"Fire! Fire, damn it! If you miss again, I'll throw you overboard for the Sea Kings!"
Captain Smith Ham of the Longbeard Pirates roared in fury. He had a mess of black hair, but his long beard was meticulously groomed. As a pirate who idolized Whitebeard, he wanted to inspire fear in everyone, just like Edward Newgate.
The merchant ship was indeed afraid—but instead of surrendering, they had fled at the sight of him.
Not that surrendering would have guaranteed their safety, but now that they'd run, everyone would be fed to the Sea Kings.
The gunners were sweating bullets. Their captain was cruel and merciless—if they missed again, they'd really be thrown into the sea.
Another cannonball fired. The gunners watched anxiously as it traced a graceful arc toward the merchant ship.The gunners held their breath, their hearts pleading: Hit! Hit! Hit!
"We hit it! We really hit it! Hahaha, Captain, we did it!"
"Call me Captain Longbeard! Lads, bring the ship alongside!"
That eagerly anticipated cannonball had struck true, snapping one of the merchant ship's masts clean in half. Now, with its speed nearly halved, the merchant vessel would soon be overtaken.
While the pirates' morale soared, the atmosphere aboard the merchant ship grew heavy with despair.
"What do we do, Captain Jess? That's Longbeard out there!"
"We're dead… we're dead…"
"Longbeard is the cruelest—he'll kill everyone and toss us to the Sea Kings!"
"It's all your fault, Robin! This was your idea! If you hadn't suggested running, maybe Longbeard would've just taken our goods!"
"Robin, you've doomed us all!"
"Robin, you're just the ship's accountant—who gave you the right to give orders?"
"..."
Nico Robin, just fifteen years old, paled and lowered her head, on the verge of tears. She had boarded the merchant ship under the alias "Robin" less than a month ago. Until now, everyone had gotten along so well—but now… Was hoping for a pirate's mercy really the right choice?
Captain Jess hesitated, torn. He had agreed with Robin's plan, as had the others now blaming her. None of them had dared to leave their fate in the pirates' hands. When escape had seemed within reach, they had all praised Robin's quick thinking. But now…
He knew that even he couldn't suppress the crew's desperate need to vent their frustration. If he defended Robin now, he'd only make himself the target—after all, though Robin had proposed the plan, the final decision had been his as captain.
Fine. They were all going to die anyway—let them take it out on Robin. If there's a next life, I swear I'll never leave dry land again. To hell with the sea and its so-called romance!
As the pirate ship closed in, Leo shouted, "Hurry up, Captain! They're boarding!"
"Almost there, almost there!"
Badak fumbled with the sails.
Truthfully, Badak had miscalculated. He had estimated their speed based on two fixed points, assuming that even as a novice, he could intercept the merchant ship before the pirates boarded. But ships moved, turning his fixed-target scenario into a moving-target challenge. Now, Badak had to constantly adjust the sails, and his lack of experience meant they had wasted precious time tacking back and forth. Despite their frantic efforts, they were still about fifty meters short.
Just as Badak was about to resort to his backup plan, he paused. The merchant ship seemed to be surrendering—already?
Longbeard, wielding a massive iron hammer, leaped onto the merchant ship first, followed by a gang of vicious pirates.
"You bastards made me work for it," he growled. "So, how do you want to die?"
With a swing of his hammer, he shattered the remaining mast.
Already terrified, most of the merchant crew collapsed to their knees, weeping and begging for mercy.
"Captain Longbeard, I'm the navigator—spare me!"
"I'm the cook! My food's amazing! Please take me in!"
"I—I—I—Captain Longbeard, it was her! She tricked us all!""Yes, yes, yes, she's a witch! I once saw her grow many hands. So terrifying!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier? We should burn the witch!"
"I... I thought I was seeing things."
"Robin, if you have any sense of responsibility, you should take the blame."
Nico Robin felt her eyes swelling. Originally, she had planned to use her Flower-Flower Fruit ability to ambush and instantly kill Longbeard once the pirates boarded, then fight desperately alongside the others. If they worked together, there might still be hope for victory. But now, she felt it would be better to just die.
No, I can't die yet. Ohara, Saul—they need me to live. No matter what it takes, I must survive.
She considered whether the Longbeard Pirates would accept her as a Devil Fruit user. If not, she would have no choice but to fight to the death.
"You're Robin, the one with many hands... You're the Devil Child, Nico Robin! Hahahaha, a bounty of 79 million Belly! I'm about to strike it rich!"
"What?! The Devil Child?!"
"79 million bounty?!"
The merchants trembled in fear.
Damn it. Robin panicked, crossing her arms over her chest, ready to strike.
"Grab her!"
Longbeard was still wary of the Devil Child and decided to let his underlings test her first.
"Ooooh—!"
The pirate underlings swarmed forward, leaving Robin helpless. Over the years, she had been constantly on the run, never able to settle down, and only developed her fruit abilities in stolen moments. Her current abilities could only handle a few opponents at a time. Was this the end? Even if she was captured, would she be able to escape later?
Badak had already maneuvered his ship beneath the merchant vessel earlier, yet neither group had noticed. He signaled Leo to stay calm and listened carefully to the conversation above. When he heard "Nico Robin," his heart stirred—this was a talent delivered right to his doorstep. He urgently needed someone to educate the two children, and Nico Robin, a genius who became an archaeologist at eight, was the perfect candidate. Moreover, Robin excelled at intelligence gathering and analysis, making her an excellent external brain for any team. Her ability to decipher Poneglyphs, however, was more of a liability to Badak.
Though the merchants were detestable, they were lucky this time.
Badak unleashed a burst of Conqueror's Haki toward the front. Both the pirate underlings and the merchant crew instantly lost consciousness. Only Longbeard Smith Ham and Robin managed to hold on, though their minds were hazy.
There was no helping it—Badak still couldn't distinguish friend from foe with his Haki.
He leaped onto the deck and scoffed. Still conscious? He delivered a swift chop to the back of Longbeard's neck, finally knocking him out.
Robin saw this last scene before she, too, succumbed to unconsciousness.