Still Cold

Still Cold

Battle was on the verge of breaking out.

A chilling aura emanated from the Navy Admiral before them—Kuzan—as though even the air itself were about to freeze.

The two calmly stared each other down.

However.

Just as Kuzan radiated cold air and was about to question him with an icy expression—

"Hold on." Xia Che, who had been staring Kuzan down, directly shattered what should have been a tense moment. "Let me deal with some personal business first."

As he spoke, he turned to Robin beside him and sighed.

"I've been waiting for you to tell me."

The moment those words fell.

Immediately.

Robin, who had been standing stiffly nearby, trembled slightly. Her bright eyes also quivered, as though she had remembered something.

That time.

She had asked BOSS whether he would stop someone if they tried to take her away.

And yet... it seemed she had broken their agreement from back then.

"BOSS, I..."

Before Robin could finish, Kuzan scratched his head with a troubled look and said, "Um... could you hurry it up? I've been waiting here for a long time, even stayed the whole night. I'm freezing to death."

Except.

"I heard you stayed at Red Romance for nearly a week, only came here yesterday, and even bought a pancake on the way!" Xia Che showed no mercy toward Kuzan's complaints about work, exposing him outright. "After arriving at Marine Branch 16, you complained that the accommodations were terrible, that there were Marines everywhere and you couldn't find anywhere peaceful to sleep. So you ran back there at dawn, and only came over again not long ago. You've barely been waiting here at all, have you?"

As Xia Che finished speaking.

"..." x2

Robin and Kuzan both fell silent.

Especially Robin. She had been frightened stiff just moments ago, but now a strange look appeared on her face as she looked Kuzan up and down.

Red Romance?

Several days?

Something felt off, yet she could not tell what exactly was off.

Under Robin's gaze, the troubled look on Kuzan's face froze. His leisurely expression instantly turned serious again, and a bone-chilling cold once more radiated from his entire body.

As though he had not heard anything Xia Che had just said, he resumed the bearing of a Navy Admiral and said flatly, "So you discovered me long ago?"

"Yes."

Xia Che did not hesitate in the face of Kuzan's question and nodded in admission.

This was territory he had operated for a long time.

Garp being brought in unexpectedly from the sea was one thing, but if he could not even notice suspicious people entering his own territory, how could he continue getting by?

He would probably have been sent before a military tribunal long ago.

Besides...

This guy had not concealed himself at all. He had swaggered in, changed only his name, and headed straight for Red Romance.

And whenever he soaked his feet in hot water, the water turned cold. Red Romance's manager had long since reported that strange phenomenon upward.

It was just that.

Kuzan was different from the three inspectors. Those three had deliberately come to investigate him, while Kuzan... might simply have been sightseeing.

After all, this guy had probably known Robin was here for a long time.

He had not come to arrest her even after all this time. This time, he might merely have been passing by and dropped in for a foot massage, so Xia Che had ignored him.

But it seemed...

Had the secretary discount trial card really expired?

If he wanted another experience, he would have to renew his membership.

Xia Che had long been mentally prepared for Kuzan's arrival. He had prepared for it for years. The fact that Kuzan had only appeared now was even later than Xia Che had expected.

Xia Che nodded and looked at Kuzan. "I even know that you made Red Romance issue you an invoice."

"..."

Did this guy not know what the situation was right now?!

Kuzan's composed face darkened at once. He shifted his gaze away and ignored Xia Che, his eyes landing on Robin again. "Nico Robin, come back with me to stand trial!"

A biting chill spread outward.

The moment those words fell.

Robin's expression stiffened, and her body began trembling again. She fell silent as that familiar fear spread through her heart once more. Her mind became muddled, and just as she was about to lift her head—

A broad, powerful hand firmly gripped her shoulder. Its warmth traveled from that palm into her cold skin.

At that moment.

Robin seemed to come back to herself. Looking at Xia Che beside her, who was staring at her expressionlessly without saying a word, she once again revealed that familiar, graceful smile.

Had she not already made her decision?

"Dear BOSS." Robin no longer looked at Kuzan. Instead, she looked at BOSS standing beside her and said with a smiling elegance, "Sorry, may I withdraw my resignation letter?"

"You may!"

"Then can you beat him?"

"I don't know either!" Xia Che released Robin's delicate shoulder and stepped forward, placing his right hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'll have to fight him to find out."

He stared gravely at the Navy Admiral before him.

Of course—

Though his expression was grave, he was not nervous inside.

Because.

He knew.

The guy before him was not here to arrest anyone at all.

If Kuzan truly wanted to arrest someone, he would not have spent several days getting foot massages at Red Romance and waited until Smoker left before coming over.

And Xia Che, who knew the story well, understood perfectly:

Though this man radiated coldness all over, he was not a cold-hearted person. He had his own sense of justice as well.

When Navy Vice Admiral Jaguar D. Saul had betrayed the Navy out of dissatisfaction with the World Government's actions, Marine Headquarters had issued an execution order. Yet this guy had apparently frozen him, while secretly only freezing the surface?!

And Robin... she had slipped away from the time she was an eight-year-old girl until now, never once getting caught by the Navy. She had played both the World Government and Marine Headquarters for fools.

He was practically the Navy's greatest actor!

Xia Che suspected this guy had been using the excuse of hunting the Devil Child to travel on public funds.

So Kuzan had probably come now to see whether Robin's new employer was strong enough and worth entrusting her to.

If Xia Che passed, he would receive Robin's contract renewal!

At that moment.

The two stared each other down once more.

Kuzan also looked again at the Marine Colonel before him—Dander Xieche.

Once a genius Marine Colonel, but after being exiled to the East Blue, no news of him had ever reached headquarters again. Even in the East Blue, he had not earned a single notable achievement.

Some said he had fallen into depravity. Others said he had never truly been a genius!

But Kuzan knew this kid was incredibly cunning. He had colluded with Sean, the former East Blue colonel, swindling money and raking it in everywhere. Kuzan did not know his strength, but this kid was definitely not simple.

Now that his companion was about to be taken away, was he finally going to stop hiding?

A faint trace of anticipation and appreciation appeared in Kuzan's eyes. Just as he was about to get a good look at this cunning kid's strength—

However.

Suddenly.

"Do we really have to fight? Conomi Islands and Marine Branch 16 are both very close. How about we forget it? You can pretend you didn't see anything, and I'll pretend I don't know anything." Xia Che hesitated, then looked at Kuzan expectantly. "I'll take you to Red Romance. I'll cover the whole bill?"

The words fell.

"..." x2

The scene once again fell into an eerie silence.

Robin, who had been worried, froze for a moment before revealing a helpless expression.

And unexpectedly...

The bone-chilling cold radiating from Kuzan abruptly stopped, as though he were seriously considering the offer.

Then he raised his head and looked at Xia Che. Just as Xia Che watched him expectantly, a smile appeared on Kuzan's lazy face, and then—

Ice flowers bloomed.

An even sharper, more bone-chilling cold than before swept across the surroundings.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Wait, you haven't answered me yet! And why did it suddenly get even colder than before?"