Chapter 451: From Despair to Defiance

Robin suddenly looked up and shouted to Luffy and the others across the way, “Twenty years ago, a single Buster Call destroyed my whole world—one attack that ruined countless lives.”

Standing beside her, the other members of CP9—Lucci, Bruno, Kalifa—couldn’t help but frown. All of them knew just how terrifying the Buster Call was. Only their foolish leader, Spandam, was clueless.

Robin continued, her voice trembling, “And now this same destructive force threatens me again—just when I’ve finally found companions I can truly open my heart to.”

“The more I want to be with you all, the more I drag you into my fate.”

“No matter how far I sail these seas, I can never shake off the monsters chasing me—because my enemy is the world itself, and the darkness that lurks behind it.”

“I’ve already roped you in so many times. If this keeps happening, even the kindest hearts would come to see me as nothing but a burden… You’d betray me, leave me behind. That’s what I fear most, so I don’t want you to save me. If it’s all going to end in death anyway, I’d rather die right here.”

On the other side, Luffy lowered his head after hearing Robin’s words. The rest of the crew couldn’t hide their troubled faces either.

Now they understood—Robin lacked any sense of security because she was terrified of being abandoned and becoming a burden to them.

Even though Robin’s power had grown so much, her enemy was the World Government—a force that had dominated the globe for eight hundred years. No single admiral or vice admiral could shift that balance.

Sanji mumbled to himself, “Robin…”

For the first time, Nami saw real fear on Robin’s face. “Robin!”

“So that’s how it is… Now I get it.” Zoro finally realized what Ye Fan was planning. Why had he led them to Enies Lobby instead of rescuing Robin during those three days in the shipyard?

It was all to make Robin face her fears head-on—so she could truly open up and become a real part of the Straw Hat Pirates.

“Ahahaha!”

“So that’s it! That’s the truth!”

Spandam leaped onto the wall, looking down at Robin with a smug little-man grin. “You’re right. No one’s stupid enough to let you drag them down. Hahaha!”

“Take a look at that flag, pirates!”

His eyes bloodshot, Spandam flashed a crazed smile and pointed straight up with his left hand.

Flying above was the World Government’s flag—a white canvas marked by a cross, with circles joining the center and four corners. At the bottom, the words read: ‘woRLd-GoVt!’

“That symbol represents the alliance of over seventy member nations from the world’s four seas and the Grand Line.”

Spandam shouted arrogantly across to Luffy and the others. “This is the world! Now do you see how tiny you are to oppose it?”

He was counting on one thing—there was no way a rookie band of pirates would dare attack the World Government, the biggest power on earth.

“Now you get it, don’t you? For twenty years this woman’s been hunted by a force this massive.”

But Spandam’s words didn’t scare Luffy or his crew. If anything, they only fueled Luffy’s anger.

He raised his head and stared at the flag above. “I finally know who Robin’s enemy is.”

“Usopp!”

“Shoot that flag down!”

“Right away!!”

Without a word, Usopp lifted his sniper rifle and loaded a fire round.

“Get a taste of this! Special attack—Exploding Star!”

As everyone watched in shock, Usopp’s bullet shot through the flag. The burning round set the banner ablaze, reducing it to ashes in moments.

That one act was the Straw Hat Pirates’ official declaration of war against the World Government.

Luffy knew what it meant, but he went through with it anyway—because Robin was his crewmate, someone he’d trust with his back.

“What… what is that?” Even Robin was left speechless by what Luffy and Usopp had just done.

Usopp’s shot didn’t just show his resolve to save Robin. It was a message to face the World Government head-on—and to Robin herself: they’d never see her as a burden, and she had nothing to fear about betrayal.

“All done!”

Usopp lowered his rifle, a hint of pride on his face. Courage had come from within—not from the safety of a mask.

“I can’t believe they actually did it…”

“Do they realize what it means to attack the flag?”

“These pirates… they’ve declared war on the World Government.”

Down below, marine soldiers locked in battle paused, their attention drawn upward.

Burning the World Government’s flag was nothing like just storming into Enies Lobby. Even if you escaped, the latter would mark you a dangerous pirate, but the former? That was a first for the entire ocean.

This would shake the world. Even if Luffy’s grandpa was Vice Admiral Garp, the Navy’s legendary hero, not even he could shield him now.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re looking?”

Gin saw the marines distracted, their eyes fixed on the burning flag, and the fire inside him roared even brighter. Swinging his metal staff, he charged at the lead soldier.

Bang!

The marine was sent flying by Gin’s blow. Only then did the others snap back to the present, turning their attention to the fight with Yosaku, Johnny, and Gin.

Watching the flag above burn, Gin and his companions felt a surge of strength, an urge to unleash every ounce of energy inside them. The marines in front of them became the perfect outlet.

“Luffy, have you lost your mind? You think you can survive by going up against the world?”

Spandam managed a terrified shout.

The Straw Hats’ actions showed they held no fear or respect for the World Government. That angered Spandam, but it also made him panic—if they could burn the flag so brazenly, who’s to say they wouldn’t just come for his life next?

“Just what I wanted!” Luffy shouted back at Spandam, his fists clenched tight.

Spandam flinched at Luffy’s roar, slipped off the wall, and crashed to the ground below.

Robin’s eyes filled with tears as she gazed up at the flaming flag.

“Robin! I want to hear it from you.”

“Say it—say you want to live!”

Luffy poured all his strength into his voice, calling up to Robin and drawing her gaze down to their group.

With tears in her eyes, Robin looked down at Luffy and the others.

In her mind, echoes of those darkest days returned—voices whispering, ‘Robin, you shouldn’t exist in this world… Your very existence is a crime… Robin…’

She’d always thought she didn’t have the right to wish for anything.

No one had ever given her permission to go on living.

“I really did want to die.”

But then, another voice rose up—the words Saul once told her: ‘The sea is so vast. One day you’ll find friends who can protect you. So live, Robin. Be happy!’

At first, she just whispered it in her heart, but in the end she shouted it out loud to Luffy and the crew.

If she really could make a wish, then—”I want to live! Take me with you to the sea!”