First Meeting with Nico Robin

Vivi stared at Li Ziming in utter confusion, seemingly wanting to know why he knew her real name was Vivi.

"Is something wrong?" Li Ziming looked at Vivi suspiciously. Though he understood what she meant, he still pretended to know nothing.

"Who exactly are you?" Vivi took a deep breath. "Why do you..."

"Shh!" Li Ziming suddenly appeared in front of Vivi and gently pressed his right index finger against her lips.

Feeling the warmth of Li Ziming's finger, Vivi blushed.

"On such a lovely night, isn't talking about things like this a bit of a mood-killer..." Li Ziming gently wrapped his arms around Vivi. "I know about your situation, but don't worry, I won't do anything to you. And if you need anything, you can consider coming to me. Besides, I'm not the only one keeping an eye on you."

Hearing Li Ziming's words, Vivi's body trembled slightly. His meaning was obvious: someone within Baroque Works already knew she was a traitor. At that thought, fear appeared on Vivi's face. However, Li Ziming pressed her head directly against his shoulder, hiding her expression from everyone else. He held her tightly enough that her trembling looked like she was struggling to escape his embrace.

"Well? Isn't my embrace nice and warm?" Li Ziming asked with a wicked grin.

Vivi's face instantly turned red. She shoved Li Ziming away with all her strength, but when she saw him release her so easily, she felt strangely uncomfortable.

Li Ziming merely smiled. "If you ever need it again, my arms will always be open for you."

"Y-you bastard!" Vivi punched Li Ziming in the chest with a flushed face, then quickly ran off.

"My flirting skills are still this formidable." Li Ziming leaned against the railing and spoke to the vulture and sea otter beside him.

The sea otter looked at Li Ziming while holding a drawing board, sketching his portrait.

The vulture nodded, looking deeply impressed by Li Ziming.

"Are you done yet? I'm getting a little sleepy..." Li Ziming yawned.

The sea otter looked at its drawing, compared it with Li Ziming, then nodded and bowed to him.

"It's fine. It's just part of the job." Li Ziming waved his hand and watched the two animals known as Black Friday leave. The sleepiness had long vanished from his eyes. As a bartender who often stayed up late working, nighttime was when he was most alert. His supposed fatigue had merely been a way to make them leave sooner.

Before long, the ship Li Ziming was on arrived at the desert kingdom of Alabasta.

"So this is Baroque Works' headquarters?" Li Ziming looked at the enormous building before him in surprise. "Rainbase? What a strange name."

"You think you can understand the boss's ideas?" R9 mocked.

"Alright, let's go in," Vivi hurriedly said, trying to stop the two of them.

"Ladies first." Li Ziming bowed slightly to Vivi, making her blush bright red.

"Hehe, what a gentlemanly man." A sweet voice drifted over. Before Li Ziming stood a woman with healthy wheat-colored skin, wearing a white cowgirl hat, a vest, and tight pants.

"As a bartender, if I can't greet people with a smile, I might get a drink thrown in my face." Li Ziming wore a helpless expression, as if someone really had splashed him with alcohol before.

"Then that really would be an unpleasant customer." The beauty smiled. "Alright, follow me inside." With that, she turned and walked toward the massive building behind her.

"Are we going to see the boss?" Li Ziming remembered that Crocodile was supposed to be difficult to meet.

"Of course not." The beauty, Nico Robin, shrugged. "It isn't so easy to meet Mr. 0. You can call me Vice President, or Miss All Sunday."

"Vice President?" Li Ziming exclaimed, then put on an expression as though he had struck gold. "Then our president wouldn't happen to be a sexy older sister like the vice president, would he?"

"Ha, you can guess." Robin was amused by Li Ziming's antics.

"Judging by your reaction, probably not." Li Ziming smiled bitterly, then spoke so softly that only Nico Robin seemed able to hear him. "After all, if Desert Crocodile Crocodile really became a woman, she'd probably be a ruthless one too, wouldn't she, Nico Robin..."

Robin's pupils immediately shrank when she heard Li Ziming's words. She stared at him intently, as if trying to see straight through him from head to toe.

Seeing her frightened expression, Li Ziming suddenly realized that he liked whispering a character's secret in their ear and then watching their terrified reaction.

"What are you talking about?" Robin quickly composed herself. The false smile remained on her face, but to Li Ziming, it looked unnatural no matter how he looked at it.

"Just take it as nonsense." Li Ziming shrugged indifferently.

"Alright." Robin led Li Ziming, Vivi, and R9 into an office. She hung her hat on a coat rack and sat behind the desk. "R9 and Miss Wednesday, you completed this mission very well. I'll make a note of it on your mission records. If there are any assignments, I'll notify you. You may leave now." With that, Robin dismissed Vivi and R9.

Vivi shot Li Ziming an annoyed glare, then stormed out resentfully.

Li Ziming helplessly rubbed his nose. It seemed he hadn't done anything to that princess yet. Being too charming really was troublesome. He secretly felt pleased with himself.

At that moment, two hands sprouted from his neck and gripped his throat.

"Who exactly are you?" Robin stared at Li Ziming with a dark expression, as though she would snap his neck if he said a single wrong word.

To Robin's surprise, Li Ziming even turned his head and sniffed the hands around his neck before saying with an intoxicated expression, "What a lovely floral scent."

The hands produced by the Flower-Flower Fruit were under Robin's control, and she could feel what they felt as well. Usually, Robin avoided sensing the feelings of the limbs she created, because it gave her a disorienting sensation. This time had been no different, but seeing Li Ziming's delighted expression, Robin seemed to genuinely feel him sniffing her hands. Her face reddened slightly as she canceled her power, only to realize immediately afterward that she had fallen for his trick.

But Li Ziming quickly arrived beside Robin. He merely placed his palm against her back, yet Robin felt the threat of death.

"The Marine Six Powers?" Robin's voice trembled.

"That's right, but I'm not a Marine. My teacher only left me some notes, and I only trained in Soru and Geppo." Li Ziming explained directly. "And I trained them only because those two suit my Bomb-Bomb Fruit best."

Robin's eyes were filled with doubt. From his behavior, he did not seem to have come specifically for her, but that did not mean Robin trusted Li Ziming.

"I want to open a bar on Whiskey Peak. If there's a mission, you can come notify me. If there isn't, I'll just be a bar owner. How about it? If you agree, I'll help keep your secret. And from now on, you can drink at my bar for free."

Who wants your drinks?! Robin roared inwardly. Outwardly, however, she showed no reaction and simply nodded. "Alright, but who exactly are you?" Either he was someone with incredible acting skills, or he truly had no interest in her. If it was the former, Robin would be in danger. If it was the latter, she could finally relax a little. At the very least, she could ensure nothing happened before she saw Alabasta's historical Poneglyph.

"Ha, I'm just a bartender, nothing more." Li Ziming stepped away from Robin. "As for who I am, that depends on what codename the vice president gives me."

"That will depend on your strength." Robin looked at Li Ziming as though trying to examine every inch of him.

"My strength?" Li Ziming thought for a moment. "How about Mr. 5?"

"Your strength should be greater than that." Robin then realized something. "You're hiding your true abilities. What are you trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do?" Li Ziming shrugged helplessly. "Maybe I just want to see what this world is really like."

After coming to the world of One Piece, Li Ziming was filled with confusion. Getting a bar had been easy enough, and he had once held beautiful dreams for his life, but the cruelty of reality had crushed him. In the world of One Piece, there were no longer so many restraints, but Li Ziming's dreams had long since died. Even he himself had forgotten what he had once dreamed of. Yet men never truly grew old, and dreams never truly died. Li Ziming was not someone who accepted defeat, and now that he had finally been given a chance, he felt that if he did not go mad at least once, he would have wasted his opportunity to come to this world. He truly could not remember his old dreams, but he believed that perhaps Luffy could help him find those lost dreams again. Besides, if he joined the Straw Hat Pirates, it would also help him when he encountered Zephyr in the future.

"What a perfunctory reason." Robin looked at Li Ziming helplessly. "I remember you seemed to promise that I could drink for free at your bar in the future."

"Of course. My bar will always welcome beautiful women like Sister Robin..." Li Ziming smiled. "Then I'll be leaving first." With that, Li Ziming backed out of the room.

"That guy... should I investigate what he really wants?" Robin fell into a dilemma. Investigating his motives would put her mind at ease, but there was also a strong chance that it would expose her. Thus, Robin found herself troubled.

And Li Ziming, after leaving the office, seemed to have run into a minor problem as well.

"Miss Wednesday, are you waiting here for me? I'm truly flattered." Li Ziming said dramatically.

"Who would wait for you?!" Vivi reflexively retorted, but quickly caught herself. "I was just waiting for you to get your things from the ship."

"What, are you this angry because I was with Miss All Sunday?" Li Ziming sighed regretfully. "Young lady, you're a little too jealous. Your future boyfriend is going to have a hard time."

"What does that have to do with you?!" Vivi was furious. She had never met such a shameless person. Turning around, she walked away. She felt that talking to Li Ziming had been her greatest mistake—no, being curious about him in the first place had been her greatest mistake. She did not want to spend even another second with him.

Li Ziming merely shrugged and followed after her.