# Chapter 32: Same Situation, Different Treatment
Water Seven, near Iceberg's residence.
Bang!
A short but loud gunshot rang out. If Su Xiao were nearby, he would definitely recognize it as the revolver man's gunshot.
The revolver man's gunshot was unique—the sound of rapid-fire shots merging into one had extremely high firearm recognition.
About ten seconds after the gunshot, a golden phantom hammer over ten meters long appeared. This hammer had sharp, angular edges, and it was smashing toward Iceberg's residence, where the revolver man was inside.
Boom!
The hammer's power shook the earth and sky. Iceberg's residence was half-collapsed, and the battle subsided into silence.
Occasional traces of blood could be seen on the battlefield. The revolver man and the Crazy Nurse had already disappeared without a trace.
...
7:29 PM, Water Seven backstreet, Franky Family headquarters.
The building where the Franky Family was located was now shattered and broken. Su Xiao stood on the rubble, but the ruins were empty.
This wasn't his doing—it was already like this when he arrived. Recalling the original storyline, this should have been destroyed by the Straw Hat Pirates.
In the original story, the Straw Hat Pirates were carrying a huge sum of 300 million Berries. Their crew member Usopp had lost 200 million of it, which had been robbed by Franky's underlings. Usopp himself was severely injured, and later the Straw Hat Pirates came to the Franky Family for revenge.
Franky himself wasn't there, so of course his underlings were no match for the Straw Hat Pirates, hence the current scene.
Sitting on a pile of rubble, Su Xiao lit a cigarette.
"Lucci, how long until Franky returns?"
Lucci took out a pocket watch and glanced at it.
"At most ten minutes. According to reports from my subordinates, Franky went to a nearby island this afternoon to purchase Adam Wood. Adam Wood is very rare. Franky will return after ordering the wood; the lumber itself will take a few days to deliver."
Su Xiao exhaled a puff of blue smoke. Franky was no mere backstreet thug—his status in Water Seven was quite prominent.
The lumber used by the Galley-La Company was all sold by Franky. The lumber business in Water Seven was a huge piece of fat, very enviable to many.
Franky's strength was not weak, and all the money he earned was provided to Iceberg, who used it to build Water Seven. Otherwise, the buildings washed away each year by the "Aqua Laguna" would be unbearable for ordinary civilians.
The World Government had vaguely conveyed a message: if possible, don't kill Iceberg, but Franky absolutely must not be killed.
Many people could fill Iceberg's position, but Franky was irreplaceable in Water Seven. Moreover, Franky was the disciple of the legendary shipwright, Tom the Fishman.
If Iceberg inherited Tom's shipbuilding skills, then Franky inherited Tom's weapon-making abilities.
There was no denying that Franky was a genius. The stern cannon of the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hat Pirates' second ship, was actually a simplified version of the ancient weapon Pluton's bow cannon.
Franky didn't understand ancient text; he deciphered Pluton's bow cannon with just a few sketches. Only a genius could do that.
Su Xiao watched the darkening sky, then glanced at Robin beside him. Lucci and the others were standing at a distance.
"Do you really think you can die for the Straw Hat Pirates?"
Su Xiao suddenly spoke, and Robin was startled.
"What?" Robin looked at Su Xiao in surprise.
"I said you're stupid."
This time Robin heard clearly, and her brow furrowed.
"Say what you want. I'm just a prisoner now."
"A prisoner, huh."
Su Xiao chuckled softly and placed his hand on Robin's shoulder. He could clearly feel her body tense up.
"If you're a prisoner, then I can do whatever I want, can't I?"
Robin's expression stiffened, but she quickly calmed down. She sensed something was off. After thinking for a moment, she leaned closer to Su Xiao, almost pressing into his embrace.
Lucci and the others saw this but said nothing.
"What are you trying to say? I feel like you're very different from the CP9 agents."
Robin looked around cautiously. Although Su Xiao had killed someone in front of her before, Robin instinctively felt this was an opportunity.
"Besides knowing ancient text, what else does the World Government covet from you? Don't tell me it's just ancient text. The higher-ups of the Celestial Dragons must know that script—they were the ones who wiped it out."
Robin remained silent. Su Xiao continued:
"Just a day ago, I wasn't part of the World Government."
"Then you are..."
Robin looked at Su Xiao with confusion, her big eyes full of bewilderment.
"The World Government covets my bomb-making technology—the kind you just saw. Don't look at me like that. The Straw Hat Pirates members aren't dead. If they died that easily, they wouldn't have sailed all the way to Water Seven. To be precise, I helped you. If I hadn't thrown those bombs, they might have been killed by Lucci and the others. So you should thank me."
"Uh..." Robin tilted her head to look at Su Xiao. She felt something was off.
"Thank you? Are you joking?"
"Yes, you should thank me."
Su Xiao's mind raced. In this brief conversation, he sensed that Robin might have "Cotard's Syndrome."
So-called "Cotard's Syndrome" is a peculiar mental state. If someone asks you, "Have you ever died?" and your instinctive answer is "Yes," then congratulations—you have Cotard's Syndrome. But don't worry, it's not abnormal; it's just a mental state that disappears once you adjust your mindset.
The biggest characteristic of Cotard's Syndrome is denying that one should be alive. Only those who have had near-death experiences or crave death develop this symptom.
Robin was currently in this state. This symptom also had other characteristics, such as mild persecutory delusions and mild Masochistic Syndrome.
Masochistic Syndrome was quite interesting. So-called Masochistic Syndrome is the "M" in S/M—the submissive party.
Of course, Robin wasn't a true masochist. She simply craved death while simultaneously wanting others to hurt her. Once her Cotard's Syndrome mental state disappeared, the Masochistic Syndrome would also vanish.
Su Xiao had studied psychology before. Robin was currently seeking death with all her heart, unwilling to think about anything else, her intelligence drastically reduced.
To put it in Robin's words: "I'm about to die anyway, why bother thinking about all that?"
The smile on Su Xiao's face grew brighter. Bubu Wang at his feet bristled—he had never seen his owner smile so brightly before.
Bubu Wang glanced at Robin, then rested his chin on his front paws, sighed after inhaling some of Su Xiao's secondhand smoke, and had a feeling that this woman was about to be deceived.
Setting aside Bubu Wang's mental activities, Su Xiao whispered in Robin's ear: "We both have things the World Government covets, so why have you ended up in such a situation?"
Robin lowered her head in thought. After a long moment, her eyes lit up.
"Because... I have weaknesses."
"Yes, you have weaknesses—the Straw Hat Pirates. And let me tell you something: don't be fooled by how respectful those agents are to me now. Once I arrive at Enies Lobby, I'll never be able to leave that place."
Su Xiao was well aware that Lucci and the others' attitude toward him was firstly due to the World Government's orders, and secondly because of his strength—he could help them in the plan.
But once they reached Enies Lobby, things would be different. The World Government would try every means to extract his technology from him. Only after discovering that others couldn't replicate his alchemical bombs would he gain his proper status.
But even if he gained status, he would never be allowed to leave Enies Lobby. The World Government would never permit it.
Su Xiao didn't care whether he could leave Enies Lobby. He only cared whether he could move freely there.