Sunlight streamed down, filtering through the leaves and dappling the ground.
Robin sat on the shore, watching the black fish not far away. She pondered her words before asking, "First question, do you understand the meaning of the word 'human'?"
Xia Qiu nodded.
"Are you human?" Robin asked again.
Of course not, I'm a fish now. Xia Qiu immediately shook his head.
"Am I human?"
Xia Qiu nodded.
"Are you a fish?"
"Am I a fish?"
"You don't know you're a fish?"
"Do you/I live on land/in the ocean?"
"Do humans/fish live on land/in the ocean?"
"Next question, can you use shaking your head to mean yes?"
"..."
Robin asked question after question, all of which had only two possible answers: yes or no.
Xia Qiu continuously answered by nodding or shaking his head according to the question.
The questions were repetitive, but the answers varied.
Although Xia Qiu found her questioning tedious, he knew she was likely trying to probe something through her questions.
"Very clever."
Hearing Xia Qiu's answers, Robin couldn't help but nod and softly say, "You possess self-awareness, can clearly distinguish the referential concepts of 'I' and 'you,' and can switch the object of judgment based on who is repeating the question. You can clearly understand nouns like 'human,' 'fish,' 'land,' and 'ocean,' as well as verbs like 'live.' You are aware of your own actions."
"You have self-awareness."
Robin stroked her chin, thinking, More importantly, you know the difference between yourself and humans. Not only that, but you also have the awareness to distinguish between living environments.
At this thought, Robin was somewhat surprised. Possessing self-awareness and the ability to logically differentiate one's own species.
This was no longer just a fish that understood human language.
It was a fish with human logical cognitive thinking abilities.
Robin hesitated, then waved her hand and asked, "Did you attack my ship?"
"That's right."
Xia Qiu nodded again.
Robin thought for a moment and said, "Then perform the action of attacking."
"What a hassle."
Xia Qiu was a little impatient, but he still turned around and charged from a distance towards them.
*Boom.*
Xia Qiu rushed to the shore and stopped abruptly. Seawater splashed out, hitting Robin.
"Hahaha."
Robin, splashed with water, was overjoyed. Knowing the meaning of "attack" and clearly understanding the word "ship" proved its extremely high intelligence.
Robin thought for a moment and then asked, "Then do you know what one plus one equals?"
"Mhm."
Xia Qiu hesitated, wondering if it would be shocking if he knew math.
However, considering Robin's identity and her current predicament, Xia Qiu still nodded.
Robin smiled and said, "If it equals three, nod your head. If it equals four, shake your head."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Xia Qiu looked at Robin, his mouth agape. Just give me a correct answer!
"Alright, alright, let's change the answer," Robin coughed and said, "If it equals two, nod your head. If it equals four, shake your head."
"Two, two, two."
Xia Qiu nodded frantically, a little impatient.
"Let's do a few more."
Robin asked several more math problems, addition, multiplication, and division. She asked by giving incorrect answers and switching the actions corresponding to the answers.
He could answer all basic arithmetic problems within ten.
For addition with two, three, four, or even more digits, the thinking time increased with the number of digits, but he could still choose the correct answer.
Multiplication with two-digit numbers required some thought.
Multiplying three-digit numbers was even more important. He could solve them, but his calculation ability was limited, allowing only limited distinctions.
For example, with 335 multiplied by 334, he would choose an answer ending in 0. But if both ended in zero, he would need to think carefully.
Then, he chose again, selecting an answer starting with 1.
However, if the first and last digits were different, it became very difficult to answer, with a high error rate.
This meant the sea fish possessed basic calculation abilities, not weak ones; the limits were similar to humans.
It also mastered calculation methods, distinguishing answers by their last digit and first digit.
This required at least a certain level of mathematical education, followed by generalization through experience and logical thinking.
Its intelligence was very high.
Robin let out a breath, feeling a small thrill. She had seen intelligent animals before, like some monkeys she'd encountered that could understand gestures and specific words, but their reactions to language were purely instinctual.
They possessed a degree of self-awareness but lacked the ability to recognize others or think from another's perspective.
Let alone perform calculations.
In terms of intelligence, it couldn't be classified as a fish or an animal.
The only beings Robin had seen capable of this were humans, Giants, Fish-Men, Mermaids, and Half-Fish-Men.
She knew that animals that ate a Human-Human Fruit could become similar to humans; there were detailed records, but she had never seen one.
At the same time, she had read some secret atlases stating that there were talking animals in this world, even ones with special talents, and they hadn't eaten Devil Fruits.
But she hadn't seen them with her own eyes, and they were only occasionally mentioned in chapters.
Robin hadn't believed it herself, but seeing this black fish, she was convinced. (In reality, there was the starfish Pappagu.)
Xia Qiu heard her words and understood that she was assessing his cognitive and intellectual abilities.
By demonstrating his intelligence, he could achieve a more suitable means of communication and convey his thoughts.
Robin felt a sense of exhilarating discovery. She thought for a moment, then curiously asked, "Were you born in the Grand Line?"
Xia Qiu shook his head.
"West Blue?"
"East Blue?"
"Calm Belt?"
"East Blue?"
Robin asked several questions, repeating them to confirm Xia Qiu's origin.
He was from East Blue, having come to the Grand Line via Reverse Mountain.
"I see."
Robin looked at the sea fish and smiled, saying, "I'm from West Blue."
"Mm."
Xia Qiu nodded, acknowledging her statement.
Robin didn't elaborate further but asked, "Why did you attack us? Was it for food?"
Xia Qiu nodded. Robin thought for a moment, then asked, "Did you follow us from Whiskey Peak Town?"
"Mhm mhm." Xia Qiu nodded again.
"How did you know it was Whiskey Peak Town?" Robin frowned.
Yeah, how did I know?
Xia Qiu was stunned. He opened his mouth, then quickly shook his head.
"You don't know? But the way you reacted just now, you were clearly stumped by my question, so are you lying?" Robin frowned, seeing Xia Qiu's expression.
"No, no," Xia Qiu quickly shook his head.
"Never mind."
Robin didn't press further and instead asked, "Will you kill me?"
"No."
"Then can you take me away?"
"No."
Xia Qiu continued to shake his head. How could he let her go? It was rare to find someone he could communicate with; why would he let her go?
"You won't let me leave."
Robin looked troubled and asked, "You won't kill me, and you brought me to the island, so are you sure you don't need my help finding anything on the island?"
Seeing Xia Qiu shake his head, Robin asked again, "You want me to stay on the island?"
Xia Qiu nodded. Robin raised her right hand and touched her forehead, asking with a helpless expression, "Then why did you bring me here?"
Xia Qiu nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again, then shook his head again.
"What is this?"
Robin saw the scene, narrowed her eyes, remembered what he meant by that action just now, and sighed, asking, "Is it just because you want to communicate with me?"
Xia Qiu grinned and nodded heavily.
"So that's how it is."
Robin felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. She was trapped on an island by a fish, simply because it wanted to communicate with her.
This was good news.
Being able to communicate meant she could persuade him.
Robin relaxed slightly, but then, she asked with a smile, "What if I don't want to communicate with you anymore?"
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Xia Qiu opened his large mouth and gnashed his teeth.
"Are you threatening me?"
Robin found it amusing and playfully said, "I'm on the shore; you can't attack me now."
"Indeed, he can't attack her."
Hearing this, Xia Qiu turned his head, looked at Robin with his eyes, and closed his nictitating membranes, as if rolling his eyes.
"You..."
Seeing his action, Robin felt he was looking down on her. She shook her head helplessly, noting how expressive his emotions were.
She sighed and asked, "You don't plan to let me leave, but you can't expect me to stay on this island forever, can you? If that's the case, I might as well die."
Xia Qiu immediately shook his head violently. How could you die? It's rare to find someone who can communicate with me, and I've figured out how to communicate.
Robin looked at him and said, "Even if I leave, I can still communicate with you. I live in Alabasta, and you can live by the sea. I can visit you regularly."
"No, no, what if you lie to me?"
Xia Qiu quickly shook his head.
"No?"
Robin frowned in distress, rubbing her temples with her finger, and asked, "What if I commit suicide? If you don't let me go, I'll kill myself."
"If you die, how can we communicate?" Xia Qiu shook his head again.
"It seems you don't want me to die."
Robin nodded and looked at Xia Qiu, saying, "But what if there's no food? If there's no food on the island, won't I starve to death?"
Hearing this, Xia Qiu dived into the ocean and disappeared.
After a while, Xia Qiu emerged from the water, holding a sea fish in his mouth. He swam to the shore and placed the dead fish on the land.
"Alright."
Robin felt like crying but had no tears. He had even prepared food for her.
"But humans can't survive on just sea fish. We need vegetables and red meat, and freshwater," Robin said helplessly.
Hearing this, Xia Qiu suddenly swam away, then swam back, then swam away again, and then swam back again.
"Are you suggesting taking me to another island? An island with vegetables, freshwater, and other creatures?" Robin asked blankly.
Xia Qiu immediately nodded heavily.
"Fine."
Robin was now at a loss for any more excuses.
"If I stay here and ignore you, I don't think you'd agree, would you?" Robin asked.
Xia Qiu knew what she meant; he really wanted to communicate with her, so he nodded.
Robin said, "How about this: I promise to stay. Even if I can't survive on this island, I'll go with you to the next one. But there must be a time limit. You have to let me go afterward, okay?"
"Okay."
Xia Qiu nodded. As long as he could communicate, a period of time was acceptable.
"Half a month? I can stay with you for half a month?" "Too short, no."
"Two months?" "Too, too, too short."
"Half a year? Can't we? This is already a very long time."
Robin kept proposing times, and Xia Qiu kept shaking his head. Robin tried to persuade Xia Qiu with words, but Xia Qiu disagreed.
"Two years, at most two years."
Robin said seriously, "This is the longest I can accept. If you don't agree, I'd rather kill myself."
"Fine, fine."
Xia Qiu nodded helplessly.
Seeing Xia Qiu's action, Robin let out a sigh of relief. Two years, compared to her sixteen years of wandering, wasn't particularly long.
"Can I trust you?" Robin gazed at Xia Qiu.
"Pfft."
A tall stream of water shot out from the air vents on the back of Xia Qiu's head.
"Then it's settled. In two years, you'll let me go."
Robin said seriously. Seeing Xia Qiu nod, Robin stood up and said, "Then I'll leave for now. I must find fresh water today. If I can't, I'll come back for you to leave."
With those words, Robin walked into the jungle and disappeared into the distance.
"Is she gone?"
Xia Qiu moved his head. Just nodding had nearly exhausted him.
However, finding someone he could communicate with was enough.
...
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