Chapter 201: Robin

"How are you helping me?"

Kobra raised his head, and the fatigue and anxiety in his eyes were instantly suppressed, replaced by a gaze heavy with inquiry.

Unlike those beside him—Jaka and Bell—and indeed the vast majority of people in this kingdom.

As monarch of the nation, he had never truly believed in Crocodile before him.

Even though Crocodile had spent years in this country, diligently combating pirates and earned the approval of nearly everyone.

But Crocodile was still a pirate—a pirate of extreme power and extreme danger—and the likelihood of such a man suddenly repenting was vanishingly low.

Yet, as Crocodile had said, he now had no other choice.

"Or rather…"

"Lord Crocodile, what is it you truly seek by coming to this nation?"

"To create a utopia."

"To create a utopia in a nation choked by sandstorms, barren and riddled with suffering?"

Kobra's tone carried an unmistakable hint of sarcasm, but Crocodile's next words left him instantly silent.

"Is it not more meaningful to transform such a nation into a utopia?"

Kobra immediately exhaled in relief:

"Can I trust you?"

"That depends on your choice."

"Then take care of Vivi—bring her back to me."

"Understood."

…

Several minutes later.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Amid a steady rhythm of footsteps, Crocodile slowly walked out of the palace, leaving only his back to Kobra.

Outside the palace.

Crocodile gazed toward the distant Alabasta capital, Alubarna.

The sky was dark, choked by howling winds that whipped up bone-dry dust, nearly blotting out all sunlight.

The roads held no pedestrians whatsoever.

In such a place, survival itself was a struggle—how could this ever be a utopia?

Huh—!

A plume of smoke exhaled from Crocodile's mouth, and his expression twisted into something monstrous in that instant.

He did not consider himself someone who sought trouble; he had even willingly secluded himself for years in this barren kingdom of Alabasta, all for the sake of the mythical Pluton, which most deemed a phantom.

But when trouble came to his doorstep, he had no lack of resolve to eradicate it utterly.

Cruelty and ruthlessness were mandatory lessons for every pirate.

They were also essential qualities for surviving in a world where only the strong ruled.

Crocodile, of course, had no shortage of either.

"Knight Gao Wen kidnapped the Alabasta Princess, failed to extort, and murdered her on the spot—Marine Warlord Crocodile intervened and repelled him."

"Isn't that the script you also wish to see?"

"Knight Gao Wen!"

…

Several days later.

Grand Line.

The repaired Raven, far more reliable than Gao Wen had anticipated.

The voyage proceeded smoothly.

Yet the sights within Alabasta were far from pleasant.

They had passed through multiple towns, all without exception abandoned, devoid of life.

Even the rare surviving souls they encountered were yellow-skinned, emaciated, nearly dehydrated, barely clinging to life.

Vivi stood on deck, her gaze fixed on the town of Wada they had just passed, lips tightly pressed.

The city was almost entirely buried under yellow sand; only a few towering structures remained to hint at its former grandeur.

"Originally, even in drought and poverty, the people of this nation could barely survive."

"This level of drought is not natural."

Miss Kalifa appeared beside Vivi without warning, frowning as she stared at the town of Wada they had just passed:

"Dance Powder?"

"It draws clouds from surrounding areas to increase rainfall in one region, at the cost of making adjacent regions even drier, creating a vicious cycle."

"Such a thing should have been banned long ago."

"I heard before that King Kobra of Alabasta was punished by the World Government for abusing Dance Powder."

"No!"

Vivi's eyes reddened as she argued:

"I know my father—he starved himself to save even a scrap of food for his people; how could he ever use such a dangerous banned substance?"

"It was Crocodile—I saw his men transporting Dance Powder himself—he is the one responsible for destroying these towns!"

In the course of conversation.

Vivi's attention was fixed on Gao Wen in the distance.

But she only saw the latter cast a glance over Wada City with an indifferent expression, then show no further reaction.

A wave of disappointment welled up inside her.

During the time on the ship, Vivi's movements had not been overly restricted.

She had already grown familiar with Chopper, Nami, and the others—not quite companions, but certainly friends.

Naturally, she had also come to learn of Gao Wen's past.

A man whose forbidden love with Wang Fei was exposed, who became an outlaw, a pirate with a heart of righteousness, who had even once stepped in to rescue Nami and Chopper's hometown from suffering.

Originally, Vivi had held expectations of Gao Wen, but now those expectations were gradually falling through.

The hope of saving Alabasta, of saving its people, would ultimately have to rest on her own shoulders.

She let out a sigh.

Unable to bear the scene before her any longer, she turned and retreated into the ship's cabin.

……

Gao Wen naturally saw Vivi's reaction, but for him it still came back to that same point.

Without sufficient profit, striking directly at Xiang Keluo would only land him in a quagmire.

If things went badly, even the skin of a Warlord would be stripped from him.

By then, given the combat strength and latent ability Gao Wen had already revealed, the opponents he would face would most likely be of admiral-level.

Though it wouldn't be impossible to escape, the trouble would certainly be considerable.

It was purely out of rational judgment—Gao Wen had no reason to act.

But when he saw the white bones among the yellow sand, he still felt a fire burning in his chest.

These people didn't have to die.

The World Government extorted and plundered, pirates sucked the marrow from the bone—for ordinary people like these, survival was already hard enough.

But even when the environment for survival was already so harsh, there were still people who, for their own purposes, destroyed these people's last space to live without a moment's hesitation.

In this world, human lives truly were as cheap as weeds.

Who cares about their lives?

Dalton cares, Vivi cares, Cobra cares too—but these people don't have the ability to change the status quo……

At this moment.

Gao Wen only felt a stone lodged in his chest.

He simply went back to his room, but the blade at his waist kept emitting a hum.

Restless and uneasy.

……

Several days later.

The Crow slowly docked at a small coastal town.

The fresh water on the ship was nearly used up, and with no corresponding seawater purification device, Gao Wen planned to replenish their fresh water here.

But when they arrived at the town, they discovered—

It was already desolate. The river flowing into the sea had dried up, and at a glance one could even see several withered corpses half-buried in the yellow sand.

The dead still kept the struggling postures they had in life.

But this was a coastal town!

It ought to have been bustling, enough to serve as a nation's transportation hub.

It could lack anything, but it should never lack water. For it to have fallen to this state could only be due to external forces.

And the specific reason, Gao Wen understood as well.

At this instant, the Guanshi Zhengzong at Gao Wen's waist once again emitted bursts of humming; the trembling of the blade had reached a level visible to the naked eye.

"Gao Wen……"

Xiang Keluo glanced at the Guanshi Zhengzong at Gao Wen's waist and could not help but speak.

As the first to follow Gao Wen, and the de facto second-in-command of the pirate crew, he was almost the person on this ship who understood Gao Wen's temperament best.

He knew that although Gao Wen spoke of profit first, and could even make the most self-interested judgment based on the situation.

But he also knew.

Gao Wen had a heart more capable than anyone else of empathizing with the weak, of empathizing with ordinary people.

If he didn't know Gao Wen's past.

He would almost have thought Gao Wen had lived through such a life himself.

A life like weeds in the wind, like yellow sand covering the ground, like ants carelessly crushed by the roadside.

As the second-in-command.

His duty should have been to remind Gao Wen to prioritize profit.

Fighting another Warlord for these ordinary people—win or lose—would not be worth it.

But the words that came out of his mouth were:

"Whatever you do, I'll support you."

Gao Wen did not reply immediately, and said:

"Let's go down and take a look."

A few minutes later.

A ruined, desolate small town entered everyone's view.

The surrounding buildings had long fallen into ruin; only in a corner did a bar still keep its lights on.

"There are still people in this godforsaken place?"

Gao Wen paused briefly, then strode inside.

Creak~!

The bar's main door swung open.

Contrary to expectations, the interior furnishings were brand-new; even a gramophone was playing classical music.

Piled atop the storage cabinets were not the usual assortment of fine liquors found in bars, but books—some ancient and worn, others so new they still carried the scent of printing ink.

"Care for a drink?"

"Mr. Gao Wen."

Gao Wen snapped his gaze toward the counter.

It was empty.

Only a connected Den Den Mushi stood there, its voice emanating from the receiver.

"You are..."

"You may call me Miss All Sunday!"

Gao Wen paused briefly, yet a familiar face surfaced in his mind.

Tall, intellectual, with a faint, warm smile forever lingering at the corners of her lips...

Nico Robin.

Her codename during her time in Baroque Works was precisely Miss All Sunday.

As the sole surviving descendant of Ohara, Robin was also one of the few remaining individuals in this world capable of deciphering the Poneglyphs.

Gao Wen held little interest in the so-called great treasure, One Piece.

Yet he greatly coveted that buried history, or rather, the unimaginable technology of the Ancient Kingdom.

After all, even Vegapunk, the smartest man of this era, made his greatest contribution not through invention, but through archaeology.

More than eighty percent of the technology appearing on Future Island originated from the Ancient Kingdom buried in history, while even more technology remained hidden within the annals of time.

Robin possessed the ability to unearth it!

Such a person, though not within Gao Wen's original expectations, was nonetheless worthy of his favor.

After all, Robin's own combat strength was far from weak; in the later stages, placed within the Marines, she would at least be capable of serving as a Vice Admiral.

Converted into the system's scoring, that equated to Silver-tier potential.

"Is that so?"

A faint smile curved Gao Wen's lips:

"As a high-ranking member of Baroque Works, hiding your head and tail like this hardly befits a major figure."

"Ara ara~"

Robin's voice carried a hint of 'just as expected'; she spoke softly:

"For a major figure such as a Warlord of the Sea, one ought to show at least basic awe; I certainly do not believe I could easily escape before you~"

"However, from the moment you left Whiskey Peak, you were already targeted by another Warlord of the Sea~"

"Crocodile?"

The other end of the receiver fell abruptly silent; only after several breaths did Robin continue:

"It seems my worries were superfluous~"

"Nevertheless."

"I must still remind you: even among the Warlords of the Sea, there are differences."

"Twenty years ago, Crocodile was already comparable to monsters like Barrett; just how powerful he is now, no one knows."

"Is that so?"

Gao Wen smiled faintly:

"Why help me?"

"Who knows?"

On the other end of the line.

Robin lounged lazily against the sofa, holding the Den Den Mushi in one hand and Gao Wen's bounty poster in the other, her eyes bearing an indescribable expression.

She murmured:

"Perhaps I simply wish to see whether the man hailed as the most benevolent in the East Blue will, at the critical moment of life and death, reveal the ugliest aspect of human nature."

"After all, I have encountered far too many men who boast of justice and virtue."

"Yet without exception, those were vile disguises, mere skins worn over the body; once peeled away, nothing remained but filth and ugliness."

"There is something wrong with Rapeseed Flower Port."

"Hm?!"

Just as Gao Wen intended to press further, the Den Den Mushi was hung up.

Beep beep beep—!

"Interesting."

A faint smile curved Gao Wen's lips.

Recalling Robin's image and mindset from his memories, even without obtaining an answer directly from her, he had basically determined the reason for her actions.

"While constantly witnessing the filth of the human heart, does she also yearn for that sliver of beauty?"

"This woman may not be trustworthy."

Xiang Keluo, having entered at some unknown moment, sat beside Gao Wen and could not help but speak:

"If we fail to hand over the person at the agreed time and Cobra, in a panic, requests aid from the World Government, we will instead find ourselves at a disadvantage."

"No."

Gao Wen shook his head:

"Cobra won't."

"Alabasta harbors too many secrets; generation after generation has guarded the Poneglyphs, things that cannot see the light of day."

"Unless truly driven to the brink of survival and extinction, King Cobra would absolutely never take the initiative to request aid from the World Government or the Marines."

"Then regarding this woman..."

"If you were Crocodile, what would you do?"

Xiang Keluo fell into deep thought for a moment; myriad pieces of information swirled in his mind as he gradually placed himself in Crocodile's position.

A few breaths later.

His eyes lit up; the myriad information in his mind had been sorted out:

"According to your earlier statement, that fellow is plotting to obtain Pluton in Alabasta."

"Once the World Government discovers this matter, nothing awaits him but relentless pursuit, and he will inevitably lose the cover of being a Warlord of the Sea."

"Vivi's suspicion of him increases the likelihood of his plan being exposed."

"Viewed this way, the assassination attempt Vivi previously encountered at Whiskey Peak was most likely Crocodile's doing."

"But now the situation has become complicated, because whether intentionally or unintentionally, in his eyes we have already interfered in this matter."

"The safest course of action..."

"... is to make Vivi disappear along with us; he could even use this to pin all the blame on us, thereby further gaining Cobra's trust."

"After all, on the surface, we are truly holding Vivi hostage and demanding ransom from Alabasta."

(End of Chapter)