Nico Robin, perched on the tree trunk, was slightly surprised by his words. She straightened her waist a little to appear more poised, then delicately pinched her chin with one hand and asked in a faintly puzzled tone, "I've dealt with quite a few Bounty Hunters, but this is the first time I've met one as professional as you. It's strange that you could identify me from my voice alone. Have we met somewhere before?"
"Never have." Bane picked up another piece of roasted meat from the table and spoke while eating.
By then, some of the bounty hunter underlings around Bane had begun spreading out, surrounding Nico Robin in the tree in an encircling formation.
Zoro also rose from the stump, one hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist. His gaze remained wary as he swept his eyes over the surroundings.
Clearly, the highly vigilant Zoro had already noticed something unusual within the group. Several bounty hunter underlings, whether from their positions or their expressions, did not seem to be on the same side as them.
Nami seemed to have noticed it as well and consciously moved closer to Zoro's side. She had experience with this by now—whenever Bane made a move, Zoro was generally her bodyguard.
Bane was not surprised in the slightest by the presence of bad apples among the crowd.
These people had all been brought out of Whisky Peak by him, and Whisky Peak was originally one of Baroque Works' important bases. Out of these several hundred people, at least dozens were members of Baroque Works.
It was precisely for that reason that Nico Robin had been able to find him so easily and land on Little Garden without anyone noticing, appearing from the tree trunk behind him in such a bizarre manner.
After replying, "Never have," Bane simply continued eating his roasted meat without saying another word.
Nico Robin waited for quite a while, only to find that this man had nothing more to say. Hanging from the tree, she felt a little awkward herself.
Just as the silence grew increasingly uncomfortable, Bane suddenly crushed the bone in his mouth with a bite. At the instant it shattered, his eyes sharpened like an eagle's as he looked toward the mountain across the distance. Dense forest covered it, a sea of green as far as the eye could see, with the occasional massive dinosaur moving through the trees.
At the same moment Bane's gaze turned in that direction, Nico Robin's true body sat atop a thick, vine-wrapped branch of an ancient tree within that forest. At that moment, it seemed as though her gaze met Bane's across the distance.
The Flower-Flower Fruit allowed its user to make their body, or any part of it, sprout freely anywhere within their line of sight!
From the beginning, Bane had paid no attention at all to the Nico Robin behind him, because he was certain that it was merely a fake body created by her ability. It was meaningless.
So he had pretended nothing was wrong, eating barbecue while releasing his Observation Haki to search carefully.
To be honest, his Observation Haki was terrible. He had only just begun learning it, and if there had been any truly skilled expert present, they would have noticed what he was doing.
Fortunately, among the useless lot he had brought along, only Zoro knew a little about Observation Haki. Nico Robin, though experienced, was not particularly strong. She had heard of Haki but knew little about it, and thought Bane was merely putting on an act. She never imagined he was using Observation Haki!
When Bane and Robin's gazes met across the valley and such a great distance, Bane smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Nico Robin."
Naturally, Nico Robin on the tree trunk behind him understood that she had been exposed. But with such a vast distance between them, she was not flustered in the slightest. Still calm and confident, she replied, "It seems our first meeting may not have come at a pleasant time. Then please allow me to visit again another day."
She was very clever. She had deliberately made her entrance that way to create a mysterious, eerie, or perhaps powerful image of herself, using it as a foundation for dealing with someone like Bane. But she had not expected her little trick to have no effect at all. After this brief exchange, Nico Robin judged Bane to be dangerous. Clearly, this was not a good time for conversation. There would be another time.
She decisively chose to end the meeting and planned to quickly take a boat out to sea via the inland river on the other side of the valley. Given Bane's current situation, there was no way he could catch up with her.
After all, the two inland rivers had different outlets to the sea. Besides, Bane's group had already revealed traitors among them. Without thoroughly investigating his crew, who would dare sail out in pursuit?
What if the mole sank the ship along the way? Who could withstand that?
The plan was good, and her actions and judgment were swift and decisive. However, Nico Robin had ultimately failed to account for Bane's Dark-Dark Fruit ability. Or rather, she had no intelligence on the Dark-Dark Fruit!
As an ability user, once she had exposed herself before Bane, she had already been doomed to fail to escape!
"Hahahaha, how could it not be pleasant?!" Bane laughed loudly. As he rose to his feet, billowing black smoke emerged from behind him. Combined with his tall, muscular, imposing build, he looked exceptionally domineering.
"It would be rude to let a guest leave disappointed. If word got out, people would think I had no manners. Since you're here, come sit in front of me properly!" As he spoke, Bane stretched out his hand toward Nico Robin's true body.
The instant he extended his hand, Robin was suddenly seized by a jolt of alarm, as though she had encountered a natural predator.
The sensation made her extremely uncomfortable. She immediately chose not to say anything further, dismissed her ability in an instant, and leaped down from the tree, preparing to jump aboard her boat and flee.
But as she fell from the tree, still in midair, she suddenly felt a pulling force draw her in. The strange attraction came so abruptly that Robin spun halfway through the air. Before she could understand what was happening, her body was dragged out of the valley by that force.
Meanwhile, back in the camp, Darkness Element bloomed from Bane's hand, covering the ground and air within more than ten meters around him. Those darkness elements flowed and swirled through the area like drifting smoke, radiating an indescribable aura of power.
Visible to the naked eye, Nico Robin's figure was pulled over from the other side of the valley by the darkness's attraction. She struggled several times in midair, only to find it completely useless. Surprise and fear appeared in her eyes.
But she had survived in these cannibalistic seas since she was eight years old. Once she realized she could not break free from that force, she quickly adjusted herself. After suppressing the fear in her eyes, her expression returned to calm indifference.
After several breaths, Bane stood in the camp with one hand around Nico Robin's smooth, wheat-colored slender neck, holding her high in the air. Then he said, "Your strength seems unworthy of that seventy-nine million Belly bounty, Devil Child Nico Robin."
Nico Robin did not struggle. She merely placed both hands on Bane's strong arm, making herself slightly more comfortable. She could also tell that although Bane had grabbed her by the throat, he had no intention of strangling her to death.
That allowed her to answer him easily.
"Your strength and cunning personality have both exceeded my expectations," Robin said softly.
She had seen photographs of Bane. In those pictures, he looked rather rough and rugged, with a broad build, firm features, and a bright smile. He gave off the impression of someone straightforward and bold, with no hidden schemes.
Such people were usually reckless and impulsive, convinced that strength could solve everything. Over the years, Nico Robin had met far too many people like that, and she had toyed with far too many of them.
It was precisely because of that mindset that she had grown somewhat arrogant.
And that arrogance had led to Bane's hand around her throat now.
A new month has begun! Please support the new book with monthly votes, recommendations, and continued reading! Before it goes premium, I'll definitely keep updating two chapters a day, around five thousand words total. The editor originally told me to do four thousand, but I secretly added a little more, haha. I'll do my best to give everyone more updates. Once it goes premium, I'll go all out with updates! Thank you all for your support, and please keep supporting me!
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