Chapter 247: Two People About to Meet

"Hoo~" Recalling the past, Karl couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy. Back then, he had just thought the little beggar was pitiful; how could he have known the little beggar was Robin?

Besides, Robin had been very vigilant back then, never once saying her name, and she had been disheveled. How could Karl have recognized her?

"Heh, I thought that little beggar had died! Tsk tsk, I never expected her to be Robin..."

To be honest, if he hadn't seen the necklace on Robin's neck, he really wouldn't have recognized her as the little beggar from back then, let alone associate the little beggar with Robin.

So, did that mean he had had a chance to see Robin when he went to Alabasta for a friendly negotiation with Crocodile last time?

No, no, no, there shouldn't have been a chance. Crocodile would never have let the Child of the Devil be exposed to the Marines; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to cover it up even if he had ten lives.

"Robin probably doesn't recognize me now, right? Otherwise... well, I only knew her for less than a month, and 18 years have passed now."

Karl put Robin's photo into his system space, looked up at the distant sea, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

Meanwhile, the Going Merry.

Robin rested her chin on one hand, kneaded the necklace on her chest with the other, and looked at Luffy: "I have nowhere left to go, so, let me stay on the ship!"

Luffy nodded thoughtfully: "What? Oh, I see. Then there's nothing we can do. Sure!"

Everyone else: "Luffy!!!"

Luffy turned his head and grinned: "Don't worry! This person isn't a bad person."

Everyone present was speechless, except for Sanji, who swayed his body happily, shouting Move Move Like a lovesick fool: "Big sister! Big sister!"

The crew, led by Nami and Usopp, still didn't trust Robin, so they specifically set up an interrogation table, preparing to give Robin a good questioning.

Watching Robin use her powers to tease Luffy and Chopper, Usopp slammed the table: "Don't look around! Answer my questions honestly."

"I'll ask one more time, what is your name?" Then Usopp froze. It seemed better to state his own name before asking someone else's.

"Uh, well, my name is Usopp. Please treat me well."

"Nico Robin."

"Very well, Nico Robin. What is your profession?"

"Archaeologist."

Usopp looked at Robin in shock: "Archaeologist?"

That sounded so high-class!

"That's right. The family I was born into has been Move Move Like that for generations. I see, so that's your family background. And then?"

"I became an archaeologist, and then I was wanted by the World Government when I was 8 years old. For the 20 years since, I have lived my life hiding and fleeing."

"You started at 8? Have you been alone the whole time?"

Robin tucked her long black hair behind her ear and smiled slightly: "Although I say that, a child wouldn't be able to survive going to sea alone, right?"

"So, to protect myself, and as a means to achieve my goals, I have chosen to deal with various villains until now... well, that's about how it is."

After finishing, Robin couldn't help but look at the necklace on her chest, thinking to herself that, apart from that boy, he was probably the only person who had made her feel warmth since the Ohara incident.

It's just, she didn't know how he was doing now. He said he wanted to be a Marine, a messenger of justice to strike down pirates. Did he succeed?

It's a pity she had no way of knowing. There were too many Marines on this sea, and even though she had been active in the underworld, she rarely heard news about the Marines.

Soon, Robin relied on her extraordinary social skills to basically gain the trust of the Straw Hat crew. It could be considered a place to rest her feet...

The next morning.

"Caw?"

"Let's just patrol around this area! If nothing unexpected happens, they can only be sailing in this vicinity."

"Caw! (Got it!)"

Thus, the Raven began to gain altitude, patrolling the sea between Alabasta and Mock Town.

Pineapple Bread Island.

Nami, acting as "Captain," directed the others to collect resources while she took Sanji to survey the island. This left only Chopper and Robin on the ship, though Chopper seemed to have forgotten Robin was still on board.

After the others left, Chopper looked at the empty Merry, had a sudden whim, climbed onto the railing at the bow, raised his hooves high, and shouted heroically.

"Everyone listen up! From today on, I am Captain Chopper!"

"All crew members, look at me!"

Chopper raised his fist and roared fiercely: "Hey, Luffy, you are not allowed to eat other people's food!"

"Usopp, you better work seriously!"

"Sanji, make me something delicious!"

Then Chopper raised his hooves again and shouted swaggeringly: "Long live Captain Chopper! Long live!"

"Oh, oh, wait, wait, wait!" Losing his balance, Chopper frantically shook his hooves, trying to steady himself, and then...

He saw someone still under the mast, reading a book!

*Thump. Chopper was startled and fell into the lookout tower. After climbing up and confirming it again, Chopper's fur stood on end.

He rushed to Robin's side, who was reading, and said the bravest words in the most cowardly posture: "How, how long have you been here?"

"Sneaky, how despicable!"

"Listen, I don't trust you yet! You were an assassin under Baroque Works, sinister, vicious, and unforgivable. I will never accept you!!!"

"Even if Luffy thinks of you as a partner, I, I won't pay attention to you!" After saying this, Chopper rushed into the cabin and slammed the door shut, gasping for breath.

From beginning to end, Robin was just reading her book seriously, not saying a word.

"Hu-hu..."

Seeing that Robin didn't come over, Chopper felt much more relieved. It seemed this person was quite sensible! Then, Chopper began to make Rumble Balls.

But not long after, Robin walked in and poured herself some coffee. When Chopper discovered her, he immediately went into a stress response, swallowed a Rumble Ball, and began to change into various forms.

Robin didn't understand, but she was deeply shocked.

Watching Chopper's guarded look, Robin couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, you don't need to be that angry, do you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, four arms grew on Chopper's body, aiming right for his ticklish spot and scratching away.

"Hahaha!!! Hahaha! Stop! Hahaha, it's so itchy, stop it!"

Robin shook her head with a smile: "You're so cute! I Move Move Like you."

Chopper froze, a blush appearing on his face: "I, I'm cute?"

"Don't, don't joke around. Being called cute by you, I'm not happy at all!"