"Bang, bang, bang!"
"Everyone, chase her! Don't let her escape!"
"We have to catch her! If she gets away, none of us will end well!"
"Ah!"
"Run!"
"The gangs are fighting again! Everyone, hide!"
…
At this moment, Alvin, who had just reached a concealed position on a rooftop near the Mayor's office building, heard the dense gunfire erupting from the street below, along with the terrified screams of civilians.
Looking down, he saw the entire street descend into chaos. People were fleeing in every direction. The scene was shocking.
"So it really is about Nico Robin. But didn't she already join Zelas's faction? Was she betrayed again?" Alvin frowned as he thought to himself.
His gaze, sharp and focused, locked onto the street below, where Nico Robin was running at full speed.
Like a nimble rabbit, she darted into an alley with astonishing agility, while simultaneously activating the power of the Hana Hana no Mi to create obstacles for the gang members relentlessly pursuing her.
However, even though Nico Robin was doing everything she could, the situation remained extremely dangerous. There were simply too many enemies, and they refused to give up.
At that moment, Alvin realized he could not continue standing by.
After all, Nico Robin had once saved him.
He made a swift decision, repositioned himself to gain a better firing angle, then retrieved a sniper rifle from his system storage and aimed at the gang members who posed the greatest threat to Nico Robin.
In an instant,
several crisp gunshots rang out.
"Bang, bang, bang."
One by one, any gang member who was about to corner Nico Robin was struck down by Alvin's precise shots, collapsing onto the street.
Nico Robin immediately noticed that someone was providing cover fire.
A sniper rifle.
Almost at once, she thought of Alvin. At this moment, only that young boy would risk himself to help her.
A trace of warmth rose in her heart.
"Head for the sea!"
Alvin's voice echoed from the rooftop above.
Nico Robin recognized his voice and accelerated even further. She moved with astonishing speed, while Alvin continuously shifted positions across the rooftops.
Under Alvin's sustained sniper support, the pursuing gang members finally discovered his location. A portion of them, like an enraged swarm, redirected their gunfire toward Alvin's rooftop position.
"There's a sniper on the roof!"
"Take him down!"
Several furious shouts rang out, and in the next moment, a storm of bullets tore toward Alvin's hiding place.
Alvin immediately stowed his sniper rifle and retreated across the rooftops toward the coastline.
At the same time, inside the Mayor's office building, Zelas received news that Nico Robin had escaped.
The development enraged him. Without hesitation, he issued an urgent order, mobilizing gang forces throughout the city to pursue and intercept Nico Robin at all costs.
---
Meanwhile, Alvin, racing across the rooftops, was significantly faster than Nico Robin on the ground.
By the time he reached the seaside and prepared the jet ski, she had not yet arrived.
Only intermittent gunfire echoed faintly from a distance. The sound made Alvin's heart tighten with anxiety.
Just as his impatience was reaching its limit, a familiar figure finally appeared in his line of sight.
Nico Robin had made it.
"Over here!"
Alvin shouted at the top of his lungs.
Hearing his voice, hope flashed through Nico Robin's eyes, and she immediately sprinted toward him.
"Hurry, get on!" Alvin urged.
At that moment, the pursuing gang members also arrived.
"Stop!"
"Open fire! Kill them!"
…
Without hesitation, Nico Robin leaped gracefully onto the jet ski. The instant she landed behind him, Alvin twisted the throttle.
The jet ski shot forward across the water at lightning speed.
The sudden acceleration startled Nico Robin, and she instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around Alvin.
The pursuing gang members froze in shock.
What was that small vessel?
How could something so compact move that fast?
"Damn it!"
"Gather boats immediately! Even if they flee into open waters, track them down!"
The gang captain in charge of the pursuit was livid. Despite surrounding her with so many men, Nico Robin had still escaped. Punishment would be inevitable.
"Yes!"
The gang members scattered to find boats and continue the chase at sea, but by the time they mobilized, Nico Robin and Alvin were already long gone from the horizon.
"Where are we heading now?"
Out on the open sea, Alvin reduced the throttle slightly and turned his head to speak to Robin behind him.
"Asriel is no longer safe. External forces must have intervened for Zelas to change his attitude so suddenly. I need to leave Asriel immediately," Robin replied without hesitation.
Alvin understood at once.
Asriel was a country effectively controlled by gangs. If the gangs of Sagamia were hunting Nico Robin, then gangs in other cities would likely do the same.
The surrounding sea was empty. Seeing no vessels nearby, Alvin slowed to a stop and asked, "Sailing blindly like this is risky. Do you know how to navigate?"
He certainly did not.
If they ventured recklessly into the open sea, he might not even distinguish direction. They could easily become lost. In the worst case, they might encounter a storm.
"That is indeed a problem," Robin said after thinking for a moment. "In that case, before they adjust their search pattern, we should return briefly. Land along a different stretch of coastline and assess the situation from there."
After speaking, she tightened her arms around Alvin once more.
Alvin understood her reasoning. The gangs would assume they had fled far into open waters. Returning quietly to another part of Asriel's coast might actually be safer.
Having decided, he restarted the jet ski and steered toward a different coastal area.
"What kind of vessel is this? It has no sails and no visible propulsion like a warship, yet it is so fast." Now that they were temporarily safe, Robin's curiosity surfaced.
"It's called a jet ski. It runs on an engine. At the moment, it's the only one of its kind in the world," Alvin replied simply.
"Sugoi ne," Robin murmured softly.
Although she did not fully understand what an engine was, the speed alone was astonishing. Even a standard warship might struggle to match it.
More than half an hour later,
Alvin located an uninhabited stretch of coastline suitable for landing. The two disembarked, and Alvin placed the jet ski back into his system storage space.
Robin watched as the jet ski vanished the moment Alvin touched it. Surprise flickered in her eyes, though she chose not to question him immediately.
Afterward, the two of them headed into the mountains.
...
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