Chapter 93: Secretary Robin Comes Online
“Ho ho ho—I never would have thought.”
“The famous Heavenly Disaster Kain would actually perform such a good deed as saving people.”
A slow, somewhat weathered voice came from the lighthouse entrance.
An old man, with his hair styled into an exaggerated saffron shape and wearing round-rimmed glasses, slowly stepped out.
He wore a flashy pink shirt, casual light blue shorts, and sandals, and aside from the giant syringe he carried on his shoulder, he looked like a retired beach enthusiast.
“Didn’t the Roger Pirates, whom the World Government calls the embodiment of evil, do similar things?”
Kain looked at the old man with interest and retorted, “Am I right, Mr. Crocus, Doctor of the Roger Pirates?”
Everyone was stunned at first, then they all shouted, “?! !!”
Roger Pirates?
Was it the Roger they knew?
But why was the Pirate King’s Doctor here?!
“Pfft, I never thought that young people nowadays would still remember an old fossil like me.”
Crocus pushed his round-rimmed glasses, his gaze lingering on Kain’s face for a moment, and sighed, “I thought that after all these years, there were only two young people left who remembered my identity.”
Shanks and Buggy, right.
Kain understood.
Boom!
Before Crocus finished speaking, the sea, which had just calmed, suddenly surged violently again.
At the same time, the ground beneath their feet also vibrated noticeably.
Crocus’s brows instantly furrowed, and the leisurely expression on his face vanished: “I’m not chatting with you anymore.”
Before he finished speaking, he had already shot towards the shore like an arrow from a bowstring, leaping into the sea with an agile posture completely unsuited to his age. His speed was so fast that he only left a blur on their retinas, disappearing into the waves in an instant.
Violet looked at the splashing water and murmured, “Now I believe he was a member of the Pirate King’s crew.”
At that age, with that swimming speed, the old man was definitely not an ordinary person when he was young.
“It’s decided!” Yamato’s eyes lit up, and she excitedly clenched her fists, “I want to fight him! A member of the Pirate King’s crew must be super strong!”
Kain sighed, rubbing his forehead: “Yamato, don’t bully old people. Mr. Crocus is the Doctor, not a combatant.”
He was really afraid that Yamato, on a whim, would send Crocus directly to Roger with a single swing of her club.
“Th-that…”
A weak voice broke the slightly chaotic situation.
Robin took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and looked at Kain, speaking quickly, “Lord Kain, I’m really not a princess, just a helpless orphan, completely not what you’re interested in.”
“I will definitely find a way to repay your life-saving grace. May I leave now?”
Kain’s face darkened, and he glared fiercely at Violet again.
You’ve ruined my reputation.
He turned to Robin, and under her hopeful gaze, he shook his head.
“Nico Robin.” Kain’s voice was calm and clear: “The sole survivor of Ohara, the archaeological holy land, the Demon Child with a bounty of 79 million Berries…”
As Kain gradually revealed her identity, Robin’s face grew paler and paler, and her body trembled involuntarily.
Her last shred of hope was shattered.
She was now utterly certain that Kain was after the forbidden knowledge in her mind.
Robin felt bitter inside.
Because she knew that knowing Kain’s purpose would not help her situation in the slightest.
Just as Kain said, the weak have no right to choose.
“It’s me, Lord Kain.” Robin lowered her head, as if resigned to her fate.
In front of this man, denial and resistance were futile.
Kain nodded in satisfaction: “Then, join me. I need your abilities.”
Just as I thought—
The last spark in Robin’s eyes dimmed, leaving only deep disappointment and self-mockery.
Since escaping Ohara, every person who had extended a “Helping Hand” to her ultimately had only one goal.
To decipher the Poneglyphs and help them seize the One Piece.
“I am willing to decipher the Poneglyphs for you.”
Robin spoke these words that she had repeated countless times.
Only before, she still had confidence that she could escape their control with her intelligence and Berry abilities.
But this time, her clever mind told her to accept her fate.
“No, no, no.”
Kain, however, suddenly extended his index finger and gently shook it in front of her: “I made it very clear, what I want is your abilities.”
“As for the knowledge about the Poneglyphs in your head?”
He paused, his tone carrying an unexpected, almost dismissive casualness that completely surprised Robin: “They are worthless to me.”
Huh?!
Robin looked up in surprise: “Lord Kain, you—you don’t need me to decipher the Poneglyphs?”
Kain grinned, his smile full of confidence: “For the Poneglyphs, I have someone more professional than you to decipher them.”
Then, under Robin’s bewildered gaze, Kain turned to look at Kozuki Hiyori, who had a long sword at her waist.
“Hiyori, show our new friend the special language you learned from your grandfather Sukiyaki.”
Since he knew that the Poneglyphs were carved by the ancestors of the Kozuki family, and that the Kozuki family had always passed down the knowledge of deciphering the Poneglyphs, Kain naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.
He had already sent Hiyori to learn from Sukiyaki.
“Yes, Lord Kain.”
Kozuki Hiyori, though a little confused, still nodded obediently.
She cleared her throat, and then a string of ancient, obscure, and uniquely syllabic language flowed from her mouth like a chant.
Robin’s pupils suddenly constricted.
It was as if a bomb had been dropped into her brain.
Although she couldn’t fully understand the meaning of every word Hiyori uttered, the scattered phrases and unique grammatical structure were clearly the ancient language that had been lost for eight hundred years.
Even Dr. Clover, the director of the Ohara Library of All Knowledge, couldn’t use that ancient language so fluently—the scholars of Ohara had indeed deciphered the ancient language, but knowing their meaning didn't mean knowing their pronunciation.
The scholars could only try to restore the pronunciation of the ancient language based on various materials, but before they made breakthrough progress, they encountered the Buster Call.
At this moment, Robin finally completely understood the source of Kain’s confidence.
“But—since you don’t need my knowledge? Why?” Robin asked.
She knew very well that her greatest value was deciphering the Poneglyphs.
“I need a capable secretary, and coincidentally, you fit my aesthetic.”
Kain shrugged, throwing out an answer that completely baffled Robin.
“Just, just like that?”
“If you think the reason isn’t sufficient, you can also understand it as—I don’t want those other ambitious guys to get you.”
Kain’s lips curved into a playful smile.
This reason was very sufficient, but Robin’s heart instinctively rejected it.
The reason was simple: Kain could have just killed her.
That was the safest method.
Dead people don’t talk.
But would anyone really take such a huge risk to take her in just because they needed a secretary?
Looking at the inscrutable man in front of her, Robin suddenly smiled brightly: “I am willing to serve you.”
No matter what, she wouldn’t be worse off, right?
Anyway, when she came to the Grand Line this time, she was also thinking of relying on some powerful force to barely survive.
Looking at this turbulent sea, the strongest forces that could directly contend with the World Government and Marineford were none other than the Emperor Pirates, weren’t they?
Perhaps, this accidental capture was actually a turning point given to me by fate?