Chapter 251: The Scholar's Yearning! A Welcome Home Under the Moonlight
The scene shifts to a secret location on the Grand Line, the Revolutionary Army's main base, which is shrouded in endless sandstorms year-round.
The "Land of White Earth," Baltigo.
The sky is filled with yellow sand, howling and raging as it is whipped up by violent winds, stinging anyone it hits.
Yet, even in such harsh conditions, the Revolutionary Army soldiers continue to sweat and engage in grueling, rigorous training.
The camera cuts through the layers of sand and focuses on that tall, resilient figure—Nico Robin.
Ever since she understood the "3D2Y" code transmitted by Captain Luffy via his tattoo, seen in the newspaper that spread across the world...
...this archaeologist, known for her calmness and composure, has erupted with astonishing passion for learning and training.
Throughout the entire day, Robin has barely taken a moment to rest.
Not only did she dive headfirst into the Revolutionary Army's vast and bottomless intelligence archives, crazily devouring top-secret information about the distribution of major powers in the New World and the poneglyphs, like a sponge absorbing water...
...but in the gaps between reviewing documents, she also took the initiative to head to the training grounds outside, setting aside her scholar's reserve.
She humbly asked the Revolutionary Army officers for advice on practical combat techniques and the basics of Haki.
Sweat soaked her long black hair, sliding down her fair neck, but her gaze remained incomparably firm.
On a high, dark platform not far from the training ground...
...the Revolutionary Army leader, Dragon, wearing a dark green cloak, and the Chief of Staff, Sabo, wearing windproof goggles, were silently observing her every move.
Sabo sighed helplessly as he watched the stubborn figure falling down again and again in the sandstorm.
He knew very well in his heart that this woman, who always wore an elegant and calm smile, was trying to transform herself over the next two years.
She simply didn't want to become a weak point or a burden to that man again in the New World two years later.
Night quietly enveloped the desolate Baltigo, and the sandstorm that had raged all day finally gradually subsided.
The Revolutionary Army soldiers finished their high-intensity training and sat in twos and threes around warm campfires.
They ate simple food while resting and chatting.
In this era of limited information...
...the soldiers' conversations couldn't go three sentences without mentioning the name that had recently turned the whole world upside down.
Crimson Lotus Victor.
Everyone was discussing the earth-shattering events in the newspaper with great enthusiasm and animated gestures.
Some marveled at the hundred-meter-tall scarlet demon god who had split the Marineford siege wall with a single sword stroke.
Others were deeply shocked by the black flames that still burned in the Marineford plaza.
Just then, Koala, a Revolutionary Army officer with short orange hair, walked over carrying two mugs.
She handed one of the steaming mugs of coffee to Robin, who was sitting nearby, then sat down next to her, gently nudging Robin's arm with her elbow, and teased with a smile:
"Listen, everyone is talking about him."
"Robin, how does it feel to have a man as strong as a monster protecting you?"
Robin held the warm coffee mug with both hands, feeling the temperature radiating from her palms.
The flickering light of the campfire illuminated her fair, beautiful face, which carried clear signs of fatigue, adding a touch of softness to it.
She smiled without refuting Koala's teasing, just quietly listening to the surrounding soldiers' worship of that man.
In her mind, familiar scenes involuntarily emerged.
It was the broad back of Tatsuya, who had blocked everything in front of her without hesitation, keeping all danger at bay.
No matter where he went, that man's name had already been deeply branded onto this world like thunder.
And likewise, that figure had long since been indelibly branded into a soft corner of her heart.
She missed him.
Late at night, the campfires gradually died out, and the noise of the crowd dissipated.
Robin politely declined Koala's enthusiastic invitation to go to the canteen for a late-night snack.
She walked alone, clutching a thick stack of top-secret documents in her arms, and turned toward the rest area specially arranged for her by the Revolutionary Army.
Walking in the open and slightly silent stone corridor, only her own footsteps echoed all around.
Without the gaze of others, Robin's straight back relaxed slightly, finally shedding the intellectual and calm disguise she wore during the day.
She supported the heavy documents with one hand and gently rubbed her sore shoulders, which ached from long hours of training and desk work, with the other.
Between her brows, a trace of deep, hard-to-conceal fatigue and a sense of loneliness quietly emerged.
Although everyone in the Revolutionary Army was very friendly to her.
Thanks to the bond of sworn brotherhood with Luffy and his friendship with Tatsuya, Sabo also took great care of her in every aspect of life, sparing her from many grievances.
But Robin was a sensitive person.
She knew better than anyone that no matter how good it was here, it was ultimately just a temporary shelter.
Robin walked to the door of her simple yet clean room, looked at the closed wooden door, and sighed softly.
She reached out with slender fingers, twisted the cold doorknob, and pushed the door open with a soft creak.
The room was unlit and dim.
Only the bright, cold full moon outside the window shone through the glass, quietly spilling water-like moonlight onto the floor, casting a long shadow.
However, just as Robin habitually prepared to raise her hand to press the light switch on the wall...
...her movements suddenly froze in mid-air, and her entire body, as if under a paralysis spell, was completely fixed in place.
On the bed, which was facing the window and bathed in silvery moonlight, sat a tall, straight, and familiar figure, casually.
The man had one leg slightly bent, his posture casual and relaxed.
He was looking at her, who was standing at the door, with those black eyes that were still as deep as a pool in the darkness, carrying a hint of lazy and bone-deep gentle smile.
"Clatter—"
Robin lost all her strength; the thick stack of documents she regarded as treasures instantly slipped from her hands and fell onto the hard stone floor.
The scattered papers covered the ground like snowflakes, but she had no time to pay attention to them.
Her pupils were trembling violently, her gaze locked tightly onto the man under the moonlight, not daring to look away for even a second.
She even held her breath, becoming cautious.
As if afraid that if her breathing were even slightly louder, this hallucination, born from her excessive longing, would instantly burst like a soap bubble.
"Vic... Tatsuya..."
Robin's voice carried an uncontrollable tremor, as if she were sleep-talking.
After confirming that it was real warmth and breath, her eyes instantly turned red.
The worries, grievances, and longing she had accumulated for so long burst forth at this moment like a breached dam.
Crystal-clear tears kept sliding down her beautiful cheeks, hitting the floor.
She stood there at a loss, covering her mouth with both hands, desperately trying not to let herself cry out loud in this quiet dead of night, but her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.
Watching this vulnerable, endearing side of Robin, with all her defenses down, sitting on the bed, the smile on Tatsuya's lips became even gentler and more pained.
He didn't get up and walk over, but instead slowly opened his broad arms toward the tearful woman at the door.
"Why are you crying..."
Tatsuya's voice was low and magnetic, carrying a kind of magic that could smooth over all anxiety.
"I'm back."
"Come here and give me a hug, Robin."
With these simple yet heavy words, the last bit of strength and restraint in Robin's heart was completely shattered.
Ignoring the documents all over the floor, she stumbled toward the bedside like a weary bird that had been wandering for a long time.
Then she threw herself into the embrace she had been dreaming of.
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