89. Iron Bones, Clear Reflections of the Road, Part 1

"Caught up!" Robin crossed her arms in front of her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"Chababa, you really are a Devil Fruit user!" Otonashi Owl looked astonished.

"Sa... saved..." Being lifted up onto the tree branch by the arms sprouted from a Devil Fruit ability, Zyabra let out a long breath.

Even Rob Lucci couldn't help but glance at the girl a few more times. He turned his head and studied Robin—if it weren't for the mission's strict requirements, he would have simply left this useless idiot behind in the jungle.

But now, it seemed like she might be somewhat useful?

Robin met the gaze of the cold-eyed boy before her, and for a moment, she suddenly felt the illusion of being stared at by a beast.

"What do you mean by a trap earlier?" Rob Lucci was the first to break the silence—he needed to confirm a suspicion. Before that brainless fool Zyabra had jumped down, this girl had issued a warning.

Robin tilted her head slightly and pointed at the predators lurking beneath the tree roots. "These dinosaurs are velociraptors; they specialize in coordinated hunting. Ambushes and decoys are their usual hunting tactics."

"You seem to know a lot about these things?" The cold-faced boy stood with his hands behind his back, his footing steady on the slightly narrow tree branch as he slowly closed the distance between himself and what he saw as their burden.

"Not really, it's just that biological books have recorded such things. I happened to read about them." The girl responded humbly with a smile.

Lucci had already walked right up to the girl. Though they were around the same age, he was still a head taller than Robin. The young leopard fixed his gaze on her deep blue eyes, trying to detect any subtle changes in expression that might indicate she was lying.

"Happened to?"

"...Mm."

"Next time you lie, remember not to blink." Lucci's expression darkened slightly—this girl was clearly a complete amateur at lying, yet she insisted on arguing with him.

"...I've read some books on paleontology and jungles." Robin's gaze flickered, avoiding direct eye contact with the boy.

Lucci raised an eyebrow. The arch of his brow, with its end shaped like an embedded magatama, made his simple gesture strangely captivating.

"Oh?"

He slipped one hand into his pocket while extending the other, pressing it against the tree trunk behind Robin.

"Can you tell me what kind of tree is behind you?" Lucci maintained this posture, lightly tapping his index finger against the bark.

Robin froze for a moment before turning to observe it for a few seconds. "It's a cycad-like tree with palm-like characteristics."

The boy proceeded to fire off several more tricky questions in rapid succession, but the girl quickly answered all of them regarding various biological and botanical subjects.

"Does your ability allow you to scout?" The young man pursed his lips.

"Hey! Lucci!" Zyabra, who had just been rescued, suddenly pointed and shouted, "Are you seriously interrogating my savior like this?! Even if it's you, I'll fight you over this!"

Lucci lowered his gaze to the girl standing close to him. On the tree beside Robin, hands with eyes embedded in them sprouted into existence.

"Looks like we just picked up a treasure, Zyabra."

The most dangerous thing in the jungle was the unknown. What kind of animals had what kind of habits? What plants were edible?

And having an encyclopedia-like person in their team undoubtedly increased their chances of survival in the wilderness.

Not to mention, this little one was also a wide-range Devil Fruit user.

"Scout!"

Up ahead, Kaku and Zyabra, gripping sharpened wooden spears, shouted in unison.

"Five o'clock direction, behind the tree ferns—target spotted."

Robin closed one eye, standing at the center of the team. Beside her was the CP squad's strongest member, Rob Lucci.

As the brain and heart of the team, Lucci was positioned in the middle formation—not only to protect the weakest members, Robin and Kalifa, but also to provide immediate support in all directions.

"You two use 'Soru' to circle around. Ensure a fatal strike."

After briefly analyzing the incoming intel, the leader swiftly issued his command.

"Yes!"

The two figures ahead instantly blurred into motion, dashing toward the target at high speed.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tree ferns, a stegosaurus leisurely chewing on tender leaves suddenly found itself restrained—dozens of arms sprouted on its body, forcefully pulling its neck upward, exposing its most vulnerable spot.

"Got it!"

Two crossed wooden spears pierced into the stegosaurus's fragile neck, accompanied by a burst of blood.

The enormous herbivore slowly collapsed with a look of bewilderment in its eyes.

"Yeah! I wanna be a stegosaurus knight!" Kalifa cheered, jumping excitedly on top of their fallen dinner.

This cycle of killing had continued for several days now.

From their initial embarrassment of being chased into the trees by velociraptors, the group gradually adapted to the jungle. The children's mentality adjusted quickly.

But Lucci did not relax. Instead, he ordered the four in the front and back to expand the perimeter of their patrols.

Compared to their previous monotonous, repetitive training, it seemed like in just a few days, they had mentally matured a great deal, with their previous combat skills improving through continuous hunting and killing.

Tonight was a night worth celebrating. In just one more day, they would finally walk out of this love-hate jungle.

The children gathered the berries and wild vegetables they had identified and collected along the way, piling them onto a large banana leaf.

The youngest, a blonde-haired girl, was in charge of striking a fire starter to generate sparks—without a campfire in the jungle at night, it was practically suicide. Whether for roasting and warming food or for using the animals' natural fear of fire, it was essential to getting at least some semblance of safe sleep.

Lindemann, compared to those little brats, had lost a lot of weight. Crawling through the forest, he concealed himself with fallen leaves and branches.

Beyond ensuring their safety, as an officer, he also had to make sure he followed them out of the jungle without being noticed.

After these past few days, Lindemann wasn't sure if his survival skills had improved, but his scouting and counter-scouting techniques had certainly advanced by leaps and bounds.

Watching the brats start roasting meat over the fire, Lindemann swallowed hard and gnawed on his dry rations alongside some berries.

"Tch, do they have to lecture little Robin every single day?" Lindemann muttered, peering through his binoculars at the distant scene.

Half an hour after dinner, the squad took turns teaching Robin the Six Powers techniques.

Even though they were all still beginners themselves, not knowing 'Soru' was absolute agony. If they had been using 'Soru' to travel, they would have reached the camp and been bragging to the Marines three days ago.

But unfortunately, their mission's key figure didn't know this explosive movement technique.

Thus, the team could only take it slow, covering a set distance each day.

Even though they knew it was unrealistic to expect Robin to master 'Soru' in just a few days, the team still patiently assigned a member each day to guide her through the correct power-exertion techniques.

"The core of 'Soru' is explosive force. Stop stupidly stomping on your toes in place." Lucci stood opposite Robin, looking slightly irritated.

The little girl in front of him was clearly a complete amateur at physical combat—had the past few days of Kaku and the others personally demonstrating been wasted on a bunch of dinosaurs?

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