Walking through the alleyways of Mock Town felt akin to descending into the public sewers, but Veyron suppressed his discomfort, vowing never to return to this place. Tsuru and Gion led the way, and the entire group remained on high alert.

Every pirate they encountered was immediately overcome with fear at the sight of their group, and none even attempted to engage in conversation before fleeing.

"How much information are you willing to share, Tsuru?" Primrose's patience was wearing thin; every passing second was another second of uncertainty about her friend's fate. The fact that this elderly woman had to move slowly only heightened her anxiety.

"I believe I'm more informed about Peter Hornigold's true identity than you are. I don't expect cooperation in that regard. If you want to save your friend, it's better if we join forces to defeat him because he won't be an easy opponent," Tsuru replied.

Veyron couldn't help but think that Peter Hornigold must be a significant character introduced later in the One Piece story to elicit such a reaction from Tsuru.

"What do you know about him?" Primrose inquired.

"He's a former member of the Marines who joined twenty years ago but recently deserted, killing his entire crew in the process. He also antagonised Admiral Zephyr as you may have read in the news. And as far as we know, he didn't possess any Devil Fruit powers until now. However, our information indicates that he has gained the power of the Logia of Darkness."

"Yami Yami no Mi," Gion added, and no one seemed surprised by this revelation except for Veyron. His sudden halt prompted the entire group to stop and gaze at him.

'What!? Does this man have the Yami Yami no Mi?! Could it be that he was its previous owner before Blackbeard?' Veyron was perplexed. He didn't know when exactly Marshall D. Teach had killed his division commander, Thatch, to steal the fruit. But he could only assume that Tatch had obtained it after Hornigold was murdered and lost it.

"Is something wrong, darling?" Hancock inquired, grabbing his wrist. She had spent enough time with him to recognize that his sudden stop indicated he was deep in thought.

"No, it's nothing. Let's keep moving," he replied, shaking his head and floating forward with Hancock pooling along and both Anaconda and Cobra sisters walking either side on guard.

'Maybe, in the end, the fruit will be lost until Blackbeard finds it, but... what if I could prevent that? What if I could get the fruit first?' Veyron had no intention of consuming the fruit, but by preventing Blackbeard from obtaining it, he could eliminate a potentially devastating adversary.

"Darling? your relationship seems quite close," Gion remarked due to their close proximity.

"Of course, we're engaged."

*Pft!*

Surprisingly, it was Tsuru who was taken aback by this revelation, contrary to everyone's expectations. Hancock frowned at Tsuru's strong reaction, but the elderly woman let out a small giggle before continuing, "D-Don't mind me. Anyway, he's a man of darkness and, therefore, not someone we can easily defeat now. I believe you have business with him?"

"He's been pursuing me, and I've rejected his advances all this time. We've clashed several times in the Calm Belt, and his crew consists of only five or six pirates, all skilled in the use of Haki, although he's very proficient in Rokushiki".

"Five or six? That means he disposed of a few..."

After a lengthy walk, they finally reached their destination—a building that resembled an apartment complex. The door, though rotten, was tightly closed, with some rustling audible from inside.

Tsuru knocked on the door a few times, and someone eventually opened it slightly. It was a cloaked figure, but as soon as they saw Tsuru, Veyron's eyes widened in disbelief beneath his cloak. He needed confirmation but couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Who-!" The girl inside the door was taken aback, seeing a group of individuals, each more imposing than the last, standing outside her door. She had been packing her belongings to leave, but fate had other plans.

"I believe we met recently, Nico Robin," Tsuru began.

!!!!

"WHAT!?"

Veyron's true voice escaped him, capturing everyone's attention, especially Tsuru and Gion.

<Once Fleurs!>

The situation became chaotic as arms materialized around their necks, and Veyron realized with certainty that the girl he loved dearly was indeed standing before him.

Everyone began to levitate, even nearby objects. This disrupted Robin's concentration, and her body started moving involuntarily, placing her hands behind her back.

'What is this power?! My body is moving on its own!' She wasn't the only one shocked; Gion was equally bewildered.

"I knew you were Dracule Veyron from the beginning. Put me down," Tsuru said calmly while her body floated upside down.

"He was!?" Gion was completely caught off guard.

"Let's all take a step back. Big sister, we won't harm you, I promise." Veyron levitated toward the panicking Robin and gently grasped her wrist.

"AAAHH!"

Seeing a white-mantled figure with the voice of a child approaching her, Robin panicked even more.

'Oh sh*t!'

Veyron removed his mantle and revealed his true self. In any case, Tsuru had already exposed his identity. This revelation finally eased Robin's anxiety as Veyron embraced her.

"Don't worry... I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Hey, Darling! What is the meaning of this!?" Hancock bit her fingernails in frustration. She thought Veyron was getting overly familiar with this girl, while Primrose observed Robin's features and couldn't help but find them familiar.

'Those are the features of a Boa...'

"I won't do anything, so please, let me go..." Robin attempted to push Veyron away, fearing that he was secretly aligned with the Marines.

There was a lot of confusion, so Veyron stepped back, released Robin, and tried to restore order.

"How about we go inside and discuss this like civilized adults?"

'Coming from the kid!'

***

If we reach the top 10 by the end of this week, I’ll mass-release seven chapters, let’s go!

For every 300 stones in webnovel, I’ll deliver an extra chapter. The schedule is one chapter a day during the week and if ya’all lucky then I’ll post during the weekend as well.
Feel free to look for my http://pa-tre-on.com/photosphere for advanced chapter tiers: (5 x 2$), (15 x 13$) and (30x 23$)