Chapter 84: The Explosive Bait! The Devil Child's First Greeting
Amidst the ruins of Whiskey Peak.
The first rays of dawn struggled to pierce through the smoke, casting light upon the ruins that had just endured a night of fierce battle.
By this time, the Straw Hat Pirates had long since awakened and were sitting together under a relatively intact eave.
In their midst, the former Baroque Works agent "Miss Wednesday" had now cast off her disguise.
She was no longer the blue-haired girl who did nothing but giggle, but the Princess of the Alabasta Kingdom who carried the fate of her nation—Nefertari Vivi.
"...That is how it is."
Vivi lowered her head, her voice somewhat raspy:
"The behind-the-scenes boss of Baroque Works is none other than Crocodile. He intends to steal this country by inciting a rebellion..."
"Igaram and I went undercover just to investigate all of this."
After Vivi finished speaking, Igaram, still dressed as a curly-haired auntie, knelt on the ground with a "thud," weeping bitterly as he bowed his head to the group:
"Pirate gentlemen! Although this request is very rude... please, you must protect Princess Vivi and return her safely to her country!"
"As long as we can take the boss's secrets back, Alabasta can be saved! I beg of you!!"
The morning wind blew past, and the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
"Old man."
Luffy pressed down on the Straw Hat atop his head, his face showing not a shred of hesitation:
"What are you talking about? Didn't I already agree to help you last night?"
"Miss Vivi!!!"
To the side, Sanji's eyes had already turned into heart shapes, and his whole body twisted like a wavy noodle as he swirled around Vivi:
"Ah! What a noble and strong Princess! Please leave it to me with confidence! Knight Sanji is willing to go through fire and water for you!!"
"Heh, since the Captain has agreed, then there's no helping it."
Nami sighed, then instantly changed her expression.
Hum—
Her eyes instantly turned into money symbols as she approached Vivi with a beaming smile:
"The escort mission is arduous, but we are very reputable. Since it's about saving a country..."
Nami held up a finger.
"100 million?" Vivi nodded without hesitation.
"Then we'll charge you 1 billion Berries!"
"1... 1 billion?!" Vivi's face turned pale with shock.
But seeing Nami's devilish smile, she could only nod with tears in her eyes: "Deal... as long as the country can be saved..."
Zoro leaned against the wall, clutching his swords as he let out a helpless sigh.
On the other side.
Usopp and Clay were curiously observing Vivi's mount—that dim-witted Spot-billed Duck, "Karoo."
"Quack?" Karoo tilted its head, looking at the black Crow.
Tatsuya reached out to stroke Karoo's smooth feathers and said with a smile:
"Ah. So this is Alabasta's Spot-billed Duck? The meat looks quite firm."
Karoo seemed to understand Tatsuya's words and trembled all over in fear.
But it was still very sensible and nudged Tatsuya's palm with its head to show friendliness.
"Quack, quack!!"
Seeing this scene, Clay instantly became jealous.
It flapped its wings and flew up, landing directly on Karoo's head, its two claws incessantly stomping on the duck's head to assert its dominance:
"Caw caw! Is Lord Clay's spot something you can just nudge?!"
...
After some discussion, to ensure Vivi could leave safely, Igaram proposed an extremely dangerous "Bait Plan."
By the harbor.
Igaram had put on Vivi's dancer's outfit; his massive frame stretched the clothes to the point of bursting, looking both ridiculous and tragic.
He placed several decoys dressed in the Straw Hat Pirates' clothes on a fast ship.
"Princess Vivi, please take care! You must take the information back!"
With a look of determination, Igaram steered the fast ship, rushing out of the harbor like an arrow from a bow:
"I am Princess Vivi! We are escaping!!"
He shouted loudly, trying to draw the fire of the Baroque Works pursuers lurking nearby to cover the real going merry's departure.
Everyone watched from the shore as the ship sailed away.
However.
The ship had not gone far from the harbor when strange ripples suddenly appeared on the sea's surface.
"BOOM!!!!"
An earth-shattering explosion rang out without warning.
An orange-red fireball instantly engulfed the entire fast ship, and the massive shockwave kicked up waves several meters high.
Within those terrifying flames, Igaram didn't even have time to scream before the entire ship turned into wreckage on the sea.
"Igaram!!!!!"
Vivi covered her mouth, her pupils shrinking violently as tears instantly burst from her eyes, letting out a heart-wrenching cry.
"How... how could this..."
Nami and Usopp were also rendered speechless by this sudden death.
The old man who was just speaking a second ago had been blown to pieces the next.
Is this... the cruelty of the Grand Line?
Luffy clenched his fists, his gaze becoming incredibly angry.
"What a deeply moving bond between master and servant."
While everyone was still immersed in shock and grief, an elegant, mature, yet somewhat playful female voice suddenly came from the upper deck of the going merry.
Everyone jerked their heads up.
There, sitting on the railing, was a woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
She wore a sexy denim outfit and a purple cowboy hat, her long black hair fluttering in the sea breeze.
She was a mysterious and mature woman with black hair.
At this moment, she was sitting with her legs crossed, holding a curly wig belonging to Igaram, looking down at the crowd with a faint smile.
The Vice President of Baroque Works—Miss All Sunday (Robin).
"Was it you?!"
Zoro and Sanji instantly entered a combat stance. Luffy also lowered his Straw Hat, his muscles tensed.
Facing the killing intent of the Straw Hat Pirates' three main fighters, Robin appeared composed, that inscrutable smile still hanging on her face.
However.
"It wasn't just simple explosives..."
A voice broke the tense atmosphere.
Tatsuya stood on the deck, his black eyes instantly transforming into the crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
He wasn't angry like the others; instead, he appeared exceptionally calm, with that beaming smile still on his lips.
He stared at Robin, his gaze seemingly piercing through her disguise:
"The explosion just now was fierce, but the method of detonation was quite interesting."
"Your hands are covered in the scent of 'petals'... Miss All Sunday."
Robin's eyes flickered slightly as she took an extra look at the red-eyed youth.
"Hehe, what a sharp young man."
Robin had no intention of fighting.
With a light chuckle, she casually tossed a glass ball-shaped object to Luffy.
"Catch."
Luffy caught it and saw that it was a Log Pose, with the needle pointing steadily in one direction.
"This is an 'Eternal Pose' for Alabasta."
Robin rested her chin on one hand, her tone like someone giving directions to a lost kitten:
"This ship's current course is for 'Small Garden,' a prehistoric island where you could lose your lives. Since you've protected the Princess, I'll be merciful and show you a way to survive."
"With this, you can avoid the danger and go straight to Alabasta."
"What? Really?!" Nami was immediately tempted upon hearing they could avoid danger.
However.
Crackle!
The crisp sound of glass shattering rang out.
Without even a glance, Luffy exerted force with one hand and crushed that precious Eternal Pose into powder!
Glass shards slid through the gaps in his fingers.
"Luffy?! What are you doing!!" Nami and Usopp let out screams of despair.
Luffy looked up, flames burning in his eyes as he looked directly at Robin:
"The course of this ship... is decided by me!!"
"I don't want your directions!!"
That overwhelming Haki and willfulness left Robin stunned.
A moment later, she revealed an interested smile.
"What an interesting Captain. Since you insist on choosing the path to death... then I wish you luck."
After speaking, Robin stood up, preparing to jump onto the massive Pet Sea Turtle waiting below.
Just as she was about to leap.
Whoosh—
A black afterimage flashed through the air.
Tatsuya's figure appeared beside Robin without warning, the distance between them so close it was like a lover's whisper.
Robin's body instantly tensed, just as she was about to activate her Hana Hana no Mi ability.
But Tatsuya did not attack.
He simply tilted his head slightly and whispered a single sentence into Robin's ear that only she could hear:
"The survivor of Ohara... Nico Robin."
Boom—!
Robin's eternally elegant smile completely froze at that moment.
"The journey to find the poneglyph... it must have been tough, right?"
Upon hearing this, her pupils shrank violently with shock, fear, and disbelief.
Robin jerked her head back, wanting to see this man's face clearly.
However, all she saw were those crimson, slowly rotating Sharingan, as if they had pierced through all her secrets and her past.
"Goodbye, big sister."
Tatsuya did not linger.
He took a step back, standing on the railing, returning to that harmless smile as he waved to the terrified Robin:
"We'll meet... in Alabasta."
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Chapters In Advanced At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1