"Oh my, it's because I have nowhere else to go."
Robin said softly, a faint smile still lingering on her face.
"Just call me Robin. I look forward to working with you all."
"As you wish, Miss Robin!"
Sanji gladly accepted this non-excuse of an excuse. His eyes turned into hearts with infatuation as his body wiggled around like a noodle.
But just because he accepted it didn't mean the others would.
Nami immediately stepped forward, her vigilant gaze... instantly turning into infatuated dollar signs.
"Consider these gems a greeting gift."
Robin smiled, taking out a small pouch of jewels and shaking it.
Nami's eyes tracked the movement of the gems. Cupping her hands together, she accepted them with a look of pure obsession.
"Thank you, big sister!"
"You're way too easily bribed, boss lady!"
The Nyaban Brothers yelled, rolling their eyes in exasperation before stepping toward Robin in unison.
Robin smiled and handed over a snack gift box. "I have something for you two as well. Grilled fish-flavored potato chips, a specialty of Rainbase."
"Potato chips!" "Grilled fish flavor!"
Buchi and Sham stared intently at the gift box, practically drooling.
Allen glared at them furiously. "You two are even more pathetic! It's just a box of potato chips!"
"But boss, potato chips are really delicious!"
"And they're fish-flavored! We really want to try them!"
Buchi and Sham wept tears of utter weakness.
Veins popped on Allen's forehead. He turned his glare back to Robin.
"Even if you won them over, that doesn't mean you can join this crew. Don't forget, I'm the captain!"
"Is that so."
Robin smiled faintly, looking at him. "I once deciphered a Poneglyph that recorded clues about a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. I wonder if you'd be interested in hearing about it."
"Don't try that on me. As if I'd be swayed by a single Devil Fruit... Wait a minute, did you say Mythical Zoan?"
Realizing what she had just said, Allen's expression changed instantly. He turned and shouted at the Nyaban Brothers:
"Buchi! Sham! Hurry up and gather the crew! We're throwing a welcome banquet for Robin!"
Gin: "..."
"Yes, boss!"
"Time to party!"
The Nyaban Brothers grinned, eagerly jumping down from the upper deck.
A regular Devil Fruit was one thing, but a Mythical Zoan was an entirely different story. As abilities born from myths and legends, there was practically no such thing as a weak Mythical Zoan.
Even among the scarce few dozen recorded in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, every single one was an incredibly powerful existence.
Allen turned back to Robin and said, "Alright, let's continue our discussion about that Devil Fruit."
...
A short while later, in the corner library on the third floor.
Robin sat elegantly on a nearby sofa, sipping coffee.
Across the table, Allen flipped through the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia until he finally found the fruit she had mentioned.
Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Type, Model: Teru Teru Bozu.
However, the encyclopedia only provided the fruit's name and a description of its abilities; it did not include an illustration of its appearance.
Allen read through it carefully.
Allen was no stranger to the Teru Teru Bozu. It was simply a round ball wrapped in white cloth, with eyes and a mouth drawn on it, tied tightly with a string and hung up. It looked somewhat like a little ghost.
Some people would hang it by their doors or windows as a talisman to pray for clear skies.
According to the encyclopedia's description, the fruit granted its user the ability to predict and manipulate the weather, including but not limited to sunshine, wind, fog, lightning, and snow.
In the hands of someone with extensive meteorological knowledge, these abilities could unleash power far beyond ordinary imagination.
Through precise control and the combination of different weather phenomena, the user could even brew natural disasters like tsunamis and trigger earthquakes under the right geographical conditions.
"It's a very strong ability. It seems like a perfect fit for Nami. Plus, this thing actually looks kind of cute," Allen muttered.
Robin set down her coffee cup and said softly, "According to the records on the Poneglyph, there is a very romantic story behind this fruit."
"Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a sorcerer who could control the weather. He walked the earth, saving countless commoners from natural disasters. One year, a certain kingdom was struck by continuous torrential rain. The king ordered him to pray for clear skies, but he failed."
"In a fit of rage, the king had him beheaded. His severed head was wrapped in white cloth and hung outside the city gates. The very next day, the weather cleared up."
"The people took this as a ritual to pray for sunshine and began making Teru Teru Bozu dolls. Later, the beheaded sorcerer turned into a demon and cast a curse of eternal sunshine upon the kingdom."
Robin's voice suddenly trailed off. She paused for a moment before smiling. "And then, that kingdom perished in a severe drought."
"...Is... is that so? What a romantic story."
The corner of Allen's eye twitched speechlessly.
*Was this woman a bit of a psychopath?*
He looked back at the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. The mere thought that the Teru Teru Bozu in the illustration was actually wrapping a bloody, severed head...
"Ahem, let's put that aside for now. What's the situation with the Devil Fruit clue you mentioned?" Allen asked, steering the conversation back on track.
Robin rested her elbow on the table, lightly propping her chin on her palm with a gentle smile.
"According to the records, whenever that fruit appears, the island it resides on becomes perpetually blanketed by harsh, volatile weather. Yet, in the past, the climates of these islands were perfectly normal. It's as if the fruit descends upon them with a curse."
"I went through some books and found a record of the most recent bizarre incident where an entire island's climate suddenly changed. Eighteen years ago, the weather on a Spring Island inexplicably became erratic. The island is called Erast."
As she spoke, Robin took out a Log Pose and placed it on the table.
"Before leaving Alabasta, I managed to buy an Eternal Pose for it. Its location is three islands ahead on our current route, then a left turn near the Calm Belt."
*Three islands ahead, on a perpendicular line to the left toward the Calm Belt...*
A nautical chart surfaced in Allen's mind as he pondered.
"Since it's on the way, there's no need to go out of our way to change our course."
It was perfect timing. If they successfully reached the Sky Island, they wouldn't know which route they would land on when they came back down. When the time came, they could just use the Eternal Pose to head straight there.
He also needed to make a trip to Jaya Island first. Bellamy still had a few Devil Fruits to trade with him. The abilities were decent enough, so he could just toss them to his subordinate squad captains to eat.
Moreover, they didn't necessarily have to go out of their way to find that Mythical Zoan Teru Teru Bozu fruit themselves. He could just have Bellamy hire people to search for it while they were at it.
According to Robin, it was a white fruit shaped like a wax apple.
Since the encyclopedia didn't contain any information about the fruit's appearance, unless someone else had deciphered the exact same Poneglyph, it was impossible for anyone to recognize it as a Mythical Zoan. Therefore, he wasn't worried about the possibility of someone pocketing it for themselves.
Closing the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Allen stood up and left the library.
...
Meanwhile.
At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, a conference room was packed with high-ranking officers of various levels. Brannew stood at the podium, holding a freshly printed bounty poster in his hand.
"Regarding the Alabasta incident from a few days ago, the mastermind behind it, Crocodile, has been escorted to Enies Lobby by Marine Captain Smoker. The World Government has officially ordered the revocation of his Warlord of the Sea title."
"Furthermore, the Demon Lion Allen, who defeated Crocodile during the incident, along with several of his top executives, have had their new bounties evaluated by the Bounty Department."
"Among them is the captain, Demon Lion Allen. He previously engaged in a fierce, unresolved battle on Holiday Island with X Drake, who holds a bounty of 140,000,000 Berries. Later, during the Alabasta incident, he defeated the former Warlord Crocodile in a head-on clash."
*Smack!*
Brannew forcefully slapped a bounty poster featuring Allen's face onto the presentation board. His voice rang out with resounding power:
"Comprehensive evaluation! Demon Lion Allen's bounty has been raised to 210,000,000 Berries!"
*Smack! Smack!*
Brannew slapped two more bounty posters onto the board and shouted:
"His subordinate, Second Division Commander Gin the Demon Man! For defeating the former West Blue bounty hunter and assassin Daz Bonez during the incident, his bounty has been raised to 72,000,000 Berries!"
"And the Nyaban Brothers duo! Also during this incident, they defeated multiple Baroque Works officer agents and recently displayed Zoan-type Devil Fruit abilities. Their combined bounty has been raised to 60,000,000 Berries!"
"With that, the bounty updates for the Demon Lion Pirates are complete. They will be distributed across the world starting today!"
Brannew announced loudly.
As his words fell, a Rear Admiral in the audience raised a question:
"Wait a minute. I recall they have another highly capable executive on their ship—the one who defeated Lieutenant Fullbody in the East Blue."
"You are referring to the Demon Lion Pirates' First Division Commander, Sanji."
Brannew looked at the Rear Admiral and replied:
"The Bounty Department had originally drafted a bounty poster for him, but it was revoked due to special circumstances."
"Revoked?"
"Yes. It was an order handed down by the higher-ups in the World Government. It seems to be related to a certain affiliated nation, though the exact reasons remain unknown," Brannew explained.
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