"Keep your eyes open these few days."
Sea Dragon opened his eyes, his voice deep. "Below, at least seven groups have gathered. Their target, I don't need to say it, you know what it is."
"The blueprints?" Robin was slightly startled. "Who are they?"
"Pirates and Shichibukai," Sea Dragon said. "There are two Shichibukai: Crocodile and Gecko Moria."
Hearing this, Robin's expression became somewhat grave.
She knew what the Shichibukai represented. Each one possessed outstanding strength and were legal pirates recognized by the government.
And now, two of them were below, seemingly aiming for the blueprints.
Robin couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, right now on the island, there wasn't a single executive, only Sea Dragon.
"Don't panic. Shiki and his Flying Pirates will obey your commands. That is more than enough to defend against these intruders."
"Shiki?"
Robin nodded, though inwardly she felt he was somewhat unreliable.
But thinking that Sea Dragon was here guarding the place, she felt slightly more at ease.
"Alright, I understand. I'll have people keep watch. If there's nothing else, I'll go back now."
"Mm."
With a response, Sea Dragon closed his eyes again, falling into endless silence.
Seeing this, Nico Robin opened her mouth, wanting to ask where the blueprints were and which areas needed heavy defense, but the words got stuck in her throat.
Clearly, she hadn't gained Phantom's full trust yet, so matters like this were kept from her.
Shaking her head, Robin chose to leave. Regardless of whether she knew the details or not, since someone dared to covet the blueprints, they must be taught a lesson.
Since joining Phantom, every member had shown her by example that Phantom's dignity could not be offended.
"Hoo… hope nothing goes wrong!"
Letting out a breath, Robin threw herself into work.
She first notified the eight pirate crews, assigning night patrol duties. Then she spoke with Shiki, instructing him to guard the entrance.
Everything was ready, and night fell unconsciously.
The eight pirate crews formed eight patrol teams, stationed at the eight directions of the stronghold, keeping watch throughout the night.
Inside the stronghold, within the main buildings, every key position was also guarded. The closer one got to the center, the more stringent the security.
---
Midnight, 12:00 AM.
On the south side of the floating island, a wisp of sand and dust shot up from below.
Obscured by the night, it was difficult to see with the naked eye.
This wisp of dust flew onto the floating island and slowly condensed, forming a human shape starting from the legs.
It was none other than Crocodile, the man clad in a large cloak with a cigar in his mouth.
"Hahaha… Do you think floating in the sky is enough to stop invasion?"
He spoke with a hint of mockery, looking around.
At the same time, a pitch-black bat flew towards his side.
The bat was fat. Upon reaching Crocodile, it stretched its body, gradually elongating into a human figure.
The figure was completely black, and the moment the transformation was complete, colors began to spread from the top of its head downwards.
"Hee hee hee… Shadow Master!"
Gecko Moria let out a strange laugh. "I thought infiltrating would be difficult, but it turned out to be so easy. Seems like the defense of this floating island is quite weak, except for that Sea Dragon beneath our feet."
The two looked at each other and fell silent.
Sea Dragon was tens of thousands of meters long. They hadn't felt the full scale of it in Water 7, but upon arriving at the floating island, they were shocked to realize just how massive it was.
A single swipe of its claw would likely be enough to shatter an entire island.
"Don't disturb him!" Crocodile said in a low voice. "If we alert him, we'd better be ready to run."
A Dominator Executive was Emperor-class. Fighting him head-on, even two against one, would be suicide; they wouldn't stand a chance.
"Let's go! Infiltrate first, then capture Nico Robin and force her to reveal the location of the blueprints!"
The two immediately began to move.
They were extremely careful, suppressing their auras to the absolute limit.
One was the user of the Suna Suna Fruit; after turning into sand, he was nearly impossible to detect.
The other was the user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. Infiltration was something he excelled at. Though not as skilled as the Shadow Fiend, he was still very capable.
The two moved silently, easily approaching the central gate of the island, avoiding all patrol teams.
Upon reaching the entrance of the central gate, they stopped briefly, hiding their bodies beneath the snow.
The gate was a wooden structure standing amidst the snow. Behind it stood a grand, brightly lit mansion.
"Quite shoddy defense," Gecko Moria whispered. "We've encountered at least three patrol teams, six men each. They won't spot us anytime soon. However, once we go inside, it might get troublesome."
"You create a distraction, and I'll infiltrate to find Nico Robin?" Crocodile suggested. "Or, with your Shadow-Shadow Fruit, can you create zombies?"
"That requires corpses!" Moria shook his head. "Forget it. Let's split up. I'll go left, you go right. If either of us is discovered, lead them away."
"Deal."
Crocodile smiled, confident he would never be discovered.
"Then, let's move."
Immediately, the two began to sneak from beneath the snow towards the inside of the gate.
However, at that very moment, the entire snowfield began to tremble.
It was as if all the snow had come alive, twisting and writhing rapidly, condensing into a massive Snow Lion.
The lion was enormous, reaching a hundred meters in height. The moment it appeared, it suddenly raised its paw and slammed it fiercely down towards the two hiding beneath the snow!
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