In the plaza.
Maud had been in the plaza the entire time.
He stood tall, his expression calm.
None of those watching Maud noticed anything unusual.
Even Perona, floating beside Maud, was no exception.
No one noticed that Maud, standing in the center of the plaza... had no shadow behind him.
At the same time.
Inside a hidden chamber in the royal tomb.
Maud walked over and leaned against the doorway, looking rather surprised at Luffy, who lay motionless on the ground, and Crocodile, who still had the strength to fight.
Luffy had lost.
This result had been unexpected.
Perhaps because of his arrival, some things had ultimately changed.
For example,
Luffy had taken one fewer beating from Crocodile, which meant he had accumulated one less experience point and failed to complete the final piece of the puzzle needed to bring Crocodile down.
But none of that mattered anymore.
"This place really does have a hidden side to it, and it's secluded enough."
Maud's gaze swept over the slightly flustered Crocodile, the unconscious Cobra, and the enormous Poneglyph before finally settling on Robin, whose face was filled with astonishment.
"If I hadn't given you that 'Shadow Mark,' I really wouldn't have been able to find this place so quickly."
"Shadow Mark..."
Robin was stunned for a moment, but she quickly realized what Maud was referring to. Almost instinctively, she touched the spotted gecko in her pocket.
Seeing Robin's movement, Maud asked, "So why didn't you 'call for help'? I don't think you could have escaped from this situation."
"..."
Robin fell silent at once.
After her last hope had collapsed, she—who had spent twenty years exhausting herself in pursuit of the truth of history—no longer had the drive to continue searching.
With death already in her heart, she naturally had