Blueno, in his perfectly mundane bartender's apron, wiped down a glass, his expression as blank and unremarkable as the polished wood of the bar.
His mission here in Water 7 was one of patience: infiltrate, integrate, and secretly monitor Iceburg and the Galley-La Company.
His entire focus was on the upcoming "Water 7 Plan" and the recovery of the Pluton blueprints.
Everything else was just noise.
And then, she walked in.
He didn't react.
His hands didn't stop polishing.
But behind that placid mask, his mind went into overdrive.
Nico Robin. The Devil Child. The last survivor of Ohara.
The only living person capable of reading the Poneglyphs.
This... this disrupted everything.
Her identity was special, a target of opportunity that rivaled the primary mission itself.
Spandam would have a seizure if he knew she was here.
But Lucci's orders had been absolute:
'Do not risk the plan. Do not make waves. Small gains are not worth big losses.'
His eyes flickered for a nanosecond to the woman with her.
'Nami, the 'Cat Burglar' of the Straw Hat crew. Irrelevant.'
His gaze snapped back to Robin.
If she were to spot him, to recognize him as a government agent, she could blow their entire, years-long operation.
The consequences would be dire. But if he could capture her…
He made his decision.
He set the glass down, a perfectly normal motion, and quietly moved to the bar's back room, a small, damp storage alley smelling of stale beer and canal water.
He took out a small, black Den Den Mushi, shielding it with his body as he dialed.
Purupurupuru... Katcha.
"This is Blueno. Target 'Devil Child' spotted at my location."
A cold, emotionless voice came from the other end. Lucci.
"Maintain observation. Do not engage. The 'Water 7 Plan' takes priority. Do not risk exposure for a secondary target."
"Understood," Blueno replied.
There was a pause.
Then, Lucci's voice came back, a fraction colder.
"However… if circumstances permit, and the risk to the primary mission is zero, you may attempt to secure her. But do not fail, Blueno."
"Understood."
Blueno hung up, his face a mask of cold professionalism.
He smoothed his apron, stepped back into the bar—
And froze.
The corner booth was empty.
A half-finished drink sat on the table, a small ring of condensation its only legacy.
His pupils contracted sharply. He didn't curse. He didn't panic.
He moved.
He was out the front door in less than a second, his tall frame melting into the bustling crowd.
His eyes scanned the street, the canals, the bridges.
Nothing.
'She's a shadow,' he thought, a flicker of grudging respect mixing with his cold fury.
'She knew. She sensed me.'
He quickly rushed out of the bar, pulling out his Den Den Mushi again as he ducked into another alley.
His tone was urgent. "The target has left my location. She's on the move. Requesting backup."
"Understood," came Kalifa's clipped voice. "We will dispatch personnel to block the port and main streets. You continue tracking. You must find her whereabouts."
Blueno snapped the snail shut.
He knew Robin wouldn't reveal her tracks, but she couldn't have simply vanished into thin air.
He quickly analyzed the complex, winding routes of the city.
'She'll be looking for a boat. The docks.'
He fixed his gaze on a narrow, shadowed alley that served as a shortcut to the lower canals.
"She must be trying to leave by boat," Blueno thought with certainty, and then he was gone, his large body moving with a speed that belied his size, chasing deeper into the alley.
....
Meanwhile, Robin and Nami were swiftly navigating through those same narrow alleyways, their footsteps light and rapid on the ancient stone.
"Robin, will you slow down!?" Nami panted, her sandals slapping against the pavement.
"What is going on? What's been exposed? You're acting like a Marine admiral is on our tail!"
"Something like that," Robin replied, her voice low and tight as she pulled Nami around a sharp corner.
"The bartender. He was watching me."
"Watching you? Like… 'buy-you-a-drink' watching, or…"
"Like 'government-agent-about-to-capture-me' watching," Robin clarified, her expression grim.
She hadn't expected them to act so quickly, to have an agent placed so perfectly.
"My whereabouts have been exposed."
"Wait, a CP agent?! Here?!" Nami squeaked, her blood running cold.
She didn't press for more, simply trusting the urgency in Robin's voice as they continued to flee.
Just as they burst out of the alley onto a small, quiet dock where a single, unattended boat was tied, a deep, calm voice echoed from behind them.
"Nico Robin. You can't escape."
Nami spun around and her heart leaped into her throat.
The bartender.
He was standing at the mouth of the alley, his face stern, his gaze as sharp and cold as a blade.
He hadn't even been breathing hard.
"Who… who are you?!" Nami demanded.
Blueno didn't answer.
He just vanished.
Soru!
Using the Rokushiki "Soru" technique, he kicked off the air ten times in the blink of an eye, his form blurring and reappearing directly in their path, blocking them from the boat.
"Surrender. It will be easier," he stated, his voice flat.
Robin frowned, shoving Nami behind her as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Clutch!"
In an instant, dozens of arms sprouted from Blueno's torso, his shoulders, his legs, binding him tightly in a web of human limbs.
"Such petty tricks," Blueno sneered, his body surging with a hidden power.
With a simple, contemptuous flex of his muscles, he activated "Tekkai" (Iron Body), and Robin's arms were simply shattered, torn apart by his hardened physique.
"Are useless against me."
He lunged forward, his speed inhuman.
Seeing this, Robin quickly retreated, slamming her crossed arms down towards the ground.
"Gigantesco Mano!"
A massive, towering arm, the size of a small giant, erupted from the stone of the dock, swinging to swat Blueno like a fly.
Yet, Blueno showed no fear.
Instead, he simply pulled on the empty air in front of him, as if opening an invisible door.
A shimmering, rectangular door opened in mid-air.
He stepped through it and vanished.
The giant hand smashed into the spot where he had been, shattering the stone dock into rubble.
Blueno reappeared ten meters away, on the other side of the attack, completely unharmed.
"Your abilities," he said coldly, his coat not even ruffled, "are ineffective against me."
A bead of cold sweat formed on Robin's forehead.
Rokushiki. And a Devil Fruit. A paramecia that controls... space?
She knew, with a sinking certainty, that she was hopelessly outmatched.
If this fight continued, she would be captured.
"I have to take a gamble!" she whispered, then quickly grabbed Nami's hand and, instead of fighting, dashed around the crater toward the small boat.
"Robin, that person is..."
"Don't ask now! I'll explain later!" Robin urged, her expression more grave than Nami had ever seen it.
"Oh... okay..." Nami had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she trusted her companion and ran.
Blueno sighed, a sound of pure annoyance.
This was taking too long.
He saw their desperate sprint for the boat and immediately gave chase.
Soru.
He was about to intercept them, to end this pathetic chase, when a massive wall of water suddenly surged up from the canal.
The tide, still chaotic and unpredictable from the recent Aqua Laguna, had chosen that exact moment to swell.
A massive wave crashed over the ruined dock, separating Blueno from the two women.
Seizing the opportunity, Robin and Nami leaped onto the small boat just as the wave tore it from its moorings.
Blueno, forced to use Geppo to leap back onto a nearby roof to avoid the deluge, could only watch as the small craft was washed out into the main, fast-moving canal, carried away from the city.
He stood on the shore, his gaze dark, filled with a cold, simmering frustration.
The mission had failed.
But he would not give up.
"Nico Robin," Blueno muttered under his breath, "you can't escape."
He turned, retrieving his Den Den Mushi to report the situation.
.....
Hours later, Nami and Robin had fled Water 7.
The small boat drifted on the open, turbulent sea.
"Finally," Nami let out a long, shuddering sigh, leaning weakly against the edge of the boat.
"I think… I think we lost him. Whew…"
She stared blankly up at the sky, her eyes instinctively searching for any trace of the sky islands.
Robin hadn't spoken of the incident, and Nami hadn't asked.
The grim, haunted look on her friend's face was answer enough.
In the distance, the floating islands that had filled them with such awe had vanished, hidden by the curve of the earth or the sea of clouds.
But Nami refused to give up.
"Robin," she said, her voice quiet but firm, "we must find Shiki."
She clenched her fists, her eyes filled with a desperate, renewed determination.
Robin looked at Nami, at the fire in her eyes, and nodded gently.
But her heart ached.
'Would Shiki really help them?'
...
Time passed quickly.
Gradually, night fell.
The sea wind howled, and the waves of the Grand Line crashed against the small boat, roaring loudly.
Nami and Robin's figures were stretched long under the pale moonlight, their goal still distant, their footsteps—or in this case, oar strokes—never ceasing.
"Robin," Nami asked suddenly, her voice small against the wind, "do you really think he'll help us? A man like that?"
Robin remained silent for a long moment, the creak-splash of the oars the only sound.
"Perhaps," she finally spoke, her voice slow and measured.
"But we must prepare for the worst, Nami. Men of his stature are not known for their charity. They have their own ambitions."
Nami nodded, a flicker of stubborn resolve in her eyes.
"No matter what, I won't give up. It's the only chance we have."
Robin looked at Nami's face, silhouetted against the moonlit water, and silently prayed that they could find a way out of the darkness that had once again enveloped them.
The next day, they were awakened from a fitful, cold sleep by a tremendous, distant roar—the sound of grinding rock and high-altitude winds.
To the west, a massive, sky-obscuring shadow had appeared on the horizon, blotting out the morning sun.
"Robin," Nami breathed, scrambling to her feet, her voice trembling with excitement.
"That... the floating islands! They've appeared again!"
Robin nodded, a strange, unreadable emotion in her eyes.
"It's them. They must have been flying above the sea of clouds yesterday. No wonder we couldn't see them."
"Then let's hurry!" Nami grabbed the oars, her exhaustion forgotten, her face alive with a manic hope.
"If Shiki disappears again, we'll be lost! We have to go, now!"
"Right," Robin said, taking the second set of oars. "We must not delay. Let's set off."