At Last, They Met

"Marimo, Luffy!"

Sanji was the most shocked of all. He had never expected Luffy and Zoro to be this useless.

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Creak—

Without any warning.

A door suddenly appeared in the air behind Sanji. Bruno emerged from it, his right hand reaching straight for the back of Sanji's head.

"Sanji, watch out."

"Six-Fold Bloom."

Nami shouted a warning, while Robin immediately used her Paramecia-type Flower-Flower Fruit.

In an instant.

Six arms appeared on Bruno's body, forcibly redirecting his attack while tightly restraining him.

"When—"

Cold sweat beaded on Sanji's forehead. He quickly leaped back and turned around, nearly spitting out the cigarette in his mouth.

When had that guy appeared?

"Demon Child Nico Robin, is this your ability?"

The sunlight suddenly dimmed.

Robin, who had blocked Bruno's attack and saved Sanji, stiffened all over. Without a second thought, she lunged to the left.

The next second.

A sharp strand of hair slammed into the ground like a gunshot, instantly blasting a crater into it.

"You actually dodged it~"

At some point.

Kumadori had appeared where Robin had been standing. His thick white hair writhed like venomous snakes.

He turned to look at Robin, who had rolled several times across the ground before scrambling up in a sorry state. His face, covered in thick white makeup, was full of surprise.

She should not have been able to dodge that attack.

"Robin, move—"

Just as Robin stared warily at Kumadori, breathing heavily, Nami's expression changed drastically and she shouted another warning.

"Beastly Majesty, chapapa."

Without a sound.

The round-bodied Fukurou used Soru to appear out of thin air behind Robin. His right hand clenched into a fist, fingers straightened as he used Finger Pistol, and he fired it like a cannonball.

Boom—

A solid impact of flesh against flesh rang out. Sanji took a deep drag from his cigarette and firmly blocked Fukurou's Finger Pistol punch with his knee, then looked up in shock.

"Attacking a lady isn't gentlemanly behavior, especially a beautiful lady."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Sanji kicked hard. Amid a huge gust of wind, Fukurou hugged his knees and flipped backward several times through the air before landing steadily on the ground.

A closer look revealed that Sanji's right leg was trembling slightly.

Clearly, taking Fukurou's attack had not been easy.

"Nami, Robin!"

Usopp and Chopper drew their weapons or transformed, rushing to Nami and Robin's side. Together with Sanji, they warily faced Kumadori and Fukurou, who had surrounded them.

"Be careful. That bull-headed guy vanished into the air earlier."

"I can't see him."

Usopp kept his slingshot drawn and ready to fire, standing back-to-back with Chopper.

"It doesn't seem like invisibility."

Nami gripped her Clima-Tact tightly, her palms soaked with sweat. Robin was equally on guard, because enemies lurking in the shadows were far more dangerous than those in plain sight.

"Who exactly are you, and why are you attacking us?"

Sanji flexed his right foot, cigarette held between the fingers of his left hand, his sharp gaze fixed on Kumadori and Fukurou.

Out of the corner of his eye.

Luffy and Zoro were fighting the long-nosed man in a baseball cap and the guy who had transformed into a werewolf.

"We're CP0, sent by Saint Germain Sumer to capture you, chapapa~"

"I let it slip again!"

Fukurou pulled open the zipper over his mouth. The moment he finished answering, he froze in alarm and immediately zipped it shut again.

"Yoiyo~"

"Fukurou, you big mouth. If you can't keep a secret, keep that zipper closed. You've exposed Saint Sumer."

Beside him, Kumadori twisted through some unknown Kabuki dance. His thick hair kept wriggling through the air, making him look terrifying.

"CP0?"

"Saint Germain Sumer?"

Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji all looked confused.

What was CP0?

And who was Saint Germain Sumer?

They had only just arrived at Water 7 and had not even officially gone ashore. They had never offended CP0 or that bad guy called Saint Germain Sumer.

"CP0? I've never even heard of it!"

"And Saint Germain Sumer, we've never offended you."

Nami pointed her Clima-Tact at Kumadori and Fukurou, furious.

"How foolish, not even knowing what CP0 is."

"CP0 is the World Government's secret intelligence agency. It carries out all kinds of covert operations, mainly targeting global criminal organizations like the Revolutionary Army."

"As for Saint Sumer, he is a descendant of the Creator, the most noble World Noble in the world, with every privilege. One of the Celestial Dragons."

"Chapapa~ I let it slip again—"

Fukurou inadvertently unzipped his mouth again. Only after he finished speaking did he realize it, then he raised his chin high, his round face full of arrogance.

He was looking forward to seeing terror on their faces.

However.

Nami and the others still looked like they only half understood.

So that was it.

They were people from the World Government.

As for descendants of the Creator, World Nobles, and Celestial Dragons, they were probably just nobles from some kingdom.

Robin alone went pale, terror filling her eyes as she nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Celestial Dragons... How could they be Celestial Dragons..."

"Robin? You know about the Celestial Dragons?"

Nami noticed Robin's fear. Her body was trembling, all color had drained from her face, and cold sweat kept pouring from her forehead.

"The Celestial Dragons are descendants of the twenty kings who formed the World Government eight hundred years ago. They live in the holy land of Mary Geoise and are the privileged class that rules the World Government."

"Offend them, and a Marine Admiral will come."

"What? A Marine Admiral? Like that ice guy from Long Ring Long Land?"

Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all widened their eyes as they recalled Aokiji, whom they had encountered on Long Ring Long Land.

That had been their most desperate moment.

With only a casual move, he had frozen the entire sea and the Sea Kings. That world-destroying power could only be described as utterly terrifying.

"Fukurou, if you can't control that mouth of yours, be careful Saint Sumer doesn't punish you—"

Inside the green alternate space, even Bruno could not stand it anymore.

He opened a round door and poked his head out, reminding Fukurou somewhat long-windedly.

It was because Fukurou had this big-mouth flaw that he had not been selected to infiltrate Water 7 in the first place.

"Robin?"

Nami was frightened.

She had been thinking about how to escape, because once a Marine Admiral arrived, they would stand no chance.

Then she suddenly noticed something was wrong with Robin. When Robin lowered her head and began walking toward Kumadori and Fukurou, Nami quickly reached out and grabbed her.

She had a bad feeling.

"They're after me. Only if I leave will all of you be safe."

"Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I was very happy on this journey."

Robin raised her head, a smile on her bloodless face. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and thanked them from the bottom of her heart.

Because her time with the Straw Hat Pirates had been the happiest period of her life since leaving Ohara.

"Robin!"

"Robin-chwan."

Usopp and Chopper were stunned, while Sanji's face darkened.

"I'll go with you. Let them go—"

Robin took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and walked to the middle of the opposing sides. Her deep blue eyes were filled with desolation.

Whether it was CP0 or the Celestial Dragon named Saint Germain Sumer, neither was someone the Straw Hat Pirates could stand against.

Trading herself for everyone else's lives was worthwhile no matter how she looked at it.

"No, no, no."

"Nico Robin, our orders are to arrest every one of you, especially you and Straw Hat."

Kumadori's long hair alternately stood straight up and swayed back and forth, while his large face covered in white makeup wore a sinister expression.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Just then.

Two figures rapidly leaped across the distant rooftops. Within moments, they landed steadily on the embankment.

Because of the sunlight, Nami and the others instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes. It took them two or three seconds to adjust before they could see who had arrived.

On the left stood a tall, cold-faced man in a black top hat and black suit, with a pigeon wearing a tie perched on his shoulder.

On the right was a tall woman in a pink buttoned nurse's romper dress. Her long golden hair flowed behind her, white sunglasses covered her eyes, and her snow-white long legs were wrapped in black garter stockings.

Lying in the arms of that mature, seductively beautiful nurse was an utterly ordinary man.

At a single glance.

Sanji's eyes blazed with jealous fury.