"Wherever Steel runs, that kobold-looking Stand follows right after. It's obvious, it's a close-range type…"
"The range is short?"
"Judging by sight, no more than two meters. That's as short as it gets."
"B.I.B.'s range seems to be practically infinite, though…"
"Hey, if it goes too far and loses connection with me, if it gets lost for too long and can't find its way back, then when I finally retrieve it, I'll be in deep trouble…"
"Maybe the sheer pressure of reeling it back in would make your physical body collapse and disintegrate, and your spirit would shatter as well…"
The flower clone stroked her chin as she walked through the outskirts, casually voicing that possibility. She soon fell silent and looked up at Liam.
"Hm?" Liam chuckled. "What's with that look? You think you can scare me?" He patted the clone on the shoulder, gave a thumbs-up, and said encouragingly, "Black belly* is your signature trait, keep it up, Miss Robin." (*"black belly" = sly or darkly humorous personality)
"..." The flower clone smiled faintly, walking beside him toward the city where their real bodies and Ross were waiting. She teased, "Then what's your signature trait?"
The two of them walked on like that, chatting and laughing.
Meanwhile, back in the city, Robin had accompanied Ross to a small clinic, where they brought the gravely injured and unconscious Gans for treatment. Her dark green eyes seemed unfocused as she muttered to herself, "I was the one who got scared…"
"The kobold Stand's fists were bleeding after trading blows with me, and right after that, Steel's own hand was injured too…" "So that means…" the flower clone picked up Liam's words, "Steel's Stand, unlike the long-range autonomous B.I.B., is a close-range type without its own will, completely controlled by the user…"
Liam said, "And it's weak. At best, it's got double C's in power and speed… and I didn't sense any special abilities either. My guess is the Steal-Steal Fruit siphoned off some of my Stand energy, which in turn stimulated Steel's life energy, and that indirectly awakened this pathetic excuse of a Stand."
The flower clone laughed. "If B.I.B. were still inside your body, I wonder if the Steal-Steal Fruit could've stolen it out too."
"Speaking of that," Liam smacked his palm in regret, "When I took down Hyena, I suddenly realized, if I'd managed to grab the Steal-Steal Fruit, maybe I could've gotten you a Stand as well!"
He thought aloud: Following the same pattern, all he'd need to do was temporarily replace Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) with the Steal-Steal Fruit, then purge his own Devil Fruit power to leave only the Stand ability. After that, Robin could just use the Steal-Steal Fruit to touch him, if once didn't work, she could try a few more times, and chances were good she'd end up stealing a Stand, just like Steel did.
But the flower clone wasn't convinced. She analyzed calmly, "The encyclopedia's entry on the Steal-Steal Fruit is very brief, it only says it can steal the ability of a living being through contact… However, since Steel didn't die from a 'Steal-Steal' and 'Guns-Guns' Fruit power conflict when he stole Gans's Guns-Guns Fruit ability earlier, that proves the Steal-Steal Fruit doesn't truly transfer the ability into the user's body…"
"But only lets them use it temporarily?" Liam shook his head. "Still, a Stand's ability is different from a Devil Fruit's, isn't it?"
The flower clone smiled. "They're both internal evolutions of a living being, what's so different? Think about it: B.I.B. can extract a Devil Fruit's core, doesn't that already show…"
"That there's a connection between them," Liam finished slowly. "I've always had that feeling too."
The flower clone walked beside him, well, sort of beside him; Robin was 1.8 meters tall while Liam was over 2.4, so their shoulders didn't exactly line up. Without realizing it, they passed through a small forest, and the city ahead came faintly into view.
"I really am curious," Liam said, standing at the forest's edge. "If you ever awakened a Stand of your own, what would it look like?"
"It already exists," The flower clone smiled back over her shoulder, and at that moment, Liam suddenly found himself seeing from a higher angle. He looked down and saw himself standing on the ground, head tilted up toward… himself.
Up in the treetops sat another clone that Robin had just created, a Hana Freedom: Hana-Ki, a floral clone shaped exactly like Liam.
Under Robin's control, the Hana-Ki waved a fist down at the real Liam and said, "Ora Ora, Muda Muda… doesn't that look about right?"
The flower clone below him smiled sweetly, and then, together with the Liam-shaped Hana-Ki above, both burst apart with a soft poof, scattering into a shower of petals that drifted gently to the ground.
"..." Liam stood frozen. Just now, that Hana-Ki's face had mimicked Robin's expression perfectly, it was so eerily spot-on that it sent chills right up his spine…
"Thank you so much for saving my family, Lady Laut Heina!"
On Kuraikana Island, near the royal palace of Sikeal, inside a large tent marked with a red medical cross, a uniformed soldier in armor knelt on the ground, his face brimming with emotion.
Not long ago, his wife and children had been infected with the Rot Disease. Their bodies had grown weaker by the day. If not for divine blessing, no, if not for Lady Heina's mercy, he didn't even dare imagine what horrors his family would have suffered under that dreadful plague.
"Just take them home and let them rest for a few days," said Heina. "After recovering from Rot Disease, they may become a little emotionally fragile…"
She sat on a wide chair behind a table, two lovely young girls, one blonde, one blue-haired, in swimsuits nestled on either side of her, their laughter soft and teasing. The soldier, however, didn't dare lift his head to look.
"Yes, I understand," the armored man said tearfully, his armor still stained with blood. "The fact that they're alive at all… I can't thank you enough…"
After that, he led his wife and children, still frail but out of danger, back home.
Heina idly played with the girls in her lap, drawing breathy laughter from them. Outside the tent, the guards dared not make a sound, while the maids inside blushed furiously, eyes cast down. The bolder ones stole quick glances, only to quickly avert their eyes like frightened rabbits when Heina's gaze flicked toward them.
Soon, another group of plague patients arrived seeking treatment. Heina glanced toward the darkening sky outside the tent. "It's getting late. That's enough work for today. Tell them to come back tomorrow." "Yes, ma'am," came the immediate reply from outside.
Heina stepped out with her attendants. Outside, as always, the area was packed with people. Even the long staircase leading up to the palace was lined with citizens from top to bottom.
Ever since the country had been ravaged by the Rot Disease, and then saved by the Warlord of the Sea, Heina, countless people had come here every day, full of gratitude, hoping only to catch a glimpse of their savior.
Wherever Heina went, every pair of eyes followed.
She paused at the top of the grand staircase in front of the palace. The steps below were crowded with people, and farther off, in the direction of the city and beyond, came faint echoes of battle and chaos.
Heina smiled faintly and lifted her arm in a graceful wave.
At once, the crowd erupted. Countless people burst into tears, falling to their knees on the stone steps or waving their arms ecstatically, shouting the name of the Warlord under the King, Lady Laut Heina!
"You see? Our captain really is popular."
Not far away, a woman in a white cloak, with a diagonal scar running across her face, watched the scene with a playful grin. Turning to the woman beside her, she said, "What do you think, Madam Stussy?"
Stussy smiled. "For one of Heina's Four Knights to hold hostility toward me, perhaps I should take that as a compliment to my charm. Don't you think?"
"..." Lasha withdrew her gaze coldly.
(End Of This Chapter)
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