The Straw Hat Pirates was completely bewildered by this sentence in Chapter 55 of the novel " Shinigami the Unforgiven ".
Luffy tilted his head and asked, "Why have we become enemies of City of Water 7?"
"It's simple. One of the two people who assassinated Mr. Iceburg last night was Robin."
Shiraishi replied that he had already sensed the location of that person.
"That's impossible, why would Robin do that?"
Nami quickly shook her head.
Shiraishi spread his hands and said, "You'll have to ask Robin himself."
In fact, Shiraishi knew the answer.
A man who had spent twenty years navigating the dark underworld was willing to send himself to the guillotine for a group of acquaintances he had only known for a short time.
Therefore, people become vulnerable once they have someone they care about.
"Yesterday, Robin and a mysterious person's aura appeared in that direction. I can confirm it from the newspaper; Iceburg was the one who fired the shot."
"Once that person awakens, what do you think our stance will be?"
"The wanted?"
Sanji seemed lost in thought, "But what if Mr. Iceburg doesn't wake up?"
"No, it won't."
Shiraishi was absolutely certain of this. "His breathing was very stable, and I also believe that that mysterious organization must have ulterior motives."
"So, you've almost completely fooled us."
Nami picked up the conversation, "What exactly happened?"
Why did Robin get involved with the mysterious organization, then attempt to assassinate Mr. Iceburg, and then confidently declare that Mr. Iceburg would wake up and issue a warrant for their arrest?
It feels so complicated, I can't understand it.
Sanji seemed to remember something and said, "Speaking of which, I think I saw Robin walking with some strange guy wearing a mask."
"I seem to remember that the man was visited by government officials, and something unpleasant happened."
Luffy stroked his chin, and as he tried hard to recall the group of people he had met at that time, his crew's safety was at stake.
"According to them, it wasn't just once or twice; what were they asking for?"
He scratched his head vigorously and clapped his hands together.
Nami exclaimed in surprise, "You remembered!"
"Yes, I remember now, I've never heard them talk about it."
Luffy answered with a smile.
Bang! Bang! Nami landed two punches in quick succession. "Don't try to fool me now!"
"Hehe," Retsu Unohana chuckled, analyzing, "Last night's assassination attempt was probably a desperate measure by the government, who decided to use a show of force to intimidate us."
"When someone harbors a great secret and you can't get any information out of them, then just pull a trick and stage an assassination attempt on them."
"After surviving such a close call, any person with a sound mind would consider entrusting this great secret to the person they trust most, because only in this way can the secret not be taken to the grave."
"But," Nami tilted her head, looking puzzled, "What does this have to do with Robin?"
"Don't forget, she's always been a wanted criminal the government is concerned about, probably because of her archaeological knowledge."
There isn't much information available about Retsu Unohana, so this is the only guess we can make.
Luffy really remembered this time, and clapped his hands, shouting, " Pluton!"
Nami said thoughtfully, " Vivi said Crocodile's goal was to find Pluton, but Robin said it wasn't recorded..."
"It must be a lie."
Shiraishi explained, "Why go to all this trouble if the historical inscriptions hidden in the tomb didn't record the whereabouts of Pluton?"
" Robin now really knows where Pluton is, but of course, she won't tell."
In reality, Pluton destroying an island with a single shot is nothing to the world's top experts.
Moreover, considering the maneuverability of warships, they might not be able to match a top-tier expert.
Like Poseidon, who is on par with Pluton, Princess Shirahoshi of Fish-Man Island has the ability to summon kilometer-long Sea Kings as allies.
This ability is indeed incredibly powerful in the water, but it's not very useful on land.
Secondly, as for giant Sea Kings, top-tier experts can generally handle them.
Moreover, when the fight breaks out, the mermaid princess, being the Poseidon himself, is easily outmaneuvered and defeated in one move.
By that logic, it becomes highly questionable how powerful this Pluton warship could possibly be.
"No, that's not right. Robin is a wanted criminal; she has no reason to cooperate with the government."
Sanji raised his own doubts.
Shiraishi turned his attention to the Going Merry docked on the shore. "What if she's being blackmailed? Like, to kill you all?"
"Who can use us to blackmail her?"
Zoro couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, it's people who can easily take your lives, like the World Government's secret agency on the island,"
Shiraishi looked around. "Or perhaps Admiral Aokiji."
The moment that name was uttered, the temperature in the entire room seemed to drop by tens of degrees out of nowhere.
That lazy, tall man crippled Zoro's arm and Sanji's leg with a single move, then easily turned Robin and Luffy into ice sculptures.
Although they didn't know why the other side hadn't killed them, they all understood that if that admiral wanted to, wiping out the Straw Hat Pirates would be as easy as turning his hand.
"So that's how it is, is it because we're too weak?"
Luffy clenched his Riot Games as he stood by the window.
"Yes."
Often, the reason for difficulties is weakness.
But that's not a reason for us to abandon Robin!
Luffy turned around and looked at Shiraishi.
" Shiraishi, find Robin. I have a question I need to ask her myself!"
"Good."
Shiraishi doesn't want to get involved in Luffy's battles, but he can still offer some help outside of combat.
After all, Aizen was too cautious and could only wait for news from Kisuke Urahara.
On the coast, next to the Going Merry.
"Waaaaah~~~"
The man wailing was a tall man wearing a floral shirt, a thick gold chain, sunglasses, and a pompadour. Apart from a pair of swim trunks, his lower body consisted of two bare, hairy legs.
"A companion who had been with me day and night since the East Blue, now broken up because of a ship... Waaah!"
"It's so noisy, so what are you crying about?"
Usopp had bought a bunch of planks, sheet metal, and hemp rope, was repairing the Going Merry while glaring angrily at the perverted old man next to him.
"What exactly are you doing here?!"
"Ah, I'm here to complete a deal with a man named Shiraishi. Let me introduce myself, my name is Franky, and I'm the boss of the shipbreaking yard here."
Shiraishi...
In short, I'm no longer their partner. Go find them yourself.
Ding-dong! Franky pulled out a guitar and started playing and singing.
"Ah, I want to sing about this touching story!"
So what exactly are you doing?!
Usopp roared a few words.
"Alright, I'm not singing anymore. What are your plans now, young man?"
Faced with the question from the perverted old man Franky, Usopp looked on with longing and said, "Of course, I want to continue traveling with the Going Merry."
"Then one day we returned to our homeland in the East Blue together. Although we didn't find any ' One Piece,' it was still..."
"No."
A cold voice interrupted Usopp.
You can't go back to the East Blue.
Franky strode toward the Going Merry.
"I'll take it apart for you!"
Usopp exclaimed in alarm, "What are you doing? This is my ship! I won't allow you to!"
"This is no longer a boat."
Despite his bizarre outfit, Franky was serious and earnest at this moment.
"I just asked you what you're going to do after the ship is repaired."
"If you answer that you will perish at sea with it, I will not stop you. But if you answer that you want to return to the East Blue, then I must stop you, young man."
"The ship's duty is to transport people from one shore to another, and that ship..."
After a pause, Franky said, "We can't get to the next island!"
"No."
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed Usopp's face and threw him violently into the sea.
thump!
Go see for yourself!
He was slammed into the sea, and lying on his back, Usopp looked at the bottom of the Going Merry. It was riddled with holes and completely dilapidated. The bottom of the ship was the cruelest truth.
The small sailing ship, the Going Merry, soared over Reverse Mountain, sailed through Little Garden, and even through the snow-covered Drum Kingdom...
Splash!
Usopp, having climbed out of the water, collapsed to his knees in despair.
"I know."
"I always knew the Going Merry was doomed."
"He's just an ordinary sailboat," just as Usopp is an ordinary person who finds it difficult to do things beyond his own limits.
"The winds and waves of the Grand Line, the Knock Up Stream..." Sand Crocodile, Enel, and many other powerful and terrifying enemies.
"Whenever I felt like I couldn't go on, there was always a child whispering in my ear, 'I can do it, I can still travel with everyone.' It was the Going Merry that encouraged me to get to where I am today."
Usopp gritted his teeth and said, "Maybe it's just my imagination, maybe it's just my..."
"But I really want to continue this journey with my friends."
He knelt on the ground and wept, hating his own weakness.
Franky stood to the side, seemingly lost in thought, and said, " Klabautermann?"
An empty warehouse on the back street of City of Water 7.
"Well done, Nico Robin."
In this dark warehouse, two people sat across from each other at a round table, with a tall figure standing beside them.
"That's a trivial matter, requiring no effort at all."
Robin, dressed in a black leather outfit, opened the newspaper in her hand. The headline featured three wanted posters: one of herself, one of Luffy, and one of Zoro.
The Murderer Who Assassinated Mr. Iceburg, the City Hero!
Beneath the bolded and lengthened headline was a massive bounty from City of Water 7: 50 million Belly per person!
Of course, even without a bounty, the city's anger was already barely contained.
Countless boatmen, armed with axes, saws, and muskets, spontaneously organized themselves to search for the murderer.
Meanwhile, the real culprits were leisurely plotting to assassinate their mayor once again.
"Tonight is the most important night!"
The man sitting opposite Robin, his entire being hidden in the shadows, spoke with a calm voice that echoed through the warehouse.
"We will be entering Mr. Iceburg's room again."
"No matter how much he pretends to be crazy, we must get our hands on that thing!"
After saying that, the man opposite him looked up at Robin and said, "Remember this."
"We are doing a just cause!"
Without a doubt, the actions of the two CP9 members in the room, who belonged to the government, were indeed righteous.
With the government's authorization, they commit dark acts in the name of justice. As long as they obtain the blueprints, rebuild Pluton, or even mass-produce it, they can end the Great Pirate Era.
Peaceful life will also come to ordinary people.
Of course, by then, it would be perfectly reasonable for the World Government, which wields Pluton, to raise the Heavenly Tribute level by a few hundred million, since even the Celestial Dragons need to eat.
Moreover, there are so many vested interests who are attached to the government.
Robin never had a good impression of the organization's actions, but she had no choice.
Shiraishi and Retsu Unohana are very powerful, but they are like passersby in this world, and they don't interfere in any specific matters.
Robin could only leave messages under the table, hoping they would see them and leave the island.
She didn't care anymore; she was truly tired of betraying others to survive.
Let her sacrifice herself to ensure the safety of the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Let's go."
After the discussion ended, the three of them stood up at the same time and picked up the cloaks and masks hanging nearby.
The island was currently hosting a mask carnival, so this disguise was actually the normal attire.
The three people walked out of the warehouse at the same time, and then, just as they reached the door, something strange happened: they disappeared into thin air one by one, as if there was a door connecting to another place.
"That woman is dishonest."
Two figures appeared out of nowhere in a deserted alley. The tall man in the checkered cloak and bear head mask, who was walking behind, reported to the man next to him who was wearing a white trench coat and a bull head mask.
She left a message under the table.
Ignore her.
The man in the trench coat wearing the bull's head mask calmly shook his head.
"Her abilities are useless against any of us, but once we're bound by emotions, even the troublesome Ohara demon has no choice but to become our pawn."
As he spoke, the man removed the bull's head mask, unbuttoned his trench coat, and handed it to the bear-headed cloaked man next to him. At the same time, a pigeon flew over and landed on his shoulder.
"Get ready, tonight we'll..."
"This area hasn't been checked yet."
Amidst a series of hurried footsteps, a group of boatmen armed with weapons rushed into the alley.
But they immediately lowered their weapons obediently, because a man wearing a black top hat and a white vest was standing in the alley.
"Foreman Lucci, what are you doing here?"
The man they respectfully called Lucci was a serious-looking man wearing overalls and with a pigeon perched on his shoulder.
The man remained stern in the face of the boatmen's questions, while the pigeon on his shoulder flapped its wings angrily.
"Coo coo coo, Mr. Iceburg has been assassinated! Do you think you're the only ones investigating this?"
" Lucci was also extremely angry; you could tell just by looking at his face, right?"
Ah, this... Lucci's expression...
never mind,
"So it was Foreman Lucci who was also investigating this matter," the boatmen nodded and turned to leave. The foreman in front of them was known for his meticulousness, seriousness, and strength.
With him patrolling this area, there's absolutely no need for them.