"Are we even now? Thank you! But I still want to make sure. Crocodile really wasn't..."
Cobra hesitated. Robin turned to look at him and, under his anxious gaze, spoke slowly.
"Don't overthink it. You must have heard how Lord Ye Mu has conducted himself at sea all these years. We could have taken this Poneglyph whenever we wanted, yet we paid you fairly for it. And we're only making a copy of its inscription. The Poneglyph will stay here..."
"I'm sorry. I was overthinking it!"
Cobra's shoulders slumped. He knew all that, but unless he heard a definite answer from Rainbow Country, he could not put his suspicions to rest.
Robin paid him no more attention. Her gaze was fixed entirely on the Poneglyph before her.
She stepped forward and gently ran her hand over it.
"It's incredible. I've read these words more than a hundred times, but whenever I touch the stone myself, it feels different."
Cobra watched her, her attention wholly absorbed by the Poneglyph. After a moment's hesitation, he could not help asking.
"So you really found it?"
"Ah... You mean Pluton? We found it!"
Robin's frank answer shook Cobra, especially in light of the intelligence he had received recently.
"Then you're ready? You're going to the Final Island?"
"Of course. We've already chosen someone!"
"Chosen someone?"
Cobra froze.
"Not His Majesty Ye Mu?"
"Of course not. The title of One Piece is beneath Lord Ye Mu now."
Only then did Cobra understand.
However grand the title of One Piece sounded, to most ordinary people in the world, its bearer was still just a pirate. A criminal.
Fire Dragon Ye Mu's standing had long since surpassed that of the One Piece.
To him, the title meant little anymore.
"So Mr. Ace is the one you've chosen?"