After leaving empty-handed, the colonel standing on the warship's deck felt that something wasn't quite right the more he thought about it.
The reason he had chosen to leave so decisively earlier was entirely because of what Arashi had displayed—an almost flawless mastery of Geppo and Soru from the Marine Six Powers.
Someone capable of training the Six Powers to that level was, at the very least, a Marine officer of Rear Admiral rank or above—or a core member of some combat division within the World Government.
So after confirming that there was nothing unusual aboard Arashi's ship, he had withdrawn.
But after leaving, the unease only grew stronger.
After thinking it through carefully, he finally pinpointed the problem.
The problem… was that maid.
He felt that the maid looked extremely familiar. Although her face had been partially obscured by her hair at the time, the sense of familiarity lingered strongly.
But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't remember where he had seen that face before.
"No, this won't do!"
Unable to shake the feeling, the colonel finally couldn't hold back anymore and decisively chose to turn back and take another look.
Just as he issued the order—
"Buru Buru~"
The Den Den Mushi beside him suddenly rang.
"Brother Bell, you there?"
Hearing the voice coming from the Den Den Mushi, Colonel Bell's head instantly throbbed. He picked it up irritably and replied, "No."
"Hahaha, Bell, you sound pretty fired up! Did some criminal slip through your fingers or something?"
"A criminal…?"
Bell's pupils suddenly shrank, his expression turning alarmed.
"Not good… that woman just now—she might be Nico Robin! Yes, it must be her! Damn it, that man actually dared—"
"Hey, hey, Bell, what are you talking about? Sounds like you're really worked up! If things are boring in the West Blue, come over to the East Blue and hang out. Smoker just got transferred from headquarters not long ago—if you come, the two of you can form quite the troublemaker duo!"
"Smoker, I need to ask you something…"
Bell quickly composed himself and said seriously, "I may have just encountered the Devil of Ohara—Nico Robin."
"Oh? If it's in the West Blue, that's not unusual."
The one speaking with Bell was none other than the Loguetown Marine colonel—Smoker. The two had been in the same batch at headquarters. Though they now served under different vice admirals, they still kept in occasional contact.
"I'm not completely sure," Bell admitted, clearly agitated. "I'm about to head back to confirm."
"Bell, if it really is Nico Robin and I manage to capture her… do you think I'll get promoted several ranks? Just thinking about it is exciting!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Bell. If it really were Nico Robin, do you think she'd still be there waiting for you to come back?"
"She wasn't alone."
Bell hesitated briefly, then recounted everything that had just happened at sea.
But when Smoker heard the name "Traveler Arashi," he nearly dropped the Den Den Mushi in shock.
"Bell… say that again. Are you sure that traveler's name is Arashi?"
Smoker knew Arashi had already left Loguetown to continue his journey.
But he never imagined that Arashi would appear in the West Blue so quickly.
Traveling to the West Blue wasn't the issue.
The problem was how fast he had gone from the East Blue to the West Blue—that was the truly shocking part.
"Yes. He said his name is Arashi, a traveler. And the ship he's on is indeed called the Traveler. So when he said that woman was his hired maid, I didn't investigate further…"
Bell sighed. "More importantly, after seeing him use the Six Powers, I subconsciously assumed he must be either a Marine or someone from a government intelligence organization."
"The… Six Powers?"
Smoker's eyes lit up.
Could it be… that Mr. Arashi is actually part of a secret government division?
That would explain why he appeared in the East Blue as a traveler—to supervise Marine conduct. And if he belongs to such an organization, then crossing the Calm Belt or entering the West Blue via the Red Line would be completely plausible.
Thinking this, Smoker suppressed his excitement and said:
"Bell, Mr. Arashi previously appeared in the East Blue. A large part of the reason I was transferred there to clean up Marine corruption… was because of him."
"Now that he's appeared in the West Blue as a traveler, you'd better be careful."
"Most importantly, both Vice Admiral Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku hope that he'll join the Marines—but he refused. At the time, I thought he just didn't like restrictions. But now it seems… he must have another identity!"
"What?!"
Bell's eyes widened instinctively.
So this man really does have an extraordinary background… could he actually be from some secret government organization?
If that were the case, then it made perfect sense that he would take Nico Robin away—after all, she was a criminal directly wanted by the World Government.
After a brief silence, Bell stopped overthinking it and said, "Thanks for the reminder, Smoker. I nearly made a serious mistake. When we meet at headquarters, drinks are on me!"
After ending the call, Bell picked up his binoculars and looked at the faint silhouette of the Traveler in the distance.
Although he still wanted to confirm whether that woman was truly Nico Robin, recalling Smoker's words—
He ultimately held himself back.
This mysterious traveler had gone to the East Blue, and the Marines there were suddenly reformed.
Now that he had appeared in the West Blue…
Bell had no intention of becoming the unlucky Marine officer who crossed his path.
Inside the Traveler's cabin—
Robin's entire face was flushed red.
She had never imagined that the "punishment" Arashi spoke of… would be spanking.
Although she was grateful that Arashi had helped her deceive the Marines—
This was just too outrageous!
That kind of punishment was for children who made mistakes, wasn't it?!
She was already seventeen or eighteen years old, and yet… he was still doing this!!!
Does this man… have some kind of strange hobby?
The more she thought about it, the more horrified she became.
Originally, she thought that after fooling the Marines, she would finally be safe.
But after seeing Arashi's smile, she suddenly had the absurd feeling that—
She would rather be captured by the Marines than fall into his hands.
Did she… run into… a pervert?
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