Chapter 119: The Guilty Vivienne

Robin’s calm gaze finally betrayed an uncontrollable panic, her visibly heaving chest revealing the unease roiling within.

“Silence!”

A sharp command burst from Robin’s lips.

At that moment, two pale female arms suddenly sprouted from Garen’s shoulder armor.

Though these arms appeared delicate and fragile, they possessed a terrifying lethality:

The instant they emerged, they wrapped mercilessly around the unarmored part of Garen’s neck and executed a deadly joint lock on the most vulnerable part of his body.

With a crisp crack, Garen’s head was twisted a full ninety degrees by those hands.

“Is he dead?”

Crocodile was so stunned he nearly dropped his cigar.

“No.”

Garen himself answered nonchalantly.

He calmly twisted his misaligned head back into place, shook his neck a couple of times without a hint of injury, and chuckled lightly:

“You, with your Flower-Flower Fruit, are a shame not to be employed as a massage therapist.”

This bizarre spectacle drained the color from Robin’s face and deepened Crocodile’s wariness of this mysterious man.

Garen merely continued smiling as he said:

“Even if I kept quiet now, it wouldn’t matter. I’ve already recorded several videos like this and entrusted them to my subordinates.”

“Just sending one of them over would be enough to summon the extermination order and CP0’s wrath.”

“You…”

Crocodile ground his teeth and spat out through clenched jaws, “How do you know?”

“That’s not important.”

Garen waved his hand casually:

“What matters is, do you still dare to make a move against me now?”

He smiled like a villain whose plot had come to fruition—exultant, twisted, and infuriating.

Crocodile was nearly driven to a whirlwind of rage:

He certainly dared not.

Robin was a marked woman in the eyes of the World Government, and the overambitious Crocodile had not only harbored this “child of the devil” but had actively used Robin’s archaeological knowledge to search for the true history.

This had already crossed the World Government’s red line of tolerance.

If exposed, Crocodile would no longer be a Warlord of the Sea but would instead become a prime target for the World Government due to his conspicuous former status.

“Hahaha…”

Garen maintained the demeanor of a villainous schemer, laughing in a way that made Crocodile, a Warlord, seem like a mere lapdog of the World Government:

“Treason is a minor crime; researching history is the real taboo!”

“With this leverage in my hands, even if you manage to kill me…”

“You’ll never peacefully sit on the throne of Alabasta’s king!”

Crocodile’s expression darkened to an extreme, yet an unmistakable trace of helplessness crept into his eyes.

Robin, staring at Garen’s villainous grin, was reminded of the shadows that haunted her childhood years ago.

Her graceful figure trembled uncontrollably, her mature and intellectual beauty shattered, leaving only the fear and shrinkage of a little girl.

“All right.”

Garen silently withdrew the Den Den Mushi in his hand, took Vivi’s hand, and stood up with her. Finally, he smiled and addressed Crocodile:

“Although I have many such videos, those featuring the two of you in person carry more weight.”

“The negotiation is over, the footage has been sent to my subordinates, so we won’t disturb you further.”

With that, Garen turned and pulled a still-dazed Vivi out without looking back.

Outside, the sandstorm had long subsided, and its master sat slumped on the sofa.

Unbeknownst to her, a cold sweat had formed on Robin’s forehead, her lovely face still shadowed by lingering fear.

At this moment, the two—each with their own agendas, boss and subordinate—finally stood in the same trench.

“What do we do now?”

Robin asked, her voice trembling with lingering fear.

“What else can we do?”

Crocodile ground his teeth fiercely:

“Our plan has been exposed!”

“Unless we find all those videos, killing that guy won’t matter!”

“Retreat?”

Robin instinctively thought of flight, which was indeed one of the best options available now.

“No…”

Crocodile clenched his only intact hand, speaking every word with determination:

“I’m not willing to give up!”

“Sigh…”

Robin thought of the true history she had yet to uncover in Alabasta and sighed sympathetically with the Sand Crocodile.

Slowly, Crocodile lifted his fierce gaze, the bloodshot veins in his eyes resembling a gambler placing a desperate bet:

“Since we can’t seize the kingdom, we’ll fight with everything we’ve got...”

“At the very least, we must find the whereabouts of the true history!”

......................................................................

Walking side by side with Garen on the way back to the hotel, Vivi’s expression had visibly lightened.

Not only had she gained Garen’s explicit support, but she was amazed to discover that Garen held leverage over even Warlord Crocodile that made him hesitate to act.

Hope for saving the nation’s crisis seemed within reach.

Yet Vivi had no outlet for this joy, for the atmosphere between her and Garen had become unusually delicate.

They walked shoulder to shoulder through the rain-soaked bustling streets, silent.

The surroundings were noisy, but the air between them was quiet, a tacit agreement to maintain silence.

As they walked, the ambiance grew more romantic, and Vivi’s earlier bold declaration of wanting to marry Garen echoed repeatedly in her mind.

Her cheeks flushed hotter and redder, contrasting sharply with her long, silky blue hair.

“Vivi?”

Garen’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

“Y-yes!”

Vivi hurriedly responded, then murmured distractedly, “What I said before was just…”

Garen didn’t catch her faint whisper; instead, his expression focused as he said:

“After thinking it over, with that leverage in hand, Crocodile probably won’t dare attack us head-on anymore.”

“So next, we need to gradually eliminate Crocodile’s influence in Alabasta and take away his title as the kingdom’s hero.”

“Besides that, we also need to carefully quell the revolutionary forces within the kingdom...”

“Uh…”

Garen glanced curiously at Vivi, who was clearly distracted, “Vivi, are you listening?”

“I…”

Vivi’s lips moved slightly before she finally mustered the courage to ask:

“You’ve been silent all this way, were you thinking about all this?”

“Yes, why?”

Garen answered matter-of-factly.

Vivi’s expression suddenly darkened inexplicably, leaving Garen puzzled.

“You…”

Vivi finally gathered her courage to ask, “Have you ever considered what I said before?”

“What do you mean, what you said before?”

Garen furrowed his brow tightly, pretending to recall:

“You mean when you said you saw me as Crocodile’s number two and were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the country?”

Vivi’s cheeks flushed deeply; she regretted and felt ashamed of her earlier mistrust and misunderstanding of Garen.

But Garen laughed openly without hesitation:

“Actually, I’m quite pleased.”

“A kind, strong, gentle, and lovely Grand Princess wants to marry me…”

“Any man would never refuse such a blessing!”

Hearing Garen’s candid declaration, Vivi’s thoughts momentarily short-circuited under the heat of her reddened face.

Yet Garen suddenly shifted his tone:

“But…”

“I’m afraid Nami would chop me to pieces if that happened.”

Like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, Vivi’s hazy mind finally cleared completely:

Though Nami pretended to be tough, everyone at Debang Logistics knew there was a young boss lady reputed to be the East Blue’s best navigator.

Even Nami and Garen themselves tacitly acknowledged their ambiguous relationship.

If not for Garen’s lack of experience with romance and Nami’s youthful innocence, their relationship might have been openly declared, perhaps even with wedding celebrations underway.

As Nami’s close friend, Vivi was naturally aware of this.

Yet during her previous “sacrifice for the nation,” Vivi had completely forgotten that the tall, handsome knight beside her was already spoken for...

The plot suddenly grew more complicated, and the atmosphere turned awkward.

Not until they returned to the hotel did Vivi manage to free herself from that indescribably unpleasant feeling.

“Vivi? Garen! You’re finally back!”

Nami, waiting at the hotel, hurried to greet them and asked with concern, “Did anything happen?”

“No.”

Garen and Vivi answered guiltily in unison.