An Interesting Ecounter

(1st person pov)

4 days have passed since my first meeting with Cobra in my disguise, but no information about Nico Robin was found. It was something I expected, but something that annoyed me to no end.

When I said to Dragon I needed a break, I wasn't entirely lying. Alabasta was a nice kingdom, and most of my days were spent out in the hot sun drinking lemonade and living life. Ever since I joined the Revolutionary Army, I have been working hard non stop, especially these past few weeks which have been more packed than ever. Although I loved training and getting stronger, I know for both the benefit of my mind and body that I needed a break.

I lay back in my chair, finishing the final chapter of the book I had been reading. It was titled 'God and the creation of Devil Fruits', and it detailed how God created the world along with devil fruits to protect us from other species, but ultimately not ourselves. It was an interesting read, but the book was just full of speculations and theories.

I sat the book down on the desk and took the bookmark out. With the book now finished, I checked the time.

12am.

I hopped off from the bed, skimming through the wardrobe as my eyes landed on a black outfit. Putting on my 'Hades' persona outfit, I silently opened the window and leapt towards the palace.

"You're late." Cobra said as soon as I arrived, pointing towards his clock.

"By 2 minutes." I argued. "Plus you don't sleep much these days, so what's a few more minutes?"

Cobra sighed, feeling the grey hairs slowly beginning to form. "There's been some information."

My eyes widened in shock, though Cobra couldn't see it through the menacing look of the mask. I certainly wasn't expecting results after only 4 days, in fact I wasn't even expecting results at all!

Was this what they called plot armour? Did I have this special ability?

"A cloaked figure was spotted in Raintown trying to steal some money from the Casinos. The figure escaped by knocking out the guards, who some reported seeing a hand form on their shoulder before their vision went dark."

"That's her alright." I said with a chuckle before turning my attention back to my benefactor, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

"It was practically an order, I couldn't refuse." Cobra gruffly said, and I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. I walked closer to Cobra, digging through my pockets until I found a small slip of paper with an 8 digit number on it.

"There's my den-den mushi line, make sure to call me for any updates." I said in an as professional tone as I could muster, and Cobra nodded, placing the piece of paper by his bedside.

In silent steps, I walked to the edge of the window, momentarily turning back to him, "I'll cash in my second favour once Crocodile is defeated."

With those words, I exited through the window, dashing through the streets off Alubarna to my hotel.

After a full night's rest and some time dedicated to preparing my supplies, I was finally ready to leave the capital of Alubarna and head to Raintown. My vacation in the hot sweltering sun was fun while it lasted, but I needed to get to work.

Learning that she was located in Raintown, it made sense how Crocodile got to her so easily as his base was located in Raintown. In hindsight it was obvious, but something I easily overlooked.

With the Baroque works at his side, Crocodile had an amazing information network, so I needed to hurry.

I left the hotel room in a rush, using Soru to cover large amounts of distance almost instantly. By now my mastery of Soru was so high that I could use it hundreds of times before I got any kind of physical pain. It just goes to show how much training pays off.

I needed to arrive at Raintown fast and find Robin, as the chances were that Crocodile was most likely on her tail as well. Coming to Alabasta, I had 2 goals.

The first goal was to find Nico Robin and have her join the Revolutionary Army, while the second goal was to eliminate Crocodile and prevent the events from canon happening.

Depending on the circumstances when I arrived, both my goals could be much harder to accomplish. If I arrived after Robin had accepted Crocodile's offer and joined the Baroque works, it would be much harder to get her to leave.

If worse comes to worse, I would have to forcibly bring her back to Baltigo. It certainly wouldn't leave a good impression on Robin, but it would be the best for both her and me.

I sped up my pace, increasing the rate I kicked the ground while ignoring the minor discomfort that had just formed in my legs.

==

It took 3 days of travelling to finally arrive in Raintown. During this time, I received updates every night from Cobra through my snail who had sadly found nothing new, but it was fine. Now that Cobra had confirmed she was actually here and in Raintown, I had a much greater chance at finding her.

After arriving, I booked a hotel room which was close to the casino and took a warm bath to relax my legs.

After a full night's rest, I was finally ready to start my search for Nico Robin. During my time training with the Revolutionary Army, we were taught many things, one of which included how to properly look for someone or something without drawing too much attention to yourself.

A fundamental truth I learned during my lessons was that hiding in plain sight actually worked. Since Robin was caught trying to steal money from the casino, I could deduce it was the place she most likely would show up at again, or it was the place where I could get information on her.

Part of hiding in plain sight was making yourself look as normal as possible. If a person looked at you, then they shouldn't even spare a second glance at you if you were doing it right. In a Casino, the perfect way to stay hidden was to do what everyone else does in a casino, gamble.

"Can I join?" I walked up to a roulette table and showed my chips. Seeing my chips, the dealer nodded and I took my seat next to the man beside me.

"100 chips on 53 black please." I broke the silence and shoved a portion of my chips outwards.

"Same as me?" The man sitting beside me asked, and I let out a light hum, confirming his thoughts.

"I trust your intuition, you look like you have been doing this a long time." I said with a chuckle.

The man raised an eyebrow, "What gives it away?"

"Nothing. I just trust my intuition as well." I said cheekily, taking a sip of my drink as the man beside me smiled.

"Spinning! 2 bets on black 53!" The dealer interrupted our conversation as he began spinning the wheel. A second later, he tossed in 2 white balls that spun around the edges of the wheel.

[A/N: I honestly have no idea how roulette works, so forgive me if this is incorrect.]

"Mind telling me the result, young man?" The person sitting beside me asked, and I dumbly nodded before forgetting the man was blind.

"Sure…" I said, recovering from the embarrassment. The 2 white balls eventually stopped and landed in black 53.

"Looks like we won." I said with a smile, one which was replicated by the old man.

"B-both players have won. Winnings are 700 and 1000 respectively." The dealer stuttered as he recovered from the shock, handing us our winnings.

"Finally…" The man sighed in relief, and I looked at him funnily, although he didn't notice it.

"You don't win often?" I questioned, knowing he should have observation haki that would give him an advantage. Or maybe he believed using haki was cheating? Who knows.

"Not often…This is my first lucky break in a while." He paused with a hand to his chin, "Oh! Maybe you're my lucky charm!" He exclaimed.

"Maybe I am. You wanna go a few more rounds and test that theory out?" I asked with a devilish grin, only trumped by the one from the man sitting across from me. Behind me the dealer sweatdropped in fear and had a bad premonition in his gut.

(2 hours later)

"Both players have won. Winnings are 11000 and 12000..." The dealer said with a tired voice, the complete opposite to the 2 winners sitting across from him.

""Yes!"" We both exclaimed. Since his partner in crime arrived, he had won over 10000 tokens, so it was understandable the future admiral would be ecstatic.

"Young man, what time is it?"

"5.00pm, why?" I questioned.

"I have to leave soon, I booked a merchant ship which leaves tomorrow at 4am, so I must retire early." The man explained, bowing his head slightly.

I waved my hands, though he couldn't see it. "No no, don't mention it, I understand."

The man nodded and got up to leave with all of his winnings, but I stopped him before he left.

"Wait! What's your name?" I asked, getting up from my seat.

"Call me Issho." He said in a grandfatherly like tone, "What about you young man?"

"August. Hollow D August." I said with a voice barely above a whisper, making sure no one else could hear.

"Well then August, It was nice meeting you." He held out his hand, to which I shook it.

"It was nice meeting you too, Issho."