Chapter 199: To Actually Make Robin Show This Kind of Expression!
Robin gave a light laugh and didn't press further.
Someone who dared to joke about Impel Down and Mary Geoise truly had extraordinary courage.
She could tell it was obviously an exaggerated joke, but the kind of person who could make such a joke was either utterly ignorant or incredibly powerful.
Ralph was clearly not the former.
"To be honest," Robin said softly, "I was still hesitating earlier about whether to go through with that deal with Mr. Ralph. I even doubted Mr. Ralph's capabilities."
She narrowed her eyes and smiled, "It seems now that I was short-sighted."
The note Ralph had slipped to Robin at Whiskey Peak read: "Baroque Works in exchange for The Void Century."
"Now Baroque Works is entirely under Mr. Ralph's control."
Robin's expression showed a hint of regret, "It seems the deal is off."
Ralph shook his head:
"Not necessarily."
He organized his thoughts and said:
"Truly mastering Baroque Works isn't something that can be done overnight.
At best, I just caught Crocodile off guard by exploiting an information gap."
"Moreover, my goal isn't to take over a mess, but to build Baroque Works into something bigger, stronger, and more glorious—to make it a truly worldwide organization."
Upon hearing this, Robin raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.
"This process can't be done by me alone."
Ralph looked at her,
"It would be best to have a deputy like Miss Robin to help manage things."
Robin didn't answer immediately.
She remained silent for a few seconds, then asked a question:
"Crocodile used Baroque Works to realize his vision of Utopia—a powerful military nation, to help him seize the title of Pirate King."
Her gaze fixed directly on Ralph:
"So, Mr. Ralph, what ambition do you hope to achieve by controlling Baroque Works?"
Ambition.
The word made Ralph frown.
He hadn't really thought about this question carefully.
When he told Vivi he was the "former boss of Baroque Works," it was purely out of mischievous whimsy, and he just happened to take over Baroque Works for himself.
As for what to do after taking it over... he really hadn't thought too much about it.
He simply felt it was a shame to let a talented organization like Baroque Works fall apart.
All this effort was just a spur-of-the-moment idea.
As for ambition...
He didn't want to become the Pirate King.
He just wanted to be "the Pirate King's man."
And Lufia wasn't the naive type—a domineering CEO held little appeal for her.
Her affection for Ralph grew from fighting side by side, from companionship and support time and time again.
But since things had gone so smoothly and Baroque Works was almost in his grasp, wasn't it easy to set a goal?
"Still Utopia."
Ralph said.
Robin blinked.
"Though, a bit bigger than Crocodile's."
The light in Ralph's eyes grew brighter, as if he were envisioning a grand blueprint, "I want to turn this world into everyone's Utopia."
He turned to look into the distance, the breeze ruffling his short hair, "To give everyone the right to chase their dreams and make them come true."
Robin was stunned.
She looked at Ralph as if he were an alien.
"..."
She was uncharacteristically at a loss for words, "That's even more far-fetched than Crocodile's dream."
"It is a bit difficult."
Ralph smiled, "But that's what makes it worth pursuing."
He grew more animated as he spoke:
"Everyone gains freedom."
"Dreams collide, compete, and cooperate, and in the end, everyone seeks common ground while respecting differences, working together to build a better world."
"Isn't that much more interesting than one person dominating everything alone?"
Robin fell silent.
She suddenly understood a little why the meticulous Mr. Ralph liked that reckless Straw Hat Girl.
Deep down, they both shared a passionate and naive spirit.
Both harbored dreams that bordered on foolishness.
However, compared to the Straw Hat Girl's tendency to charge headfirst into situations, Mr. Ralph preferred more detailed plans and steps.
"If we want to change this world," Ralph continued, seemingly lost in his own musings, "first, we need a Pirate King."
Hearing this, Robin nodded.
She could follow this logic.
The Pirate King was a symbol of freedom, the most powerful person on the seas.
Legend said that becoming the Pirate King meant gaining everything in this world.
After becoming the Pirate King, changing the world wouldn't be impossible.
But... wait.
What did he mean by "first, we need a Pirate King"? What came next?
It seemed becoming the Pirate King wasn't the only condition.
"Second," Ralph's next words made Robin's pupils contract sharply, "make those damn noble World Nobles disappear."
Robin's fingers unconsciously tightened.
"As for the World Government..."
Ralph frowned, as if seriously considering a feasible plan, "even if we don't destroy and rebuild it, at the very least, it needs reform and reorganization."
He spoke faster and faster:
"And Imu, who stands above the World Government's Five Elders—that's the real key to the problem..."
Robin's body froze.
Imu.
That name—she had never heard it through any intelligence channels.
The Five Elders were already the highest authority in the World Government.
An existence that controlled even the Five Elders...
"Who..."
Her voice trembled slightly, "Is that?"
Ralph snapped back to reality.
He realized he had said too much again.
But the words were already out, impossible to take back.
Looking at Robin's shocked yet eager expression, he sighed.
Since he had already said it, he might as well say a little more.
"It happens to be related to the history you're researching."
Ralph said,
"800 years ago, during the Void Century, an alliance of 20 kingdoms fought a war against a Great Kingdom."
"In the end, the alliance of 20 kingdoms emerged victorious."
Robin held her breath.
"The royal families of the victors became the World Nobles."
"They established the World Government and became the rulers of this world."
"And the history of that 100-year war was completely erased by them."
"The truth of the war was concealed, the existence of the Great Kingdom was forgotten, and that period of history became the Void Century."
Ralph paused, looking into Robin's eyes:
"And Imu is the one who stands above the Five Elders—the true king of this world."
"I even suspect that he has achieved immortality and has lived from 800 years ago until now."
As his words fell, silence enveloped the surroundings.
Only the distant roars of Munch-Munch and the sound of collapsing buildings faintly reached them.
Robin remained motionless, like a statue.
Her pupils trembled violently, her lips slightly parted, but no sound escaped.
Her mind raced.
800 years ago.
The alliance of 20 kingdoms.
The Great Kingdom.
The origin of the World Nobles.
The erased truth of the Void Century.
The immortal king who stands above the Five Elders...
Countless questions surged in her mind like a flood bursting through a dam.
Each question gave rise to more, intertwining and colliding with one another, leaving her momentarily unsure where to begin.
Seeing her like this, Ralph felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Being able to make the usually calm and rational Nico Robin show such an expression was, in itself, an achievement.