The next morning, the rain cleared, and the weather was bright.
“Splash!” Suddenly, a massive splash erupted as Mina’s hundred-meter-tall figure emerged from the calm sea, instantly churning the water into waves.
She held a ten-meter-long giant sea fish in her hand, which struggled desperately, its tail slapping the surface and sending up large sprays of water.
“Hehe, breakfast is sorted!” Mina grinned, carrying the unlucky “breakfast fish,” and reached the cave from last night in a few large strides.
She skillfully prepared the ingredients, built a huge bonfire, skewered the entire fish on a sharpened tree trunk, and began to roast it.
Before long, the rich aroma of meat mixed with the “sizzling” sound of dripping fat began to drift through the air.
Inside the cave, little Robin, curled up asleep by the dying embers, twitched her nose unconsciously.
Her tightly closed eyelids fluttered until she was finally awakened from her slumber by the overwhelming aroma.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and immediately saw the massive figure outside the cave, as well as the giant fish roasting over the fire, now golden and glistening with oil.
“Awake?
Come over and eat!” Mina called out without turning her head, her tone matter-of-fact.
Robin hesitated for a moment, but finally stepped out of the cave cautiously.
Looking at the food, she couldn’t help but swallow, but she still felt a bit shy facing this strange giantess.
Mina tore off a large chunk of tender fish meat and handed it to Robin.
Robin took it timidly, eating in small bites while occasionally stealing glances at Mina.
“If you eat in such small bites, will you be full?” Mina rolled her eyes at her behavior, then grabbed a huge chunk of meat, opened her mouth wide, and took a massive bite, getting grease all over her mouth.
“Watch closely, you have to eat like me to really enjoy it!” Watching Mina’s hearty way of eating, Robin seemed to be influenced, her initial reserve fading quite a bit.
She tried to imitate Mina, opening her mouth wide and taking a big, forceful bite of the fish in her hand.
“Ah!
It’s hot!” The scalding meat instantly burned her delicate tongue, bringing tears to her eyes.
With the meat still in her mouth, she couldn’t spit it out or swallow it, looking utterly aggrieved.
“Pfft…
Hahahaha!” Seeing her adorable, foolish expression, Mina burst into unreserved laughter.
“You idiot!
Why are you eating so fast?
Didn’t you know to blow on it first?” Robin blushed deeply from the laughter, tears welling in her eyes as she stared pitifully at Mina, like a kitten bullied by its owner.
“Um…
are we…
friends?” Robin suddenly gathered her courage, looked up, and stared straight at Mina with her large, slightly anxious eyes, asking in a faint but incredibly earnest voice.
“Of course!” Mina replied casually, continuing to eat her roasted fish.
Upon hearing this answer, Robin’s expectant eyes instantly lit up with unprecedented brilliance.
She froze for a moment, then a radiant, heartfelt smile blossomed on her face, and she laughed happily.
“Then, hello, my name is Nico Robin!” “I know, I’m Mina!” Mina replied just as nonchalantly, quickly finishing the rest of the fish.
By the time Robin snapped out of it, the fish was already gone.
Little Robin was momentarily at a loss, but Mina didn’t care; if you aren’t enthusiastic about eating, there’s something wrong with your mindset.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered something.
She hadn’t yet properly tallied the “spoils of war” she had intercepted from the heavenly tribute fleet.
“Hey, little one,” She said to the bewildered Robin, “Come over and help me count the money, let’s see how much my treasures are worth.” With that, she took Robin to the base of a thirty-meter-tall giant tree deep within the island.
There lay a mountain-like bundle, haphazardly wrapped in a giant ship sail.
Mina ripped open the sail.
The next second, a golden radiance instantly illuminated the entire forest clearing.
Mountains of gold, countless Berries in banknotes, and treasure chests filled with diamonds and jewels poured out like a bursting flood, piling up into a glittering hill on the ground.
Looking at the sight before her—one that would drive anyone mad—Robin’s jaw dropped, her mouth wide enough to fit an egg.
“Whoa!
See that?
It’s all mine!” Mina’s eyes instantly turned into the shape of gold coins, and she hurriedly urged little Robin to start counting.
“Remember to count carefully, if you miss a single coin, you’ll have to pay me back.” Afterward, watching Robin counting seriously, she saw the tempting treasure chests inside and couldn’t resist rummaging through them.
“This chest…
huh, nice, a decent-looking sword!” “This chest…
empty?” “This one…
hmm?
What is this thing?” Mina took out a strange fruit from an exquisite wooden box; it was completely purple and covered in spiral patterns.
This fruit, which seemed as small as a speck of dust in her hand, gave her an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
“These patterns…
I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before…” She stared at the unique spiral markings, and the dusty memories in her mind rippled like a lake when a pebble is thrown into it.
A name suddenly jumped out from the depths of her memory.
Rubber Fruit!
Full name: Zoan-type, Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika!
“Holy crap!
How is this here?” Mina’s eyes went wide.
“Shouldn’t this thing have been taken by Red Hair Shanks and then fed to Luffy?
How did it end up with me?” “Could it be…
that it chose me?” As soon as this thought popped up, she dismissed it herself.
“Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Someone like me, who loves causing trouble, is black-bellied and holds grudges—I have absolutely nothing to do with terms like ‘Sun God’ or ‘Warrior of Liberation’!” “Forget it, forget it, I won’t think about it.” Mina shook her head and tossed the fruit—which was enough to change the fate of the world—casually in her hand.
“Even if it really did choose me, I wouldn’t eat it.
That heavy responsibility is better left for my as-yet-unmet Monkey D.
Luffy to fulfill.” “However…
this thing is a pretty good bargaining chip.
Whether I sell it to the World Government, the Marine, or the Red Hair Pirates, I can get a sky-high price for it.” “Hmm, I won’t think about it anymore.
I’ll deal with it when I meet them later.
I’ll just put it away for now.” Having made up her mind, she casually stuffed the nika fruit into her undergarment, planning to wait until she found a suitable buyer.
An hour later, under the tallying of Robin, the knowledgeable little scholar, the total value of the treasure pile was finally calculated.
“Approximately…
20 billion Berries.” Robin reported a number that would drive any country mad.
“Huh?
So little?” Mina was very dissatisfied after hearing this, her face full of disappointment.
“I thought there’d be more.
It seems the status of those Celestial Dragons wasn’t very high.
This amount of money is probably just the heavenly tribute scraped together by some small country.
What a waste of my excitement.” Listening to her humblebrag, Robin’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
20 billion Berries…
and she thinks it’s little?
“Oh, right,” Robin added, “besides the fruit you took, there are four other Devil Fruit here.” She pointed to several open treasure chests.
“They are: Zoan-type, Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Sparrow; Zoan-type, Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Giraffe; Paramecia-type, Hard-Hard Fruit; and Paramecia-type, Candy-Candy Fruit.” Upon hearing this, Mina let out a cry filled with disdain.
“Why is it all just trash?
I’m so done!” Giraffe?
Sparrow?
What even are these!
However, complain as she might, she still had to spend the money.
“Forget it, this should be enough for me to build a big ship.” Mina repacked the treasure and lifted it with one hand.
“Let’s go, Robin, we’re setting off!
Destination, Water 7!” With that, she grabbed the still-dazed Robin and, very naturally, tucked her into the undergarment of her towering chest, finding a soft and safe “exclusive seat” for her.
Then, the massive figure picked up the bundle and strode toward the seashore.
“This time I’m going to build the most luxurious ship in the world!
If the money isn’t enough, I’ll just go to Sky Island and rob one!” “The heavenly tribute is so dirt poor!
The gold of Sky Island is still the best!” Little Robin, poking her head out from the milky-scented “observation deck,” listened to the bold words ringing in her ears and felt the soft, elastic texture.
Her face flushed red, and she asked softly, “Sky Island?
Isn’t that…
a legendary island?”