Blood splattered through the air.
Although the bullet had only struck the seagull in the eye, the tremendous force behind it completely crushed the bird's head.
The headless seagull immediately fell from the sky and plunged into the sea below, sending a splash of seawater into the air.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Robin and the others possessed Observation Haki, so they had naturally been able to follow the bullet's trajectory after Van Augur fired.
However, the distance of several kilometers was far beyond the range of their Observation Haki. They could follow the bullet for only so long and had no way of seeing the final result.
Kaito was different.
His Observation Haki accurately captured the entire scene.
He saw the bullet strike the seagull.
He even clearly perceived that Van Augur's shot had hit the bird directly in the eye.
Kaito couldn't help applauding in admiration at such extraordinary marksmanship.
"Beautiful shot. Van Augur, your marksmanship is every bit as impressive as Sanji described. As captain, I officially welcome you to the War Pirates."
As he spoke, Kaito took two cigars from the Munch-Munch Fruit's storage space.
He placed one in his own mouth.
Then, he casually tossed the other toward Van Augur.
"The captain flatters me."
Van Augur caught the cigar.
The cigars were a rare and expensive variety, but no matter how valuable they were, they couldn't compare to receiving the captain's recognition.
Van Augur naturally understood that Kaito's actions meant his marksmanship had earned the captain's approval.
Even so, he remained composed.
He didn't show the slightest hint of arrogance. Instead, he responded with humility.
That attitude made Kaito even more satisfied.
"Van Augur, in my capacity as captain, I hereby grant you the position of Cadre Candidate. I hope you won't disappoint me in the future."
Under normal circumstances, anyone who wanted to become a Cadre Candidate needed to defeat at least one squad captain to qualify.
But Kaito was the captain of the War Pirates.
Naturally, he possessed the authority to make exceptions.
"Thank you for the honor, Captain!"
Van Augur was clearly delighted when he heard that he had been granted the position of Cadre Candidate, and he immediately expressed his gratitude.
During the few days since joining the War Pirates, he had already taken the time to gain a thorough understanding of the crew.
Naturally, this included the internal ranking system.
Cadre Candidates could be considered second only to the official cadres.
They enjoyed treatment and authority on the same level as the squad captains.
Van Augur also knew the usual requirements for becoming a Cadre Candidate.
Although he had absolute confidence in his own marksmanship, after observing the War Pirates over the past few days, he had also realized just how powerful the squad captains were.
If he truly had to fight one of them, Van Augur wasn't confident that he could win.
Being directly appointed as a Cadre Candidate was undoubtedly preferential treatment.
After settling Van Augur's matter, Kaito turned his attention to the three Devil Fruit users who had been captured.
According to Law's introduction, the three Devil Fruit users captured in Magic Valley Town possessed the Spotted Horse Fruit, the Pangolin Fruit, and the Chocolate Fruit.
Kaito asked,
"How strong are these three?"
"They're pretty average. I doubt they could even defeat one of our lower-ranking squad captains."
Law thought about it briefly before answering.
"And their ages?"
Kaito continued.
"The oldest is over forty, and the youngest is already over thirty."
Law replied.
Hearing that, Kaito immediately understood the situation.
Their strength was mediocre.
Their potential wasn't particularly impressive either.
People like that were essentially useless to him.
The best way to deal with them was naturally to reclaim their Devil Fruits directly.
The Spotted Horse Fruit.
The Pangolin Fruit.
The Chocolate Fruit.
None of the three Devil Fruits could be considered particularly exceptional, but they weren't bad, either.
After reclaiming them, they could be used as rewards during the next major martial arts competition.
"Robin, I have a gift for you."
After dealing with the matter of the three Devil Fruit users, Kaito turned to Robin.
"A gift? What is it?"
Robin was slightly surprised.
Kaito motioned for everyone to step back.
Then, he immediately activated the ability of the Munch-Munch Fruit.
A hole split open in his palm.
Whoosh!
Boom!
A massive square stone suddenly flew out from the hole in Kaito's palm.
It rapidly expanded as it emerged.
The enormous stone crashed down onto the deck.
Its incredible weight caused the entire pirate ship to shake violently and sink slightly into the water.
"Huh? Isn't that the Poneglyph Captain brought back from Alabasta last time?"
"No, this doesn't seem to be the same one."
"Wait, seriously? Does that mean we've found another Poneglyph?"
The sudden appearance of the enormous stone immediately caused different reactions among Robin and the others.
Those who had seen the stone in Alabasta recognized it almost immediately.
It was clearly a Poneglyph.
However, since Sanji and some of the others couldn't read the ancient characters, they initially assumed that Kaito had simply taken out the Poneglyph he had recovered from Alabasta.
But then, people like Law quickly noticed the difference.
The Poneglyph recovered from the Nefertari family had been carefully preserved and was relatively clean.
This one was clearly different.
Its surface was covered in dirt, and patches of moss still clung to the stone.
Law immediately pointed out that this was not the same Poneglyph as before.
As for Robin, there was naturally no need to say anything.
The moment she saw the ancient writing carved into the stone, she immediately recognized it as a completely new Poneglyph.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she quickly stepped forward and began studying the ancient text.
'A Poneglyph? So this is a Poneglyph?'
Among the gathered crowd, Crocodile was also present.
At first, he hadn't understood what the massive stone was.
However, after hearing the conversation between Law, Sanji, and the others, his expression immediately changed.
He quickly turned his attention toward the ancient writing engraved on the Poneglyph.
Unfortunately, Crocodile couldn't read the ancient language.
After staring at it for a moment, his expression grew increasingly complicated.
'Just as I expected... he really did obtain the Poneglyph from Alabasta.'
'And now, with this one added to the collection, he's already obtained two Poneglyphs.'
After hearing Law and Sanji's conversation, Crocodile slowly turned his head and gave Kaito a deep look.
He now knew that his original suspicions had been correct.
The item taken from Alabasta was the Poneglyph he had pursued for so long.
And the Poneglyph that supposedly contained information related to the Ancient Weapon Pluton had fallen into Kaito's hands.
Wait...
He said this Poneglyph was a gift for that woman?
Could it be...
Suddenly, Crocodile remembered what Kaito had said moments earlier.
His heart shook.
He immediately turned and looked at Robin, who was carefully deciphering the ancient writing.
Regarding the name Robin, Crocodile hadn't thought much about it at first.
After all, there were countless people in the world with similar names.
But now...
Robin.
The ability to read Poneglyphs.
And the appearance of the ancient text before her.
With all those clues combined, it was impossible not to think of a certain possibility.
Crocodile's eyes changed as he stared at Robin.
Could she be—
The last survivor of Ohara?
The woman known throughout the world as the Devil Child?
Nico Robin.
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