Necessary Evil, Chaotic Good

An empty warehouse on the back street of Water 7.

"Well done, Nicole Robin."

In this dark warehouse, two people sat across from each other at a round table, with a tall figure standing beside them.

"That's a trivial matter, requiring no effort at all."

Nico Robin, dressed in a black leather outfit, opened the newspaper in her hand. The headline featured three Bounty Posters: one of herself, one of Luffy, and one of Zoro.

The Murderer Who Assassinated Mr. Iceburg, the City Hero!!

Beneath the bolded and lengthened headline was a massive bounty from Water 7: 50 million Beli per person!

Of course, even without a reward, the city's anger was already uncontrollable. Countless boatmen, armed with axes, saws, and Fire Pistol, spontaneously organized themselves to search for the murderer.

Meanwhile, the real culprits were leisurely discussing how to assassinate their mayor once again.

"Tonight is the most important night!"

Sitting opposite Robin, the man, whose entire body was hidden in the shadows, had a calm voice that echoed in the warehouse.

"We will go into Mr. Iceburg's room again,"

"No matter how much he pretends to be crazy, we must get our hands on that thing!"

After speaking, the man opposite him looked up and glanced at Robin.

"You remember,"

"We are doing a just cause!"

Without a doubt, the actions of the two CP9 members in the room, who belonged to the government, were indeed 'just'.

Authorized by the government, they commit dark acts in the name of justice. If they could obtain the blueprints to recreate 'Pluton' and even mass-produce it, they could end the Great Pirate Era. The 'peaceful' lives of ordinary people would also return...

Of course, by then, it would be perfectly reasonable for the World Government, which holds the power of Pluton, to raise the Celestial Gold by a tiny bit, since the Celestial Dragons also need to eat.

Not to mention all those who have vested interests by clinging to the government!

"Let's go."

After their discussion, the three of them stood up simultaneously and picked up the capes and masks hanging nearby. — The island was currently in the midst of a 'Mask Carnival' festival, so this disguise was actually the 'normal' attire.

The three people walked out of the warehouse at the same time, and then, just as they reached the door, something strange happened! They disappeared into thin air one by one, as if there was a door connecting to another place.

Null.

After a while, a seagull flapped its wings and landed in the warehouse. With a cooing sound, it walked slowly, looking left and right, and pecked at the ground as it came to the round table. Then, its head suddenly turned 180 degrees!

In the eerie 'eyes' of the seagull, lines of text are visible on the back of the wooden table.

······

"That woman is dishonest,"

Two figures appeared out of nowhere in an empty alley. The tall man in the checkered cloak and bear head mask, who was walking behind, reported to the man next to him who was wearing a white trench coat and a bull head mask.

"She left a message under the table."

"Ignore her."

The man in the trench coat wearing the bull's head mask calmly shook his head.

"Her abilities are useless against all of us, but once we're bound by emotions, even the troublesome 'Ohara Demon' can only obediently become a pawn."

As he spoke, the man took off the bull's head mask, unbuttoned his trench coat, and handed it to the bear-headed cloaked man next to him. At the same time, a pigeon flew over and landed on his shoulder.

"Ready, tonight we'll—?"

"This area hasn't been checked yet—"

Amidst a series of hurried footsteps, a group of boatmen armed with weapons rushed into the alley! But they immediately lowered their weapons obediently, because a man wearing a black top hat and a white vest was standing in the alley.

"Foreman Rob Lucci, what are you doing here?"

The man they respectfully called 'Foreman Rob Lucci' was a stern-looking fellow, dressed in overalls with a pigeon perched on his shoulder. He remained unmoved by the boatmen's questions, while the pigeon on his shoulder flapped its wings angrily.

"Coo coo coo, Mr. Iceburg has been assassinated! Do you think you're the only ones investigating this?"

"Lucci was also very angry; you could tell just by looking at his face, right?"

Ah, look at Foreman Rob Lucci's expression...

Never mind,

"So it was Foreman Rob Lucci who was investigating this matter too," the boatmen nodded and turned to leave. The foreman was renowned for his meticulousness, seriousness, and competence. With him patrolling the area, there was no need for them at all.

'I will never come back to you,'

Let's say goodbye in this city.

'Things about my past are all true...'

"Last night, I broke into Mr. Iceburg's room to assassinate him."

'Things will continue to worsen; you will take the blame, and I will take the opportunity to escape.'

'Although we didn't spend much time together, you were all very kind to me, thank you. Finally—goodbye.'

On a piece of white paper on the table, a line of text appeared in a soft, rustling sound, leaving the Straw Hat crew members speechless.

"The situation is supposedly continuing to worsen... Could it be that Robin is preparing to—"

Zoro glanced at Roman; these were words projected from behind the round table in the abandoned warehouse using Roman's ability.

"It was probably a 'real' assassination of Mayor Iceberg."

Nami picked up the conversation, explaining that the Straw Hat crew weren't stupid at all; in fact, they were all quite shrewd. It was just that their intelligence was usually masked by their comedic antics. Once they got serious, they quickly gleaned a great deal of useful information from the notes Robin had left behind.

"In other words, if we stay at the mayor's house tonight..."

Sanji a cigarette.

"Then you will be able to see Robin."

"Then we can ask Sister Robin what her difficulties are!"

Chopper summed it up happily.

"Don't be so optimistic," Zoro calmly suggested another possibility.

"Maybe this is a trap!"

"Robin is well aware of our capabilities and knows that Roman always maintains the habit of releasing scout birds to keep watch. So it's possible that he deliberately left behind misleading information."

"If we show up at the mayor's house tonight, it will confirm that we are 'assassins'!"

After the analysis, everyone looked at Luffy and Roman.

One is the decision-maker, and the other is the planner.

········

"Emergency report! Emergency report!"

"The giant tsunami 'Aqua Laguna' is coming tonight!"

"Please, all citizens, seek refuge at the shipyard. To reiterate, all citizens, please..."

???

"This is--"

"This is a unique natural phenomenon on this island. Every year, the city is submerged by a giant tsunami, and at that time, people go to the shipyard's shelter for refuge."

"At the same time, after the tsunami hit the Water 7, it left a high concentration of sea salt on the eaves of every house. The local residents also used the sea salt left by the giant tsunami to cook dishes."

After Roman finished recounting the information the paper birds had heard, he casually remarked.

"It's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly..."

Robin is entangled with the government's assassination agency, Usopp and the Going Merry have left the crew, and a giant tsunami is about to strike...

"So, Luffy, what do you think?"

"Whether it's a CP or a tsunami," Luffy, his expression unmoved as he looked at the citizens outside who were taking their families to safety, and the armed shipwrights guarding the headquarters of the Galley-La Company not far away.

"I need to find Robin and ask her a question!"

She has left a message for us—

Why should I listen to her?!

Luffy's answer made Roman shrug, and with a slight shake, the words on the paper in his hand immediately disappeared.

"Well then, everyone, get some rest. A tough battle awaits you tonight!"

Water 7 Dock 6

The warehouse under the bridge.

"Aren't you going to give up, young man?"

This warehouse is Franky's secret base, which he has now 'lent' to Usopp to store the Golden Merry.

"That's true. The fact that a 'Ship Spirit' could be born shows that you truly consider this ship a partner. But—"

Seeing Usopp still hammering and banging on the ship, Franky had to persuade him to stop again.

"Let go, young man."

"Your ship... it's time for it to rest."

"You're just forcing the ship to do things beyond its capabilities, and in the end—"

Franky, looking like a perverted middle-aged man, sat on a dilapidated sofa, his hands propped up in front of him with a serious expression.

"Let him Four-Point Separation on his next voyage, sinking into the sea with the regret of not being able to bring his crew ashore!"

Clang,

With the hammer gone and nails rolling on the ground, Usopp sat there, his face filled with dejection.

"Yes, I've given up on myself."

Why force the Going Merry?

I wonder how Luffy are doing? Why did they get involved in the mayor assassination attempt out of nowhere? I should do something—

What are you thinking? They're not part of the Straw Hat crew anymore. Besides, there's Roman, Zoro, and the others...

The wind howled, and dark clouds loomed over the city.

Layer upon layer of waves crashed against Water 7, like the shadows lurking beneath the city's surface.

The powerful figures, harboring their own secrets, were all polishing their swords and spears, preparing their weapons, waiting for night to fall!