Pluton's Position, Who Doesn't Know?

Chen Long's voice echoed in the empty room.

"......"

Naturally, there was no reply.

Seeing this, Chen Long sighed: "Once cola sits out too long, it loses its soul when it's no longer cold. You have to put it back in the fridge to chill."

"It's like a person who rarely gets a chance to fulfill their true worth, but misses it for some reason, and ends up having to hide back in a dark corner. Is that what you seek?"

His words undoubtedly sounded ridiculous—it was just drinking cola, yet he was philosophizing like that.

But at this moment, Chen Long spoke with utter seriousness.

Because right now, in his eyes, he could clearly see the text on the light screen.

[Devil Fruits analyzed this time: Chop-Chop Fruit LV1, Mole-Mole Fruit LV1, Kilo-Kilo Fruit LV1, Wax-Wax Fruit LV1, Clone-Clone Fruit LV1, Bomb-Bomb Fruit LV1, Spike-Spike Fruit LV1, Dog-Dog Fruit: Dachshund Form LV1]

Those eight fruits that had already been analyzed were undoubtedly a huge gain for him.

But Chen Long's reason for coming to Alabasta this time still went beyond that.

So at this moment, what he was looking at was the text at the very bottom of the light screen.

[Analyzing Devil Fruit: Flower-Flower Fruit, analysis progress 76%]

That was also the source of his words right now.

"I know what you seek, and I know the reason you stayed at Baroque Works."

"You want to know the hidden history, the truth of the world, so I think we can talk."

As he said this, he grinned.

"Even after I've said this much, you still won't come out?"

"Miss All Sunday, or let me call you by another name—Nico Robin."

And when his words reached this point.

He saw, on the sofa before him.

A pair of eyes and a mouth silently appeared on it.

They were a pair of deep blue, moist eyes and thin lips—even just from the eyes and mouth, one could tell she was definitely a beauty.

But at this moment, those eyes looking at Chen Long were clearly flickering with shock and disbelief.

"Who exactly are you?"

Her words carried an indescribable wariness and horror.

Seeing that she had finally shown herself, Chen Long let out a soft laugh from under his mask.

"How strange—you should know who I am, since this assassination attempt on me was ordered by Crocodile through you."

"But since you're asking so sincerely, then—"

He raised his cola cup, making a toasting gesture.

"I am one of the top executives of the 'Twelve Zodiac Signs,' codename 'Chen Long.'"

"If you haven't heard of me, I think you should have heard of 'You Ji'—he's my colleague."

Hearing Chen Long's words, Nico Robin's heart grew even more wary.

"Chen Long, You Ji. Just as the intelligence speculated."

As a member and vice president of Baroque Works, she was responsible for handling most of the company's internal affairs on behalf of the hidden MR.0, 'Crocodile.'

Including this assassination, it was ordered by MR.0, and she acted as his proxy to issue the command.

So she had a lot of intelligence on hand, including Chen Long's appearance—especially the iconic 'Sea Beast Head Mask.'

That was enough for her to reach a conclusion similar to King Cobra's earlier, guessing that Chen Long might be connected to the criminal 'You Ji' who had stolen the Celestial Gold.

However, because the Alabasta royal family had kept the intelligence about Chen Long very well hidden, even leaving no paper records.

So before this, she had only speculated about Chen Long's identity.

Only now did she finally confirm it—You Ji and Chen Long indeed belonged to the same organization.

But clearly, this explosive news was nothing compared to what Nico Robin was facing now.

Because at this moment, the doubts in her heart were almost too numerous to count.

For example—how did he know her identity and purpose? How did he know Crocodile existed? How did he discover her ability?

And most importantly.

"This person's ability is so similar to 'Aokiji's.'"

Just thinking about it made Nico Robin's mind go blank.

That's right.

With the power of the 'Flower-Flower Fruit,' she could grow any part of her body on any solid surface.

So earlier, when the assassins were trying to kill Chen Long, she had actually been watching from the sidelines.

She had also witnessed firsthand the power displayed by the monster before her, called 'Chen Long.'

It was overwhelming power.

Among it, the ability to control ice was very similar to the nightmare of her childhood.

Yet she had also seen with her own eyes that, besides wielding frost, he possessed another, completely opposite ability—otherwise, she would almost have suspected that the man hidden beneath the Dragon Head Mask was the Navy Admiral 'Aokiji' himself.

"What kind of fruit ability user is he?"

Countless doubts left Nico Robin's mind in chaos.

But fortunately, having survived and grown up under the pursuit of the World Government, her mind was sharp enough.

So now, even in the midst of chaos, Nico Robin could still ask a question that cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"What is your goal?"

"And."

She gritted her teeth and asked this question.

His strength, or how he knew her identity and Crocodile's—for her at this moment, none of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was what he truly wanted to do, and

"And what do you need me to do?"

She asked this question.

Yes, now that she had calmed down a little, she had realized one thing.

He knew her identity and code name, and his organization's intelligence capabilities were terrifyingly thorough, as if they knew everything about Baroque Works.

Under such circumstances, given the power he had displayed, she should not have been granted this opportunity for conversation.

"Talking to someone with a sharp mind is convenient."

Hearing her words, Chen Long seemed to chuckle.

"Yes, I could have gone straight to the Spider Cafe to catch you."

"Or I could have directly informed King Cobra, the World Government, or the underworld of your whereabouts and identity. There are plenty interested in the 'Child of the Devil,' and with Alabasta actively sealing off its waters, you'd have a hard time escaping."

"Once your identity is exposed, I doubt Crocodile would continue to protect you—sheltering the survivor of Ohara might cost him his Shichibukai status."

Each word he spoke weighed heavier on Nico Robin's heart.

Spider Cafe—a cafe west of Elma, and the headquarters of Baroque Works in Alabasta.

She had indeed planned to return and report to Crocodile after this assassination.

"But. I didn't do that, because as a businessman—I want to discuss a partnership with you."

When he said this, Chen Long raised his hand: "A win-win partnership."

"Partnership?"

Hearing this, Nico Robin let out a light laugh: "Let's hear it."

Her laugh was cold.

Since she was eight, she had heard this word countless times.

But to her, its meaning had always been nothing but profit and betrayal.

Chen Long seemed not to notice the coldness in her tone.

"I know what you need—you want to study the truth of history, so you need the Poneglyphs."

"And you also need an organization willing to shelter you."

He spread his hands: "And coincidentally, our organization happens to know the locations of some Poneglyphs, including the one in Alabasta."

Hearing this, the coldness in Nico Robin's eyes deepened.

"Are you saying you can help me obtain the Poneglyph, but in return, I must tell you its contents?"

"Like the one in Alabasta, right?"

She had heard these words too many times.

In fact, the reason she was now in Baroque Works, cooperating with Crocodile, was that he needed her to decipher the Poneglyph to find clues about the ancient weapon 'Pluton' hidden in Alabasta.

And now, Nico Robin naturally assumed that the 'Twelve Zodiacs' had the same goal.

These two organizations were essentially birds of a feather!

But

The next moment, what Chen Long said left her stunned.

"Of course not."

"We are very clear on the contents of the Alabasta Poneglyph—the location of Pluton, we know where it is."

Chen Long said calmly.

"If you're willing to pay a sufficient price, we can also tell you its location and contents—that's part of the 'partnership' I'm talking about."

He raised a finger, looking at Nico Robin, who had been stunned into silence.

"We will protect you and share with you—for a price—some of the locations and contents of the Poneglyphs we already know. But we won't search for them on your behalf. Whether you can obtain those hidden Poneglyphs depends entirely on your own ability."

"As for whether you choose to share their contents with us after you find them, that is your own decision. We won't ask."

Beneath the mask, Luo Yi's words were sincere.

To be honest, he was curious about the truth of eight hundred years ago, the contents of the Poneglyphs, and the final island, 'Laugh Tale'—curious, certainly.

But to say he was obsessively determined to uncover that truth? Not really.

To him, the value of a single Poneglyph was far less than that of a rare and powerful Devil Fruit.

Moreover, Luo Yi understood this clearly.

Nico Robin—if you pressured her to share the contents of the Poneglyphs, she wouldn't tell the truth. Just like in the original story, when she lied to Crocodile.

So for Luo Yi, he genuinely didn't care whether Nico Robin revealed the truth of the Poneglyphs to him.

"If I really want to know later, there are plenty of ways—the Kozuki Clan of Wano Country, or an awakened Trio Eye Clan. Plenty of methods."

He muttered to himself.

But at that moment, Nico Robin was almost dumbfounded.

"Wait. Wait—what did you say?"

Even the eyes sprouted from her ability could reveal her doubt, confusion, and shock.

"You know the contents of the Poneglyphs... meaning... someone in your organization can decipher them?"

That was the most unbelievable thing to her.

"That falls outside the scope of our deal, Miss Robin."

But facing this question, Dragon of the Chen merely smiled.

"."

Nico Robin fell silent for a moment.

Then she spoke: "I don't believe you."

"If your organization truly has no interest in the Poneglyphs, then I can't think of any reason you'd want to cooperate with me."

That was right—even she knew that her most valuable asset was her ability to 'decipher the Poneglyphs.'

If, as they claimed, they had no interest in that ability...

Then what did they want from her?

At the very least, Robin couldn't find an answer.

Yet, paradoxically, she also knew—Dragon of the Chen had no reason to lie to her.

Because, as he had said earlier, since the 'Twelve Zodiacs' already knew her identity, her life was already in their hands.

"You're wrong, Miss Robin."

At that moment, Dragon of the Chen let out a laugh: "Your identity is not limited to just 'Child of the Devil.'"

"In fact, what interests us is your other identity."

With that, he stood up and extended his hand.

"Hello, Miss All Sunday."