After returning to the ship, Luffy dropped off the newly bought clothes.
He still couldn't figure it out.
Why had Robin bought so many winter outfits?
Their Log Pose would only take a week to reset, surely one coat would have been enough?
He puzzled over it for a while, then shrugged it off.
Whatever. It's not like it cost much anyway.
After Luffy and Robin went back into the ship's cabin...
At the harbor, two men were huddled behind a shipping container, whispering and glancing toward Luffy's ship with suspicious eyes.
"Is that her?" one asked.
"Should be," the other replied.
They were holding a bounty poster, with a picture of a much younger Nico Robin printed on it.
"But... she looks so different now," the first man said, clearly uncertain.
His companion answered firmly, "Trust my instincts.
Besides, that poster's years old. Of course she looks different."
"…Yeah, I guess," the first man mumbled.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his partner's judgment, they'd worked together for years with perfect coordination.
But he had grown used to the quiet life on Iceba Island.
It was harsh, yes, but it was simple. Peaceful. No chaos. No danger.
Three years ago, they were a feared bounty hunter duo, roaming the first half of the Grand Line.
Their tight teamwork and meticulous planning had earned them a reputation.
They even once took down a pirate with a bounty of 50 million berries.
One night in a bar, while chatting with other bounty hunters, they overheard something that sparked a dream.
Someone mentioned that the Sabaody Archipelago, despite being near a Marine base, was swarming with pirates.
"Imagine bounty hunting there," the man laughed. "Work every day. Gold every day."
It was said in jest, but it struck a chord with these two.
They remembered that line.
Not long after, they saved a merchant ship during a pirate raid.
Grateful, the captain paid them handsomely and asked if they'd serve as guards.
Their destination?
The place of their dreams: Sabaody Archipelago.
They had ambition. They couldn't stay stagnant forever.
So, they left.
But dreams are called dreams for a reason, they're hard to reach.
When they arrived at Sabaody, they realized the truth:
There weren't just a lot of pirates, there were too many.
So many that revealing themselves as bounty hunters would be suicide.
Still, they adapted. Investigated. Waited.
Eventually, they found their target: a pirate worth 75 million berries.
They cornered him in a narrow alley. Ambushed. Killed him.
But before they could even celebrate,
A slaver gang appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.
The slaver boss was furious.
The man they'd just killed had eaten the Senrigan, an extremely valuable ability. A gambling magnate had already paid a fortune to reserve him as a slave.
The slaver gang had spent months tracking him down.
Now, two nobodies had ruined everything.
The boss ordered their execution on the spot.
They barely escaped with their lives, fleeing Sabaody and stealing a small boat.
Directionless, they drifted until they landed on Iceba Island.
And they stayed.
For three long years.
Even the bounty poster in their hands was still the same one from back then.
"Lacey, we're not even thirty yet," the man whispered. "You really want to spend the next fifty years stuck in a place like this?"
He was the dreamer of the two. A bounty hunter who refused to let his life be wasted in monotony.
But he also knew, without his partner, his strength was halved.
That's why he pleaded so hard.
Lacey bit his lip. He still couldn't decide.
"But… wasn't the plan to wait until things settled down before heading back to the Grand Line?
You were the one who said we were arrogant… that we needed more experience."
"You still don't get it, Lacey!"
The other man, Clarus, grabbed him by the shoulders.
"This is it. This is the moment the heavens handed to us."
He leaned closer, eyes blazing.
"Remember the rumors? That 'Demon Kid' Nico Robin isn't even that strong. Her bounty doesn't match her ability, it's just inflated because she's careful and cautious.
Don't you see? This is our ticket back in. This is destiny giving us a chance to rise again!"
Lacey knocked Clarus's arms away, staring at his bloodshot eyes with a strange expression.
"What's wrong with you, Clarus? You never used to talk like this…"
Clarus looked down at his own hands, shocked to see Lacey push him away.
The same Lacey who had always been gentle with him.
After a long pause, Clarus lowered his head.
"…I get it now, Lacey," he said in a strange tone.
"Huh? Get what?"
"I get that there's no going back to how things used to be."
His voice was flat.
"From now on, we will go our separate ways."
He turned to leave, face dark.
"Clarus!" Lacey reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Let go of me!!!"
Snowflakes drifted down like tiny witnesses to this painful goodbye.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
That night.
The snowfall grew heavier, blanketing the land in a shimmering silver sheet.
It was as if fate had drawn the curtain.
Clarus moved silently through the snow, not making a sound.
His stealth was excellent, an art refined over years.
He slipped aboard Luffy's ship without a trace.
Two cabins had their lights on.
Clarus knew one of them belonged to Robin's companion.
"So they're not a couple. That'll make this easier," he thought to himself.
He sniffed lightly. A faint, elegant fragrance drifted from one of the rooms.
"That must be her… Nico Robin."
His eyes narrowed.
"Tonight, I'll mix that alluring scent… with the stench of your filthy blood."
Clarus crept toward the door.
But then he paused.
"There are only two rooms. The other one's clearly the master cabin."
"Someone important must be staying there. If Robin, a top-priority bounty target, is in the side room, then whoever's in the master must be even more dangerous…"
His palm, wrapped around a dagger, began to sweat.
Was it from nerves?
Or had he simply gone too long without fighting?
"Forget it. Just kill the Demon Kid and get out. No need to linger!"
He pulled out a small vial of knockout incense and gently fed it through the crack beneath the door.
Everything was ready.
Or so he thought,
"Hey."
A voice rang out cold and furious.
"What do you think you're doing to my crewmate?"
Luffy stood behind him, eyes blazing with rage.
==========
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