Exchange and Agreement

Sunlight streamed down, filtering through the leaves and leaving dappled patterns on the ground.

Robin sat on the shore, watching the Black Fish not far away, pondering his words. After a while, he asked, "First question, do you understand the meaning of the word 'human'?"

Xia Qiu nodded.

"Are you human?" Robin asked again.

"Of course I'm not human, I'm a fish now." Xia Qiu immediately shook her head.

Am I human?

Xia Qiu nodded.

Are you a fish?

Am I a fish?

Don't you know you're a fish?

"Do you/I live on land/at sea?"

"Do humans/fish live on land/in the ocean?"

"For your next question, can you answer by shaking your head to indicate yes?"

"..."

Robin asked a series of questions, and all of them had only two answers: yes or no.

Xia Qiu answered the questions by nodding or shaking her head.

The questions are too repetitive, but the answers are different.

Although Xia Qiu felt that her questions were too complicated, she also knew that she might be trying to find out something through her questions.

"Very smart."

Hearing Xia Qiu's answer, Robin couldn't help but nod and said softly, "Having self-awareness, being able to clearly distinguish the referents of 'I' and 'you,' and being able to switch the object of judgment based on the different speakers. Being able to clearly distinguish nouns such as 'human,' 'fish,' 'land,' and 'ocean,' as well as verbs like 'life.' Being aware of one's own actions and behaviors."

"Having self-awareness."

Robin stroked his chin and couldn't help but think, "More importantly, he knows the difference between himself and others, and not only that, he also has the awareness to distinguish his living environment."

Thinking about this, Robin was somewhat surprised that it possessed self-awareness and could make logical distinctions about its own species.

This is no longer a fish that understands human language.

Rather, it is a fish with human-like logical and cognitive abilities.

Robin hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Did you attack my ship?"

"That's right."

Xia Qiu nodded again.

Robin thought for a moment and said, "Then demonstrate the attack motion."

"This is such a hassle."

Xia Qiu was a little impatient, but she still circled around and rushed towards them from a distance.

boom.

Xia Qiu rushed to the shore and suddenly stopped. Seawater splashed out and hit Robin.

"Hahaha."

Robin was splashed with water, but he was overjoyed. He even understood the meaning of "attack" and could clearly identify the word "ship," proving that he was extremely intelligent.

Robin thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you know what one plus one equals?"

"Uh-huh."

Xia Qiu hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would be shocking if she could do math.

However, considering Robin's identity and her current situation, Xia Qiu nodded.

Robin smiled and said, "If it equals three, nod. If it equals four, shake your head."

Are you fucking kidding me?

Xia Qiu stared at Robin, her mouth agape. "Give me a proper answer!"

"Alright, let's try a different answer." Robin coughed and said, "If it equals two, nod. If it equals four, shake your head."

"Two, two, two."

Xia Qiu nodded frantically, somewhat impatiently.

"Then bring a few more."

Robin then asked a few more math questions—addition, multiplication, and division—by giving incorrect answers and then switching the corresponding actions to elicit the answers.

For addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within ten, the other party can get a response.

Addition of two-digit, three-digit, four-digit, or even more digit numbers takes longer to think as the number of digits increases, but the answer can still be chosen.

Multiplication of two-digit numbers requires some thought.

Multiplication of three-digit numbers is even more important. He can solve the problem, but his calculation ability is limited, so he can only make limited distinctions.

For example, if he multiplies 335 by 334, he would choose the answer that ends in 0, but if both answers end in 0, he would need to think about it carefully.

Then, when he chose again, he selected the answer whose first digit was 1.

However, if the first and last digits are different, it will be difficult to answer and the error rate will be relatively high.

This means that this sea fish has basic computing ability, which is not weak and is similar to that of humans.

They also mastered the calculation method and distinguished the answers by the last digit and the first digit.

One must have at least a certain level of mathematical education, and then use experience and logical thinking to make inductions.

He is highly intelligent.

Robin breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little excited. She had seen intelligent animals before, such as some monkeys that could understand actions and specific words, but their reaction to language was a stress response.

They possess a certain degree of self-awareness, but lack awareness of others and are unable to think from a different perspective.

Not to mention things like calculations.

In terms of intelligence, it cannot be classified as a fish or an animal.

Robin has only ever seen humans, giants, Fish-Man, mermaids, and half -Fish-Man to be able to do this.

She knew that animals that ate the Human-Human Fruit could resemble humans, and there were detailed records of this, but she had never seen one.

At the same time, she had seen some of the hidden maps and records. This world had talking animals, and even special talents, and no one ate Devil Fruit.

However, she had never seen it with her own eyes, and it was only mentioned occasionally in the chapters.

Robin himself didn't believe it, but seeing the Black Fish convinced him. (And it was also true— Manboshi Papagu.)

When Er Xia Qiu heard her words, she understood that she was measuring her thinking ability and intelligence.

Show her your intelligence, and you'll be able to communicate more effectively and convey your thoughts.

Robin felt a sense of exhilaration from exploration and discovery. After thinking for a moment, she asked curiously, "Were you born on the Grand Line?"

Xia Qiu shook her head.

"The West Blue?"

"East China Sea?"

"The Calm Belt?"

"East China Sea?"

Robin asked several questions, repeatedly inquiring, and finally confirmed Xia Qiu's identity and background.

From the East China Sea, we came to the Grand Line from the Reverse Mountain.

"I see."

Robin looked at the sea fish and said with a smile, "I come from the West Blue."

"Um."

Xia Qiu nodded in response.

Robin didn't continue, but instead asked, "Why did you attack us? Was it to hunt us?"

Xia Qiu nodded, and Robin thought for a moment before asking, "Did you come with us from Whiskey Peak Town?"

"Mmm." Xia Qiu nodded again.

"How did you know it was Whiskey Peak Town?" Robin frowned.

Yes, how would I know?

Xia Qiu was dumbfounded, opened her mouth, and quickly shook her head.

"Don't you know? But the way you looked just now, you were clearly stumped by my question, so are you lying?" Robin frowned when he saw Xia Qiu's expression.

"No, no," Xia Qiu quickly shook her head.

"Never mind."

Robin didn't delve into the matter, but instead asked, "Will you kill me?"

"Won't."

"Can you give me a ride away?"

"No."

Xia Qiu continued to shake her head. How could she possibly let you go? It's rare to meet someone she can talk to. How could she let you go?

"They won't let me leave."

Robin was troubled and asked, "You're not going to kill me, and you've brought me to the island, so are you sure you don't need me to help you find things on the island?"

Seeing Xia Qiu shake her head, Robin asked again, "Do you want me to stay on the island?"

Xia Qiu nodded, Robin raised his right hand to touch his forehead, asking helplessly, "Then why did you leave me here?"

Xia Qiu nodded, shook her head, nodded again, and shook her head again.

"This is?"

Seeing this, Robin narrowed his eyes, recalling the meaning behind his earlier gesture, and sighed, asking, "Just because you wanted to talk to me?"

Xia Qiu grinned and nodded emphatically.

"So that's how it is."

Robin found it somewhat absurd that he had been trapped on the island by a fish, simply because the fish wanted to communicate with him.

This is good news.

Being able to communicate also means being able to persuade the other party.

Robin felt slightly relieved, but then she asked with a smile, "What if I don't want to talk to you anymore?"

Click click click.

Xia Qiu opened its mouth wide and kept biting.

Are you threatening me?

Robin found it amusing and said playfully, "I'm on the shore, so you can't attack me right now."

"That's right, we can't attack her."

Upon hearing this, Xia Qiu turned her head away, looked at Robin, and closed her nictitating membrane, as if she were rolling her eyes.

"You..."

Robin saw his actions and realized he was actually looking down on her. She shook her head helplessly, thinking that even his emotions were so rich.

She sighed and asked, "You're not planning to let me leave. You can't expect me to stay on this island forever, can you? I'd rather be dead than stay here forever."

Xia Qiu immediately shook her head violently. How could you die? It's rare to find someone who can communicate with you and who has mastered the method of communication.

Robin looked at him and said, "Even if I leave, I can still communicate with you. I live in Alabasta, and you live by the sea. I can visit you regularly."

"No, no, what if you're lying to me?"

Xia Qiu quickly shook her head.

"Is that not allowed?"

Robin rubbed his temples in frustration and asked, "What if I kill myself? If you don't let me go, I'll kill myself."

"How can we communicate if you're dead?" Xia Qiu shook his head again.

"It seems you don't want me to die."

Robin nodded and looked at Xia Qiu, saying, "But what if there's no food? If there's no food on the island, won't I starve to death?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Qiu dived into the ocean and disappeared.

After a while, Xia Qiu came to the shore with a sea fish in his mouth and placed the fish carcass on the bank.

"All right."

Robin was on the verge of tears; they had even prepared food for me.

"But humans can't survive on just sea fish; they need vegetables, red meat, and fresh water," Robin said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Xia Qiu suddenly swam out, then swam back, then swam out again, and then swam back again.

"You mean, send me to another island? An island with vegetables, fresh water, and other creatures?" Robin asked blankly.

Xia Qiu nodded emphatically.

Okay.

Robin was now at a loss for what excuse to come up with.

"If I stay here and ignore you, I don't think you'd agree, would you?" Robin asked.

Xia Qiu knew what she meant and really wanted to talk to her, so she nodded.

Robin said, "Alright then, I promise to stay. Even if I can't survive on this island, I'll go with you to the next one. But there has to be a time limit; you have to let me go afterward, okay?"

"Can."

Xia Qiu nodded. As long as they could communicate, they could continue for a while.

"Half a month, can I spend half a month with you?" "That's too little, no way."

"Two months?" "Not at all."

"Six months? Is that not enough? That's already a long time."

Robin kept bringing up the time, while Xia Qiu kept shaking her head. Robin tried to persuade Xia Qiu with words, but Xia Qiu did not agree.

"Two years, at most two years."

Robin said seriously, "This is the longest time I can accept. If you still can't accept it, I'd rather kill myself."

"Okay, okay."

Xia Qiu nodded helplessly.

Seeing Xia Qiu's actions, Robin breathed a sigh of relief. Two years was not a particularly long time compared to his own sixteen years of wandering.

"Can I trust you?" Robin asked, staring intently at Xia Qiu.

"Puff."

Xia Qiu's head spiracle at the back of its head spouted a high stream of water.

"Then it's settled. You'll let me leave in two years."

Robin said seriously. Seeing Xia Qiu nod, Robin stood up and said, "Then I'll leave here for now. I must find fresh water today. If I can't, I'll come back to you and leave."

With those words, Robin walked into the jungle and disappeared into the distance.

"Have they left?"

Xia Qiu moved her head, feeling exhausted just from nodding.

However, finding someone to talk to is enough.

The first three hours saw 260 new orders, which is higher than the previous book's first twenty-four hours. For me, this is a huge improvement.

However, in addition to this, there are over 120 free subscriptions, which are not included in the performance score. This is close to half of the total, which is a bit of a blow.

Therefore, I'm asking everyone to subscribe to the first day's subscription and this chapter's subscription to help boost the number of subscriptions to high. High subscriptions and first day's subscriptions are very important as they affect the recommendation position. Thank you very much.

This chapter is nearly 4,000 words long. This is the second update, and there will be at least five updates today.