An Unexpected Encounter with Buggy; Sigh! I Can't Beat Him! / Meeting a Black-Market Dealer; The Young "Cat Burglar"

At Dongze's words, Robin's heart gave two uncontrollable thumps. After all, those were the very things that had led the World Government to place a bounty on her.

"Doesn't that worry you, Mr. Dongze?"

"You don't need to fish for answers. I know why you're wanted, and I know where those Poneglyphs are!"

"But until you're strong enough, even if you learn the truth, don't reveal it on your own. You'll only hurt yourself and others!"

Dongze knew Robin was searching for the Poneglyphs. He knew where to find them, too.

There were two in Alabasta, one on Sky Island, two in Ohara, one Robin had encountered while on the run, two on Fish-Man Island, one in Zou, three in Big Mom's Totto Land, and one in Kaido's territory.

Those were the ones that had appeared so far. But since two of the Four Emperors had them in their territories, he guessed Red-Hair and Whitebeard would have some as well.

Then there was Laugh Tale, the Final Land. Surely its Poneglyph held the most complete account!

At Dongze's words, Robin sank into grief. Memories of her childhood rose again, and Ohara, consumed by cannon fire, remained a nightmare she could never forget.

Before she could lose herself in those memories, a voice interrupted her.

"Come on, my navigator! Time to get to work!"

Robin wiped the corner of her eye and wrinkled her nose. "You really don't know how to treat a lady, Mr. Dongze!"

An Encounter with Buggy—Oh, I Can't Beat Him!

"Captain Buggy!"

"This is bad! The Pirate Hunter Dongze has come to town!"

"He'll kill us! We have to run!"

A small tavern was packed to the rafters.

Cackles rose through the din. Most conspicuous of all was a massive male lion.

They were the notorious Buggy Pirates of the East Blue.

They had heard that a madman had appeared in the East Blue over the past few days, hunting pirates. Countless pirates had already died at his hands. Nearly every pirate had gone into hiding to avoid him, and their crew was no exception. They had been holed up in this town for half a month.

They had thought they were finally safe. Then, out of nowhere, that harbinger of death had arrived in town.

"Looks like he has no intention of letting us go. Damn it!"

"Captain! What do we do?"

"Why don't we fight him?"

"Yeah! Let him see how strong Captain Buggy is!"

Listening to their baffling confidence, Buggy felt the corners of his mouth twitch. He slammed a hand on the table. "Shut the hell up, all of you!"

"That guy isn't an ordinary Pirate Hunter. As far as I know, dozens of pirates have died at his hands, and they were all powerful pirates with bounties on their heads!"

"If you charge in blindly, are you trying to get yourselves killed faster?"

"Idiots!"

At their captain's words, the crew gradually fell silent.

Mohji the beast tamer swallowed. Suppressing his fear, he asked quietly, "Captain, what should we do?"

Buggy glanced over his crew. His own stomach was churning; he was scared to death. Of everyone in the East Blue, Dongze was the last monster he wanted to meet. Wherever Dongze went, nothing survived. That was no joke.

His mind went blank. He meant to tell them to wait a moment, but nerves left him with only one word: "Wait."

The others stared in confusion. "Wait?"

At a time like this, what were they waiting for? Death?

Then Cabaji's eyes lit up. He swiftly supplied an explanation on Buggy's behalf. "I get it! Dongze may have entered town, but he might not be after us. Our best move is to wait and see!"

"As expected of Captain Buggy!"

Buggy was dumbfounded. Was that what he had meant? It was news to him. Speechless, he decided silence was best and quietly downed two bottles of liquor. Fine! You've got a point. Everything you say is right!

"Where are we going, Mr. Dongze?"

Dongze ran a hand through his hair. "Don't you want some new clothes?"

He remembered that, back in his old world, shopping had been one of women's favorite pastimes. He had figured the pirate world would be much the same.

But Robin didn't seem very interested. Was she an exception?

Dongze quickly took back that ignorant assumption. The moment she heard his explanation, her eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Thank you so much!"

"Mr. Dongze!"

At the sight of her, Dongze's mouth twitched. All right, I had you wrong. So you're like that too, Robin.

"What do you think of this one, Mr. Dongze?"

Robin stood before the fitting-room mirror in a bikini, her voluptuous figure enough to give a man a nosebleed.

Dongze froze at the sight. He was a normal person—no, a normal man. Who didn't appreciate a beautiful woman?

All right!

He had to admit it. He was tempted too...

"Mm!"

And so, with Dongze nodding along, Robin launched into a shopping spree. Bags piled up until there was nowhere left to hang another.

When they left the shop, Dongze quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Robin looked at Dongze beside her, feeling unexpectedly lighthearted, as though a crushing burden had suddenly lifted. She no longer feared that someone might attack her without warning. She could walk openly in the sunlight again.

Wasn't this peaceful life what she had always wanted? Feeling the sunshine overhead, she wished for the first time that this moment could last forever.

Yet fate had played a cruel joke on her. She was a pirate, but she had ended up traveling with a Pirate Hunter.

Remembering their earlier agreement, she felt uneasy again.

Everything before her was wonderful now, but who knew what the next moment would bring?

It was like the weather on the Grand Line. One moment the sky was clear; the next, a storm could break.

Shopping with a woman was no easy task. Even Dongze nearly lost his patience, while Robin still looked eager for more. A chill ran through him. He swore he would never go shopping with her again.

Afterward, they headed to the town's only restaurant for a proper meal. Apart from essential supplies, Dongze almost never went ashore. The man was so obsessed with raising his Proficiency that he wanted to spend every waking moment on it.

Now Robin was with him, and the looming threat of her father figure, Admiral Aokiji, pressed on him too. He could already tell the days ahead would keep him constantly on the move.

But the instant Dongze entered, the little restaurant fell silent.

The Buggy Pirates went white as sheets.

The world had a way of playing tricks on people. They had thought the town was large and out of the way, so Dongze surely wouldn't come to this particular spot. They would be safe.

They had overlooked one fact: this was the only restaurant in town.

Well...

"Hey, Captain Buggy! What do we do now?"

Cabaji's legs had begun to shake. The Crime Buster's fearsome reputation for leaving no one standing had been seared into their bones.

Buggy tugged at his hood, his hands shaking like leaves.

"Wait," he whispered through chattering teeth.

"Wait" again!

This time, though, Cabaji and the others weren't so confident. The butcher was right beside them. He could take their lives in an instant.

The benches beneath them might as well have been beds of nails. Watching Captain Buggy sit perfectly still, they grew as frantic as ants on a hot pan.

Yet Buggy remained rooted to the spot.

But was that really by choice? His legs felt like noodles, without a shred of strength left in them. Forget escaping—he couldn't even stand.

It wasn't that he didn't want to leave. He couldn't.

The moment Dongze had entered, Buggy had felt a force settle on him. He knew exactly what it was.

His fighting ability might have been poor, but he had been an apprentice aboard Pirate King Roger's ship. He knew a thing or two.

"Observation Haki!"

And it had reached an astonishing level.

The instant he recognized that force, he had nearly jumped up and cursed.

How could a monster like that turn up in a backwater like the East Blue?

We're still playing pairs, and you've opened with a royal flush! Come on, man, that's too much!

With strength like that, why not go to the New World? Why pick on small fry like us?

Now he understood how Dongze had become so terrifying. The man was a swordsman, yet even his damn Observation Haki had reached that level. Did Buggy need to ask about his Armament Haki?

Run from someone like that? Buggy gave a bitter laugh to himself.

Like hell!

Running would get us killed even faster!

Time crawled by. Every member of the Buggy Pirates was in agony, nerves stretched taut, afraid the butcher would behead them at any moment.

To their surprise, Dongze never made a move. He acted as though he hadn't seen them at all. He paid for the meal, then left with Robin.

After they left the restaurant, Robin asked, puzzled, "Mr. Dongze, those people were the Buggy Pirates!"

"I know."

"Then why didn't you..."

Dongze was silent for a long while before answering helplessly, "I can't beat him!"

Robin froze. That was the last answer she had expected. She didn't believe for a second that Dongze couldn't beat Buggy.

Yet he didn't seem to be lying, just as he hadn't when he'd explained his reasons to her before.

So what was going on?

Robin tried to work out what he meant.

Dongze saw her expression and guessed what she was thinking, but he didn't explain. Just like her father figure Aokiji, Buggy's old friend Shanks was someone he couldn't afford to provoke yet.

He wasn't so reckless that he would gamble on a technicality. If that gamble backfired, he wouldn't even have time to cry about it.

"Damn. I still need to get stronger!"

The Black Merchant and the Young Cat Burglar

If you wanted to improve, you had to make a fresh start every day.

A new day brought a new beginning.

Sunlight glittered across the vast sea. Aboard an unmarked sailboat, Robin sat beneath a parasol in a revealing swimsuit, a small notebook in her hand. Her quill raced across the page, leaving a string of formulas. What she was calculating was anyone's guess.

Dongze, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a black-and-red slash burst from the open sea. Moments later, crimson spread across the water!

The Sword Aura that followed shredded the towering waves, and rain came pouring down. Robin's train of thought broke. She instinctively pulled her long, pale legs beneath the parasol.

The parasol creaked under the downpour. Robin came back to herself, cheeks puffing in frustration. She had finally found a way forward, only to have it completely disrupted.

The sudden rain nearly drove her mad. She had finally gotten that bastard to agree to take her to a Poneglyph, and solving the problem she had just been working on was his condition.

Now she had lost another day.