As someone with a mischievous streak, Robin often liked to make frightening jokes. When Vivi first got to know Robin, she had been scared by her quite a few times. But now, Vivi wished Robin was just trying to scare her again.
The World Government had previously declared Cobra as missing, so Vivi had thought he had merely been imprisoned by them.
After all, CP0 had once tried to capture her as well. Although she had considered the worst possibilities before, until the bad news arrived, Vivi had still held onto a sliver of hope.
“Life and death are serious matters. I wouldn’t joke with you about something like this. King Cobra really is no longer among the living.
Our people undercover in Mariejois personally witnessed King Cobra’s death. The Revolutionary Army’s Chief of Staff, Sabo, was also present at the time. My condolences, Vivi.”
Back then, Gengar had rescued the attacked Cobra and Sabo from the World Government, but Cobra’s injuries had been severe. More accurately, the fact that he hadn’t died on the spot was already a miracle.
Even though the goal had been assassination, the attacker seemed to greatly underestimate Cobra’s vitality, so the attack hadn’t been powerful enough.
Robin naturally wouldn’t tell Vivi the exact details. “Our Pokémon brought your father to the underworld, but he failed to survive and died there.” While that explanation sounded fine on the surface, the more one thought about it, the stranger it became.
“So that’s how it is…”
Vivi’s voice became extremely soft, completely different from the pirates around her who were immersed in a festive atmosphere. Her mood had already sunk to rock bottom.
Tears seemed to slide down beneath her lowered head, but her hanging hair blocked the view. Even Yamato in front of her couldn’t see clearly, let alone Robin on the other side of the screen.
“The situation is very bad, but—”
“I know. But I want to know, how did my father die? He was still relatively healthy. It couldn’t have been some sudden illness, right?”
Vivi didn’t doubt Robin’s words too much. Their past friendship played a small part, but more importantly, the World Government’s previous actions had already made her stop trusting them.
“A World Government attack. But that’s not something you can involve yourself in, Vivi. This matter is far too difficult for you.
Also, given the current situation, I don’t recommend you return to Alabasta. There may already be World Government personnel there searching for you.
And furthermore—”
“I know, Teacher Robin. I’ve already thought about everything you mentioned. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have kept hiding in Morgans’ news agency this whole time.”
“If you’re willing, you can come to my side. At the very least, it’s very safe here. I can ask Yamato to bring you back together with her.”
“No, Teacher Robin. I’m the princess of Alabasta. My father died because of something like this. If I just hide away, what would that make me?”
Vivi was the princess of Alabasta, but her life as a princess had never been one of pampered luxury. When Crocodile had been plotting in Alabasta, she had done everything she could to try to save her country.
Even among royalty, not everyone is the same: some do nothing but indulge in pleasure and abuse their power, while others will step forward in times of crisis, leading the way for others toward the future.
Vivi, who had once gone undercover in Baroque Works, was not weak. Having prepared herself for the worst-case scenario, she endured it and already had plans of her own.
Rebecca had also never given up in the face of hardship. Though powerless, she still did her best to resist. But unfortunately, such people were only a minority. There were far more scum and useless individuals instead.
There would always be people who accomplished nothing, could only lie flat, and in the end shamelessly took the fruits of victories earned by others through cheating.
“Teacher Robin, do you have a White Den Den Mushi? I want to contact Chaka and Pell.”
“Wait, hand the phone to Yamato first. I have something to say to her.”
Private protection was one thing, but Robin understood clearly that the Beasts Pirates wouldn’t care about sheltering one extra person. Since they were already preparing to go to war with the World Government, something like this meant nothing to them.
So she was certain that if she wanted to personally take care of Vivi for a while, Yamato wouldn’t refuse her.
Besides, the World Government didn’t even know Vivi was staying with Morgans. If they quietly brought her back to Onigashima, the World Government probably wouldn’t notice either.
But things were different now. Robin wasn’t sure what kind of plans the Beasts Pirates currently had in motion, but Cobra’s death had been personally carried out by the World Government’s upper echelon. Vivi’s attempt to make contact could potentially disrupt existing arrangements, so she couldn’t casually agree to it anymore.
Pell the Falcon and Jackal Chaka the Jackal held no low status in Alabasta, and Robin had dealt with them back then as well.
Their strength wasn’t enough to stand out in the New World, but now that both the princess and king were considered “missing,” a large portion of Alabasta’s authority rested in their hands.
At the very least, she had to discuss it with Yamato. More accurately, this was something Arceus or Kaido needed to decide. The current Beasts Pirates had not yet reached the stage where Yamato held power, so matters requiring making decisions couldn’t go unreported.
“You mean I should contact Father or Dad?”
“Mm. I lived in Alabasta before. In terms of land area, it’s an extremely vast country, and it also possesses a standing army of six hundred thousand troops. That’s not a small force.”
Kaido’s establishment of the pirate alliance already showed that his goal wasn’t to fight the entire world alone, but to ignite a world-scale war. He also needed allies and military strength of his own.
“The enemy of your enemy can be won over.” It was an extremely simple principle.
“Wait a second…”
Yamato looked up at Kaido. The three of them were still seated on ice chairs, already locked in a drinking contest. Alcohol from all three pirate crews was continuously being delivered before them.
More than half the liquor had already been consumed, yet none of them showed any intention of stopping. At this rate, they clearly wouldn’t quit without deciding a winner.
Going to ask Kaido didn’t seem wise at all. She might even get dragged into the drinking contest.
“Forget it, I’ll just ask Dad instead. The result will probably be the same anyway.”
This time there wasn’t much delay. Arceus quickly gave Yamato a reply, and after being relayed a few times, it finally reached Robin.
“We don’t have White Den Den Mushi, but you can leave the matter of communication to us. If you’re still willing to trust me, I can guarantee the message will be delivered.”
Ordinary forces generally didn’t possess White Den Den Mushi that could prevent wiretapping. Only the Marines and Revolutionary Army paid special attention to such matters.
The Beasts Pirates did have the capability, but their encrypted communications were all handled through Rotom, so they had little need for White Den Den Mushi.
“Yamato! Get over here!”
At that moment, Kaido’s shout suddenly came from the side.
“Tch, what is that damn father thinking now… Speed! I’m leaving this place to you! Call me if something comes up.”
Vivi had already begun discussing some details with Robin. Even if Yamato didn’t stay to listen in, Robin wouldn’t need to summarize things anyway. Rotom could directly produce a full report.
Since Kaido was calling for her, it was fine to let someone else keep an eye on things here.
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