Robin stared into Psycho's eyes. Her eyes were filled with anxiety and his, cool, calm, and collected.
She breathed heavily enough to calm herself down, but soft enough for Psycho not to notice it.
Psycho's chin rest in his hands as he waited for Robin to speak.
"This is what I wanted right? He's right here in front of me and yet… I can't force out a question! What do I do? Do I just…" Robin was stopped in her thoughts by Psycho.
"Robin." Psycho said.
Robin straightened up.
"Y…Yes?" Robin asked.
"If something's on your mind, you are more than welcome to speak to me about it..you don't have to sneak around." Psycho said.
Robin's eyes widened.
"I-I..." Robin stopped.
Robin looked down to the side, knowing it'd be pointless to lie.
"Well..there have been.. some things on my mind, well… a lot of things actually." Robin said softly.
Psycho was mildly surprised.
"Concerning?" Psycho asked.
"You…" Robin said.
Psycho's eyes widened a little upon hearing this.
"Me, huh?" Psycho said with a small smile and holding up a three with his fingers.
Robin was confused.
"Three questions. I'll give you three questions to ask me." Psycho said.
Robin became slightly agitated.
"What am I supposed to do with three questions?" Robin asked.
Psycho smiled.
"I can't have you learning too much about me or my plans since you'll be returning to your friends after our trip. So questions about my future plans are also off limits. I think that's fair." Psycho said.
Robin calmed down a little.
"I guess that works…" Robin said.
"I'll be waiting." Psycho said, his chin still in his hands.
Robin calmly breathed in and out.
"Three questions… out of everything I want to know. What do I ask him first?" Robin thought to herself.
Psycho continued to stare at Robin, waiting on a question.
"Um…" Robin said.
Psycho squinted.
Robin sat up; Psycho noticed this.
"Ready, are you?" Psycho asked.
Robin nodded.
"How are you so young even though you're hundreds of years old?" Robin asked.
Psycho smirked. Robin sat nervously.
"We.. we noticed you also met some of us as kids.. and others as adults.. either way your appearance hasn't changed at all..." Robin said.
"That's a very good observation, Nico Robin." Psycho said.
Robin put up a fake smile.
"Well, it's honestly really simple. There's a member in DEATH that most don't see, her name, is Kataka "The Crypt Keeper." Psycho said.
Robin flinched. She had heard that name at Sakura Kingdom through Sabo.
"Kataka? "The Crypt Keeper?" Robin asked.
Psycho sat back.
"I met her during the void century. She was a young girl infatuated with dead things. Dead people, animals, etc. Eventually the townspeople accused her of being a witch and killed her." Psycho explained.
Robin stared with shock.
"Thanks to her devil fruit, I can thank Kataka for my eternal youth." Psycho said.
Robin was shocked.
"H-How?" Robin asked.
Psycho smirked.
"If you bring her a body… she'll grant you a wish." Psycho said.
Robin was appalled.
"How… how is- how is that even possible!?" Robin asked.
Psycho shrugged.
"The power of devil fruits is so much more than what people believe, Robin.. do you see these three names on these scrolls? They are all people I've brought to Kataka in the past." Psycho said.
Robin looked down at the scrolls.
FUYU, BURUSU , CYL
"People you… knew in the past…" Robin said.
"But I think that answers your question, regarding my eternal youth." Psycho said.
Robin was shook, but she calmed down.
"O…Okay." Robin said softly.
Psycho stared.
"Anything else?" Psycho asked.
Robin straightened up.
Robin paused for a monent, then asked her question.
"I've-I've also been wondering.. what went through your mind… when you saw us all the other day? At Arlong Park 2.0?" Robin asked.
Psycho was surprised at this one.
"What went through my mind huh?" Psycho asked.
Robin stared ahead.
"Well, I was certainly surprised. Not so much so because I had met you all before, but because you were all together the way you were." Psycho confessed.
"Huh? I don't understand." Robin said.
"When I met most of you, you were all just little kids. Aside from Brook, Naruto, and Sasuke. Even still, I never expected you all to be one big group. It's truly fascinating to see how that all worked out. The same kids I had met in my travels all showing up to take me down... it was a surprise truly, but honestly there's not much more to it than that." Psycho said.
"Yeah… I understand now." Robin said.
Psycho smiled.
"One more question, Nico Robin." Psycho said.
Robin jumped.
"One more question already … I can't believe I even asked him that last question.. it-it just felt right.. in a way.. what should I ask him now?" Robin thought.
Psycho stared at Robin who had her head down and eyes closed in thought. After a few moments Robin looked up. Psycho picked up a cup of rum.
"What's the truth.. behind the ninja's being excluded from the rest of the world?" Robin asked.
Psycho almost spit out the rum he drank and looked at Robin. Robin stared with determination. Psycho smiled.
"So… the best for last I see." Psycho said.
Robin nodded.
"When we first met the ninja, they made several remarks about never stepping foot in these lands before… and then there was the treaty with Alabasta... what happened?" Robin said.
Psycho set down his rum and leaned forward.
"G- Go ahead." Robin said.
Before Psycho could answer, he was interrupted by Cyclone coming in.
"Sorry for interrupting, Psycho." Cyclone said.
Psycho smiled.
"Oh no, you're fine. What did you need?" Psycho asked.
"I just wanted to tell you I was going to go take care of that business in the North Blue." Cyclone said.
Psycho thought about it.
"Oh… that business… go on ahead. I expect you to execute it flawlessly and be back before the meeting tonight." Psycho said.
Cyclone nodded.
"Also, take Kaku with you." Psycho said.
Cyclone was a little confused.
"For what?" Cyclone asked.
"You remember our talk about the DEATH generals. I want to get an estimate on how much our training truly worked for them." Psycho said.
Cyclone nodded.
"Understood." Cyclone said, before vanishing.
Robin looked at where Cyclone was and then back over to Psycho.
"Alright, without further ado..." Psycho said.
Robin gulped and nodded.
"It's.. really not that complicated actually.." Psycho started, "The shinobi.. played a vital against the World Government. They helped Joy Boy and his kingdom fight against the World Government." Psycho said.
Robin's eyes shot open, remembering Fishman Island.
"J-Joy boy? He-He never mentioned..." Robin stopped thinking.
"When the Government beat Joy Boy, they immediately took control of a certain island which the shinobi lived on.." Psycho had looked down but looked back up at Robin, who stared back with a shocked expression, "A certain Queen governed this island.. and when the Government came looking.."
"She-She gave them up..." Robin said softly.
Psycho stared on.
"That queen... was an ancestor of the Nefetari's. That's why a treaty had to he made. Cobra was terrified the shinobi still held grudges against his family for what she did all those years ago." Psycho said.
Robin couldn't believe what she was hearing. Vivi's family really played a role in excluding the shinobi?
"The head of shinobi at the time bargained with the elders and instead of having the land the shinobi resided on flatout destroyed, they were banished outside Alabasta... with another twist on top of that.." Psycho said, gritting his teeth.
"What.. was the twist?" Robin asked.
Psycho looked back up at Robin.
"I'm sorry, but your three questions are up." Psycho said.
Robin gasped, then becoming serious.
"No!... I need to learn more! I'm getting so much information.. I need to keep gathering more.. for the shinobi!" Robin said, determined, thinking of her new shinobi friends.
"Let me just ask you something else!" Robin said.
Psycho stared.
"Be very careful with your next words. I'm not as open to answering as I was a moment ag-"
"The treaty that Cobra wanted to make with the Sand Village... that would've made things right, right?" Robin asked.
Psycho straightened up, his eyes widened slightly.
"That's-That's right.." Psycho said.
"So then why did DEATH try to take her life? Why did you interrupt the deal!?" Robin asked, "That deal would've helped the ninja world more than you know! You're a shinobi too aren't you? That was their ultimate apology and you-"
"YOU CAN'T TELL A MAN WHO'S SEEN THE HORRORS OF THIS WORLD FOR CENTURIES WHAT HE WOULD AND WOULDN'T KNOW YOU FOOL!" Psycho snapped.
Robin gasped and her eyes shot opening, covering her mouth.
Robin never expected Psycho to get this animated, especially since he never lost his temper, even while fighting Akainu and Blackbeard, two men he stated he hated multiple times.
"Now let me ask you something." Psycho said.
Robin grew increasingly tense.
"You know I've been alive since before the void century, how well do you think I know people? All I've had time to do for centuries is study people.. how they think, how they move, how many people do you think I saw take their last breaths?!" Psycho yelled, "Death.. is when you truly learn who someone is."
Robin gasped, then looked to the side.
"The Nefertari's did what they did back then out of fear. Cobra wrote that treaty because of fear! He doesn't care about the shinobi world! Cobra dug too deep and discovered the sand village! If the Government found out he was a dead man walking! He wanted help! NOT order!" Psycho yelled.
Robin was a scared by his aggression but became angry herself.
"Who else to ask for help besides the same people shunned by the people who want to kill you..?" Psycho asked rhetorically, "It's just a classic case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" with Cobra, no more than that.
Robin chuckled, a tear falling down her face. Psycho was shocked slightly.
"So, that's why… you're doing all this?..." Robin asked rhetorically, Psycho knew this though, so he kept quiet.
"THAT'S WHY YOU KILLED 100,000 PEOPLE AND MAYBE MILLIONS MORE OVER YOUR LIFE TO RULE THIS WORLD!? YOU'RE NOT ANY BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN HURTING THE SHINOBI! SURELY YOU COULD'VE FOUND ANYTHING ELSE TO HAVE DONE OTHER THAN THIS!?" Robin screamed.
"WHO GIVES A DAMN WHY THE TREATY WAS MADE?! AT LEAST THEY TRIED! YOU RUINED A MOMUMENTAL MOMENT FOR ALABASTA AND THE SHINOBI WORLD!" Robin yelled.
Robin huffed and puffed as Psycho's expression was hidden by shadow.
All that could be seen was a slight frown. Robin stood tall and looked at Psycho.
"I understand, Nico Robin." Psycho said softly.
Robin winced.
"But let me fill you in on something else. The shinobi world isn't innocent either." Psycho said.
Robin gasped.
"That's right." Psycho said, "They've spilled more blood than anything I've ever seen in the Grand Line." Psycho said.
Robin was filled with shock.
"They've spilled… more blood than anyone? No way! You're just trying to turn me against them!" Robin said.
"And what would I gain from that, Robin? The fact of the matter is their hands are bloodier than even mine." Psycho said.
"WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO SAY THA-
"BECAUSE THEY KILLED A WOMAN I LOVED IN COLD BLOOD!" Psycho yelled, shaking the building.
Robin calmed down immediately.
"A woman you loved?" Robin asked softly.
Psycho looked down, tears falling.
Robin stared with empathy.
"I-I-I've been through so much... I'm so damaged.." Psycho said.
Robin slowly stood up and walked over to Psycho.
"Please Robin… don't think I'm the bad guy here… any thought I've had about not going down this path diminished the longer I've lived in this damned world! People will NEVER understand one another and will always try to get the better of others… instead of trying to better the others…" Psycho put his hands to his face to stop his tears again.
"Th-That's why I couldn't let the treaty go through.. the shinobi world doesn't deserve that luxury! And Cobra's intentions were far from pure.. if his life wasn't threatened by the Government.. he would've never attempted to contact the shinobi.. I'm positive!.." Psycho admitted.
"Olivia… I'm so sorry… I'm trying so hard to fix this world…" Psycho said, tears falling.
Suddenly Psycho felt a warm hand on his cheek and his head be softly pressed against the body of someone.
He stared forward with shock as Robin held his head against her body. He looked up to see her eyes closed tightly, tears leaving her eyes too.
"It's okay… father… I forgive you." Robin said.