Chapter 30

'Nico Robin,' I thought as I locked my eyes on the young girl, '...So I arrived at the right place, it seems.'

It was a gamble at best. Back then, after I left G-1, tailing Jaguar D. Saul and Nico Olvia along with two marine ships,

<We have pursuers. I'll take care of 'em, Nico Olvia!>

Saul, leaving the ship that was carrying Olvia and him, abruptly jumped onto our ships, preventing any further advancement.

'...And what a fierce battle it was, with Saul enduring all the attacks on him and solely focusing on breaking the ships.'

If not for the storm that suddenly struck down us, blowing all of us away, he probably would've accomplished his objective,

'Although the whereabouts of the other marine soldiers are unknown now.'

Back then, during the storm, I continued to chase after Saul, whose enormous body was battered and bruised by the storm. Risking my life, I entered the wild storm and hid myself in Saul's clothes, before we plummeted into the sea.

"Cough, cough! Cough... cough..."

And now, Saul, coughing out gallons of water over and over, seemed to be returning back to life, slowly...

"GUAHHHHH!!!!"

before suddenly screaming with his eyes popped out, upon sighting Robin and me, for no reason in particular.

Robin and me, not expressing any surprise whatsoever, simply looked back at the giant impassively. I then turned my head back at Robin and asked,

"Are you hungry?"

"Judging by the nuance of your speaking," Robin replied while holding her hands together from her back, "You are the one who's hungry, aren't you?"

"...You aren't wrong there. I'm going to get some food," Scratching the back of my head, and turning back to see Saul, who was breathing heavily, I then pointed at my back, "After we move him to a better location, that is."

__________

After moving Saul away from the shore and deep into the forest, and quickly building a campfire to let him warm his body, I returned back to the shore, along with one long stick in my hands. Robin, who seemed to be curious about what I was going to do, followed me.

"...You used smoke to move that giant." Robin noted as I began to stab the stick in the sea at a rapid speed, stabbing through one fish that was swimming in the water.

"Yeah, that's my ability," I replied with a grin, before stabbing the stick again, catching another fist with ease, "Why, are you amazed?"

Robin pursed her lips in thought, before raising her hand up.

Immediately after her motion, a hand of a similar size as Robin's suddenly grew from the nearby sand and waved at me.

"...Because of this, the kids in town say I'm creepy, so I don't play with them. I thought... that maybe, you are the same as me."

"There's nothing wrong about this. You simply ate a devil fruit, right?" I said casually, stabbing through the third fish that swam by, "Powers like this are very common in the Grand Line. Growing arms is scary? Pff, I've seen a guy who is a literal walking explosion. He laughed like a crazy retard as well. If anything, he's bazillion times creepier than you ever will be."

Then, our conversation fell silent. The only sounds around us were the waves crashing over the shore, and the small plops that I generated while jabbing the stick into the water. Yet, Robin stood next to me, refusing to leave.

"So," I reopened my mouth, while placing the stick full of fish on my shoulder, "my name is Smoker. What's yours?"

Robin, who looked up at me upon my question, muttered, "Robin."

Crouching down to take the fish off the stick, I then began to dismantle them skillfully. Garp-sensei made me grow strong, after all.

"Robin, huh. Sounds like a boy's name to me." I said with a smirk.

"Says Smoker," Robin immediately made a comeback, before giggling as if she found her own joke funny.

"...Ugh, I can't think of a comeback."

Making meaningless conversations back and forth, I eventually got all fish dismantled, ready to cook. Returning back to the forest where Saul was taking a rest, I placed in more woods to reignite the dying fire, and began to roast the fish.

Saul, who seemed to be in a much better state than before, was sleeping soundly. While the fish meat, stabbed by multiple sticks that had their other ends embedded in the ground, were being roasted, I cut down a moderately-sized wood with Rankyaku and placed its trunk on the ground, to provide a place for Robin and me to sit down on top of.

"You know," Sitting next to Robin, who was swinging her legs in front of the fire, I asked, "You've been with me for quite some time by now. The sun has begun to set as well; won't your parents get suspicious?"

"...I don't have any parents." Robin, who seemed downcast by my question, answered, "I have... a mom, but her job keeps her away on the ocean, and I don't even remember her face."

'Yes of course, Nico Olvia,' I thought with distaste, 'The one who left her one and only child, for the sake of mere knowledge. A fool who's responsible for placing her daughter in 20 years of misery.'

"You know, we're kind of similar," I said while lifting up one stick, where the fish it stabbed through was now ready to eat, before handing it to Robin.

Robin, who received the stick with fish from me, looked at me questioningly.

"Since birth, I only had grandfather as my family, and he too passed away quite a long time ago." Raising my head up to see that the night was descending, I said with sincerity, "...My hometown, the place in which I buried my grandfather, was destroyed by the pirates. Wondering alone, by yourself... sailing in the cold and harsh sea, on top of a small boat..."

Turning at Robin, who looked at me with widened eyes, I smiled, "I think I can somewhat understand your loneliness."

Robin's hold over the stick trembled. After all, it probably was the first time she's met someone who's so similar to her in many ways—someone whom she can bond with, unlike the people on this island.

"...Can I," Robin whispered, with her hair covering her eyes, "Stay here for the night?"

"Uh, well," I was caught off-guard by her sudden question, but eventually grinned, "Feel free to stay as long as you like."

Flexing my biceps, I said confidently, "It seems that the time for me to show off the Garp Survival technique No.1: House-building, has arrived."

"Heheh, what even is that?" Robin, who laughed at my antics, commented before taking the bite off of the fish.

__________

Deep into the night, where the fire was off, there now stood a small wooden house that I quickly built. Within there, on top of the cushion of leaves that I frantically gathered from all around, Robin was sleeping; I couldn't help but wonder if she really trusted me, a stranger whom she just met, this much.

'She's still an innocent 8-year-old, huh,' I sighed while raising my head up at the sky, where the stars were shining brilliantly, 'But from this incident, she begins 20 years full of suffering, just because of her possession over the knowledge.'

My face darkened. Once again, I reminded myself of the reason why I came here, and steeled my resolve.

"Ya know, dis is pretty good..." Then, a voice was heard from my side: Saul, who was munching on the fish I previously roasted. Gulping the food down and looking at me with confusion, Saul whispered in a low tone, afraid of waking Robin up, "Why did ya help me?"

With my gaze still headed up, I replied, "...Do I need a reason to save a righteous man like you?"

"I betrayed Marine. Yer goin' to be in trouble if ya help me." Saul stated with a sigh, "Besides, we fough' back then. I don' understand why yer doin' dis all of a sudden."

"If I had more strength, I wouldn't have put up such acts. If not for Marine being my home, if I didn't have any ties there whatsoever, I may have quit this organization already." I stated truthfully, which brought Saul to look at me with shock, "I've only recently realized. More than half of the organization is composed of faithful dogs of the World Government... the 'justice' that they love to boast, is nothing but a symbol which represents that they are the loyal slaves of the Celestial Dragons."

"Yer... different."

"Buster Call, which will soon happen, is nothing but cruelty. Trampling upon the home of the innocents, especially by a cause that didn't involve any killing, any plundering, or any evil act, but... simply consisted of a wish to learn the past." I snarled as the anger began to build up in me, "Under no means can that be justified. This is nothing but a massacre, something that the marines shouldn't do under all circumstances."

Saul, finishing up the remaining fish, placed the sticks down and looked up at the sky, following my suit. He then said, "What's yer plan now then?"

'Plan, huh,' I thought to myself, '...I do have one in mind. Question is, will it work?'

"Find where we are. Reach Ohara. Then..."

__________

"WHAT DID YA SAY?!!!" Saul, looking at Robin in panic, shouted at her, "O-OHARA, YA SAY?!!"

Robin nodded slowly while taking a step back, intimidated by Saul's shout.

"We're already at Ohara...?" I, feigning my shock, muttered with my hand on my chin.

Robin looked at me questioningly, "What's wrong?"

Taking in a deep breath, I made a smile and patted her head, "Don't worry. This island is going to be blown up soon, but I will try my best to minimize the stake."

Robin's jaw dropped in disbelief, "F-for real?"

Saul looked at me, while still shaken from the news. His lips quivered filled with nothing but fright.

Placing my hands on my face, I slicked back my white hair. Then, looking at the two of them, I stated to them,

"I have a plan. The bombardment is inevitable, but more lives can be saved. But for this to work, I need help."

'Though I have no idea how much time I got, I have to try all that I can do.'

I asked, filled with nothing but determination, "Will you two help me?"

Robin seemed to be sweating from nervousness. Yet, she nodded, "Y-yes. You are my friend now, after all."

Saul, who took in a deep breath to calm himself down, asked me with a stern expression, "What's yer plan?"

Smiling in gratitude, I leaned down and began my explanation.

"This is how it's going to happen. First..."

My heart was thumping fast. Will I be able to protect all that I wish for? The answer to this question... depended on how I will spend the time given to me.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock—it was rapidly ticking by.