Robin's Whereabouts · Loyalty Link

"I knew you weren't an ordinary Marine!" Bezos said excitedly. "What ordinary Marine would have this kind of bearing and methods? Don't worry, Chief. I, Bezos, have only two hobbies in my life: gathering intelligence and reading the intelligence I gather. You've given me a chance to fulfill my dream. If I ever betrayed you, I wouldn't be able to respect myself!"

"Very good." Yang Yunzhi nodded. "Then your first task is to rebuild and expand your intelligence network on Ghost Mulberry Island. I'll give you 200,000 Beli as startup funds. Use it to recruit and train intelligence agents and establish bases. As a first step, you must at least monitor the entire West Blue!"

Bezos's eyes lit up. "Two hundred thousand! That's enough to last me a year!"

Yang Yunzhi was somewhat surprised. "Two hundred thousand goes that far?"

"I mainly recruit orphans and beggars. They don't cost much!"

"But if you recruit too many, 200,000 won't last a year!" Yang Yunzhi patted Bezos on the shoulder. "Actually, in my plan, this 200,000 is your monthly budget!"

"Spend generously. The organization isn't short on money!" Yang Yunzhi said. "Also, help me find out where that black-haired woman went—her name is Nico Robin, a survivor of Ohara and the World Government's wanted 'Devil Child.'"

Bezos sucked in a breath. "The Devil Child... no wonder she had such a unique aura... Wait, Chief, you're looking for her? But she's wanted by the World Government..."

"Isn't that perfect?" Yang Yunzhi said directly. "She's one of us, and she's talented. Our organization needs people like her."

Bezos nodded thoughtfully. "Understood."

He closed his eyes and instantly issued orders to all the intelligence agents through the newly established Link Network. Through Little Bean's backend monitoring, Yang Yunzhi saw dozens of orders sent out at once:

[Little Bug: Go to the docks and investigate the White Wave's sailing records from eighteen days ago.]

[Old Lame (beggar leader): Ask all the beggars in the dock district whether they saw a tall black-haired woman eighteen to twenty days ago.]

[Barmaid Lily: Check the Seagull Inn's guest registry.]

...

Less than ten minutes after the orders were issued, the first report came back:

[Little Bug: I found out! The White Wave's first mate said that the black-haired woman disembarked at Emerald City in the South Blue. She bought a ticket for the Spice Islands!]

More information quickly followed:

[Old Lame: Three beggars remember her. They said she read at the harbor café every afternoon and seemed very quiet.]

[Lily: The Seagull Inn's register used a false name, but the owner remembers that she stayed in Room 303 for twelve days.]

[Dockworker A-Qiang: She carried only a small suitcase when she boarded, and it looked very light.]

Bezos opened his eyes, a sharp glint unique to intelligence experts shining in them. "It's basically confirmed. Nico Robin took the White Wave to Emerald City in the South Blue eighteen days ago, planning to transfer to a ship for the Spice Islands. She kept an extremely low profile while staying on Ghost Mulberry Island. Aside from the library and café, she barely went anywhere else."

He paused before adding, "But there's something strange... About twenty-three days ago, a particularly tall man was looking for her too. He questioned several people at the docks, and the features he described were exactly the same as yours. But he only stayed for half a day before leaving on a Marine warship."

Yang Yunzhi's heart tightened. "A tall man... Was he wearing a Marine coat, with fluffy hair, and riding a bicycle?"

"Yes, yes, yes! The people at the docks said he really was riding a bicycle, and that he'd ridden it directly over the sea!" Bezos looked surprised. "Chief, you know him?"

"That was General Aokiji, one of the three Marine Generals." Yang Yunzhi said gravely. "He was looking for Robin too... but it seemed he didn't find her."

He rapidly analyzed it in his mind. Aokiji had come twenty-three days ago, and Robin had left eighteen days ago. There was a five-day gap. That meant either Aokiji had failed to find Robin, or he had found her and let her go—given Aokiji's strength, if he truly wanted to find her, it would have been impossible for him not to.

The more likely possibility was that Aokiji knew Robin was here but hadn't captured her. He had merely "watched" her.

"What expression did that man have when he left?" Yang Yunzhi asked.

Bezos recalled the information he had obtained through the link. "The dockworker said he looked... a little melancholy. He stood at the harbor for a long time, staring out at the sea. In the end, he sighed before leaving."

Yang Yunzhi was basically certain. Aokiji knew Robin was here, but he had chosen to let her go. That fit Aokiji's conflicted attitude toward Robin in the original story—on one hand, he felt guilty over the Ohara incident; on the other, he was confused about justice. Perhaps he also believed she could find the true history.

"Keep investigating Robin's whereabouts in the South Blue," Yang Yunzhi ordered. "Also, how much do you know about the Oniki Clan?"

He had come all this way. It wouldn't be right not to do something while he was here!

Bezos immediately rattled off the details. "The Oniki Clan originally came from Wano Country and moved to Ghost Mulberry Island sixty years ago. The current clan head is Oniki Isshin, sixty years old and a master swordsman. He possesses the Origin Heart Sword, one of the fifty Skillful Grade swords. That sword is a straight blade sharpened on both edges. Its attacks focus on thrusting and stabbing, completely unlike ordinary swords."

Yang Yunzhi's heart stirred—a straight sword sharpened on both edges. Wasn't that a Chinese sword? It was precisely the weapon most suitable for the swordsmanship granted by the system.

Bezos continued, "Oniki Isshin fought constantly in his youth, and now he's starting to fail physically. The struggle over the Oniki Clan's inheritance has become fierce. Oniki Isshin has three children: his eldest son Ichiro handles trade, his second son Kijiro controls territory, and his third daughter Nobuko manages the legitimate businesses—casinos, pleasure districts, hotels, and the like. Each of them has their own supporters. Undercurrents are swirling across the island now, and they could start fighting at any time."

"Are you interested in the Origin Heart Sword?" Bezos keenly noticed the change in Yang Yunzhi's expression when he mentioned the weapon.

"A little," Yang Yunzhi admitted. "My swordsmanship style requires a weapon like that."

"That's easy." Bezos said, "When they start fighting, we can fish in troubled waters. Or... Chief, why don't you just challenge him directly? With your strength, taking down Oniki Isshin shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Yang Yunzhi stared steadily at Bezos. He wanted to know whether this was Bezos testing him, or merely the fearlessness of ignorance.

But judging from the fluctuations in Bezos's brainwaves transmitted by Little Bean, it didn't seem to be a test.

Then it was simply that he had been born on a small island, had never received a formal education, and didn't understand politics.

What subordinate told their own boss to go find someone for a duel?

Oh, Liu Bang's subordinates had once told Liu Bang to duel Xiang Yu. Never mind, then.

It seemed he would have to give Bezos some lessons later and teach him how to get along with his superior.

Yang Yunzhi said, "My identity cannot be exposed. We'll discuss the sword after we find Robin."

The two chatted a while longer about the details of building the organization.

Bezos proposed training three types of intelligence agents on every island: fixed base personnel responsible for gathering and relaying daily information; mobile "couriers" responsible for transmitting and verifying information between islands; and specialized "deep divers" who would conduct long-term tracking and in-depth investigations of important targets.

"But there's a problem." Bezos said. "The link ability requires you to be present to establish the initial link. In other words, whenever we reach a new island, you have to personally visit it before I can link the intelligence agents there."

Yang Yunzhi nodded. "That's exactly what I'll be doing next—I'll travel through the West Blue and establish link points, then hand them over to you afterward. As for you, first straighten out Ghost Mulberry Island's intelligence network, deepen the intelligence work, and train a group of core personnel."

Bezos rubbed his hands excitedly. "Understood! Before you return, I'll turn Ghost Mulberry Island into an impenetrable fortress!"

Before leaving, Yang Yunzhi gave Bezos a case full of cash and authorized him through the Primary Link to fully manage Ghost Mulberry Island's Secondary Link Network.

"Oh, right." Just as he was leaving, Bezos suddenly asked, "Chief, what is our intelligence organization called?"

Yang Yunzhi looked back. "Our organization has no name."

"No name?" Bezos did not understand.

"A true intelligence organization should not have a name," Yang Yunzhi said. "A name means a label, and a label means it can be easily identified and tracked. We must be formless like water and everywhere like air. When our enemies try to investigate us, they'll discover that we don't exist at all—yet we're everywhere."

Bezos savored those words, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter. "Formless... everywhere... I understand! Don't worry, Chief. I know what to do!"

Yang Yunzhi nodded and turned, disappearing around the street corner.

He did not leave Ghost Mulberry Island immediately. Instead, he found an inn and stayed there, waiting for more definite news from Bezos about Robin. At the same time, he activated the Byakugan and scanned the entire island again, especially the places Bezos had mentioned—the library, the Seagull Inn, and the harbor café.

At the library, he "saw" the librarian studying an ancient book by lamplight late at night. Some of the writing in it closely resembled the text on Ohara's stone monuments. In Room 303 on the third floor of the Seagull Inn, although Robin had already left, Yang Yunzhi's X-ray vision still found traces: beneath the bedboards, a line of tiny words had been written in very faint pencil. It was a term from the Poneglyphs.

"So she really did stay here..." Yang Yunzhi murmured.

Early the next morning, Bezos sent more detailed information through the Link Network:

[Chief, I've figured it out. Robin stayed in Emerald City for five days and changed lodgings three times during that period. She was extremely cautious. She took the Sapphire from Emerald City to Cinnamon Island in the Spice Islands twelve days ago. The Sapphire reached Cinnamon Island eight days ago, and after Robin disembarked, she went to the Scholar Inn on the island. That place specifically accommodates researchers and history scholars.]

[Also, I found more information about General Aokiji. After leaving Ghost Mulberry Island, he went to Branch 82 of the West Blue Marines. He stayed for one day before returning to the Grand Line. Interestingly, the branch commander there was his junior at Marine school.]

Yang Yunzhi was somewhat surprised. He hadn't even gone to Emerald Island or that Cinnamon Island to establish links yet, so how had Bezos's intelligence network already spread all the way there?

He replied:

[Continue monitoring Robin's whereabouts and notify me immediately if anything changes. Also, begin training the core intelligence agents on Ghost Mulberry Island. I've sent you a set of training materials.]

Of course, he had not written those materials. Little Bean had written all of them.

[Understood!]

After closing the link interface, Yang Yunzhi stood before the inn window and looked in the direction of the South Blue.

"The Spice Islands... Cinnamon Island..." he muttered. "Robin, I won't let you get away this time."

He packed his belongings, settled his bill, and left the inn. In an isolated place, he opened a Spark Portal. Beyond it was a merchant ship on the sea dozens of kilometers away—a vessel traveling along the route to Emerald City in the South Blue.

Just before stepping through the portal, he looked back at Ghost Mulberry Island.

This island would become the first node in his intelligence network, and Bezos, a man born for intelligence work, had already firmly brought forty-three informants under his control through the Link Network.

"Secondary Link... it truly is the best ability for building an intelligence organization." Yang Yunzhi praised inwardly. "Little Bean, you've worked hard these past few days."

"It is my duty to serve my master." Little Bean's voice was gentle and lively. "Besides, developing new abilities is very interesting. Once Master rises to a higher rank and my computing power improves further, perhaps I can develop even stronger link abilities—for example, locking onto targets directly by name or characteristics without needing to imagine their appearance."

"Then I'll look forward to that day." Yang Yunzhi smiled and stepped into the golden portal.

The portal closed behind him, and the sparks scattered as though it had never existed.

Meanwhile, Bezos sat inside his crude little room. Before him floated one hundred and forty-three pale blue points of light—each one representing a linked intelligence agent.

With a thought, the points expanded into streams of information, every report updating in real time:

[Little Bug: Three new merchant ships have arrived at the docks. Two came from the West Blue capital, and one came from the Flower Country.]

[Old Lame: Kijiro Oniki's men are collecting protection fees in the dock district. They clashed with a merchant caravan's guards.]

[Lily: I heard a rumor in the tavern that Oniki Ichiro plans to hire outside swordsmen to deal with his younger brother.]

"This is what intelligence work is supposed to look like..." Bezos murmured. Without leaving his home, he could gather countless pieces of intelligence.

When he thought of Yang Yunzhi again, his eyes were already filled with fervor.

He did not know that the Secondary Link created by the Link-Link Fruit also had a mental modulation effect. It caused those with Secondary Links to naturally draw close to higher-level linked individuals, producing an effect similar to an aura of loyalty.

It could also be called a Loyalty Link.

This was because Little Bean was absolutely loyal to Yang Yunzhi, and the links it created naturally inherited that loyal quality.

That was also why Yang Yunzhi did not mind telling him so many secrets related to himself. With the Loyalty Link in place, it was simply impossible for him to leak intelligence.

Even if he wanted to leak it, Little Bean was monitoring his every move. The moment there were any signs of it, Yang Yunzhi could instantly open a portal and use the laser weapon on the Pod to eliminate him directly!

Far away on Cinnamon Island, Robin was closing a book about the ancient spice trade and letting out a soft sigh. She had stayed at this inn for eight days. It was time to continue onward.

Moonlight fell across her face outside the window, illuminating those eyes that had seen through too many truths.

She did not know that this time, what was pursuing her was not the shadow of destruction, but a net inviting her out of the darkness—a net woven by a transmigrator, one capable of changing the world.