One Piece: Nico Robin Collection

Chapter 137 Shocked Retreat
The climate in the Devil's Triangle is very peculiar.

Although it is often shrouded in darkness, the climate here is said to remain largely unchanged, unlike other sea areas where there are frequent storms and torrential rains.

The gloomy fog, though unsettling, is still better than deadly, harsh weather.

Caesar thought this might be because of Moria's terrifying three-masted ship.

The ship itself is an island, and in the Grand Line, only islands can stabilize the climate of a region, regardless of whether the island is within the shipping route.

"That's strange..."

A day passed quietly.

Yamato, Bonney, and Ace were scattered across the deck, looking around.

The lookout in the watchtower crushed his binoculars but still couldn't find the giant sailing ship Caesar had described.

"Where exactly is that three-masted sailing ship?"

Yamato scratched his head, sounding troubled.

She didn't think Caesar would lie to her, after all, during their time at sea, all the stories Caesar had told her in the past had come true.

So this terrifying three-masted ship must also be real, but it's hard to say where it is.

Aside from Nami, who is a coward, Bonney was quite interested in the zombies, ghosts, and skeletons that Caesar mentioned. Although she was also scared, she wasn't as cowardly as Nami.

Therefore, everyone put in their best efforts to find that terrifying three-masted ship.

Strangely, this so-called Devil's Triangle area is actually not very large, only about two hundred nautical miles across, but the group searched the surrounding waters but couldn't find a trace of it.

"Well... if we really can't find it, then there's nothing we can do."

Caesar leaned back in his chaise lounge, speaking in a leisurely tone.

I must say, in this gloomy and quiet environment, drinking a cup of black tea and reading a newspaper is actually quite pleasant.

Could it be the effect of the Vampire Fruit awakening?
"You can't even find Caesar?"

Yamato quickly ran to Caesar's side.

Nowadays, she no longer wears those unattractive kimonos that were also considered too revealing. Instead, she wears modern clothes and has all the styles that other women have. However, she wears black long dresses the most, because she thinks they make a good match for Caesar.

For example, today I'm wearing a white mid-sleeve shirt paired with a black lace long skirt. The lace on the black long skirt is wrapped around several times, making it look understated yet glamorous. I'm wearing a pair of black high heels under the long skirt.

This outfit was styled for her by Nami, which added a touch of intellectual gentleness to her otherwise heroic face.

Of course, at its core, it's still that demon girl who starts with Thunderous Eight Trigrams; her combat power remains completely unchanged.

"Of course I can find it, but if you can't even find the place, then there's no point in all this trouble."

Caesar waved his hand gently, then glanced at Nami, who was pretending to be calm but whose face was full of guilt, with a half-smile.

His current Observation Haki covers a radius of fifty nautical miles, enough to easily cover most of the Devil's Triangle, so he naturally knows the location of the Devil's Three-Masted Sail.

As for Yamato and Kuma, both of them have decent Observation Haki, but they are not at the level where they can accurately detect each other from dozens of nautical miles away, nor can they concentrate their Observation Haki in a certain direction like Caesar to increase the detection range.

Aside from Caesar, the only one on the ship who could easily detect the movements of the Devil's Three-Masted Ship was Nami, whose Observation Haki was greatly amplified by the electric field.

Of course, Nami couldn't tell Yamato and the others...

Seeing Yamato's expectant look, the girl lowered her head guiltily and buried her face in the fashion magazine.

"That is indeed very strange."

Robin stroked his chin thoughtfully: "This area of ​​the sea is not large, and it is a target the size of an island. Even if it is covered by fog, it should not be this difficult to find."

"Unless...they noticed us a long time ago and have been avoiding us."

Luo, holding the knife, said calmly.

Robin nodded: "That's what I think too."

As soon as the words were spoken, thirty nautical miles away, on a Thriller Bark, a pink-haired loli was suddenly startled.

"How's it going? Have those guys left yet?"

Inside the room, a round-figured man with slender legs and a sinister appearance asked urgently.

"not yet…"

The pink-haired loli was on the verge of tears: "Why are these guys so idle? Are their supplies okay? How's Lord Moria doing?"

"Lord Moria is sleeping..."

The door suddenly opened, and a blond man wearing a black trench coat, a round hat, and a lion's mouth sewn onto his face walked into the room, speaking with a beast-like guttural voice.

The three were Moria's three oddballs.

Ghost Perona, the Ghost Fruit user; Surgeon Hogback; and Absalom, the Invisibility Fruit user.

"Seriously, shouldn't we inform Lord Moria?"

"Absolutely not!" ×2
Perona and Hogback crossed their arms in unison and rejected Absalom's proposal without hesitation.

"That's a criminal with a bounty of 2.8 billion, the guy who fought to a draw with Kaido, one of the Four Emperors!"

Hogback, sweating profusely, raised his index finger to signal Absalom to be quiet, but unconsciously raised his own voice.

"Moreover, he has several troublesome subordinates, especially that Fire Fist Ace. That guy is a Flame-Flame Fruit user. No matter how many zombies come, they won't be enough to burn him!"

"Even though your voice is the loudest..."

"Alas--"

Hogback quickly covered his mouth.

"That guy is Kaido's son-in-law."

Perona bit her finger, her face grim: "If Lord Moria finds out, he'll definitely rush at me without hesitation. After all, Lord Moria was defeated by Kaido back then."

"The problem is that those guys are constantly looking for us, and my ghost is following them. But hiding like this isn't a solution. Seriously, do we really have no chance? My abilities have never failed me! Is it possible that those guys aren't actually that strong?"

"Absolutely impossible!!!" ×2
Absalom and Hogback both shook their heads in unison.

Unlike Perona, a reclusive girl raised by Moria, both men have at least a basic understanding of the sea and various forces.

But while they knew Caesar was strong, they didn't understand why.

"To prevent you from acting impulsively, let me explain it more clearly."

Hogback Khan said with a sigh, "Nowadays, apart from the World Government, the Navy is undoubtedly the strongest violent institution on this sea. If the Navy is the actual controller of the first half of the Grand Line, then the Four Emperors are the absolute rulers of the second half of the New World."

"Under normal circumstances, the Navy will not easily intrude into the territory of the Four Emperors, and the Four Emperors will never easily leave the New World, but Caesar is an exception."

"Since he entered the Grand Line, the Navy has never launched a campaign against him or tried to suppress or encircle him. At least, it has never been reported in the newspapers. This means that either the Navy is afraid to start a war with him easily, or the two sides have fought but the Navy has lost." "That guy even set up his base in Paradise. Although it is on a sky island, this is something that no Yonko has ever done, and it has greatly affected the Navy's dominance over the first half of the Grand Line."

"Logically speaking, the Navy should never allow such a humiliating act to happen, but he did it anyway, and the Navy has not reacted at all so far."

"Then it just means the navy is useless, right?"

Perona was somewhat skeptical. She was very confident in the power of the Ghost-Ghost Fruit, believing that no one in the world could withstand the negative effects of ghosts!
Although she was initially intimidated by the high bounty offered by Hogback's crew after they brought news of it, she was still very confident in her abilities, having never been exposed to the Haki cultivation system.

"Hmm...that's not entirely unreasonable."

Absalom rubbed his chin and hesitated.

"Eh? Is that so?"

Hogback felt uneasy, but after hearing what the two said, he was unsure of what to do.

After all, he was just a surgeon, a complete weakling in combat. Any zombie on that Thriller Bark could easily defeat him.

If we're really talking about combat strength, these two are the ones responsible for fighting.

Furthermore, both of their abilities are quite bizarre. Whether it's Perona's Negative Ghost or Absalom's Invisibility, they both have unexpected effects in combat.

According to their usual routine, Absalom would first gather intelligence, then Perona would use the Negative Ghost's ability to defeat the opponent, and finally Lord Moria would cut off the opponent's shadow and use the shadow to fight against the real person.

This process has been virtually infallible and has never failed so far.

As for the navy…

Is the navy useless?
It seems pretty useless...

"Hah ho ho ho~ Could it be that you're too scared and are just scareing yourself here?"

Seeing Hogback's hesitant expression, Perona covered her mouth and laughed, looking like an arrogant little devil.

"That's right. Lord Moria is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Although his bounty sounds terrifying, the bounty is revoked once a Warlord is appointed. Before becoming a Warlord, Lord Moria already had a bounty of 320 million Berries! On this sea now, that's not much less than the Four Emperors, is it?"

"That's right. Not to mention my ability to become invisible, those guys definitely can't withstand my sniper shots!"

Absalom had little respect for those so-called sea warriors.

The first person to follow Moria on the ship was Perona, then Hogback, and finally him.

The three of them have spent most of their time in the Devil's Triangle area since they came to the Grand Line from the West Blue.

In addition, Moria's spirit had declined, and he had spent the last few years eating and sleeping. He had lost even the most basic physical training, let alone Haki. This meant that the three people on the ship had never even heard of the existence of Haki.

As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and as the two weaklings chatted, they inexplicably developed an invincible belief.

At least in their understanding, neither ghosts nor invisibility are abilities that can be effectively countered.

Therefore, no matter how strong Caesar and his men are, they shouldn't pose a threat to them.

"Since you're so confident, why don't you wake Lord Moria up and ask him..."

Seeing the two of them chatting away to boost his confidence, Hogback hesitated.

"Lord Moria~ Lord Moria!"

Soon, the three arrived at the main building of the castle. Perona grabbed Moria by the ear and woke him up. The giant onion head slowly opened his sleepy eyes.

"Ok?"

Seeing his three subordinates gathered in his room, Moria paused for a moment, then grinned and said, "Hehehe... What's the occasion? Why are you all gathered together?"

"Lord Moriah, listen to me! Caesar's crew is currently in the Devil's Triangle, not far from us..."

Perona, in her ghost form, floated in mid-air, chattering away.

"Caesar?"

Moria's expression suddenly changed: "King Caesar?! That guy's here?"

“Um… it’s about thirty nautical miles away from us right now,” Perona said awkwardly.

"Caesar... if I remember correctly, that guy is Kaido's son-in-law, so... Kaido's daughter should be on his ship too!"

Moria's eyes widened instantly, bloodshot veins bulging around them, and his sharp teeth chattered, making him look terrifying.

"Damn Kaido...you damned bastards!"

"Lord Moriah, should we...?"

"do not want!"

Moria's gaze swept over the three of them, and his ferocious look sent a chill down their spines.

"Stay away from that guy. He's definitely not someone you can mess with!"

His subordinates were unaware of the existence of the Overbearing Aura, but how could he not know?

Over the years, Moria has been holed up in this godforsaken place, supposedly to create a zombie army. But Moria knows that his initial enthusiasm has long since dissipated. Now, he's just taking these three with him to retire and escape the psychological trauma of his crew being wiped out.

If anything were to happen to these three, he might really go crazy.

Especially Perona, who was the child he raised from a young age, his adopted daughter!
"Remember this! Absolutely, absolutely! Don't mess with that guy!"

Seemingly worried that the three might not know their own strength, Moria, panting heavily, warned them with red eyes.

"Got it!" ×3
The three of them nodded obediently.

“However, Lord Moria… there is still one problem.”

"what happened?"

Hogback wiped his sweat: "Um... Caesar's crew seems to be looking for us; they've been searching the Devil's Triangle all day."

“What—?!”

Moria's eyes widened in horror, his mouth agape. "How did that guy know we were here? No, it's Observation Haki! Let's go! We have to get out of here!"

“But Lord Moria, if we leave here, those guys on the island who provide shadows for the zombies will probably be sunburned to death.”

Perona was somewhat worried. As Moria's adopted daughter, she was still quite kind-hearted. Although she had no qualms about stealing shadows, she had never committed murder before.

"Then cede the West Tower and send a zombie to tell them!"

Moria struggled to his feet and hurried toward the castle gates.

"Then... Lord Moria, where are we going?"

"Naval Headquarters! Damn Caesar! Just you wait!"

(End of this chapter)