Summary:
Hina explains to Smoker that they sank the Bon Kurei ship and captured its crew, but the Straw Hats managed to escape. Although Hina notes that Smoker seems pleased that they managed to escape. King Cobra continues the speech to the kingdom that Vivi started. Chaka mourns Pell’s death at his grave, although she admits that she cannot accept that Pell is truly gone. Back at Yuba’s, Toto is still laughing since hearing the speech throughout the kingdom, as he is one of the few people who knows the true extent of the Straw Hats’ involvement in saving Arabasta. They will then focus on the various people and animals that have interacted with the Straw Hats during their journey in the desert. Among them are the reactions of citizens and plans for the future. The crocodile casino will probably be closed because people don’t have time to care about it and they don’t want to. It is then revealed that Pell survived the blast.
The Marines continue to attack the Going Merry and it appears to be sinking. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji decide they have to fight them when they trip over the large metal pipes that Usopp was holding – which they then decide to throw away. Luffy throws them all off the ship and they end up attacking the naval ships and disabling them. They use this to their advantage and quickly escape. After hearing of the escape, Smoker informs Tashigi of the bounties on Luffy and Zoro, informing her of his exploits at Whiskey Peak and his victory over Daz Bonez in Arabast. He assures her that they will have their match another time as Tashigi vows to defeat Zoro.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats lament the loss of Vivi, except for Zoro, who says that if they’re going to miss her so much, they might as well make her come. The others insult him (except Luffy, who doesn’t know how to come up with a proper insult). Suddenly the door to the captain’s cabin opens and Nico Robin appears. Everyone who knows who it is is panicking. Robin says that Luffy did something to her and Sanji immediately gets mad at him. Luffy has no idea what she’s talking about, but Robin insists that he subjected her to “unbearable treatment” and that he must take responsibility by allowing her to become part of their crew.
A flashback to the temple collapsing as Luffy lay unconscious. Robin gives King Cobra the antidote to the crocodile venom and tells him that Luffy could survive the collapse thanks to his rubber body. She admits that she lied to Crocodile about the Poneglyph and never intended to give him the weapon: the Poneglyph inscriptions are actually about Pluto, but she tells Crocodile that it only lists the monarchs of Alabasta. As Cobra administers the cure, he tells him the truth: all he wants to know is the True History through the Rio Poneglyph. But now she gave up. She had spent 20 years searching and Arabasta was her last good clue. At that moment, she believed that there were simply too many enemies in the way of achieving her dream. Luffy then wakes up and saves Cobra and Robin, even though she tells him to let her die, but he flatly ignores her, “Why do I have to listen to you?”
Back in the present, Robin says that she has nowhere else to go and that Luffy’s “crime” made her live when she wished to die. Luffy lets her into the crew without another word, shocking the others. He says he is no longer a threat to them. When she allows Luffy and Chopper to play with her powers, Usopp tries to interrogate her but fails miserably and ends up being afraid of her. However, Nico Robin reveals something about her past: she’s been an archaeologist since she was eight, but she’s also done a lot of other jobs, including killing. Nami is bribed with gems and jewels to accept her and Sanji was speechless because she is a woman. Meanwhile, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper are having too much fun playing games with her. The only one who remains suspicious is Zoro, but even he is briefly disarmed by her cheerfulness.
When things return to the way they were on the Going Merry, flash back to Arabasta one last time: Pell drops his crutch when he finds himself standing by his own grave.