It could be said that she was the indispensable relay station and lubricant of Ren's group—a necessary presence whose absence might cause the team's operations to become slow and unstable.
The reason was simple. After Ren discovered how useful Robin was, his usual approach became giving the general direction and intelligence, then drafting the rough shape of a plan.
When it was time to execute it, he would have Robin formulate the detailed contents and steps according to those guidelines, while also arranging the timing and coordinating every aspect along the way.
Although Nojiko and Nami could both do this as well—and even had better positions and relationships for it—they clearly did not do it as well as Robin, nor did they have that effortless sense of mastery.
After all, Baroque Works had risen with her support from behind the scenes.
Those two had no such experience. They did not even have that kind of intention.
Nojiko wanted to become stronger, while Nami also wanted time to study meteorology, and draw her nautical charts and Skypiea maps while she was at it.
"I can't lose you right now."
Those were the words Ren had said to her back then. They also represented that she had found her own place within this team.
Thinking of this, Robin could not help the corners of her mouth from curving upward, but she quickly suppressed it and focused on her work.
As the team's processing core, the range of matters she had to pay attention to was vast.
'Wano has been continuously sending external radio waves, but the Angels specialized in radio-wave technology that were dispatched there have intercepted all of them.
For now, there is no need to worry about Kaido receiving news that his home base has been raided and returning, which would lead to the terrible situation of facing a Yonko.'
'The Revolutionary Army's external channels have already been activated. Mr. Issho, whose combat power is comparable to an Admiral's, has been guided—thanks to prior preparation and analysis—to the island Kaido is most likely to attack as his first target.
The hoped-for development from here is that Issho will fight Kaido.'
'On the Impel Down front, Ren and Revolutionary Army Commander Morley have entered Level Six. Nami is charging power and preparing... Have Vivi take action against the Marine warships.'
'Udon Prison's suppression is complete. Kuma is currently making deliveries.
Estimated materials recovered: over two thousand. Prisoners: several thousand. Delivery destination—Punk Hazard!
Do preparations need to be made for receiving them?'
'Violet has issued a warning. Queen has been sighted leaving Onigashima and is heading toward Udon Prison.'
'The Flower Capital mission is complete. Yamata no Orochi Fruit recovered. Kozuki Hiyori recovered.'
Robin processed a continuous stream of information, constantly making further adjustments, before her attention finally landed on the last item.
In the Flower Capital mission, the Yamata no Orochi Fruit was secondary.
What mattered was Kozuki Hiyori, and the result of Kurozumi Orochi being assassinated and disappearing.
Although she did not quite understand it, according to Ren, the current point in time was very important, because a certain annoying brat had yet to appear.
He needed to take hold of Kozuki Hiyori, this "symbolic card," in order to gain the allegiance of the groups within Wano that resisted its rulers.
To ensure the smooth progress of the follow-up plan, making Kurozumi Orochi disappear was necessary.
Kaido would not support a second shogun. He would only accelerate the Onigashima Project and complete his plan for an anarchic pirate empire.
But what needed to be noted was that Kaido was an outsider. The mode of rule he advocated was not necessarily what the people of Wano wanted.
If a leader with "symbolism" emerged, followers in opposition would inevitably appear.
In other words, these two cards were used in mutual support.
As for the direction in which they would be used, it involved a certain internal-strife plan targeting the enemy known as the Yonko Kaido.
Because it was only in its embryonic form, Robin did not yet know the full picture, but she would not question Ren's orders.
After thinking for a moment, Robin sent a radio communication toward Udon.
"Hello?" Dragon's voice rang out from the receiver.
"Queen has moved out. We need you to hold him up."
"No problem."
With an extremely concise exchange, Robin mobilized Revolutionary Army leader Dragon to intercept Queen.
One had to know that this was the World's Worst Criminal, one of those peak powerhouses capable of stirring up the entire world.
Yet now, because of a single phone call from her, he immediately began moving.
However, Robin did not have many thoughts about it. She was very clear that the reason Dragon could be mobilized so easily was not her, but the captain behind her—Ren!
Ren was the fundamental reason Dragon was willing to be dispatched!
'There should be no issue with Queen's side now.'
Robin thought over this aspect.
'Ren once said that Dragon's strength is in the peak tier, while a Yonko commander is close to the peak tier but has not reached that level.
The Beasts Pirates' Yonko commander should be King. Queen is one of the Three Disasters, but he absolutely does not possess the strength of a peak powerhouse.
At most, he can cause Dragon a little trouble, but winning is impossible. Next is simply waiting.'
Waiting.
Naturally, it referred to the closing stage.
At this stage, the operation in Wano had basically completed its objectives.
Ren's group had essentially achieved their primary and secondary goals. What remained was only the Revolutionary Army's objective—that battleship Pluton.
As the waiting continued, Robin soon received news that the Impel Down front had concluded.
After carrying out guidance and deployment, she began looking forward to Ren's appearance.
Compared to Kuma, who did not understand many other matters and was solely focused on making up for lost fatherly love toward his daughter, Robin, as one of the team's cores, was very clear about where the battleship Pluton was located.
It had taken Violet a very long time to confirm that Pluton was at the bottom of Mount Fuji.
But... how to take it out was an enormous problem.
The barriers on both sides of old Wano were approximately two or three thousand meters high, and their sturdiness had allowed them to stand for hundreds of years without collapsing.
At the same time, the sea that had almost submerged the barriers after the water level rose was also a problem.
Old Wano might be a basin filled with water, but this basin had been placed in the boundless sea.
It was merely slightly higher than the sea itself!
Only—
Although Robin knew nothing about the method, she had an almost blind confidence in Ren.
Perhaps this was the result of her past experiences.
Robin had never seen Ren fail to achieve his objective when he had a plan.
A prophet was just that terrifying!
And so, she waited with anticipation.
Violent winds howled over the sea outside Onigashima, nearly forming a hurricane-level natural disaster.
Queen watched with a gloomy expression as yet another large ship sank into the sea, but all he could do was glare impotently at the sky.
Beneath the overcast heavens was the god who drove the hurricane.
He only needed to spread his arms, and the winds of the world would operate according to his will.
Whether it was crushing cannon batteries and ships with wind speed, or making the enemy before him unable to advance even a single inch...
To Dragon, these were all merely ordinary exertions.
But to Queen below, it was an unbearable weight.
'A Zoan-Type Devil Fruit user of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Brachiosaurus.
Thick-skinned and tough, with powerful recovery ability and an extremely tenacious vitality. His defense is very high.
He has also mechanically modified himself, allowing him to use multiple abilities such as lasers, electric shocks, arm strength, invisibility, and virus weapons.
But because his own body is too heavy, he has no way to fly.
The environment he is currently in is also surrounded by the sea on all sides. Once the ship is destroyed, he will drown in the ocean.'
Dragon indifferently raised a hand and pointed. A tyrannical hurricane swept toward the large ship Queen was on.
"Dragon! Do you want to fight the Beasts Pirates to the death!?"
Queen was currently in his beast form. Seeing this, he roared, then continuously fired a massive number of yellow lasers from his right hand, his mouth, and the claws of his mechanical prosthetic limb.
"Black Light!"
The dense web of laser beams created a massive explosion, and the violent air currents forced the hurricane to disperse.
But... that was all.
Against Dragon, who was on the same level as Kaido, Queen's level of strength was still not enough.
Especially when the environmental factors were extremely unfavorable to him.
If King were here, perhaps he could still rely on his flying ability to fight Dragon.
However, there were no ifs. The one here was merely a heavy armored tank, and because he had modified himself, he had no way to fly at all.
Jumping was possible, but how was he supposed to fight Dragon that way?
And so, Queen could only rage helplessly at this moment, without even being able to mount any counterattack.
When Black Light was fired at him, Dragon simply moved away.
Even while holding an advantage in strength, Dragon did not engage in close combat. He merely kept Queen confined on the sea.
"You're asking the obvious. If I wanted to form a mortal feud with you, wouldn't killing you be enough?"
Dragon frowned slightly. With another lift of his hand, the speed of the hurricane over the sea rose by another level.
"Or are you saying you truly want to sink to the bottom of the sea?"
This time, Queen did not dare answer. Instead, he started cursing under his breath.
The two sides fell into a stalemate.
'Damn it, communications still aren't working. What kind of technology are they using? Why can't my science break through this jamming?'
Queen was burning with anxiety while forcing himself to exchange moves with Dragon.
Until a certain moment, when Dragon suddenly stopped and turned his head.
"Has he arrived?"
"What the hell are you talking about, bastard!?"
"Queen, if you don't want to suffer, you should return to Onigashima."
After saying this, Dragon vanished.
He could sense that aura had already reached the diagonal sky above Wano.
Although he did not know what would happen, his instincts told him it would be best not to remain there.
On the other side—
Zoro, who had grown somewhat impatient due to Kozuki Hiyori's gradual probing, revealed a rather key piece of information.
"You said your captain is going to help Wano open its borders!?"
Kozuki Hiyori was somewhat shocked, and her tone became urgent.
"Although opening the country is what we desire, how are you going to do it? Even if you defeated and took away Kurozumi Orochi, that still can't open Wano.
The true ruler of this country has always been Kaido of the Beasts on Onigashima!
Do you have a way to deal with him?"
"He's very strong. He can't be dealt with right now. That's what our captain said."
Zoro switched hands and grabbed the back of Kozuki Hiyori's clothes, speaking indifferently.
"But the opening of the country will definitely be completed today."
"That's absurd. Why are you so certain?"
"Because Ren said so."
"Who is Ren?"
"My captain."
"...I think you're joking. How can the country be opened without defeating Kaido?"
"He said, forcibly open it."
"?"
A huge question mark seemed to pop over Kozuki Hiyori's head. She was completely unable to understand what he meant.
Although their conversation had temporarily confirmed that he was not an enemy, and was instead part of a force hostile to Kaido...
This way of speaking was far too strange, wasn't it?
Forcibly open the country?
How was that supposed to be opened?
Surely he couldn't mean knocking a hole into Wano... right...?
(End of Chapter)