Before getting to know Liam, Robin had only one person she could call a friend: Jagwar D. Saul.
Saul was a former Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters and a giant with a personality as gentle as his massive stature. If it weren’t for his sacrificial rescue, Robin would not have survived the Buster Call cannon fire on her homeland, Ohara Island.
If it weren’t for his righteous words, Marine Vice Admiral Kuzan, composed of what seemed like an ice mass, would not have allowed her, the “Devil Child,” to escape Ohara…
Kuzan.
Ice… Robin stared at the frost spreading to her feet, her eyes revealing an undisguised fear.
She could never forget that Saul was frozen into a huge ice sculpture with a smile on his face… Did that formidable and invincible Marine, Kuzan, come after her?
Crack!
Liam gently tapped Robin’s head, “Let’s go, what are you spacing out for?”
Robin snapped out of her thoughts, and Liam pulled her along to continue their escape.
She couldn’t help but look back. The frost crawling on the ground followed their footsteps like a venomous snake.
Liam naturally noticed the situation.
“What does Aokiji want?” he wondered. “At this stage, he should be curious to see how far Robin, the friend Saul sacrificed himself to save on Ohara, can go under the final flames. So, why does he want to show up now?”
Did Aokiji come for him?
Did the Stand expose them?
Or did Aokiji simply dislike the idea of Nico Robin settling down and having a friend?
Liam’s pace gradually slowed.
Surprised, Robin also came to a halt. She looked ahead towards the distant escape route and then back at Liam, suddenly feeling a sense of anxious panic.
She saw Liam slowly inserting his left hand into his own chest.
Just like that day when that hand entered her body.
“Could it be…” Robin bit her lip. Although she had fantasized about this possibility countless times these days, she didn’t want it to happen at this moment.
Liam took out a triangular chip with flower patterns from his body and handed it to the right arm, covered in red flame patterns.
Petals fell from his face, and he smiled, walking towards the helplessness in Robin’s eyes.
Robin’s disguise was also lifted, petals falling, revealing her true face.
Sensitive to Liam’s attitude, she took a step back, whispering anxiously, “No! Let’s go together… please?”
“Nico Robin, do you believe in ‘gravity’?”
Approaching Robin, Liam pressed his slightly trembling hand on the girl’s fragile shoulder. He stared into her ink-green eyes as he spoke. “Perhaps soon, or maybe twenty years later… Regardless, no matter how vast the sea is, we are destined to meet again!”
Saying that, his right hand, covered in red flame patterns, grabbed the chip of the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) and thrust it into Robin’s chest, tinged with a reddish glow.
In an instant, as if a subtle electric current surged through every limb.
Robin felt it— everything related to the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) came back.
But along with it came the chilling air and coldness.
Robin couldn’t help but shiver. She looked at Liam, unable to summon the courage to ask him to leave with her.
As a “Devil Child,” she was destined to be hunted by the World Government…
“Let’s go. With your current abilities, you should be able to use the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) more effectively.” Liam said, “If you’re alone, that person won’t trouble you!”
Did he know about that Marine… Robin had noticed that Liam always seemed to know everything about her.
Liam gently pushed her, “Go!”
Robin gripped the straps of her backpack, her mind in chaos. She turned around, wiping away her tears, and asked, “Why are you so good to me?”
Liam suddenly burst into laughter, “Robin, because I’m your fan!”
Robin was even more confused. Suppressing her tears and the rising coldness, almost forming a frosty hand, she finally took one last look at Liam’s figure before burying her head and disappearing into the hazy night.
“So cold!”
“What’s going on? Did the temperature suddenly drop?”
Liam faintly heard some exclamations coming from the direction Robin had fled. Perhaps Aokiji was using his abilities to clear a path for her.
This unfortunate Marine, helping a young girl and still acting so awkward! Look at Garp; he is so open-minded. When the Pirate King entrusted his son to him, Garp simply took him back and raised him like a grandson.
Why does Aokiji have to tail and monitor Robin like a stalker, seeming to dislike the idea of someone having a good life, forcing an eight-year-old girl to run across the sea for her life?
As Liam pondered, he strolled along the sparsely populated streets.
With one hand in his pocket, the other casually holding the single-shoulder strapped backpack. With tens of millions in cash, although Belly bills had a significant face value, they were also quite heavy. However, after these intense days of training, this level of weight was not too strenuous for the conditioned Liam.
Through the helmet’s eye slots, he carefully examined the sights and scenes created by ‘B.I.B.’ when it caused chaos earlier, especially the part where Aokiji was encountered in the tavern.
“Hey! You there!” Suddenly, someone shouted at Liam.
It was a guard in uniform. In the dim night, the guard squinted at Liam passing by, questioning, “It’s late; don’t run around…”
Approaching, Liam rolled his eyes and shrugged—’B.I.B.,’ in perfect sync with him, instantly separated from his body, transforming into a pitch-black phantom exosuit, landing a punch on the guard who was trying to approach.
Bang!
The heavy punch landed on the back of the guard’s head, catching him off guard, and he collapsed to the ground.
Liam didn’t even pause his steps, continuing forward with one hand carrying the bag.
‘B.I.B.’ followed leisurely by his side.
To onlookers, it appeared as if the guard was attempting some kind of scam. He approached, took a few steps, and suddenly found himself lying on the ground without even touching the child…
Liam chose a different direction to leave the city than the one Robin took.
It would be best if they could leave without any trouble.
However…
Liam suddenly stopped, a chill wrapping around his ankles, and the cold air spun and slowly dissipated.
“After all, he’s here!” He thought.
Zi Zi Zi, frost spread from Liam’s toes forward…
The frost climbed up the bicycle tires, the handlebars, the seat, the black leather shoes, the clean trousers…
Under the faint moonlight, a bicycle lay across the road.
The tall man with naturally curly black hair, pressing a sleep mask on his eyes, balanced on one foot on the ground. He rested his elbow on the bicycle handle, supporting his cheek, while the other hand played with a swirling frosty cold air. Lazily yawning, he spoke in a deep voice, “HO~HO~, kid, is the one next to you the so-called spirit of the Pirate King?”
Liam nervously tightened the backpack strap, alert and “confused,” asking, “Who are you?”
“So you are not denying it, huh?” A slightly more serious tone crept into Kuzan’s voice.
He flicked his fingers, and a few ice chips splashed. Leaving the bicycle, he took large strides towards Liam.
A towering figure of over two meters standing so close naturally created an immense sense of pressure, even without doing anything. Kuzan stared at the seemingly empty air beside the boy, where the invisible phantom exosuit ‘B.I.B.’ silently stood, its eyes emitting white light.
“Could it be a ghost-type Devil Fruit ability?” Kuzan mused.
Liam’s complexion changed drastically, surprised, “How do you know?!”
【End of Chapter】
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