Hearing Nami's voice, the two quickly separated, and Robin swiftly composed herself.
"Let me introduce our newest crewmate. Nico Robin—renowned archaeologist who can read ancient scripts, and a user of the Flower-Flower Fruit."
Following the introductions, a banquet commenced with Carmen excitedly cooking.
"Welcome, Robin, to the Adventurers! As our new crewmate—raise your glasses, cheers!"
"Cheers!" x6
Laughter filled the banquet. Partway through, Robin showed off her fruit power, and everyone gasped: "So convenient!"
"Chopper~"
Chopper, who was fiercely stuffing his face, looked up, slightly annoyed.
"Pfft!" He saw Robin using her ability to grow two deer horns³ on Leno's head and making gestures toward him.
"Ahahaha!" Chopper and Carmen doubled over with laughter.
After the meal, Robin sat aside, quietly sipping tea.
"Bang!" Nami abruptly sat across from her and stared intently. "Though that idiot Leno is clearly bewildered by you, I will never approve of you. I will be watching you constantly."
"All right, Miss Nami. I'll accept your oversight."
"Hmph, you'd better!"
"By the way, while I was with the Hog Family I collected some rare gems. Looks like I won't be needing them." Robin set a pouch of multicolored jewels on the table.
Whoosh! Nami slid in on her knees, cradling the gems, eyes sparkling. "Big sis— you are most welcome to join the Adventurers!"
"Thank you, Nami. You're too kind."
Carmen arrived with dessert. "For Sister Robin."
"Thank you for the sweets."
"Don't mention it. Uh, Robin, your power lets you sprout hands anywhere, right?"
"Of course." With a wave, pairs of arms blossomed from Carmen's sides.
"Skete! Chopper, look! My centipede form!" Carmen turned to show off.
The two goofballs cracked up again, and Leno couldn't help thinking, ''Two clowns, endless joy…''
Days passed like this.
Robin slipped into the crew with ease—though she still kept the seastone on. After a few days touring the ship, she was full of praise. It truly lived up to being a "miracle ship."
One day, Leno was dozing on the prow when Nami's shriek jolted him awake.
"This is bad, Leno—We all have bounties!"
"Calm down, Nami. Having a bounty isn't entirely a bad thing. The bigger our reputation, the fewer people will dare to bother us, and we can continue our adventure in peace," Leno reassured her.
Robin looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I've dragged everyone into this."
Kuina clapped her shoulder and smiled. "It's not really because of you. At most you're the fuse. From the look of things, we were bound to be wanted sooner or later."
"Right. The World Government won't just let a powerful, uncontrollable group wander around," Leno added.
Seeing everyone smiling at her without a hint of blame, Robin was deeply moved.
"Okay, let's see the numbers." Leno spread the posters out.
Leno, captain of the Adventurers. Dragon-form Devil Fruit user, suspected Mythical Zoan; a Grandmaster Swordsman. Bounty: 500,000,000 Berries.
Kuina, combatant of the Adventurers. Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Model: Angel; swordswoman. *Bounty: 110,000,000 Berries.*³
Nojiko, combatant of the Adventurers. Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Model: Vampire; swordswoman. *Bounty: 110,000,000 Berries.*⁴
Nami, navigator of the Adventurers. Cloud-Cloud Fruit (Logia). *Bounty: 50,000,000 Berries.*⁵
Carmen, chef of the Adventurers. Bounty: 100,000 Berries.
Chopper, "pet" of the Adventurers. Bounty: 50 Berries.
Nico Robin, Devil's Child. Flower-Flower Fruit user. *Bounty: 79,000,000 Berries.*¹
Everyone wore different expressions reading their posters. Leno was thinking, ''When the "Thunder God" mask slips one day… what'll my bounty be then?''
Nami stared at hers in horror. "Starting at fifty million? That's insane! How am I supposed to shop in peace?!"
The others stayed calm; Robin even joked her number hadn't changed in over a decade.
Chopper crouched alone in a dark corner, aura of despair pooling around him. "H-how could this happen?"
Leno held back a grin. "Chopper, what's wrong?"
"Why? Why is mine so low? And I'm the doctor, not a pet! Fifty Berries barely buys a cotton candy!" Chopper finally found a target to vent at and wailed.
"Ahahahaha!" Everyone burst out.
"Hang in there, Chopper. Train hard, become a real man, and your bounty will rise."
"Really?"
"Of course. You know me—I never lie," Leno promised solemnly.
Studying the list, Leno suddenly turned to Carmen. "Oh, right—Carmen, I've got a few Devil Fruits. Want one?" He casually set several on the table.
Carmen and Robin gaped. Devil Fruits were treasures of the sea; even the cheapest went for a hundred million.
Leno introduced them one by one: the Silver-Silver Fruit, the Paper-Paper Fruit, the Shatter-Shatter Fruit (and a few Zoans Carmen immediately skipped). Based on Leno's recommendation and her situation, Carmen chose the Paper-Paper Fruit. As he recommended it, Leno became animated, talking strangely about "Angel" and "White Tiger."
"Bleh—"
"You have to eat all of it," Nami said, gloating.
"Don't you just need one bite? Why eat the whole thing?" Robin asked, puzzled.
At her words, Leno's heart skipped. Crap. As expected, two razor-sharp gazes skewered him—Nami's cheerful face had already darkened, and Nojiko was staring right through him.
"Uh… why are you looking at me like that?"
"Why? Why Leno… what did you tell us back then? You said we had to eat the whole thing. Well!? What is going on!" Nami grabbed Leno's collar and began shaking him relentlessly.
Remembering how she and Nojiko had swallowed theirs with tears in their eyes, Nami's fury flared. That bastard! Always scamming us!
"I didn't lie. Besides, you saw me—I ate the whole thing," Leno protested innocently.
Thinking it over… that was true. He had eaten his right in front of them.
"Hmph! Even if that's true, it's still your fault!"