Staring at the dark entrance leading deep underground, a flicker of anticipation danced in Nico Robin's eyes.
"This passage… Could the Poneglyph really be hidden all the way down there?"
Madman Will, walking beside her, paid no mind to the look on her face. He took the lead and started descending, tossing a casual remark over his shoulder.
"Come on, Nico Robin."
Snapped out of her reverie by his voice, Robin hurriedly followed.
Thankfully, the passageway had been built wide enough. Otherwise, with Madman Will's massive frame, he'd have had to squeeze through sideways.
A few moments later, the two emerged into a far more spacious underground chamber.
"Who would've thought there'd be such an enormous hidden room this far beneath the surface?"
Robin lifted her gaze, scanning the area in awe, then fixed her eyes on the massive door straight ahead.
"The Poneglyph has to be behind that door, right?"
"We'll find out once we open it."
Madman Will couldn't be bothered to guess. He strode forward and shoved the heavy double doors apart with casual ease.
Stepping inside, they quickly spotted it: at the end of a short hallway, in an otherwise empty chamber, stood a colossal cuboid stone stele.
Its surface facing them was covered in row upon row of strange, ancient script.
"The Poneglyph…"
At the sight of the thing she had chased for so long, Robin hurried forward almost unconsciously. She raised a hand and gently traced the carved characters, her eyes growing distant and thoughtful.
Madman Will, on the other hand, completely ignored the writing. He circled the gigantic stone, inspecting it closely while musing to himself:
If I hit this thing with everything I've got right now, would I even leave a scratch?
He had zero interest in whatever history was written on it. What he really wanted to know was what in the world this stone was made of.
After all, in the original story, Poneglyphs were supposed to be absolutely indestructible.
So if nothing could destroy them, how the hell had the ancients crafted them in the first place?
And the technique used to carve those letters—it had to count as "damaging" the stone just a little, right?
If someone kept carving and carving… could the stone eventually be worn away completely?
He was genuinely curious.
Too bad this particular Poneglyph was under the protection of the Alabasta royal family for generations. He couldn't exactly start swinging at it.
He'd have to wait until he found one that nobody was watching.
While Madman Will's mind wandered, Robin finished deciphering every last word on the stele.
She turned, looking for him, only to realize he had vanished. A strange expression crossed her face.
After circling the stone once, she finally spotted him standing behind it, head slightly bowed, deep in thought.
A playful glint appeared in her eyes.
"Boss, aren't you even a little curious what it says?"
"Hm?"
Madman Will snapped out of it, waved a hand dismissively, and said, "Eh, tell me if you feel like it. Doesn't matter either way."
Robin blinked, genuinely taken aback.
Everyone knew Crocodile had only agreed to work with her because he needed someone who could read the Poneglyphs. Taking over the kingdom had been nothing more than a stepping stone to this stone.
Yet now that they'd actually found it, the man in front of her seemed… completely uninterested.
The contrast left her quietly stunned.
Madman Will, of course, didn't care what she was thinking. To him, this place was just a tourist checkpoint—seen it, done it, no practical value. Lingering any longer would just waste time.
By the time Robin collected herself, he was already heading back toward the exit and the stairs they'd come down.
Seeing that he truly hadn't been putting on an act, she decided not to overthink it and quickly followed.
The two climbed the stairs, triggered the mechanism to seal the hidden passage again, and stepped out of the royal tomb together.
But the moment they emerged—
Madman Will spotted Chopper—in full reindeer form—galloping down the street toward them with Nami riding sideways on his back.
"Madman Will! Nico Robin!" Nami shouted excitedly, waving like mad.
Chopper skidded to a dramatic halt on all four hooves right in front of them, kicking up a small cloud of sand.
Nami hopped down and started walking over while Chopper shrank back into his smaller, cuter Brain Point form.
"Huh?" Robin tilted her head, surprised. She'd never seen the little guy transform before and had no idea he could turn into a reindeer.
Chopper noticed the intense stare and instantly panicked, darting behind Madman Will's leg. He buried his face against the man's thigh, though the rest of his round body remained comically exposed.
"What a cute little fellow…" Robin murmured, her eyes softening into a rare, gentle smile.
Madman Will ignored the whole scene. He looked at the approaching Nami and asked, "What's up? Something happen?"
"Nothing bad," Nami said, pulling a Den Den Mushi from her waist and handing it over. "That Marine from earlier, Smoker? He called again out of nowhere. Said it's urgent and he needs to talk to you."
"Oh? He's looking for me specifically?"
Madman Will raised an eyebrow, accepted the snail, and dialed straight back.
Meanwhile, on the eastern coast of Alabasta, a Marine warship lay anchored at the port.
Smoker stood at the railing, cigar clenched between his teeth, staring out at the calm sea with a troubled frown.
Bururururu… Bururururu…
The Den Den Mushi beside him rang. He snapped out of his thoughts and snatched up the receiver.
Click.
"Is that you, Smoker? What is it?"
Straight to the point as always, Smoker didn't bother with pleasantries.
"Madman Will, that woman who helped you take down Crocodile—is Nico Robin with you right now?"
"Hm?" Madman Will frowned slightly. "Yeah, she's right here. Why? You need her for something?"
Robin, hearing the word "Marine," instantly guessed who was on the line. Her expression darkened.
Smoker's brow creased at the confirmation, but he pressed on.
"You probably have no idea who the woman standing next to you really is."
"Ever since I overheard the name 'Nico Robin' while we were exchanging intel in the palace, it's been nagging at me. Then yesterday, when you asked me to head to the Baroque Works hideout to round up Crocodile's officers, you said her name again."
"So I had my men double-check the wanted posters. And we found it."
"Twenty years ago, the World Government put a bounty on an eight-year-old girl for supposedly sinking six battleships."
"They slapped a 79 million beli bounty on an eight-year-old child."
"And then she vanished."
Smoker paused for emphasis, then declared gravely:
"That girl's name was Nico Robin."
Nami and Chopper, standing close enough to hear every word, whipped their heads toward Robin in shock. Her face had already gone pale and rigid.
Madman Will rubbed his chin, remembering yesterday's call. He'd needed Robin to tell Smoker where the Baroque Works base was since he didn't know himself. Who would've thought the guy would go full detective over a single name?
Still, none of it fazed him much.
"So, Smoker," he said calmly, "you're calling to tell me that the woman standing right here is that same eight-year-old girl from twenty years ago?"
"Exactly," Smoker replied, leaning against the ship's railing. "Just a little while ago, the subordinate I left in Alubarna confirmed it from a distance. Facial features, hairstyle—everything matches the old photo. Same name, same face. It's definitely her."
Madman Will cut him off before he could keep going.
"Alright, alright, Smoker. Save the speech. I've known who she really is for a long time."
"What?!" Nami and Chopper yelped in unison.
On the other end, Smoker nearly dropped his cigar.
"You… already knew? And you've still kept her around?!"
"You do realize the World Government has been hunting her relentlessly, right? They call her the 'Devil Child'!"
Madman Will's eyes narrowed, a trace of disdain creeping into his voice.
"Devil Child? That's just the bullshit lie those World Government bastards cooked up."
"You really think an eight-year-old kid could sink six battleships and then disappear without a trace?"
"If she actually had that kind of power back then, why would she spend twenty years hiding like a rat?"
Smoker fell silent for a moment. He'd had the exact same doubts, but duty made him push back anyway.
"But—"
"No buts, Smoker!" Madman Will snapped, voice rising. "You just stood up straight for five minutes and you're already itching to get back on your knees!"
"She was eight years old!"
"All she wanted was to live! What the hell is wrong with that?!"
The words struck Nico Robin like a bolt of lightning.
Her pupils shrank. Her whole body froze.
In all her years of running, of betraying and being betrayed, no one had ever—ever—spoken the deepest cry of her heart so plainly.
Just to live…
For that simple wish, she had drifted like a bird with no feet, never allowed to land.
On the warship, Smoker said nothing for several long seconds. Finally he bit down hard on his cigar and spoke in a low, conflicted rumble.
"Listen, Madman Will. A couple of sentences from you aren't enough for me to just decide she's innocent."
"I'll keep investigating Nico Robin myself."
"But for now… considering she helped bring down Crocodile, I won't make a move against her."
Then, as if suddenly remembering the original reason for his call, he added quickly:
"Oh, right—almost forgot. This morning I reported Crocodile's defeat to HQ. Since I didn't take him down, I had to put your name on it."
"I told them you'd already left Alabasta, but I don't know if Marineford will send more people anyway."
"So get your crew and get out of here—fast. Take that woman with you."
Click.
He hung up without waiting for a reply, staring out at the sea with complicated eyes.
Part of him—the Marine part—screamed that he should be stalling them right now.
The rest of him couldn't bring himself to do it. Not after they'd saved an entire country.
At that moment, Tashigi came running up, looking flustered.
"Captain Smoker! Reply just came from Marineford…"
Smoker's eyes narrowed. He already knew what this was about.
"What'd they say?"
Tashigi hesitated, then answered awkwardly:
"They… said the credit for defeating Crocodile belongs entirely to you and me, sir. They're promoting both of us one rank for it…"
"What?!"
Smoker's face twisted in disbelief.
"Did those idiots even read my report? I told them straight-up Madman Will was the one who did it!"
Tashigi looked just as helpless. "I tried telling them the truth again when they said that, but they ignored me completely and hung up…"
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