Hearing a new voice, everyone snapped their heads around.
Sitting casually on the ship's railing was a woman with bronze skin, a stunning figure, and an air of mature elegance.
She just smiled, observing them.
Ray instantly recognized her: Nico Robin, the "Devil Child."
'Her timing is about right,' Ray thought. 'Probably here to check us out, maybe keep her options open.'
Robin always played the long game, always looking for a potential escape route or ally.
Robin crossed her legs, resting her chin on her hand, her gaze sweeping over the crew with keen interest.
"Straw Hat Luffy, 50 million. Pirate Hunter Zoro, 30 million. Cat Burglar Nami, 3 million. And finally..."
Her eyes landed on Ray, and for a split second, her pupils trembled violently.
Ray felt a flicker of surprise – even someone as guarded as Robin wasn't immune to his weird charm effect?
He subtly prepared his Haki, expecting her Flower-Flower Fruit "groping hands" attack, but... nothing happened.
She actually managed to restrain herself.
"...White-haired swordsman Ray, 65 million," Robin continued smoothly. "Straw Hat Pirates, total bounty 148 million Berries."
The crew eyed her cautiously.
Who was this mysterious woman?
Just then, Vivi stepped forward, glaring.
"Miss All Sunday! Was that explosion just now your doing?! Did you kill Igaram?!"
Robin just chuckled. "Naturally. I have my missions to complete, after all."
Luffy frowned. "So you are a bad guy!"
The whole crew tensed, ready to fight.
"Don't worry," Robin said quickly. "He's not dead. Besides, I was the one who helped Princess Vivi uncover Crocodile's secret in the first place."
Luffy's face lit up.
"Oh! So you're a good person after all!"
But Vivi wasn't convinced.
"But you also exposed my identity to Crocodile, didn't you?"
Robin simply nodded.
Luffy's expression flipped again.
"So you really are a bad person!"
Everyone else just facepalmed and collectively told Luffy to shut up.
Nami drew her Clima-Tact, small thunderclouds already forming around the ship.
She knew the guys wouldn't be much help against this woman.
Sanji was already useless, completely mesmerized.
Zoro didn't fight women.
And Luffy was being played like a fiddle.
'Guess it's up to me,' Nami thought, wanting to prove herself to Ray.
Just then, Robin tossed a strange compass to Luffy.
"It's an Eternal Pose," she explained. "It points directly to Alabasta. You won't have to stop at every island."
Ray sighed internally.
'Asking Luffy to skip adventures? Not gonna happen.'
Sure enough, Luffy immediately crushed the Eternal Pose in his hand.
"I don't need this thing!" he yelled. "Especially not from a bad guy!"
WHAM! BAM! THUD!
Luffy found himself twitching on the ground after taking heavy blows from Nami, Zoro, and Sanji.
Witnessing this chaotic scene, Robin's curiosity about the Straw Hats only grew stronger.
'Their relationships... are truly unique.'
She decided to leave.
Before hopping off the ship, she glanced back at the silent Ray.
"You're just letting me leave like this?" she asked softly. "Aren't you afraid I might have some scheme?"
Ray just met her gaze calmly.
"Doesn't matter."
His absolute confidence sent a strange jolt through Robin.
Maybe it was his aura, maybe it was her own deep-seated lack of security, but something about him resonated with her.
She sighed. "What an interesting crew. I hope you don't get eaten by the monsters along the way." With that, she rode off on a giant sea turtle.
…
After she left, Usopp asked Ray why he'd let her go.
Ray didn't answer.
But Sanji, whose brain had rebooted, guessed it.
"Did Chouchou memorize her scent?"
Ray nodded.
He'd let her go for two reasons.
One, he knew her true character.
Two, having her scent meant they could track her later if needed.
Knowing the future didn't mean he knew the exact map of Alabasta; having a way to find Crocodile would save a lot of time.
…
Nami got the hang of Grand Line navigation, and the Going Merry sailed on.
Just as everyone was starting to relax and wonder about the next island, Ray made the dreaded announcement.
"Training resumes!"
Those two words made Luffy and the others tremble.
The brutal training before Loguetown had nearly killed them.
Seeing their fear, Ray almost smirked.
He had Chouchou explain the plan.
"Ahem!" the little white dog announced proudly.
"The master says we're resuming the previous training plan! Steadily, step by step! And for this purpose, the master has prepared two special 'training tools'!"
"Zoro, go get the tools from the warehouse."
Zoro immediately understood why Ray had insisted on capturing Miss Valentine and Mr. 5. Their abilities were pretty useful.
But when he dragged the two captives out, Sanji instantly went into simp mode over Valentine.
Ray promptly knocked him out for disrupting the plan.
Chouchou continued.
"This blonde woman can change her weight from 0.1 kg up to 10,000 kg! Perfect for physical training! As for this guy, any part of him can become a bomb. Convenient ammunition for target practice!"
Hearing this, Sanji (who had woken up) immediately volunteered to do squats while holding Miss Valentine.
Zoro argued he should go first, calling her the perfect warm-up dumbbell.
Usopp and Nami, meanwhile, crowded around Mr. 5, excitedly discussing 100 different ways to use his bombs (nearly pulling all his hair out in the process).
The two captives had zero rights.
Any resistance just got them beaten up more.
The "dumbbell woman" and the "bomb man" deeply regretted ever messing with these demons.
Ray nodded with satisfaction and took Chouchou off for some special training.
Vivi and her giant duck Karoo watched the crew's intense training with wide eyes.
Even Nami trained relentlessly.
Despite the brutality, the atmosphere on the ship was surprisingly friendly when they weren't training.
Vivi's perception of these pirates was slowly changing.
(Except for the fact that Luffy kept trying to use Karoo as emergency food.)
…
Three days later...
A primeval-looking island appeared on the horizon.
Chouchou's nose twitched.
"This island is full of fierce beasts," he told the crew. He then puffed out his chest.
"Inferior humans! Obey the commands of this dog demon!"
Naturally, this earned him death glares from everyone.
...
One minute later, Chouchou adjusted his attitude while covered in bumps.
"Ahem. Brothers and sisters," he said politely, "be careful. My nose detects... large lizards. And many giant carnivores. Smells like blood."
Nami, Usopp, and Karoo immediately got scared and didn't want to go ashore.
Everyone else, however, looked intrigued.
Vivi decided to take Karoo ashore to relax anyway.
Luffy stared excitedly at the jungle. "Awesome! I've never eaten giant wild beasts before!"
Zoro and Sanji were equally enthusiastic, immediately starting a competition to see who could catch the bigger carnivore.
(Gathering food was essential, thanks to Luffy's ever-growing appetite, which Ray suspected was linked to his Gear Second development.)
Under Luffy's excited orders, everyone disembarked onto the mysterious ancient island known as [Little Garden].
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