A Woman's Heart

After Ryan and his crew secretly escaped, Fujitora saw that no one responded, smiled, and left, leaving Crocodile lying on the ground in self-pity.

At this moment, Mr. 1 slowly walked over and said to Crocodile, who was still on the ground, "Boss and the others have all left. What should we do next?"

Crocodile, lying flat on the ground, stared blankly at the sky with lifeless eyes and muttered, "Tell me, am I really that weak? I got disciplined by a newbie, and in the end, I couldn't even beat a blind man."

"No, it's just that they are too strong. You've stayed in Alabasta all these years. How long has it been since you went out to see the outside world? I heard that three Emperors of the Sea have already appeared in the second half of the Grand Line, ruling over the New World," Mr. 1 said expressionlessly.

"Is that so? The New World!" Crocodile said as he slowly stood up.

"Do you want to go to the New World with me for a spin?"

"Of course, I will always follow the Boss. But aren't we looking for Pluton anymore?" Mr. 1 asked, looking at Crocodile.

This had to be the best news Crocodile had heard all day. A glimmer of brilliance finally burst forth in the eyes of the heavily battered Crocodile, no longer as dim and lightless as before.

"We aren't looking for it. Even Nico Robin was taken away, and now the clue is broken. Besides, the Bloody Swordsman had a point—I overestimated my own strength," Crocodile sighed, looking at the castle that had already vanished.

Mr. 1 looked at Crocodile, who was completely different from before, and thought to himself, This defeat seems to be a good thing for the Boss.

"Then are we going to the New World now?"

"Of course not. Since this grand drama started with me, it's only natural that it should end with me!" After saying that, Crocodile took Mr. 1 and left Rainbase, vanishing into the billowing sand.

Meanwhile, Ryan was checking his attribute panel.

Host: Portgas D. Ryan
Current Host Attribute Points: 113,450
Host: Portgas D. Ryan
Physique: 51,570/100,000 Advanced
Martial Arts: 31,214/100,000 Advanced
Swordsmanship: 123,200/1,000,000 Great Swordsman
Conqueror's Haki: 20,600/100,000 Advanced
Armament Haki: 25,700/100,000 Advanced
Observation Haki: 54,060/100,000 Advanced
Devil Fruit Ability: None
Skills: Kamusari, One Sword Style. Iai. One-Sword Immortal Kneels
Weapons: Supreme Grade Sword Ace, Famous Sword Mubanniu
Mission: Bounty reaches 500 million Beli [Unfinished]

Encountering Fujitora earlier could be considered a wake-up call for Ryan. This time, because news of the Supreme Grade Sword Yoru and the Ancient Weapon Pluton appeared in Alabasta simultaneously, the current Alabasta had become exceptionally dangerous.

Fortunately, the Fujitora who had just appeared bore no hostility toward Ryan. If Fujitora and Crocodile had joined forces, he himself might have been able to safely leave, but the others—aside from Beli—would probably all have died here.

Who knew what kind of mysterious experts would appear next? If his strength wasn't enough, he was prone to slipping up and biting the dust here by accident.

"It's better to keep one's fate in one's own hands. If an enemy with strength comparable to Fujitora's appears next, it'll be a huge hassle," Ryan sighed.

Originally, Ryan had planned not to rush into using the system to raise his strength. First, because he had just broken through to the realm of the Great Swordsman, he needed to familiarize himself with his power. Second, Ryan discovered that if he used the system to boost too much all at once, his degree of control over his power would decrease.

Yet now he had no choice but to improve. Ryan still decided to walk the specialized route first; after all, this was still the best and fastest plan to elevate his own combat prowess.

"System, add 50,000 attribute points to physique."

"Prompt: Physique can only be increased up to 99,999 points. Does the host wish to continue?" The system's mechanical voice reached Ryan's mind.

"What the heck! It can actually only be increased to a maximum of 99,999 points? Doesn't that mean breaking through to advanced physique still relies on myself?!" Ryan questioned aloud in a loud voice.

"Answer correct."

"Then what about the others? Are they the same?"

"The host is truly smart!"

Ryan was thoroughly depressed. It meant that everything had to rely on his own breakthroughs.

"Can attribute points still be added to Great Swordsman?" Ryan continued to ask.

"Yes."

At this, Ryan completely understood. It meant that in the future, if he wanted to break through such important bottlenecks, he would need to rely on his own efforts, but fortunately, after breaking through, he could still use attribute points to enhance himself.

This at least gave Ryan a little comfort. Suddenly, Ryan thought of another question and quickly asked.

"There were rewards when swordsmanship broke through before. Do other breakthroughs have rewards as well?"

"Yes, every breakthrough comes with a reward."

Hearing this reply, Ryan instantly gained motivation. After all, Ryan hadn't even finished digesting the rewards from just the swordsmanship breakthrough alone.

Grasping the swordsmanship dao of Sword God Li Chungang, Ryan comprehended four sword stances: One-Sword Immortal Kneels, Two-Sleeved Green Snake, Sword Qi Rolling Dragon Wall, and One Sword Opens Heaven's Gate.

However, currently Ryan could only execute One-Sword Immortal Kneels; he hadn't fully comprehended the others yet, which was why he couldn't display them.

One-Sword Immortal Kneels was the sword stance currently best suited for Ryan. The true meaning of this move required a sharp, unmasked edge, placing the utmost emphasis on overwhelming others with sheer momentum—it demanded the fearless spirit that even if an immortal stood right here, they would still have to kneel before him.

This move also best matched Ryan's current state of mind. Because Ryan was precisely at the high-spirited age of youth, his comprehension speed for this move was quite fast, and he learned it all at once.

Although it could only be added up to 99,999, Ryan had no choice but to bite the bullet and raise his strength. After pushing his physique and Observation Haki to their limits, Ryan also dumped all his remaining attribute points into Armament Haki.

This was also the first time Ryan had completely used up his attribute points, and then Ryan's attribute panel became:

Host: Portgas D. Ryan
Current Host Attribute Points: 0
Host: Portgas D. Ryan
Physique: 99,999/100,000 Advanced
Martial Arts: 31,214/100,000 Advanced
Swordsmanship: 123,200/1,000,000 Great Swordsman
Conqueror's Haki: 20,600/100,000 Advanced
Armament Haki: 44,782/100,000 Advanced
Observation Haki: 99,999/100,000 Advanced
Devil Fruit Ability: None
Skills: Kamusari, One Sword Style. Iai. One-Sword Immortal Kneels
Weapons: Supreme Grade Sword Ace, Famous Sword Mubanniu
Mission: Bounty reaches 500 million Beli [Unfinished]

Looking at his attribute panel and current state, Ryan felt incomparably powerful—along with the hunger that came with it. He hurriedly told Beli to fetch some food.

Then Ryan carefully sensed what changes had occurred in his Observation Haki. As everyone knew, Observation Haki had two directions of development: breadth and depth.

Both of these directions had representative figures. For example, Katakuri was considered a representative of depth, even capable of foreseeing a corner of the future, while the representative of breadth was Fujitora. He could even sense meteorites floating in outer space and pull them down using the Press-Press Fruit to turn them into his own means of attack.

Yet there was also a special kind of Observation Haki, which was generally a must-have for top-tier snipers. This type of Observation Haki could also be considered a form of depth development, but because too few people possessed it, it was generally not treated as mainstream cultivation. The greatest characteristic of this Observation Haki was its ability to block enemies' perception.

Then Ryan discovered that his Observation Haki was developing in the direction of breadth. Because when Ryan had just used his Observation Haki to perceive his surroundings, he was surprised to find that his perception range had increased a lot. The range he could perceive previously was roughly a little over 1,000 meters in radius, but now it had reached 5,000 meters.

Ryan muttered a soft sigh of regret. Actually, Ryan would have preferred an enhancement in depth, but this wasn't something he could decide; it depended on individual aptitude.

After finishing the food brought by Beli, Ryan walked toward Robin's room, intending to have a good chat with her.

Pushing the door open and going in, Ryan found Robin sitting by the room's window, reading a book.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed in through the window, as if draping Robin in a golden gauze. The intellectual and beautiful Robin appeared so breathtakingly lovely at this moment that Ryan was stunned for a time, watching in a daze.

"Lord Ryan."

Robin's voice snapped Ryan out of his intoxicated state.

"Ah... What is it?"

"Weren't you the one who came to see me?" Robin said, closing her book.

Seeing this, Ryan could only scratch his head and say, "I came this time because I wanted to talk with you."

Robin smiled and said, "Go ahead."

Ryan blurted out everything in one breath, saying, "I want to invite you to join my pirate crew, and also, I won't force you to do things you don't want to do. By the way, don't use honorifics when talking to me in the future; it sounds really awkward."

After staring blankly for a moment, Robin said indifferently, "Do I still have a choice?"

"Yes, I did say I won't force you to do things you don't want to do. If you truly don't want to, I'll give you a sum of money. Holding onto this money, you can find a place where no one knows you and live a good life."

"Really, believe me!" Afraid Robin wouldn't believe him, Ryan added another line.

"Fine, then I choose to leave." When she finished speaking, Robin looked earnestly at Ryan, as if trying to discover something on Ryan's face.

Even though he had already prepared himself for the worst-case scenario, Ryan still felt extremely sad, wondering whether he was sad because Robin ultimately hadn't believed him or because he hadn't changed Robin's destined fate.

"Alright then, wait a moment." After saying that, Ryan went out.

Looking at Ryan's departing back and that sorrowful expression from just a moment ago, for the first time since the Ohara incident, Robin felt as though she had done something wrong.

Before long, Ryan walked back in, carrying two large chests.

"Here, there are 400 million Beli inside. It should keep you from having to worry about money for a while." As he spoke, Ryan handed the two chests toward Robin and said with a smile.

Looking at the two chests in front of her and Ryan, who wore a smile, Robin thought of a scene from seven years ago.

That was what Jaguar D. Saul had said to her at the very end when the Ohara incident occurred: "Robin, you will definitely find companions someday and have your own adventures. Remember, a person born into this world is absolutely never lonely forever!"

Then Jaguar D. Saul collapsed before her eyes and never stood up again.

The figures of Ryan before her and Jaguar D. Saul seemed to overlap together. Is this what you called companions, Saul?

Pushing away the two chests handed to her, Robin smiled at Ryan and said, "I'll join your pirate crew."

"What? Did I hear that right? Didn't you just say..."

Robin looked at the astonished expression on Ryan's face and smiled, smiling brilliantly.

Ryan couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Truly, a woman's heart is as deep as the ocean floor!