User blog:Shinjojin/Quick thoughts on Chapter 739 + The COMPLETE version of Chapter 2 of Shadow Blossom

Wow, it's been a long dang time since I have made a blog post, hasn't it?

Well anyways, let's start with some quick thoughts about chapter 739 and what I think of Dessora arc so far. From the looks of it, It's getter better and better, especially with Sabo being alive and kicking ass! As for the current chapter itself, I find it as an OK chapter, but it could’ve been better. Kyros being the toy soldier is not surprising to me at all and seeing Robin in her previous clothes instead of her disguise was quite awkward. I'm guessing that she must have dressed up the clone like a guard while she hides somewhere. Anyway, this chapter gets a 3/5 from me. I hope the next one is better.

Next up is the one thing that's been long overdue, and that is the complete version of chapter two of Shadow blossom! But before we do that, I feel that must inform you all that chapter one has been revised (thanks to my new co-writer for this story, Misa-kike-chi), and thus rebooted the story in order to make it better. Here's the new chapter one:

The beginning, 1502 A.O.P Ohara Island

Her home, burnt to the ground.

That was the last thing 8-year-old Robin saw before she was escorted away in cuffs. Soon thereafter, she promptly passed out, officially in the custody of CP9 and the marines.

She was taken to Marine HQ for a...thorough...interrogation. Usually they saved such methods for Impel Down, but the higher-ups decided that the Last Oharan was a special case because of her age and the nature of her crime.

It went on and on for hours. Robin, already on the verge of mental breakdown due to post traumatic disorder, was beginning to wish she could simply die so that the torture could end. Choking on her own blood, Robin suddenly remembered the words of her dear friend Saul and her mother, Olvia. With a burst of adrenaline, something inside of Robin snapped. “ I wanna live! ”

An immense power deep within her erupted and hit the interrogators with an immense amount of fury, desperation, and will. When she came to her senses, she opened her eyes to a torture chamber littered with the bodies of unresponsive officers, each foaming at the mouth. The soldier monitoring the process in another room, only mildly affected by Robin’s scream, scrambled to report what appeared to be Haoshoku Haki to his superiors.

News of the incident spread throughout the World Government, all the way to the Gorousei. The five elders organized a vote: keep the Last Oharan alive and make use of her for World Justice, or eliminate her immediately. After some debate, the vote came out four to one: Robin lives.

Robin was drugged and sent away. She woke in a laboratory, two figures standing above her. She was lying on a bed, all sorts of devices and wires connecting her head to the numerous blinking and beeping machines around her. Voices faded in and out and she only understood a portion of what was said.

“Is the process complete?”

“Almost. It’s only 90% done. Soon her mind will be ready.”

“Good.”

The rest of the conversation slurred into a nonsensical blabber and Robin slowly fell back into unconsciousness.

A few days later, the Marines escorted Robin to Mariejois to meet the Gorousei. Upon arrival, she was brought to their meeting room.

“Young one, you are the last of your people. You were unconscious when we found you, so you probably don’t remember too much of what happened.”

Robin hesitantly nodded.

“To recover quickly, you should refrain from trying to remember because your health may be compromised.”

It was the same warning she had heard over the past few days. Robin understood the consequences and extremity of the relapse. She wasn’t going to try to remember even if she was paid to.

“I’ll explain the gist of what happened to you. You were on an island that housed a group of peaceful intellectuals. You learned a lot from your sensei, but life became difficult because of the major civil war going on between the other, more violent citizens. The status of the island was spiraling downwards at an increasingly alarming rate. We sent troops in an attempt to assess and calm the situation, but they unfortunately arrived too late. You were the only survivor we were able to find.”

The elder paused to be sure Robin was following his explanation and was pleased to see that she was. “You have also inherited a very special gift that only one in a million people possess.” At Robin’s puzzled expression, he explained that it had helped her survive the mass destruction. Even more astoundingly, it had simultaneously amplified the extent of her intelligence and granted her the ability to read the ancient language, a feat no one else in the world could perform. She accepted his explanation easily. It was reasonable after all.

“You can spend the rest of your life in a foster home, or you may join us in our pursuit of World Justice. The choice is yours, child, and it will be extremely difficult, but what will you choose? Will you help us fight against all evil in the world? It is a great honor given only to those deserving of it.”

Robin wasn’t sure what a foster home was, but it sounded very similar to staying at her Aunt's, the one home she remembered. One thing she was sure about though, was the fact that if she helped the elders, who  needed  her abilities to fight all evil in the world, then she could potentially prevent the same scenario that happened to her, for other people. With these things in mind, little, eight-year-old Robin lifted her head to look the elders straight in the eyes and said, “Yes.”

For reasons she couldn’t understand, a set of regretful tears fell from her eyes.

“Good. We will send for you again in the near future.”

Robin was again led to another room by her single, uniformed escort where she took in her surroundings, silently awed by her regal surroundings. Meanwhile, the elders discussed what to do with her now that she was theirs to control.

“He did well.”

“Who do you mean?”

“Vegapunk.”

“Ah, you mean the brainwashing technique. It helps that she is so young.”

“Indeed. In any case, we should enlist her into the COJ (Children of Justice) program. She  is  an orphan, and she possesses the potential to enter the CP9 or another special division in the Marines with her Devil Fruit and Haki capabilities. All in favor, say “Aye.”

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

“Nay.” Four heads turned in surprise to look at the youngest elder. “ Because  she is so gifted and possesses such great potential, I say we should enlist her into  that  program.”

“Y-You don’t mean- ”

“But we’ve sworn to abandon that program years ago after countless failures!” the balding elder interjected.

“Yes, we did. But something tells me that she might be the one, the one who will become our first successful subject. Don’t you agree, gentlemen?”

Silence reigned in the room. After mulling it over and then discussing outloud, the oldest said to the young elder, “Alright. We have talked it over and we have decided to enlist her into the project as you suggested, but only one of us will take her as his personal charge, and that will be you. The moment she shows signs of becoming just like our past failed subjects or regaining her memories, she must be eliminated. Immediately. Understood?”

“Understood. A very wise choice,” the youngest elder smirked.

The skinny elder reached for the Den-Den Mushi. “Vegapunk, did you send in your written report on how much memory Nico Robin retains? ...Good, good. Revive the ‘Super Weapon’ program and codename it:  Project Black Rose .”

