Chapter 40: Deal
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"Hmm... This is a rather nice tea..."
"Thank you"
"No, wait... How did I end up drinking the tea with you?!"
Standing up from the table, Farid looked at Robin, who was sitting on the opposite side, before he then scratched his head exasperatedly.
Somehow, without even noticing, she had pulled him to drink tea with her, instead of answering his questions.
"Why are you even in my house? I believe I told you I wouldn't capture you"
"Yes you did"
Nodding her head, Robin took a sip from the tea, before she then smiled at Farid.
"...?"
Seeing her smile, Farid's eyebrow twitched for a brief moment, before he forced a smile.
"Then why are you here...? No, wait, how did you even discover where my house was in the first place?"
Massaging his temples, Farid sat back down on the chair, before he then looked back at Robin with a suspicious look in his eyes, and began drinking the tea again in a discrete way.
Then, looking outside of the window for a brief moment and seeing the endless dunes of the desert, Farid narrowed his eyes, as he turned to glare at Robin with a suspicious gaze.
"I'm pretty sure my house is isolated enough so that no one can stumble upon it by chance, Nico Robin... Well, except maybe those kids"
Muttering the last part in a low voice, Farid looked straight into Robin's eyes as she smiled kindly at him before soon she then closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I didn't stumble upon it by chance"
"Then how did you discover it?"
Bending forward on the table and leaning her head into her palm, Robin smiled playfully at Farid, before she then opened her mouth.
"I was following you from behind when you passed by this place to take that strange cow mask and those robes with you. That's how I came across this house... After that, I stayed here and waited for you to come back"
"Really?"
Widening his eyes, Farid let out a short laugh of incredulity, before his slight smile soon disappeared, and instead, an annoyed expression replaced it.
'I knew I should have just bought a new costume instead of re-using that cow mask... I'm damn rich for fuck's sake... What's the need of re-using something?'
Having his eyebrow twitch slightly at that thought, Farid forced a smile, before he replied to her with a raised eyebrow.
"I would have felt you if you were following me from behind... How did you avoid my detection?"
While his Observation Haki wasn't perfect at the moment, it was still more than enough for him to feel any mysterious presence stalking him, or any suspicious entity sneak-attacking him from behind from far away.
Thus, it was hard for him to believe that she was really able to get past his senses so easily.
Especially because no one had done it before.
"This is how I did it"
However, soon his mouth opened wide at what Robin showed him, and made him understand perfectly how he had been followed without noticing.
"Ojos Fleur!"
Pointing her hand directly towards Farid, Robin exclaimed the name of her technique, before suddenly an eye appeared right on Farid's chest, and made him shriek because of the surprise.
"Holy cow!"
Standing up from the chair in a hurry, Farid looked at the eye glaring at him from his chest, before he then tried touching it, and let out a surprised gasp when the eye started dissipating before he was able to do it.
"Damn... So you are also able to grow other parts of your body?"
Saying that while examining his chest to see if the eye had left a mark or something similar, Farid looked at Robin from the corner of his eyes, before soon his expression hardened at Robin's words.
"Yes. I ate the Hana Hana no mi. It allows me to bloom any part of my body on any surface, and control them as if they were my own"
'Any part of her body...???'
Creasing his eyebrows at those words, Farid's gaze turned blank for a brief moment, before soon he snapped out of his daze and began looking at Robin with a stoic expression as his thoughts ran wild.
'... Any part of her body... Shit, I'm getting sidetracked... '
Shaking his head to disperse his thoughts, Farid looked at Robin, who was glancing at him with a strange expression, before he then cleared his throat and gestured for her to continue explaining. To which she smiled, and began explaining once again.
"That's how I followed you from behind. I gazed at you from hundreds of kilometers of distance by growing my eyes on some of your clothes, and followed after you until I came across this place"
"But why did you follow me?"
Looking at Robin with a suspicious expression, Farid took a sip from the tea once again, as he hid the pleased smile that would have bloomed on his face because of how good the tea was before he suddenly looked at it with squinted eyes.
'She did not put anything strange in here, right?'
While Farid looked at the tea from the corner of his eyes with a raised eyebrow, Robin crossed her arms, before soon she opened her mouth as her expression turned completely serious.
"I want to offer you a deal"
"A deal you say? What kind of deal?"
Still taking a sip from the tea despite his suspicion, Farid looked at Robin with a curious expression on his face, before he then widened his eyes when he heard Robin's next words.
"I want to work for you"
-Pft...!-
Almost choking because of the tea in his mouth, Farid gulped all the tea in his mouth with a grim expression, before he soon glared at Robin with an incredulous expression on his face, as if he had not understood anything of what she had just said, and asked with a confused tone.
"You, what?"
...
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|Meanwhile... In the Marine Headquarters|
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"What?! What do you mean that Crocodile has been defeated and that king Cobra is demanding him to be imprisoned?!"
Yelling angrily at the Den Den Mushi on his hand, Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral of the marine, slammed his fist on the table as he couldn't believe what he was just hearing.
Just a few moments ago, one of the marine's branches stationed in Arabasta had called and revealed to him that Crocodile, one of the supposedly seven Shichibukais, had been defeated and that the king had exposed him for his crimes in front of all the citizens of Arabasta.
Moreover, it seemed like all the trouble that Arabasta had been going through until now, had been actually because of Crocodile!
"Damn it... All pirates are the same. Even if we give them the chance to work with us, they still scheme behind our backs..."
Groaning with a pissed-off expression, Sengoku brought the Den Den Mushi to his mouth, before he then began speaking directly to whoever was on the other side.
"-Sigh...- Then? Tell me, who was the one that brought him down? Was Arabasta Royal Guards?"
Soon, after Sengoku's words, a voice came from the Den Den Mushi with a helpless tone. Making Sengoku squint his eyes at the response.
{"They haven't said anything, Sengoku-sama. All that the king has said is that Crocodile is down and that he wants the marine to imprison him in Impel Down as soon as possible"}
"...What...? Damn it... Alright, tell king Cobra that I will send some of my men to retrieve Crocodile"
{"Yes Sir!"}
-Ca-cha!-
Putting the Den Den Mushi down, Sengoku massaged his temples while letting out a groan, before he then looked at the window, and began muttering something in a low voice.
"Somehow these days seem to be very troublesome... Out of nowhere, so many pirates with incredible strength appeared one after another, and now Crocodile was taken down? It's as if the world is going crazy..."
-Knock, Knock, Knock!-
Then, as Sengoku was looking through the window with a solemn expression, suddenly someone called at the door and made Sengoku snap out of his daze and turn his head towards the door, before yelling for them to enter.
-Click-
Then, as soon as his words came out, a young man with black hair in a marine uniform entered the room and saluted Sengoku politely.
"Greetings Fleet Admiral"
His eyes were red in color, and he had a strange mark on his neck. Possibly a tattoo, or something similar. However, what surprised the most about him was the powerful aura that he seemed to emit just by standing there.
It seemed as if he was no normal marine.
Seeing this person, Sengoku's tired expression suddenly disappeared as if it had been a lie all along, and soon a small smile blossomed on his face as he walked toward the youth with an amiable expression on his face.
"So it's you! How is the training with Garp going?"
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|Back at Farid's house|
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"So... Let me get things straight... You are telling me that since I defeated Crocodile, who was your previous boss and the one that was gonna grant your wish once the taking over Arabasta was finished, I have to take responsibility by letting you work for me and grant your wish instead...?"
"Pretty much"
"..."
"..."
"What part of that is my responsibility?"
"That is for you to decipher"
-Sigh...-
Massaging his temples with a complicated expression, Farid looked at Robin with a helpless gaze, before he then sighed and raised an eyebrow before asking.
"And what is this wish of yours?"
Hearing this, Robin smiled, before she then looked to the side and closed her eyes, seemingly reminiscing something.
"Have you heard of the Poneglyphs before?"
"Poneglyphs?"
Muttering the name with a confused expression, Farid leaned back on the chair, trying to remember if he had even heard of it before soon he shook his head with a clueless face.
"Nope, never heard of them"
At his words, Robin sighed.
"They are enormous stone blocks that have recorded in them the history of this world... I've wanted to see them since I was a child. However, since most of them are hidden in the most secret places of the world, I've never had the chance to see one myself..."
Hearing her, Farid raised an eyebrow in interest.
"... And I assume Crocodile knew where one of them was, right?"
However, contrary to his expectations, Robin shook her head and sighed disappointedly.
"He only knew what I already knew. That one of them was here in Arabasta, and that it was probably somewhere in the royal castle"
Tilting her head, Robin suddenly looked at Farid with an intense gaze as if wanting to say something.
"... But since he was a pretty strong ally, he was going to be really helpful to discover where the Poneglyph was... Though, that is no longer possible"
After saying that, Robin squinted her eyes at Farid, which made the latter furrow his eyebrows and get taken aback.
"W-why are you looking at me like that? He got what he had coming!"
"Fufufu, I know"
Giggling as if finding his reaction funny, Robin sighed, before she then smiled and looked at Farid with an amiable look in her eyes.
"Then, what do you think?"
Hearing her, Farid raised an eyebrow in confusion, before he asked Robin with a doubtful tone.
"And... that's your wish...?"
After that, Robin leaned her head once more on her palm, before soon she giggled and answered Farid with a smile on her face.
"I like history"
"What a strange woman you are"
Scratching the back of his head with an annoyed expression on his face, Farid looked at Robin with an impassive expression on his face, before he then shrugged his shoulders and he spoke to her with a casual tone.
"As I've told you three times already, I'm currently on vacation. So I don't need to hire anyone currently. So, sorry if you thought I would accept you as you expected, but I won't"
However, as if not affected by his denial, Robin's face didn't change in the slightest, and instead, her smile soon grew deeper before she spoke once again to Farid with an unfaltering tone.
"You are a bounty hunter, right? I'm sure you would love to have the locations of several pirates with high bounties"
"...?"
"And coincidentally, as the right hand of Crocodile for so many years, I also have the access to the several profiles and locations of pirates that Baroque works planned to capture..."
"..."
"I also have high proficiency in undercover work, information about several islands all around the world, and I myself have worked as a pirate before. So I know a lot about how pirates work..."
"..."
"And... I have information about where Crocodile's savings are"
"Hmm... You are quite a persuasive woman"
Massaging his mandible with a complicated expression, Farid looked through the window as his thoughts continued to run before soon he sighed and looked at Robin with squinted eyes.
'Well, I'm not really getting a bad feeling from her... And her skills coupled with how good Altair is at gathering information will surely be helpful when I go back to capturing pirates...'
Turning his head away from Robin as a grin appeared on his face, Farid let out a silent laugh, before soon a greedy look appeared on his face.
'... That, and the fact that she knows where Crocodile's savings are. As the owner of a Casino, and leader of a bounty hunter organization... Surely he has a lot of money saved, right?'
Squinting his eyes as a realization passed by his mind, Farid stood up from the chair and walked towards the couch several meters away, where he had left the cow mask and the black robes, before soon he started musing silently as he glanced at the clothes that he had used to hide his identity.
'It worked before... Surely it won't be that hard to get the king to tell me where that Poneglyph is without getting my identity revealed...'
Smiling confidently, Farid turned to look back at Robin, who was looking at him with a smile on her face, and raised an eyebrow seeing that she seemed confident that he would accept.
'What a cunning woman'
Shaking his head to disperse his thoughts, Farid went back to his chair, before soon he spoke to Robin with squinted eyes.
"Alright, you win. However, I will take my vacation first, and then I will help you with that wish of yours. What do you think?"
"Fine by me"
Nodding her head, Robin soon started drinking tea with a satisfied expression on her face, as Farid started doing the same thing while imagining just how much money Crocodile would have saved.
Like that, minutes passed without each of them saying anything. Simply drinking the tea and each other's company in silence.
That, of course, until Farid looked at Robin with a dissatisfied expression and spoke to her with a suspicious tone.
"Surely, you are not planning on staying here. Right?"
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-To be Continued-
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