Leaving

And so Li Ziming and Robin more or less settled down in Kureha's castle.

"Why haven't you two bastards left yet?" Kureha brandished her kitchen knife, looking every bit ready to cut them down.

"Well, well, I'm a patient. Isn't it a little inappropriate for a doctor to chase a patient away like this?" Li Ziming said, his face glowing with health.

"You little bastard, you recovered ages ago! Stop freeloading here!" Kureha grabbed Li Ziming's cheek and pulled hard.

"Ow!" Li Ziming shouted and collapsed to the floor. "I'm hurt! I need treatment! I need to be hospitalized!" Judging by that performance, he had truly mastered the art of faking an injury for compensation.

"You little bastard!" Kureha wanted nothing more than to take a cleaver to him.

"Sorry for the trouble, Doctorine. We've fallen out with our boss, so we'd like to hide here for a while. We'll leave afterward." Robin held Chopper in her arms. On freezing Drum Island, his thick fur was the perfect way to keep warm.

"You people had better get out of here soon!" Kureha said irritably.

"What should we do? Should we leave?" Robin looked at Li Ziming.

"I don't really mind. I just hope nobody's taken the booze from my bar." Li Ziming was honestly getting a little bored staying here.

"Then let's get ready and leave." Robin reluctantly set Chopper down.

"You're leaving?" Chopper was reluctant to part with them too—with Li Ziming, who made delicious food, and the gentle Robin.

"Don't worry. If fate brings us together, we'll meet again." Li Ziming shrugged and smiled at Chopper.

"Yes, I'd feel lonely too if I never got to see dear little Tony again," Robin said regretfully.

"Calling me cute won't make me happy, even if you say things like that!" Chopper said, happily wriggling around.

"So where are we going?" Robin looked at Li Ziming.

"To Alabasta," Li Ziming said. "Since Vivi is with the Straw Hat Pirates, she'll definitely ask them to help save Alabasta. We can just go there and wait for them. Besides, if we don't go, you won't be able to see that Poneglyph."

"By the way, last time you spoke to Crocodile, you seemed to know something about the ancient weapons?" Robin knew information about the ancient weapons was recorded on the Poneglyphs. She was wanted precisely because she was the only person in the world who could decipher them. Yet Li Ziming claimed to know about the ancient weapons too. Did that mean he could also decipher the Poneglyphs?

"All right, Chopper, come with me. I'm going to teach you a few things." Kureha dragged him away without waiting for a response. Clearly, she didn't want him getting tangled up in any of this.

Watching Chopper disappear, Li Ziming shrugged. "Pluton, Poseidon, and the King. Of the three ancient weapons, only Poseidon and the King still exist in this world. There's no completed Pluton, but the blueprints for building it have survived."

"So you know where all of them are?" Robin stared at Li Ziming in disbelief. "Even the World Government fears those things..."

"No, no, no." Li Ziming interrupted her. "Rather than the ancient weapons, what they really fear is the Poneglyphs."

"The Poneglyphs?" Robin frowned.

"Or nepeae, or the meaning of D." Li Ziming shook his head. "Only members of the older generation with exceptional standing have access to these things. If those secrets were uncovered, they might bring enormous changes to the entire world. That's why the World Government deliberately announced Gol D. Roger's name to the public as Gol Roger. They were afraid someone would notice the D."

"What exactly does D. mean?" Robin couldn't understand how a single letter could hold so much power.

"Who knows?" Li Ziming shrugged. "Like I just said, the people who know are mostly high-ranking figures from the older generation, along with anyone who knows the full contents of the Poneglyphs. That's exactly why the Navy sees you as such a thorn in its side, Robin."

"Aren't you afraid hanging around me will put you on the Navy's radar?" Robin asked with amusement.

"If they were going to target me, they would've done it already. I know every bit as much as you, the Devil Child who can decipher Poneglyphs," Li Ziming said with a smile. "They call you the Devil Child just because you can read them. Since I actually know about all the ancient weapons, shouldn't they call me the Devil? The more I think about it, the cooler it sounds."

"Cool, my foot!" Robin snapped. An arm sprouted on Li Ziming's head and gave him a sharp rap. Then, sounding a little sad, she added, "I really do envy how optimistic you are."

Li Ziming gently stroked Robin's cheek. "A day passes whether you spend it crying or smiling, so why not smile your way through it? Besides, I'm sure your smile is much prettier than mine."

Feeling the warmth against her cheek, Robin reflected that she had once been just as optimistic as Li Ziming when she first went on the run. But as time passed and she witnessed more and more darkness, she had long since lost that optimism.

"Ahem!" Kureha cleared her throat twice. Robin immediately blushed and pushed Li Ziming's hand away, while he gave Kureha a disgruntled look.

"What are you staring at, brat? Keep that up and I won't give you this!" Despite her words, she handed him the bundle she was holding. "Besides some everyday medicines, this contains the antidote you asked for."

"An antidote?" Robin looked curiously at Li Ziming. "Is that for dealing with Crocodile?"

"Yeah. I'm not planning to fight him again, but it's best to make a few extra preparations just in case." Li Ziming took the bundle. "Thank you very much, Doctor Kureha."

"Don't give me that. If you really want to thank me, never come back," Kureha said irritably. "Every visit from you takes at least ten years off my life."

"Sorry, sorry." Li Ziming gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry won't cut it. You'd better settle your medical bills," Kureha told him.

"Sure." Li Ziming nodded, but as he listened to Kureha itemize the bill, sweat began pouring down his forehead. After she finished, he waited a moment. When she didn't turn to Robin, he gave her a puzzled look.

"What, you want a woman to pay?" Kureha looked at Li Ziming with utter contempt, as though he were scum.

Left with no choice, Li Ziming paid both his and Robin's medical bills, then silently mourned his deflated wallet.

"Here." While Li Ziming wasn't looking, Kureha gave all the money to Robin.

"Hm?" Robin looked at Kureha in confusion, unsure what she meant.

"A woman has to keep a firm grip on her man's money, especially with these men who sail the seas. Let your guard down for a moment, and who knows where some temptress might lure him off to?" Kureha shared her experience with Robin.

"No, that's not it. We're not..." Robin tried to explain, her face turning bright red.

"Oh, enough. Who would believe there's nothing between you two?" Kureha said irritably. "When you arrived, you were practically dying, yet you still told me to save that brat first. And he was no better, looking after you before he'd even recovered himself. Who would believe there's nothing going on between you?"

"I... ah..." Robin sighed sadly. "My situation is complicated. It's not that simple."

"Well, that's your business anyway. All I can do is offer you some advice: when you find a good man, hold on to him. Otherwise, you'll regret it later," Kureha said earnestly.

"I know," Robin replied helplessly.

"What's wrong?" Li Ziming walked over. He hadn't intended to interrupt the two women's conversation. A man barging into a conversation between women was never a good idea. But now that Robin looked visibly sad, he couldn't just stand by.

"Nothing. I was only asking Kureha about her beauty secrets." Robin's expression changed quickly, and she immediately hid the sadness on her face.

"That's right. Though my methods clearly aren't very suitable for Robin." Kureha played along perfectly, changing the subject without missing a beat. "Would you like to hear my beauty secrets?" she asked Li Ziming.

"No, thanks." Li Ziming shook his head. He knew they were changing the subject, but he had no intention of exposing them. After all, he wasn't confident he could resolve the troubles in Robin's heart, at least not yet. Rather than bring them up now, it was better to let the matter pass and slowly help her work through them over time.

"Then let's go." Robin smiled.

"Hmph. Don't come back," Kureha said irritably. "I don't want to see either of you bastards again."

"Can't promise that. We might come back to visit you." Li Ziming laughed, then dodged the knife Kureha hurled at him and pulled Robin away.

"Are we heading straight to Alabasta?" Robin sounded worried. "You said we wouldn't be facing Crocodile, but the top-ranked members of Baroque Works are no pushovers either."

"Relax. As long as they're not Logia users, I'm confident I can take them in a fight." Li Ziming felt no pressure at all. Some unusual Human-type abilities were actually no weaker than Logia abilities. In fact, he felt that whether a Devil Fruit was weak or strong depended on its user.

"You really are confident." Robin genuinely admired Li Ziming's confidence.

Li Ziming shook his head. "Besides, honestly, we might not even run into those people." There was a hint of something in his words.

"You mean the Straw Hat Pirates?" Robin was growing increasingly curious about them. She could hardly wait to meet them and find out what made Li Ziming think so highly of them.

"Who knows?" Li Ziming wasn't about to make any firm promises. Otherwise, he might end up eating his own words.