SWNOVELS
Chapter 134: Saving Nico Robin (1/2)
--- Chapter 134 ---
Three months after the Marineford War.
Portgas D. Ace, the Fire Fist.
Or now what people of the world have known as Gol D. Ace got executed by Admiral Akainu, Sakazuki.
This event even led to many surprises, such as the revelation that the Marine Hero Garp is the Revolutionary Leader's Father and Straw Hat's Grandfather.
One of the famous names also died in this battle.
Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, tragically passed away after an intense battle against the powerful marines and his former son/subordinate Blackbeard, which was "quickly." followed by Red Hair Pirate's interference to stop the war.
The world is too stunned to speak literally.
Even after three months, the news didn't calm down whatsoever.
...
...
Marineford, Fleet Admiral's office.
"Biri~ Biri~!"
"Yes, Sengoku here." A man picked up his Den Den Mushi.
"What? Is it true??"
"I see... I'll send Kizaru there."
Crunch!
A middle-aged man sat not far away from Sengoku. He was eating senbei(rice crackers) and enjoying his time in this office, staring at the ceiling mindlessly.
"Get out of my office, Garp. You have your job outside." Sengoku sighed while sitting in his seat. After the Marineford War, he was "greatly." injured after clashing with Whitebeard but still had to do his job nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Garp is getting his left arm sprained with some cracked bones. Though, he doesn't appear to be so injured.
"I don't wanna! Lazing around like this is always the best. Also, my left arm hasn't healed completely." Garp grinned, which caused Sengoku's mouth to twitch in annoyance.
Sengoku frowned and commented, "That's an excuse."
"Bahahaha~! You can tell, but my left arm hurts as hell. Ahh, if you forced me into work or a mission, I couldn't use it properly in the future!" Garp laughed while releasing a painful groan, which was obviously fake.
Sengoku rolled his eyes and said, "Nevermind, get that old bone of yours recovered."
Garp shrugged his left arm casually and asked, "So, why did you dispatch Kizaru? It's not so simple, right?"
Sengoku glanced over the window near him and recalled his brief conversation with people from East Blue's branch, specifically Tequila Wolf. The people there spotted the Devil Child(Akuma no Ko), Nico Robin.
Even though Tequila Wolf is somewhat outside of Marine's jurisdiction, Sengoku could still send people there to monitor if big-named criminals try to hide from the world.
It was an unpleasant area where slaves and criminals were "actually." sent to manual labor and repent for their mistakes, according to the World Government.
"Tequila Wolf..." Grap's face blackened slightly.
"That place is..."
Sengoku felt the gentle breeze through the window and returned, "I know, Garp. Don't even make me respond to the same things for years."
As the legendary figures of the Marine talked to each other, a piercing golden light traveled quickly on the horizon. It's Kizaru, who just received a Den Den Mushi massage from Sengoku.
"Hmm... Why was the Devil Child at Tequila Wolf out of all places?" Kizaru pondered in confusion. After all, the Straw Hat and his crewmates have gained attention lately, but hiding in Tequila Wolf is either a genius or a dumb decision.
"Oh, almost there." He tilted his head and saw a massive yet long bridge spanning the cold sea.
Kizaru landed on the bridge and walked around, experiencing gazes from the slaves here. He ignored them and searched over the prison chief, who governed this place.
Just a moment later, a man in thick clothes and a trapper hat walked over the snow to approach Kizaru.
"Ah, Kizaru-dono. What can I do for you?" He questioned with a small smile. It's barely visible.
Kizaru didn't mind the smile and responded, "Three months ago, have you noticed a suspicious prisoner who appeared to be a woman in her late twenties? She has black hair and slightly tanned skin."
Even with Observation Haki, it would be hard for Kizaru to spot a specific person in this crowd of prisoners.
The prison chief wondered briefly, calling over someone to fetch a document. "Please wait for a moment, Admiral." He said while offering Kizaru a comfortable place to talk.
Kizaru agreed to follow the prison chief and commented, "This place is quite cold, eh?"
Not far away from the conversing Admiral and prison chief, a woman in a prisoner outfit is moving out with scraps on her little shoulder. She heard the conversation and frowned because the Marine knew her location faster than expected.
Someone is being a snitch here, but who?
Nico Robin is a black-haired woman in her late twenties who wears a single-piece blue prison jumpsuit. However, her complexion has lightened over the past three months because of the cold weather in the Tequila Wolf.
'What should I do?' Robin thought while scanning around the area with her blue eyes. She could have used her Devil Fruit's power, but that will expose her even faster.b
With a plan in her mind, Robin brought the scraps to the recycle zone and spotted a familiar-looking child with a female prisoner. She stopped and hid in the alley, hearing the talk between the two.
"Soran, can you tell me more about this woman called Robin? You found her in the snow, right?" The female prisoner asked calmly.
"I'll give you chocolate candy if you tell me more about her."
Soran smiled and answered, "Sure."
'That woman, huh?' Robin sighed because Soran, the young girl who was never out of this damned place, is very naive about manipulation. She can't possibly blame the child for telling her information to others.
Meanwhile, at the prison chief's place, Kizaru received a book about the prisoner who recently joined the Tequila Wolf. The Admiral flipped through the page and noticed a black-haired woman.
"Bingo~!" Kizaru smiled in amusement.
"Spread your men to the city and notify me when someone notices her presence."
The prison chief nodded and replied, "Right away, Admiral!"
Just like that, over a hundred wardens are "instantly." sent to search for a woman called Nico Robin. To be fair. It's not hard to find her because the female-concentrated camp got separated from the men's one.
And Robin is not very stealthy with her appearance.
White snow and prison jumpsuits are hard to blend, even with shady weather like this in Tequila Wolf. Well, she doesn't have much choice in this situation.
Ten minutes later.
"There is she!"
"There is Nico Robin!"
"Chase her!!"
Robin ran from the alley and used her devil fruit's power to snap her chaser's legs. Robin has become softer after becoming the Straw Hat's pirate. In the past, she wouldn't hesitate to break someone's back and neck, killing them mercilessly.
"ARGHH!"
A row of painful groans in the area, but Robin didn't even bat an eye.
"There you are!" A voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Robin raised her arms to guard, but it was too late because a fast attack struck her stomach.
BAM!
Like a cannonball, Robin flew several meters away and even broke some houses. They were "firmly." built with wood and scraps from bridge construction, so the impact still makes her grit her teeth in pain.
"To have Admiral Kizaru himself chasing me to this remote place. What an honor." Robin coughed a few times, smiling with blood drips from her lips.
"Let me guess... You received a call from someone?" contemporary romance
"Oh?" Kizaru furrowed his brow. "No, not really. I'm here to check the source, but you are actually here. My quick trip isn't wasted, hehe."
Robin laughed and said, "You're lucky then."
"I am." The Admiral returned casually.
"It ends here, Devil Child."
A wave of light flew past the snow and approached Robin at an alarming rate. She could only trust her instinct in this matter.
"Thirty Flowers: Marigold!"
Robin created a copy of her arms, creating a shield formation to deflect or maybe defend against Kizaru's attack. It was pointless because she didn't have Armament Haki to resist the light wave.
BOOM!
Robin grunted in pain and created another batch of legs to wrap around Kizaru's legs, hoping it would stall him for a moment. She used her devil fruit's power and disappeared from Kizaru's view.
Flower petals scattered everywhere, leaving only a patch of blood where Robin had created her shield.
"Haha, Rat." He chuckled while jumping to the sky. He could see Robin desperately running away from him. He flicked his fingers, sending laser beams toward Robin.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Robin dodged skillfully and went to complex paths with a roof above, limiting Kizaru's sight on her. He might be able to use Observation Haki, but there should be a limit.
She breathed heavily and mumbled, "My injuries are worse than I imagined. Kizaru damages not only the majority of my left ribs but also my right arm."
"I can't escape smoothly..."
Robin stopped inside a factory to melt scraps and new-brought steel from outside, finding Soran on the corner too.
"What are you doing here, Soran?" She was alarmed and panicked.
Soran tilted her head and answered, "Um, I'm playing hide and seek with big sister olive."
"That woman..." Robin was speechless. Olive is probably away from this place and reported everything to someone related to the outside world.
It is not good.
Even Nami, one of her crewmates, wasn't this cruel.
"Yata no Kagami."
A blinding light reflected from a flat mirror inside the factory, causing Robin's eyes to widen in shock because the attack covered Soran and her.
"100 Flowers: Vajra's Mask." Robin lunged toward Soran and hugged the child tightly. One hundred arms formed behind her and merged into a mask-like shield.
BOOM!
Her skin was burning from the extreme light, searing like hot flesh under the sun.
"R-Robin, are you okay?" Soran blinked her eyes.
Robin forced a smile and replied, "Yes, Soran. I'm alright."
"Aih, what trouble. Did you shield a prisoner with your body? Is this your goodwill, Devil Child: Nico Robin?" Kizaru walked into the factory like it was Saturday morning.
"Don't worry. I wouldn't kill you here. After all, I got instructed to catch you alive."
They are staring at each other. Robin is solemn, while Kizaru is very casual about everything. He even has a bored look plastered on his face.
"What is this? Bullying a lady and a child is not gentleman-like, you know." An unknown voice suddenly appeared.
Kizaru was alarmed because he couldn't feel this person's presence as a blue-haired young man appeared from the shadows. He squinted his eyes and felt something weird.
His instinct told him to retreat for some reason.
"Hmm, who are you?" Kizaru frowned slightly.
Huo Yuhao smiled and answered, "Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow."
"Huh??"
Everyone was confused because they had never heard such a name.
Even the contracted souls inside Huo Yuhao were speechless when hearing a random ass name come from this shameless young man's mouth.
'Oy, Oy. Who is this Jack Sparrow you were talking about, huh? You have too many secret identities at this point, young man!' Tian Meng complained while picking up popcorn.
Bing Di stole the popcorn and shouted, 'Is this guy powerful, Yuhao? Not this funny guy in a yellow suit-! I mean the Jack Sparrow Guy.'
'Captain Jack Sparrow.' Eluxia pressed the name for Bing Di.
'Also, this funny-looking clown somehow has the power of Light Concept within his body. It has something to do with foreign will inside his soul.'
Huo Yuhao ignored the contracted souls and added, "What's the matter? Never heard my name?"
"What..." Kizaru was confused even more.
"Walk away, Kid. I'll forget your confusing acts just now."
"Damn, the PPAP guy just called me Kid." Huo Yuhao cursed in this situation. "Anyway, I don't wanna, old man."
"This woman is my priority when coming here."
"Well, You're dying now!!!" Kizaru moved so fast and appeared before Huo Yuhao, lifting his leg and imbuing it with light. He kicked the blue-haired young man quickly.
SWOOSH!
Huo Yuhao yawned and placed his palm down, covering it with Armament Haki.
POOF!
The attack was "completely." nullified. And the force behind the kick got erased by Huo Yuhao's palm.
Huo Yuhao's shoe moved a little as he transferred the wave into the ground below him. It's the Gathering of Ten Thousand Waves' basic technique, which absorbs and redirects.
Huo Yuhao struck Kizaru's stomach with his palm and said, "Ripple: Chapter Two." f reewe b
"Small Tsunami."
The wave within Huo Yuhao swirled rapidly and flowed into his palm, sending a powerful shockwave that blew Kizaru away to the factory's wall and the sky.
The icy clouds parted, revealing sunlight for the first time in seven hundred years. A massive palm-like hole appeared on the factory's wall, causing sizzling iron noise.
BOOM!
"Well, he's quite durable. My current 10% isn't enough." Huo Yuhao commented while turning around.
Robin is watching him in awe. She observed the blue-haired young man before her with an amazed gaze. His otherworldly appearance and royal blue eyes are just too bizarre. No, she meant beautiful.
"Eat this." Huo Yuhao gently fed her with Senzu Bean.
"It will recover your injury."
"W-We have to run!" Robin swallowed the Senzu Bean. Instead of checking her healed arms, she told Huo Yuhao to run.
"He will come back in a second!"
"Hah, He wouldn't come back." Huo Yuhao chuckled wryly.
"My companion is waiting for him outside."
"Your companion??" Robin noticed a buxom lady in a somewhat lewd outfit standing outside the factory.
...
Cough!
"Damn!"
"That hurts." Kizaru choked on air and clutched his stomach, feeling his entire body shaken by the unknown young man's attack.
Who is this guy?
He looked down and saw a purple-haired woman in a weird-looking outfit waiting for him with her sword. He descended to the ground and faced the unknown woman.
"Are you his companion?" He questioned while charging his attack.
"Oh my~! C-Companion? I-I don't think we are at such a stage yet, but I don't dislike it~!" Raikou blushed while rubbing her warm cheeks.
"Hmph! Don't think because your small praise to me will save your demise."
"This servant shall prove its worthiness to my honey~!" Raikou pouted adorably while pointing her katana at Kizaru. This fight will be one of the most shocking news after the Marineford War, The appearance of two demons.