"You…"
Vivi's face darkened instantly upon hearing those words, a spark of anger flaring in her chest. She was about to say something when—
"Enough, Vivi," Will interrupted with a frown, cutting her off before she could speak. "I think you might've forgotten—you don't exactly have the right to refuse."
"Besides, you should realize that if I take down Crocodile, I'll be indirectly solving a major problem for your kingdom."
"All I'm asking is to take a look at the Poneglyph. Is that really too much for you to grant?"
Vivi froze, struck by his words. She suddenly realized how foolish she'd been just moments ago. Will was right. If he could truly eliminate Crocodile, the greatest threat to her kingdom, then allowing him to see the Poneglyph—without even taking it—was hardly a big deal.
She didn't know what had come over her earlier, why she'd felt so inexplicably irritated. Perhaps it was her distrust of that woman. After all, whether it was sneaking into Baroque Works or investigating the identity of its shadowy boss, Robin seemed to know every move Vivi made, as if she were toying with her in the palm of her hand.
But as Vivi pieced things together, she quickly pushed aside her cluttered thoughts and turned to Robin with a serious promise. "I understand. If you're truly willing to help deal with Crocodile, I can agree to your request on behalf of the kingdom."
Robin's lips curved into a genuine smile. "Then we have a deal. Here's to a pleasant partnership."
With that, she walked slowly to the bow of the ship and extended her hand toward Will.
This gesture wasn't meant to slight Vivi. Robin knew full well who the real leader on this ship was—not the princess, but the man standing at the helm.
Will didn't make a fuss, reaching out to gently grasp her soft hand. "Robin," he said, "as the vice president of Baroque Works, you should be able to gather everyone in the organization, right?"
Robin's eyes flickered as she gently withdrew her hand from his firm grip, smiling. "Of course. So, you're saying you want me to call back all the officer agents?"
"Exactly," Will replied, not keen on tracking them down one by one later. "Once we find Crocodile, I'll handle him myself. All you need to do is bring the rest of Baroque Works back."
Robin considered this for a few seconds before nodding lightly, her smile widening. "No problem. I'll follow your lead." She paused, then added with a playful tone, "After all, strictly speaking, you're my new boss now."
Having decisively betrayed Crocodile and the rest of Baroque Works without a second thought, Robin's cooperative attitude brought a satisfied grin to Will's face.
She immediately made her stance clear.
But then, as if remembering something, Robin spoke up again. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Mr. 0—that is, Crocodile—previously ordered Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine to head to Whiskey Peak to hunt down Princess Vivi, who infiltrated Baroque Works."
She turned to Vivi, whose face betrayed her shock, and continued with a smile. "So, if you want to recall them suddenly, we might need to fabricate a story about the princess's whereabouts."
"Fine by me," Will said with a nod, unbothered. "Say whatever you need to, as long as it gets all those officer agents back."
Vivi, still reeling from the revelation, suddenly thought of something and blurted out, "You're saying Crocodile ordered a hit on me? What about Igaram, who infiltrated Baroque Works with me?!"
She couldn't believe that, with her identity exposed, Igaram would still be able to stay hidden on his own.
Robin, understanding Vivi's concern, answered truthfully. "I don't know the specifics of the situation over there. All I know is that not long after you disappeared, Igaram vanished as well."
Vivi pondered this for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. In her mind, Igaram had likely abandoned the infiltration plan when she went missing and had probably returned to the kingdom to report. He was most likely safe.
Seeing Vivi relax and fall silent, Will turned to Robin with a suggestion. "Since you've agreed to guide us, there's no need to ride that turtle anymore. Just come with us on our ship."
Robin had no objections. "As you wish, Boss," she said with a smile.
She then turned to the edge of the ship and spoke softly to the turtle. "Banchi, you don't need to wait for me anymore. Lead the way in front of the ship. Our destination is now Rain Dinners in Alabasta."
"Yup," the giant turtle, which had been lazily swimming alongside the ship, replied in a relaxed tone before speeding up to take the lead.
"Huh? That turtle can talk?!" Nami exclaimed, her face lighting up with surprise at the voice from outside the ship.
"Hm?!" Chopper blinked, feeling like the voice sounded oddly familiar.
"What's so strange about that?" Robin turned to Chopper with a gentle smile. "The cute little guy on your ship can talk too, can't he?"
Chopper froze, then broke into a grin, his body wiggling side to side. "What're you talking about, you human? Calling me cute isn't gonna make me happy or anything~!"
Robin's lips curled into a soft smile at his quirky reaction.
"You said Rain Dinners?!" Vivi, however, latched onto the more critical detail. Her eyes widened in shock. "I can't believe that bustling gambling city is really Crocodile's headquarters!"
She had long suspected as much but lacked any concrete evidence. After all, Rain Dinners was the only city besides the capital, Alubarna, that hadn't suffered from drought. How could she not have noticed such an anomaly?
"What's that? A gambling city?!" Nami's eyes sparkled with the glint of treasure. "Doesn't that mean there's bound to be tons of riches there?!"
The mention of treasure caught Carina's attention, and her mind quickly connected it to Vivi's status as a princess. After a moment of thought, she crossed her arms and proposed, "Will, how about this? You go with this woman to Rain Dinners to track down Crocodile. Meanwhile, I'll take Nami and Chopper, along with Princess Vivi, to the capital, Alubarna."
She continued, "After all, Crocodile's already put a hit out on Vivi. She'll definitely want to return to the capital first. With the three of us helping her, she'll be much safer on the journey."
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