Flower-Flower Fruit (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

Early summer mornings still carried a trace of chill and dampness.

It had rained all night. Dark clouds still hung overhead, blocking out the sunlight, while mist filled the woods.

Looking at the book in Zhong Hao's hand, Robin shot him a resentful glare. Only after turning her back to him did she say, "The air is fresh in the early morning. It's the perfect time to read. I don't feel like talking."

Zhong Hao circled around in front of her and asked in surprise, "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? That doesn't seem like you."

Most of Zhong Hao's impression of Robin came from the original story. He only knew her as an intelligent, mature beauty, but he had forgotten that Robin was still just a fifteen-year-old girl. Though she had endured countless hardships and possessed a maturity far beyond her age, the rebelliousness of adolescence could only be worn away with age and time.

Seeing her like this, Zhong Hao had no idea how to handle it—or rather, no experience handling it. If she were a stranger, he could simply turn around and leave. If she were an enemy, Sea Fang would have already cut her down.

In his previous life, among ten thousand people who had followed the original story, it would have been difficult to find even one who disliked the Straw Hat Pirates. That was the so-called attachment to the original work, and Zhong Hao was no exception. He greatly liked the friendship between that crew and the way they lived their lives.

Robin in particular resembled him somewhat in terms of background, so he could not help sympathizing with her. Since he had run into her, he would naturally lend her a hand.

Of course, he was not a nanny. He would help if he came across them, but he would never travel a great distance specifically to take care of them.

Seeing Robin display a rare bit of girlish petulance that matched her age, Zhong Hao scratched his cheek with his index finger and forced himself to say, "Let's talk about your ability. You're a Flower-Flower Fruit user, right?"

Robin nodded slightly. She crossed her arms before her chest and called out, "Ten-Flower Bloom."

"This is downright creepy." Looking at the arms sprouting from all over his body, Zhong Hao felt that this could be filmed as a horror movie. He pinched one of the arms that had grown out and said, "Flower... Are these pollen or plant spores? You control the spores' growth, making them extend like parts of your own body. Can you feel me pinching your hand?"

Robin's face reddened slightly. She dismissed the hands on Zhong Hao's body and said, "I can feel it. Even if they are cut off, I won't be injured, but the pain and sensation are genuinely transmitted back to my body."

"Is that all? It has some potential, but your physical strength is definitely a limitation." Zhong Hao frowned slightly, then leaned close and took two deep breaths. The rich, fragrant scent made him feel as though he had fallen into a sea of flowers.

"Y-You... what are you doing?" Robin abruptly retreated two steps and glared at him in irritated embarrassment.

"Huh? Me? You're being way too sensitive. I'm eight years old—what could I possibly do to you? You're far too guarded." Zhong Hao slapped his forehead helplessly.

Normally, with Robin's temperament, she would never lose her composure like this. Yet whenever she faced Zhong Hao, her heart was in turmoil, and it had nothing to do with romantic feelings.

Zhong Hao had saved her when she had been at her most helpless, and he had done so twice in a row. Whenever they were together, he never spoke harshly to her. On the contrary, he often protected her without realizing it. Beneath his cold severity was a trace of gentleness, like a soft breeze and drizzle that had pried open a crack in the fortress of her heart and quietly slipped inside.

But the more that happened, the more afraid she became. Everyone she cared about had died seven years ago. During seven years of exile, she had seen so much ugliness and suffered so much pain that she had gradually closed off her heart. Along with it, she had locked away her loneliness. Yet she also longed for companionship, for someone she could rely on.

However, she had known Zhong Hao for far too short a time. She knew nothing about him, nor did she know what exactly he wanted from her or whether he had ulterior motives.

Even Robin herself had not noticed that, deep down, she hoped Zhong Hao would speak coldly to her and force her with a hard heart, so she could completely give up and close herself off again. At the same time, she hoped he would help and care for her without any impure intentions, becoming the comfort and support in her heart.

This constant uncertainty frightened her. Because she cared, everything made her tread carefully.

Then Zhong Hao said, "That fragrance flooded my nose. It's too rich, like being surrounded by a sea of flowers. That isn't something an ordinary woman would have."

Robin looked at Zhong Hao with a complicated expression. She drew in a cool breath, steadied herself, and said, "I don't know. I ate the Flower-Flower Fruit when I was very young. Maybe it's one of the fruit's traits."

Zhong Hao walked behind a red pine tree, picked a purple wildflower, selected several purplish-black seeds from it, and returned to Robin. "Can you control these seeds and make them grow into this kind of flower?"

"Y-You can do that?" Robin's eyes widened. She accepted the seeds and held them in her palm, trying to communicate with and control them. After a long while, the seeds showed no reaction whatsoever. She let out a heavy breath and said, "No. I can't control them."

Zhong Hao asked again, "You can't sense them at all?"

Robin shook her head, somewhat disappointed. "I can sense them, but I can't make them reproduce into new flowers."

Hearing that, Zhong Hao smiled in satisfaction. "It's good that you can sense them. Just because you can't do it for now doesn't mean you'll never be able to. At least you have a direction to work toward. I don't know much about plants, but since you like reading, you can spend some time learning. In the future, collect all kinds of flower seeds—poisonous flowers, flowers that induce sleep or numbness, carnivorous flowers, and so on. I remember there's even a carnivorous flower on the Grand Line as large as an island."

"A carnivorous flower as large as an island? I don't believe you." Robin felt that such nonsense could fool, at most, an eight-year-old child.

Zhong Hao did not mind. "There are all kinds of things in this world that make no sense. You'll find out eventually. From now on, you'd better spend five hours every day training your physical strength. The stronger you are, the faster you can run when danger comes."

Robin snorted, then suddenly asked, "Saving me may have been an accident, but you deliberately moved into the forest with me and even taught me how to use my fruit ability. What exactly is your purpose?" She had held that question in for a long time, and she had finally asked it.

Zhong Hao scratched his head, unsure how to answer. After organizing his words slightly, he said, "For certain reasons, I like some people very much. I like the bond between them and their companions. I wouldn't go out of my way to become their nanny, but since I happened to meet them, it means we were fated to cross paths. Giving them a little care isn't strange. As for you, aside from those reasons, you're also a historian. I have a feeling that I'll need your ability sooner or later."

"Is... that all..." Robin felt somewhat disappointed, yet also faintly relieved. That answer left her both disappointed and thankful, but at least it was not the worst possible outcome.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

A string of heavy footsteps approached.

"Oh! Genghu is back. Looks like it caught some prey. Let's prepare breakfast. After we eat, I'll teach you some basic martial arts."

Two days later, at dusk, Zhong Hao and Robin rode Genghu to Pus Island. Robin wore a cloak that covered her entire body, with a hood over her head.

From afar, they could see thick smoke rising from several places across Pus Island.

"Looks like the show has already begun. We arrived at just the right time." Zhong Hao chuckled.

"Is this a pirate raid? But this island is so large. Pirates shouldn't have the nerve, should they?" Robin asked in confusion.

"Not pirates. The Euro Kingdom's royal guards aren't useless. If I'm not mistaken, this is an uprising," Zhong Hao explained.

"An uprising! How could that be..." Robin's mouth fell open in disbelief. Something like this might not happen once in several decades. This was the Great Pirate Era; pirate raids were the main theme of the times.

"Normally, uprisings are difficult to start. After all, this is a member nation of the World Government. Even if an uprising succeeds, as long as the king survives, he can ask the World Government to intervene and easily crush the rebels. But it's different if someone is specifically opposing the World Government."

Zhong Hao deliberately left her in suspense. As he had just said, pirates were the main theme of this era. The Revolutionary Army had yet to rise to prominence, and Dragon's revolutionary path had only just begun.

"Someone specifically opposing the World Government... I understand. You brought me here at this time because you want me to join them?" Robin swallowed. The World Government had ruled the world for eight hundred years, and the legitimacy of its rule was deeply ingrained. Ordinary people would not even dare think about revolution.

"That's right. They're called the Revolutionary Army. Their leader has an indirect connection to me. To the World Government, you are someone they cannot tolerate. But to them, you are someone they need to protect at all costs."

"Will... someone really protect me?" Robin pressed her lips together. Her voice was dry, and her gaze unfocused.

"What kind of question is that? Didn't I protect you? I didn't hand you over to the Marines or the World Government either." Zhong Hao complained in annoyance.

"N-No, that's not what I meant. It's just hard for me to believe. It's been seven years. The people who truly protected and cared for me died seven years ago. I... I..." Robin thought of Vice Admiral Saul, of everyone from the Tree of Knowledge, of the destroyed Ohara. She covered her face as tears spilled through her fingers.

Zhong Hao wanted to put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her, but awkwardly realized that he was not tall enough and his arms were not long enough. Robin was already 1.7 meters tall despite being only fifteen, while Zhong Hao was a pitiful 1.35 meters tall.

His arm hung awkwardly in midair. He bared his teeth in embarrassment, changed the attempted embrace into a pat, and gently patted her back.

Robin continued crying. Having never learned how to comfort girls, he felt his awkwardness reaching critical levels. Just as he stood there at a loss, his brain suddenly short-circuited, and he blurted out something unbearably childish that would embarrass him for a long time: "The king of the Euro Kingdom offended me. I want to watch him die with my own eyes. Genghu, speed up!"

Across the sea beneath the setting sun, a tiger's roar rang out from nowhere...