Rain poured down steadily on the long-parched land. While the people of the capital celebrated in the streets, enjoying the absolute joy brought by the breaking of the drought, their beloved Princess was currently suffering for them in a very different way.
On the large royal bed, Vivi was kneeling, her pert buttocks sticking up, her waist bent into a tight arc, and her head tilted back into the pillows.
Darian was holding Vivi's hips tightly to prevent her from collapsing onto the bed. With one hand, he was pulling Vivi's blue ponytail back firmly, keeping her arched and exposing her elegant neck.
Vivi was like a beautiful, wild mare, and Darian was sprinting forward with all his might.
The Knight was still full of demonic energy from his Outer Path abilities, but the Princess was no longer making much of a sound. Looking at her flushed, upturned face, one could see that Vivi's eyes had rolled back in sheer exhaustion and overstimulation, and a thin trail of drool was dripping from the corner of her parted lips.
With a low, guttural growl, Darian finally poured all the essence he had accumulated into Vivi's depths.
After nearly an hour of intense, relentless physical "torture," Vivi had essentially lost consciousness, her mind completely blanking out from the searing pleasure.
After Darian let go of her hair and hips, Vivi collapsed weakly forward onto the bed. With a soft, wet pop, Darian finally stepped back.
Vivi lay on the silk sheets like a ragdoll, her eyes shut, her mouth wide open, her lower half still slightly raised. If it weren't for her rapid, shallow panting and her violently trembling body, one would have thought she had actually passed out entirely.
As Vivi trembled, slick moisture flowed out from her swollen, unclosable spring, dripping onto the bedsheets, completely soaking her long, fair legs.
Seeing Vivi's devastated appearance, Darian couldn't help but shake his head. Vivi's physical stamina is far too weak, Darian thought. Nami and Mikita were much stronger than her.
But Darian was not discouraged. Vivi was still young and had a lot of room for "development" and training.
Darian gently patted Vivi's flushed, red buttocks, and used his abilities to quickly and thoroughly clean Vivi's body of the mess.
Looking at the beautiful, slightly swollen valley he had just conquered, Darian felt a fresh surge of energy, but he knew Vivi was absolutely no longer usable for the rest of the night. She needed rest.
Darian could only helplessly cover Vivi with a thick, warm blanket before pulling on his pants and quietly leaving the grand bedroom.
The royal palace was enormous, a labyrinth of sandstone corridors and courtyards. When Darian stepped outside into the hallway, his slightly alcohol-addled brain realized he had absolutely no idea where Nami and the others were actually staying in the guest wing. This made him somewhat perplexed.
The room they had just been in was clearly Vivi's personal royal bedroom. Thinking about it, Darian was momentarily speechless. He had actually gotten drunk at the banquet and been led back to a woman's room by the Princess herself without realizing it.
Darian silently warned himself that if he couldn't hold his liquor against the King, he should drink much less in the future; otherwise, he might really get hacked to pieces one day in his sleep.
However, there were usually plenty of Royal Guards in a palace like this. He figured he could just walk around and ask one of the night watchmen for directions to the guest wing.
Yet, as he walked through the dimly lit, silent corridors, Darian didn't encounter a single patrolling person, which made him frown beneath his mask.
As he reached a sharp corner near the lower levels, Darian's enhanced senses picked up a strong, coppery stench of fresh blood. Upon closer inspection, he saw several elite Royal Guards lying dead in pools of blood.
Something is very wrong, Darian thought, his muscles tensing.
The Royal Tombs - The Underground Basement.
"It's just that again..."
Holding a flickering oil lamp, Nico Robin gently stroked the ancient, carved inscriptions on the massive, cubic stone tablet, letting out a slightly painful, disappointed sigh.
Why? Robin thought desperately. Why is it still just a historical text recording the locations of ancient weapons? Where is the real history? Where is the True Century?
Sure enough, she was the only one in the world who could truly read it!
Seeing the woman's deeply pained expression in the dim light, King Cobra—who had been brought down here at knifepoint—knew exactly what was written on the Poneglyph and guessed the reason for Robin's disappointment: this was not the ancient historical record she was searching for!
"Is there nothing else? Are these truly all the secrets of this country?" Robin, somewhat unwilling to give up her lifelong dream, turned back and asked Cobra.
"That's all there is in Alabasta," Cobra sighed, rubbing his bruised wrists. "Aren't you satisfied with the location of a god-like weapon?"
"No!" Robin lowered her head in bitter disappointment.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Before the two could exchange more words, heavy, uneven footsteps echoed down the stone corridor. Crocodile had arrived.
"No wonder it's a closely guarded state secret. If I didn't know how to follow the King, I really wouldn't have been able to find this tomb!"
Crocodile walked into the cavernous room. He was still sporting his thick fur coat, but he looked incredibly battered. His face was pale, he moved with a slight limp from the devastating beating Darian had given him earlier that day in the desert, and thick white bandages were wrapped tightly around his chest and head, making him look rather comical and desperate.
Having woken up in his secret bunker and realized his entire army had been crushed, Crocodile had decided to make one final, desperate play to secure the weapon before fleeing Alabasta for good. He had used his sand powers to silently infiltrate the palace and bypass the guards.
"You're a bit slow, Boss," Robin replied calmly, not showing her surprise at his survival.
"If I didn't have to avoid drawing the attention of that lightning-using freak upstairs, I would have taken care of those guards much faster," Crocodile growled, clearly still furious and in pain.
Upon hearing this, Robin curled her lips into a mocking smile. "So... the great Warlord finally knows what fear is?"
After repeated failures, and seeing the giant Poneglyph only to find no news about the True History, Robin was starting to give up on her alliance with Crocodile anyway.
"Do you want to die right now, Miss All Sunday?"
Crocodile's tone was icy, his words filled with raw, desperate murderous intent. He looked at Robin with deep displeasure. I'll kill you the second you translate the message, Crocodile thought. You've been spending far too much time with that White Emperor on his ship. You're a liability.
Sensing Crocodile's barely restrained killing intent, Robin snapped out of her dazed disappointment.
"How could that be?" Robin smiled thinly.
Looking at Robin, Crocodile forced himself to hold back his anger and asked the million-Berry question. "What's written on it? Where is it?"
"It's just the ancient history of this country," Robin lied smoothly, looking back at the stone. "Nothing more."
Upon hearing this blatant lie, Crocodile's scarred face darkened with rage.
"What I want to know is where the most evil military weapon in the world is! I have absolutely no interest in dead history!" Crocodile roared, stepping forward.
"There are no records of it here. Only history, and not a single word about the Ancient Weapon, Pluton."
Robin calmly maintained her lie. The document did indeed record the exact location of Pluton hidden within the country, but she would never tell Crocodile such information. She was simply a history buff, a scholar searching for truth, not a warmongering madwoman. How could she possibly hand over such a terrifying weapon with the power to destroy the world to a ruthless, desperate monster like Crocodile?
"I've sheltered you from the World Government for four long years, and this is the lie you give me in return?!"
Crocodile raised his golden hook, pointing the poisoned tip directly at Robin's throat.
"However, I never trust anyone, Robin. Judging from King Cobra's terrified expression when you read it, Pluton is real, and it's written right there."
As he spoke, Crocodile suddenly launched a lethal attack on Robin, swiping his heavy golden hook toward her torso to gut her.
Knowing Crocodile's ruthless character, Robin was fully prepared. She quickly reached into her coat and threw a small glass test tube full of water directly at him.
Robin, who had worked under Crocodile for years and was incredibly observant, knew intimately that Crocodile's ultimate weakness was liquid.
The test tube collided with the golden hook, shattering the glass and splashing the water all over Crocodile's bandaged face and chest.
However, this small amount of water could not completely erase the massive difference in combat strength and speed between the two. Just as Robin drew a hidden dagger from her waist to attack Crocodile while he was distracted, Crocodile had already used his "Sables" to dash forward, disappearing from Robin's line of sight.
A deadly, localized sandstorm and a sharp hook came straight from behind her.
Just when Robin thought she was too slow and fell into despair, she felt a solid, warm presence suddenly appear directly behind her, supporting her back.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, Robin turned her head and saw that a massive hole had been violently smashed through the thick sandstone wall of the tomb next to them. Crocodile had been blasted completely through it into the adjacent cavern by a blindingly fast fist.
Having miraculously survived the ordeal, Robin hadn't even had time to process her gratitude or realize who had saved her.
SMACK!
Something struck her firm buttocks hard, leaving a sharp, burning, stinging sensation. Before Robin could even turn around to protest the assault, a familiar, arrogant voice spoke from right behind her ear.
"Robin, trying to commit suicide against a Warlord by yourself isn't a very smart thing to do."
Turning around, Robin saw Darian. He was wearing only his sweatpants, and his fists were crackling with residual blue lightning. She wanted to say something sarcastic to mask her immense relief, but she couldn't find the words. She could only cover her stinging buttocks with her hand and look up at Darian with feigned displeasure in her dark eyes.
In the end, Robin simply frowned and asked the obvious question. "Why are you down here in the tombs?"
"Why wouldn't I come?" Darian said, crossing his arms and looking thoroughly unhappy with her recklessness. "You're my woman. If I hadn't come looking for you, you wouldn't have just run off with someone else; you would have been stabbed through the heart with a poisoned hook!"
Honestly, Darian thought to himself, I'm just venting my frustrations about getting lost and finding dead guards.
Finding the Royal Guards lying in a pool of blood had startled Darian. After following the trail of sand and blood, Darian had rushed down to the basement tombs as fast as his Asura Path speed could carry him.
Hearing Darian casually declare her "his woman" in front of the King, Robin knew exactly what possessive game he was playing, but she still denied it to maintain her pride.
"Who's your woman?!" Robin scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "Weren't you too busy having fun with the naive little Princess upstairs to notice I was gone?"
Upon hearing Robin mention his recent activities with Vivi, Darian glanced nervously at King Cobra out of the corner of his eye, feeling incredibly embarrassed to be called out in front of the girl's father. King Cobra simply looked utterly confused by the domestic squabble happening in his sacred family tomb.
Recovering his composure, Darian smiled mischievously beneath his mask. He leaned in close to Robin. "Robin, do you secretly like me? Is that why you're always using your sprouted eyes to spy on my private business?"
After Darian said that, Robin's mind immediately flashed back to the explicit "train bento" position Darian and Carmen had engaged in on the deck nights ago, and the horrific, loud scene Darian had caused with Mikita and Alvida.
That wicked, hyper-sexual scumbag had even brought Carmen back to his room. After a lot of loud commotion, Robin had been forced to secretly use her own hand to relieve her intense frustration that night while listening to them.
Recalling those enchanting scenes and highly explicit sounds, Robin couldn't help but blush deeply, her cool facade cracking.
But a mature, thirty-year-old woman is a mature woman, and her mental fortitude was very strong. She quickly schooled her features into a deeply disgusted expression.
"Who would ever want to spy on a beast like you?!" Robin retorted sharply. "Anyone with ears could tell what you were doing to the poor Princess just by listening to the hallways!"
Robin had just been a little too engrossed in watching that first night on the ship; she hadn't actively peeked again after that. She wasn't some horny, voyeuristic teenager. In order to avoid seeing such an embarrassing, arousing scene again, Robin rarely used her Flower-Flower powers to scout the ship at night anymore.
"Really?" Darian asked, looking at Robin with a highly suspicious, teasing look, which infuriated her further.
"You absolute bastard—!" Robin started.
"ROBIN! WHITE EMPEROR! I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"
Crocodile's furious, echoing roar from the adjacent cavern violently interrupted their intimate, bickering moment.
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