Chapter 31: The Location of Pluton? Who Doesn't Know It!
Dragon's voice echoed in the empty room.
"..."
As expected, there was no reply.
Dragon sighed, "After being left out for too long, a warm cola loses its soul. It must be put back in the fridge to chill."
"It's like someone who finally gets an opportunity to realize their true potential, but misses it due to certain reasons, and ultimately has to hide away in the dark corners. Is that what you seek?"
His words were undoubtedly amusing—he was just drinking cola, yet he made it sound like a philosopher.
But at this moment, Dragon spoke very seriously.
Because at this very moment, he could clearly see the text on the screen before his eyes.
[Devil Fruits Analyzed This Time: Chop-Chop Devil Fruit V1, Spin-Spin Devil Fruit V1, Float-Float Devil Fruit V1, Wax-Wax Devil Fruit V1, Copy-Copy Devil Fruit V1, Bomb-Bomb Devil Fruit V1, Thorn-Thorn Devil Fruit V1, Dog-Dog Devil Fruit Model: Dachshund V1.]
Those seven Devil Fruits that were already Analysis Complete were undoubtedly a huge gain for him.
But Dragon's reason for coming to Alabasta this time was still not limited to this.
Therefore, at this moment, what he was looking at was also the text at the very bottom of the screen.
[Analyzing Devil Fruit: Flower-Flower Devil Fruit, Analysis Progress 76%.]
That was also the source of his words at this moment.
"I know what you seek, and I know your purpose in staying with Baroque Works."
"You want to know the hidden history, the truth of the world, so I think we can talk."
He grinned as he said this.
"Even after I've said all this, you're still unwilling to come out?"
"Miss All Sunday, or should I call you Nico Robin by another name."
And when he said this.
He saw that on the sofa in front of him.
A pair of eyes and a mouth appeared silently on it.
They were a pair of deep blue, watery eyes and thin lips—even just from the eyes and mouth, it was certain the owner was a beautiful woman.
However, at this moment, the eyes looking at Dragon clearly flickered with shock and disbelief.
"Who exactly are you?"
Her words carried an unspeakable apprehension and astonishment.
Seeing the other party finally reveal herself, Dragon chuckled from beneath his mask.
"How curious—you should know who I am, after all, this assassination attempt against me should have been an order from Crocodile through you."
"However, since you've sincerely asked, then..."
He raised his cola cup and made a toast.
"I am one of the highest-ranking executives of the 'Twelve Star Signs', code-named 'Dragon'."
"If you haven't heard of me, I imagine you've heard of 'Drunk Chicken'. He is my colleague."
After hearing Dragon's words, Nico Robin's heart became even more aghast.
"Dragon... Drunk Chicken... It's exactly as the intelligence predicted."
As a member and Vice President of Baroque Works, she was responsible for handling most of the company's affairs on behalf of the hidden Mr. 0, 'Crocodile'.
Including this assassination attempt, it was also authorized by Mr. 0, and she was responsible for issuing the orders on his behalf.
Therefore, she had a lot of intelligence at hand, including Dragon's appearance—especially that iconic 'dragon-head mask'.
This was enough for her and the King of Alabasta to reach similar conclusions, speculating a possible connection between Dragon and 'Drunk Chicken', the criminal who stole the Heavenly Gold.
However, because the Alabasta royal family had always kept intelligence about Dragon very well-guarded, not even leaving behind any paper documents.
So before this, her knowledge of Dragon's identity was merely speculation.
Only now was she able to officially confirm—Drunk Chicken and Dragon truly belonged to the same organization.
But it was very clear that this explosive news was hardly worth mentioning for Nico Robin at this moment.
Because at this moment, the confusion in her heart was almost too much to count.
For example—
How did the other party know her identity and purpose? How did the other party know of Crocodile's existence? How did the other party discover her abilities?
And most importantly...
"This person's abilities... are like 'Aokiji's'."
Thinking of this, Nico Robin's mind felt a chaotic mess.
Indeed.
With the power of the Flower-Flower Devil Fruit, she could make any part of her body sprout on any solid object.
Therefore, earlier, when the assassins were ambushing Dragon... she was actually watching from the sidelines the entire time.
She also personally witnessed the power displayed by this monster called 'Dragon'.
It was an overwhelming power.
The ability to control cold ice was very similar to the nightmare she had in her childhood.
But she also personally saw that besides controlling ice and frost, the other party possessed another completely opposite ability—otherwise, she would almost suspect that the person hidden beneath that dragon-head mask was none other than Marine Admiral 'Aokiji' himself.
"What kind of Devil Fruit Ability User is he exactly?"
Countless doubts made Nico Robin's mind a chaotic mess.
But fortunately, having survived and grown up under the World Government's pursuit until now, her mind was indeed sharp enough.
So at this moment, even in a state of chaos, Nico Robin could still ask a question that directly hit the core issue.
"What is your objective?"
"And also..."
She gritted her teeth and asked this question.
The other party's strength, why the other party knew her identity and Crocodile's identity—none of this mattered to her now.
What mattered was what the other party truly wanted to do, and...
"What do you need me to do?"
She asked this sentence.
Indeed, having calmed down a little at this moment, she had already realized one thing.
The other party knew her identity and code name, and the intelligence capabilities of their organization were simply astonishing; they seemed to know everything about Baroque Works.
Under such circumstances, with the power the other party displayed, she shouldn't have been given this opportunity for dialogue.
"It's convenient to talk to someone with a clear mind."
"..."
And after hearing her words, Dragon seemed to smile.
"Yes, I could have just gone to the Spider's Cafe and captured you directly."
"Or I could have directly informed the King of Alabasta, the World Government, or the underworld of your whereabouts and identity. There are many who are interested in the 'Devil Child'. With Alabasta actively locking down its sea routes, it would be very difficult for you to escape."
"Once your identity is exposed, I imagine Crocodile wouldn't protect you either. Protecting an Ohara survivor might directly cost him his status as a Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Every word he spoke made Nico Robin's heart grow heavier.
Spider's Cafe—a cafe located west of Alubarna, and also Baroque Works' headquarters in Alabasta.
She had indeed originally planned to return and report the situation to Crocodile after this assassination attempt.
"But... I haven't done that, because as a merchant—I want to discuss a cooperation with you."
When he said this, Dragon spread his hands, "A win-win cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
Hearing this, Nico Robin chuckled lightly, "Tell me about it."
Her laughter was somewhat cold.
Since she was eight years old, she had heard this word countless times.
But for her, the meaning of this word had always been only profit and betrayal.
And Dragon seemed not to have heard the coldness in her words.
"I know what you need—you want to study the truth of history, so you need Poneglyphs."
"At the same time, you also need an organization willing to protect you."
He spread his hands, "And coincidentally, our organization happens to know the locations of some Poneglyphs, including this one in Alabasta."
Hearing this, the coldness in Nico Robin's eyes grew stronger.
"Are you saying that you can help me obtain Poneglyphs, but in return, I must tell you their contents?"
"Like this one in Alabasta, right?"
She had heard these words too many times.
In fact, the reason she was currently with Baroque Works, and why she cooperated with Crocodile, was because Crocodile needed her to decipher Poneglyphs to search for clues to the ancient weapon 'Pluton' hidden in Alabasta.
And now Nico Robin naturally assumed that the objective of the 'Twelve Star Signs' was also this.
These two organizations were essentially birds of a feather!
But—
The next moment, Dragon's words made her freeze on the spot.
"Of course not."
"We are very clear about the content of the Alabasta Poneglyph. Pluton's location? We know where it is."
Dragon said calmly.
"If you are willing to pay a sufficient price, we can also tell you its location and content—this is also part of the 'cooperation' I mentioned."
He stretched out a finger, looking at the stunned Nico Robin.
"We will protect you, and we will share some of the Poneglyph locations and contents that we already know with you, but we will not help you search for Poneglyphs. Whether you can obtain those hidden Poneglyphs depends solely on your own capabilities."
"As for whether you will tell us the contents after obtaining the Poneglyphs, that is also for you to decide. We will not interfere."
And beneath the mask, Loy's words were truly sincere.
Truthfully, he was curious about the truth of the Void Century, the content of the Poneglyphs, and even the final island 'Laugh Tale'—if asked if he was curious, then he definitely was.
But to say he was desperately striving to obtain the truth, that wasn't quite the case.
For him, the value of one Poneglyph was far less than that of a precious and powerful Devil Fruit.
What's more, Loy was very clear.
Nico Robin, if you force her to share the contents of the Poneglyphs, she won't tell the truth—just like how she lied to Crocodile in the original story.
So for Loy, he truly didn't care whether Nico Robin told him the truth about the Poneglyphs.
"If I truly want to know later, it wouldn't be hard to find a way—the Kozuki Clan of Wano Country, or an awakened Three-Eyed Tribe member. There are plenty of ways."
He muttered to himself.
But at this moment, Nico Robin was almost completely stunned.
"Wait, wait—what did you say?"
Even the eyes she had sprouted with her abilities clearly showed her suspicion, bewilderment, and astonishment at this moment.
"You know the content of the Poneglyphs, which means... there's someone in your organization who can decipher Poneglyphs?"
This was something she found utterly impossible to believe.
"That falls outside the scope of our transaction, Miss Robin."
"..."
And so, Nico Robin fell silent for a moment.
Then, she said, "I don't believe it."
"If your organization truly has no interest in Poneglyphs, then I can't think of your objective in seeking my cooperation."
Indeed—even she herself knew that the most valuable thing about her was her ability to 'decipher Poneglyphs'.
If it were truly as the other party said, and they had no interest in this ability.
Then what did the other party want to gain from her?
At least Robin couldn't think of an answer.
But ironically, she also knew—Dragon had no reason to lie to her.
Because as Dragon had just said, since the 'Twelve Star Signs' already knew her identity, her life was actually already in their grasp.
"You're wrong, Miss Robin."
And at this moment, Dragon chuckled, "Your identity isn't just 'Devil Child'."
"In fact, what we're interested in about you lies in another identity..."
Saying this, he also stood up and extended his hand.
"Hello, Miss All Sunday."
(end of chapter)