Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 35: A hand grabs Nico Robin by the throat!

Nico Robin, perched on the tree trunk, was slightly surprised upon hearing this. She straightened her back slightly to appear more dignified, and with a womanly gesture, pinched her chin, saying in a slightly questioning tone, "I've met quite a few bounty hunters, but I've never seen anyone as professional as you before. It's strange that you could identify me just by my voice. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Never seen it before," Bane said, picking up another piece of roast meat from the table and eating it.

At this moment, some of Bane's bounty hunter underlings began to spread outwards, surrounding Nico Robin in the tree and forming an encirclement.

Zoro also stood up from the wooden stump, one hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.

It was obvious that the highly alert Zoro had noticed something amiss in the group. Several of the bounty hunter henchmen, judging from their positioning and demeanor, didn't seem to be on their side.

Nami seemed to have noticed the problem as well, and consciously moved closer to Zoro's side. She was experienced in this now; when Bane made his move, Zoro usually acted as her bodyguard.

Bane was not at all surprised that there were bad people among the crowd.

These people were all brought out by him from Whiskey Peak, which was an important base of the Baroque Works. Among these hundreds of people, at least several dozen were members of the Baroque Works.

It was precisely for this reason that Nico Robin was able to find him so easily and sneak into the small garden without anyone noticing, emerging from the tree trunk behind him in this somewhat eerie way.

After responding with "never seen it," Bane continued eating his barbecue without saying anything more.

Nico Robin waited for a long time, only to find that the guy hadn't followed up at all, leaving her stuck in the tree in a rather awkward situation.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly silent and awkward, Bane suddenly snapped the bone in his mouth. In that instant, his gaze sharpened like that of a hawk, fixed on the distant mountain peak opposite him. There, the dense forest stretched as far as the eye could see, a lush expanse of green, where one could occasionally spot the silhouettes of enormous dinosaurs moving and darting about.

At the same moment that Bane's gaze turned in that direction, Nico Robin's true form sat on a thick branch covered with vines on an ancient tree in the dense forest, her gaze seemingly meeting Bane's at that instant.

The Flower-Flower Fruit's power allows the user to freely grow parts of their body or other parts within their field of vision!

From the very beginning, Bane completely ignored Nico Robin behind him, because he was absolutely certain that it was just a fake form created by his powers and had no significance.

So he pretended nothing was wrong, eating his barbecue while using his Observation Haki to search carefully.

To be honest, his Observation Haki is really bad; he's only just started learning it. Any skilled expert present would be able to tell what he's doing.

Fortunately, among the rotten sweet potatoes and stinky bird eggs he brought, only Zoro knew a little about Observation Haki. Nico Robin, although experienced, was not very strong. Although she had heard of Haki, she did not understand it. She thought Bane was just pretending to be a ghost and never expected him to be using Observation Haki!

When Bane and Robin's gazes met across the valley, across such a great distance, Bane smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Nico Robin."

Nicole Robin, perched on a tree trunk behind him, naturally understood that she had been exposed. However, despite the distance, she remained completely calm and confident, replying, "It seems our first meeting may not have been timed perfectly. In that case, please allow me to visit again another time."

She was clever; she deliberately made her entrance in this way to create a mysterious, eerie, or powerful image, hoping to use it as a basis for communicating with someone like Bane. However, her tricks didn't work at all. After this brief encounter, Nico Robin judged that Bane was dangerous, so clearly, this wasn't a good time to communicate. She'd wait for another time.

She decisively chose to end the meeting and prepared to quickly take a boat out to sea via the inland river below the other side of the valley. Given the situation on Bane's side, there was no way he could catch up with her.

After all, the two inland rivers have different outlets to the sea, and now a werewolf has been found in Bane's team. If the team is not thoroughly investigated, who would dare to go out to sea to hunt them down?

If the ship is sunk by an insider on the way, who can withstand the consequences?

The plan was good, and her actions and judgment were swift and decisive. However, Nico Robin ultimately failed to take into account Bane's Dark-Dark Fruit ability, or rather, she did not have any information about the Dark-Dark Fruit!

As a user of superpowers, once she was exposed to Bane, she was destined to have no way to escape!

"Hahahaha, how could it not be wonderful!?" Bane laughed loudly, and as he stood up, billowing black smoke rose from his back, making him look exceptionally domineering, especially considering his tall, strong, and burly physique.

"If I let my guests leave disappointed, people will think I'm impolite. Since you're here, come and sit down properly in front of me!" Bane said, extending his hand towards the direction where Nico Robin's true form was.

At the very moment he reached out, Robin felt a sudden sense of dread, as if he had encountered a natural enemy.

This feeling made her very uncomfortable, and she immediately stopped talking. She instantly released her powers, jumped down from the tree trunk, and prepared to jump onto the boat and run away.

As she fell from the tree, she suddenly felt a pulling force in mid-air. This strange force was so sudden that Robin tumbled halfway through the air. Before she could even react, her body was pulled by this force and flew out of the valley.

Meanwhile, in the camp, Bane unleashed dark elements from his hands, covering the ground and air within a ten-meter radius around him. These dark elements swirled and circulated within the environment like flowing smoke, radiating an inexplicable aura of power.

Visibly, guided by the darkness, Nico Robin's figure was pulled from the other side of the valley. She struggled in the air several times, but found it was of no use, and her eyes showed some surprise and fear.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

But as a contestant who had been navigating this man-eating sea since she was eight years old, she quickly adjusted her mindset after realizing she couldn't escape this force. She suppressed the fear in her eyes and her expression returned to calm and composed.

After a few breaths, in the camp, Bane grabbed Nico Robin's fair, wheat-colored neck with one hand and lifted her high into the air, then said, "Your strength seems unworthy of this bounty of 79 million Berries, Devil Child Nico Robin."

Nico Robin didn't struggle much; she simply held onto Bane's strong arms to make herself a little more comfortable. She could also feel that although Bane had her neck in his hand, he didn't intend to strangle her.

So much so that she can now respond with ease.

"Your strength and cunning nature are somewhat beyond my expectations," Robin said softly.

She had seen a picture of Bane. In the picture, Bane was rather rugged, with a burly physique, a tough face, and a bright smile, giving the impression that he was not scheming and had a straightforward personality.

Such people are generally reckless and impulsive; they believe they can solve everything with their own strength. Over the years, Nicole Robin has seen and manipulated far too many of these people.

It was precisely this mindset that made her somewhat arrogant, and this arrogance led to her now being choked by Bane.

A new month has begun! I'm asking for your monthly votes, recommendations, and support for my new book. Before it goes on sale, I promise to consistently update two chapters a day, around 5,000 words. My editor originally wanted 4,000 words, but I secretly added a little more, haha. I'll try my best to update more for everyone. After it goes on sale, I'll be updating more frequently. Thank you all for your support, and I'm still asking for more support!

(End of this chapter)