Kuzan and Mo Xingchen met up once again, standing in the woods and speaking in low voices.
"Did you handle it?"
"When have I ever let you down? What about your side?"
"Yeah, of course! I told her... then..."
"Holy shit! Bro, that's how you handled it?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Let me ask you, how old is she?"
"About eight, I think!"
"My God! So you talked to an eight-year-old girl the way you'd talk to an adult? Are you sure she could understand your good intentions? I give up on you. You should head back to the warship first. Leave the rest to me!"
Mo Xingchen slapped his forehead and looked at Kuzan with disdain. Forget it! There was no relying on this idiot. Dad would have to handle it himself!
He first rushed into town. With fires blazing everywhere, he had a hard time finding a set of clothes for a little boy!
Using Geppo and following the coordinates Kuzan had left behind, he finally found little Robin sitting all alone on a raft.
"I think I heard a little girl crying!"
Robin looked up in panic at Mo Xingchen descending from the sky. Seeing that he wore a Marine uniform, she shrank back slightly.
"Are you here to arrest me?"
Mo Xingchen smiled and shrugged.
"Of course... not! I was sent by heaven to save you!"
Little Robin silently watched him, saying nothing, her eyes holding a trace of wariness.
"Do you want to live?"
"Mm."
"Then do you want to live openly and happily?"
"Mm!"
"Call me big brother!"
Robin did not answer this time. She simply looked at Mo Xingchen as though he were an idiot.
Clang!
Mo Xingchen drew his sword in one swift motion.
"Big brother!"
"Hahahahaha, I'm just messing with you. Come here, I'll give you a haircut. The CP agents have probably already memorized what you look like. If you don't change your appearance, you won't be able to live openly."
Mo Xingchen first gave Robin a crew cut, then turned his back so she could change into the boy's clothes. After that, he slashed the raft apart with a single strike, picked Robin up, and used Geppo to head back to the warship.
On the way back, Mo Xingchen made up a new identity for Robin.
"You're a boy I saved in town. You've been an orphan since you were little, and your name is Robinson. Remember that?"
"Mm."
Robin pouted, still a little upset. Her haircut looked awful.
Once they reached the warship, Mo Xingchen picked up the juice from the table beside the beach chair and drained it in one gulp.
"Whew... Dad's exhausted!"
William saw Mo Xingchen return with a little tagalong and could not help asking,
"Colonel, who is this?"
"Mm, I took a walk around town and saw this little guy was about to burn to death, so I saved him."
When Mo Xingchen turned around, he saw Robin timidly clutching his coat sleeve, her eyes fixed on the juice in his hand.
"William, get this little guy a big cup. He must be dying of thirst."
William turned to get some juice. He had only asked casually. After all, Mo Xingchen had not brought back an adult, someone who might have caused trouble. What could such a tiny brat possibly understand?
"Buru buru~"
"Hello, what is it?"
"Did you take care of it?"
"Of course! I'm already back on the warship!"
"Mm, then I'll come over and we can talk. Click!"
Before long, Kuzan arrived on the warship. He saw Mo Xingchen lying in a beach chair and was about to speak when he noticed a little boy standing beside him, holding a cup larger than his own head and drinking juice.
A little curious, he took a closer look and realized the little boy seemed quite afraid of him. After meeting his gaze, the boy immediately looked away and pressed tightly against Mo Xingchen. Am I really that scary?
Wait! Why did this little boy look familiar? Hmm, if his hair were longer... hmm, and if he put on a little dress... hmm! Kuzan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Nico Robin!
Kuzan pointed at Robin with one hand and stared at Mo Xingchen, so shocked that he could not speak.
"He... he... he..."
Mo Xingchen felt Robin's body trembling slightly. He patted her little head and raised his chin toward Kuzan.
"Look at that idiot. Are you still afraid?"
Hearing Mo Xingchen's gentle words, Robin finally dared to sneak a glance at Kuzan. He had his mouth hanging open, his eyes bulging, snot running from his nose, and one hand pointing at her as it trembled. She burst out laughing.
Kuzan finally recovered from his shock and gave Mo Xingchen a thumbs-up.
"Lao Mo, you're incredible! You can do that? I'm impressed!"
Kuzan walked up to Robin, crouched down, and held out a hand.
"Let's properly introduce ourselves. Hello, my name is Kuzan."
Robin first looked at Mo Xingchen. Seeing the encouragement in his expression, she looked back at Kuzan. Though his face was still cold and stiff as a poker face, she finally cautiously reached out her little hand and said timidly,
"Hello! My name is Robinson!"
Kuzan turned to look at Mo Xingchen in surprise. Mo Xingchen merely smiled smugly and raised an eyebrow.
"Ara ara~ You two are making me look really stupid."
"Hahahahahaha."
That night, as the fleet sailed back,
Knock, knock, knock...
Mo Xingchen opened his door and found Robin's tiny body shivering in the wind. She stood outside with her head lowered, her little hands anxiously twisting together. He asked softly,
"What's wrong?"
"I'm a little scared. I can't sleep!"
"Come in!"
Mo Xingchen bent down, took Robin's little hand, and led her to the bed, letting her sit down. He then moved over a chair and sat across from her.
"Don't be afraid. You can tell me anything."
Robin remained silent for a while before finally speaking.
"When I was very little, Mom went out to sea to study history. I lived with my uncle's family growing up. If I ate too much, my aunt would scold me. She also made me do chores, and if I didn't do them well, she would hit me. So today, I ate so much and didn't have to work, and I'm really scared. I'm scared you'll abandon me.
"Everyone in the village said I was a monster. They said terrible things, and the other children didn't want to play with me either. When I tried to board the evacuation ship today, they were all afraid of me. Sauron said this was called a Devil Fruit, that it was a very common ability out at sea, but I don't know whether that's true. I'm afraid that once you find out, you'll hate me too.
"I've always worked hard to seriously study archaeology because I wanted to wait for Mom to come back. Then I could sail with her and wouldn't have to be left alone anymore. But today, everything is gone. Ohara is gone, everyone is gone, and Mom is gone too. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now!"
At that point, Robin finally could not hold it in any longer and began to cry softly.
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