"No, wait! I'm a doctor, not a nurse. I should be wearing a white doctor's coat, right? It's a bit more conservative, but Arton should like that too." As Kaya spoke, she opened her diary copy and pulled up the photo set about herself. Some of the images showed Kaya in a nurse outfit, but most featured her in a lady-doctor ensemble.
Suddenly, Kaya's body stiffened; her eyes locked on the diary pages. "Th-this set is way too bold."
"Set" was generous—there were only two photos. In one, Kaya wore a doctor's white coat and glasses, a faint smile on her face, both hands drawing the sides of the coat together across her chest. In the other, she still wore glasses, but her cheeks were flushed scarlet. The coat that had been clutched shut was now pulled open by her hands, and what lay beneath… was fully on display to the real-world Kaya who was looking.
"There's… nothing on underneath!" She gulped. "I—I wouldn't dress like that."
She stared wide-eyed in disbelief; the excitement made her tremble a little. After a long moment, she calmed down. "No, not 'nothing'—there are black garter stockings at least… Ugh, but the important parts are still completely uncovered. Is that really what Captain Arton likes?"
Though she posed it as a question, Kaya knew the answer. Arton did like it—his works starring her had bits even more exaggerated and daring, which proved it.
"Hoo… since Arton likes that… maybe I should try?" Kaya drew a deep breath, turned, and started rummaging through her wardrobe. It felt a bit too daring, but for Arton's sake, she wanted to give it a shot.
Meanwhile, in the lookout where Arton was—he was still "discussing" song and dance with Uta. That "discussion" lasted about three hours. For Arton and company, who had already fixed their destination, three hours wasn't much. But for the diary-copy holders who wanted to know where Arton was going next, it was agony.
Especially for Vivi, Mikita, Nico Robin, Paula, and the others, who'd thought they could run into Arton near the Reverse Mountain entrance.
[Vivi: Have any of you found Arton or his pirate ship?]
[Mikita: I want to, but I can't even catch a glimpse of his shadow here.]
[Paula: Same here. Miss All Sunday, how about on your end?]
[Nico Robin: Unfortunately, I don't have any news on him for now.]
[Vivi: How can that be! Nico Robin, haven't you mobilized members of Baroque Works to look?]
Right now, Vivi was counting on Arton's strength to save her country—and her father. Among Nico Robin, Mikita, Paula, and the rest, she was the most anxious and on edge.
Because of that anxiety, she even hoped Nico Robin would use her position in Baroque Works to set its members searching for Arton. Baroque Works had thousands—tens of thousands—of agents. If they helped, Vivi was sure they could find Arton and his crew in short order.
[Mikita: If we send those guys searching, won't it affect our real objective?]
[Paula: Exactly! If Mr. 0 notices anything, we'll be in trouble.]
[Vivi: As long as we can get Arton's help, Mr. 0 won't be any threat at all!]
[Paula: If we get Arton's help. Otherwise, Mr. 0 has enough power to send us to hell a few times over.]
[Vivi: But if we don't find Arton now, meeting him will be even harder later.]
Chapter 336: Robin Runs into Blackbeard; Robin—"I Can Only Rely on Arton"
[Paula: Yeah, that really is a problem.]
[Mikita: Damn it, it's those Marines' fault—Arton's crew couldn't land smoothly at the Reverse Mountain entrance. Otherwise, we'd have met that man already.]
[Paula: Who could've predicted an accident like that? Anyway, Miss All Sunday, say something, will you? If you don't speak up, none of us know what to do next.]
[Mikita: Exactly, Miss All Sunday. You gathered us—take responsibility to the end.]
[Vivi: Nico Robin, did something happen on your side?]
[Nico Robin: Sorry, everyone. I'm being pestered by the Blackbeard Pirates right now. I'm trying to shake them off. I'll contact you later.]
[Vivi: What?! The Blackbeard Pirates?! The crazy guy Arton mentioned in the diary?!]
[Paula: The only man in Whitebeard's crew who betrayed and murdered a crewmate—he's extremely dangerous. Robin, can you handle this?]
[Mikita: Oh no—don't tell me she's going to get taken out?]
[Paula: All we can do is hope that clever woman gets through this in one piece.]
…
Grand Line, first half.
A certain stretch of sea.
"Zehahahaha—never thought I'd run into the Devil's Child Nico Robin here."
"Hey, how about joining our crew?"
Blackbeard stood at the prow of his little ship, grinning broadly at Nico Robin, who sat atop the shell of a giant sea turtle.
"Blackbeard—Teach. Former member of the Whitebeard Pirates. I didn't expect to meet you here," Nico Robin murmured, eyes on the man before her.
"Zehahaha, you know me, huh? No wonder you've survived so many years with the Marines and the World Government hunting you." He laughed louder. "So, since you know who I am, I should be qualified to invite you aboard, right?"
Behind him, the companions Teach had gathered peered curiously at Nico Robin. Even the dimmest among them—the helmsman, Jesus Burgess—knew what she represented. As the only person alive who could read and interpret the ancient Poneglyphs, if they wanted the Pirate King's treasure, Robin might be indispensable.
While Jesus Burgess and the others sized Robin up, Robin was studying them as well.
Arton's diary hasn't said much about Blackbeard's companions yet… But judging from how the diary describes Blackbeard's personality...No one Teach invites will be simple.If it comes down to strength, I likely can't beat them. Let alone Blackbeard himself.
Her gaze slid off Burgess and the rest and returned to Teach. He'd killed Whitebeard's Fourth Division Commander—sneak attack or not, it still spoke volumes about his power. And that was before he had the Dark-Dark Fruit. Now he possessed it—his strength would be even more fearsome. Nico Robin didn't believe she could measure up to Blackbeard in a straight fight.
If I'm going to escape, I'll need a different approach. She sighed inwardly. She had never imagined that, while scouring the seas for Arton, she'd run into the Blackbeard Pirates in the open ocean.
In some ways, they were more troublesome than the Marines. If she had a choice, she'd rather bump into Marines than Blackbeard.
"Well? Your answer, Nico Robin?" Teach pressed when she didn't reply.
...
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