Chapter 334: The Eavesdropper
Robin’s knowledge about the Poneglyphs was very limited. Although her years of wandering had brought her into contact with much of the underworld, allowing her to learn some information about the Poneglyphs, most of it was vague and unclear. In her understanding, she only knew that among all those Poneglyph stone tablets, only one recorded the true history. That was the one Robin had been searching for all along.
So when she learned that Poneglyph stone tablets had so many different classifications, she looked quite surprised.
However, she also had her doubts. After listening, she couldn’t help but ask Ian, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Consider it a kind of exchange,” Ian thought for a moment and gave this answer. “Because next, I’ll need to rely on your abilities for something.”
“…” Robin fell silent for a while, then suddenly asked, “Did you come to Alabasta for the Poneglyph too?”
Forget Crocodile, even Robin now suspected that Ian had traveled all this way to Alabasta for the Poneglyph hidden there. It couldn’t be helped—who else would meet Robin and immediately start rambling on about all that Poneglyph intelligence? Besides, she really couldn’t think of anything else in the Kingdom of Alabasta that could attract two Warlords of the Sea to appear here one after another.
Crocodile had tasked Robin with finding out Ian’s true purpose. So, driven by suspicion, Robin directly asked this question.
From her question, Ian could tell that her wariness toward him hadn’t fully subsided. But he sensed that Robin’s caution had shifted. If at first she was on guard because of her true identity, now her wariness was directed at the Poneglyphs.
Robin might think Ian was another ambitious man like Crocodile…
Realizing this, Ian couldn’t help but silently sigh to himself. This woman, Robin, was indeed hard to deal with. The fact that she had survived all these years was no accident. She was far too clever.
But she had completely misunderstood… Ian smiled slightly and shook his head. “It’s true that there’s a Poneglyph in Alabasta, but I didn’t come for it!”
Then, without any further hesitation, Ian directly pulled out the rubbing of the Poneglyph and slapped it down on the bar counter. “I came to find you because I want you to help me translate this inscription!”
The ancient script was so familiar to Robin that she recognized it at first glance. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “This… this is also a Poneglyph!?”
“That’s right,” Ian nodded. “I found a Poneglyph stone tablet and made a rubbing of the text on it.”
Robin’s usually calm expression finally changed, becoming extremely excited. She abruptly straightened up, stood in front of Ian, and began carefully examining the text on the rubbing.
Seeing her actions, Ian didn’t disturb her. He smiled, picked up his glass, and started drinking, letting Robin look to her heart’s content.
However, since Robin was standing right beside him while she examined it, Ian couldn’t see her face. As a result, he didn’t notice that when Robin began deciphering the inscription on the rubbing, her pupils started to contract as she read on.
It was a sign of extreme shock and surprise… but her facial expression remained completely unchanged…
After a long while, when it seemed Robin had finished deciphering, Ian turned his head and asked her curiously, “Did you figure it out?”
“…” Robin glanced at Ian and slowly nodded.
“Alright then, please tell me, what does this inscription record?” Ian asked.
“Is the exchange you mentioned earlier about this?” Robin asked him.
Ian nodded. Of course, that was why he had come.
However, to Ian’s surprise, Robin didn’t answer him immediately. Instead, she sat back down on the chair, propped her chin on her hand, and stared at Ian intently with her beautiful eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Ian looked down at himself in confusion, but found nothing unusual.
Robin shook her head. “No, I’m actually hesitating about whether to tell you the content of the rubbing…”
“Is there something wrong with the content?” Ian pressed.
Robin suddenly broke into a smile and said to Ian, “Because this Poneglyph rubbing tells about intelligence regarding an Ancient Weapon—the Ancient Weapon Pluton…”
Having said that, Robin stopped abruptly.
“Huh!?” Ian frowned. “Ancient Weapon? Pluton!?”
That couldn’t be right! In Ian’s memory, the Poneglyph stone tablet hidden by the Alabasta royal family was the one that recorded intelligence about Pluton, wasn’t it? And Ian also remembered that Pluton was a warship, and Franky in Water 7 still had the design plans for it. No matter how he thought about it, Ian felt that his rubbing couldn’t possibly be about Pluton.
After all, the Poneglyph Ian had discovered was found on the Barron Gray Terminal in Skypiea. How could a Poneglyph preserved on a sky island contain intelligence about a warship sailing on the sea?
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t add up!
Ian looked at Robin with a puzzled expression, only to catch a hint of mockery flickering in the depths of her beautiful eyes. This made Ian pause for a moment.
Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly noticed Robin’s left wrist, which was propping up her chin.
Robin’s skin was very smooth and delicate, and the lines of that wrist were incredibly beautiful. But what caught Ian’s attention wasn’t her fair skin—it was something she was wearing on the lower part of her wrist!
Although part of it was hidden by her sleeve, Ian recognized it at a glance: it was a Den Den Mushi wristwatch worn on the wrist!
And the color of the Den Den Mushi on that watch was black…
Ian immediately understood. He reached out abruptly, grabbed Robin’s left wrist, and pulled up her sleeve.
Sure enough, it was a black Den Den Mushi used for eavesdropping!
Black Den Den Mushi were used for eavesdropping and couldn’t make calls, but Ian knew very well that on the other end of this black Den Den Mushi, there should be a receiver, transmitting his earlier conversation with Robin back in full.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the eavesdropper was Sand Crocodile Crocodile!
Ian wasn’t at all surprised that Robin had come to see him carrying a black Den Den Mushi. He figured it out in an instant: Crocodile never trusted anyone. Although Robin was nominally his second-in-command and partner, he had never trusted her either. So eavesdropping on their conversation was only to be expected.
But what puzzled Ian was why Robin had said that earlier.
Combined with that hint of mockery in Robin’s eyes just now, Ian suddenly had a vague understanding.
He stood up, towering over Robin, still holding her wrist with the black Den Den Mushi in his left hand. With his right hand, he reached out and gently lifted her chin, smiling. “Beautiful lady, you’ve got some nerve, huh?”
Robin smiled slightly. “I’m just telling the truth.”
Ian squinted. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?”
Robin’s smile grew even brighter. She said, “You’re a Warlord, but don’t forget, my boss is also a Warlord!”
“Hahahaha!” Ian burst into laughter. Raising Robin’s left wrist, he spoke into the black Den Den Mushi, “Crocodile, it’s you, isn’t it? Using eavesdropping tactics—are you really that cowardly?”
Black Den Den Mushi couldn’t communicate both ways, but Crocodile could hear what Ian said. After Ian finished speaking, a strange sound came from the direction of the tavern door.
Ian turned his head and looked toward the tavern entrance. The wooden door was gradually turning yellow, and then quickly turned into a pile of sand that fell rustling to the ground.
The tavern door had vanished. A tall figure in a coat, chewing on a cigar, appeared at the entrance.
“Kid, didn’t anyone tell you to show some respect to a senior Warlord?”