Shanks stood and listened to the Archaeologist talking and explaining the devotion of her and her crew to Luffy, as she spoke he couldn’t help but think back to forming his own crew after watching Roger being executed. He listened to her his face as stoic as ever until she had finished talking and she was stood as defiant as ever in front of him. Slowly a smile spread onto his face until he lifted his head and laughed.
"Thank you Nico Robin, that was all i needed to hear" he said before turning his back to her and starting to walk away "Remember what you told me, in the times to come, because you’re right, I do know him I know that your small crew means more to him that his own life ever could, I needed to know that you all felt the same".
He stopped mid stride before raising his arm from his sword hilt and held up his fist above his head “Look after him for me” he said “He’s gonna be the Pirate King”
The first moment she was stunned silent when she heard him laughing, a rare thing for her in itself. Then her lips curled into a smile answering his. These words, coming from a man with a history like his felt strangely reassuring. He had tested her, and as it seemed she had passed without a doubt.
"You really want him to surpass you, don't you?" Robin replied quietly. "You know whom Luffy attracts and why. And why he is the only one who can lead the era to a positive path, simply because he is who he is. He didn't only hire us, Akagami, he gave us hope for our own dreams and friendship no matter who we were, neither of his comerades will ever forget how much we owe to him, even if he is... eccentric at times" her smile turned into a smirk for a second, then she looked calmly at the man who had raised his fist. A soft sting, when she remembered Alabasta, the time her crew had not yet been her family, where she had watched them salute a lot like this, when she was still a stowaway, lost, bitter...
"He will. And I will stand with him until my last breath."