From Pirates to the Strongest Death God in Soul Society

Chapter 37: Excellent betrayer, Nico Robin.

Robin was also a little confused after hearing what Bane said.

How come the topic suddenly turned to this?

Although Nico Robin originally wanted to make contact with Bane first, and then to sow discord between Bane and Crocodile, and finally let the two fight, she would take the opportunity to get rid of Crocodile, and it would be best to kill Crocodile.
Yes, Robin also wanted to silence the witness, and she also felt very insecure.

But having said that, she still felt unsure about Bane's active invitation to help her kill Crocodile.

As Nicole Robin has been wandering around in various criminal organizations for many years and is still alive today, her life is full of betrayal and being betrayed.

Therefore, in just the moment when Bane said this, several guesses flashed through her mind.

Could it be that Crocodile already knows Bane, and now Crocodile is using Bane to test me?

Could it be that Bane is actually a member of the World Government, and he wants to use me to get rid of Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and then get rid of me as well?

Will it?
In short, many dark thoughts flashed through Robin's mind.

However, she remained calm on the surface, and even pretended to be distressed a few seconds later, saying, "I clearly heard our president say that he had no contact with you, so I thought there should be no conflict between the two of you. How did it suddenly become like this?"

After a short pause, Robin asked again: "Even if you say so, I should at least know the reason, right? Why do you want to target our president? Is there any misunderstanding here? I can help you mediate as a middleman."

"What kind of misunderstanding could there be?" Bane waved his hand carelessly and said, "I have never met Crocodile and I don't know him, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to kill him."

Then, Bane exhaled another puff of smoke and said, "As for the reason, as a bounty hunter, I want to kill a pirate. This makes sense, right? Even if he is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, this is better. It will also improve my reputation and prestige on the sea, right?"

Nico Robin did not try to refute anything for fear of angering Bane. It was not worth it to sacrifice herself for Crocodile, and she did not have the loyalty to do so.

But she couldn't agree to it, so she said tactfully: "I'm sorry, Mr. Ben, the president is quite nice to me, I have no intention of betraying him, and I think you don't like a betrayer, right?"

Bane listened to this, looked into Robin's eyes, and after a moment of silence, he said, "But you grew up in betrayal and conspiracy, didn't you? Loyalty is the cheapest thing to you. Can Crocodile really trust you?"

Nicole Robin had no way of refutation of this. She didn't know how much the person in front of her knew about her, but it was definitely more than she thought. If she said anything more at this point, it would be more wrong than talking too much. It would be better to remain silent.

But she also knew that if she remained silent again and again, the man in front of her might run out of patience, and then she would be in danger.

So after a brief silence, Robin said, "Crocodile really won't trust me, but I can't trust you either, and I'm even less likely to betray him just because of what you said, because you make me feel more dangerous than him. With him, at least I can still have some initiative, but with you, I can only feel danger, deadly danger, so."

As she said these words, she was observing Bane's expression. Whenever Bane's expression changed for the worse, she would decisively change her words.

But based on her almost perfect skill of observing people's words and expressions, the words she said at this moment, including the changes in honorifics, did not make the man in front of her feel any discomfort at all, which made her a little puzzled, and she could not see through him even more.

"So you need to make yourself trust me... Well, this is a bit difficult, so it's definitely not this requirement. Let me think about it." Bane touched his chin, thought for a moment, and said with a look of sudden realization in his eyes: "I see, you need me to tell you clearly what your value is to me? Only when this value is determined can you trust me to a certain extent. At least before this value ends, I will not abandon you casually, or even exchange you for a new value with someone else?"

Robin didn't say anything, but her expression showed that she had recognized what Bane meant. In fact, the cooperation between her and Crocodile was the same. She knew that Crocodile wanted to borrow her knowledge to interpret historical texts and obtain ancient weapons, so she could trust Crocodile to a certain extent. This trust was based on this need.

Robin judged that before Crocodile obtained information about this ancient weapon, he would not murder her, and would even protect her from various forces. Facts have proved that this has been the case over the years.

At the same time, she was also convinced that when Crocodile got what he wanted, it would mean that she would have no value here, and Crocodile would definitely kill her!
So before that, she wanted to get rid of Crocodile first!

Now, she needed Bane to give her a suitable reason to prove that she was needed by him. Only this need could help the two of them to establish a little trust in a short period of time. As for the future, it would depend on various performances.

The conversation between the two was a bit confusing, so much so that even Zoro at the side didn't quite understand. He looked at Nami, as if he wanted Nami to explain it to him in a low voice, but Nami just gave him a ruthless look.

On the other side, Ben thought for a while before speaking again: "This is not difficult, but I don't want to prove this. Let me put it this way. Whether you trust me or not, in my eyes, you actually have no choice, because I know you better than you think. At the same time, I have bargaining chips and reasons to escape that you absolutely cannot refuse."

Robin didn't believe such words at all. Through the brief conversation, she had already judged that Bane seemed to be very patient and tolerant towards her, so there was a little more tentativeness in her words at this moment, wanting to see if this tolerance and patience was more than she had guessed?

So at this moment, Robin changed his tone again, and deliberately said provocatively: "Really? If you have bargaining chips that I cannot refuse, and reasons that I cannot escape, then why do you have to communicate with me in this way? You can just threaten me directly, and order me directly, right? After all, I can't refuse."

Bane was stunned for a moment after hearing that, then he laughed and said, "So you think I'm lying to you? Hahaha, no no no, it's just because I admire you. I admire your courage and responsibility to fight to the end with those bastards on Mary Geoise, to pass on O'Hara's voice to the future, and to preserve the flame of history, even if you bear the stigma of being misunderstood by the whole world and the crime of being the so-called devil's son who wants to destroy the world by O'Hara."

Bane's words moved Robin a little. He looked at the pieces of meat in the bowl with a dazed expression, as if something touched him and he seemed to be lost in some memories.

However, how could a woman who had grown up in darkness open her heart and trust others just because of such words?
"So, what are your bargaining chips and reasons that I cannot refuse? I am not a little girl anymore. I am no longer at the age where I will foolishly trust others just because they praise me and say good things to me," Nicole Robin said softly.

At this moment, her eyes became clear and rational again.

"What an unlovable woman. No one will like her like this." Bane pouted. Then, he tapped the wooden table with his fingers and looked into Nico Robin's eyes and said, "Former Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, Haguval D. Sauro, is not dead. He is hiding somewhere, and I know this place. This is the first part. Now, do you want to hear the second part?"

When Sauro's name came out of Bane's mouth, Nicole Robin, who had been restraining her emotions and trying to act as rational as possible, suddenly pressed her hands on the table. Although she did not speak, there was light and expectation in her eyes, instead of endless darkness. She pressed her hands on the table, trembling.

After a while, she seemed to have adjusted her emotions and was able to speak properly. She asked with a trembling voice, "What about the second one?"

Bane admired her even more now. At a time like this, she was still able to maintain restraint and rationality, and tried to obtain as much information as possible instead of asking about Sauro's situation. It was very good.

So Bane didn't keep the topic a secret and said, "Secondly, the precious books in O'Hara's Tree of All-Knowledge were not destroyed in the Demon Killing Order. A large part of them were preserved and are now hidden somewhere. So, do you want to hear the third point?"

Nico Robin really wanted to nod and ask what the third point was. But she knew that she couldn't refuse these two points. Bane was right. He had a bargaining chip that she couldn't refuse and a reason that she couldn't escape!
So now, she needs to show her excellence so that the new boss can be satisfied with her sooner and tell her the answers to the first two questions.

Therefore, Robin suppressed his curiosity and expectation, showed an intellectual and gentle smile and said, "No need, Master Bane, we can talk about how to kill Crocodile now."

"Hahahaha, I really admire you more and more, Nico Robin!" Bane laughed and praised.

(End of this chapter)