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Liam believed that even Hancock, that overly narcissistic woman, would have to bow down in the face of such perfect skin. He couldn't help but lean in and gently nibble on Robin's cheek.
Robin's face flushed, and she wiped her cheek disdainfully. "It's all saliva."
Liam leaned against the wall, pouting. "Aren't we going to talk about her? She wants to be a pirate, and what about her mother?"
Beside Robin, the little girl Amoline had already fallen asleep, wrapped in a thin blanket with a peaceful smile.
Robin brushed the wood shavings from the girl's hair and said, "Her name is Amoline; she's eight years old. Her mother left this island when she was just over five and never came back. There are many rumors in the village, some say her mother died long ago, while others say she went mad and drowned at sea…"
"Some say her mother went to sea to become a pirate, which is why she hasn't returned," Liam added. "At least, that's what this little girl believes."
Robin pondered for a moment, gently stroking the shoulder of the sleeping girl. "Her mother was named Annie. I believe… she was likely a Devil Fruit user."
She played with the girl's hair, and Amoline murmured softly, snuggling closer to Robin's arm.
Liam remained silent, waiting for her to continue. Robin slowly added, "Amoline said her mother would often dress up as small animals to make her happy…"
She recounted what the villagers had whispered while hiding.
"So, it wasn't just dressing up as small animals; she actually became one," Liam realized. "A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user."
"When Annie transformed into her animal form, she sometimes hurt her," Robin explained. "Amoline thinks it was because her mother got too carried away pretending to be a small animal… but it's very likely that she couldn't control her Zoan Devil Fruit ability, which caused her to lose control from time to time… The negative rumors about her mother from the villagers somewhat support this."
"Is it really okay to make such a judgment?" Liam tilted his head in surprise. "You were also rumored to be someone who could use sorcery, so you should know that rumors aren't always reliable."
"But they aren't necessarily untrue either," Robin paused. "I feel like Amoline is very much like me…"
"Mommy…" The little girl, still holding onto Robin's arm, curled up slightly, rubbing her cheek against Robin's arm as she murmured in her sleep.
Liam said, "So, you don't plan to take her on the ship and have her join us?"
"The sea is full of dangers, and being a pirate isn't a comfortable life. She's still too young; she says she wants to be a pirate, but she doesn't understand what that truly means." Robin paused for a long moment. "And… being too closely connected to me isn't a good thing… ah." A light tap on her head interrupted her.
Liam looked at her, raising a finger as if to tap her again.
Robin lowered her head, then looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, as if to say that only a fool like him would be willing to get involved with someone like her, who carried so much baggage.
Liam cleared his throat, stood up to stretch, and patted B.I.B.'s shoulder, who stood like a silent guard. "Let's try again; this time, let's make it bigger!"
......
In the morning, the first rays of sunlight poured into the woods.
The green Den Den Mushi, coiled around the tree roots, opened its mouth, and like a firework, wood shavings flew out as Liam, Robin, and the little girl Amoline emerged from the Den Den Mushi's City Fortress, along with a handmade wooden ship the size of half a room.
Amoline yawned and rubbed her eyes. "What a strange ship…"
"Amoline!"
A shout rang out from the woods, and Liam and Robin turned to see the villagers, some leaning against each other, others propped against tree trunks, holding harpoons and wooden sticks, sitting on the ground as if they'd been waiting all night.
Had they really been here the entire time? Robin was stunned; this was far beyond her expectations.
The one who shouted was an elderly woman, and upon seeing Amoline safe and sound, she rushed over with bloodshot eyes, waking the villagers who had been dozing off beside her.
"Aunt Carlo…" Amoline exclaimed in panic as she was embraced by the rushing woman.
The villagers cautiously approached, but aside from Robin glancing at them, the tall, fearsome young pirate, over two meters tall, completely ignored them, focusing instead on fiddling with the ship that had appeared out of nowhere… My goodness, can this even be called a ship? Who made this?
"Big sister, Big Brother…" Amoline looked back pitifully, but Robin just shook her head.
The villagers, relieved after confirming that the two pirates hadn't done anything harmful to the little girl, finally felt at ease. However, were those two really pirates?
Back at home, the elderly woman saw her house in complete disarray and was furious. The old fisherman quickly pulled out his findings to calm her down.
The woman glanced down and scolded, "Do you think I can't read?!" However, the image on the paper looked familiar… Wait, isn't this a bounty poster? Isn't this the pirate who took Amoline and then brought her back?
The old fisherman lowered his voice, fearfully saying, "This is bad; this is a big-time pirate with a bounty of 200 Million Belly… You guys didn't offend him, did you?"
The woman reassured him, "Don't worry about offending anyone; I could tell the young man didn't care about us at all…"
......
Liam glanced at the villagers' retreating figures and said, "It seems she doesn't resemble you much. The villagers seem to genuinely care for her."
"…" Robin was silent for a moment before smiling. "It seems that way."
"I take back what I said earlier," Liam remarked, holding the half-room-sized handmade wooden ship above his head. "You're not without friends in Ohara; there were many scholars who cared about you."
Robin rolled her eyes and walked with him to the seaside, where they set the small wooden ship down in the water.
As expected, Liam had only paddled a few dozen meters before the ship started leaking, and after a hundred meters, half of it was already submerged.
Two hundred meters out at sea, Liam, in the half-sunken ship, exchanged glances with Robin on the shore. Robin crossed her arms and muttered to herself, and suddenly, a clone of Liam emerged from the ground beside her. She turned her head, shrugged, and smiled. "Looks like it failed again."
Liam could hear Robin's voice through the clone but couldn't control it to speak. However, Robin could probably guess his reaction,
Two hundred meters out at sea, Liam shouted, "Damn it!" and leaped high, using Geppo to return to the shore.
"Let's try again!" Liam rallied, pondering, "At worst, we can just make a wooden raft… at least it should float."
Trees in the woods fell one after another…
Liam and B.I.B. were probably the most tireless workers; Robin could dictate freely, and soon the shore was piled high with one failed, shabby attempt after another.
"Could it be that we really have to fly to the next island?" Liam gazed at the sea with a frown. "I'd rather swim over… a single reed crossing the sea might not be a bad idea…"
B.I.B. swatted away the hand that reached out to him.
Robin chuckled, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and suddenly heard the little girl's voice behind her: "Big sister, "
Turning around, she saw a group of villagers emerging from the woods, some pushing and pulling various shipbuilding tools, with Amoline at the front, waving her arms and grinning widely…
"Leave the shipbuilding to us!" The fishermen, wearing headscarves, laughed, though in their hearts, they all thought: 200 million Belly? This is too damn scary; we better send them away quickly!
(End Of This Chapter)