A Girl Called Demon

The page holds on CP9 in a staggered, almost silent arrangement after the Straw Hats' declaration. No one rushes in yet. The enemy line is visible as separate faces and bodies, each member measuring the crew across the gap after Luffy has told Robin to leave everything to them. The pause matters because it lets the battle breathe: CP9 has gathered, Robin is still trapped on the Tower of Justice side, and the Straw Hats have finally become a visible united front. The silence before the next words makes the confrontation feel like a formal standoff between the full rescue party and the Government's strongest assassins.

Outside the courthouse, the allied forces keep fighting so the Straw Hats can face CP9. Oimo and Kashii speak to Sogeking's followers, saying, "We'd have been used without ever knowing the truth!" and "Unfortunately for you guys, we're experts at gate keeping." Their duty shifts completely: "Our duty's been given by the King of Snipers" and "We'll defend this door to our death!!" As the Government forces attack, someone yells, "Take this!! 'Oimo Press'!!!" and Oimo crashes down into the crowd. The giants are no longer Enies Lobby's gatekeepers; they are the shield protecting the rescue from behind.

The entrance battle continues with the giants and allies dividing the work. One fighter shouts, "Oowa aaah!!" as the fighting churns around them, while another asks in panic, "Shit...!! Why'd those two become the pirates' allies!!?" Oimo gives orders across the battlefield: "You guys go ahead to the tower on the sides," and another ally adds, "Where Mozu and Kiwi went!!!" Someone promises, "I'll cover Zambai and the others at the front!!" The answer is a unified charge: "Yeah!!!" "Woooh!!!" and "Let's go!!!" The allied rescue force is no longer confused about its job. Some hold the entrance, some push through the side towers, and everyone moves to support the Straw Hats' route.

On the courthouse roof, Robin stands in silence while the Straw Hats regroup around Luffy. Sanji asks about the next practical step: "Drawbridge?" Luffy answers, "Yeah, the Franky Family is working on lowering it now." Zoro explains why he is already there: "You rushed ahead too quickly and went to the roof, so we had to get up here in order to regroup." Franky, across the gap, waits near Robin and the CP9 side. The page is a tactical breath after the emotional declaration: the crew has found one another, but the bridge between courthouse and Tower of Justice still has to be lowered before they can physically reach Robin.

CP9 assesses the situation from the Tower of Justice. Someone notes, "They came here by going through the Aqua Laguna, Gate 4 train, and I'm sure they know about it." Another says, "They have good luck, don't they?" but the conclusion is cold: "Now we have permission to kill." Rob Lucci stands with the others and says, "Perfect. It'll be much easier if we don't have to hold back our power." Their formation is calm and deadly. The Straw Hats have finally arrived together, but the enemy has also been freed from restraint; the battle is shifting from pursuit and rescue into open combat with CP9.

The sight of the pirates and their allies shakes the Tower of Justice side. Sogeking stares and says, "Pirates have come...!!!" while Robin remains still, her face tightened by the burden of what she has already said. Spandam sneers at her inner conflict: "This woman... How much of a burden is she bearing?" Franky, having seen enough cruelty, snaps at him: "Hey, you!! That's enough!!" Robin does not answer. The page lingers on her isolation between the people who came for her and the Government that has defined her as a threat for most of her life.

Robin begins to explain why she believes the danger cannot be escaped. She says, "Listen, guys. I give you permission to wipe 'em out, but take them down at the Tower of Justice!!!" Spandam boasts that the most important thing is his authority and that he now has "the full strength of an assassin group, CP9!!" He adds that he has "the heavy 'Gates of Justice'" that human power cannot open, and "the authority to use this golden den-den-mushi to trigger the 'Buster Call'!!!" Robin's terror is rooted in those words. She thinks of the past: "The most important thing is my life!! My hometown is the only place I've regretted... Who would protect me if something happens!?" The threat is not abstract to her; she has already seen what this power does.

Robin names the nightmare directly. The Buster Call is described as "the power that obliterated your hometown, Nico Robin," and one of the enemies says, "That's right. Exactly... 20 years ago." The word "Ohara" hangs in the air. Nami reacts, "Robin's hometown!!?" while Sanji angrily points out that Spandam is "shitty mask" who is waking him down into the waterfall right now. Robin tries to stop the escalation: "Stop it!!" and "Don't do that!!!" Spandam enjoys the fear and asks, "What? Does that mean I should press this 'Buster Call' trigger?" The tower itself looms below the threat. For Robin, the golden Den-Den Mushi is not a symbol; it is the button that can repeat the destruction of her childhood.

Robin's fear breaks into a desperate plea. She asks, "What'll happen if you press it!!?" while Spandam casually says, "Fire!!!" Saul's remembered voice flashes through her mind: "Stop it, Saul!!!" The crew watches her panic in silence. Franky murmurs, "Robin..." and Sanji says, "Robin-chan..." while Spandam laughs, "Of course, I know it very well...!!" The memory of Ohara floods forward as the sea and island appear in Robin's mind. The present threat has opened the door to the past, and the chapter turns toward the reason Robin cannot believe anyone can survive standing beside her.

Spandam continues pressing the fear. He says the chances of the pirates getting off the island will become zero and gloats, "By just a push of the button on this golden den-den-mushi...!!!" Robin tells him, "Stop it!!" but he leans into the cruelty: "What? Did you have something else in mind?" He laughs, "Wahahahaha!!!" while she protests, "It's not that simple!!!" He then tries to bait her directly: "Don't get cheeky with me now...!!!" Robin answers, "You said Ohara disappeared from the map, didn't you...?" The argument reveals the wound beneath the strategy: Robin is not merely afraid for herself, but for anyone who becomes connected to her.

Robin looks toward the island and says, "Can you see any humans on that map?" The answer is the empty, brutal image of Enies Lobby under the World Government's machinery. She says, "You could only be so cruel because you look at the world like that...!!!" The Buster Call, she explains, is "a merciless power that makes your foe serve your purpose...!!!" Spandam, kneeling and furious, can only snap, "You can't use that, not that." The present scene is now fully tied to Ohara. Robin is no longer talking about a simple attack; she is condemning a worldview that erases people into targets.

The story returns to "20 years ago, West Blue" and the island of "Ohara." Children call through the trees, "Hey, this way!" and "Eh hee hee... There she is!" Young Robin is found reading alone under a tree. The other children attack her with insults and thrown objects: "Look over there!" "We found a monster!" "Start attacking!" "Let's do it!!" and "Oowaah, a monster!!!" Robin winces with "Ow!" and clutches her book instead of fighting back. The flashback does not begin with the Buster Call itself, but with the everyday cruelty that taught Robin she was already unwanted long before the Government named her a demon.

Eight-year-old Nico Robin finally uses her Hana Hana ability to stop the children, sprouting hands around them with a "Fshh..." sound. The children scream, "Eeeen, she's creepy!!!" and "Waaah, the monster attacked us!!" Robin stands alone and silent, labeled on the page as "Nico Robin, Age 8." An adult confronts her: "Hey, you." Then the accusation comes: "My kids told me they were beaten up for no reason... Don't go anywhere near my kids. You're such a creepy girl!!" When the adult says, "Well, say something," Robin still only looks down. Her power lets her defend herself, but it also makes every accusation stick harder.

Robin walks through Ohara and sees ordinary families around her. A smiling child asks, "What's for dinner tonight?" and another adult says, "Well, what do you think?" Robin passes a window where a family laughs together, then sees another child walking hand in hand with parents. Someone points at her and says, "Ah... Mama, she's the one, the monster girl!" The parent responds, "Don't point at her...!!" Robin keeps walking with her book, isolated in the middle of a town full of homes. The page shows that her loneliness is not only from open bullying; it is also from watching everyone else belong somewhere.

Robin returns to the house and says, "I'm home. I'm sorry for coming back so late." She calls, "Roji-oba-san?" but no warmth answers. Instead, notes have been left for her. One says, "To Robin, It's your daughter's birthday today, so we've decided to have a private dinner, with no outsiders." Another tells her, "We have some bread, so eat that for your dinner." Others order, "When you're done with your dinner," "Don't use too much jam though," and "always wipe down and fix your drawers." Robin quietly eats bread alone at the table. Her aunt's household does not treat her like a child coming home; it treats her like an inconvenience to be managed.

Robin obeys the notes in silence. She eats, then reads more instructions: "Don't forget to go upstairs before it gets too late. -Roji" and "Finish cleaning, wash the dishes, and bring in the laundry before we come home." She scrubs, washes, hangs laundry, and moves through the empty rooms while outside the family life of Ohara continues without her. The panels show her crying, working, and walking alone with small, exhausted footsteps. Nothing here is dramatic like a battle, but it is the foundation of Robin's despair: before the Government hunted her, her own home had already taught her to expect rejection.

Robin's real refuge is the Tree of Omniscience, labeled "Ohara Library and Archeological Research Center." She runs toward the enormous tree with a "patpat" of footsteps. Inside, scholars prepare for her return: "Oh! Here comes Robin." Another says, "She's coming to return the books! Everyone, get ready!!" Robin opens the door and calls, "Hello? Doctor Clover!! I've come to return..." The scholars know what is coming, and the library bursts into celebration. The page shifts Robin from the lonely house to the place where her mind and effort are seen.

The archaeologists of Ohara welcome Robin with applause and joy. They shout, "Congratulations, Robin!!!" and "Congratulations, Robin-chan!!" Someone tells her, "You indeed do possess hereditary genius!!" Professor Clover beams and says, "The archaeologist exam you took the other day!! You aced it!!!" Another scholar announces, "You can claim that you're an archaeologist from this day forward!!!" and someone adds, "We've got a cake, too! A cake!!" Robin stands stunned, then begins to smile. After a day of being called a monster, she is recognized here as a scholar. The contrast is the heart of the flashback: Ohara's archaeologists are the first people who treat Robin's gift as something precious.

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