Chapter 122- Nico Robin
[MC POV]
In the end, we all agreed to help Vivi.
Vivi went off to find Igaram and explain that my crew and I would be helping her free the kingdom. When she returned, I could tell Igaram felt a measure of relief. He knew his own strength had limits, and having a powerful group like ours protecting the princess would at least ensure her safety.
We spent the next while gathering supplies for the voyage ahead. Food was the main priority—we stocked up heavily on preserved meats, fruits, bread, and anything else that would keep well—along with plenty of fresh water to last us through the long sail.
"Alex, we're ready to set sail," Nami said as she approached me. She was holding up the Log Pose for me to see. The needle had already settled, pointing steadily toward the next island.
I knew that this log pose was pointing toward the Little Garden and was useless. I was thinking of giving her the eternal log pose of Alabaster. But I was waiting for Robin to arrive. So I held back from giving her.
I gave her a nod. Soon enough, all the girls had gathered on deck.
"It's—cough, cough—Ma-ma-ma—it's going to be okay, Princess," Igaram said, his voice strained as he stared at our group.
"I've come up with a plan," he added, making me raise an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Igaram, what are you…?" Vivi started, but the words died in her throat when she took in his appearance.
"Listen to me carefully, Princess Vivi," he continued in a grave tone. "Once Baroque Works' intelligence unit learns what happened here, agents will be sent after you without delay. And since they now know you discovered the boss's true identity, you must—"
"Yes, knowing them, they'll send a thousand agents after me," Vivi finished for him.
"Exactly. Which is why my plan is this: I will disguise myself as you." Igaram looked down at her solemnly. "I will take these dummies aboard with me and sail to opposite direction Alabasta."
For the first time, the rest of us noticed he was carrying several lifelike dummies clearly meant to stand in for Vivi and the rest of us. He was trying to trick Baroque Work and save us.
"While Baroque Works chases after me, the rest of you can take a route to the Alabasta Kingdom," he explained. "All of their focus will be on me. So you will be safe."
I nodded as I understood his strategy immediately. It was clever and selfless.
Vivi and Igaram shared a quiet, emotional goodbye. Then his little ship pulled away from the island.
Just like in the original story, Igaram refused to travel with us. He chose instead to take a small boat in the opposite direction, creating a deliberate distraction. He called it his final duty as Vivi's bodyguard.
In this world, the same thing played out. Honestly, I had no interest in having extra men on my ship anyway, so I let him go his own way. Besides, I already knew he would survive, so I wasn't worried.
As for Mr. 9 and Miss Monday, they decided the safest choice was to disappear and go into hiding.
Being targeted by Crocodile—one of the Warlords—meant they had no real chance of surviving if they stayed exposed. Hiding was their only hope, and they pinned everything on us somehow managing to defeat him in the end.
"We have to sail too," I said while looking at teary Vivi.
Everyone watched Igaram's ship grow smaller in the distance. When it was about half a mile from the island, a massive explosion suddenly engulfed it, sending flames and debris into the sky. Everyone's eyes widened in horror.
"What! They're already after us? That's impossible!" Nami cried.
Vivi dropped to her knees, hands pressed over her mouth, staring in disbelief as she thought Igaram had just been killed.
Vivi stayed frozen as she thought Igaram was killed. She was just looking at the fading smoke with empty eyes.
"Don't worry," I told her calmly. "I've already used my Observation Haki. He is very much alive. Not even seriously hurt—just a few light injuries."
"Really? Igaram's alive?" Vivi's face lit up with desperate hope. "Thank goodness! Then let's save him—bring him onto the boat!"
"No need," I replied. "Now that Baroque Works has blown up his ship, they believe he is dead. That actually makes it safer for him to travel alone than to stay with us."
Vivi hesitated as she was clearly torn. She wanted him with us, but after a moment she nodded, accepting that I was right. She couldn't bear the thought of putting his life in greater danger.
"We have to go too. We have to reach Alabasta fast." I said while turning to the girls.
We sailed off without delay and began our journey toward Alabasta. As we navigated the narrow waterway out, a thick fog rolled in—much like the one we had encountered when first arriving at the island.
Visibility was almost nothing, but with Nami's expert guidance we threaded our way through safely and emerged once more into the vast, open waters of the Grand Line.
Just as we cleared the last wisps of fog, a voice I had been expecting finally spoke.
"I'm just glad we managed to get away from the people chasing us."
I turned and saw her perched casually on the ship's railing—Nico Robin. In person, she was even more beautiful than the anime had ever shown. The real-life and anime versions were too much different. She was very beautiful.
She had a slender yet perfectly curved figure, long flowing black hair, and those deep eyes that could pull a man in and never let go if he stared too long.
She offered me a small, knowing smile when our eyes met, but I stayed silent for the moment.
"With all this fog, we should be careful to avoid the rocks," she remarked lightly.
"I'll handle it," Nami replied cheerfully—then blinked, glanced at me standing beside her, and seemed to process who had just spoken.
"And this is a nice ship you have here." Robin added with a faint smile.
"Miss Sunday?!" Vivi shouted as she instantly recognized her.
"Who?" Lily asked seriously but her one finger was digging in her nose.
"She's the vice-leader of Baroque Works," Vivi explained while her voice was trembling with anger. "She is the Crocodile's partner and also known as Miss All Sunday."
All heads snapped toward the woman as Vivi's words sank into their ears.
"Crocodile is her partner?!" Nami yelped in alarm.
"She was the only one who knew the boss's real identity," Vivi continued, glaring at Robin. "That's how I found out about his secret identity."
"You're mistaken, Vivi," I said quietly. "She's the one who let you follow her."
Both Vivi and Robin turned to me in surprise.
"Hmm. Interesting," Robin murmured while her gaze was sharpening with genuine curiosity toward me. "How did you know that?"
Before I could answer, weapons appeared from every direction—Kuina's sword was already drawn, and Nami was gripping her Clima-Tact tightly. Vivi was also pointing her weapon toward Robin. It was as if they were trying to kill her if she made some mistake.
'It is just like the anime. Some things never change.'
"I would really appreciate it if you would stop pointing those weapons at me," Robin said calmly as she used her devil fruit power.
In an instant, every weapon was knocked cleanly from their hands.
"Now calm down," she continued while scanning our group once more. "I'm not here to fight anyone. I haven't received any orders to do so."