The head hit the ground, and a deathly silence fell over the scene.
The boss lady, who had been as arrogant as a rooster, now felt like a duck being strangled, unable to make a sound. When Arias's gaze fell on her, her legs trembled, and a faint yellow liquid dripped down, its odor causing those nearby to wrinkle their noses in disgust.
Luckily, the puppet couldn't smell, so Arias was spared the unpleasant stench.
"And you... you must have blackmailed quite a few people."
His calm words were like the whisper of death in the boss lady's ears.
"Please don't kill me, don't kill me!" she begged.
A flying knife slowly approached her. Just as Arias was about to behead her, he heard footsteps quickly approaching in the distance.
He turned around.
It was the man whose front tooth he'd knocked out earlier, now returning with a dozen large men armed with sticks.
But as they neared and saw the headless corpses and the flying knife poised before the boss lady, their bravado disappeared. When their eyes met Arias's murderous gaze, a chill ran through them.
The leader quickly dropped his stick and knelt down, forcing a naive smile. "Brother! I'll help clean up the mess for you!"
The boss lady, seeing him, thought her savior had arrived and shouted, "Job! This bastard killed Moulton! He took my things and refused to pay! Get him!"
Job's expression changed drastically. He wanted to slap the boss lady silent but instead turned to Arias with a pleading look.
"Brother, I swear, I don't know her! I have no idea what she's talking about!"
Fear gripped him as he yanked the men behind him down to their knees, all terrified of meeting the same fate as the others.
The boss lady looked at Job in disbelief. "You coward! You weren't so scared when you were with me! He's just a foreigner, why are you all so afraid of him?"
Arias glanced at the boss lady's large frame and smirked. "Wow, your taste is really something."
"Are you with them too?" Arias asked Job.
Job shook his head vehemently. "No, no! I'm not with them!"
The gangsters behind him echoed his denials, equally frightened by the corpses.
Arias smiled. "Follow me."
Job, confused and terrified, had no choice but to comply. As they turned to leave, the suspended flying knife sliced through the boss lady's neck, sending her head tumbling to the ground, her blood pooling around her.
Gulu, witnessing the gruesome scene for the first time, was frozen in shock. The arrogant boss lady and those bullying officials were dead, just like that?
While he stood there dazed, Arias placed a hand on his head, causing the boy to scream in terror, "Don't kill me!"
Arias sighed, speechless. He used a flying knife to extract a box of money from the boss lady and handed it to Gulu.
"That's your fee for being my guide."
He patted the boy on the head and left with Job and the others.
In a nearby street corner, a girl wearing a sun hat witnessed everything. She pulled the hat down further to obscure her face.
"Why would a Devil Fruit user appear on this island? What's he doing with Job and the others?"
She recalled a conversation she'd overheard two days ago and realized she was in great danger.
"Are they after the bounty on my head too?"
"Could this ability user be from Ergansi?"
As thoughts raced through her mind, she quietly called out, "Gulu!"
Gulu turned around, still in shock. When he saw the girl, he almost shouted in surprise, but she quickly pressed a finger to her lips, signaling him to stay quiet.
Gulu quickly hushed, then ran over to her, handing her the wooden box. "Sister! This is the money I earned today!"
The girl smiled and praised him, "Well done, Gulu!"
She took the box but didn't open it. She'd seen what happened and knew it was the boss lady's money.
"Gulu, who was that man just now?" she asked, still smiling.
Gulu thought for a moment, then replied, "He's a tourist who came to our island today!"
"Sister, he's really nice! He listened to all the stories I told him, bought me lots of food, and gave me so much money before he left!"
The boss lady and her cronies had bullied not only outsiders but also locals, so Gulu wasn't too upset about her death. The initial fear of seeing dead bodies had already begun to fade.
"Did he say why he came to Obanro Island?"
Gulu shook his head. "No, he didn't say."
Then, as if remembering something, he added, "But he did ask if any ships had left in the past two days. I told him no, and then he asked me to take him around the island."
The girl remained calm, though her mind was racing. She patted Gulu on the head. "Thank you, Gulu. I have some things to do, so I won't be back for dinner today."
With that, she adjusted her sun hat and turned to leave.
He asked if any ships had left recently?
She was certain he was here for her.
"I need to leave this place quickly," she thought. "If he finds out about my connection to Gulu, this island won't be safe anymore."
As she stepped into the bright sunlight, her face, beautiful and determined, was revealed. She was none other than Nico Robin, the last member of the Straw Hats that Arias had been searching for.
In a tavern, Arias had rented a private room. He looked at Job and the others.
"Find someone for me."
"She's very beautiful, 19 years old, about 1.88 meters tall, with black hair and fair skin. She used to work as the secretary to the branch chief of the West Blue branch of the World Economic News Agency."
He described Robin's appearance and characteristics.
A beauty like Robin would stand out anywhere, and gangsters like Job wouldn't have missed her.
Sure enough, after Arias finished, Job immediately said, "Sir, are you looking for Luo Li? Why not go directly to the newspaper office to find her?"
"Luo Li" was Robin's alias. They still didn't know that Robin had left the newspaper office and was now in hiding.
"She left the newspaper."
Job added, "Sir, you should ask Gulu!"
Seeing Arias's confusion, Job quickly explained, "She's very close to Gulu. When she first came to Obanro Island, Gulu's family took her in. Later, she found a job at the newspaper and helped Gulu's grandfather pay off a loan. Gulu calls her sister, and she often has dinner at their house."
That little boy?
Arias was surprised. He hadn't expected Robin to be so close to him.
So, the "sister" Gulu mentioned was Nico Robin!
"Where is Gulu's home?"
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