Thinking of this, Vladimir selected a summon, his consciousness invading a certain bright spot. Suddenly, a dizzying sensation hit, and the world shifted.
...
In the West Sea, a small town called Happy Town—an extremely remote place, so remote that there's not even a Navy base nearby.
On the main street of the town, there's a casino.
Inside a dimly lit lounge of the casino, an eighteen-year-old girl sat by a candle, reading a book.
The book came from the Grand Line; its author was once a pirate captain. He was once very famous in the West Sea, but six months ago, he entered the Grand Line. This once renowned pirate captain in the West Sea had turned into a corpse, carried back by his crew.
This book was his personal notebook—notes he wrote, recording the mysterious stories he encountered or heard about.
The girl was reading a chapter titled "Shadow Fiend."
At first, she paid no mind, just reading casually. But as she went further, she began to feel increasingly uneasy.
"Shadow Fiend… Pirate, from the mysterious Phantom Pirates, bounty… 500 million!? Once alone, infiltrated Mary Geoise, assassinated a Celestial Dragon, and caused a stir in the world government. Yet, as I write this, the Shadow Fiend remains safe and sound. It's…"
Her voice trembled slightly as she read the notes.
Even the Celestial Dragons dared to assassinate!
And a bounty of 500 million—how terrifying! In the West Sea, the highest bounty was only a few tens of millions; none even reached a hundred million.
Five hundred million—an astronomical figure!
Just then, flickering candlelight revealed a wisp of black smoke rising in the dim room.
This black smoke appeared behind the girl, slowly coalescing into a fully black figure.
"Who's calling me?"
A deep, distant voice suddenly echoed.
The girl turned around abruptly, her face full of shock.
"Who's calling me?"
The swirling black smoke materialized out of nowhere, forming into a fully black figure.
On the face of the figure, only a pair of eyes could be seen. At this moment, those eyes were fixed on the eighteen-year-old girl in front of him.
"Are you…!"
The girl spun around suddenly, her face full of shock.
If she weren't someone who had long been involved in the dark world, with mental resilience far beyond ordinary people, she might have screamed out loud by now.
But even so, she felt her mind tremble, her heart pounding wildly.
She was very nervous—this eerie figure was so similar to the pirate described in the captain's notes.
"Huh?"
Vladimir raised an eyebrow, admiringly said, "Good mental resilience."
"Are you Shadow Fiend?" The girl looked at him in surprise. "Completely black, emitting wisps of black smoke, with only a pair of eyes visible… You are Shadow Fiend!"
A bounty of 500 million!
Daring to infiltrate Mary Geoise alone and kill a Celestial Dragon—what a terrifying criminal!
"Great Pirate?" Vladimir chuckled softly. "I'm just a small courier in the Phantom Pirates. You can think of me as a messenger. But you, I sense… something familiar."
A bit familiar.
Vladimir thought to himself that the girl in front of him was pretty, tall, with delicate features, especially her high nose—exotic and striking.
It wasn't that Vladimir saw a beautiful girl and felt familiar; it was truly a feeling of familiarity.
"Are you afraid of me?" After observing her for a moment, Vladimir asked softly.
"Afraid…" The girl took a deep breath. "You're from the Grand Line? How did you come here?"
"There's nowhere I can't go in the world."
"Shadow Fiend, are you the captain of the Phantom Pirates?"
"I told you, I'm just a messenger, a courier."
"A courier?"
The girl was stunned. A 500 million bounty pirate running errands—what kind of pirate crew is this? They're so extravagant!
Seeing this, Vladimir couldn't help but laugh, teasingly said, "What's your name? Summon me over, and I can make a deal with you. As long as you pay the price, I can help you kill anyone. But if you have no reason, then I'll have to take action and kill you."
The girl's body stiffened, instinctively reaching for a dagger at her waist.
"I didn't mean to summon you. I don't even know how to summon. I just read a captain's notebook," she gritted her teeth. "My name is... Robin, Nico Robin."
"Oh."
Vladimir paused, then suddenly realized. "No wonder you look familiar—Oharra's survivor, Nico Robin."
Hearing this, Nico Robin's face changed dramatically, turning deathly pale.
She quickly drew her dagger from her waist and retreated, holding the dagger in front of her defensively.
"You're here to capture me!" Robin said warily.
"Relax, I have no ill intentions."
Vladimir shook his head, walking to a nearby table. He picked up an apple, took a bite, then said, "There's no point in capturing you. The Navy only offered a reward of 79 million. With this little money, I could easily kill a pirate in the New World—more valuable than you."
Hearing this, Nico Robin still looked tense, her grip on the dagger tight.
She had been targeted by the Navy with a bounty of 79 million since she was young. That amount was among the highest in the West Sea.
Over the years of fleeing, she had become distrustful of everyone.
The two stared at each other, the atmosphere tense and awkward.
____________________
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