Chapter 28: The Teacher

"Leo, stitch them up for now. I'll go check the pirate ship for any loot."

"Got it, Captain Bardock."

Bardock didn't have high hopes—smaller pirates usually don't have much wealth. Sure enough, he only managed to collect less than a million Berries. However, in the captain's quarters, he found a bounty poster for the pirate captain, Longbeard. "Only 10 million Berries, and you dare to call yourself 'Beard'? You've got some nerve. But this ship is nice, pretty new too."

What Bardock didn't know was that Longbeard had exchanged all his treasure for this ship, intending to set sail for the Grand Line soon.

Returning to the merchant ship, Bardock brought along the remaining pirates from the pirate ship. To his surprise, he found everyone, including the merchant crew—and of course, Nico Robin—stitched to the deck.

"Fate is truly strange. Nico Robin just had to be stitched up, didn't she?"

"Leo, why did you stitch up everyone, even the non-pirates? Undo their stitches."

"Captain, you clearly said, 'Stitch them all up,' so I did."

Leo protested as he started removing the stitches.

"Yes, yes, the captain did say that," Mansherry chimed in, backing Leo up.

"Alright, I wasn't clear enough. I'll take the blame. I think that pirate ship over there is pretty good. Let's commandeer it."

Bardock pointed to the pirate ship across from them and sought the opinion of his two small crewmates.

"But Captain, you can't even steer a small boat properly. Do you think you can handle a ship that big?"

Handle it? Handle it? Can you?

Mansherry's innocent tone pierced Bardock's heart like a knife.

"See that woman over there, Mansherry? We'll have her steer the ship. She can conjure extra hands—she can handle a ship of any size."

Bardock pointed toward Nico Robin and gave a brief explanation of her abilities.

Leo, who was in the middle of undoing Robin's stitches, casually remarked, "She's a Devil Fruit user too? But she looks so weak, Captain."

"I'm not weak!"

At that moment, Robin, who had been feigning unconsciousness, opened her eyes. She had regained consciousness some time ago but had been lying still, unsure of the situation. Since she was stitched to the deck and couldn't move, she decided to play dead. However, Leo's comment made her retort instinctively. After all, Bardock seemed interested in recruiting her, and it wouldn't be good if that opportunity was ruined.

Robin had come to realize that weak individuals wouldn't survive alongside her; she could only rely on the strong. And Bardock seemed like the kind of strong individual she could follow.

"Two-Flower Technique: Tickling."

Two small hands sprouted from Leo's shoulders and began tickling him all over, causing him to roll around on the deck, laughing uncontrollably.

"Alright, that's enough, stop it! Leo didn't mean it."

Bardock intervened. "I'm Bardock, and I want to sail freely across the seas. If you agree, you can join us as a member of our crew. Your role will be a teacher, and you'll also help steer the ship."

Robin ceased her tickling and retracted her ability. "A teacher who steers ships? That's quite an unusual position. But… you heard who I am, right? You still want to take me in?"

"Honestly, your identity is pretty sensitive. But as long as we get stronger fast enough, trouble won't catch up to us."

"You said it, Captain."

At this point in her life, Robin hadn't experienced too much betrayal yet, so her heart wasn't as scarred as it would be later. Otherwise, only the Sun God could have healed her.

"Leo, stitch up these pirates too. Then we'll be on our way. Let's treat these pirates as Robin's signing bonus."

"Yes, Captain Bardock."

---

After a long while, the merchant crew and the pirates slowly began to wake up.

Seeing the pirates stitched to the deck, the merchant crew was both shocked and frightened. The pirates' threats only heightened their fear, though they were relieved the pirates couldn't move, as their bodies and limbs were all stitched up.

Captain Jess checked each pirate individually and found that, apart from Longbeard, none of them could move. Longbeard, however, couldn't move either, but for a different reason—he had been dead for quite some time.

Before leaving, Bardock had sent Longbeard on his way.

"This must be the work of the Devil's Child."

"It's terrifying, stitching people to the deck like that."

"Horrifying, really."

Some of the crew members who had previously been against Robin were now trembling in fear. They thought, Why didn't you show your strength earlier if you were this powerful?

"Captain, both masts are broken. The sails and masts have fallen into the sea and drifted away."

"What?"

---

"So, you're headed to the Kingdom of Ilusia?"

By this time, Bardock and his crew had sailed far away from the original sea area. Robin's ability was incredibly suited for steering the ship. She alone was worth more than an entire crew of sailors.

"That's right. My family and I were caught in a shipwreck. I was fortunate to survive and gained some strength, but I still want to go home and see if they were just as lucky."

This was one of the reasons Bardock had returned to the West Blue.

"I'm sure they're alright."

"It's been over half a year now. I've come to terms with it. After visiting the West Blue, I plan to continue getting stronger. Once the time is right, we'll head to the Grand Line. I promised Leo and the others that we'd find the City of Gold, Shandora, and clear Mont Blanc Noland's name."

"Mont Blanc Noland, the Liar? Does the City of Gold really exist?"

"It does. I already have some clues."

"Please, make sure to take me with you. No archaeologist would want to miss out on such a legendary discovery."

"Don't worry, I won't leave you behind. So, what's your wish?"

"Me? I want to continue pursuing history."

Robin gazed at Bardock intently, afraid he would disapprove of her goal.

"As expected. From my point of view, history is written by the victors. No matter what's recorded, there will always be some distortion. But since it's your wish, I'll help you. Besides, I happen to know a few clues about the Poneglyphs."

"Really? Can you tell me now?"

Bardock shook his head. "Both of us are too weak at the moment. If we learn too much too early, we'll draw the World Government's attention. 'Build high walls, store grain, and delay the declaration of kingship'—that's roughly the idea. Do you understand?"

Robin thought deeply before nodding.

"Alright, it's getting dark. Drop anchor. I'll make dinner, and you should do your real job—start teaching Mansherry and Leo all sorts of things."

"Captain, I heard that you're only nine years old yourself. Don't you need some education too?"

"Fine, you win, Teacher Robin. We'll all have a lesson after dinner."