, grabbing Usopp and Sanji by their ankles.
"Huh?"
"What?!"
Before the two could even react, they were yanked violently, losing their balance and tumbling from the second deck to the first.
"Thud!" "Thud!"
Almost simultaneously, Zoro felt a sudden numbness in his wrist.
A slender arm "grew" out of the wrist of his sword-holding hand, twisting it abruptly.
"Clang!"
Wado Ichimonji slipped from his grasp and fell onto the deck.
Nami had it even worse.
Her Clima-Tact was grabbed by two hands, given a slight twist, and sent flying away.
Silence.
Everyone stared in shock at the woman.
A Devil Fruit user!
And one with an... extremely bizarre ability!
Sanji pushed himself up from the deck, shaking his head, and finally got a clear look at the woman on the second deck.
Moonlight illuminated her face—delicate features, a high-bridged nose, deep eyes, and that faint, ambiguous smile at the corner of her lips.
"Ohhh!"
Sanji's eyes turned back into hearts.
"I didn't notice before, but you're such a beautiful lady!"
Now it was confirmed—Sanji had indeed been drunk earlier, and his eyes weren't working properly.
Robin looked down at the chaotic scene below and shook her head:
"Really... such an impatient group."
She tilted her head and added:
"However, without orders, I have no reason to attack you."
But the next moment, she did something even more outrageous.
Her gaze fell on the straw hat atop Lufia's head.
Robin reached out and activated her ability.
From the back of Lufia's head, a slender arm instantly "grew" out, slapping the brim of the straw hat.
"Huh?"
Before Lufia could react, the straw hat flew off, drifting toward Robin on the second deck.
"My hat!"
Lufia shouted.
And just as the straw hat was about to fall into Robin's hands—
A dark shadow flashed by.
So fast it was almost impossible to see.
Ralph appeared at the second-floor railing, his right hand sweeping out to catch the straw hat firmly.
With a flick of his wrist, the hat spun back and landed precisely on Lufia's head.
The entire motion flowed seamlessly.
Lufia put on the hat, paused for a second, then immediately flashed Ralph a brilliant smile:
"Thanks! Ralph!!"
Then she turned to Robin, puffing her cheeks in anger:
"How dare you steal my straw hat! You really are a villain!!"
By this time, Ralph had already positioned himself in front of Robin.
Robin finally looked directly at Ralph.
This man, described in intelligence reports as a "nameless swordsman" with a "35 million Berry Bounty."
He was bare-chested, his muscular physique clearly visible under the moonlight.
Traces of the recent battle still lingered on his skin—faint red marks left by bullets.
Robin's intuition told her this man was no ordinary person.
But what shocked her even more was yet to come.
"Devil Child, Nico Robin."
"Bounty: 79 million Berries. Sole Survivor of Ohara, user of the Hana Hana no Mi, Vice President of Baroque Works, codename: Miss All Sunday."