Chapter 139: Robin Who Secretly Boarded the Ship!

Originally, Wood had hoped that Asuka Town would only raise their pirate flag once their crew became famous across the entire sea.

However, Wood overlooked one important detail: they were in the West Blue, not the Grand Line.

Even though their pirate crew wasn't well-known yet, with Wood's bounty of 50 million Berries, he was already considered a significant figure in the West Blue!

After all, the One-Eyed Bebbart, with a bounty of 25 million Berries, was arrogant enough to intimidate the local Marine branch. Wood's bounty was double that, and considering his involvement in the big incident at Impel Down, he was already a major figure in the West Blue.

What the people of Asuka Town didn't know was that the "important figure" they revered, Wood, was currently looking at the black-haired girl in front of him with a troubled expression.

Although he had left Asuka Town with their pirate flag, Wood still hadn't come up with a good name for their pirate crew.

As someone who struggled with naming things, Wood spent hours racking his brain, using up a lot of mental energy, before finally deciding to gather suggestions from his crew.

Russ and the others had previously held administrative positions, so they had some education. They should be able to come up with some decent names.

"Emperor Pirates!"

"Sea King Pirates!"

"We were all excellent Marines before, so we should be called the Justice Pirates!"

Listening to the enthusiastic suggestions from Russ and the others, Wood covered his face in exasperation, realizing that he had been foolish to expect too much from these idiots.

"How about the Dark Pirates?"

"Rejected, that name is too dark... Wait, Robin, why are you on our ship?!"

Wood was in the process of reflexively rejecting the name when he suddenly realized that the voice making the suggestion was a female voice.

Their ship was supposed to be filled with men; there shouldn't have been any women on board.

Following the direction of the voice, Wood finally saw Robin slowly emerging from his captain's quarters, holding a book from Wood's bookshelf, looking as though she belonged there.

"The name Dark Pirates isn't bad at all. It's the name of a legendary pirate crew in this adventure novel," Robin said casually. "I found this book on the captain's bookshelf. Captain, you must have read it too, right? Don't you think the name is great?"

They were now traveling on the ship that had once belonged to the One-Eyed Pirate Crew, and Bebbart's luxurious captain's quarters had naturally become Wood's room.

To demonstrate his cultured persona, Wood had asked Russ and the others to bring in a lot of books to decorate the room, imitating the habits of successful people.

However, Wood hadn't even bothered to open any of those books, let alone read them.

But now, faced with Robin's question, Wood couldn't let his scholarly image be tarnished, so he forced himself to respond confidently: "Of course I've read it, since it's my book. But even if it's a good name, since it's already been used, it wouldn't be right to take someone else's name..."

Robin's lips curled into a small, almost imperceptible smile as she listened to Wood's attempt to save face, gaining more insight into his character.

In truth, everything Robin had just said was a lie. The book she held wasn't an adventure novel; it was a travelogue. She had only just started reading it, and there was no mention of any Dark Pirates. She had made it all up.

However, Robin didn't expose Wood's pretense. Instead, after thinking for a moment, she offered a few more suggestions.

"How about the Ghost Pirates? Or the Abyss Pirates..."

True to her dark, mysterious nature, Robin's suggestions all had a distinctly ominous tone, leaving Wood almost at a loss for words.

"Are you sure these pirate names are from books and not something you made up? Wait, no, I almost let you distract me! The real question is, why are you on our ship?!"

Wood wanted to be on good terms with Robin—after all, she was destined to be part of the main crew in the future and was one of Wood's favorite characters.

However, Wood had never intended to steal her away from Luffy. Without Robin, what would happen to the crew during the Enies Lobby arc?

"What's the problem?" Robin replied nonchalantly. "You promised to help me with my troubles if I helped you find the treasure, remember? And you dealt with the One-Eyed Pirate Crew, but that didn't solve my problem."

Wood was baffled. "We agreed that we would take care of the One-Eyed Pirate Crew, which we did. So aren't you free now?"

His reasoning seemed solid to him—unless the One-Eyed Pirate Crew had backup, like a bigger boss behind them?

"The One-Eyed Pirate Crew is gone, but the trouble they brought me isn't resolved," Robin explained. "If I wanted to stay on Asuka Island, I would have chosen some random island to hide on long ago."

"But I have my own dream. I want to discover the true history of the world, which is why I'm wandering the seas. Now that you've taken out the One-Eyed Pirate Crew, I have nowhere else to go, so I'm sticking with you."

Robin's almost nonsensical logic left Wood and Russ speechless. They had never seen anyone so brazen about freeloading.

But Robin had her reasons for being so bold.

Although she hadn't known them long, she could tell that Wood and his crew were different from other pirates—they were good people.

It wasn't just because Wood knew her benefactor, Saul; it was also because of Wood's actions on Asuka Island, which deeply moved Robin.

Even though she knew that her actions might cause trouble for Wood and his crew, Robin ultimately decided to stay.

Her instincts told her that if she missed this opportunity, she would regret it later.

Robin also understood that even if she stowed away on their ship, Wood wouldn't really be angry with her. That was the real reason she felt so confident.

Robin, who had been drifting on the seas for years, knew that happiness had to be fought for.

Instead of joining some other unknown pirate crew, Robin chose to believe that Wood was the "true companion" that Saul had spoken of.