Grace and a Wager

"Sauron!!!!"

Robin's tearful cry echoed throughout the bay.

She knew Sauron was dead, dead because of her choice.

At this moment, Robin didn't dare to look back at Sauron's corpse. She just turned her body and kept crying.

"Do you feel the fragility of life?"

Ross crouched down, gently picked up the crying Robin, and placed her on his shoulder.

With his current height, Robin could sit on his shoulder with plenty of room to spare.

He wasn't afraid that Robin would threaten him. With his current physique, it would be impossible for Robin to even scratch him. She was just a harmless little girl.

"Wuwuwu..."

Robin just bit her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She didn't agree with Ross's words, but she didn't dare to refute him.

She was scared.

Scared that if Ross was displeased, he would kill her mother too.

If she couldn't even protect her mother, wouldn't Sauron's sacrifice be in vain?

"Robin, do you remember my name?"

Ross walked towards the direction of Sauron's death, step by step, carrying Robin.

"I remember, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn!"

Robin nodded vigorously, covering her eyes with her hands at the same time.

She had already seen Sauron lying on the ground. The giant who used to comfort her with his special laughter was dead!

"Very good. Remember this name and engrave it in your heart."

Ross calmly looked at Sauron's corpse. His tone was clearly gentle, but his words sent a chill down one's spine:

"The person others can't kill, I can kill easily. The problem others can't solve, I can solve easily. Everything in this world depends on whether I want to do it or not."

"Your choice this time has brought me pleasure."

"As a reward, you can designate one person or ask one question. As long as it interests me, I will give you the future you desire according to your wishes."

"Take a good look at the corpse in front of you. Nico Robin. These are the consequences of your choice, and the fate of opposing me."

Robin didn't know when she had lowered her hands covering her eyes. She just stared blankly at Sauron's corpse.

Poor girl...

Gion stood beside Ross, her gaze towards Robin filled with pity.

At this age, how could a girl understand what power or strength meant?

But at this moment, Ross, through his actions, had forcefully broken through her defenses and planted a seed called 'Saint Jaygarcia Saturn'.

The fear this seed brought her, Robin might not fully grasp herself, but it would definitely take root and grow in the future, becoming the biggest shadow in her heart.

Gion had actually seen many such children.

Those survivors whose homes were destroyed by pirates had similar psychological states.

Most of these people would become extreme when they grew up.

Either they would plunge into darkness themselves, or they would resist darkness with extreme measures.

It was said that Sakazuki, as a child, watched his hometown and family being killed by pirates, which led to his current personality.

But no matter what, this girl named 'Nico Robin' would never be like an ordinary girl in the future.

Gion silently withdrew her gaze, dismissing her thoughts.

Her willingness to join the Marines actually made her a kind person.

But regarding Robin's situation, she had considered speaking up, but in the end, she didn't know what to say.

If not for Ross, with Robin's identity and her experiences helping Sauron these past few days, death would have been her ultimate fate.

Even if she had miraculously survived, Ohara would have been destroyed, and she wouldn't have been able to live as a pure girl anymore.

So, what could she say?

Perhaps there were things more important than life, but being able to live in this world was already a great fortune.

If anyone was to blame, it should be Robin's irresponsible mother.

She knew the consequences of researching forbidden knowledge, yet when she lacked power, she pushed herself, her family, and even her hometown into the abyss.

"Let's go."

Seeing that Robin had gradually stopped crying and her gaze towards Sauron had become calm, Ross knew he had succeeded.

His World Government identity destined him to be on opposite sides with this group of historians.

Since that was the case, he might as well have Robin fully turn to the dark side, and make himself the greatest fear in Robin's heart.

There were many ways to like and possess someone, and Ross didn't stick to any particular method; he only cared about the final result.

Allowing Robin to continue sitting on his shoulders, Ross strode towards the Tree of Knowledge.

Now, it was time to wrap things up.

Walking on the road to the Tree of Knowledge, Ross suddenly received a call from Sakazuki.

"What is it?"

"A historian from the refugee ship has surrendered. Should we eliminate all the civilians, or just punish the main culprit?" Sakazuki's cold voice came through.

"Surrendered?"

Ross raised an eyebrow. This word was quite novel in the world of pirates.

After thinking about the distance, Ross said directly:

"I'm not far from there. Detain him and anyone who knows about this. I'll handle the rest. You arrange for the other civilians to evacuate first."

"Understood!"

Sakazuki quickly hung up the phone and began acting according to Ross's instructions.

Without Ross's order, he would have chosen to kill everyone who knew about it, and even executed all the civilians to protect the Marines' reputation.

But since Ross wanted to come personally, he wouldn't interfere.

"Gion, tell Spandine to detain everyone. We'll be there shortly."

"Yes!"

Gion nodded in agreement and began to contact Spandine via Den Den Mushi.

She was also quite curious about the historian who suddenly surrendered.

They had already hidden on a refugee ship, yet someone still sought death. Such an event was rare.

The group was very close to the port and arrived in five minutes.

Sakazuki had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Ross arrive, he immediately nodded at him.

"Sauron has been executed. Sakazuki, shall we make a bet?"

Upon meeting, Ross didn't look at the surrendering person first but turned his gaze to Sakazuki.

Compared to Sakazuki, the S-Class "hot commodity," he could ignore the historians.

"What kind of bet?" Sakazuki frowned slightly.

He didn't like gambling, but if he could get corresponding benefits, he didn't mind playing along with Ross.

"Let's bet whether someone will go to collect Sauron's body," Ross said with a smile.

"Collect his body? Does he have accomplices?" Sakazuki's eyes showed killing intent.

Accomplices of traitors were bound to be wicked villains and deserved to die!

"Of course not. I'm referring only to fellow Marines. Do you think any of them would go?" Ross asked.

"Impossible. There are no such fools among the Marines this time!"

Kuzan's figure flashed through Sakazuki's mind, but he still gave his answer with certainty.

"Then how about this: if a Marine goes to collect Sauron's body, I win. Otherwise, you lose. How about it?" Ross smiled.

With just a bet, Ross was confident he could complete the reward for defeating an opponent.

The defeat reward for an S-Class was equivalent to the kill reward for an A-Class. His strength was enough to usher in a leap forward.