On the street outside the tavern—
Hawkins, with his pale face and terrifying eyes, looked somewhat bewildered at Perona, who had suddenly appeared in front of him.
Having just finished shopping with Robin and heading to the tavern to find Arashi, Perona was clearly deeply attached to Gothic Lolita fashion. Although she had changed into a new outfit, it still retained her beloved dark aesthetic.
Yet despite being a lover of dark-themed Lolita fashion and possessing the powers of the Ghost-Ghost Fruit, Perona was so startled by Hawkins's frightening eyes and deathly pale face that she immediately jumped behind Robin and grabbed her before turning to run.
Robin had never expected that this little girl, who possessed the Ghost-Ghost Fruit and could single-handedly take on the entire Stello Pirate Crew, would suddenly become so timid.
That said, Hawkins really did have the kind of appearance that could give children nightmares. He looked like a monster walking among humans.
Left with no choice, Robin followed Perona as the two hurried into a clothing store they had visited earlier and hid inside.
"Huh?!"
Watching Perona and Robin turn around and flee, Hawkins blinked in confusion.
Meanwhile, several of the pirates beside him stepped forward, ready to grab the rude little girl.
"Have you already forgotten what I said?"
Seeing his crew move, Hawkins immediately frowned and said in a deep voice,
"Today is not a day for taking lives. Stand down."
Meanwhile—
Inside the tavern, after hearing the commotion outside, Drake first smiled and shook his head before suddenly widening his eyes.
"Ro... Robin?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he stood up and headed straight for the entrance.
By the time Drake stepped out of the tavern, Perona and Robin had already vanished from the street.
Only the Hawkins Pirates remained.
Seeing the pirate crew standing in the street, Drake was momentarily caught off guard. His gaze immediately settled on Hawkins.
"Marines!"
Likewise, the pirates behind Hawkins all shrank their pupils.
They had known Marines were present in Joy Town, but they hadn't expected to run into a Marine officer in full uniform immediately upon entering the town.
"The Magician, Hawkins."
As his gaze fell on Hawkins, Drake instinctively tightened his grip on the sword at his waist before slowly walking forward.
Faced with the Marine Headquarters Brigadier General, Hawkins displayed no panic whatsoever.
Instead, he turned toward Drake with a calm expression and said lightly,
"Drake. It's been a long time."
Stopping before Hawkins, Drake asked in a deep voice,
"Tell me. What happened here just now?"
"Nothing happened."
A rare smile appeared on Hawkins's face as he stared at Drake's Marine uniform.
"I didn't expect you to become a Marine Headquarters Brigadier General so quickly."
He paused before continuing.
"So tell me, Brigadier General. Are you planning to arrest us pirates, or are you simply here to catch up with an old acquaintance?"
Of course Hawkins knew why Drake had suddenly rushed out and questioned him.
Likewise, when he had heard Perona call out "Robin," he had been slightly surprised and glanced at the woman being dragged away.
Although Hawkins operated in the North Blue, any pirate with even a modest bounty had heard the name Demon Child Nico Robin of Ohara.
After all, Robin had received a bounty of over seventy million Beli when she was only eight years old.
At that age, Hawkins and Drake had still been playing in the dirt.
However, while they knew the name of the Demon Child from West Blue, neither had ever met her in person.
Their impression of Nico Robin remained the same as the image printed on her wanted poster when she was eight years old.
Thus, even if Robin stood directly in front of them now, they wouldn't recognize her.
Drake ignored Hawkins.
Although Hawkins was a pirate captain and Drake was a Marine Headquarters Brigadier General, arresting pirates wasn't the purpose of his current mission.
To be precise, he had absolutely no interest in capturing pirates right now.
The name he had heard inside the tavern earlier had caught him completely off guard.
It was that name that had drawn him outside.
Yet now, aside from Hawkins and his crew, there wasn't another soul on the entire street.
"Strange."
Drake swept his gaze around the area.
After confirming that there was no one suspicious nearby, he shook his head and looked back at Hawkins.
"Leave before I change my mind."
With that, he turned around and headed back toward the tavern.
However, when he stepped inside, the seat Arashi had occupied at the bar was already empty.
Drake froze once again.
Meanwhile—
After Drake left the tavern, Arashi had also settled his bill and departed.
While Drake was confronting Hawkins, Arashi headed directly to the clothing store where Perona and Robin were hiding.
"Arashi! Arashi!"
The moment she saw him enter, Perona immediately jumped over and said with lingering fear,
"Those people out there were so scary! Waaah!"
Looking at the little girl's exaggerated reaction, Arashi couldn't help but feel speechless.
Are you really scared or just pretending?
He's just a person...
At that moment, Robin, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Arashi."
She paused before continuing.
"I think I've seen those pirates on wanted posters before."
"Mm."
Arashi nodded.
"Hawkins. User of the Straw-Straw Fruit."
"Hm?"
Just as he finished speaking, Arashi's eyes suddenly narrowed.
He immediately turned toward the entrance.
At the same time, Hawkins and his crew arrived outside the clothing store.
Standing at the front, Hawkins held a tarot card and slightly raised his head toward Robin inside.
A sharp light flashed in his eyes.
"I'm not completely certain," he said in a low voice, "but my intuition tells me that you're Nico Robin from the West Blue."
The moment those words fell—
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Perona, surprisingly, was no longer afraid of the frightening-looking Hawkins.
Instead, she stared at Arashi without blinking.
Robin calmly stepped forward and stood beside Arashi.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"So it really is you..."
Looking at Robin standing beside Arashi, Hawkins drew another tarot card.
Then, with a strange expression, he murmured,
"Survival probability... one hundred percent?"
Suddenly—
Hawkins's pupils contracted violently.
His expression changed dramatically as he looked up at Arashi standing beside Robin.
"Have you calculated your own survival rate?"
The instant Hawkins raised his head, Arashi stepped out of the clothing store and said coldly,
"Or do you think your luck is exceptionally good today?"
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