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"Come on, push through the pain. I'll just heal you if you break something," I urged.

She glared up at me.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm only fulfilling my end of our agreement."

She tried to get up, but her legs were shaking.

"I thought you were supposed to protect me, not break me," she said with a tired and pained tone.

"The biggest part of offering someone protection is making sure they can protect themselves."

She didn't say anything but kept eye contact. It was clear she didn't believe in my methods. I let out a sigh and broke the eye contact by looking up at the sky.

"Listen, Robin. You may lean on someone, but never put all your weight on them because you never know when they might let you fall. No matter what world we live in, everyone has a price. The only difference between those who can and cannot be bought is that those who claim they cannot simply haven't been offered the right price yet. That's something I'm sure you're familiar with."

She kept looking at me, breathing steadily. Then a little smile or a smirk formed on her lips, barely noticeable.

"So you trust no one, not even your friends," she stated rather than questioned, but I could sense a hint of sadness. I looked back at her and formed a small smile of my own.

"I trust them because I know their price. It's one that no one can offer, so I don't worry about them."

"And what about me?" she asked with a completely unreadable face, but she couldn't fool my observation haki. There was pain, anxiety, and fear.

"What about you?"

"What is my price? Aren't you worried I'll betray you?" she asked, taking a step closer.

"Ohara," I said. She immediately froze, and I could feel a rush of pain, sadness, hurt, and fear. Not that I needed to sense her emotions; it was plainly written on her face. I continued.

"You carry the burden of Ohara on your shoulders. Your wish, your dream to uncover the secret of the Void Century, to complete what they all gave their lives for—that is the only way you know how to avenge them, to bring them justice. That is your price, and that is why you won't betray me, because no one else can offer it to you."

She remained stunned for a few seconds. She had always thought of herself as a master of concealment, a weaver of intricate veils to shroud her true thoughts. Yet in the blink of an eye, all those veils were unraveled, leaving all her defenses in tatters. The frustration showed in the slight clenching of her fists. She quickly composed herself and, with a deep breath, returned to the stoic façade she wore so well, with a small smile.

"And what about you, Captain? What is your price?" she asked, her smile growing barely noticeable but enough to be noticed, just as she wanted.

"You don't need to worry about me. My price is not something that can ever be met. In fact, the answers I seek may not even exist."

She looked at me, confused.

"And what answers are those? I thought you wanted to uncover the missing history and take down the Celestial Dragons."

I thought about how to answer this question. It's not like I could tell her the truth about where I'm from or what answers I seek about the worlds or God, or whoever he truly is.

"It is, to some extent, similar. Much like the poneglyphs serve as pieces of a puzzle to uncover the Void Century and the final island, to me, the answers to all those mysteries make up nothing more than one single piece of the puzzle I try to solve."

She stood there, utterly aghast, unable to comprehend what she had just heard. But then pure curiosity and intrigue took over.

"And what exactly is this puzzle, the answer you seek?"

I let out a deep breath and looked her dead in the eye with a serious, deadly expression while taking a few steps closer. While she tried to keep her stoic face, her shaking hand and the sweat drop on her forehead gave her away. She radiated nervousness but also fear. I moved closer until our faces were only inches apart, and I kept eye contact for a few seconds. Neither of us blinked.

"To know what's on the other side, of course," I said in a serious, dead tone, then gave her a smirk and started laughing. "Hahaha, if only you could see your face. That might be one thing that is truly priceless, hahaha."

I kept laughing while she hit me in frustration. It didn't stop there; it quickly followed by irritation and rage, more directed toward herself than me. I can't imagine how many times someone has played her or taken her off guard as I have in the last few minutes. The thought made me laugh harder, and her annoyance grew.

"Alright, get back to training. You need to master Soru before we leave for Fishman Island."

"Why are we going there?" she asked, frustration still evident in her tone.

"There is a poneglyph there."