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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred Thirteen: The Next Step
After recovering, Nico Robin looked at the chaotic casino and the surrounding crowd, then shouted for Xiaqiu to leave the Rainy District and head into the desert in the distance.
"Xiaqiu, what are you doing? Why did you attack Crocodile?"
After walking for a while, Nico Robin stopped and looked at Xiaqiu, her expression a mix of confusion and anger.
"What an opportunity!"
Xiaqiu wrote a few lines in the sand.
"What an opportunity?"
Nico Robin stared at Xiaqiu, puzzled. "I'm not asking about the timing; I'm asking why you wanted to kill him."
"He's dangerous."
Xiaqiu wrote a few more words in the sand.
"Dangerous?"
Nico Robin looked at the writing, confused. "He is indeed dangerous, and what he seeks is terrifying, but he hasn't harmed us so far; he's been protecting me. Why do you want to kill him?"
Xiaqiu didn't respond but lowered his head instead.
"Please tell me what you're thinking," Nico Robin said as she moved closer to Xiaqiu's face, looking into his eyes.
After a moment of hesitation, Xiaqiu slowly wrote, "You don't like this kind of life. He is dangerous and could hurt you..."
"Is that so?"
Seeing those words, Nico Robin's expression shifted as she realized why Xiaqiu had attacked Crocodile.
There was no animosity between Autumn and Crocodile; they had never even interacted before. Autumn had no idea who he was until I revealed Crocodile's true identity to him.
Why did Xiaqiu attack him?
It certainly wasn't for his own sake.
The only connection between the two of them was me.
I told Autumn that I didn't like this kind of life, but only Crocodile and Baroque Works could protect me.
At the same time, it was also I who informed him about Crocodile, warning him that he was dangerous and that being with him meant living in constant fear.
I confided in Autumn without reservation because he was the only one I could talk to.
But this formed a notion in his mind.
In Autumn's eyes, Crocodile was dangerous and could harm him, which is why he decided to kill him.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to attack, especially not at such risk.
So it turned out to be for my sake.
Nico Robin looked at Xiaqiu and gently asked, "So you killed him because you didn't want me to live like this, right?"
"Yes."
Xiaqiu nodded and nudged his head against Nico Robin.
"You..."
All of Nico Robin's grievances vanished as she hugged Xiaqiu's head and said, "But do you know that for now, he's the only one who can protect me?"
"I will protect you."
Xiaqiu wrote a few lines in the sand, "Come back to the island with me."
"I know you will protect me."
Nico Robin shook her head and said, "But I still need to obtain the Historical Text. I've told you about my past; you should understand how important this is to me. Even if it means sacrificing my life, I must see it through. However, I cannot do this alone. I can't even access the Historical Text stored in Alabasta."
Xiaqiu wrote again, "I'll go with you."
"That's not possible."
Nico Robin's gaze softened as she said, "The Alabasta army has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, siege crossbows, cannons, and bombs. You are no match for them on land, especially since you are not as powerful as underwater. Besides, I don't even know where the secret chamber that stores the Historical Text in Alabasta is..."
Upon hearing this, Xiaqiu lowered his head and looked apologetically at Nico Robin.
Nico Robin sighed, unsure of what to do next.
After a moment of thought, Xiaqiu suddenly wrote, "What about Baroque Works? They can help you."
"Baroque Works? It's useless; R is already dead, and Baroque Works cannot sustain itself without him."
Nico Robin shook her head. R was the leader of Baroque Works; his orders were absolute. Now that he was dead, there was no one left...
"No, that's not right."
Suddenly, Nico Robin thought of something.
To some extent, she also held significant authority; at least the orders she conveyed would be executed, though they lacked the weight of R's commands.
More importantly, aside from herself, it seemed no one knew that Crocodile was R or had ever seen him.
Only she could prove who R was.
This meant that if she found someone to impersonate Crocodile, then Baroque Works could still work for her.
Using Baroque Works, seize this power and expand.
There is no need to steal a nation; all that is required is to obtain the Historical Text.
Moreover, can we rely on them to find Historical Texts from other countries?
Nico Robin's eyes gradually brightened, a hint of joy in her expression.
Seeing her like this, Xiaqiu knew she had already thought of a way to proceed. He stopped hinting and simply lay there, doing nothing further.
Nico Robin smiled and said, "Qiu, I have thought of a way to take control of Baroque Works."
"Really?"
Xiaqiu looked at her curiously.
Nico Robin shared her thoughts, and Xiaqiu immediately stood up straight, looking at her with enthusiasm and nodding vigorously.
Nico Robin took a few steps in place and said, "But the only problem is that my strength is not enough to control the entire Baroque Works. If things go unnoticed, that's fine, but what if someone catches on?"
In her mind, names floated up: Daz Bonis and Double Fingers. They had joined Baroque Works before her, and their abilities were particularly effective against her.
One wielded the Swift Slash Fruit, while the other possessed the Thorn Fruit.
Their powers countered hers, making it impossible to defeat them.
Xiaqiu quickly wrote a few words on the ground: "I can help you."
"And Qiu."
Nico Robin looked at Xiaqiu, feeling a surge of confidence. With Qiu's formidable strength alongside her, no one could defeat them.
For instance, Daz Bonis and Double Fingers posed a trouble for her, but for Qiu, they were not a threat.
"This might be a good thing."
Nico Robin suddenly said, her expression turning serious. "Crocodile is ruthless, and being with him always brings danger. All this time, I've been relying on others to achieve my dreams. But what I received in return was always betrayal, deception, and exploitation. Everyone who protected me did so only for their own interests. But now, perhaps I can change my approach. I will take control of my own power and protect myself."
Xiaqiu immediately wrote beside her, "And I will be here too!"
"That's right."
Seeing those words warmed Nico Robin's heart, and she smiled as she replied, "And Autumn is here."
Anyone in this world could betray me, but Autumn won't.
"Alright, let's go."
Nico Robin patted Xiaqiu and said, "Let's leave this place and think carefully about how to take control of Baroque Works."
Nico Robin jumped onto Bingqi and headed off into the distance.
Xiaqiu saw Nico Robin's determination to continue utilizing Baroque Works and grinned widely, slowly following behind.
But soon after, Xiaqiu furrowed her brows. "The Heat Flow has diminished; it's a bit lacking."
Xiaqiu felt the Heat Flow within her gradually fading and was somewhat dissatisfied.
The Heat Flow wasn't as abundant as she had imagined; it was barely more than Major Yuchimura's.
But thinking about it, it made sense. Crocodile's strength largely came from his Devil Fruit ability; his Devil Fruit ability was so powerful that he could easily defeat Luffy when using it.
However, without using his Devil Fruit ability, his strength declined significantly, making him unable to defeat Luffy.
After Luffy fought Crocodile, during the Marineford War, he faced six life-and-death battles and barely reached the limits of a Vice Admiral with his second and third gear.
And now Luffy hasn't improved that much; he can't use second gear or third gear and has been poisoned. Crocodile wouldn't even be able to win without his Devil Fruit abilities.
Crocodile's physical abilities and martial arts skills are undoubtedly impressive.
However, it is strange how Crocodile managed to withstand Hawkeye's slashes and Doflamingo's kicks during the Marineford War without using his powers.
How did he instantly appear beside Whitebeard?
With such strength and speed, defeating Luffy at that time should have been easy, so why didn't he show it?
Could it be that he trained in prison?
Xiaqiu was puzzled, even more so by the fact that Crocodile, as a Devil Fruit User, had a weakness to water yet chose to build his office in the middle of a lake.
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