"C-Can I take a look at that dagger? It's… beautiful," Robin asked in a shaky voice, her eyes refusing to leave the dagger as countless emotions flickered through her pupils.
For a few seconds, Leo simply observed her.
Then he leaned back against the lounge, reached and picked the ivory dagger.
The weapon itself looked simple at first, yet Leo knew exactly how dangerous it truly was.
According to his mother, the blade had been forged using Seastone mixed with a rare meteorite mineral capable of dealing lasting damage to devil fruit users.
His mother had once told him it was the only gift his mysterious father had left behind. It was also the blade that had let him kill the Turtle-Turtle Zoan fruit user back in East Blue.
The memory flashed briefly through his mind before his gaze settled on Robin once more.
"…Sure." He offered the dagger casually, watching her actions.
Robin accepted it carefully, almost reverent. The moment her fingers brushed the ivory hilt, her breathing slowed.
The crackle of the nearby bonfire filled the quiet deck as she gently traced the ancient characters carved along the blade. Before long, she began murmuring the characteristics of blade under her breath, the historian in her completely taking over her assassin persona.
Leo listened quietly, Every word she whispered matched what he already knew.
Finally, Robin looked up, unable to mask her fascination. "Where did you get this?"
"It was a gift from my mother," Leo answered. "Though it originally belonged to my father."
Her eyes sparkled with a dozen more questions but before she could ask them, he added, "And before you ask anything else, I don't know much about either of them."
The disappointment on her face became evident at that.
Nojiko tilted her head, frowning. "What do you mean you don't know them? Were you an orphan?"
Leo shook his head. "Of course not. It's… more complicated than that." He paused, then offered a small, tired smile. "I'll explain later."
Still, after a brief hesitation, Robin asked softly…
"Do you know your mother's name?" Leo's smile widened, that single question was all the confirmation he needed.
"Can't tell you that," he replied, faking his emotions.
Robin's gaze dropped in disappointment as if she failed to verify something, but before the silence could stretch, Leo spoke again.
"So… that's what's written on the dagger? A name." Robin's expression froze. In that instant, she realized her mistake.
He had baited her. And she had walked straight into the trap.
After several long seconds, Robin let out a soft sigh and accepted her defeat.
"Grace." Her eyes slowly rose to meet his.
"Is that your mother's name?" She traced the ancient inscription once more with her fingertips. "It's written here, 'For my beloved Grace.'"
Nojiko, Bon Clay, and Jojo all turned to stare at Leo for confirmation, He simply gave a quiet nod, watching Robin.
She slowly lowered the dagger into her lap.
"I can read the ancient language, please keep this a secret." For the first time since they'd met, her demeanor dropped.
"If the World Government or other pirates learn of this, I'll be hunted for the rest of my life." The group exchanged uneasy glances before nodding one by one in agreement.
Leo leaned forward slightly. "Care to share what else you've learned from that dagger?"
Robin didn't hesitate but what she said next stunned them all.
"This blade… should be hundreds of years old." Leo's eyes narrowed.
Robin herself still looked uncertain as she turned the weapon over in her hands, examining every detail.
"I'm certain of it. The inscription technique used here no longer exists in the modern world." Her voice grew serious. "It's the same method used to create the Poneglyphs."
"The… what?" Nojiko asked.
Robin lifted her gaze. "Massive, indestructible stone records left behind by peoples from the Void Century. A lost era erased from history nearly eight hundred years ago."
Even Leo had become completely focused now deciphering the deep meaning behind her words.
Robin gripped the dagger a little tighter. "Bending Seastone with this kind of precision… engravings like this… That kind of technology shouldn't exist outside the Void Century." A heavy silence settled over the deck.
Robin looked genuinely troubled. Was it a coincidence? A similar name? Or something far deeper?
The mystery surrounding Leo's origins had suddenly grown far deeper than she imagined. Ironically, the person least aware of that seemed to be Leo himself.
Finally, Leo placed one hand on the wooden deck below.
CRRRKKK…
Wooden panels slowly moved and shifted apart, revealing a hidden compartment. Ancient artifacts and glittering treasure mixed with stone murals rose into view.
Robin's eyes widened at the sight.
Among the artifacts lay a few ancient gold coins, their surface etched with unfamiliar face and name of a single man.
Beside them rested a cracked golden tablet, half of its original text was missing, along with a shattered stone mural that had clearly been broken long ago. Only half of it remained.
On that surviving piece, countless figures were depicted kneeling in worship toward a multiple moons.
The moment Robin saw the relics, any lingering thought about the ivory dagger was completely forgotten.
She dropped the weapon onto the deck like a child abandoning an old toy for something far more exciting. Eyes glowing with curiosity, she leaned forward, looking far more like a starving scholar than the dangerous assassin known as Miss All Sunday.
She picked up one of the gold coins first, turning it slowly between her fingers. Her voice softened as she read the words beneath the engraved figure.
"…Saint Nerona Imu. King of the World." Leo's eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar name, to be specific, not the name but the title which he was aiming for.
Robin, however, recognized it immediately, one of the first twenty kings who had founded the World Government after the Void Century. And judging by the title, likely their leader.
'A dead man.' She thought, setting the coin aside.
She memorized every detail in silence before murmuring, "How is this gold tablet so perfectly preserved after all this time?"
"I analyzed everything down to the last atom and restored them as best as I could with my devil fruit ability," Leo answered casually.
Robin blinked, then a faint, genuine smile curved her lips. If someone with Leo's ability had chosen archaeology over piracy, entire lost civilizations could be brought back from dust. The thought crossed her mind, but she kept it to herself.
Next she picked up the cracked golden tablet. Thanks to Leo's meticulous restoration, most of the ancient script remained readable.
Robin's expression grew deeply focused as her fingers traced the engraved symbols. It was a long message, an expression of gratitude directed toward some God whose name was intentionally erased...
***
Authors Note: All this lore is just to entice Robin and total bullshit (I mean self insert)... Next stop, ALABASTA and as always trouble is waiting for them