Noblesse Privilege 16 (Patreon)

Noblesse Privilege
Chapter 16

-VB-

Crocodile grimaced as he dropped himself into the only good thing he managed to save from the Alabasta disaster: his armchair.

His situation wasn’t great. Why would it be? He lost his biggest base of operations, lost all of his good reputations, failed to assassinate a World Noble and dupe it on Alabasta, and now, he found himself on the run from an irate World Government and the Marines itching to “put him in his place.” Oh yeah, he was also no longer part of the Seven Warlords of the Seas.

That title had been nothing but poppy cocks anyways.

It was flattering, honestly, to have two vice-admirals on the hunt for him, because that was a big deal.

If that was all, then he might have been alright with it. He gambled, and it was his fault for losing the gamble.

But then Luponte had pissed him off so much that he hadn’t been exactly thinking when he attacked the World Noble, now was he?

But that wasn’t all.

Nico Robin betrayed him and took the secrets of the poneglyph with her. His entire Alabasta operation had been for that one specific secret, and he failed to gain it.

“Where are we headed to, captain?” his first mate, Daz Bonez, asked. Beside him stood Gem, former Mr. 5.

Crocodile stared at the two of them before he closed his eyes.

“We go after Nico Robin. I want that bitch before my feet spilling all of her secrets,” he gritted his teeth. “But before we could do that, we need to get stronger. If a fucking World Noble and his babysitters can kick our ass, then we’re obviously not strong enough. Fighting two vice-admirals as we are right now is not an option.” He pondered on that for a moment. “Our primary objective is to fight and grow stronger. We head for the South Blue.”

And one day, when he was strong enough with a crew to match, he would beat the shit out of that World Noble and carry his shrunken head around like a trophy. Just he wait…

-VB-

Robin looked up at the daunting cliff that was the Redline.

She really shouldn’t be here, but it was also one of the safest places for her to be, ironically. After all, the Marines never seriously patrolled the coast of the Redline despite their previous failures. Nevermind the fact that patrolling side a wide coastline was impossible with their abysmal manpower when they were already busy patrolling the Four Seas and what part of the Grand Line they controlled, no one expected someone as Wanted as her to walk into Mary Geoise.

“You know, that Adventurer did it,” she hummed. “And still, I don’t see any patrol despite the fact that there are plenty of devil fruits and talented people all over the world who could it.”

Hands sprouted from the cliff and pushed her up before disappearing back into the stone cliff as new ones popped up.

Like this, she steadily made her up up the cliff of the Redline, and did it because she needed to meet a man. He was the very same man who made that opening which she used to look at Alabasta’s poneglyph. He didn’t interest her, not really. However, he also seemed like a normal man, and normal men were curious creatures. If she offered tantalizing secrets of the past, then why wouldn’t he take advantage of that?

What she wanted from him would also not be anything too substantial: protection from World Government and the Marines. It would tickle her nose to get protection from someone so high above the ladder as to render the Marines incapable of touching her as well.

But could she manage to get that guarantee of protection?

Oh, she knew it was a risk, but it was a risk she was willing to take, because quite possibly, he was the only World Noble who would even consider providing protection for her pursuit of knowledge.

She looked up and saw the edge of the cliff.

She was nearly there.

Then she was over the edge and stood on the Redline itself.

Finally, she saw Mary Geoise in the distance, a white marble utopia sitting on this red rock splitting the world in half.

Considering what she knew about the world, she wondered if the Redline had been constructed this way. The things she knew about the world certainly did point to humanity in its past being able to construct such a thing. The books back in Ohara certainly pointed to such a possibility.

“Time to go find Mr. World Noble,” she hummed to herself as she started walking forward.

Hopefully, she’ll find him quickly enough.

-VB-

No more than a day later, she found herself in a cell with the bodyguard of the very World Noble she wanted to meet and a pair of seastone cuff.

She didn’t think she’d get caught so fast or so easily.

Who thought to make seastone fiber? The idea of ludicrous, yet here she was, caught by a seastone fiber net and dropped off in a private prison with a seastone cuff on her.

“I never thought I would find someone as gutsy as you,” the sunglass wearing chief bodyguard for the World Noble vel Monstrathum grunted. “Not since the Adventurer anyway.”

She smiled weakly. Wearing this seastone cuff drained her of everything, and merely sitting and talking exhausted her. She’d heard and seen its work before but never experienced it herself. Seastone was now on her top five list of things she wanted far away from her.

“What can I say? I’m a woman who can amaze people.”

Luponte looked like he was about to speak, but then someone knocked on the interrogation room’s door. He stopped, and opened it just enough so that he could see who was on the other side.

“I’m here to talk to her, Luponte.”

“She is a dangerous woman, sir.”

“Yeah, well, I doubt she could do anything with that cuff on her.”

Her eyes widened as Luponte opened the door wide open.

Standing on the other side of the doorway was the person she came to meet.

Tall, slim, and yet somewhat powerful built, he looked nothing like what she saw in Alabasta.

But then again, he had a lot of clothes on him last she saw him, and right now, he only had a pair of Hawaiian shorts, a button-up short-sleeve shirt, and a pair of sunglasses just like the the one Luponte wore.

“Nico.”

“Vel-”

“-nico knee!” He suddenly burst out into cackles.

“Huh?”

“Sorry, just a joke,” he kept cackling, having to look away as his body heaved and leaning on the doorframe to keep himself up. Standing in resigned frustration on this side of the doorway, Luponte just sighed indignantly. Was this a common routine for him?

At least it wasn’t buying women as slaves in Sabaody and using them as sex slaves.

“Well, I would certainly like to know about it,” she replied with a hum.

He stopped cackling and looked up at her, and then took his sunglasses off, showing her his dark brown eyes that sparkled with … hope?

“...You’re serious.”

“Yes, why would I not want to learn?”

He continued to stare at her as if she was a strikingly rare specimen.

“And if learning is not what gets you…” she shook herself a little, which was enough for her nearly uncontained breasts to jiggle. She didn’t say anything, though. She was implying that sex was on the table but she wouldn’t-.

“There is no way in hell I’m cheating on Vivi, no thank you,” he rejected almost immediately but he did stare. “I mean, yours are nice, but those aren’t Vivi’s.”

“I see,” she smiled. “It’s hard to find a honest man among the nobles.”

He barked out an empathetic bark of laughter as he turned away slightly. “Tell me about it,” he mumbled before he gave her his focus again. “So why are you here?”

“... I wish to gain your protection, and in return, I will tell you all I know about the poneglyphs.”

“Pass. I know enough.”

She blinked. “I’m sorry?” He already knew about them?

“The poneglyphs? I know who made them, what they are about, and whatnot. That information is best left undiscovered,” he replied. “But I’ll grant you my protection under one condition.”

Aside from the fact that he alluded to knowing more than she did, she might be able to get what she came here for. “... And what condition would that be?”

“How would you like to strut around in front of the the Marines and be completely safe?” he asked with a careless grin. “You know, just to see them screaming and frothing like rabies dogs?”

All she could think of in response was this.

“You’re crazy.”

He just laughed her off.

“Sorry, sorry. That was a joke,” he chuckled. “But yeah, sure. It’s not like you know more than me, but you do have to promise to not tell anyone about what is on the poneglyphs to anyone.”

Why did it feel like she was the one getting shafted? It was way too easy, but could she afford to refuse while hand-cuffed with seastone and after she was the one to ask for protection?

“... I will not speak to anyone else without your permission.”

“Wonderful! Luponte, get the cuffs off of her. We need to go and talk to one of the Five Elders.”