One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 821: Recruiting Nico Robin

At the secret port of Punk Hazard, tension hung thick in the air.

Jason and Caesar stood in a tense standoff with the Straw Hat Pirates and the G-5 Marines. It wasn’t that either side lacked the will to finish the other; rather, they were deadlocked. Dozens of children, the subjects of the "Giantification" experiments, were caught in the middle. Caesar and his men didn’t want to destroy their "precious research specimens," while Nami and Tashigi were determined to rescue them.

Beyond that, Jason knew that the Chris Pirates needed the experimental data within those children. Caesar, meanwhile, was desperate to use the kids to appease Big Mom, both to keep the research funding flowing and to avoid being executed for his failures.

To make matters worse, the colossal Thunder God battling inside the institute was so massive that the shockwaves from his attacks were felt even here, making a focused battle nearly impossible. Nearby, the purple poisonous fog of Smiley was steadily creeping inward, swallowing the safe zone inch by inch.

"Dammit! Caesar, I’m going to kill you!" Sloan, his body scorched black, screamed repeatedly, his eyes burning with hatred. After being used as an experimental subject for two years, anyone would feel the same.

"Hold it, Giant!"

"Don’t do anything reckless!"

"Now is not the time to fight!"

Dozens of G-5 Marines and Franky, operating the General Franky mecha, rushed to restrain Sloan.

"Kin’emon!"

Amidst the chaos, a small pink dragon suddenly cried out to the Wano samurai. Kin’emon stiffened, looking at the creature in disbelief. "Momo... Momonosuke-sama?"

POOF—

With a small explosion of smoke, the pink dragon transformed into a young boy wearing a pink kimono. His hair was shaved at the top with a topknot at the back, and he wore traditional wooden geta.

"Kin’emon!"

Tears streaming down his face, Momonosuke threw himself at the samurai.

"Momonosuke!"

Kin’emon caught the boy, his own eyes turning into literal fountains of tears.

"Wait, what?! That brat was a dragon? Now he’s a kid again!"

"A Dragonian?!"

"Idiot! He’s just an Ancient Zoan user or something!"

The surrounding Marines stared in shock, some rubbing their eyes as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

On the other side...

"Caesar, do something! Call back your Smiley! Are you trying to poison us all?" Jason snarled.

"That... I can’t call it back!" Caesar sweated profusely, his voice trembling. "I can only guarantee that I won’t be poisoned!"

"What?!" Jason’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He grabbed Caesar by the collar, his fangs bared in a roar. "Are you a moron? If we all die here, do you think Enel will let you go? Do you think Captain Aeridar will let you live? You absolute blockhead!"

"C-calm down!"

Caesar’s eyes rolled back as Jason choked him. He gasped out an explanation: "Smiley might look like it covers the whole island, but I was exaggerating! My calculations show the gas shouldn’t reach this specific area!"

"Shouldn’t?" Jason paused, glaring at him with suspicion.

Cough, cough!

Caesar coughed a few times, his eyes shifting guiltily. "Gas weapons depend heavily on wind direction. Smiley is no exception. Especially with the massive shockwaves Enel-sama is creating, that affects the gas flow. Combined with the distance, it shouldn’t reach here!"

"Are you sure?" Jason scrutinized him for several seconds.

"Shurororo~ Well... I’m at least 70% sure!" Caesar gave a sycophantic grin, holding up three fingers.

Jason’s expression softened slightly as he let go. "For your sake, I hope you’re right."

Dusting himself off, Caesar regained his bravado. "Don’t worry! I’ve run the numbers. It won’t cover the final escape route!"

WHOOSH—

BOOM!

Just as Caesar finished his sentence, a streak of light shot out from the institute, lanced across the sky, and slammed into a distant mountain peak.

RUMBLE... RUMBLE...

To everyone’s horror, the entire iceberg shattered and collapsed. A massive avalanche of ice and snow roared down like a white tide, burying everything within hundreds of meters.

CRACK-BOOM!

Thunder roared in the black clouds above as a colossal dragon made of pure electricity descended, slamming into the side of the research facility.

On the ground, blinding lightning illuminated the world. The earth buckled and shook violently, as if a massive earthquake had struck.

"W-what was that?"

"A dragon?"

"This is insane!"

Many in the crowd trembled, paralyzed by fear.

THUD... THUD... THUD...

Through the dust and smoke, the silhouette of the mountain-sized Thunder God emerged, smashing through the remaining institute buildings as he walked toward them.

"It’s over! Luffy and the others were wiped out!" Usopp clutched his head, tears and snot flowing freely.

"N-no way..." Nami’s face was pale. She took an involuntary step back, tripped, and fell into the snow.

"That thing is SUPER huge!" Franky’s voice echoed from inside the General Franky. "I should have built a bigger robot!"

"Is today really the day we die?" Brook tilted his head. "Though, I suppose I’ve already died once! Yo-ho-ho-ho!"

"It seems the Revolutionary Army’s intel was right," Robin said, her face grim. "If even Luffy and the others failed, this truly might be the end for us."

"Don’t say such terrifying things with such a straight face!" Usopp wailed.

CRASH—

The Raijin smashed through the final mountain wall and loomed over the crowd.

"Yahahaha! You insects... have you felt the power of a ’God’?" The Raijin looked down at the tiny figures at his feet, his laughter like rolling thunder.

"Dammit! We’re finished!"

"Just his laughter is that loud... how can such a monster exist?!"

"Vice Admiral Smoker!"

The G-5 Marines’ morale hit rock bottom. Some even dropped their weapons in despair, waiting for the end.

"Now then, it’s time to send you on your way!" The Raijin raised his massive arm, reaching down toward the group.

"I’m not going down without a fight!" Franky shouted, drawing the massive sword from the mecha’s back.

Like Franky, while some had given up, others refused to die quietly, raising their weapons in a final act of defiance.

Suddenly, the Raijin paused. "You’re... Nico Robin, aren’t you?!"

He pointed a massive finger at her.

"I am," Robin replied, meeting Enel’s gaze with an expressionless face.

"Perfect. The Captain has mentioned you a few times. The only woman who can read the Ancient Text. So, what do you say? Will you join the Chris Pirates?" The Raijin looked down at her. "If you agree, I can ask the Captain for instructions. He might even let your friends go."

"Me?"

Robin blinked, surprised that the Chris Pirates, or rather, that specific man, would be interested in the Poneglyphs.

"That’s right, Nico Robin. In the New World, there are plenty of people interested in you. I don’t believe a pipsqueak crew like the Straw Hats can protect you for long!" Jason added with a confident smile. "Join the Chris Pirates. Our Captain will treat you well!"

"Arara... so Aeridar is interested in that sort of thing too, huh?"

Suddenly, a lazy voice cut through the conversation.

A tall, thin man wearing a green trench coat, glasses, and a bandana appeared. He stood on the shoreline with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

In the water behind him, a super-sized penguin resembling a Galapagos penguin was fast asleep, bubbles drifting from its nose.