Monster Hunter of the One Piece World

Wait a second, you're really Nico Robin?!

Sherwin felt a headache coming on...

After all, she was a possibility he had already ruled out early on.

But something didn't add up. From his impression, Nico Robin was clearly a tan-skinned beauty—not someone who got tanned after arriving in Alabasta, but someone who'd already had wheat-colored skin since childhood.

Yet the "Odelia" in front of him had skin so fair it was like she had a whitening filter on. So logically, she couldn't be Nico Robin.

Who would've thought… the real Nico Robin wasn't a tanned beauty at all.

So then, why did I have that impression?

Sherwin strained to recall and finally found the culprit...

The anime misled me!

Sherwin twitched his lips, looking helplessly at Nico Robin, who had already retracted her arms.

He'd mentioned before that he had absolutely no interest in bringing Robin aboard. In fact, if he had to pick someone from the Straw Hat crew, Nico Robin would be the first he'd cross off—this, despite learning over time that she was a talented individual skilled in multiple disciplines.

If she were just a wanted pirate or criminal, Sherwin wouldn't be so opposed. But being a survivor of Ohara made her far too dangerous for the Felynes. He didn't have a bunch of Logia fruits lying around to hand out to the future Felynes.

Yes, Sherwin had thought about helping the Revolutionary Army or giving the World Government a headache or two, but all of that was under the condition that he could do so within his means—and without bringing trouble upon himself or the Felynes.

But Robin identity wouldn't just attract CP agents—it could draw attention from Admiral Aokiji himself…

Sherwin didn't think he was remotely capable of going toe-to-toe with an admiral. Even if he got lucky and Aokiji let them go for now, there'd still be the relentless stream of CP agents to deal with. That kind of "storming Enies Lobby" madness should be left to Luffy, the so-called "Sun God."

Wait a sec... could it be that Uncle Cody went to the Greis trade fair precisely to hunt down Nico Robin?

Sherwin suddenly remembered Cody secret identity. He'd said he was going to the fair because he feared the Buano family threat—but come on, not just the Buano family—even the Capone family would give that guy face. That excuse didn't hold water from the start.

And the reason Uncle Cody CP identity got exposed to the gangs might've been... because Nico Robin leaked it.

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide my abilities." While Sherwin was still deep in mental overdrive, Nico Robin—unaware that her cover had already been blown—continued her little performance.

With a hint of apology in her voice, yet still calmly and logically, she explained, "My identity is rather sensitive, so I couldn't put all my trust in your kindness alone."

"..."

Sherwin kept a straight face, expressionless.

Just earlier he'd been feeling smug about his deduction… If he hadn't already known the Flower-Flower Fruit was eaten by Nico Robin, he'd probably still be in the dark right now.

Yeah, no wonder she managed to stay hidden for so many years while being hunted by so many sides—her acting skills really were top-notch.

"Odelia big sis, you also ate one of those weird, nasty fruits, nya?" Klee Meow was a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten to throw her bomb, but now she was completely distracted by the ability "Odelia" had just shown.

The little plushball excitedly circled around Robin, curiously eyeing her arms. "Klee saw so many of your hands grow out of that bad guy body just now! Can you show Klee again, nya?"

"I wanna see too! I wanna see, nya!"

Sanji Meow view had been blocked by the cabin and Klee Meow just now, so he hadn't seen how Robin took out the pirate. With a cat curiosity, of course he didn't want to miss it again.

"Yes, the Devil Fruit I ate is a Paramecia-type called the Flower-Flower Fruit. It lets parts of my body bloom like flowers anywhere I choose." As she explained, Robin manifested two arms each on Klee Meow and Sanji Meow, gently petting the two cats fur.

Waaah—! So jealous!!!

This fruit was practically made for petting cats! Too bad Robin had already eaten it.

Sherwin looked at the arms on the two cats, feeling a strong sense of regret.

He couldn't help but wonder—if he stabbed a living person directly with a hunting blade, would the Devil Fruit get forced out? Or maybe if he used that "built-in" paralyzing trap from the beginning and "captured" Nico Robin just once?

Sherwin gave Nico Robin a not-so-kind look, scanning her up and down.

"You… do have the right to be angry…" Robin misunderstood the look in Sherwin eyes and, half-seriously and half-playacting, shrank back slightly and continued,

"But this Fruit ability is my trump card for escaping the Capone family. If Klee hadn't been in danger just now, I wouldn't have revealed it."

"…Nico Robin, right?"

Sherwin didn't want to waste energy playing mind games with Nico Robin, so he directly exposed her identity.

Of course, the main reason was that she had indeed revealed her abilities the moment Klee Meow was threatened.

Even though Klee Meow wouldn't have been harmed either way, Sherwin couldn't just pretend nothing had happened.

Plus, because of his fondness for characters from the original story, he naturally didn't mind lending a hand when he could.

After so many years on the run, Nico Robin was extremely cautious. Without some honesty and transparency, there was no way he could offer any meaningful help.

"!!!"

Suddenly having her name called out by Sherwin, Nico Robin froze completely. After spending some time with him, she didn't think she could take him on. The best option right now seemed to be taking Klee Meow and Sanji Meow as hostages, but...

Robin glanced at the wide-eyed, innocent Klee Meow looking up at her. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

In the past, she had used every means to bring down the forces that took her in, but that was because those people weren't good to begin with and never truly welcomed her. But with the pure-hearted Klee Meow and San... err... anyway, she just couldn't do it.

However, as she looked at Klee Meow, she also noticed the backpack on the little plush Felyne back — she had seen with her own eyes how Klee Meow had pulled out one high-powered bomb after another from inside it.

So the arm sprouting from Klee Meow reached swiftly into the backpack...

And Robin pulled out a handful of dried fish snacks.

"Give it up. Klee backpack has identity recognition—only she can pull out what she wants from it."

It was kind of like getting pickpocketed by a Melynx in the game—whatever came out was random.

If it had been another Bomb Felyne, Robin might've had a chance of pulling out a bomb. But the one she reached into belonged to Klee Meow, the luck-maxed, fate-favored little cat. In that case, there was no way she was getting anything useful.

Sherwin words discouraged Robin from trying again. Then he took a few steps back, showing his sincerity, and continued, "I don't plan on turning you in for a bounty. So, can we sit down and talk this through?"

"Mm…" Sherwin glanced around at the pirates lying all over the place. "After we finish dealing with the mess here."

"Yeah yeah! Aunty Ode… I mean, Sister Robin, Big Brother Sherwin is a good person! Klee and Brother Sanji are good kitties too! We won't bully you, meow~"

Maybe it was the honesty in Sherwin voice, or maybe it was the help of the adorable cat sidekicks—in any case, Nico Robin reluctantly let her guard down and helped Sherwin tie up the remaining pirates.

And since Sherwin understood Robin personality well, he didn't bother with any pretense. Together with the two little Felynes, he stuffed all the looted treasure straight into his dimensional pouch.

Even the still-wary Robin couldn't help but glance over at him a few extra times in surprise.

Back on the Explorer One, Sherwin looked at the pirate ship before him, let out a helpless sigh, then drew the famous blade Long Yue. Aiming at the bottom of the ship, he unleashed a Crescent Moon Slash, carving a massive gash straight through the vessel from hull to deck.

"Not bad…"

Sherwin nodded in mild satisfaction.

After all, Zoro could easily slice a sea train in half even before he learned Haki, so cutting a pirate ship wasn't anything to fuss over.

In truth, Sherwin didn't think his current strength surpassed that of the hunters in the inherited memories. But here, in the world of pirates, he could display far greater destructive power—almost as if there were some sort of amplifier effect at play.

If Sherwin intuition was right, it could only be explained by differences in world rules.

"What a shame about that 27 million Berries bounty, though…"

Watching the pirate ship slowly sink beneath the waves, Sherwin smacked his lips in slight regret.

Originally, he had planned to turn in that Skull Hunter and his men for the bounty, but once Nico Robin identity was exposed, he had no choice but to feed them to the fish.

As for chopping off their heads and carrying them to a Marine base to claim the reward… Sherwin found the idea too disturbing.

He wasn't some kind of psycho—lugging around severed heads all day was just weird. And he had zero interest in tossing them into his dimensional pouch alongside his important belongings. As for putting them in the Felynes backpacks...

Klee Meow was out of the question. And Sanji Meow bag was full of ingredients—stuffing heads in there would be even more revolting.

Since he wasn't exactly strapped for cash, Sherwin figured his peace of mind was more important.

He really needed to summon a full-grown Felyne as soon as possible.