Frigate

Hina, who had been ready to depart for Marine Headquarters, suddenly received Tsuru's orders. She was to take command of a frigate and follow Tsuru to Impel Down. Her mind was instantly full of question marks.

"Hina is very confused."

With a lollipop in her mouth, Hina looked at Kane in puzzlement, her curved brows raised uncertainly.

"I don't understand either, but we just have to follow orders."

With that, he yawned and turned back toward his cabin.

After tangling with Doflamingo's group for so long, then battling the incredibly energetic Cuckoo until dawn, he had not relaxed for a single moment. He desperately needed some sleep.

After a quick rinse, Kane slipped beneath the covers. He had just closed his eyes when he felt a soft, tender octopus slide into his arms.

Kane caught that familiar floral scent and knew who it was without opening his eyes.

"Did you wait all night?"

"Mm."

"Adorably foolish."

"Hmph!"

"Feeling at ease now?"

"Mm~"

Kane smiled, lowered his head, and pressed a kiss onto the soft little pout that came toward him before embracing the octopus and falling deeply asleep.

Near evening, when Kane woke naturally, he opened his eyes to find a pair of sparkling, watery eyes staring at him.

Seeing that Kane had awoken, Robin gave him a sweet smile, stretched her limbs, and wrapped herself around him.

Hmm?

Attacking me the moment I wake up?

Still groggy from sleep, Kane met her advance. His large hands wandered and explored over the octopus, and he found that there was not the slightest barrier between them.

Kane could not help but laugh. He had noticed long ago that whenever Robin grew close to him in private, she always removed every unnecessary piece of clothing.

It seemed that only this could give her enough of a sense of security.

But it made sense. She had lived under others' roofs since childhood. Her homeland had been destroyed when she was eight, followed by ten years of wandering and fleeing.

Anyone who went through that without turning dark would be hard to explain. Robin merely wanted to gain more security from him through a few little quirks. That was already a blessing amid misfortune.

So Kane never refused Robin's little habits for seeking security, and he did his best to indulge her.

Like right now—she wanted to press tightly against him without anything between them, so Kane let her cling to him and make whatever little moves she pleased.

One moment, Robin fiddled with Kane's ears; the next, her fingertips traced the contours of his muscles. She had no particular purpose, yet was thoroughly absorbed.

After all that fussing, Robin sprawled contentedly across the bed. Then, by chance, she spotted a bite mark on Kane's shoulder.

But I clearly...

Thinking of one possibility, a flicker of panic passed through Robin's eyes. She bit her lip lightly and hesitated before saying, "Kane, there's a bite mark on your shoulder..."

"Mm, my instructor bit me." Kane's tone was as gentle as usual, with no intention of hiding anything.

"...Mm." Robin settled down slightly, but she still asked worriedly, "Will you leave me?"

"No."

"But what if one day they discover me..."

"Then we'll run, just like we did ten years ago."

"What if we can't get away and I'm captured..."

"I'll beat every last one of them to a pulp and rescue you."

Kane's response was resolute, and the way he looked at Robin was more serious than ever.

"Mm~"

Robin felt a tremendous sense of security envelop her. She let out a long breath and completely relaxed.

During ten years of hiding and running, she had seen all the world's darkness. Kane was the last remaining light in her life.

As long as that light shone on her, what did it matter if someone else touched him a little? In the end, he still belonged to her!

With that thought, Robin stopped Kane from pulling away and said smugly:

"Don't go! You're mine now~"

[Nico Robin, Affection: 97]

Kane was curious about what would happen if her affection reached one hundred. Would he get another chance to copy an ability, or would it be something else?

By the time Kane had coaxed the exhausted Robin to sleep and stepped onto the deck for some air, the sun had already sunk toward the horizon.

He had just stretched, his arms not yet lowered, when a small figure came sprinting over.

"Kane!"

baby-5 skillfully jumped onto Kane's shoulder, straddled his neck, grabbed his hair, and asked expectantly:

"Kane, Kane, are you hungry? I made dinner for you!"

Grrrrrr...

Kane's stomach growled at just the right moment. He had copied the perfect-level Six Powers from Swift, and an ultimate technique like Life Return was something he could use with ease.

baby-5's eyes immediately lit up. Delighted, she pulled out a sandwich and held it to Kane's mouth.

Kane wolfed it down in a few bites, and baby-5 immediately offered him a second sandwich.

Only after feeding every sandwich in her pockets to Kane did baby-5 begin dancing happily.

Kane carried her as they hopped and wandered around the deck. Hina stood at the bow with her hands on her hips, the lollipop sliding around in her mouth. Its little stick bobbed up and down, making her good mood obvious.

"Alert! Three pirate ships at two o'clock!"

The lookout's warning interrupted Hina's thoughts. She turned and saw three enormous pirate ships on the horizon, rapidly sailing toward them.

After recognizing the flags on the pirate ships, Hina frowned.

"The Black Crow Pirates."

Kane had already come to her side. Calmly, he asked:

"Are they strong?"

"Not particularly, but there are a lot of them."

Hina looked at the pirate ships in the distance and slowly explained:

"The Black Crow Pirates call themselves pirates, but they act more like mercenaries. They've appeared in the wars of many kingdoms across the North Blue.

"Their leader is named Dorla, nicknamed the Brute, with a bounty of sixty-three million. He's a Zoan Devil Fruit user. No one knows what animal he is, but he's quite formidable.

"They're extremely brutal. They once slaughtered all three hundred civilians aboard a ship, and they've even attacked Marine bases."

Kane frowned, but he was not too worried. With Tsuru here, unless one of the Four Emperors showed up, anyone would have to lie down.

Still, they had been intercepted by a pirate crew less than a day after setting sail. Whoever had leaked the news was worth pondering.

The possibility of an informant was unlikely. Kane was more inclined to think that Tsuru was using Doflamingo as bait, intending to draw out and eliminate the forces connected to him.

"What are Vice Admiral Tsuru's orders?"

Kane asked casually, looking at Hina with some expectation.

"Hina hasn't received any orders yet."

Hina was also eager to give it a try. Compared to her personal combat strength, her naval warfare abilities were far more outstanding. In mock battles, she had pinned down and beaten many veteran vice admirals.

Kane even suspected that Tsuru had chosen Hina's ship as the frigate precisely because she valued Hina's naval combat abilities.

As the two chatted, the Den Den Mushi suddenly rang. After they answered it, Tsuru's voice came through.

"Kane, go eliminate them. Then go to the other frigate and bring Cuckoo to see me."

She hung up immediately without waiting for Kane's response.

Kane's relaxed expression, as though he had been waiting to watch a show, froze on his face. Hina, meanwhile, expressionlessly picked up baby-5 and said:

"Go on. Hina will take care of her."

With no warning, she lashed out with a kick and sent Kane flying.

At the instant his body shot past the bow and hung in midair, Kane vaguely saw Hina raising her brows in displeasure.

"It's not my fault!"

Kane fell toward the sea, his helpless voice carrying from afar. Just before hitting the water, he kicked off the air with Geppo and soared away into the distance.

"Hina... doesn't like Kane?"

At the bow, baby-5 watched Kane with concern and hesitantly asked Hina in a soft voice.

"That's not it."

Hina stroked baby-5's little head. After a brief pause, she replied in a complicated voice, so quiet it was almost inaudible:

"Hina just doesn't want him to think...

"Hina is useless."