After Kuma left, Yuuki returned to the Magic Eye Pirates' ship.
He briefly reassured the crew. The tension and worry that had filled the ship quickly vanished the moment everyone saw that Yuuki was completely unharmed. What remained on their faces was pure astonishment.
By now, Vivi fully believed that Yuuki truly had the power to help Alabasta.
Meanwhile, the four Baroque Works agents—Mr.3 and the others—had become remarkably obedient. Any thoughts of resistance had vanished, and whenever they saw Yuuki, they trembled in fear.
Yuuki casually took the Den Den Mushi he had seized from Mr.3 and walked toward a quiet stretch of beach along the outer edge of Little Garden.
Alabasta Kingdom
Rainbase — Rain Dinners Casino, Upper Floor
"Buru buru buru…"
The Den Den Mushi rang with a dull tone.
"Hm?"
Robin sat in her office chair. She placed the documents in her hand aside and glanced at the desk piled high with historical materials about Alabasta before rubbing her temple.
"So soon…?"
She murmured softly as she picked up the receiver.
At this hour, the only people who would call her should be the four senior agents she had sent to Little Garden.
"Congratulations, Mr.3 and everyone. It seems you handled the trouble quickly. The boss will certainly be pleased to hear the news."
"If there's nothing else, Mr.3 and Miss Goldenweek may continue your vacation. Mr.5 and Miss Valentine will also receive a generous reward."
Leaning back in her chair, Robin stretched her slender waist and spoke with her usual elegance.
But the voice she expected did not come from the receiver.
Instead—
"I think you've misunderstood."
A calm, unfamiliar voice sounded from the Den Den Mushi.
Robin froze.
Only now did she notice that the snail's expression did not resemble Mr.3's at all.
After a brief silence, she spoke.
"…Who are you?"
She straightened from the chair, a strange light flickering in her eyes. Yet a faint smile still lingered at her lips.
"That shouldn't be hard to guess, should it… Miss All Sunday?"
The voice on the other end gave a light chuckle before continuing.
"Or perhaps I should call you by another name—"
"The Devil Child, Nico Robin."
The moment those words were spoken—
Robin's pupils trembled.
Her composed expression vanished instantly. The hand resting casually on the desk clenched tightly.
Shock. Fear. Disbelief.
Her breathing quickened.
How did he know her identity?
How had her information leaked?
Did the Marines know already?
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Only silence remained.
"Find a way to keep Crocodile in Rainbase."
The calm voice continued from the Den Den Mushi.
"I'd rather not waste time searching for him once I reach Alabasta."
Robin snapped back to her senses.
From those few short sentences, she immediately understood.
This person intended to target Crocodile.
She couldn't comprehend how a pirate crew that had only just entered the Grand Line could know her identity—let alone dare to challenge a Warlord of the Sea.
Yet the man had not threatened her with her identity.
That alone made Robin pause.
She had been considering leaving Alabasta immediately.
But… she also had reasons to stay.
"You've survived this long through betrayal after betrayal."
"You've reached another crossroads, Nico Robin."
"I look forward to meeting you."
The line went dead.
Robin slowly lowered the receiver and turned toward the bustling city of Rainbase outside the window.
For a brief moment, uncertainty flickered in her gaze.
A quiet sigh echoed through the room.
Little Garden
After ending the call, Yuuki casually pocketed the Den Den Mushi.
The matter of Alabasta was merely a small detour to him.
His trip there was partly to study Crocodile, a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
More importantly, Vivi's group possessed a Log Pose that pointed directly to Alabasta, allowing him to skip several unnecessary islands and greatly shorten the time needed to reach the New World.
Returning to the present—
Yuuki had not forgotten why he had come to Little Garden in the first place.
On the Beach
A warm, humid sea breeze swept across the shore.
Yuuki stood facing the ocean, adjusting his breathing while recalling the changes in muscle movement and aura he had observed when Dorry and Brogy unleashed Hakoku.
The next moment—
He mimicked their stance.
He began guiding the ki flowing through his body, gathering it toward his right fist.
Buzz—
An invisible wave of energy rippled outward, forming a gust that spread from Yuuki's body.
His muscles tightened all at once.
Then he threw a punch forward.
The fist struck the air with a brief, humming vibration.
Boom!
The sea ahead exploded apart, sending a wave two or three meters high into the air. Several fish were blasted from the water as the surface churned violently.
"…Not right."
Yuuki shook his head and lowered his fist.
He had indeed mobilized a trace of ki during the process.
But the result was nothing like the Hakoku-style energy shockwave he had seen earlier.
What he produced was merely a burst of wind created by his own physical strength.
"My movements were correct."
"That means the key lies elsewhere."
Yuuki muttered quietly.
"The real question is… how to completely release ki as energy?"
For the next several hours, Yuuki continued adjusting and experimenting.
For someone who could clearly sense ki as a form of living energy, the process was not particularly difficult.
Before he realized it—
Night had fallen over the sea.
Yet Yuuki remained absorbed in manipulating ki.
In the Black Clover world, ki had only been used as a tool to sense one's surroundings.
But through observing Dorry and Brogy, Yuuki had begun to realize—
Ki could also be a powerful force in its own right.
He had not yet mastered Zetten.
But he was certain that his understanding of ki would surpass that of the Land of the Sun.
This was not arrogance.
It was a matter of quantity.
Or more precisely—
The amount of living energy.
After hours of experimentation, Yuuki had roughly grasped the nature of ki.
Simply put—
The greater the quantity of ki, the easier it was to sense and control.
Yuuki's body had already evolved beyond that of a normal human.
He was now a higher lifeform, naturally possessing far greater living energy.
This was something he could clearly feel while manipulating his own ki.
Suddenly, Yuuki realized why techniques like Hakoku and Elbaf's Spear were used almost exclusively by giants.
There was no way such a powerful technique wouldn't attract attention.
Even if the giants guarded it closely, it would have inevitably leaked over centuries—especially since the Marines themselves employed giant soldiers.
The key factor was the amount of ki.
The giants' massive bodies naturally granted them enormous life energy far beyond that of ordinary humans.
That was what allowed them to develop and control such techniques.
Even attacks like Hakai, used by Big Mom and Kaido, followed the same principle.
Though not giants, their monstrous physiques gave them similarly vast life energy.
In theory, the strongest fighters in this world could learn giant techniques.
But mastering them would be extremely difficult.
Even among giants, only a few could perform them.
And even if they succeeded—
The technique would still have limited value for the world's absolute top-tier fighters.
But Yuuki was different.
He could combine ki with magic.
And that combination would unleash far greater power.
As he continued manipulating ki, his control gradually became smoother.
During this process, he discovered another property of living energy.
It was…
Extremely inactive.
Almost lazy.
"I see."
After thinking for a moment, a gleam flashed through Yuuki's eyes.
He raised his right hand and activated Ore Magic.
A sword formed from solid mineral appeared in his grasp.
He had overlooked something obvious earlier.
Whether it was Dorry and Brogy or Big Mom and Kaido, they all used weapons when performing Elbaf-style techniques.
The realization clicked.
In the next instant—
Yuuki gripped the mineral sword tightly.
His gaze sharpened.
The living energy within his body surged into the weapon.
Then—
He swung the blade toward the distant sea.
—
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