Healing from Injuries

The aroma of rice porridge drifted into Robin's nose. "Smells good." Her protesting stomach woke her up. After opening her eyes, Robin instinctively looked around, trying to find Li Ziming.

"You're awake?" Li Ziming came in carrying a tray. "Your body is still weak. Have some porridge." He sat beside Robin's bed with the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and blew on it a few times to cool it down before bringing it to her lips. "Ah..." He looked just like he was feeding a child.

Robin looked at Li Ziming in confusion. If she remembered correctly, Li Ziming was supposed to be the injured one. Why was the patient taking care of her, someone who had not even been injured? Still, despite her doubts, Robin opened her mouth and accepted Li Ziming's care.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Chopper rushed in. "Your injuries haven't healed yet! Don't get out of bed so casually, or they'll get worse!"

"Yes, yes." Li Ziming smiled. "But under the care of the highly skilled Doctor Chopper, I've recovered quite well. Oh, I saw an oven while making the porridge, so I made some multigrain cookies. Want to try some?" As he spoke, Li Ziming pointed at another plate on the tray.

"Even if you say I'm highly skilled, I won't be happy!" Chopper said this, but his swaying body, crescent-shaped eyes, and curved mouth completely exposed his delight.

"This is the doctor who saved us?" Robin found it hard to believe. To others, Chopper looked more like a pet than a doctor.

"Don't underestimate Chopper. His medical skills are excellent." Li Ziming suddenly felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes.

"Um, are there any more cookies?" Chopper held up an empty plate sheepishly. "Sorry, they were so delicious that I accidentally ate them all."

"It's fine. I made plenty." Li Ziming rubbed his head. The solid feel was rather nice.

"Yahoo!" Chopper cheered and ran toward the kitchen.

"He really is a cute little guy." Robin watched Chopper, and for that moment, it felt as though she had forgotten the darkness in her heart.

"You brat, are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Kureha suddenly burst in and stepped on Li Ziming's back. Robin was so startled that she instinctively prepared to use her powers, but a hazy memory reminded her that the doctor she had encountered before passing out seemed to be this old woman. Robin immediately put on a smile. "Thank you so very much."

"Do you want to ask about my secret to staying young?" Kureha held a bottle of plum wine and looked at Robin smugly.

"And this is...?" If Robin had originally been full of gratitude toward Kureha, she was now filled from head to toe with deep helplessness.

"This is Doctor Kureha. You can also call her Doctorine. She's the one who healed us," Li Ziming briefly introduced.

"Thank you very much for saving us, Doctor Kureha." Robin wanted to sit up and express her gratitude, but Li Ziming held her down.

"Your body is still very weak. There'll be plenty of time to thank her once you've recovered," Li Ziming advised.

"Ha. I may hate this brat, but he's not wrong. Patients should stay in bed." Kureha first shot Li Ziming an unhappy glare, then took a sip of wine and advised Robin as well.

"Then... sorry," Robin said apologetically.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Kureha waved a hand. "Brat, your body still isn't healed. Don't do anything too strenuous."

"Don't worry, I won't." Li Ziming shrugged helplessly. Feeling the pain at his waist, he said helplessly, "She definitely did that on purpose."

"..." Robin said nothing, but Li Ziming felt the pain in his waist grow even worse.

"Ring, ring!" One of Robin's Den Den Mushi began ringing. Robin glanced at the nameplate on it, and her whole expression soured.

"What's wrong?" Li Ziming took the Den Den Mushi from Robin's hand and saw that it was Sand Crocodile Crocodile calling. "Heh, I'll answer it for you. You don't mind, do you?" That was what Li Ziming said, but he had no intention of waiting for Robin's agreement and answered immediately.

"Moshiboshi, this is Li Ziming. May I ask what you want?" Li Ziming's smug grin was perfectly displayed on the Den Den Mushi.

The hesitation on Crocodile's face was also perfectly conveyed by the Den Den Mushi, followed by a dark expression. "I never expected you to still be alive."

"Oh dear, oh dear, I'm not that easy to kill." Li Ziming spoke smugly. "At the very least, I wasn't planning to die so easily at your hands."

"Looks like that hateful woman Robin has become yours?" Crocodile's words were filled with rage.

Li Ziming glanced at Robin. Though he knew Crocodile could not see, he still tried to wrap an arm around Robin's waist, only to have the attempt rejected by an elbow.

"Hiss... Yes." Li Ziming endured the pain as he answered.

"..." Crocodile clearly fell silent. "As long as you stop interfering with my plans and have that woman help me find information on the Ancient Weapons, I can let you go." Crocodile's tone was extremely dark.

"Ancient Weapons?" A mischievous smile appeared on Li Ziming's face. "You mean Pluton, Uranus, and Poseidon?"

Li Ziming directly named all three Ancient Weapons. Forget Crocodile—even Robin was stunned.

"You... know!" Crocodile nearly forced out those three words one at a time.

"Oh dear, what should we do? My memory isn't very good. Maybe I'll forget." Li Ziming could clearly see Crocodile's fury through the Den Den Mushi, but having Crocodile by the throat, Li Ziming teased him without restraint.

"What do you want?" Li Ziming felt that if he appeared in front of Crocodile, he would probably be chopped into pieces and eaten. Although he had Crocodile over a barrel, Li Ziming had not thought of how to threaten him. He might know information about the Ancient Weapons, but he did not have the strength to protect that information. If Crocodile caught him and used certain methods, Li Ziming could not guarantee that he would not be finished. So he turned to look at Robin. He believed that with Robin's intelligence, she could solve this problem for him.

Robin gestured for Li Ziming to wait a moment.

Both Li Ziming and Crocodile were very patient, and neither said a word.

"Phew." Robin shrugged and said in a voice quiet enough that Crocodile could not hear, "Whiskey Peak has been breached. I heard it was the Straw Hat Pirates, who have recently made a name for themselves in the East Blue. And Princess Vivi seems to have been exposed as well. Black Friday has already reported it to Crocodile."

"Oh, then forget it. We quit!" Li Ziming said directly into the Den Den Mushi. Ignoring the other side's reaction, he immediately hung up on Crocodile.

"You?" Robin looked at Li Ziming in disbelief, then said helplessly, "You trust the Straw Hat Pirates that much? They may have shown tremendous strength in the East Blue, but that is only the East Blue. There is still a gap between them and Crocodile, isn't there?"

"The Straw Hat Pirates aren't as simple as you think." Li Ziming shook his head. "Take Buggy, for example. That guy may be weak, but how many people who served on the One Piece's ship could possibly be simple?"

"Buggy was a crew member of the One Piece?" Robin seemed to know Buggy's reputation, but she never could have imagined that such a weak pirate had once been a crew member of the One Piece.

"Then there's Arlong. He was once a member of the Sun Pirates, and he was quite strong himself." Li Ziming continued explaining to Robin. "The other enemies were all stronger than Straw Hat too, but when had he ever lost?"

"I'm no longer interested in Straw Hat. What interests me now is how you know all this. The two pieces of information you just mentioned aren't something ordinary people could know, are they?" Robin looked at Li Ziming curiously.

"Ha, you guess." Li Ziming had Robin lie back down. "All right, sleep a little longer. I need to have the doctor treat me too."

"How about we get on Straw Hat's ship?" Robin asked Li Ziming from the bed.

"Sure." Li Ziming agreed readily.