"Lord Moria, have you been staying here at the Marine Headquarters all this time?"
In the Warlords' dormitory, Perona, floating behind Moria with her red umbrella, looked around and pouted.
"The Marine is so stingy, making Lord Moria stay in a place like this."
Absalom, who followed closely into the dormitory, glanced around and agreed.
"It's indeed a bit small, especially this bed. It's hard to even turn over!"
"Kishishishishi, just being alive is already a miracle~"
Moria walked to the window and sat down, speaking in a serious tone.
"From now on, I will follow Fleet Admiral Orion and you must also comply with the Marine arrangements. If nothing unexpected happens, we might all be enlisted into the Marine under Fleet Admiral Orion. This means we will no longer be pirates but will become part of the Marine under Fleet Admiral Orion command!"
"Don't feel disheartened. Being able to follow Fleet Admiral Orion is our honor!"
"From the time we entered the headquarters to our recent return from the East Blue, I don't know what Crocodile and the others think, but I've come to understand one thing. The next era of the Grand Line will have only one dominant force, and that is the Marine led by Fleet Admiral Orion."
Hearing this, Perona chuckled "Horo horo... As long as I can follow Lord Moria, it doesn't matter to me whether I'm a pirate or a Marine soldier."
Moria turned his head to look at Perona, speaking like a concerned father,
"Perona, you can't be as willful as you were on the Thriller Bark in the Marine headquarters. Before, I could protect you, but now, like all of you, I must abide by the Marine rules and regulations!"
"Got it~" Perona nodded obediently. Then, she floated in front of Moria and asked curiously.
"Lord Moria, what kind of man is that Marine Fleet Admiral...? Is he... cute?"
"C... cute?" Moria eyes widened in shock, and he hurriedly said.
"My dear, you can't describe the Fleet Admiral as cute! He's the iron-fisted Fleet Admiral who holds absolute power over the Marine, so formidable that even the World Government has had to make concessions. Not just now, but even if you go back five hundred years, you wouldn't find anyone who could match him! Otherwise, do you think ambitious figures like Crocodile, the arrogant Donquixote Doflamingo, and the lone wolf Mihawk would bow to him?"
"Most importantly, when he launched his coup, he used various means to secure the loyalty of the three Admirals, and the entire Marine headquarters sees him as their sole leader. How can you describe such a man as cute?"
Perona seemed to half-understand, blinking her big eyes and nodding.
"He sounds really impressive. I'll go find him to play with tomorrow."
"????"
Moria facial muscles twitched violently, and a series of question marks popped up above his head.
***
In the next room—
Crocodile sat upright on the bed, a cigar in his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the members of Baroque Works standing neatly in front of him.
Finally, his eyes settled on a little girl sitting cross-legged on the floor, munching on a rice cracker.
The girl was full of childlike innocence, with dark red twin tails, a pair of big eyes, and a wide-brimmed pink hat—adorable through and through.
Miss Goldenweek, her real name Marianne, possessed the ability to manipulate others' emotions through her color palette.
Though she had just turned ten, her nearly unstoppable ability had led Crocodile to bring her from the North Sea to the Grand Line.
Marianne wasn't the least bit nervous about being brought to the Navy headquarters, leisurely chewing on her rice cracker.
"Crocodile, has Baroque Works... disbanded?"
Seeing that Crocodile was only focused on smoking his cigar, a burly man standing at the edge frowned and spoke up unhurriedly.
"We all watched the live broadcast of Whitebeard Jr. execution. We know that if you hadn't bowed to the Marine Fleet Admiral at the time, you might have become the next Hanafuda. So, I believe everyone understands the choice you made then."
"Of course, we also believe there must be more plans in store."
Daz Bones, the strongest commander of Baroque Works, codenamed Mr. 1, is a user of the Supa Supa no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to turn his body into blades. He was once a renowned assassin in the West Blue.
Half a year ago, upon learning that the person recruiting him was none other than Crocodile, who had once challenged the world strongest man and earned respect despite his defeat, he decisively left the West Blue and joined Baroque Works.
Hearing this, Crocodile narrowed his eyes slightly and swept his gaze over Bones, Miss Goldenweek, and the others once more.
Since Baroque Works had been established less than half a year ago, apart from him and Nico Robin, there were only five members.
These included Marianne, codenamed Ms. Goldenweek, and Mr. 1, Daz Bones, along with his partner, Miss Doublefinger.
Miss Doublefinger real name is Zala, a user of the Toge Toge no Mi, a tall and sexy woman with an explosive hairstyle!
Next was Mr. 2 Bon Clay, whose real name is Bentham, a user of the Mane Mane no Mi, which allows him to mimic others.
When Crocodile gaze fell on Bentham, his facial muscles twitched slightly.
At that moment, Bentham was staring at him intently. Despite being a muscular man, he was dressed in a swan ballet costume and wore bizarre heavy makeup. If it weren't for his Devil Fruit ability, Crocodile would never have allowed him to join Baroque Works.
After exhaling a puff of smoke, Crocodile quickly averted his gaze from Bentham and turned to Mr. 3.
However, when he saw Mr. 3, he shook his head and looked away again.
Mr. 3 looked as if he had been consuming some kind of green substance, appearing frail and weak. He had a '3'-shaped topknot on his head, which was enough to trigger anyone OCD to want to pull it off.
After a brief silence, Crocodile took a deep drag from his cigar and then stood up decisively, getting straight to the point.
"Baroque Works is hereby disbanded. From now on, I am no longer your boss, and you no longer need to use the codenames of the organization. Of course, if you wish to continue following me, I believe Fleet Admiral Orion will allow you to stay by my side."
"There's no use in saying more than necessary!"
After a slight pause, Crocodile swept his gaze over the people present once more and continued.
"I can only tell you one thing: Fleet Admiral Orion will soon establish a special unit to search for Raftel. If my inference is correct, the members of this special unit will be selected from Baroque Works, the Donquixote Family, and Moria subordinates!"
"As for the captain, it will be chosen from among the former members of the Shichibukai."
Upon hearing that the Marines were forming a special unit to search for Raftel, everyone eyes lit up.
For pirates sailing the Grand Line, there was almost no one who could resist the allure of Raftel.
*****
At the same time, as Nico Robin followed Ain and Orion into the Fleet Admiral office, her heart inexplicably began to race.
Especially when she saw Orion walk over to the desk and sit down, her heart leaped into her throat.
It wasn't that she was scared, but her identity was special and she was now in the office of the Marine Fleet Admiral who had once issued the Buster Call that turned her hometown, Ohara, into a sea of flames.
It was worth noting that when her hometown was engulfed in the flames of the Buster Call, she was only eight years old.
It was precisely because she had experienced life-and-death separations and the hardships of blood and fire at a young age that she harbored an indelible fear of the Marine, especially the CP9 agents who had never given up on capturing her over the years.
If it weren't for the fact that she had read in the newspapers that this man had risen to power through a military coup and even forced the World Government to sign a treaty, she would never have taken the risk to come here.
For someone like her, who had been given a bounty of 79 million berries by the World Government at the age of eight, following a Navy Vice Admiral to Marineford so willingly was equivalent to walking straight into a trap.
Sitting at his desk, Orion rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a file. He then looked up at Nico Robin, who was standing across from him, trying hard to control her emotions and not appear nervous.
With a warm smile, he spoke unhurriedly.
"This is your file and bounty. Of course, this is just the one from Marine Headquarters. There's another one in the hands of Spandam, the highest-ranking officer of CP9. However, due to some personal grievances between Spandam and myself, the World Government decided to make him the scapegoat and executed him to settle the matter. This means that as long as this file is burned, not only will your bounty disappear, but all those baseless charges against you will also vanish into thin air!"
Before Robin could react, Orion casually picked up a lighter, ignited the file and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
Caught off guard by Orion decisive action, Robin widened her beautiful eyes in surprise.
It wasn't until the file had completely turned to ashes that she regained her composure and tentatively asked.
"Fleet Admiral Orion, what does this mean?"
"I need your expertise" Orion stated bluntly, getting straight to the point.
"Once the situation in the New World stabilizes, I plan to form a special unit to search for Laugh Tale. To find Laugh Tale, we'll need someone who can decipher the historical texts on the Poneglyphs."
"I'm not asking for your opinion. I'm letting you know what's coming next and what you need to prepare for."
"That's all. You may leave now."
With that, Orion picked up a document from his desk and began flipping through it.
"Ain, arrange a private dormitory for Robin."
"Yes" Ain nodded and turned to Robin.
"Follow me."
Robin cast a complex glance at the ashes of the burned file.
Though she had much to say, seeing that Orion was already engrossed in reading the document, she didn't dare disturb him.
Silently, she followed Ain and walked out.
Just as she stepped out of the office, Orion voice suddenly came from behind.
"Robin, don't overthink it."
"There's no one in this world who is forever alone."
"As long as you stay peacefully in Marineford, this place will be your safest heaven."
These unexpected words struck Robin like a sudden thunderclap, leaving her frozen in place.
For several seconds, she stood there in stunned silence before finally regaining her senses.
She turned her incredulous gaze toward the young Fleet Admiral seated at his desk, the words "There's no one in this world who is forever alone" echoing endlessly in her ears.
The reason she had been able to endure and persevere until now was because, long ago, a dear friend who had risked everything to save her had said those very words to her.
That friend had made her believe that she would eventually find companions willing to protect her. After so many years, she never expected to hear someone say those words to her again.
Most importantly, this person is none other than the Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
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