Chapter Text
Pirates weren’t good people. By nature of their very definition, they were people who plundered, people who ravaged, and people who took too much at every chance they received all for the sake of their own selfish and lofty ambitions. A pirate would sooner blow the brains out of an innocent civilian than relinquish any of his hard stolen treasure and gold. Men, women, children, and everyone all fell the same at the hands of the pirates, with nothing to show other having their valuables and possessions picked clean like the crows to their corpses. Those were the kinds of people the Navy and World Government were supposed to protect the public from. The Navy and World Government, parading themselves as the white of justice in direct opposition to the twisted black of the pirates. Praised and called for at the first sign of trouble, the thunder of their boots stomping in formation and the click of their guns was said to send even the worst of pirates scurrying away like rats. Whispered of as the heroes of the sea, the brave troops that will save everyone from the rogues and villains of the world. Trafalgar Law saw through it all.
Marines would come in legions of ships and weapons to save a town’s valuables only to turn around and snatch those same valuables away at gunpoint in the name of claiming the celestial tribute. Marines, who preach for freedom and safety yet turn a blind eye to tyranny and oppression at the first flash of treasure and money. Marines, the alleged ally of the weak and general public, who extort and exploit the labors and hospitality of those they are sworn to protect and serve. And the World Government worst of all, the proclaimed keepers of peace and unity alike, who would allow a population to flourish under their local resources, only to turn around and extinguish their entire existence like the flame of a candle under the guise of a falsely labeled disease, reaping their profits and burning both the corpses and the island from history.
In that vein, pirates might have been preferable to the Navy. At the very least, they did all of their nefarious and malicious activities upfront, without frolicking under the charade of spouting nonsense like hope and righteousness beforehand. But pirates were always going to be pirates in the end.
Trafalgar Law was only a mere child when he learned that there was no such thing as justice in this world. Or, at least, an objective justice. There were good people who were pirates and bad people who were marines, but in the end, everyone acted in their own self interest. Vigilante justice was nothing but a far fetched dream, concocted by the fantastical aspirations and hopes of children ignorant to the world around them. In this world, there was no such thing as Sora, warrior of the Sea. No one who would come for him in his time of need and right the wrongs of every day. So he had to deliver his own justice. Just like everyone else around him, Law became a pirate for his own self interest, chasing ambition and justice alike as he set off in the Grand Line towards the New World. At least as a pirate, Law could fly under a flag of his own design, serving as both a representation of the cross he chose to bear and to honor the person he held dear. Additionally, there was nothing more cathartic than metaphorically and literally sticking it to the Marines as a pirate every time they engaged and he became more and more notorious.
Pirate though he was, there were still some lines that Law drew, and some vestiges of visceral hate for certain things that carried on well into his adulthood. One in particular happened to be bread. The other was the rotten presence of underground markets, laced with illicit activity and shady handlings. The contents of the market itself didn’t matter quite as much as the existence of the market did; the mere thought of back alley dealings and exchanges of money and the likely illegal processes of manufacturing reeked of corruption and exploitation and brought back unpleasant memories. Memories of boisterous laughter around a fancy dinner table and children and adults alike storming warehouses and brandishing weapons. The unbidden image of a man with a wide, mocking grin wearing pointed sunglasses and a garish pink feather coat was enough for the heat of irritation to slowly bring his blood to a boil.
Which is why, in their journey through the Grand Line on an unassuming island called Hotoba, despite the friendly faces of the residents and its reputation as a tourist spot with its tropical trees and delicacies, there was an undercurrent of fear and control running through the island’s veins that made Law’s eyes twitch. Doctor that he was, the subtle markings indicating an injection of some sort on some of the townspeople’s wrists did not go unnoticed by him, along with the clear physical manifestations that went along with it. No happy countenance could hide the dilated pupils, the sunken cheeks, and the crazed, reddened eyes that were reminiscent of addiction to a drug. The civilians who had no such signs of substance abuse had their cheeks hollowed for different reasons, in spite of the profits their lucrative tourist businesses brought, they appeared malnourished and making their living on dimes, no doubt as a result of someone in their family using their hard earnings for drugs. All of it threatened to make Law’s stomach turn, disgusted by the stench of desperation and poorly bought gratification at every single turn. Regardless, if these people were deliberately pouring every ounce of their blood, sweat, and money into these illegal drugs, the results were theirs to reap and no concern of his. He didn’t want to spend a second more on this island than necessary.
It was only when one of his crewmates disappeared and delayed their departure that the fangs and claws of the murky swamp of a drug cartel they found themselves in began to show. They found his crewmate at the edge of one of the backwater alleys, spasming uncontrollably and foaming at the mouth, with two undeniable puncture wounds on his wrist. Although he knew he would have been able to cut the drug out of his system with his Devil Fruit, now that the drug had a chance to circulate through his body, the withdrawal effects and the aftershock would have been nigh unbearable without a proper dosage of the antidote. Law didn’t particularly care about the island, nor its inhabitants that indulged in the underground drug trade and allowed its existence to rule over and control every aspect of their lives. But for those involved in the underground drug organization to inject those same drugs and harm his crewmate? It was unforgivable.
With maps and information garnered from members of the organization they cornered and defeated, Law and his crew were able to quickly and easily piece together the entire puzzle of what was lurking beneath the depths of Hotoba. The underground drug cartel, FLIx, was an organization that mass produced and sold a highly addictive drug, indulging its users in a feeling of bliss and ecstasy and leaving them in a crippling state of desperation and withdrawal without regular dosages. Although the cartel produced various other types of drugs, the star of their show was without a doubt the drug circulated on Hotoba, where members of the organization would forcibly inject it into citizens. Against their will, the drug would then warp and suction itself into all aspects of that person’s life, gradually sinking their mind so deep into both happiness and despair that without it, they were a shell of a human being. Before long, money would flow from all directions, whether by the forced addicts to feed their own mind breaking addiction, or the families and loved ones of those affected, who couldn’t bear leaving their loved one in such a state.
At the top of it all was a man named Ramsay, a mousy looking man, always donned in some manner of pinstripe suit that stretched to fit his stout, rotund body, with a penchant for women and fashion. From what they gathered, he was a snivelly, paranoid, petty man, whose appearance often looked like that of a bullied bellboy rather than that of an organization head. A man who saw danger at every turn, who kept his enemies close and allies even closer yet, would most definitely have a stock of antidote readily available, in the unlikely chance that his demonic drug would come back around to bite him or his allies in the rear.
It was an almost pitifully easy endeavor to raid and overrun the drug cartel in its underground mansion haven, the Heart Pirates going above and beyond in causing a ruckus wherever possible and completely overhauling and destroying the manufacturing areas in their search for the antidote. In their arrogance and leisure at the expense of the citizen’s profits, the organization was woefully underprepared for the sudden attack. On the way to the main office, there were only a handful of formidable fighters that stood in Law’s way, and though there were quite a few that gave him a run for his money, he knew within seconds that they would have never died for their boss. Without the drive of loyalty behind them, even their best fighters fell eventually. Even a man who commanded all the wealth and power in the world was nothing without the respect and loyalty of his comrades, and such unmotivated fighters never stood a chance against Law and his crew.
Law pushed open the overly ornate and embellished door of the main office, a lazy grin stretching across his face as the room abruptly erupted into squeals and screams, the man of the hour himself pouring so much sweat that his wispy thin mustache drooped and his glasses were sliding off the bridge of his nose.
“O-Out, out, get me out!” Ramsay yelled, snot flying from his nose as two guards at his side grabbed him and whisked him away through another exit not a second later.
The remaining guards in the room opened fire on Law and his crew, the bullets uselessly ricocheting off the blade of Kikoku before they could reach them.
“Captain!” As Shachi ran forward to disarm and knock out the guards, Penguin came up from behind, having been tasked with searching for the antidote and destroying the manufacturing plants on the other side of the town. “We found vials of the antidote and administered it! He’s doing fine and resting now!”
“Oh, is he? Good, then.” Law replied with a self-satisfied hum, already having cut most of the drug out of his crewmate with his ability beforehand. Casually, he strolled around the ransacked office and examined the papers that littered the room, most of which detailed production and characteristics of the drug being administered throughout Hotoba Town.
“We don’t need these. Let’s give chase.” Law declared, throwing the papers back down onto the table and motioning to Penguin and Shachi, who sprinted through the exit that Ramsay had taken. As Law moved to follow after, he nodded his head towards another one of his crew members. “Hey. Find Bepo and the others and tell them to meet us outside once he’s done.”
“Yes!” A few of his members split off in the opposite direction to find Bepo as Law entered through the busted door. The passageway was crudely and recently made, dug straight from the building into the dirt and upwards, no doubt leading to somewhere near a port for an easy and quick getaway. Dirt shook and fell from crevices as the machinery that facilitated the production line combusted and shook the foundation of the underground mansion, Law paying all of it no heed as all of his crew would safely reconvene outside soon enough. Gradually, moonlight began to spill within the tunnel as it led upwards, and Law finally found himself emerging from the earth into a dock as he suspected, warehouses and ships docked in ports surrounding them. A shout caught his attention, and he turned to find Shachi and Penguin confronting the boss, poised to jump into action as Ramsay held a gun towards them, hands trembling with fear.
He slowly backed up to the docks, nearly stumbling over one of the unconscious bodies of one of the guards that accompanied him outside and spluttered. “D-Don’t move! You damn pirates… I haven’t lost yet!”
His aim flitted between Law, Penguin, and Shachi, eyes wildly flying to Law as he chuckled. “Haven’t you?”
“D-Don’t be ridiculous, you stupid pirates,” To his credit, despite the stumbling of his words, he managed to pull his face into a sneer and hissed, “It’s not over yet. A-As long as I have knowledge of the drug and how to manufacture it, I can always build my empire again elsewhere! Not to mention, the citizens of Hotoba need me! They won’t be able to get drugs or the antidote if I’m gone!”
“I see… that is a rather convincing argument.” Law muses, tapping Kikoku against his shoulder with a wry smile.
“S-See?! As long as I survive, I can—”
A loud sound interrupts him mid sentence, as all of their attention is drawn to the warehouse right beside them that acted as the cover to the main office directly beneath it. There, a portion of the wall facing them has crumbled, with Bepo and the rest of the Heart Crew emerging from the dust, a dark green cloth bag slung triumphantly over the bear’s shoulders.
“Captain!” Bepo exclaims, panting slightly as he drops the bag onto the ground proudly. “We got the rest of the antidotes in the mansion!”
“Good work.” Law praises before turning back around to a pale faced Ramsay, his expression aghast. Law motions in the direction of the bag with a smirk. “This what you were referring to?”
“Y-You…” In an instant, his face transforms from white to red as anger contorts his expression and his hands tremble with a newfound rage. Law holds out his hand, his palm facing the ground and his fingers relaxed, a ring of blue beginning to whir right beneath. “You damn pirates—!!”
Enraged, Ramsay yells as three shots ring out from his handgun, bullets speeding towards the Captain of the Heart Pirates.
“Room.”
The blue ring in his hand expands in an instant, the sphere of light stretching out from Law in all directions, engulfing Ramsay entirely. Without wasting a single second after the sphere is formed, Law turns over his hand, withdrawing his pinky and ring finger into his palm.
“Shambles.”
Law vanishes from sight, the bullets flying right past the space he previously occupied and clear of his crew, lodging themselves into another warehouse. In the blink of an eye, Law is at Ramsay’s side, the corner of his lips pulling into a gratified smile as he begins to slowly unsheathe Kikoku.
“W-Wait!” Ramsay throws out both his hands towards Law, his mouth opening and closing in a frenzy and red faced and staring in abject horror as he fumbles, almost as if deciding between whether to shoot again or beg for his life. “Please! Y-You can’t do this—!”
With a long satisfying shiiiiiiing as he frees Kikoku, Law gracefully draws long arcs across the entirety of Ramsay’s body, cleanly splicing the man into dozens of parts. As Ramsay is split apart, a bloodcurdling and anguished scream erupts from him as his head falls back towards the ground, twisting and writhing as his vision blurs.
Despite his arching and struggling, his scream slowly dies off in his throat with a note of confusion as he wills himself to stare down in perplexed shock at his scattered body. “H-Huh?? I’m not dead…?”
“Unfortunately so.” Law replies with a mirthful smile, returning Kikoku to its sheathe as he holds up both his hands, fingers poised towards the body. As he lifts up a hand, one of Ramsay’s dismembered body parts begins to float in tandem, prompting a horrified yell from the man. Law does the same with his other hand and another body part as a result, the bits and pieces of Ramsay begin to float and quickly spin around before being thrusted into the wrong placements, legs attaching to the back, hands regrouping with the pelvis, and parts of his torso combining with pieces of his arms. Finally, as if to top it all off, Law’s hand motions towards Ramsay’s head and shoulders, the only part of him still left entirely intact, as his palm faces upward and his hand slowly glides up, taking Ramsay along with him. Like a cherry on top, Ramsay’s head and shoulders are placed delicately atop the grotesque and mutilated body of Ramsay, resembling a crudely misassembled mannequin more than a human at this point.
Laughter sounds from Law as Ramsay shrieks curses and disbelief, the form of his stature wobbling as his scattered arms and legs work to flail the best they can, but never quite moving from its place.
His Room dissipates and the rest of his crew jog up to meet Law, staring wearily at the garbled mess of a human their Captain had created as it screams profanities.
“Captain… what should we do with him?”
“You still have that rope, right?” Law asks with a grin, glancing back towards Shachi who nods. “Tie him to one of the lamp posts.”
As Shachi and Penguin nod and make their way to lift the squirming body of Ramsay to one of the nearby lamp posts, Bepo approaches Law, appearing slightly pensive as he gestures to the dark green cloth bag still in their possession. “Um, Captain… What should we do about this? Are we going to administer them to the townspeople?”
Law takes a moment to stare at the bag of antidotes before glancing away nonchalantly. “No. That’d take too long and it’s too much work. Leave the bag in the town. We don’t need to stay here any longer than necessary.”
Although his words are curt and pointed, Bepo’s eyes twinkle as he regards his Captain with an awed expression, clapping his paws together. “Captain! You’re leaving the antidotes for the people! How nice, Captain!”
“Don’t say it like that, Bepo!” Law tsks, fixing the bear mink a reprimanding look, although it does nothing to dull his enthusiasm. “It’s nothing like that. We’re pirates. We aren’t obligated to do anything for them.”
Bepo merely gives a cheeky grin in response, opting to not point out that they were by no means obligated to leave the antidotes for the people either, knowing full well that Law would only grumble and protest at the mere suggestion of doing anything remotely helpful to civilians.
“I don’t care about the antidote. Whether the civilians will use it or not is no business of mine.” Law states with an air of finality, willfully ignoring the amused and knowing snickers from the rest of his crew.
“We’re done, Captain!”
Penguin and Shachi regroup with them as Law and the others examine the image of the mess of limbs and parts that make up Ramsay’s body, his face red with anger and indignation as his body struggles uselessly against the ropes that hold him down.
“I won’t forget this! I won’t forget this! You’ll pay, you damn pirates! Once I get my empire back, I’ll…”
Slowly, Law and his crew begin to tune out the sound of Ramsay’s incessant and spite filled nonsensical rambling, the man not having stopped once in his tirade since he began.
Penguin points at him exasperatedly. “Are we really going to just leave him here, Captain?”
A few murmurs of agreement ran through the rest of his crew.
Law sighed, seriously beginning to debate if he should have shoved something in the man’s mouth in addition. “Like I said, it’s not our business. It’d be a waste of our time to properly deal with him. We’ll leave him to the Navy and let them handle it.”
“That’s right!” Shachi sounded in agreement, stretching his arms above his head. “Leave him to their jurisdiction. Besides, I wanna hurry and get off this island already!”
“Bepo?” Law glanced towards his navigator.
“The log’s all set, Captain! We can sail at any time!”
“It’s settled, then.” Grinning, Law and his crew turned their backs on Ramsay, already beginning to lose themselves in the midst of relaxed chattering and the excitement of finally being able to depart, completely ignorant to the mysterious woman watching them from above until the sound of an amused feminine voice chimes from above.
“Oh? Are you leaving already?”
The tension that had left the Heart Pirates immediately skyrocketed at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, their bodies jerking towards the sound of it and adopting defensive stances as Law gripped the scabbard of his sword and hardened his eyes. Looking up, a woman sat atop the roof of one of the warehouse buildings next to them, her legs crossed and her chin resting daintily in the palm of her hand. She wore a purple skirt donned with a white fringe trim as well as open chested purple bodice, held together in the front by the crisscrossing of lace strings that accentuated her curves. As far as appearances went, she didn’t look to be anyone immediately associated with the underground drug cartel.
The rim of the purple cowboy hat she wore shaded her eyes, but the gleam of her dark blue irises shone through with mirth. Her lips curled up into a smile as her eyes narrowed. “How disappointing… and here I thought you’d perhaps finish my job for me…”
“W-Who’s that beautiful lady?!” One of his crewmates exclaimed, Law slowly turning to face the woman fully as she smiled, her eyes never leaving him. His brow twitched, slightly irked as he debated how long she had been there observing them. If she had been present since they emerged from the underground, then she must have already formed a consensus about the situation and pegged him as the Captain of the group, if the way she was staring him down was any indication. Depending on her motive, he was ready to draw his sword in a heartbeat, though she clearly didn’t appear to have the same intentions of engaging in combat. He let his hand fall down to his side, lax as he regarded her.
“Who’re you? You don’t look to be one of his minions.”
“I’m not.” She confirmed with a mindful hum, eyes wandering over to the lamp post where Ramsay had quieted, staring up at the woman in terror. “Don’t worry, I’m no enemy of yours. I just happen to have an errand to run regarding our friend here…”
A shrill, piercing shriek interrupted her as their attention was drawn to the disassembled man, quivering with such intensity that he rattled the lamp post behind him as snot began to run down his nose and his eyes bugged out.
“N-N-Nico Robin?!”
Instantaneously, the smile fell off the woman’s face as her gaze sharpened, the air around her growing harsh and cold as she fixed the man a look that could kill.
“Oh dear… that won’t do Mr. Ramsay.” Though her tone was still airy, the expression on her face was anything but as she lifted her chin from her palm, settling her hands in her lap. “You know better than to call me that.”
Nico Robin? The name bounced off the walls of Law’s mind as he turned it over this way and that and frowned, feeling a twinge of familiarity at the sound of it, but unable to fully place it.
“It’s unfortunate, but this is where our cooperation with you ends, Mr. Ramsay. You’ve been made privy to information Mr. 0 would like to keep under wraps. You understand, right?” Her eyes flashed dangerously. “If those pirates over there won’t grant you the luxury of death, then…”
“M-Mr. 0?!” Ramsay shouts in disbelief, his lips twisting into a furious scowl as he howls at her, kicking and thrashing with a renewed anger. “D-Damn you, Miss All Sunday! Once I get away and rebuild my empire, I’ll take you all down, all of you! Those pirates, you, and that damn Cro—”
“Seis Fleur.”
Suddenly, seven hands identical to the woman’s sprout from various places of Ramsay’s body, winding themselves around the various joints scattered around his body as well as his chin and the side of his head, one hand conveniently slapped over his mouth.
“Hold!” At her command, the arms wrapped around his mess of limbs tightened, effectively stopping any of his squirming and spluttering as his face paled, head thrashing against her hold.
“A-Arms! Arms sprouted out of nowhere!” Penguin gasped, stepping back in surprise as Law’s gaze slid back over to the mysterious woman. Miss All Sunday? A Devil Fruit user?
Now that Ramsay’s blubbering was effectively silenced, the woman allowed herself a small laugh, meeting Law’s eyes with an amused smile.
“I take it I have you to thank for this wonderful abstract sculpture of a man, Mr. Trafalgar Law? Although it’s a bit difficult to hold him down… I’m grateful you left his head and shoulders intact, at the very least.”
An easy grin stretched across Law’s face. “You know of me?”
“Captain of the Heart Pirates, ‘Surgeon of Death’ Trafalgar Law… Am I mistaken?” She asked with a coy tilt of her head, causing her raven hair that fell just below her shoulders to frame her face.
“No… I’m flattered. Although, you’d have to be pretty twisted yourself to consider that creation ‘wonderful’.” Law replies with an even smile, keeping a mindful eye on the wheezing Ramsay in the corner as she laughs in reply. Her body language and demeanor wasn’t exactly hostile, but that didn’t mean her presence didn’t present any danger in and of itself. Though he could sense some of his crew lower their guard due to her casual attitude, Law would merely play the situation by ear for now. While she had most certainly already seen a display of his ability, he had also witnessed her’s now, which meant there was fair ground for both of them in a fight if it came down to it.
“That being said… I don’t believe you answered my question. Who are you?”
“Like I said, I’m not your enemy…” She reiterates with a rather charming, yet evasive smile, leaning slightly forward. “But, if you must know, I’ll throw you a bone. I’m a member of another underground syndicate… will that do?”
“E-Eeek! She’s a criminal!” Bepo yelped, glancing around anxiously as if her allies were going to come out from behind the warehouses at any moment and launch a surprise attack.
“In the eyes of the World Government, don’t pirates and members of illegal syndicates all fall under the same label of a criminal?” She chuckles playfully, prompting Law to grin in response. She’s got a point there.
“Speaking of… you have quite the interesting crew members, Trafalgar Law. I wasn’t expecting to see such a cute polar bear…” The woman laughs softly, appearing strangely child-like as she glances towards Bepo, a twinkle of fondness clear in her eyes.
A blush of red stands out starkly against Bepo’s white coat as his posture slumps and his arms fall down to his sides, head hanging down meekly. “I’m sorry…”
“Bepo!”
“Don’t apologize! She called you cute!”
“I-I’m sorry…”
As another collective groan ripples through his crew, Law glances up at the sound of the woman laughing heartily, the delicate ringing of her laughter in his ears foreign but not unpleasant, and lingering much longer in his mind than he’d like to admit.
“So,” Law prompts, motioning his head towards the direction of the squirming man surrounded by Nico Robin’s hands, “I take it you’re not friends then?”
“My, what gave you that impression?” She asks with mock surprise, the sweet smile she gives completely at odds with the unforgiving way she holds a man in a near brutal chokehold a few meters away. Despite the situation, Law chuckles under his breath, almost finding the woman and her humor to be a bit of enjoyable company, save for the fact that her intentions and affiliations remain largely unknown and potentially harmful.
“Mr. Ramsay and I… or rather, our organizations, are no longer affiliated. In fact, I’ve come to personally cut ties today.”
There was a certain edge to her voice and expression that caused a chill down Law’s spine, his brows drawing together as he tensed, beginning to sense a wave of hostility from her, though not directed at them. He didn’t particularly like her euphemism in regards to what she was going to do about their connection. She had alluded to a threat sometime beforehand as well, but… surely she wasn’t going to go through with it?
Everyone within the vicinity apparently picked up on this change in the air, the woman known as Nico Robin losing the warmth and amusement in her dark blue eyes as she stared down upon Ramsay.
“Well then… I think it’s about time I stopped stalling.”
Dread ran through the veins of everyone present as her expression hardened. Nico Robin sat perfectly still, almost too still to be human, as she slowly raised her arms to form an “X” across her chest.
“Seis Fleur.”
No visible or immediate change was seen on the arms that were immobilizing Ramsay, their grip around the man’s limbs simply tightening in response. However, after a moment, the three arms that were sprouted near his head tensed, the hand on his mouth further smothering his pitiful cries and whines as the hands gripping his jaw and temple strained with effort.
Tears and snot streamed down Ramsay’s face, the fear in his eyes betraying his silent plea for help.
Law’s eyes widened. “Oi, wait—!”
“Clutch!”
With a sickening crunch that made his stomach turn, the hands of Nico Robin snapped Ramsay’s neck clean. In seconds, the arms surrounding his body disappeared in a flurry of flower petals, but what was more disturbing was the manner in which Ramsay’s body slumped against the floor, having had his life snapped clean out of his body. His eyes had rolled upwards, leaving nothing but the blanks of his eyes to stare in horror upon, and without the tiniest indication of life, his misassembled and jumbled body sat deathly still, as if he were nothing but a disfigured toy with a broken battery.
The act was silent. Clean. Anticlimactic. Merciless.
“...You…” His voice was low and barely managed to confine itself within the restraints of his anger as the hand holding Kikoku tightened its grip. He shook slightly with indignation, turning his stormy gray eyes upon the woman.
“What’s wrong? He was your enemy as well, was he not?” Her tone still maintained a sense of forced neutrality despite it all, an eerie sense of calm washing over her expression. Infuriatingly, her hands were returned to being placed placidly in her lap, as if she hadn’t just taken a life with them.
That settled it. Regardless of how charming or mysterious a woman she was, there was absolutely no chance they could place their faith or respect in a woman that murdered as easily as she breathed. She had to be dealt with.
“Enemy that he was, it didn’t mean that he had to die.” Law retorted, the nerves in his body tensing as the woman stared down upon them blankly. “Death is something you can never return from.”
“Very philosophical, Surgeon of Death.” Although it was easy to take her statement as derisive or mocking, her tone carried no such hint of emotion, indifferent as ever as she swept her gaze over Law and the rest of his crew, stopping briefly at the sight of the large green cloth bag.
“Intentionally leaving behind valuable antidotes for the affected townspeople… refusing to take the life of someone deemed your enemy… you’re awfully soft for pirates, aren’t you?” Nico Robin’s voice is quiet, a faraway sentiment rippling through her expression. The edges around her eyes softened. “I don’t particularly dislike that.”
“Captain!” Bepo cries, eyes flitting back and forth between Law and Nico Robin. “T-That woman’s bad news! What should we do?”
Law clicks his tongue, attempting to distract himself from her vaguely despondent countenance. What could she be playing at? Did she feel regret? Even if she did, no amount of regret was going to take back her actions. In any case, he didn’t have the luxury to psychoanalyze her deep rooted issues and feelings about the situation. He had to act fast and decisively, before he lost his will to oppose the woman in front of him, whose shoulders appeared as if they were going to buckle under the burden she carried at any moment. Even if he didn’t feel completely comfortable about confronting an opponent who had no intention to resist, at the very least, he could immobilize her before they left. She may not have been an enemy of theirs, but it was the least he could do to prevent her from heartlessly taking the lives of more people in the organization, or even any impacted citizens, if she so felt inclined to do as such.
“You guys go on ahead. I’ll take care of things here and catch up.” Law nodded towards Bepo, who gave a salute in response. He surveyed their immediate surroundings with a striking sense of calm, absorbing every tiny rock, every placement of gravel and stone within the vicinity. It would be fine. All he had to do was split her apart, not so much that she’d be unrecognizable like Ramsay to an extent, but enough that she would be incapicated from fighting or moving until someone found and fixed her. Law extended his arm slightly, fingers flexing just as Bepo and the others began to turn.
“Roo—”
“Veinte Fleur: Hold!”
Twenty hands bloomed on and around Law’s body as he scowled and heard Kikoku drop to the floor, realizing that his one moment of hesitance may cost him more than he thought. He felt the grab of her hands everywhere, anchoring his legs to the ground and yanking his arms behind his back, but most importantly, three of her hands on each of his arms grasped his fingers and his thumb in their hold, effectively forcing him to be open handed. Two arms in particular had sprouted on his shoulders and interlocked their fingers beneath his chin, prompting a choked gasp from Law as his head was forced upwards, leaving his neck exposed.
“C-Captain!!”
As he heard the terrified shouts of his crew along with the rush of their footsteps as they rushed back, he saw something akin to a realization shift in her expression, and the next thing he knew, the hands on his shoulders disappeared, flower petals drifting down to his shoulder where they had been.
He took in a deep breath as his head lolled back down and he strained against his restraints, shouting urgently as Bepo and the others neared him.
“Don’t come close! If she gets a hold of you, it’s over!”
Immediately, Shachi and the others pause, torn between casting concerned glances to their captured Captain and directing hostile glares to Nico Robin. Law didn’t quite know what her objective was, but he knew for a fact that she was deliberately choosing not to target the rest of his crew. Whether out of some sense of superiority or moral obligation he didn’t understand, he was slightly grateful nonetheless, knowing full well that most of his crew was comprised of close combat combatants, and that they would have been especially susceptible to her ability. Law grunted, barely able to gain even an inch against her hold. Not to mention that she was much stronger than she initially appeared to be, although he supposed he couldn’t become that self-conscious over his own strength considering that he was contending with the combined strength of about sixteen of her arms.
“D-Damn you! Let our Captain go!” Shachi yells, pointing an accusatory finger towards Nico Robin.
She stared at both Law and his crew for an uncomfortably long time, the iciness in her gaze causing them to freeze in place, as if they too had been restrained by her power. She closed her eyes and let out a long and drawn out sigh, as if she were merely being inconvenienced by the situation. When she opened her eyes next, the lines crinkled around the edges betrayed a weariness beyond this experience.
“My apologies, Trafalgar Law. You seemed intent on engaging in combat, so I had to take things into my own hands…” She breathed out steadily, her eyes focused somewhere past Law and the others with a sense of resignation that conveyed an overwhelming amount of familiarity with this routine.
“Regardless of your intent or your perception of me, I do not consider you my enemies. That much is true. Ideally, I would have liked to not do this, but…” She narrowed her eyes at Bepo and the others. “Members of the Heart Pirates. I ask that you remain here for the time being, as I have your Captain in my clutches. As long as you follow my advice, I will not harm him or any of you. You have my word.”
Responses and retorts of indignation and disbelief erupt from the crew as Nico Robin looks on coolly, paying no heed to the way Law grits his teeth. What in the world was her objective? This was far from an ideal situation, with Nico Robin holding all the playing cards in her hands and the rest of them at her mercy as they waited for her to deal them. She was a shrewd woman to keep everyone assembled where she could keep an eye on them, and most importantly, use them to her own advantage if necessary. Law knew even without her demand, his crew would likely have never turned tail to escape to their sub on their own, as there was no guarantee of his life now that Nico Robin held the power to kill him. Additionally, even if he did manage to escape her clutches, she certainly would have simply held his crew hostage, metaphorically tying his hands instead. The only reassurance she gave them was her word that she would do them no harm. But in the end, what good was the word of a murderer?
“By the way, Mr. Trafalgar Law, is everyone in your crew currently present and accounted for?” Nico Robin asks curiously, tilting her head down at him.
Law struggles imperceptibly against his binds, an irritated breath escaping through clenched teeth. “Why do you want to know?”
“Only trying to do my job.” She states nonchalantly, carefully roving over the members present before her. “From what I can tell, no one looks to be anxiously glancing about, waiting for someone… I’ll surmise that everyone is here then. I assume the underground mansion is mostly empty now?”
“Y-Yeah…” Penguin mumbles uncertainly, glancing at Shachi and Bepo who only shrug helplessly in reply. “Some people from the organization might still be in there, but otherwise…”
“I see. Thank you.”
“B-But, what does that have to do with anything?!”
“As I said, I’m merely carrying out my duties. I’d hate for one of your crew members to be caught up in this, after all.”
This…?
Before anyone can open their mouths and question her, a deafening explosion from directly behind them assaults their ears, causing everyone within the nearby vicinity to slap their hands over their ears and wince, nearly forced to their knees from the force of the shockwave.
Law, though unable to twist his body, cranes his head to see past the arms that bloomed to cover his ears, eyes widening at the sight of the warehouse they had emerged from covered in a sea of roaring flames. More gasps and cries of surprise erupt from his crew as they struggle to find their footing again, all of them staring in shock as explosions of a much smaller scale continue to go off, seemingly directly in the main office of Ramsay.
Whether from the heat emanating off the flames, or the situation itself, Law felt his throat dry as he stared at the black plume of flames billowing out and blending into the night sky.
He swallowed and fixed an accusatory glare onto her. “Is this your objective? To annihilate the opposing organization now that your ties have been cut?”
Nico Robin’s eyes widened in surprise before she frowned, tilting her head. “Annihilate? Of course not. From the beginning, my only targets have been Ramsay and his main office. I can make no guarantee about the fire of course, but the rest of the base remains untouched for the most part. I’d wager to say that your crew has done more overall damage than I have. Had I really sought out the destruction of the entire base, surely you’d see greater explosions and their aftershocks reach the surface by now, no?”
Law turned to stare over his other shoulder as the hands there dissipated, examining the state of the other warehouses in the vicinity that he knew the underground base to be under, most of them remaining largely intact and undisturbed save for some of the debris of the first warehouse that had landed on them. She was right, to an extent. Although it seemed true that she had only intended for the attack to center on the main office, the sheer ferocity of the explosions and the destruction wrought by them made it abundantly clear that she ruthlessly intended to reduce everything in that room to ashes.
“I can’t even imagine…” Law drawled as he glanced up at Nico Robin haughtily, the drastic lengths the woman had resorted to nearly causing him to laugh as his tone became taunting, “What kind of compromising information must have been present in there for you to make sure that nothing but ashes of it remain.”
He fought to keep the smirk off his face as she regarded him frigidly, the hint of a warning laced in her tightly controlled voice, “And you would do well to remain ignorant of it if you understand what’s best for you.”
A half hearted shrug was all he could manage in the firm grip of her hold. “Well, it isn’t any concern of mine.”
She leaned back slightly with narrowed eyes, distancing herself from Trafalgar Law, who was becoming less and less concerned that he was still at her mercy, if his sudden shift in attitude was anything to go by. Perhaps he was finally convinced that she would do good on her word to not bring harm to him, but another slightly hypocritical part of her was slightly irked if he took her goodwill to mean he could get snarky with her while still in her hold. Regardless, she was slightly surprised he hadn’t tried to goad her further and suggest the idea that he may have learned about this information, seeing as he had been in the main office. Although if he did, the provocation would have been useless, given that she had been keeping an eye on them from the moment they stormed the base. That being said, with the death of Ramsay and the destruction of the main office and its documents, she had taken care of her business on Hotoba Island.
“Good to hear. Well then…” The Heart Pirates stiffened and tensed, readying themselves for battle as Nico Robin shifted and stood, paying no heed to Law’s narrowed eyes and the anticipation of his crew as she stretched and sighed. “Now that I’ve completed my business with Ramsay and his main office, I’ve no reason to stay on this island any longer.”
“Therefore, I’ve only one thing left to confirm.” Nico Robin turned her gaze towards Law, her expression a mask of neutrality. “Trafalgar Law. Once I let you go, do I have your word that you won’t try and engage me in combat?”
Eyes of gray and blue stared daggers at each other, both of their gazes defiant and warring, with an intensity that almost felt as if they were attempting to see through each other into their core. Weighing the outcomes within his mind, Law decided that as much of a threat this woman was proving herself to be, they had neither the will nor the advantage to take her down in a fight. Leaving the island as quickly as possible before the Navy arrived was in their best interest at that moment. Finally, after a long tense moment of silence, Law exhaled softly and glared at Nico Robin.
“Fine. You have my word.”
Immediately, caution flickered in the depths of her eyes as the furrowing of her brows betrayed her trepidation, a notion that Law quickly picked up on. Even after his verbal confirmation, he could see the hesitation in the slight shifts in her moment, until she took a deep breath and brought her focus back to Law, eyes unwavering.
“Very well.”
With a soft voice, she waved her arm and undid her hold, Law nearly stumbling from the abrupt adjustment in his balance as flower petals fell and fluttered to the ground around him. He grunted as he shook himself out, assuaging the concerns of his crew that had gathered around him worriedly with a wave of his hand. A part of him could still feel the phantom grip of her hands squeezing him and pulling him taut, but regardless, he glanced up to see her return his stare.
“Captain…” Bepo muttered nervously, eyes anxiously examining Law for signs of injury she may have inflicted. Law held up a placating hand.
“I’m fine, Bepo. Focus on getting to the sub.” Law’s glare lingered on her, scrutinizing her as if she were a mere part of a much larger picture, but he had neither the time nor the patience to unpack it further. With an air of finality, he began to turn his back on her when the sound of her voice rang out once again.
“One more thing.”
Law resisted the urge to scoff as he turned back, raising a brow as he tapped his foot impatiently. To her credit, she remained largely unfazed as her gaze wandered towards the horizon.
“Your ship. Is it docked at the Northwood Harbor? If so, I suggest you sail further into the island and use the Seal Passage directly east of the Harbor to leave to the sea. The Marines will surround the Harbor and come into the island soon. If you’re caught by their fleet, you’ll no doubt suffer a terrible fate, being ground up into a paste in between their ships.”
He twitched, suspicion rising in his gut at how she had effortlessly deduced where their ship, or rather, submarine was stationed at. Despite his own steady expression, the frightened and concerned murmurs of his crew in response to her grotesque imagery behind him were likely enough to tip her off that she was correct.
“...Is that so?”
She held his gaze for a moment longer before blinking and raising her head to watch the cloud of smoke disappear into the night sky. “Yes. It’s not wise to waste time here, either. The Marines will come into the island and follow the trail of smoke sooner or later.”
“W-What should we do, Captain?” Nervously, Shachi glances between Law and Nico Robin, the other members of the Heart Pirates voicing their similar sentiment as they fidgeted uncertainly.
“Believe me, or don’t. The choice is yours.” Though she had adamantly persisted in her claims that she wasn’t their enemy, Law supposed she never indicated that she was an ally, either. Whatever she regarded them as, the relationship between them was strained and pulled taut like a thread that would certainly snap under the pressure and weight of even the tiniest bit of trust. Law takes a step forward, the resounding echo of his step causing Nico Robin to turn to him as his lips curl into a challenging grin.
“Regardless of whether your information is true or not… What do you have to gain by helping us?”
Instead of the nonplussed expression or stony gaze he expected to receive, his eye twitches slightly at the sight of the breezy smile she dons.
“Call it a whim, I suppose. I don’t dislike pirates like you.” The unexpectedly soft cadence of her voice catches Law off guard more than he’d like to admit as she hums thoughtfully. “The journey through the Grand Line is treacherous and difficult. But who knows? If fate allows it, perhaps we’ll see each other again.”
“For your own sake, you’d better hope not.” Law narrowed his eyes, smirking arrogantly. As expected, she didn’t rise to the challenge in his words, merely opting to giggle in response.
“My, how intimidating. It’s been fun, Heart Pirates.” With an entertained smile of her own, she holds his gaze for just a moment longer before turning away and leaving, disappearing as mysteriously as she had appeared.
In the wake of her absence, Law and the rest barely have time to consider the implications of her presence or contemplate the validity of her warning before further sparks from the aftershock snap them out of their reprieve.
“There’s no time. We’ll consider what to do about that woman’s words once we get to the harbor. Let’s go!”
“Aye aye, Captain!” A resounding chorus sounds from the Heart Pirates as they haul their belongings over their shoulder and chase after their Captain, ready to finally depart from the drug cartel paradise of Hotoba.
“That was close!”
With a great sigh of relief, Bepo’s reaction mirrors the majority of the Heart Pirates as they slump into sitting positions on the floor of the Polar Tang, proverbially and literally wiping sweat off their brow as the cannon shots of the Navy warships behind them fade out in the distance.
“Good work.” Law praises with a self satisfied grin, tapping Kikoku against his shoulder approvingly as the submarine sinks further and further into the depths of the ocean. “But don’t let down your guard yet. We haven’t descended far enough to escape their radar.”
“Yes, Captain!” Saluting, a few of his crew busied themselves with fiddling with the controls and keeping a vigilant eye out as they made their escape.
“What a surprise, though… To think that there were that many Marines already pouring into the island…” Shachi sighs wearily, prompting Law to hum in agreement.
When they finally arrived at the harbor, they were met with the bone chilling sight of a significant number of Naval warships, much more than they had anticipated as Marines began to swarm the island in droves. Despite the overwhelming number of enemies, with a well timed use of his power, Law was able to transport them close enough to the Polar Tang for his crew to board the sub, although not so swiftly that they were able to embark unnoticed. In a nail biting chase, the Heart Pirates were practically forced to take the Seal Passage from the moment they gained mobility in an attempt to escape to the sea lest they be flanked by the warships that were arriving from directly behind them. Though there were a couple of scrapes that were much too close for comfort, due to the lightning quick decision to immediately pull into the passageway and the fact that Seal Passage was too narrow for a warship to fit through, the Heart Pirates were able to barely avoid a direct confrontation with the Navy. When they pulled out into the sea at the mouth of the passage, they had thankfully gained a wide enough lead that they were able to escape the warships that had circled around to intercept them.
Now, as the sounds of cannons grew more faint in the distance, the Heart Pirates finally had the space to breathe easy, no doubt winded from the nerve-racking and long awaited departure from Hotoba Island.
“Was the drug cartel really a big enough deal that that many Marines had to show up on the island?” Penguin mused pensively as he crossed his arms.
“No idea… but, if there were that many Marines there to make it a big spectacle, maybe your bounty will increase, Captain!” Bepo chimed in enthusiastically.
“Who knows?” Law shrugged off the possibility with a cryptic smile, never having been too invested in the prices of bounties, though he did seek and appreciate the notoriety they reflected.
As excited murmurs of potential bounty increases and reveals began to run through the rest of his crew, Law’s smile slowly fell as he frowned, the talk of bounties casting the vague shadow of a wanted poster across the recesses of his mind. An incessant itch began to gnaw away at him, the name on the wanted poster playing right on the tip of his tongue, yet never piecing itself together enough to complete the picture.
“You know, I’m a bit surprised that the information that woman gave us turned out to be correct. If we didn’t know about the passage beforehand, I really don’t know what would have happened. She sure is a mysterious woman, that Nico Robin…”
Although Shachi’s offhand comments were merely reflecting the feelings of his crew regarding the foreboding and inexplicable presence of the woman that was neither enemy nor friend, the sound of her name struck a nerve within Law’s mind, electricity firing sparks through his veins as his eyes widened in recognition and the picture in his mind became clear, lips moving soundlessly to form her name.
“...ild.”
“Hm? Did you say something, Captain?”
“Devil Child. Nico Robin, a descendant from the devils of Ohara…” Law spoke quietly, a hand underneath his chin as he sat deep in thought. “Now I see.”
“O-Ohara?! T-That place that was completely wiped out by the World Government all those years ago?!” Penguin exclaimed in horror as the crew exchanged looks of shock and terror, the idea of having had such a close encounter with a woman that infamous sending chills down their spine.
“Calm down. They likely earned the moniker of ‘Devils’ just for opposing the World Government.” Law held up a hand to placate his crew, giving a small sigh before his lips curled into a more intrigued grin. “Can’t say that I think badly of them for that, though.”
The Devils of Ohara. An island that stored knowledge within the literal roots of its foundation, housing almost as many books as there were branches of the Tree of Knowledge. To visit Ohara once was a wishful dream for anyone with half an interest in any sort of knowledge at all, but especially history, with respected scholars of all disciplines from around the world coming together to share their information and insights to the public. Which is why, when the World Government abruptly declared Ohara as enemies of the world who attempted to utilize their intellect to revive an ancient weapon that could threaten the sanctity of the entire world, islands across all the Blues were horrified and appalled at the revelation. Without a consensus or verdict from the coalition of nations, the World Government took it upon themselves to pass judgment onto the scholars of Ohara, and in less than a day, centuries worth of collective knowledge had gone up in smoke as the island of Ohara ceased to exist.
It was a cruel story characteristic of the casual despotism that the World Government displayed on occasion, and one that resonated with Law more than he liked to think about when he had first learned about the situation. In the end, it was the result of the World Government seizing the reins over knowledge in the most brutal way possible, spouting hypocrisies about protecting the citizens and punishing the evils all while they climb up further and further atop the mountain of corpses they’ve built. Though years had already passed since the incident when Law first learned about it, what stood out most in his mind from his research was the wanted poster of a girl who looked no older than himself, solemnly looking away from the camera with a startling 79 million beri bounty beneath her name.
A girl who was rumored to have sunken six battleships in retaliation when Ohara fell. A girl who was rumored to be able to read the forbidden script, passed onto her by the devils disguised as scholars. A girl who was rumored to carry the wishes of her people on her back, who would no doubt follow their will to awaken the legendary weapon and bring destruction unto the world. Nico Robin, the Devil Child.
Law had learned of her once, when looking into the incident of Ohara, briefly taking in the image of her wanted poster as he wondered in both incredulity and amazement how a girl could have possibly earned that high a bounty amount at such a young age. He never spared a thought about the incident or the girl afterwards, never had a reason to in the North Blue, where they were well away from where news of her would have surely focused on circulation. That is, until today, when she appeared seemingly out of thin air, her motivations, affiliations, and even her identity held close to her chest as she took out the head of the drug cartel with as little as a wave of her hand. It made sense that the Marines would have been swarming the island, not to confront the drug cartel or the Heart Pirates, but to have even the slightest of chances at finally capturing the elusive enemy of the World Government, Nico Robin. The years she had spent escaping from the Government had evidently hardened her emotionally, if her careless attitude towards life was anything to go by. Then again, he couldn’t completely say that her sense of empathy had been eroded away fully, given her strange insistence in aiding them and avoiding confrontation altogether.
Nevertheless, as intriguing an enigma she was, Law didn’t care nearly enough to bother with piecing together the puzzle of a woman whose pieces were all blank. For a man whose sights were set on making it to the New World with his crew, any obstacle in his way would have to be taken down, regardless of how mysterious they were. Although, whether or not they were to cross paths again was a question in and of itself, Law didn’t think he’d have nearly as much trouble taking her down the next time around.
“Don’t think too much about it.” Law assuages the worries of his crew and draws their restless gazes as he rests his forearms on his knees and knits his fingers together. “Regardless of what her intentions are…”
An easy smile stretches upon his lips. “Even a Devil fears death.”