Zoro remained wary of Robin's sudden appearance, but he did not stop Robin from approaching.
This woman is right.
If she really wanted to take action, she could have simply hidden in the shadows and Luffy to be poisoned; there was no need for her to reveal herself.
How can you prove what you're saying is true?
Nami stepped out from behind Zoro.
Although her hands were still trembling, her voice had regained its composure.
In life-or-death situations, this orange-haired navigator never let fear control him.
Robin took a glass bottle from his waist.
The bottle contained half a bottle of pale green liquid, which shimmered with a dim fluorescence under the moonlight.
She gently tossed the bottle to Chopper.
"Give him an injection; it will take effect in three minutes."
Chopper caught the bottle, hesitated, glancing at Nami and then at Zoro.
He was a doctor, and he could determine the approximate ingredients of a bottle of medicine just by its smell, but he couldn't figure out the woman's motives.
"I told you."
Robin tilted his head slightly, a hint of something unreadable creeping into the curve of his lips.
"I just think you guys are more interesting than him."
Zoro stared into Robin's eyes for a full five seconds. There was no flickering, no avoidance, no micro-expressions that a liar would have.
There was only a kind of cold, honesty.
He sheathed his sword.
Chopper.
Chopper no longer hesitated.
With trembling little hooves, he opened the glass bottle, pulled out the syringe, and drew the pale green liquid into the needle.
When he found a vein in Luffy's arm, his tears finally fell—not because he was afraid, but because Luffy's arm was frighteningly cold.
The needle tip pierces the skin, and the liquid is slowly pushed in.
Three seconds. Luffy's eyelids twitched.
Ten seconds later, the purple on his lips began to fade at a visible rate.
Thirty seconds.
His chest heaved more forcefully, and his previously weak pulse began to beat steadily again.
One minute.
Luffy suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, as if he had been pulled up from the bottom of the water.
However, his body still looked withered and dry.
"Meal--!!!"
These were Luffy up.
Nami punched him on the head, then hugged him and started crying.
Chopper buried his face in his chest and wailed, his face covered in snot and tears.
Usopp burst out from the corner, shouting, "I knew you wouldn't die!"
He then held the water bottle he was carrying to Luffy's lips.
"Quickly, drink some water."
Ah! Yes!
"So thirsty!"
Luffy gulped down the water, and his parched body visibly regenerated from the freezing process.
Sanji leaned against the stone pillar and let out a long breath. He took the lit but unsmoked cigarette from his lips, looked at Luffy who had returned to normal, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Zoro kept a wary eye on Robin.
Zoro remained skeptical of the woman who had suddenly appeared and rescued Luffy.
Luffy had no idea what had just happened.
All he remembered was fighting Crocodile, losing, and then nothing more.
Right now, he only has one thought in his mind.
"I'm going to beat that Crocodile to a pulp!"
Luffy clenched his fist; the poison on his arm hadn't completely subsided, but his voice had regained its strength.
During Luffy's recovery, Robin leaned against the broken stone pillar and revealed Crocodile's true plan.
From the establishment of Baroque Works to the specific steps of the plot to usurp the throne, from Mr. 0's true identity to the privileges and protection afforded to the Shichibukai,
From the mastermind behind the Alabasta civil war to the search for clues to the Ancient Weapon Pluton.
The Straw Hat Pirates listened quietly.
Nami's expression shifted from doubt to shock, then from shock to anger. Zoro remained expressionless, but the fingers on his sword hilt tightened inch by inch.
Sanji stubbed out his cigarette, lit another, and then stubbed it out again, repeating this process three or four times.
Why did you betray your organization?
Zoro finally spoke.
He stared into Robin's eyes, his tone neither warm nor cold, but his scrutinizing gaze was more penetrating than any interrogation.
Robin remained silent for a moment.
"I just think you guys are more interesting than him."
Her answer was exactly the same as before, but this time there was a more complex layer in her tone.
She remembered what Roy had told her on Hachinosu.
" Luffy is different from other guys."
He doesn't judge people with his eyes, he judges them with his heart.
You'll understand when you're on his ship.
That's what Roy said at the time.
Robin simply nodded, but didn't truly believe it.
The fall of Ohara, and having lived in the New World for so many years, Robin had witnessed far too much betrayal and exploitation, aside from the core members of the Roy Pirates.
She had long ago learned not to place her hopes on anyone.
But at this moment, looking into Luffy's pure and innocent eyes, she suddenly felt that Roy's words might not have been a lie.
There was no doubt, no probing, no scheming in those eyes.
There was only one purest thought.
"You helped me," Luffy said. "So you're a good person."
Robin paused for a moment.
Then she smiled.
It wasn't a professional smile, but a genuine smile, one that had been touched by something.
Having served as vice president of Baroque Works for so many years, Robin has come into contact with many figures from the underworld.
This was the first time she had been judged by such naive logic—you helped me, so you're a good person.
It turns out that judging a person can be so simple.
Robin straightened up from the stone pillar and put his cowboy hat back on.
She turned and walked towards the edge of the ruins, but stopped after a few steps. She took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket and casually tossed it to Nami.
"Safe route to the Rainbase. Avoid all Baroque Works outposts."
"Also, Crocodile is Logia Sand-Sand Devil Fruit User, and his weakness is water."
Nami caught the piece of paper, unfolded it, and glanced at it; her eyes immediately lit up.
The map was far more detailed than she had expected, marking the locations of all the Baroque Works outposts, their changing-of-guard times, and even the locations of backup water sources.
With this map, they can reach the Rainbase two days faster than originally planned.
"Will we ever meet again?" Luffy suddenly asked.
Robin stopped and glanced back at him.
The moonlight shone on her, casting a long shadow of her tall figure.
She didn't answer Luffy's question, but the curve of her lips softened slightly.
" Rainbase Casino, Underground Royal Tomb. Crocodile awaits you there."
Her gaze swept over the healing wound on Luffy's arm.
"Next time, he won't hold back. You guys be careful!"
After saying this, her figure blended into the moonlight and disappeared into the shadows of the ruins.
Luffy stood up from the ground.
His legs were still a little weak, and blood was still seeping from the bandages on his arms, but his entire demeanor was completely different from what it had been fifteen minutes ago.
He brushed the sand off his clothes, straightened his Straw Hat, and then grinned.
"Let's go beat that Crocodile to a pulp."