"Hm, I heard you sent out the Unlucky Duo?"
After handing in the task that Sand Crocodile had given her, Nico Robin asked casually.
"Hmph! Do I need to report to you when I move my people around?!" Sand Crocodile, whose temper had been foul lately, shot back with obvious irritation.
"Of course not," Robin spread her hands, "it just that this way, our control over those mid-level agents will weaken a lot. Is that really a good idea?"
Sand Crocodile naturally knew the consequences of doing this, but what else could he do?!
Of course, words like that were impossible to say to Nico Robin. So Crocodile suppressed the anxiety in his heart, put on a calm and composed look, and replied:
"Our plan has reached a stage. External operations aren’t as frequent as before. Right now, the key is to figure out what the Hunter is really trying to do, and whether he deliberately targeting us. Compared to mid-level agents, the existence of high-level agents is far more important."
"And if... they really are coming for you?" Robin probed in a half-joking tone.
"That soone who defeated a pirate worth six hundred million. Higher than the two of us, and even higher than Mr.1, who already been taken down."
"A bounty doesn’t represent true strength. All they did was defeat a cadre from a Yonko crew,"
though his heart was indeed a little uneasy, Sand Crocodile kept his face steady and shalessly boasted: "I’ve fought with one of the Four Emperors, Whitebeard, myself."
Robin heart skipped a beat.
She didn’t know that Crocodile so-called "fought with" was essentially no different from "being utterly crushed." Though she had heard Sherwin ntion a bit of Naruto Neko, she hadn’t heard the story of Kakuzu and Hashirama...
So when she heard Crocodile claim that he had fought against Whitebeard, the man known as the "Strongest in the World," Robin couldn’t help but start worrying for Sherwin and the Felynes.
But very quickly, she pressed down the panic in her heart. Things had already reached this point—regretting now was too late.
Besides, Sherwin had also told her that Crocodile strength was among the weakest of the Seven Warlords, so...
Maybe the Yonko weren’t as terrifying as she had imagined?
Whitebeard reputation was being wronged.
"In that case, I might as well take the chance to rest while there aren’t too many assignnts. Don’t give any missions for the next few days."
Robin waved her hand at Sand Crocodile, acting as though she had lost interest, and walked toward the door.
Crocodile looked at Robin retreating back. He hesitated for a mont but, in the end, didn’t call her back.
In his heart, the most suitable person to monitor the Hunter group was Nico Robin, who had eaten the Flower-Flower Fruit and was highly skilled at concealing herself.
But she was also the only one in Baroque Works who knew his true identity and his real plan. If she were to fall into Sherwin hands...
Being driven out of Alabasta and stripped of his Warlord title would be minor compared to that.
The worst case would be Sherwin fighting him over the Poneglyphs and the Ancient Weapons.
He could never believe that Nico Robin, the so-called "Devil Child" who had tricked countless "bosses" to their doom, would stay loyal to him and keep his secrets.
If it weren’t for the fact that only she could read the Poneglyphs...
A trace of cruelty flashed in Crocodile eyes.
...
"Robin? You finally called! You’ve been out of touch for so long—we thought sothing had happened to you."
"It Robin-sis! She okay, ow?!"
"Sorry. It just that I haven’t made much progress here, so I didn’t reach out," Robin felt a warmth in her heart at the voices of concern from the Den Den Mushi, and she gently explained:
"And recently, I was sent out to recruit new mbers, so it kept getting delayed."
"No worries, no worries, as long as you’re safe."
Sherwin hadn’t expected Sand Crocodile to be so cautious. Even Robin, a natural-born agent, hadn’t managed to gather much evidence after all this ti.
At this mont, Huai ow leaned over and said: "If it really can’t be done, Miss Robin should find a way to leave early, ow. At worst, after we deal with Sand Crocodile, we can look for evidence from Baroque Works, ow."
"No need to worry about ," Robin said with a smile. "I have plenty of experience when it cos to running for my life."
"Let put that aside. The reason I called is to remind you of sothing..." After rejecting Huai ow suggestion, she imdiately changed the subject:
"Crocodile suspects you’re targeting Baroque Works, so he sent the Unlucky Duo to keep watch on you. Be careful in your daily movents, and keep an eye out for an otter and a vulture nearby. Also..."
Robin expression turned serious. "Crocodile strength may be greater than you think. He once fought Whitebeard himself."
Sherwin: "..."
"I actually know about that..." Sherwin rolled his eyes, looking a bit helpless.
"If being beaten half to death by Whitebeard and spared counts as ’fought,’ then yes, he really did fight Whitebeard."
Robin: "..."
"Klee ow knows this one!" The little puppet grinned as she chid in:
"In the Naruto Neko story Sherwin-nii told us, that bad guy nad Kakuzu bragged exactly like this, ow! So that Sand Crocodile is based on Kakuzu, ow?"
"Uh... you could say that too..." Sherwin rubbed Klee ow little head, then said to Robin on the other end of the line,
"Anyway, don’t worry. I know Crocodile strength well enough. As long as you keep yourself safe, just stick to the plan."
After that, he let Klee ow and Sanji ow, who were most worried about Robin, chat with her for a while before finally hanging up.
Crocodile, that guy... really has a thick skin.
Sherwin shook his head speechlessly. He didn’t dwell on it too much and turned to chat with the Beautiful big sister Felyne about the Unlucky Duo.
"What do you think—should we take those two out, leave them alone, or just shake them off?"
"It better to act like they don’t exist, ow." The Beautiful big sister Felyne pondered for a mont, then sighed.
"If we provoke that Crocodile any further, whether he runs away or cos to attack us directly, it’ll just make things even more troubleso, and it could also pose a threat to Miss Robin safety, ow."
Then she added, "Besides, we can’t turn back to Rainbase right away. Even though Klee no longer senses the treasure, we should still circle around a bit more, so he thinks we’re just exploring or lost... After all, that guy is a little too cautious, ow."
Sherwin let out a helpless sigh...
Clearly, the whole point of going to the Spider Café was to make Crocodile think they were just passing through.
Who would’ve thought his people would co courting death on their own? Now, Crocodile gotten even more suspicious...
Mr.1 and Mr.5, those two are nothing but trouble.
But Crocodile... isn’t he way too jumpy? From what I rember, he should be a pretty arrogant guy, right? Back in the Summit War, he even dared to charge straight at Whitebeard.
So why is he acting so cowardly when it cos to ?
I don’t even have Conqueror Haki!
Sherwin really couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought.
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