Winds of Change

"Little Qiu, let's go."

On the edge of the island, Robin stood on the shore, carrying a bundle on his back.

Xia Qiu poked her head out, and Robin jumped onto Xia Qiu's head, walked to the end of her neck, and sat down against the first dorsal fin.

Today is the day Xia Qiu and Robin agreed to leave, but they did not stay for the full two years as originally agreed.

Now that we have a plan, let's get started as soon as possible.

Therefore, only half a month later, he and Robin went to Alabasta.

Xia Qiu's nickname was changed from Little Black to Little Qiu.

(One Piece only has an English name and a Japanese name. If you extract the character for 'summer', you can call it summer in English, or Natsu in Japanese. If you extract the character for autumn, it's called aki in Japanese. In reality, there are people called these names. Either one is fine, but if it is written in Chinese, let's call it Xiaoqiu.)

Xia Qiu carried Robin towards Alabasta at a rapid pace.

However, the sea breeze was too strong, so Xia Qiu stretched her arms out from under her body and hung them on her head.

The four tentacles formed a protective circle, blocking the wind.

"Little Qiu, you are so considerate."

Robin reached out and stroked Xia Qiu's wrists and feet.

But the next moment, a high current surged up from the stomata at the back of Xia Qiu's head.

"Ah!"

Robin got soaked and quickly reached out to shield himself from the seawater, complaining, "Little Black, why are you spraying water? My clothes are all wet."

Why are you asking me why it's spraying water?

Xia Qiu thought helplessly, "It's all because you touched my wrists and feet."

Didn't you know that one of an octopus's tentacles is a genital organ?

Yes, the one you touched.

With Robin by his side, Xia Qiu quickly arrived at the coast of Alabasta. Finding a secluded spot, Xia Qiu climbed onto the shore.

It's now May, and things are getting hot in the East China Sea. Alabasta, being a desert country, is experiencing unusually high temperatures, making it hard to breathe.

Robin stepped onto the shore, turned around and said, "Little Qiu, I'm going back first. Wait here for a bit, I'll come find you. If it's appropriate, I'll let you come ashore with me."

"Good."

Xia Qiu nodded, with most of her body resting in the sea.

"If I come, it will be in the morning, right here," Robin added.

"Understood." Xia Qiu nodded again.

"Then I'm leaving."

Robin waved his hand, slung a wooden bag over his shoulder, and walked away into the distance.

Xia Qiu watched her leave and then dived into the sea.

He wouldn't go up with Robin; Robin objected to him going now, believing it might be dangerous.

Xia Qiu also knew that if he faced Crocodile head-on and a conflict broke out, he would surely die.

Moreover, he was not prepared to cross such a long desert.

More importantly, he will not take action now. He will wait at least two or three months until Robin becomes the Vice President again and meets with all the other Senior Agent and Intermediate Agent before he can make his move.

Xia Qiu shook her head and swam away into the distance, intending to eat some creatures.

Robin, you're still alive?

In the office at the Rain Dinners, Crocodile looked at Robin, his eyes filled with surprise. "But they said you were attacked by that Black Fish and fell into the sea. How did you escape?"

"I was attacked by that Black Fish, but a passing merchant ship came by, and the Black Fish left immediately. The merchant ship rescued me," Robin said, recounting the story he had prepared beforehand.

"A merchant ship? That sea monster can smash even warships, how could it have saved you?" Crocodile asked, puzzled.

Robin said, "That merchant ship was huge, and it was made of stinky oak, which gave off a foul smell. As soon as we got close, the fish scurried away from the area."

"I see. I've heard that some types of wood can keep sea fish away."

Crocodile looked at Robin, frowned, and asked, "But why did it take you so long to come back?"

"His leg was broken, his sternum was fractured, and his internal organs were damaged."

Robin said helplessly, "I was rescued and it took me almost a year to recover before I could move around freely again. Then I stayed there for a long time before I returned to this place."

"So you still want to go back to Baroque Works?" Crocodile looked at Robin, narrowing his eyes.

"We signed a four-year agreement."

Robin looked at Crocodile and said seriously, "More importantly, only you can help me see the Poneglyph, and only you can protect me."

"Very good."

Crocodile grinned and said, "The position of Vice President is still vacant. Since you're back, you can continue to serve as Vice President."

Crocodile was overjoyed. For a year and a half after losing Robin, he had not found anyone who knew the Poneglyph.

Now that Robin is back, his ultimate goal can be achieved.

"Then Crocodile very much, Lord Crocodile." Robin smiled.

"By the way, there are two things you need to know."

Crocodile added, "First of all, the Utopia Plan has already begun. Four months ago, I started shipping Dancing Powder to stop rain in most parts of Alabasta. Other plans will follow."

"The plan has begun? Then leave the rest to me." Robin nodded and agreed.

"You don't need to do this task. I'll have you do something else, which is the second thing I want to tell you."

Crocodile snorted and said with a guilty look in his eyes, "A year ago, a group of pirates passed through Alabasta, destroyed Whiskey Peak's stronghold, defeated several Intermediate Agent, and crushed more than sixty BW Works members at sea. They also caused former MR2 and new MR4 Miss Valentine, MR5, and Wednesday to escape just when I was about to take action myself."

"The losses are huge. Coupled with the attack by that Black Fish, nearly half of Baroque Works ' high-end forces have been wiped out," Robin said with a grim expression.

The high-end force includes Senior Agent, Intermediate Agent, and, if we count, Hundred Million Elder, totaling more than two hundred people.

"Yes, and it has caused a morale collapse within the entire Baroque Works. Many people think I am unable to protect the entire organization and have left one after another." Crocodile's face was grim. "Even now, Baroque Works has not recovered to the state it was in before the Black Fish attack."

Robin frowned and said, "This is indeed a problem."

Crocodile looked at Robin and said, "So I hope you will temporarily develop Baroque Works, find strong people to join, and demonstrate your strength. You should be able to do that, right?"

Robin smiled and said, "Leave it to me."

"Call."

Crocodile felt a sense of relief, as the events of the past two years had left him feeling mentally exhausted.

Robin was injured in both attacks.

Now that Robin is back, she can share some of the workload.

"By the way, which pirate crew attacked Baroque Works?" Robin asked curiously.

Crocodile slowly said, "The Spade Pirates."

The Grand Line, the New World.

On the ocean, a huge pirate ship with a whale's head as its prow floated silently, and many people gathered on its wide deck.

The figure sitting beneath the mast is none other Edward Newgate, the World's Strongest man, who commands respect throughout the world.

"Dad, the nautical charts for the Morse Sea Area have been completed."

A girl with golden hair stood not far away, holding a stack of nautical charts.

"Gurara, Nami, you did a great job." Whitebeard looked at the girl and couldn't help but reach out and pat her head. His huge hand was like a giant umbrella.

"Hehe, does Daddy have any reward?" Nami looked up at the Whitebeard.

"What do you want?" the Whitebeard asked with a smile.

Nami said somewhat awkwardly, "I... I saw in the newspaper that there are a lot of nice clothes this year, but they are a bit expensive."

"Then buy them all."

Whitebeard burst into laughter.

"Dad, Nami just bought a lot recently," Marco said irritably from the side.

"What do you know? That's last year's style, it's all outdated." Nami glared at Marco.

"Gurarara, Nami is right, it's time to buy new clothes," Whitebeard chimed in with a smile.

"Thank you, Dad."

Nami hugged Whitebeard's hand, then turned and jogged away.

"Dad really likes Nami."

On one side of the boat, a tall man with a black beard sighed.

"Yes, Teach, Dad dotes on Nami, it's really enviable."

Ace said with a smile, "But Nami is the youngest member of our pirate crew, still a little girl, and quite mischievous. It's normal for Dad to favor her a bit. Besides, her navigation skills are excellent. Senior Adrian said that her navigation skills are already as good as his own. Given time, she will definitely become the best navigator on this sea."

"You're right, she is indeed excellent. Any powerful pirate crew needs such an excellent navigator."

Teach stared in the direction Nami had gone, grinning, his eyes gleaming.

Ace joining the Whitebeard Pirates was a foregone conclusion, because it was known beforehand that he was going to challenge Whitebeard. Jinbe knew about this and took the initiative to find him, fighting him for five days and five nights. Then, Ace challenged Whitebeard and attempted assassination over a hundred times, revealing that his father was the One Piece, yet he was still accepted and finally joined Whitebeard.