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"An 800-year-old mural? One that hides the truth of the Void Century?"
Inside the secret chamber beneath the temporary headquarters of the "Baroque Works Room" at Whiskey Peak,
Crack!
Robin, wearing the "Lunar Fox" mask, walked closely beside Shinryu while snapping the pen in her hand in excitement.
"Lord Shinryu, where is it? Is it the place you visited before returning? Is it also part of the organization's Information?"
Her voice carried unconcealed excitement.
She naturally could never have imagined that Shinryu would casually go out once and stumble upon something of this magnitude, and after the previous journey to Skypiea, Robin no longer doubted Shinryu's words in the slightest.
"Can you let me see that mural? I can help translate it. Use me for anything, I can do whatever is needed!"
Normally reserved and quiet, she now seemed on the verge of becoming a chatterbox.
But Shinryu was not surprised.
He understood very clearly that, for Robin, the "survivor of Ohara", this news likely held greater meaning than even her own life.
If someone told her the mural was located in Mary Geoise, she would probably transform into Fisher Tiger on the spot.
"You are a subordinate of our organization,' so of course I'll let you see the mural. However, the mural's condition is very special, it's an 'afterimage' left directly from the past through a Devil Fruit ability. It cannot be removed from that place. I'll take you there later."
Still, Shinryu did not reject Robin's proposal.
Just as he had told her, he had already roughly interpreted the contents of the mural formed from "Mirage Energy."
Davy Jones, the Twenty Kings who were the ancestors of the Celestial Dragons, the Giants, the Fish-Men, and the rise and fall of that enormous Kingdom,
The ancient history depicted on the mural was clearly the story of the Void Century.
"The black shadow within the tree should, if nothing unexpected happened, be that 'Imu.'"
"It seems that He once cooperated with Davy Jones and gave him that spherical object. That thing may have possessed some kind of power. Through it, Davy Jones became the first pirate and plundered the 'world.'"
"He forced all races to become his subordinates and established the 'Great Kingdom.' Even the Fish-Men of the deep sea and the powerful Giants submitted to him, receiving the Treasure Tree Adam and the Sunlight Tree Eve as the foundations of their survival."
That also explained why the rules of the game called "Davy Back Fight," named after Davy Jones, revolved around "the loser submitting to the winner."
Because perhaps that was exactly what Davy Jones himself had once done. He was the founder and first king of that Great Kingdom eight hundred years ago.
But afterward, he was clearly betrayed.
The ancestors of the Celestial Dragons, the Twenty Kings who "created the world", betrayed him and formed a new pact with Imu.
One could easily imagine that a massive war followed.
Davy Jones joined forces with the "Sun," but was ultimately defeated. And that "Sun" was undoubtedly Joy Boy.
Thus, the Kingdom from eight hundred years ago was destroyed.
Davy Jones was likely gravely wounded as well and ultimately forced to flee aboard the Abyss, escaping into the dense fog.
From then on, the World Government was established, and the "order" of the seas became what it is today.
Naturally, Shinryu still had many unanswered questions.
For example, the origins of everything, the information regarding that "tree," and the spherical object obtained by Davy Jones.
Many mysteries still remained unsolved.
And because the mural truly did contain a small amount of ancient script, he genuinely needed Robin's help to decipher it.
But obviously,
Now was not the time.
"I still have matters to attend to, Mr. All Sunday."
Looking at Robin, who practically wanted to rush over and see the mural immediately, Shinryu spoke softly.
"Matters to attend to?"
Only then did Robin suppress the anxiety in her heart, her beautiful brows knitting together slightly.
"But didn't you just return from completing your mission?"
Shinryu shook his head.
"Going to the Florian Triangle Sea was merely the 'precondition' of the mission. The real mission is only beginning now."
"The Leader has already issued the order, the stars shall gather. I have received the summons. Naturally, I must answer it."
Shinryu spoke in a low voice.
"My return this time was only to introduce him to you before I leave."
As he spoke, he pushed open the secret chamber's door.
A tavern appeared before him.
This was the public identity of the Baroque Works Room's temporary headquarters at Whiskey Peak, the Cactus Tavern.
And at that moment, Robin saw at a glance,
A skeleton was lying across the center of the tavern.
Robin's eyes instantly lit up.
"Lord Shinryu, could this also be an eight-hundred-year-old skeleton?"
Almost instinctively, she reached toward her robes for her archaeological gloves.
The moment her words fell, she saw the skeleton blink,
Even though he had no eyes.
"Huh? Me?" He raised a bony finger and pointed at himself.
And then,
"Eh?!" Brook jumped up angrily.
"How rude! Do I really look like someone who's been dead for eight hundred years? I take very good care of myself… although I really am dead. Yohohoho! But judging by your voice, honored lady, you seem to be a beautiful young woman. Would it be possible for me to see your… "
"Alright, save the boring skeleton jokes and perverted jokes for later."
Before he could finish, Shinryu interrupted him.
Then, as Brook shrank into a corner muttering, "They're not boring jokes at all! I thought very hard about them! Although I don't have a brain…," while hugging his knees,
Shinryu turned toward Robin.
"This guy is called Brook. He is…"
He briefly explained Brook's identity and the reason he had become like this.
"He'll temporarily become a member of the organization from now on. I'll leave him under your command for the time being. Also, please keep safe the corpse he brought back for me."
After saying that, Shinryu turned toward Brook again.
"This is my subordinate, 'Lunar Fox.' Mister Brook, until you find companions capable of helping you fulfill your promise, follow her for now."
That was correct.
After leaving the Abyss, Shinryu had returned once again to Thriller Bark and brought both Brook and Ryuma's corpse out with him. Brook had naturally been endlessly grateful for this and had also made a request to Shinryu.
"I intend to continue fulfilling the promise I made with my companions. After circling the world once, I want to return to Twin Cape and pick up Laboon. But before that, I think I need to find some reliable companions."
After everything that happened in the Florian Triangle Sea, Brook clearly understood,
There was no way he could travel through the Grand Line alone with only his own strength.
He needed companions who were powerful enough and steadfast enough.
And obviously, people like that were not easy to find.
"So before then, could you let me do some work for your organization to earn living expenses?"
"With my current appearance, I'd probably scare people if I went elsewhere. That would trouble my conscience, you know, although I don't have a heart! Yohohoho!"
And because of that request, the current scene had come about.
"I see…"
After learning that this skeleton was not an eight-hundred-year-old relic but merely a Devil Fruit user, Robin nodded with slight disappointment.
However, as the one who usually handled the internal affairs of the Baroque Works Room, she quickly made a decision.
"You said you're a musician?"
"Yes."
"In that case, you'll be responsible for washing dishes in the tavern."
Robin smiled.
"The bounty hunter who used to wash dishes here was killed by a pirate while carrying out a mission."
Brook: "Uh… no, what I said just now was musi…"
"The pay is quite good. As long as you join the organization, not only are there various benefits, but the monthly salary is at least this much…"
"Ah…! I will complete the mission, Maam!"
…In a certain sense, this "Devil Child" really was a devil.
"Well then, I'll be leaving first."
Watching Brook quickly surrender to the power of money and abandon the pride of being a musician, Shinryu grinned.
As Shinryu walked toward the tavern entrance,
Robin suddenly spoke.
"Lord Shinryu."
"Hmm?"
"You will take me to see that mural, right?"
That was her question. But when Shinryu turned around, what he saw was the worry in Robin's eyes that she could no longer conceal.
Naturally, Robin was not stupid.
She had spent a considerable amount of time with Shinryu and naturally knew that this powerful man, who usually acted lazy and disliked moving around, rarely became this serious.
Not to mention, Shinryu had already said it earlier.
This mission was not something he was going to carry out.
Rather, the Leader had issued a mission to all of them.
Robin could naturally guess the meaning behind that.
And if her guess was correct,
Then without question, the event Shinryu was about to participate in would be a major incident capable of shaking the entire sea.
And major incidents usually meant one thing,
The enemies involved would certainly be dangerous.
So of course she was worried.
After spending this period of time here, she had already accepted and grown accustomed to life within the organization.
That peaceful, stable life,
A life where she no longer had to worry about pursuit from the Marines, no longer had to fear betrayal from organizations, and could openly study history,
It felt so unreal that she sometimes could hardly believe it.
Ever since Ohara's destruction, she had never experienced such a life again.
And without realizing it,
She had completely accepted her identity.
She was no longer merely Nico Robin.
She was also one of the highest officers of the Twelve Zodiac,
One of Shinryu's subordinate Constellations,
The "Lunar Fox."
"Naturally."
Then Robin heard Shinryu's calm reply.
BOOM!
At that very moment, thunder roared.
Above the sky, a bolt of lightning descended before the tavern.
Amid the raging wind, Shinryu's figure transformed within the lightning strike into a Scarlet Dragon and soared into the heavens.
"We are the Twelve Zodiac."
As he spoke, the eyes beneath his mask looked only in one direction.
"So naturally… we will win."
That was the direction of the New World.
That was… The direction of Totto Land.
(End of Chapter)