In the World of One Piece: I Can Copy Any Talent

Even including her own dream—the pursuit of the Poneglyph.

On the breezy deck, the handsome man and the fair maiden stood facing each other under the faint light, looking quite a match.

Little did she know, at that moment Robin wished she had a knife to stab Kielros to death.

Having lurked in the dark world for many years, she had long since forged a cold and hardened heart.

Yet she had never wanted to kill someone as badly as she did today.

Robin could not understand why a man she had just met could accurately state all her information.

For her, the best way to protect herself was to make the person who knew her intelligence disappear.

Watching the growing wariness in Robin's eyes, Kielros smiled helplessly. "Stop glaring, you can't kill me."

She certainly understood that she was no match for Kielros.

If she could take care of Kielros, for the sake of her own safety, she would have already made a move to kill him.

Robin smiled again, though compared to before, her smile clearly held a bit more estrangement and hostility.

She said softly, "You know so many things, you must be after something else, right?"

"What are you looking for Crocodile for? Or... are you looking for me?"

Facing Robin's probing, Kielros pierced through her little thoughts and said, "No need to beat around the bush, I came straight for you."

"But don't worry, I know you can read the ancient script, but I have zero interest in it."

This was the truth; Kielros genuinely had not an ounce of curiosity about either Poneglyphs or the hundred years of history missing from the world.

Aside from the World Government, only schemers and ambitious people cared about Robin's identity.

Yet alas, Robin did not believe it.

Having experienced countless betrayals and counter-betrayals, Robin simply would not buy what Kielros said with empty words.

However, she did not reveal any doubt, and instead feigned confusion as she asked, "If it's not for that, then what are you here for?"

Kielros straightened up, looked straight into Robin's beautiful eyes, and said, "I want you to become my companion."

Robin looked at those eyes, which seemed as though they had been sketched with ink, and she surprisingly caught a trace of sincerity within them.

...And gentleness?

For some reason, Robin actually half-believed it to a faint degree, and asked with hesitation, "What's in it for you? And what benefit is there for me?"

"You must know that hiding under Crocodile's protection is very safe."

Kielros shook his head and said, "What you care about is not your own safety."

"You cooperate with Crocodile simply because he is also searching for a Poneglyph, and your goals happen to coincide."

Hearing this, Robin fell silent. From a certain perspective, Kielros was right about this.

Although she could hide under the guise of the Shichibukai's name, someone would eventually figure out Robin's special identity.

And even without the Shichibukai, Robin had spent so many years running and hiding, and the sea was so vast.

As long as she was unwilling to be caught, it was very hard for anyone to nab her.

Following Crocodile was only because she had learned the news that Alabasta possessed a Poneglyph.

This could be said to be the closest Robin had ever been to a Poneglyph in all these years!

Here, one could say, was the final hope of her dream.

She did not want to give up!

Seeing that Robin was slightly shaken in her heart, Kielros pressed on while the iron was hot. "Don't you want to go out on the sea to realize your dream, and then find more history?"

Robin let out a cold snort and said, "I've searched for so many years and only ever had this single piece of news. Do you think you can do better than me?"

Having said that, she let out a breath of relief, as if a burden had been lifted.

Saying those words meant she admitted to Kielros's earlier speculation, and also directly acknowledged her own identity.

This was also the first time in so many years that Robin had spoken her true thoughts in such an open and uninhibited manner.

She leaned back in her chair, reached out to gently stroke the cover of the ancient book, and said, "This is my only, and perhaps final, chance to witness true history."

"So I'm sorry, Mr. Noir, I..."

"You don't need to rush to answer."

Kielros spoke up to interrupt her, saying with confidence, "Then I'll help you find that Poneglyph in Alabasta first."

Robin gave him a surprised look and said, "You? Forget it. Even though your strength is decent, you won't be a match for Crocodile."

Kielros stubbornly said, "How would I know if I don't compare? It's going to be totally effortless, alright."

Robin shook her head, clearly still disbelieving.

Thinking back, this man seemed to know a lot of intelligence...

Robin looked at Kielros with hesitation and asked, "Is Alabasta's Poneglyph really about the Ancient Weapon Pluton?"

Kielros nodded calmly and said, "It should be."

A lot of the light faded from Robin's eyes; what she wanted to decipher more was the Poneglyph concerning the lost hundred years of history.

After opening up to talk, the atmosphere between the two grew much more harmonious once again, and the system's voice finally rang out.

Host has made the acquaintance of an important figure. Issuing rewards: Universal Talent Copy Card x1, Special Whitening Water x10.

Seeing the bottles and jars of cosmetics rewarded by the system, Kielros was somewhat dumbfounded.

Why would making the acquaintance of Robin reward whitening water?

Could it be that it wanted him to give it to Robin to use?

Kielros secretly glanced at Robin.

Well... wheat-colored skin was also considered dark skin in many people's eyes...

Although it didn't affect Robin-chan's looks, once her skin became fair, it would surely add a few points to her appearance, more or less, right?

Just as he was hesitating whether or not to give it to Robin, Mr. 2 suddenly ran out, breaking the bizarre atmosphere between the two.

"Oh! Little Kielros, what are you two doing?" Mr. 2 asked, twisting in a ballet pose with a high-pitched tone.

Hearing his voice, Kielros's eyes lit up. Right, there was still one more thing to do.

Kielros ran up to Mr. 2 and seized the opportunity to throw an arm around his shoulder, saying, "Nothing much, just chatting."

Taking advantage of resting his arm on the other man's shoulder, Kielros quietly retrieved the Copy Card from the system and nonchalantly stuck it onto him.

Blue talent, Demon Possession-Clone acquired!

Kielros pulled his hand back in satisfaction.

Even though certain Devil Fruits had terrible offensive power, they were explosive in terms of functionality.

Take the Clone-Clone Fruit, for instance; although it had no offensive power, for assassination, infiltration, framing, peeping on women's baths...

Ahem... Scratch that last one.

Using it for those things was simply like having divine assistance.

The more Kielros thought about it, the more excited he became, until he finally raised his head and laughed out loud.

Mr. 2, with his shoulder held in an embrace, asked with confusion, "Little Kielros, what are you laughing at?"

Suppressing his amusement, Kielros spouted complete nonsense, "I'm celebrating the fact that I met you, my friend!"

Hearing this, Mr. 2 grew happy as well, and shaking his hands with feigned coyness, he laughed loudly, "Oh you, my friend! Hahaha!"

Just like that, for some unknown reason, the two of them stood on the deck in broad daylight and roared with laughter like a pair of lunatics.

Robin quietly watched them, then expressionlessly remarked, "Like a couple of monkeys giggling stupidly."

"Hahaha—hic..."

The laughter came to an abrupt halt, and Kielros along with little Bon Clay petrified on the spot.

The Spider Cafe

After being hit by Robin's remark, Kielros and Mr. 2 finally quieted down.

Robin sighed, finally able to read in peace.

Just at the moment she lowered her head, she accidentally caught sight of an object on Kielros.

That pendant that had accompanied Kielros as he grew up, with his given name carved onto it.

Robin's brain suddenly jolted. She seemed to have seen a necklace pendant like that somewhere before.

When was that?

Ah, right. Back before Ohara was destroyed, she seemed to have seen such an item in a book.

Robin hurriedly asked, "Excuse me, Mr. Noir, what is your full name?"

Taken aback by the question, Kielros instinctively replied, "Kielros D. Noir."

Robin gradually sank back into her childhood memories. Kielros and D., these two keywords matched the book she had read when she was a little girl to a tee.

Kielros gave Robin a puzzled look, but she seemed to be deep in thought and didn't say another word.

With no other choice, Kielros could only follow Mr. 2 back into the ship to have a meal.

A long while later, Robin slowly withdrew her thoughts, the corners of her mouth curling up into a slight arc.

If things were as she thought, Kielros might truly be the same kind of person as her.

With Robin harboring her thoughts, Kielros didn't chat much with her during the journey over the next few days.

Moreover, Mr. 2 quickly delivered Kielros into the national borders of Alabasta.

In the desert of flying yellow sand, Kielros had changed into a desert tourist outfit.

Between his past and present lives combined, this was Kielros's first time in a desert.

Kielros sidled up to Robin and asked with curiosity, "Cute Robin-chan, is Crocodile going to expose his identity and meet me in person?"

Robin furrowed her brows and said, "Of course not. He will communicate with you directly using a Den Den Mushi."

"Also, could you change what you call me?"

Kielros pondered for a moment and tested the waters:

"Great beauty?"

"I know, change it."

"Little darling?"

"Change it!"

"Nico Nico Ni?"

Robin glared fiercely at Kielros, then said helplessly, "Call me by my codename here. Knowing my identity does you no good."

Kielros shrugged indifferently and said, "It's fine, I'm not afraid of the Shichibukai."

Robin nodded listlessly.

She didn't want to explain the strength of the Shichibukai anymore; perhaps he really was very strong...

While hurrying along the road, Robin's mind recalled what Kielros had instructed her on the ship.

“The Poneglyph recording Pluton is hidden in the Underground Hidden Sacrificial Hall within the royal palace in the capital.”

Robin did not know how Kielros had learned this piece of news.

Even she and Crocodile, having lurked for so many years, still didn't know this top-secret information.

However, she didn't think Kielros was lying to her, as there was no benefit in it for him.

Since she knew the hiding spot of the Poneglyph, Robin decided to find a chance to go take a look in secret to verify Kielros's words.

Yet in the process, if someone could attract Crocodile's attention...