One Piece: With Sign-in System

"When… when did this happen…?

Wait, he knows my identity?

He came to capture me!"

As these thoughts rushed through Nico Robin's mind, a chilling sense of dread suddenly rose from her chest.

"Don't be nervous, Nico Robin. I mean you no harm."

The black-haired young man, who seemed so mysterious and inscrutable in her anxious state, turned to look at her.

Under the moonlight, the youthful face of the black-haired boy carried a smile as he gazed at her.

"My name is Ron. I'm just a traveler who has recently entered the Grand Line. I'm not interested in your bounty. I just happen to know a few things about you. You don't need to worry about me handing you over to the Marines."

Robin was momentarily stunned at his words.

"You're not here to capture... me?"

"Of course not."

"Then are you here to threaten Crocodile? That would be impossible. Our Captain would never compromise over the lives of his subordinates."

Nico Robin slowly regained her composure.

"No."

"Then why are you trying to capture me? If it's neither to hand me over to the Marines nor to threaten Crocodile, what's in it for you to capture me?"

Robin was genuinely confused.

Standing beside her, Ron held his Raikiri sword in one hand and a large, endless wine gourd in the other. After taking a large gulp of alcohol, he smiled at Robin.

"What if... I captured you because I want you to be my partner?"

Nico Robin froze at his words.

"...Huh?"

She was about to say something when suddenly—

The ground trembled.

The disturbance came from the desert outside the city.

"Yayo yayo, what a persistent guy. Let me take care of that first, then I'll talk to you later."

Ron spoke casually, releasing his hold on the wine gourd, letting it sink into the void.

With a stomp of his foot, the ground collapsed beneath him, and a violent gust of wind blew Robin's hair wildly. In an instant, Ron's figure shot toward the desert outside the city like an arrow from a bow, moving at an incredibly terrifying speed.

"What immense strength..."

Robin murmured, her gaze following him eastward.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"Could he... really defeat Crocodile?"

With that thought stirring her emotions, she quickly stretched her long legs and ran toward the desert.

When Robin exited Rainbase, she immediately spotted Ron in a white short-sleeve hoodie, holding his sword with one hand, standing alone in the desert.

On the opposite side of him, Crocodile, who had been struck by Ron's powerful attack and was now slightly crazed, unleashed the full extent of his Devil Fruit powers, summoning a massive sandstorm.

The dry, desolate yellow sand rapidly swirled, forming an insanely violent tornado, heading straight for Ron.

It was like a giant crocodile, eager to devour everything in its path.

Even though Robin was far away, the exposed skin on her body was still stung by the fierce winds carrying the sand particles.

The destructive power up close, or even a direct hit from this wind, would be unimaginable.

"This is the power of the Logia-type Devil Fruit... When its abilities are pushed to their limit, it's truly... a natural disaster!"

Robin's voice trembled slightly.

The enormous sandstorm in front of her seemed capable of destroying half of Rainbase...

"Can anyone really withstand such destructive power?"

She turned her gaze toward Ron, holding the sword.

Compared to the terrifying tornado, he appeared so small, standing alone in the desert.

Yet when he faced the massive sandstorm, his expression was calm. Slowly, he raised his sword, which shimmered with blue light.

The moonlight, yellow sand, and fierce wind all seemed to calm down in that moment.

Robin, lost in a daze, seemed to see beneath the small figure of Ron, the ground beneath him turning into a tranquil blue sea.

A lake of swirling, expanding blue water quickly spread outward, enveloping an area of hundreds of meters, turning it into a turbulent lake.

Behind the sandstorm, both Crocodile and Robin stood on top of this massive, rolling lake.

The sky was filled with clouds, and the lake's surface churned and flipped.

There was no wind in the air, and all that could be heard was the sound of the water swirling.

"What... is this?!"

Crocodile frowned as he looked down at the roiling water beneath him. Hadn't he just been in the desert?

Why was he here now?

Was it an illusion?

Or... was this the power of his Devil Fruit?

Drip!

A single drop of water fell from the sky, splashing onto the churning lake below.

The center of the lake instantly became still, ripples spreading outward in a perfect circle, and the entire surface became as calm as a mirror.

Heart as still as water.

"This is... Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm"

A calm, youthful voice echoed in Robin and Crocodile's ears.

"Wind."

With those words, everything changed.

The world became still, the wind and clouds lightened.

When Robin snapped back to reality, she saw the massive sandstorm, resembling a natural disaster, hanging in mid-air, before it began to collapse, crumbling into nothing.

Ron, holding his long sword, was now standing behind Crocodile, though she didn't know when he had appeared there.

Swish!

A massive wound suddenly appeared on Crocodile, stretching from his left shoulder to his right waist, as if cut open by an invisible blade, with blood gushing out in torrents.

"Cough!"

Crocodile spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes trembling violently in disbelief.

He... He actually... defeated me?

I, Crocodile, the sand crocodile, lost to... this kid?!

This is a joke...

"You're just like the Thunder Fruit user I fought before, too reliant on your Devil Fruit powers," Ron glanced at him casually. "If all you do is depend solely on your Devil Fruit abilities, no matter how strong they are, you'll never become a true top-tier powerhouse."

"Shut... shut up... I... haven't... lost..." Crocodile gasped weakly.

"No, you already have," Ron replied, letting go of the hilt of his Raikiri sword. The tip of the sword slowly sank into the void beneath him.

He glanced at Crocodile.

"The Devil Fruit is mine now."

With that, he turned and walked past Crocodile, stepping through the sand rain that drifted from the sky, heading toward Rainbase.

"Wait... stand... still..." Crocodile struggled to speak, his consciousness fading from the severe blood loss. His large frame wavered before collapsing sideways, falling into the yellow sand. The last image in his mind, as he lost consciousness, was Ron's figure disappearing into the sand, his back turned, and the name: Traveler, Ron.

When Ron reached Nico Robin, who had still not fully recovered from the shock, she snapped back to reality.

Looking at Ron now, there was a mixture of shock and reverence in her eyes.

Ron smiled at her. "How about we find an inn and talk?"

Robin glanced back at the figure in the desert, who was still unknown if alive or dead.

"Don't worry about him. His subordinates are already on their way here."

Ron, with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, stepped past her.

His next words were light and carefree, but they made Nico Robin's eyes widen in astonishment.

"If your wish is to uncover the true history, then come with me."

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