Chapter 146: Water 7 – Pool Party, Old Bonds, and a Relaxed Afternoon
"Hehe, Sanji-kun, if you don't mind, could you give me a hand? Thank you." Robin smiled and extended her hand, signaling Sanji to help her out of the water.
Sanji's face lit up with joy. He quickly took Robin's slender hand and gently pulled her up from the water. Then, using "Shave," he instantly flashed to the side to fetch a bath towel and tenderly draped it over Robin's shoulders.
"You've worked hard, Sanji-kun~" Robin reached out and lightly scratched under Sanji's chin, her tone carrying a hint of teasing. "Also, I'm a little hungry. Is there any more grilled meat?"
"Yes! Robin-san! Just tell me what you want!" Sanji spun around in happiness. Before leaving, Robin quietly gave Sol a meaningful glance—she had long noticed the "killing intent" Sanji was radiating earlier and casually helped him out of the situation.
With Sanji's hatred value temporarily reset to zero, Sol finally breathed a sigh of relief. He stopped playing in the water, wiped nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead. Vivi, watching from the side, laughed nonstop: "Hahaha, Sol, you're not playing anymore?"
"Vivi… you definitely did that on purpose, didn't you?" Sol's face was covered in black lines.
"Don't mind him, Vivi. Who told him to trick Sanji in the first place? Now he's played himself into a corner~" Nami looked at Sol with schadenfreude, then stretched out her hand. "Come here and carry me ashore."
Sol obediently walked over, picked Nami up in his arms, and headed toward the shore: "I didn't mean to…"
"Yeah, yeah, you definitely meant to~" Nami teased with a laugh.
"Granny Kokoro, Chimney, shall we head up too?" Vivi smiled and called out to the grandmother and granddaughter pair.
Sanji, in a great mood, looked at Luffy and the others and asked with a smile: "What's wrong, Luffy? I've already grilled so much meat—why aren't you eating?"
"Can we really? Sanji! Can we eat now?" Luffy was practically drooling, staring at the grilled meat with eager eyes.
"You idiot! What are you talking about? These water-meat skewers were grilled specifically for you guys!" Before Sanji even finished speaking, Luffy and the others had already pounced on the meat like hungry tigers, stuffing their mouths full.
The next second, they all clutched their cheeks at the same time, showing expressions of pure bliss: "Water-meat BBQ… it's… it's so good!"
"Please enjoy, Robin-san~" Sanji courteously handed over a freshly grilled skewer, his face full of smiles.
"It really is delicious," Robin took a small bite and praised with a smile.
Zoro ate large chunks of meat while drinking, glancing at the Franky Family approaching from a distance and reminding: "Luffy, friends are coming."
"Woohoo! You guys are already having a party here! This big bro is crashing it uninvited—got room for me?" Franky, who had returned, struck his signature weird pose with the Square Sisters and shouted loudly.
Immediately after, Pauly and the other shipwrights arrived behind Iceburg, and even the two giants Kashii and Oimo came over with big smiles.
Luffy looked at the increasingly lively scene and raised both hands happily, shouting: "Then let's have a banquet!"
"Oh!!!"
Everyone cheered in unison, and the cheerful atmosphere instantly lit up the entire poolside.
Slap! Sanji swiftly smacked away a sneaky hand reaching for the grilled meat, leaving a clear red mark. "Let me have just one, Sanji~" Sol blew on his reddened hand, grinning cheekily.
"No! If you want some, grill it yourself! I still have to prepare for Vivi-san and the others. With so many guests, I don't have time to deal with you!" Sanji glared at him irritably.
"Come on, I was wrong, okay? Besides, nothing I grill can compare to your skill, Sanji-sama!" After some pleading, Sol finally managed to calm Sanji down. The price was having to help out all day tomorrow, which earned him a few skewers.
Sol grabbed a big handful of grilled meat, slipped into a corner, and ate while drinking: "Sanji's grilled meat really is perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside!"
"Isn't this our Vice Captain? Why are you hiding here eating alone?" Robin walked over with a glass of red wine and sat down beside him with a gentle smile.
"Mmm mmm…" Sol's mouth was stuffed full, replying incoherently.
"I see~" Robin seemed to understand, gently swirling the wine in her glass.
"Sometimes I think… agreeing to your request back in Alabasta might have been one of the best decisions of my life." Robin spoke softly, as if lost in memories. "I've met many kind people, but the moment they found out I had an 80 million berry bounty, fear and greed… the ugliness of human nature made me once believe the world was rotten to the core."
"But then I met all of you," she continued, a warm smile appearing at the corner of her eyes. "You're the first group of idiots I've ever encountered. You charged in without hesitation to save us, even if it meant going against the World Government… This is what Saul meant when he said, 'There is no such thing as a person who is forever alone in this world.' I've finally found nakama who are willing to protect me… and nakama I'm willing to give everything to protect."
Robin looked at the skewer suddenly held out in front of her and paused for a moment.
"Here, for you. We made a promise, didn't we? I will always protect you—so now, let's celebrate happily together!" Sol gave her a thumbs-up and grinned, a piece of vegetable leaf still stuck on his teeth.
"Pfft…" Robin looked at his silly yet sincere expression and finally couldn't hold back her laughter. The sound was full of relief and warmth.
"Oh my, this young man, sorry to bother you, but could I have a skewer too?" Kuzan naturally walked over, casually clinked glasses with Sol, downed it in one go, then smoothly took the remaining skewers from Sol's hand and ate them leisurely.
"Huh? Wait… where did you come from?" Sol downed his own glass and only then reacted belatedly.
"This is really delicious. Is this Water 7's specialty water-meat?" Kuzan finished the skewer unhurriedly before answering Sol's question. "Isn't this a free outdoor party? I just followed the crowd in." He pointed toward the growing number of residents gathering at the entrance.
Sol followed his gaze and saw that it was Luffy again, in full "party mode," welcoming everyone without question and turning the whole street into a banquet venue.
"Nico Robin, I heard what you said earlier," Kuzan turned to Robin, his tone calm. "I have nothing more to say to you now. Live well! You, who were saved by Saul, who have finally found a place to belong—show me what kind of life you will live from now on." He raised his refilled glass toward Robin, then drained it in one gulp and prepared to leave.
"Wait, Kuzan." Robin stopped him and bowed deeply. "Thank you… truly, for everything you've done."
Kuzan didn't say anything more. He simply picked up the last few skewers Sol had left and walked away slowly.
"What the hell… this guy just came to freeload food and drinks…" Sol muttered, pouting slightly.
"Hey, Robin, Sol! What are you doing over there? Come look!" In the distance, Luffy had two chopsticks stuck up his nose, looking utterly ridiculous.
"Pffft hahaha!!! Luffy, you idiot, you're killing me!" Sol pointed at his ridiculous appearance and laughed so hard he nearly fell over.
Robin also couldn't help but smile and said lightly: "Should I try it too?"
"Noooo! Robin-san! Please don't do something so embarrassing!!" Sanji, hearing this, immediately panicked and waved his hands, trying to stop her from this "terrible" idea.
--------------------------
Support us on P@tre0n and gain access to 100 chapters in advance!
[email protected]/inkshield