The Fourth Kitetsu

"Your strength has grown again. Just how strong are you now?" Robin asked as they strolled along, a peculiar look in her eyes.

Lu Zhuo thought for a moment. "I don't think I'd have to fear any Vice Admiral-level opponent now. But I'm still no match for an Admiral. I'd need to make another major leap before I could defeat one."

"Oh." A flicker of disappointment crossed Robin's eyes, but she hid it in an instant. Lu Zhuo, whose attention was entirely on her, noticed it right away.

An Admiral, huh? Don't worry, Robin. Soon, I'll be strong enough to look down on even an Admiral... Very soon.

Thinking this, the two of them slowly approached a vast field of ruins.

It was just like the scene he'd seen in the original story, but seeing it with his own eyes was a completely different experience! Lu Zhuo exclaimed in admiration, then hurried into a towering palace with Robin.

"The history of this place goes back at least several hundred years." Robin's eyes shone with wonder as she gently touched the ancient buildings.

Lu Zhuo led her to the center of the palace and slashed through the cloud layer beneath their feet.

"What you're looking for is down there. I'll leave you to it. Once you've finished recording it, head straight back to the Holy Sword." Lu Zhuo smiled at Robin.

Robin nodded and smiled back at him, making his heart flutter.

But knowing he couldn't hold Robin in his arms just yet, Lu Zhuo pushed aside his distracting thoughts and smiled as he watched her descend.

He couldn't help yawning. He was genuinely tired and needed some rest. Robin would need a while to record the Poneglyph, and he couldn't wait to go to sleep.

Shaking his head, Lu Zhuo turned and headed back to the ship.

A graceful figure moved through the grand and magnificent ancient ruins.

Robin was deeply shaken by the enormous ruins before her.

Partly, it was because she had found another Poneglyph. But she was also stunned that Lu Zhuo knew this place existed!

The ruins were completely concealed beneath the clouds, and from what Robin could tell, no one had been here for at least four hundred years!

Yet Lu Zhuo knew all about this place and navigated it with such ease, as if it were his own home!

Lu Zhuo... who are you, really? How do you know all these things?

After spending so much time with Lu Zhuo, Robin naturally knew he wasn't a Devil Fruit User. But without some kind of power to foresee the future, how could he know everything that was going to happen?

Lu Zhuo seemed to be full of mysteries she could never completely unravel.

He might even be more mysterious than the Poneglyphs.

A sweet smile lifted Robin's lips. Then her expression turned serious as she studied the Poneglyph before her.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhuo had already returned to the Holy Sword.

Conis had learned a lot from Nami, and now she was looking at Lu Zhuo strangely. Her gaze made him feel a little awkward.

Ahem!

"Um... Conis, I didn't mean to deceive you. I still want to invite you aboard and take you to the Blue Sea, so you can see a whole other world. I'm inviting you to come with us. If you don't want to, I won't force you."

Conis blushed slightly. "I've already become a priestess for you, the fake god. Everyone already thinks of me that way. How could I refuse...?"

Fake god...

Lu Zhuo's forehead creased with exasperation. He turned to look at Nami, who was snickering off to the side. As soon as Nami noticed his gaze, she blushed and tried to run away.

Lu Zhuo stepped forward and grabbed her.

"My strength is just as great as Enel's. If he could call himself a god, then so can I... I'm no fake god."

Leaving her with those words, Lu Zhuo swept Nami away to do what they both enjoyed, leaving Conis completely bewildered.

He looked at Nami, who lay in his arms, blissfully happy.

He slowly pulled back the covers and admired her beautiful body once more before leaving the cabin.

He spotted Robin sitting in a deck chair, reading, and greeted her with a smile.

"Morning, Robin. You found what you were looking for, right?"

Robin glanced at Lu Zhuo, the corners of her mouth lifting.

"You certainly made a lot of noise. I came back so late, and you still hadn't finished. It kept me from getting any rest."

"Uh!" Lu Zhuo's face went blank. He'd modified his cabin, and the soundproofing was top-notch! Robin's words could only mean one thing: she'd used her powers to spy on him!

So Robin wasn't quite as...

As if she'd guessed what he was thinking, Robin blushed and said seriously, "Don't get the wrong idea. I was just a little worried when I didn't see you, so I used my powers to check on you. I didn't see anything..."

Right. "I didn't see anything" probably meant she'd seen everything.

Lu Zhuo rubbed his chin and smiled. "Robin, have you decided to be mine?"

"I'll think about it once you've helped me find all the Poneglyphs." Robin gave him a teasing smile. Seeing Lu Zhuo's distraught expression, she burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at? Stop lounging around with that book and get to training!" Lu Zhuo shouted, his face dark with exasperation.

Robin could now make any part of her body appear freely within a radius of several hundred meters, but she still hadn't reached the level Lu Zhuo hoped for.

Lu Zhuo wanted Robin to be able to manifest an ear or an eye anywhere in the world with a single thought. Then nothing in the world would escape his grasp.

But the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed. Reaching that level would mean awakening the Flower-Flower Fruit to its utmost potential.

No one in the world of One Piece had ever awakened a Devil Fruit to its full potential. Most hadn't even developed a tenth of its power.

If Whitebeard could fully develop the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he could destroy countless islands with a single punch. If Aokiji fully developed his powers, he could freeze the seas across the entire world with a wave of his hand.

No Devil Fruit was truly useless. It all came down to whether you knew how to develop its powers.

But since Lu Zhuo was determined to become a swordsman, he naturally wouldn't eat a Devil Fruit. Still, if he came across an extra powerful Logia, he wouldn't mind keeping it as a trump card.

If someone ever defeated him, he could eat the Logia Devil Fruit, instantly grow stronger, and keep fighting.

As he thought about it, Lu Zhuo suddenly noticed that the Kitetsu in his hand had trembled again, as if pointing toward a distant place.

After merging it with another Sandai Kitetsu, the Kitetsu in his hand had surpassed the Great Grade Swords, but still seemed a little short of the Supreme Grade Swords.

It was probably somewhere between the two—a sword on the verge of becoming a Supreme Grade Sword...

At the thought, Lu Zhuo's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

There was another Kitetsu on Skypiea! Buy one, get one free—that was a real bargain. He hoped it was the Nidai Kitetsu. Then he could raise it straight to the level of a Supreme Grade Sword.

Lu Zhuo smiled, then called Conis over.

"In the name of the Sword God, summon God's Squad. Just send someone who can pilot a Waver."

Conis spoke softly. "Um... I can pilot a Waver, but I'm not very good at it."

"Ah, I forgot you'd learned to pilot one. And there's also... Nami. Never mind, she's asleep. Then pilot a Waver and come with me in that direction." Lu Zhuo slapped his forehead as if he'd just remembered something, then spread his hands.

"All right," Conis replied, smiling at him.

Lu Zhuo smiled back. This was the way an angelic little girl like Conis was supposed to look.

Conis soon used the Sword God's name to get hold of a two-person Waver, then carried Lu Zhuo off at high speed. The Kitetsu in his hand would lead the way.