He hadn't expected luck to come knocking so hard—this was practically a gift falling straight from the sky.
Looking across the entire world, aside from awakened members of the Three-Eyed Tribe and top-tier powerhouses capable of hearing the Voice of All Things, the only person who could truly decipher the Poneglyphs was this little girl.
Of course, Tenma had little interest in the so-called "Void Century."
Let the past stay buried. The present—and the future—were the battlefields he intended to conquer.
What truly concerned him were the Ancient Weapons recorded on the Poneglyphs—forces capable of destroying the world itself.
He already knew the whereabouts of Pluton and Poseidon like the back of his hand. Only the most mysterious one, Uranus, remained an enigma.
He wasn't sure whether clues about it could be found in the Poneglyphs, but that alone made Robin's current value to him immeasurable.
That aside, Robin herself was a seedling with astonishing potential.
Once she grew up, she would unquestionably be a goddess-tier beauty.
Add to that her years of scraping by in the underworld, honing her survival skills, and the almost cheat-level information-gathering and management capabilities of the Hana Hana no Mi—
She was practically born to be a Grand Steward. The perfect secretary template. How could Tenma not be tempted?
Guided mechanically by the informant, Tenma and his group arrived at a greasy-looking little diner.
According to the man, Robin was working here under an alias, doing off-the-books labor.
As for the unfortunate guide, once he had outlived his usefulness, Lafitte snapped his fingers to release the hypnosis. The man's eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious by the roadside. Tenma didn't even spare him a glance.
"Sorry, we're closed," the owner barked irritably the moment the greasy glass door was pushed open.
Tenma couldn't be bothered to respond. He walked straight up to the counter and slapped a thick wad of bills down with a smack.
"Take me to Niro—the black-haired girl who's been working here recently."
The owner's cloudy eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the money.
The irritation vanished from his face, replaced by an obsequious grin. He bent at the waist like a cooked shrimp.
"R-right this way! Please, this way!"
Nodding and bowing, he led Tenma and the others into a dark, damp storage room.
The place was crammed with junk, the air thick with mold.
A few broken tables had been shoved together, topped with a blackened quilt that barely qualified as a bed.
The conditions were appallingly crude—but in a black shop that exploited child labor, this was sadly par for the course.
What made Tenma frown, however, wasn't the environment.
It was the fact that the room was empty.
"Uh… m-maybe that damn brat snuck out to slack off?" the owner said stiffly, rubbing his hands in embarrassment as he looked at the vacant space.
"Doesn't matter," Tenma waved it off. "Go prepare your best dishes and bring them here. Keep the change."
Hearing that, the owner immediately forgot all about finding the girl. Afraid the money tree might change its mind, he scampered off toward the kitchen.
"Sir, it looks like the girl already ran away," Maria Fang said after scanning the room. She pointed to a half-open window above. "That window's been tampered with."
"That kid's sharp," Tenma chuckled. "She deliberately left that trace to make people think she'd already escaped."
His gaze passed over the clutter and settled on a few unremarkable empty wooden barrels in the corner.
With the half-open window as a decoy, most people wouldn't even glance at the things right under their noses.
If Tenma hadn't deliberately activated his Observation Haki, even he might have been fooled.
In his perception, inside the innermost barrel, a small heart was pounding violently—brimming with fear and anxiety.
With a light curl of his finger, the oak barrel hidden in the corner suddenly lost its weight and drifted up into the air.
The barrel flipped over.
The tightly sealed lid popped off, and a thin, black-haired little girl let out a startled cry as she fell straight down—
Right into Tenma's already-open arms.
Robin's face was deathly pale. Acting purely on instinct, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
In the blink of an eye, several arms bloomed into existence, clutching Tenma's arms as she tried to shove him away.
But that feeble strength was nothing more than an ant trying to shake a tree.
"Don't be afraid," Tenma said calmly. "If I really wanted to turn you in for that 79 million Beli bounty, I wouldn't have had the owner go prepare a meal."
At those words, Robin's struggling abruptly froze.
Yet her large, wary eyes remained locked on Tenma, like those of a wounded animal.
Three years on the run had already taught her the ugliness of human nature.
Betrayal. Sale. Lies.
If she trusted people this easily, she would've died in some gutter long ago.
Earlier, she'd been too panicked to look clearly. Now that she'd calmed down a bit, Robin finally took in the man holding her.
The moment she did, her entire body stiffened.
"Y-you're the Skyborne General… Tenma?!"
That face perfectly overlapped with the one burned into her memory from countless newspaper front pages and wanted posters.
She was so shocked she could barely speak.
Her mind raced.
A pirate of Tenma's stature had no need to go to such lengths for a mere bounty.
That meant there was only one reason he was here for her…
Robin took a deep breath and spoke up on her own initiative.
"So… you want me to help you decipher the Poneglyphs?"
Over the past three years, she had been painfully aware of the one thing about herself that held any value.
Now that she knew Tenma's identity—and had ruled out being sold for bounty—hope quietly sprouted in her heart.
If she could attach herself to a power this strong, not only could she finally escape this life of constant fear, she might even gain access to more Poneglyphs.
Even if it was mutual exploitation, she didn't care.
As long as she could live. As long as she could fulfill the will of Ohara…
"Poneglyphs?" Tenma replied flatly. "I'm not interested in those."
The answer completely blindsided Robin.
"Compared to dead knowledge carved in stone, I value your mind and your ability to manage things. You're a natural-born Grand Steward."
Tenma's words left Robin utterly confused.
But the two little girls beside them caught the key term immediately.
"Grand Steward?! Her?!"
Maria Fang and Yamato instantly crowded around, their eyes scanning Robin like searchlights.
They were dying to know what this frail-looking older sister could possibly have that made Tenma promise her such an important position on the spot.
"Y-you're sure?" Robin blurted out, then immediately regretted it.
"The Poneglyphs record the locations of the three Ancient Weapons…"
The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back.
She hadn't meant to leak secrets—she was just too shocked and emotionally shaken.
This kind of loose talk had put her in mortal danger more than once in the past.
It was the first time she'd ever met someone who dismissed her ability to read history so casually.
"Ancient Weapons?" Tenma let out a low chuckle. "Heh. I might know more about them than you do."
He didn't elaborate. Instead, he met Robin's gaze directly.
"So, the choice is yours now. Are you willing to come with me?"
Robin still harbored doubts about his words, but wisely chose not to probe further.
She quickly weighed the pros and cons—then nodded hard.
"I'm willing. I'll be your… Grand Steward."
She had no idea what a "Grand Steward" actually did.
But as long as she could stay under Tenma's protection, it was far better than wandering alone.
Robin's little calculations were perfectly clear to Tenma.
But he didn't mind.
After surviving total annihilation, Robin's emotional defenses were unimaginably thick. Expecting her to surrender her loyalty immediately would be a fantasy.
But as long as she stayed, there was time.
With his knowledge of the original story, combined with his ability to read hearts, winning over a little girl like her was only a matter of time.
Just then, the restaurant owner came in carrying steaming hot dishes.
Seeing Robin surrounded by these "big shots," a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
But he quickly hid it, plastered on a fake smile, set the food down, and retreated.
Tenma pulled over a chair and pressed Robin into it.
"Eat first. Once you're full, we're leaving this hellhole."
Robin glanced around. After confirming there was no danger, she cautiously picked up her utensils.
The moment the food touched her mouth, her eyes grew slightly red.
Whether to hide her emotions—or because she was truly starving—she ate fast, cheeks puffed out like a food-guarding hamster.
Watching her wolf down the meal, Yamato swallowed.
"Looks really tasty… I'm hungry again…"
"Are you a pig?" Maria Fang snapped, knocking Yamato on the head. "You just ate on the ship!"
Then she turned back to Robin, her gaze softening.
The feeling was strange—Maria Fang was a child herself, yet an inexplicable wave of maternal instinct washed over her.
She walked over, gently patting Robin's back.
"Slow down. No one's stealing it from you. Have some water."
If you ignored Maria Fang's childish appearance, the scene almost looked warmly maternal.
But remembering that Robin was actually several years older than Maria Fang, Tenma's mouth twitched.
The image was too beautiful—and too cursed—to behold.
With Lafitte recruited and Robin unexpectedly secured, there was no reason to linger on this island any longer.
After Robin finished this meaningful "initiation meal," Tenma led the group back to the harbor.
Under the stunned gazes of dockworkers and sailors, the massive pirate ship slowly lifted off the sea, shot straight into the sky, and vanished beyond the clouds.
With a fleet of nearly a hundred ships and holds piled high with supplies, there was no need to restock anything.
The two new recruits picked rooms they liked and settled in briefly.
Before their seats even warmed, Lafitte leaned on his cane and approached Tenma, curiosity barely contained.
He tipped his hat.
"Admiral Tenma, there's something that's been bothering me since the island. That girl Maria Fang keeps calling you 'General'?"
During the boarding process, Lafitte's sharp eyes had already taken stock of the ship.
This hardly looked like a den of bloodthirsty pirates.
Aside from Tenma and a few obvious monsters, the rest were cooks wielding ladles and women in elegant kimono who could only play music and sing.
Tenma didn't hide anything. He nodded openly.
"That's right. Though the outside world calls me the 'Skyborne General,' I've never had any intention of running a pirate crew."
He casually smoothed his sleeve, his tone as mild as if discussing the weather.
"Maria Fang calls me General simply because I rule a country."
"And just so you know," Maria Fang added cheerfully from the side, pride written all over her face,
"Lord Tenma governs the world-famous Land of Wano in the New World!"
Lafitte's jaw dropped so far it could've swallowed an egg. His normally unflappable expression shattered completely.
"That place?! That's… that's an unbelievable scale."
He took a deep breath to steady himself.
"As for the Grand Steward position you mentioned earlier, I think I can more or less picture it now. But what about someone like me? What role would I play under you?"
Tenma glanced at him. The anticipation in Lafitte's eyes was practically spilling over.
He didn't tease him.
"Under the Shogun of Wano, there's a special force known as the Oniwabanshu."
"They handle covert protection—and outwardly, they're a razor-sharp blade."
Tenma paused, his gaze sharp as steel.
"You're one of the core members I have in mind. When it comes time to take action abroad, the dirty work will fall heavily on you."
"Rest assured," Lafitte said, gripping his cane so hard his knuckles whitened.
"I'll prove with my actions that your judgment was correct."
Just the phrase 'external action' was enough to send his blood boiling.
In his heart, he'd already decided—this Oniwabanshu position was his.
"As long as you master New World-level Haki," Tenma said with satisfaction,
"with your foundation, it's practically guaranteed."
After all, both of the new recruits had shown their Devil Fruit abilities back on the island.
Having grasped the true nature of Lafitte's powers, Tenma finally understood why someone as arrogant as Blackbeard would later hold him in such high regard.
With manpower secured, the next objective was clear—
Straight to Al Island, where Hogback resided.
Naturally, navigation duties fell to Lafitte, who was most familiar with the West Blue.
"That rising star in the medical world, huh," Lafitte mused, twirling his black cane. "I've heard he has real skill in surgery."
Advanced surgery was still a rarity in Wano. Their medical technology was seriously lacking.
That was precisely why Tenma had gone to such lengths to seek out Hogback—to patch a major technical weakness back home.
From a god's-eye view, Hogback was a mass of contradictions.
A genius doctor who saved countless lives—and a money-grubbing bastard obsessed with wealth.
Someone like that was easy to handle.
Even without Cindry as bait, he could be controlled without much effort.
And besides, Hogback hadn't yet become a legendary name across the West Blue—at most, he was just a promising up-and-comer.
Pile enough gold and silver in front of him, and the deal would be ninety-nine percent done.
By that point, among the talents Tenma had originally planned to collect in the West Blue, only one remained—
Perona.
That little girl was, at most, six years old.
Unlike Robin, who'd lived through hell, there was no good way to lure her out.
Trying to fish a kid like that out of the vast West Blue was like searching for a needle in the ocean.
Sure, he could wait until Moria got his hands on her and then steal her away—but Tenma knew better.
Perona had been raised by Moria from childhood and adored that onion-shaped freak like a father.
It was the same kind of bond Maria Fang now had with him.
For cultivation, starting young was always the most reliable approach.
"Lafitte," Tenma said suddenly, stroking his chin. "You seem pretty familiar with the West Blue?"
Lafitte stayed modest.
"I just read the papers when I'm bored—overseas oddities and such. My knowledge is mostly superficial."
Tenma nodded. He didn't expect much, but still tested the waters.
"Have you heard of any places rumored to be haunted? Ghost stories, that kind of thing?"
"Ghosts?!"
Lafitte froze, completely baffled by the Admiral's sudden interest in spooky tales. Still, he tilted his head and searched his memory.
"Bakkura Village. I think there were reports of hauntings there."
A quiet voice chimed in from the side.
It was Robin.
Tenma looked at her in surprise.
"You know that place?"
"Yes," Robin closed her book and explained softly.
"I was thinking of hiding there for a while before. But I heard the hauntings were severe, so I didn't dare go."
"Ha! Robin, don't tell me you're scared of ghosts?"
Yamato instantly seized the chance to gloat, laughing gleefully.
"I'm not!" Robin's face flushed red as she stubbornly retorted.
"I was just worried that something that strange would attract official investigations. It wouldn't have been safe for someone with my identity."
"I totally don't believe you."
Yamato pulled a goofy face, then stuck to Tenma like glue, tugging his arm excitedly.
"Tenma, Tenma! Let's go see what that ghost looks like!"
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