Desperate Robin

Miming stopped skewering meat, glanced back at that mountain of flesh, and said to Cairns, "He's ruining my appetite."

"Understood, sir!" Cairns immediately set down the skewers in his hand, wiped his hands, and strolled over smiling brightly to Nelson and his crew.

"You've got a lot of nerve—" Before the lead marine soldier could finish, Cairns kicked him straight in the belly, sending the fellow flying into the sky like a shooting star.

"Audacious!" Admiral Nelson raged. "Get them, arrest the lot!"

After a flurry of screams, the ground was littered with marines rolling about in crooked heaps, and Admiral Nelson lay knocked out cold, battered and bruised upon his collapsed sedan.

Miming munched on his skewers while watching Cairns's performance, kicking the towering marine soldiers about like rolling balls as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Every punch, every kick, every move and stance was so fast the eye could hardly keep up. Although he had already roughly grasped the trick of Life Return, his eyes still couldn't keep pace with Cairns's movements.

A marine soldier who was just about to raise his rifle—or rather, who had barely even formed the thought of raising it—was instantly knocked flat to the ground and lost consciousness. In their eyes, Cairns's movements were as fast as bullets, leaving them utterly incapable of the slightest resistance.

Having dealt with those men, Cairns leisurely returned to his seat as absolute silence fell around them.

The onlookers were dumbfounded, until someone suddenly let out a shriek and scattered in all directions. The nearby stalls and small shops all slammed their shutters shut, and the once-bustling avenue grew entirely empty.

The vendor was already scared out of his wits and stammered, "Respected... guest, the man you just beat up is Lord Admiral Nelson!"

Miming pointed at the rack of lamb. "He probably won't be eating that now. Grill the whole lot for me."

Being able to eat was one of the defining traits of Life Return. Converting food into one's own energy allowed even the heaviest injuries to heal rapidly. For Miming, who had just exhausted the overflowing, bursting energy of the Twelve Gods within his body, that desperate, hollow craving for energy replenishment was simply too agonizing to bear—his starving stomach was an absolute bottomless pit!

Yet as long as there were good things to eat in his mouth, it felt utterly fantastic.

Watching cartoons in his past life and seeing Luffy's gang stuff their bellies round always filled him with envy. Now that he could eat like that himself, it truly felt super awesome.

From the other side of the street came the sudden sound of heavy footsteps and gunfire.

Someone was shouting, "Catch her! Don't let her get away—!"

Out of the darkness, a young black-haired girl of around ten years old dashed over in a breathless panic, carrying a battered schoolbag and clutching a huge book to her chest. She froze in shock at the sight of the battered marines covering the ground, then her gaze locked with Miming's, and both of them startled.

"Robin?" Miming blurted out.

Nico Robin, the sole survivor of Ohara who had a bounty of ten million berries placed on her head at just eight years old.

For Robin, the only possible way anyone could call out her name was if they had seen her wanted poster, since all her relatives and close friends had either been captured or killed.

Yet the sea of unconscious marines and the battered, bruised marine admiral lying flat on the ground allowed Robin to keenly perceive a glimmer of a way out. The sound of pursuit behind her grew closer, while shouts from marines echoed from the opposite street corner as well. With nowhere left to run, Robin didn't hesitate for a second; she sprinted toward Miming, dove underneath the table he sat at, and tugged the tablecloth down a bit.

Cairns made no move to stop her, for he sensed that Miming's heart was forcibly suppressing shock and excitement, and he instantly recalled that crucial name—one of the true loves in Saint Sanming's celestial dreams, Nico Robin, the sole survivor of Ohara, who at the tender age of eight had already been slapped with a bounty of 79 million Berry and dubbed the "Demon of Ohara."

Her crime was "destroying six marine warships," but in truth, her only offense was being the world's youngest doctor of archaeology.

She's here! The shock and excitement in the depths of Cairns's heart were no less than Miming's, for this encounter proved just how real Saint Sanming's prophetic dreams truly were!

Eleven-year-old Nico Robin met Miming at a barbecue stall in Vasa Port.

Miming passed a skewer from his hand down beneath the table, and a trembling little hand reached out and took it. She ate very carefully, not daring to make a single sound of chewing.

A squad of heavily armed troops rushed over, but they weren't marines; instead, they wore black suits and served as secret agents. At their head was Spandine, the chief of CP9, a thoroughly robust fellow.

Upon seeing the scene at the barbecue stall, Spandine couldn't help but gape in astonishment. Admiral Nelson of the Vasa Port marines had been beaten into a pulp, dozens of marine soldiers under his command were knocked out cold on the ground, and two fellows were sitting there brazenly eating skewers?! There was no need to ask; those two were obviously the ones who had done it.

Before he even had a chance to ask further, a large contingent of marines rushed over from across the street and yelled at the two men, "It's them!"

"Scoundrels!" Cairns stood up. "How dare you disturb Saint Sanming's meal!"

Things had reached this point; resolving the issue without revealing their identities was out of the question.

"Miming... Saint?" Everyone present instantly realized the gravity of the situation.

"It's Lord Saint Sanming! And the esteemed Cairns of CP0! Put your weapons down, all of you!" Recognizing them quickly, Spandine turned pale as grass and immediately slammed his head against the ground. "This subordinate truly deserves a thousand deaths!"

As the chief of CP9, he Spandine frequently frequented the holy land of Mary Geoise and knew the haughty Celestial Dragon nobility quite well. Especially the CP0 agents serving the various great families—every single one of them was a top-tier expert standing above CP9, making them figures Spandine had to relentlessly suck up to.

Now that Cairns, who served the bird family, had appeared, the young man beside him was undoubtedly without question the young master of the bird family, Saint Sanming. By coincidence, when he had been ordered to launch the "Buster Call" to destroy Ohara a few years prior, a number of Celestial Dragons had wanted to go watch the spectacle, among whom was this very Saint Sanming. The fellow had been somewhat younger back then, but with the keen eye he prided himself on, Spandine still recognized him.

"Bastards! Kneel, all of you—!" Knowing how to play the game exceptionally well, Spandine immediately cursed the already dumbfounded marines across the way into a bloody pulp without needing further instruction.

Awakened by a resounding slap to the face, Nelson was completely disoriented. What on earth had happened? Had he really tried to steal meat from a Celestial Dragon?

Nelson kowtowed so hard his forehead split open, each strike landing with a thunderous roar that shook the earth.

"Enough! Get lost, and don't disturb my meal!" Miming purposely uttered vicious words that matched the arrogant demeanor of a Celestial Dragon.

From between the thighs beneath the tabletop came Robin's irrepressible trembling, making her terror at that moment all too easy to imagine.

Miming nonchalantly passed a teapot under the table; after all, everyone around was kowtowing and couldn't see a thing. He had accidentally blurted out Robin's name just moments ago, but fortunately, the vendor and helpers had been far enough away to hear, and Cairns, the only one who had heard, had instantly understood what needed to be done.

Robin accepted the teapot, her sense of terror gradually fading as her trembling finally ceased.

Celestial Dragons?! Why would the Celestial Dragons help her? Could there actually be kind-hearted Celestial Dragons in this world? What's more, he knew her name, which meant he certainly knew she was a wanted criminal with a bounty nearing eighty million!

"This subordinate is currently pursuing a criminal; I beg Saint Sanming and the esteemed Cairns to forgive us." Spandine cautiously produced Nico Robin's wanted poster, which featured a little girl holding a book, wearing a dress identical to the one Robin wore as she hid beneath the table.