Chapter 121: Robin Changes Sides

As his anger dissipated, Crocodile returned to his usual state: silent, cold, and imposing without effort.

There are no wrong nicknames, only misnamed people. Crocodile had always lived up to his "Desert King" moniker—cold-blooded, ferocious, and accustomed to patience. Having thoroughly assessed the current situation, he suppressed his unwillingness and abandoned the tempting prey, submerging his raised crocodile head back beneath the calm surface of the water.

This was not a surrender, but rather a decision to stake everything on the next strike.

"Robin."

Crocodile cast a frigid gaze at Robin, who stood beside him. His tone was flat yet filled with an intangible, crushing pressure. "The next phase requires your intervention."

"Gain that hypocrite's trust and find the location of the Poneglyph for me!"

Robin nodded without hesitation; this was a contingency they had already discussed. The Poneglyph concerning the location of the ancient weapon Pluton was a treasure guarded by the royal family of Alabasta for generations, and only the current ruler, King Cobra, knew its exact whereabouts.

According to Crocodile's original plan, he intended to incite a massive uprising in Alabasta, seize control of the capital, Alubarna, amidst the chaos, and then employ brutal methods—torture and coercion—to extract the location of the Poneglyph from Cobra.

However, since someone was now obstructing his plan to usurp the kingdom, Crocodile was forced to resort to a roundabout method: he would dispatch Robin to feign a defection to Galen’s side, then use the connection between this other usurper and the Alabasta royal family to uncover the secret. After all, the value of Nico Robin, the archaeologist, was known to the world; Crocodile did not believe that a self-righteous thief could resist the temptation of an ancient weapon like Pluton.

"However..." Crocodile stared deeply at Robin, making no effort to mask the cold, lethal intent in his voice. "Once you are under Galen’s command, you must report to me regularly."

"Otherwise... I will make sure you die a miserable death."

"Understood."

Robin returned a cryptic, formulaic smile and turned to leave the office.

Watching her retreating figure, Crocodile felt a surge of anxiety. Robin changed bosses as often as she changed clothes; betraying "allies" was simply a daily routine for her. If she were to truly defect and align herself with Galen, all Crocodile could do was retaliate with raw force. He had never fully trusted her, yet he was now forced to pin his hopes of finding the ancient weapon on this woman he could not fathom. Such a volatile situation left him deeply unsettled.

However, what bothered him even more was something he had witnessed at the docks a few days prior.

To be precise, it was the scene of Galen battling pirates that day.

"That Galen... he doesn't seem as strong as I imagined," Crocodile muttered to himself while sitting on the sofa. "But I witnessed his fight with Mihawk with my own eyes; that couldn't have been a lie."

"Could it be..." Crocodile frowned, a likely possibility occurring to him. "Is this fellow intentionally feigning weakness in front of me, hoping to lure me into being overconfident and reckless again, so he can strike me down?"

"How truly unfathomable..."

***

"You want to switch sides?" Galen looked at Miss All Sunday with genuine surprise.

"That is correct." Robin gently smoothed the brim of her wide hat, an alluring, subtle smile gracing her features. Every movement she made was steeped in a mysterious and elegant grace. The mature Robin knew how to command attention; her every expression carried an enticing charm. She didn't need to be as bold as Nami, who wore lingerie as outerwear; with just a few subtle gestures, Robin captured Galen’s appreciative gaze.

Before Galen could respond, Nami rushed to block his path. "I refuse."

Princess Vivi, who had been avoiding Nami due to an unspeakable, embarrassing secret, stood firmly by her friend's side without hesitation. "Me too."

As if to add weight to her argument, Vivi added with a flushed face, "She’s the second-in-command of Baroque Works! She is definitely not a good person!"

Faced with such fierce opposition, Robin tilted her head slightly to glance at the two young women. Nami and Vivi immediately puffed out their chests, glaring back in solidarity. Unfortunately, Robin ignored them entirely, as if they were nothing but air, and turned her focus back to the true decision-maker: Galen.

Nami and Vivi were left fuming.

Robin looked straight at Galen and said in a calm voice, "If I am to defect to your side, I will naturally provide evidence of my sincerity that you can accept."

She glanced at the "bystanders" nearby, signaling clearly. "I would like to discuss this with you in private."

"You!" Nami’s eyes widened as she pointed at Robin. "What kind of 'sincerity' do you have that we can't see?"

Robin said nothing, merely watching as Nami and Vivi worked themselves into a frenzy.

"Ahem..." Galen pulled Nami back just as she was about to confront Robin. He said with a straight face, "This is a matter of business. Let me go talk to her."

Nami’s flushed cheeks puffed out even further, but after a moment of hesitation, she chose to comply and retreated with Vivi. However, once outside, Nami made a point of leaving the door wide open and shot Robin one last "ferocious" glare before leaving.

"How interesting," Robin murmured, shaking her head. She had no interest in getting involved in the romantic entanglements of these two young girls. For Robin, simply surviving was exhausting enough; she had no time to waste on such trivialities.

Then—a hand sprouted from behind the door, slamming it shut in front of Nami and locking it tight. Even through the wood, Galen could hear the heavy, indignant huffing of the girl outside.

"There," Robin smiled slightly. "Now we can talk properly."

"Say what you have to say, don't waste time." Galen looked at her coldly, his tone so serious that Robin was taken aback. In her impression, Galen had never possessed such an imposing, warlord-like demeanor.

Then, Galen added with complete sincerity:

"If this takes too long, it’ll be hard for me to explain to them."