The Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago.
As the final stop before entering Fishman Island, the one place that benefitted the most from the island's rapid development was none other than the Sabaody Archipelago itself.
Both its economy and culture were flourishing, showing a clear upward trend.
And with the revival of its economy, the Sabaody Archipelago—half of whose population had once been wiped out by Michael and Gion—had already surpassed its previous peak population.
The number of transient residents had even doubled or tripled.
But most importantly...
The so-called "lawless zones" no longer existed on the Sabaody Archipelago.
The islands had been completely brought under full control by the Marines.
Its population density could now rival that of Fishman Island itself.
It could be said that for anyone not planning to enter the New World, the Sabaody Archipelago had already become the final destination of their journey.
Yet with such prosperity came...
An ever-growing number of civil issues.
The more people there were, the more problems arose.
And as the acting governor of the Sabaody Archipelago, Marine Major Nico Robin—codename "Thousand Hands"—found herself increasingly troubled.
Because of the island's significance, stationed here were Admiral "Kizaru" Borsalino, Admiral Candidate "Momousagi" Gion, and "Chaton" Tokikake...
Though these three technically outranked Robin, the reality of authority was different.
In practice, Sabaody Archipelago was entirely under Robin's control.
She could even issue orders to her supposed superiors if necessary.
Of course, part of this situation could be credited to that old slacker Kizaru.
But whatever the reason, the truth remained—the burden of governing the entire Sabaody Archipelago rested solely on Robin's shoulders.
After all, she was the most highly educated individual in the entire Marine force.
Let Borsalino, Gion, and Tokikake handle law enforcement and pirate suppression—that they were good at.
But governance?
Better not.
"Still, is it really okay for us to keep dumping all this workload on little Robin every single day?" Gion said worriedly. "She's been getting dark circles under her eyes lately."
"I'd say we should just focus on our own duties," Tokikake shook his head. "Each has their area of expertise, after all. And even if the three of us put our heads together, we probably wouldn't match Robin's intellect."
"I'm telling you, just listen to Robin's orders and everything will be fine," Kizaru said with a lazy grin.
"Have you already forgotten what happened the last time you tried to 'help'? You almost burned down the entire office, didn't you? The best help you can give Robin is not causing her more trouble!"
The three of them exchanged glances and then sighed in unison.
"Fair point."
And with that, they settled back comfortably into their lounge chairs, basking lazily under the sun.
Nearby, some Marine soldiers couldn't help whispering among themselves:
"An Admiral and two Vice Admirals, and all they do is lounge around while Major Robin handles all the administrative work!"
"You must be new here. That's actually exactly how Major Robin prefers it. You have no idea how disastrous it gets when those three try to handle paperwork."
"Let's put it this way—those three lying around is the biggest help they can give to Major Robin!"
Their voices were hushed, but even then, they couldn't escape the ears of the three color-and-animal-coded Marine powerhouses.
Still...
Everything they said was true.
Even if Gion and Tokikake felt a bit embarrassed, they couldn't deny it.
"Still... don't you think things have been a little too peaceful lately?" Gion said quietly. "We keep getting battle reports and news from other regions, yet around Sabaody and Fishman Island, everything's perfectly calm."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Kizaru glanced at her. "As Marines, shouldn't we hope for the world to be so peaceful that none of us have anything to do?"
"I get that," Gion sighed, drawing the sword from her side and laying it across her knees, polishing the blade with her Marine cloak. "But ever since Michael appeared on Egghead and killed Golden Lion... I haven't been able to feel at ease."
"Gion, I understand what you're getting at... but guarding Sabaody and watching over Fishman Island are just as vital to Marine operations," Kizaru said quietly. "After all, this region is one of our main sources of military funding these days..."
Then, after a pause, his tone shifted.
"But speaking of Michael... I'm quite looking forward to seeing more of him," Kizaru said with a smirk.
"You were both there that day—think back to Sakazuki and Kuzan's injuries..."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How terrifying~."
...
"Report, Major Robin! A group of unidentified individuals has landed on area 13!"
"But they arrived aboard a work vessel from the Alabasta Kingdom!"
Behind her massive desk, Robin looked up, her calm expression carrying an inexplicable aura of authority.
Of course, that old pervert Kizaru liked to call this aura "the resentment of a workaholic."
The Marine soldier delivering the report trembled slightly, instinctively nervous.
"Unidentified... what do you mean by that?"
"They all claim to be from Alabasta, but they don't have any official identification... and their speech and mannerisms don't quite match those of typical Alabastans."
"I see."
Robin nodded, then rose gracefully from behind her enormous desk.
At twenty-three, Robin's figure was already indistinguishable from her canonical counterpart.
In fact, without a decade of life on the run, with proper nutrition and stability, she had grown taller, her curves more striking, exuding a quietly commanding presence.
As she stood, several slender arms sprouted from the backrest of her chair, gently lifting the Marine cloak of justice and draping it over her shoulders.
"Gather some people. We'll go check it out ourselves."
"Should we inform those three?"
"No need. It's just a minor matter." Robin shook her head and strode toward the door. "Alabasta may have ties with the Revolutionary Army, but it's always been a safe and stable nation."
...
Meanwhile, on area 13 of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar...
"My, my, what a rare visitor," Shakky said with a smile as she polished a glass, looking at the cloaked figure across from her. "For such person of the Revolutionary Army to personally visit my little bar—how flattering."
"Shakky, it's been a while... The last time we met was on Amazon Lily, wasn't it?"
The visitor removed her cloak, revealing long, flowing white hair.
Her face bore an uncanny resemblance—nearly eighty percent—to Nico Robin's.
It was none other than former archaeologist, Nico Olvia.
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Fanfic is finished. 583 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg