Wearing a golden mask.
Robin stepped out from behind a large tree.
This tree was at least 300 meters away from where Luo Lan and the others stood!
But with her Devil Fruit abilities, Robin didn't need to be close. She could clearly hear their entire conversation from that distance.
And 300 meters… in her eyes, was already more than safe.
Who would have thought—she was still discovered.
"You... how did you find me?" she asked, stepping forward instead of fleeing. She faced Luo Lan and the other two directly.
Truth be told, if escape were possible, she would've taken it in a heartbeat.
But…
She knew far too well—her chances of getting away were practically zero.
In that case, she might as well…
Years of surviving on the edge had taught her one thing above all else: how to stay alive.
To do so, she had lied, manipulated, and even betrayed without hesitation.
"Simple. Observation Haki."
Haki?
That sounded familiar...
Robin frowned, trying to recall. She'd definitely heard that term somewhere, sometime.
But she couldn't quite place it.
"Alright, so now that you've caught me... what next?" she asked with a faint smile.
"Are you planning to trade me for a bounty? Or perhaps you've taken a liking to me and want to take me home?"
"Or maybe…"
That tone—yes, classic Robin.
That sultry, teasing mature voice of hers had a dangerous allure. Even Luo Lan felt a slight shiver run down his spine.
"I'm offering you a new job."
"If you're willing, come with us. If not..."
"Then I'll knock you out and take you anyway."
"You have one minute to decide. Starting now."
Robin blinked, dumbfounded.
Seriously?
Go with him voluntarily or get knocked out and dragged along?
How tyrannical was this guy?
"You recognized me—so you should know who I'm currently working with. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"You mean Crocodile? The weakest of the Warlords of the Sea?" Luo Lan waved a hand dismissively.
He looked like he couldn't care less.
And to be fair—he really didn't.
If they were in Alabasta, Luo Lan might've found Crocodile a bit troublesome.
But on a different island—or better yet, out at sea?
Crocodile was nothing.
Even Ace or Zoro could mop the floor with him.
If it were Luffy with his usual plot armor, even 300–500 doriki could take Crocodile down.
After all, in the original story, Luffy beat Crocodile when his strength wasn't even particularly high.
The weakest of the Warlords?
Robin didn't actually know much about the power differences within the Warlords of the Sea.
She'd always assumed the seven were roughly on the same level—maybe even capable of matching an Emperor if they worked together.
But that was a common misconception in the world of pirates.
The real power scale?
Emperors > Navy Headquarters > Warlords.
In truth, either the Navy or an Emperor alone could easily crush all the Warlords.
The Warlord system was a desperate compromise by the World Government.
A way to recruit pirates to help fight other pirates—just to maintain some kind of balance.
And that only worked because the Four Emperors weren't united.
If they ever did team up?
Even the combined Navy and Warlords wouldn't be enough.
Of course, Robin didn't know all this yet.
She had only recently entered the Grand Line. Before that, she had wandered the four seas—far removed from this level of information.
But one thing was clear now:
Crocodile… wasn't worth fearing.
Was that true?
Or a bluff?
Robin couldn't tell.
Nor did she have the luxury of time to figure it out.
Because...
"Ten seconds left."
What?! Only ten seconds?!
Robin hesitated.
Her reason for working with Crocodile wasn't just protection—he had the power to help her find the Poneglyphs.
If she betrayed him now—
Before she could think any further—
A sudden sharp pain hit the back of her neck.
Her vision blurred.
And everything went black.
"Sorry—time's up."
"Let's go. Back to the Danaan. We've still got a lot to do."
Without a second thought, Luo Lan scooped the unconscious Robin into a bridal carry and prepared to leave using Moonwalk.
"Wait!"
A familiar voice shouted from behind.
Luo Lan sighed.
Not her again.
That crazy woman had caught up. Again.
"Just a moment!"
"Vice Admiral Momousagi, what is it now?"
"I just got word—over 20 sail warships are closing in on this location. Their target… is you!"
"You mean them?" Luo Lan asked, setting Robin down and wrapping one arm around her casually.
He pointed out to sea.
Sure enough—on the horizon, more than twenty warships were approaching fast.
Momousagi's eyes widened in alarm.
With her Navy intel, she knew exactly what that meant.
These ships weren't ordinary—they were fully armed and loaded with elite fighters.
If Luo Lan tried to fight at sea—without a stable footing—things could go very wrong.
The best strategy would be to stay on the volcano island, luring them ashore, then use reinforcements to crush them.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi, you really think they'll survive a minute?"
"Luo Lan, I'm not joking! You have to—"
She was cut off mid-sentence.
Her eyes went wide.
She froze.
Because at that moment, those twenty-plus warships...
were suddenly engulfed in hellfire.
A hail of cannonballs rained down from the sky.
Two ships exploded instantly.
Then, within twenty seconds—
Two more were hit.
The sea lit up in a blazing inferno.
What… what the hell?
Momousagi had watched it clearly—each cannonball struck like a missile, splitting ships in half with a single hit.
Not even the Navy's largest warship cannons could do that.
Just what kind of firepower did Luo Lan and his organization have?
Right then, about a hundred meters off the shore—a massive metallic construct emerged from beneath the waves.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi, you've got the wrong person."
"And as you can see, my ride's here. So—"
He picked Robin back up.
Used Moonwalk to leave the coastline.
Leaving Gion standing there alone—
utterly stunned, lost in the wind.