At eight that evening, the group split up earlier gathered again and, led by Rowan, headed for Nico Robin's villa.
The villa was already lit up, so it looked like Robin had returned.
Knock knock knock…
Rowan knocked a few times. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Nico Robin herself stood there.
"Hey, you're back," Rowan said, raising a hand in greeting.
Robin swept her gaze over the group, stepped aside, and said with a smile, "Come in."
Rowan, Tsunade, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, and Shizune filed inside one after another.
Robin led them into the living room and gestured toward the sofas. "Sit wherever you like."
Rowan said with a smile, "You probably recognize all of them already, so I don't need to make introductions, right?"
Robin nodded. "I'm Nico Robin. A pleasure to meet you all."
The others greeted her in turn and replied that the pleasure was theirs.
Orochimaru in particular, when he said it, kept his golden snake-like eyes fixed on Robin. It wasn't that he was attracted to her—he was simply greedy for her body.
She was the first Devil Fruit user he had ever met in person. If he could, he'd love to tie her down on an operating table and thoroughly study her body.
Robin knew exactly what kind of person Orochimaru was and smiled faintly. "Please don't look at me like that, Mr. Orochimaru. You're making me nervous."
"My apologies. How rude of me."
Orochimaru withdrew his gaze. Robin knew Rowan, which meant she was very likely Rowan's friend. There was no way he would offend Rowan over a single woman. That wouldn't serve his interests.
Robin said, "I understand what you want, Mr. Orochimaru. If you're willing to share the results with me, then I don't mind giving you a little of my blood."
She knew very well what Orochimaru was capable of. When it came to researching the human body, he was absolutely a top-class expert.
If he really could unlock the secrets of Devil Fruits, she wouldn't be stingy over a little blood.
"Really?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
Not getting Robin herself was a pity, but getting her blood was still good enough.
Tobirama was tempted too, but he said nothing. As long as Orochimaru got the blood, he could still take part in the research, so there was no need for him to ask Robin directly.
Robin smiled and pulled out a test tube of blood she had already prepared, handing it to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's tongue shot out in an instant, wrapped around the tube, and snapped back. Then, with a gulp, he swallowed the whole tube into his stomach.
It looked a little disgusting, but to Orochimaru, that was the best storage method.
Robin's expression didn't change. She shifted her gaze away from Orochimaru and looked at Rowan instead.
"Rowan, do you remember what I said when we parted last time?"
Rowan nodded. "You said you were going to prepare a surprise for me."
"That's right."
Robin placed both hands in front of her chest and activated her ability.
Arms began sprouting from the floor one after another, extending all the way to a room upstairs.
A box was passed down through hundreds of arms and eventually placed in front of Rowan.
"This is the surprise I prepared for you. Open it."
Rowan's eyes flickered. He reached out with his right hand and opened the box.
Inside was an apple.
But its surface was covered in ring-shaped spiral patterns like little doughnuts.
The moment Rowan saw it, he recognized it as a Devil Fruit.
And not just any Devil Fruit—a man-made one.
If it was a man-made Devil Fruit that Nico Robin considered a surprise, then there was only one possibility.
The Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Azure Dragon.
The pink one.
That's right—the very Devil Fruit Vegapunk had dismissed as a failure.
"How did you get this?" Rowan asked curiously, picking up the artificial Devil Fruit.
That fruit should have been in a laboratory on Punk Hazard in the second half of the Grand Line—the New World.
And Robin was currently in Alabasta, in the first half of the Grand Line, Paradise.
Unless Robin had learned how to fly, there was no way she could have crossed the Red Line and gotten this fruit in just a few days.
Faced with Rowan's question, Robin smiled and gave her answer.
"The Revolutionary Army."
After parting ways with Rowan last time, Robin returned to the One Piece world, got hold of a way to contact the Revolutionary Army, and reached their leader, Dragon.
"I know your headquarters is in Baltigo, the Land of White Soil."
The moment Robin opened with that sentence, Dragon broke out in a cold sweat.
Although the Revolutionary Army saw Robin as the light of the revolution, because of everything she had gone through, they had no plans to approach her for the time being.
But before they could make a move, Robin called them herself and immediately named their headquarters.
It was terrifying.
Not just Dragon—every revolutionary present broke into a sweat.
Even Sabo, the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command, shot to his feet on the spot.
Fortunately, Dragon steadied himself and replied, "Miss Nico Robin, I assume you didn't call just to threaten us."
"Of course not."
Robin said calmly, "I'm calling to cooperate with you, Mr. Dragon. Just like you, I want to overthrow the World Government and save the world. That makes us natural allies."
Then she briefly explained how the world was going to sink beneath the sea, and how the only way to save it was to overthrow the Celestial Dragons and move everyone to the Red Line.
By the time Dragon finished listening, his clothes had gone from soaked to dry to soaked again. The cold sweat never stopped. He was sweating hard enough to earn the title of king of sweat.
"Miss Nico Robin, that's only your side of the story. How am I supposed to know any of it is true?"
Robin smiled faintly, then began listing the identities, body types, distinguishing traits, and abilities of the Revolutionary Army's commanders.
Including Dragon's own identity.
The son of Monkey D. Garp.
The father of Monkey D. Luffy.
She also revealed who Sabo had been before losing his memory: the sworn brother of Luffy and Ace.
That led Sabo to recover his memories ahead of schedule, confirming that Robin was telling the truth.
At that moment, Dragon felt as though the Revolutionary Army was completely transparent in Robin's eyes.
If information like that ever reached the World Government, it would be enough to deal the Revolutionary Army a devastating blow.
"So," Robin asked, "do you still doubt my information?"
"I wouldn't dare."
Dragon forced out an awkward laugh. At that moment, Nico Robin seemed unfathomably mysterious to him.
~~~
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