Robin Joins

After leaving the slums, Yang Yunzhi did not return to the inn. Instead, he made his way to a secluded beach on Cinnamon Island's southern shore.

The waves gently lapped against the sand in the dead of night, moonlight scattering across the sea like countless silver scales.

The sea breeze carried a salty dampness and the sweet fragrance of distant cinnamon trees.

Yang Yunzhi stood by the shore, listening to the tide, when he suddenly spoke. "Out following me in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Soft footsteps sounded behind him.

Robin stepped out from the shadows of the coconut grove, the moon illuminating her fair face. "Why are you still recruiting pirates?"

Yang Yunzhi did not turn around. "Have you forgotten my dream?"

"I haven't." Robin walked to his side and looked out at the sea with him. "To create a world where everyone can live with dignity."

"Then here's the question." Yang Yunzhi said, "Who is making everyone live without dignity right now?"

Robin froze, then her pupils contracted slightly. "The World Government?"

"Exactly." Yang Yunzhi finally turned to look at her. "So if I want to fulfill that dream, I have to overthrow the World Government. But how can an organization as massive as the World Government be overthrown so easily?"

He spread his hands as though trying to grasp the sea breeze before him. "That's why I have to use every possible method and unite every force that can be united."

Robin fell silent. The sea breeze lifted her long hair, making it shimmer like black satin beneath the moonlight.

After a long while, she said, "But pirates are murderers and plunderers. They commit every kind of evil."

"Pirates outside my control certainly are." Yang Yunzhi nodded. "But what about pirates under my control? Whoever I tell them to rob, they rob. Whoever I tell them to kill, they kill. If I have them rob World Government ships and kill the Celestial Dragons' lackeys, are they still villains?"

Robin was stunned.

She had never considered it from that angle.

"Not only will I recruit pirates. I'll recruit Marines, the Revolutionary Army, merchants, scholars, and everyone dissatisfied with this rotten world."

Yang Yunzhi's voice was clear and resolute in the sea breeze. "I will build a network that spans every class, every profession, and every sea. When that net becomes large enough and dense enough, all it takes is one gentle pull—"

He clenched his fist. "And it will strangle the old world."

Robin looked at the man. Beneath the moonlight, his profile was sharply defined, silver reflections of the sea shining in his eyes as though they held an entire sea of stars.

Such an arrogant dream.

Such terrifying ambition.

And so... stirring.

"This kind of thing," she said softly, "sounds incredibly difficult."

"Of course it's difficult." Yang Yunzhi smiled. "If it were easy, someone would have done it already, wouldn't they?"

He turned to face Robin. "Actually, you didn't want to join me at first, did you?"

Robin did not deny it. "I am the Devil Child. Joining you would only bring you endless trouble."

"Trouble?" Yang Yunzhi shook his head. "What does your situation count for? What I intend to do is flip the World Government's table over. At most, you're a bowl on that table. If I'm going to smash the whole table, would I care about one bowl?"

The metaphor caught Robin off guard, and then she could not help laughing.

It was the first time Yang Yunzhi had seen her smile—not a polite smile, but a genuine one from the bottom of her heart.

Under the moonlight, her eyes curved into lovely crescents, and her entire being seemed to brighten in an instant.

"Besides," Yang Yunzhi continued, "aren't you studying the Poneglyphs to expose the truth the World Government has concealed? Our goals are the same. You've researched alone for ten years. How much have you found? What if an entire organization supported you? What if you had an endless supply of resources, intelligence, and manpower?"

Robin's smile gradually faded, but the light in her eyes did not go out.

She remembered Ohara.

She remembered the All-Knowing Tree.

She remembered the books and scholars reduced to ashes amid artillery fire.

She remembered those ten years on the run.

She had never dared remain anywhere for long. Every trust could bring betrayal, and every clue to the Poneglyphs had to be pursued as cautiously as if walking on thin ice.

One person was ultimately too insignificant.

"Yang Yunzhi," she suddenly asked, "what if you fail?"

"Then I fail." Yang Yunzhi shrugged. "But at least I tried. That's better than living cautiously for a lifetime, then regretting on my deathbed, 'If only I'd been a little braver back then.'"

He paused and looked into Robin's eyes. "And I don't think I'll fail. I have all of you—intelligence geniuses like Bezos, young people like Ajilu who yearn to change their fates, scholars like you who hold the key to history. And in the future, there will be even more people who share our ideals."

"As long as we never stop moving forward, one day, we'll reach where we want to go."

The waves rolled on, and the moonlight flowed like water.

Robin took a deep breath, the salty sea air filling her nose. She closed her eyes, and ten years of drifting flashed through her mind—those betrayals and deceptions, the flames of Ohara, and her mother's departing silhouette.

Then she opened her eyes.

Only determination remained in them.

"I understand now," she said. "I'm willing to join you."

Yang Yunzhi smiled.

It was a smile of relief, yet one filled with anticipation. He extended his hand.

"Welcome, Comrade Robin."

Robin clasped his hand. His palm was warm, firm, and strong.

"Comrade..." She savored the word. "That's an interesting form of address."

"Because we share the same ideals," Yang Yunzhi said. "From today on, we are comrades—comrades striving for the same dream."

He released her hand and took a small silver badge from his pocket. Little Bean had made it using the Pod; he had repurposed the Pod's built-in laser weapon as a laser engraver.

The badge bore a simple door-shaped design.

"A token of the organization." Yang Yunzhi handed it to Robin. "We may not have a name yet, but we need some kind of symbol. A door represents limitless possibilities—open one door, and you can go anywhere; open one door, and you can see a new world."

Robin accepted the badge and held it in her palm. The coolness of the metal seeped through her skin, yet warmth rose in her heart.

Ten years.

She was finally no longer alone.

"Then, Comrade," she said, lifting her head with light shining in her eyes, "what do we do next?"

Yang Yunzhi looked westward, toward the West Blue.

"First, we return to Western Ghost Mulberry Island. I'll take the Origin Heart Sword, then seize Ghost Mulberry Island as well..."

His voice drifted away on the sea breeze. "We need a base."

"Oh, right!" Yang Yunzhi's dramatic, imposing tone abruptly broke. "I have a skill to teach you!!"

"What skill?"

"Makeup!"