"No need to worry. This ship is here to pick me up." Ren spoke slowly, but his words made Robin freeze in place.
Even though she had already figured out from Ren's earlier words that this ship and its crew probably wouldn't harm Ohara, Robin's mood somehow sank even lower.
"Here to pick you up?.. Mr. Baal, are you leaving?"
The little girl's emerald eyes overflowed with reluctance to part.
She had only just made a friend — and now they were already going to leave?
Robin felt a tightness in her chest, a stinging ache in her nose.
She felt like crying…
She didn't want her friend to go, because that would mean she'd be alone again. Dr. Clover and the others did keep her company, but it never felt quite the same.
But Robin also knew she shouldn't feel that way. How could she, as a friend, try to stop someone from leaving?
"Mr. Baal… will you come back to visit me on Ohara someday?"
"No…"
That single word "no" struck Robin like a hammer blow to the heart!
But before she could even process the pain of parting from a friend, she heard him continue: "You're coming with me, Robin. You won't be coming back to Ohara — not if things go as expected."
Or rather, Ohara itself wouldn't exist much longer.
"Me? You're taking me with you?" Joy flickered across Robin's face, but it dimmed almost instantly. She shook her head and refused: "I can't… My mom hasn't come back yet. I have to stay here and wait for her."
Robin lowered her head and curled up beside the bonfire, looking for all the world like a miserable little puppy.
But she quickly cheered herself up — though to Ren, it was clearly just a forced smile.
"I can't go with you, Mr. Baal. But if you get the chance, please come visit me again someday. Or just tell me where you live, and I'll come find you when I'm older."
They say the more sensible a child is, the more it breaks your heart. Ren felt a pang of pity just watching her. So he said: "Your mom Olvia should be on that ship right now, assuming nothing went wrong. When the time comes, just go with your mother and Dr. Clover and the others."
Ren had already contacted the scholars at the Tree of Knowledge earlier.
"Huh?"
Robin was completely dumbfounded by Ren's words. Before her brain could even catch up, Ren continued speaking.
"Oh, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I'm actually one of those 'ferocious pirates' you keep talking about." Ren gave a light chuckle, tossing another bombshell at the stunned girl.
"So, are you scared?"
"…No, I'm not." Robin stared at Ren with wide eyes, shaking her head in a daze.
She never expected her friend to actually be a pirate.
Logically, she supposed she should be afraid. Except…
She looked at the man before her — long black hair cascading behind him, wearing unfamiliar but clean and tidy clothes, with a handsome face that made it impossible for her to feel any fear at all.
"Heh…" Ren smiled and stopped teasing her.
In truth, the Eight-Headed Serpent Soul form looked very close to his original appearance, except for some markings on his face resembling "demon patterns." His pupils and eye makeup were rather intimidating, giving off a cold and sinister aura.
But facing a child like Robin, Ren naturally wouldn't release that kind of pressure. Even the hem of his clothes, which his ability normally transformed into serpentine shapes, remained in its ordinary state.
So Robin really didn't find him scary at all.
Otherwise, imagine a few snake heads with venomous fangs, flicking their tongues and glaring at you with glowing red eyes — could you really not be afraid?
"Robin, have you ever heard of Inazuma?"
"Inazuma? You mean the Inazuma Pirates from the Grand Line? Of course I have!" Robin nodded vigorously. "Dr. Clover bought a huge robot from overseas a couple years ago. He said it was invented in Inazuma, though I've never actually seen the big thing move."
As she spoke, she couldn't help glancing sideways at the enormous ship.
Thinking that she might soon meet the mother she barely knew, she was nervous and anxious, and the words kept tumbling out.
Mom left me all alone at my uncle's house for so many years… when we meet again, will she even accept me…?
Robin didn't know.
After all, she was only eight years old.
A child who hadn't seen her parents since she was two basically had no real memory of them at all. Years of cold looks at her uncle's house had made her heart fragile and oversensitive.
Every child like that couldn't help lying awake at night, wondering… had her parents abandoned her?
Under Robin's careful, watchful gaze, the ship slowly drew near the shore.
The little one had already noticed the three women standing at the bow, along with a colossal figure — a strange man bigger than a hill, like a giant straight out of a fairy tale.
But no matter how bizarre the giant looked, Robin's attention wasn't on him at all.
She kept studying the three women on the ship.
The one in front wore clothes similar to Mr. Baal's, with two swords hanging at her waist. Her face looked young — she probably wasn't Robin's mother.
The second woman wasn't wearing that strange outfit, but she also looked fairly young.
The third woman had white hair, and her skin was somewhat tanned from years spent outdoors. Could this person be her mother?
At this point, not only had Robin spotted Olvia — Olvia had also noticed the thin little girl on the shore. But neither Jasmine nor Iris knew that Ren was with Robin, so Olvia didn't assume this child was her daughter.
In her mind, her daughter should be eight years old now and look a bit bigger than this.
The little girl in front of her looked more like five or six.
Still, since she was a child anyway, maybe this kid knew something about Robin. She couldn't wait to find her daughter.
But she'd have to wait a moment longer.
Because she saw Iris already appear on the beach, standing respectfully beside that man.
"Shogun!"
Shogun?
Olvia and Saul both turned their eyes toward the man.
So this was the legendary Raiden Shogun?
Saul scratched his head. Both he and Olvia were rather bewildered.
How was this nothing like the person he'd seen (on a wanted poster)?
Was this really the Raiden Shogun?
This was definitely not the Raiden Shogun!
[
Dear Readers,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing to you today because things have become genuinely difficult, and I need to be honest about where I stand.
I am currently posting five to seven chapters every day across my active fictions, keeping up with bonus releases and extra chapters on top of that. The schedule is relentless, and I am putting in everything I have to make sure nobody is left waiting.
Going forward, I am also bringing more quality fictions to the table — unfound gems and hidden stories that deserve a wider audience. I want to keep expanding what is available for you to read, but I cannot do it alone.
Right now, my financial situation has dropped to the lowest point it has ever been. Patreon support is not just helpful anymore — it is what keeps this work alive. Without it, I do not know how long I can sustain this daily output or continue hunting down those new stories for you.
If you have been reading and enjoying the work, please consider joining a tier. I have increased what each tier offers so that your support goes further:
Adventurer — $3 per month
20 chapters in advance for all of my works
Warrior — $7 per month
40 chapters in advance for all of my works
Immortal — $10 per month (Highlighted Tier)
60 chapters in advance for all of my works
Access to character images
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee due to Apple/Patreon policy. Please subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late — two to three months — which makes it much harder for me to receive funds quickly when I need them most.
I am pleading with you because I need your help right now. Your support would let me keep the daily releases going, keep the early access flowing, and keep bringing you those new, quality fictions I have lined up. It would keep my head above water while I do what I love.
If you cannot subscribe, sharing the work with others who might enjoy it still helps more than you know.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]