Robin only felt a flash before her eyes. The cute cats that had been surrounding her vanished, replaced by a dimly lit room with barrels and assorted clutter scattered about, clearly the hold of some ship.
Although this sudden situation caught her off guard, Robin was startled but not panicked.
Before she could even figure out what had happened, she instinctively reached back to grab the unfamiliar man who had rested a hand on her shoulder, intending to subdue him first and interrogate him afterward.
However, the other man reacted just as quickly. The moment Robin counterattacked, his figure vanished instantly and reappeared several meters away.
"Soru? No… a Devil Fruit?"
Unable to determine whether the man was an agent of CP, Robin cautiously tested him while surveying the surroundings out of the corner of her eye…
For now, he seemed to be the only enemy in the room, but outside she could hear the chaotic thunder of cannon fire, as if a large-scale naval battle were underway.
A large-scale naval battle…
Robin heart sank as an extremely bad suspicion took shape.
"That right. I ate the Teleport Fruit. I'm a teleporter, so don't even think about running. In this world, no one can outrun me."
Triv, who looked like nothing more than an utterly ordinary middle-aged man, wore an expression as though he had already won.
He did not even assume a fighting stance, instead lazily leaning against a nearby barrel.
"And don't think that the Hunter Sherwin will come to save you. We're on a G-5 Marine battleship right now.
Kaido is outside, so there no way he'd come back here to die. And don't expect other Marines to rescue you either—this ship has long since been completely under my control."
Triff dared to act so casually because he had absolute confidence. He had prepared everything in advance and was not the least bit worried about Robin escaping his grasp.
Seeing that her worst guess had come true, Robin could not help but give a bitter smile. Still, she had no intention of waiting helplessly for her fate.
"Twelve Fleur: Twist!"
As Robin crossed her arms before her chest, twelve arms instantly "grew" from Triff body, wrapping around the joints of his limbs.
However, just like when dealing with those members of the Beasts before, even though Robin could make up for her lack of raw strength through joint-lock techniques, against an opponent far stronger than herself she could at best barely restrain him, unable to inflict further damage.
He could even slowly walk toward Robin while being restrained by more than a dozen arms.
"A decent Devil Fruit ability, but unfortunately, you're a bit lacking in strength…" Triff said as he continued to approach her, using his words to wear down her will.
"You should give up resisting. A beauty like you—if I were to break your arms and legs, that would be such a pity."
"Heh…" Robin let out a soft laugh. "Sorry, but the thing I have least shortage of is arms and legs… One Fleur: Clutch the Eyes!"
Another arm sprouted from Triff chest, raised its index and middle fingers, and viciously stabbed toward his eyes.
"!!!"
Triff, who had maintained a lazy expression the entire time, finally changed his face.
He stopped pretending to advance slowly to apply psychological pressure and instead swiftly activated his Devil Fruit ability, teleporting two meters away just before his eyes could be pierced.
The arms that had grown on his body did not teleport with him. Instead, they shattered into countless petal-like fragments and dissipated into nothingness on the spot.
"So my ability is completely countered…"
Biting her lower lip, Robin did not hesitate for a moment and turned to run toward the outside of the ship hold.
"I already told you—you can't outrun me!"
Facing Robin refusal to give up, Triv grew increasingly irritated. He drew the dagger hanging at his waist, blinked into place right in front of her, raised the blade, and stabbed toward her shoulder.
Robin had long been prepared while running. She abruptly twisted her body to the left, evading the dagger and launching a counterattack at the same time.
If growing them on his body would just be dodged, then she simply wouldn't grow them on him!
"Gigantesco Mano—Dragon Claw!"
Countless arms sprouted from the ground beneath Triv feet in a spiraling motion, coiling toward him like a massive python.
Unfortunately, just as those arms climbed onto his body, he instantly teleported away again.
The arms Robin had created did not lose their momentum, smashing straight into the ceiling above and punching out a large hole. She immediately leapt through the opening.
The moment she reached the deck, Robin saw many Marines lying sprawled all around.
Clearly, Triv hadn't been lying when he said he had taken control of the ship. Far out on the sea, the Marines of the G-5 base were still locked in fierce combat with the Beasts Pirates…
Earlier, Kaido blast of Boro Breath had destroyed the G-5 base, leaving that band of roughneck soldiers so enraged that they no longer cared about facing a Yonko as their enemy.
The main reason they were still able to fight the Beasts Pirates back and forth was because Kaido was currently venting his anger on the island and hadn't joined the battle here at all.
"Get back into the cabin, now!"
Seeing Nico Robin actually make it onto the deck, Triv rushed out in a panic, waving his dagger as he tried to drive her back inside.
Despite his earlier air of having everything under control, if Kaido were to discover that Nico Robin was in his hands, Triv would unquestionably use his Devil Fruit ability to flee at the very first moment.
Having confirmed the situation she was now facing, Nico Robin had no intention of stubbornly remaining on the deck and instead retreated back into the cabin along with the momentum.
Even though it was still unclear which faction the enemy before her belonged to, anything was better than falling into the hands of the Yonko Kaido.
"Haa…"
Seeing that Robin did not further draw Kaido attention, Triv secretly let out a sigh of relief, and the tension on his face eased once more.
"That more like it. Just come with me obediently. Translating the Poneglyphs for someone—what difference does it make who you help?"
Robin ignored him and quietly touched the can in her pocket that held the cat combat suit…
When she had rushed onto the deck earlier, it wasn't only to clarify the situation at hand, but also to see whether Triv had any other accomplices.
After confirming that he was alone, Robin had already formulated her escape plan…
Once she used Triv ability to get out of Kaido range, she would look for a chance to put on the combat suit and jump into the sea. That was also the main reason she had not revealed the suit before.
But Triv wasn't a fool either. Seeing Robin suddenly become compliant, he decided to bind her first just in case. With his teleportation ability, whether Robin could move or not didn't really matter.
Robin hesitated for a moment, then chose to cooperate for the time being, relaxing his guard.
However, just as Triv picked up a rope and was about to tie up the seemingly obedient Robin, an earth-shaking explosion suddenly thundered from outside.
Immediately after, the ship beneath their feet lurched violently as if caught in a storm, and the two of them—completely unprepared—were thrown to the ground.
"What going on?!"
Triv looked out through the large hole in the ceiling with shock and uncertainty.
"It Klee…"
Having already guessed that it was Sherwin and the Felynes who had come back to save her, Nico Robin felt conflicted.
She had never doubted that Sherwin and the cats would abandon her, but based on her understanding of Sherwin steady personality, Robin had thought they would find another way afterward, rather than immediately turning back to clash head-on with Kaido…
But soon, Robin understood the reason Sherwin would do this. He was most likely worried that she had been captured by CP agents, or that CP agents might seize the chance to assassinate her during this time. Because of that, she felt both deeply moved and worried.
"Mil Fleur: Gigantesco Mano!"
Now that Sherwin and the others had returned, Robin naturally had no intention of continuing to play along with Triv.
However, just as her ability activated, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck Triv first, who had no time to react at all.
"Robin dear~ I'm here to save you~"