Robin stared at the Magic Eye Pirates' ship as it sailed out of the harbor.
After a long moment of silence, she let out a soft sigh.
"The Straw Hat Pirates, huh…"
"So, joining a powerful crew like the Magic Eye Pirates really isn't something that simple."
She lowered her gaze to the wanted poster in her hand, deep in thought.
To Robin, being told to join the Straw Hat Pirates was clearly a test from Captain Yuuki.
As for his true purpose, that wasn't something she needed to worry about.
At this point, refusing wasn't even an option anymore.
In fact—
The moment the Marines discovered her identity, she had already needed to find another powerful force to rely on.
And right now, the Magic Eye Pirates were her best choice.
"At least… my safety should be somewhat guaranteed."
Thinking of the mysterious symbol on the back of her hand, Robin adjusted the brim of her pale blue-rimmed cowboy hat and disappeared into the swirling desert winds.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
More than ten kilometers away from Nanohana Port.
Splash!
A massive chunk of ice burst upward from beneath the sea and floated on the surface.
Cracks spread rapidly across the ice with sharp cracking sounds before it shattered apart.
Two figures emerged from within.
Aokiji was the first to touch the ocean's surface.
His hand froze the seawater instantly as he dropped to one knee on the ice, breathing heavily.
Thankfully, at the critical moment he had frozen himself inside the ice using his Devil Fruit ability.
Otherwise, contact with the sea would have rendered him helpless.
Turning his head, he looked beside him.
"Adett…"
His voice was low.
Aokiji had held onto him the entire time.
But now—
There was a fist-sized hole through Adett's chest.
The fatal wound had been caused by Yuuki's attack.
That crimson laser-like strike had been too fast.
Aokiji had reacted and even created an ice barrier to defend against it—
but it still hadn't been enough.
From that distance.
With such terrifying precision.
Yuuki's calm black eyes flashed through Aokiji's mind.
"…He did it on purpose."
Aokiji's expression darkened.
Since becoming a Marine Admiral, he had never been humiliated like this.
He hadn't even been able to protect the man in his own hands.
A surge of anger rose in his chest.
Yuuki didn't look very old.
Yet he possessed strength so terrifying that it was almost unbelievable.
Someone like that was far too dangerous.
And then there was Nico Robin.
If she became entangled with someone like him—
Aokiji suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
He gently laid Adett's lifeless body flat on the ice and reached into his pocket.
Soon he pulled out a Den Den Mushi, trembling from the cold.
One of its antenna eyes was larger than the other, its skin tinted bluish-purple from the freezing.
"Still works… good."
He quickly dialed.
Marine Headquarters.
Fleet Admiral's Office.
"Buru buru buru!"
The Den Den Mushi rang across the desk.
Sengoku paused mid-motion.
He had been casually feeding paperwork one sheet at a time to the goat sitting beside him.
"Finished already?"
He picked up the receiver and spoke with a relaxed smile.
"Adett is dead."
The voice on the other end was calm, yet heavy.
Sengoku froze.
The smile disappeared from his face.
He didn't interrupt.
Instead, he waited for Aokiji's report.
"There was an intelligence error."
"The strength of the Magic Eye Pirates far exceeds expectations. Especially their captain Yuuki and the vice-captain Conrad."
Aokiji paused briefly.
"I fought them."
"I lost."
His tone was completely calm.
As though he were describing something unrelated to himself.
But Sengoku abruptly sat upright.
Shock flashed across his eyes.
If it weren't for knowing Aokiji's personality, he might have thought this was a joke.
A Marine Admiral personally dispatched to capture two newly emerged pirates—
had actually failed.
If this hadn't come directly from Aokiji himself…
Sengoku's expression returned to calm, but his gaze grew serious.
"You're not joking, are you?"
"No."
"Because of their Devil Fruit abilities, I couldn't use my full strength."
"But the fact remains—I was forced to retreat."
Aokiji continued.
"And there's more bad news."
"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, has been defeated and captured by the Magic Eye Pirates."
"The exact situation is still unclear."
A moment later, the call ended.
Aokiji stood up from the ice.
He lifted Adett's body onto his shoulder and glanced toward the direction where the Magic Eye Pirates' ship had disappeared.
A thoughtful look crossed his face.
Originally, he had planned to report that Nico Robin was now associated with the Magic Eye Pirates.
But in the end—
he chose to suppress that information for now.
I hope you make the right choice… Robin.
Three days later.
A piece of news shook the entire world.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, had been defeated by the Magic Eye Pirates.
At the same time, Crocodile's conspiracy to incite civil war in Alabasta and seize the throne was exposed.
The news spread rapidly across the seas.
Countless forces were shocked by the power of the Magic Eye Pirates.
Many pirates who had previously doubted Yuuki's 100 million berry bounty—issued after the Alabasta princess incident—
now fully acknowledged the crew's strength.
But compared to the pirates and powerful factions—
the greater controversy came from another place.
Across kingdoms worldwide, nobles and civilians once again began questioning the Seven Warlords system.
The Marines found themselves under immense pressure.
Almost immediately after the news spread, the World Government revoked Crocodile's title as a Warlord.
But that wasn't all.
Hidden within a small corner of the newspaper—
a seemingly insignificant article caught the attention of certain observant readers.
It showed a photograph of Nanohana Port, now reduced to ruins.
If one looked closely, faint traces of ice could still be seen along the edges.
The article itself was tiny, barely containing any text.
Yet when combined with the new bounty posters, it made some people uneasy.
New Bounties
"Magician" Yuuki — 310,000,000 Berries
"Black Robe" Conrad — 150,000,000 Berries
"Clown" Buggy — 30,000,000 Berries
"Beast Tamer" Mohji — 20,000,000 Berries
"Acrobat" Cabaji — 21,000,000 Berries
The Magic Eye Pirates had only five members.
Yet their combined bounty exceeded 500 million berries.
For many forces across the seas, the name Magic Eye Pirates had suddenly become impossible to ignore.
Dressrosa Kingdom
"Fufufufufu!"
"So, Crocodile wanted to take over Alabasta?"
Doflamingo leaned on his chin while reading the newspaper.
"What an interesting plan."
"But that guy never struck me as someone interested in ruling a country."
He laughed mockingly.
"Well, losers don't matter anyway."
Then his eyes drifted toward the small photograph near the bottom of the page.
After a moment, his lips curled into a smile.
"The Magic Eye Pirates…"
"Something interesting seems to have happened."
New World
Whitebeard Pirates
Marco approached Whitebeard with a stack of newspapers.
"Old man, looks like a strong rookie appeared this year."
"He actually defeated Crocodile."
"Oh?"
Whitebeard glanced briefly at the newspaper.
Then he burst into loud laughter.
"Gurarararara!"
"The seas are about to get lively again!"
Red-Haired Pirates
While most people focused on Yuuki, the captain of the Magic Eye Pirates—
Shanks stared blankly at Buggy's bounty poster.
He scratched his messy red hair in confusion.
He clearly remembered Buggy insisting on becoming a captain.
He had even rejected Shanks' invitation because of it.
And now he had joined someone else's crew?
No matter how he thought about it—
that didn't sound like Buggy at all.
"What's wrong, Shanks?"
someone nearby shouted.
"Nothing!"
Shanks slapped the newspaper down and laughed loudly.
"The party continues!"
Meanwhile, at Sea
BOOOOM!
Thunder roared across the sky.
Thick bolts of blue-white lightning flashed through heavy black clouds.
Though it was daytime, the darkness made it feel like night.
Waves crashed violently across the sea.
The Magic Eye Pirates' ship rocked wildly like a fragile leaf, as if the ocean might swallow it at any moment.
And yet—
When the torrential rain fell toward the ship—
it was deflected half a meter above the deck.
An invisible barrier of swirling wind protected the vessel.
On the deck below—
Cabaji stood with both arms raised toward the sky.
His clothes were drenched in sweat, but he didn't dare relax for even a second.
Using his magic, he maintained the wind barrier protecting the ship.
Damn it… how long is this storm going to last?!
His arms ached terribly.
His body felt completely drained.
The continuous magic consumption was exhausting him to the point of collapse.
Yet he didn't dare slack off.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced nervously at Conrad, who stood nearby with a cold expression.
Ever since Yuuki had thawed them from the ice—
they had been subjected to hellish training.
Cabaji was certain that if even a single drop of rain landed on the deck—
Conrad would mercilessly throw him into the sea.
And he absolutely did not want to experience that despair again.
At the bow—
Mohji lay weakly on the deck, also exhausted.
He was using magic to control fish in the ocean, helping steer and stabilize the ship.
Buggy, meanwhile, held the permanent Log Pose and occasionally shouted directions.
Compared to the other two—
Buggy looked downright comfortable.
"Good thing I didn't try to gain those powers like you guys."
Buggy sat cross-legged on the deck with a smug grin.
"Otherwise, I'd be suffering like you."
"Right, Mohji?"
Mohji rolled his eyes.
He didn't even have the energy to argue anymore.
"Hey! We're drifting again! A little left!"
Buggy shouted while checking the Log Pose.
Inside the ship—
Yuuki was in the laboratory, studying the Devil Fruit users he had captured.
Mr. 3.
Miss Goldenweek.
Mr. 5.
Miss Valentine.
And Crocodile.
All five were suspended in the laboratory, their hands bound above them.
Their Devil Fruit abilities had been sealed with Key Magic.
It was quite a spectacular sight.
At least from Yuuki's perspective.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
Crocodile asked weakly, blood still at the corner of his mouth.
Compared to his earlier fury, he had become much calmer.
Yuuki ignored him.
He was busy examining the differences between the blood of Logia users, Paramecia users, and normal humans.
After about ten minutes, he finished.
Only then did he look up at Crocodile.
Before Crocodile had been captured, Mr. 1 and the others still tried to resist occasionally.
But once they saw their own boss—the Warlord Crocodile—hanging there with them—
they had completely given up struggling.
They cooperated with Yuuki's experiments obediently.
After all—
If even Crocodile had been captured, what hope did they have?
"You've already seen what I'm doing."
Yuuki shrugged lightly and smiled at Crocodile.
But in the eyes of Mr. 1 and the others—
that smile looked like something from a devil.
Crocodile's gaze darkened.
All four of his limbs had been broken.
The pain had become something he had long since grown used to.
As for escaping—
the thought had already faded.
After all—
there was Conrad, who had defeated him effortlessly.
And the man in front of him—
who was even more terrifying.
"Experiments like this… I can help you."
Crocodile raised his head and spoke seriously.
"Overthrowing Alabasta? For people with power like ours, ruling or destroying kingdoms means nothing."
"Aren't you curious about my real objective?"
"I can become your crew member."
"I'll even share the secret with you."
By now, Crocodile had completely abandoned the last remnants of his pride.
But—
Yuuki's expression didn't change at all.
Just as Crocodile was about to continue—
Yuuki casually waved his hand.
"You're talking about Pluton, one of the three Ancient Weapons… right?"
Crocodile's pupils instantly shrank.
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