On the other side, Vir and his crew successfully arrived at Water 7.
There, they encountered someone who seemingly shouldn’t have been there.
“Oi! You guys didn’t even think to take me along! Good thing my little brothers had my back! Otherwise, I would’ve been done for!”
Aboard a ship belonging to the Franky Family, Franky stood alongside Iceburg and a group of shipwrights from the shipyard.
Franky was shouting in frustration.
During Vir’s battle with Momousagi, he had been caught in the shockwaves of their clash and was sent flying off the building, plunging into the sea below.
Fortunately, his Franky Family brothers were dependable enough to fish him out in time. They had even managed to escape ahead of everyone else.
But in the end, Franky was just grumbling for the sake of it. After all, Vir was still standing right here.
The scene of Vir fighting against two Admiral candidates at once was still fresh in his mind and impossible to forget.
If someone like Vir so much as touched him, he’d probably drop dead on the spot!
Vir was a little surprised to see him too.
Honestly, he had completely forgotten about Franky.
He saw him fly off, and that was it.
Considering he had no time to spare throughout the battle, it was natural that he never had the opportunity to check where Franky had ended up.
Just as Luffy and the others were about to respond, a loud crack echoed through the air.
Right beneath Vir and his crew, the Going Merry suddenly split in two!
A massive crack had appeared along its hull, and within moments, both the bow and stern plunged into the sea.
The abrupt turn of events left everyone utterly stunned.
“Quick! Get off the ship! It’s about to sink!”
Iceburg, who was with Franky, shouted urgently as a small boat was rowed over to pick them up.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
One by one, everyone jumped off the sinking ship.
It was clear that the Merry wouldn’t hold out any longer. Their only choice was to abandon ship and figure something out later.
Soon, only Vir and Robin remained on board.
Even Chopper had been grabbed and tossed off the ship by Vir.
Seeing that Robin had no intention of leaving, Vir felt helpless.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you getting off? Hurry up and go.”
His tone was filled with exasperation.
But Robin acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all. She simply turned her head to the side, making it clear that she was staying with him no matter what.
Vir facepalmed in frustration.
Just moments ago, Robin had tried to cling onto him again, but he had seen it coming and stopped her in time.
Vir was convinced that Robin was doing this just to mess with him.
After all, every time she touched him, his body would stiffen up.
She knew this full well, yet she still insisted.
If this wasn’t her deliberately trying to make him suffer, then what was it?
So Vir had stopped her on the spot, preventing her from even standing up.
The consequence was obvious.
This woman held grudges!
Now she refused to leave!
Fine, fine, fine!
You want to go against me, huh?!
Alright then!
With that thought, Vir suddenly grabbed Robin’s hands and pinned them behind her back!
And then…
*Smack!!!*
A crisp, sharp sound rang out!
Clear and unmistakable!
The moment the sound echoed through the air, Robin’s face instantly turned red to the extreme!
Even her naturally darker skin couldn’t hide the deep blush.
Vir…!
He’s trying to ruin me!
Robin immediately realized what had happened!
She hadn’t been hit, yet such a sound had been made!
And now, all eyes were on them.
Everyone turned to look at the two of them in unison.
“What was that sound just now? It sounded like someone got slapped?”
“Yeah, I heard it too!”
“Say no more! With my years of— ahem— gentlemanly experience, I can say with confidence that slap landed on… that spot!”
Discussions immediately broke out among the onlookers.
But what truly made Robin’s face heat up even more was Sanji’s final comment.
As expected, after hearing that, everyone’s gaze toward her changed.
Robin mentally cursed Vir to the ends of the earth.
You absolute menace! Rotten, shameless, despicable Vir!!!
But Vir still wasn’t letting her go.
He let her stew in the embarrassment, making her the center of attention.
Hmph! You like messing with me, huh?
Hahahaha! Now it’s your turn to suffer!
Of course, in reality, Vir hadn’t actually hit Robin at all.
He had only pretended to slap her.
That sound had been completely faked by him!
From start to finish, he hadn’t laid a hand on her.
He had simply used this trick to mislead the others and put Robin in this awkward situation.
And judging by the results, he had succeeded perfectly.
Robin was absolutely fuming!