"So what were you shouting about?" Zoro finally asked the most pressing question once he had looked his fill at the submarine and the noise dropped to acceptable levels.
"I said the symbol on the submarine belongs to Trafalgar Law." Yosaku pointed one thumb over his shoulder. "He's the captain of the Heart Pirates, nicknamed the 'Surgeon of Death,' from North Blue. The last bounty I know for him is seventy-eight million berries."
The captain's name, nickname, and crew name went habitually past the ears of almost every family member—how many such names had there been, and how many more would there be?—but the stated amount caught their attention immediately. Usopp actually choked on air.
"Right, now I remember him too!" Johnny's eyes lit like a pair of flames—and that was less a metaphor than a literal fact. "We looked at wanted posters from the other seas together!"
"What did you say his name was?" Zoro asked.
"Trafalgar Law," Yosaku obediently repeated, fully understanding the swordsman's reaction.
In East Blue, excluding their family, which had long since exceeded the limits of an ordinary pirate crew, the highest pirate bounty was thirty million berries, belonging to Buggy the 'Clown.' If one accounted for the fact that he had received such a bounty only because of the Hats' own actions, then the largest bounty holder had actually been Arlong, with twenty million on his head. Here was a bounty almost equal to Zoro's.
"Seventy-eight million..." the swordsman murmured, looking thoughtfully toward the submarine.
"Interested?" Sanji asked when he noticed the green-haired young man's gaze.
"More like drawing comparisons," Zoro replied calmly.
"Comparisons?" Nami did not understand.
To people unfamiliar with him, the swordsman's answer might have seemed even less comprehensible.
"One strike."
"Seriously?!" The girl's eyes widened. "That's nearly one hundred million!"
"Depending on his Fruit's abilities, I might have to strike a couple more times." Zoro shook his head with genuine disappointment.
"Why do you assume he's a Fruit user? Because the submarine was restored? Are you sure he was the one who did it?"
"I don't know how the submarine was repaired, but I know for certain that the strongest person aboard did it. Whether that person is Trafalgar or not, I can't say."
"In the overwhelming majority of cases, the person with the highest bounty aboard is both the captain and the strongest member of the crew," a thoroughly frightened Usopp stated the obvious.
Unlike every other family member, the long-nosed young man plainly preferred to stay away from the submarine, especially from its captain with such an enormous bounty by his standards. On the other hand, when speaking of the ordinary seas rather than the Grand Line, Trafalgar Law's bounty truly was impressive.
"There can't be many crews like ours in the world," Yosaku added with an agreeing nod.
"More like there can't be many people like Luffy in the world," Johnny snorted.
"I'm more interested in how strong this Law is compared with us," Sanji put in. "Can you estimate?" the blond man asked Zoro.
"Without knowing the properties of his Fruit, I can't say anything for certain, but... Ryu and Yosaku would most likely lose if they fought him one on one."
Naturally, that assessment immediately set the men's desire to test their strength against the pirate ablaze.
"Wait a moment..." Nami said suddenly. "Something is clearly wrong..." She began looking around suspiciously.
"Huh? Wrong? What do you mean, wrong?!" Like the girl, Usopp immediately began looking around in alarm. He still firmly believed himself the weakest person aboard, including Tashigi.
"Something is definitely wrong," Sanji said calmly as he lit a cigarette.
Unlike everyone else, after Nami's words the blond man immediately recognized that one extremely important voice had been strangely absent from the preceding discussion. The most important voice, to be exact.
"...Zoro-aniki, where's Luffy?" Yosaku finally realized.
Instead of answering, the swordsman raised one hand slightly and silently pointed toward the submarine still following a parallel course. Everyone looked in the direction Zoro indicated, and they did so at exactly the right moment. The instant the family turned their gazes toward the submarine, it shuddered beneath a powerful impact. A large ragged hole opened in one wall of the middle deck, immediately spewing thick black smoke. During the next minute, the number of holes exceeded a dozen, and the submarine never stopped shaking. One could conclude that matters inside were much worse than they appeared from the outside... though from outside, it already looked as though the submarine was about to sink to the bottom of the channel without ever reaching the waters of the Grand Line.
While the family watched the submarine's gradual and relentless destruction, its captain contemplated a thing called fate.
Trafalgar Law was a man with an extremely difficult destiny. An orphan who had lost everyone close to him at a young age under grim circumstances that forever scarred his soul. Moreover, the moment little Law found something resembling a new family, everything almost immediately ended in another emotional trauma no less profound than the first. It was unsurprising that the young man eventually became yet another embodiment of a very 'popular' archetype: the avenger. Trafalgar Law truly was an avenger. The twenty-four-year-old belonged to one of the most dangerous types—astonishingly intelligent, calm, patient, and prepared to sacrifice his own life. Had he been equally ready to sacrifice the lives of those who trusted him, he could safely have been classified among the most dangerous avengers of all. Yet despite plans of revenge he had nurtured for more than a decade, Law had not shattered his moral compass, as normally happened with others like him. More than that, he did not intend to shatter it in the future. Doing so would only dishonor the name of the person he meant to avenge. Law could hardly be called a good Samaritan either. Otherwise, he would not have been a wanted pirate with nearly one hundred million berries on his head. Still, Law might not have been an angel, but he possessed principles he would not violate even for revenge. Most of all, the young man had always believed that by stepping onto his chosen path, he was following the call of fate. Therefore, even if the path ended in his death, vengeance would be accomplished... At least, that was what Law had believed. Until today. Now, for the first time in the past decade, certain definite suspicions had begun creeping into his mind. The reason for those suspicions stood directly before him and appeared to be studying him with almost gastronomic interest.
"I know you. You're a rookie from North Blue—Trafalgar Law, seventy-eight million berries on your head," Law's unexpected visitor announced happily, smiling with all thirty-two teeth.
From the 'Surgeon of Death's' perspective, the visitor was unexpected in every possible sense: the fact that he had appeared aboard the submarine at all; the timing of the attack—who could possibly expect an assault at the summit of Reverse Mountain?—his strength; his appearance—the attacker looked like a skinny fifteen-year-old brat—and his complete obscurity. Law had never heard of the young man standing before him, and he clearly should have. For certain reasons, Law knew far more about the world than an ordinary rookie pirate, and he could say with certainty that his uninvited guest's strength did not correspond to anything one should encounter on Reverse Mountain. Had they met after descending into the Grand Line, Law would not have blinked. Everyone had their peculiarities, and powerful people could appear at the very beginning of 'Paradise.' But at the summit? Of course everyone truly did have their peculiarities, yet powerful people did not normally use the so-called 'rookie's route' to enter the Grand Line. Law simply could not believe that such strength belonged to an unknown newcomer. Moreover, he saw no katana in the boy's hands, allowing the assumption that someone else had cut the submarine apart. Law's experience told him that slicing ships into sections was something done exclusively by swordsmen—and by no means weak swordsmen. That did not mean other powerful people could not destroy a ship with one strike, but destruction was one thing and cutting it into two perfectly even halves another. Accomplishing that with a fist would be difficult, if not impossible. Law would not state it with certainty, however. Who knew? The world contained plenty of unique individuals.
"Who are you?" Law asked calmly despite the situation.
"I'm Luffy, the Pirate King!"
"...The Pirate King?"
"The very one!" Law was shown a raised thumb, as though congratulating him for understanding correctly.
The 'Surgeon of Death' had met plenty of arrogant and overconfident people in his life. More than once, he had witnessed another fool publicly announce that he would definitely become Pirate King. There was no point becoming angry with such idiots. It was typical chatter from a rookie pirate who did not yet understand how vast the real world was. But this was the first pirate Law had ever encountered who claimed he already was Pirate King. Never before had the 'Surgeon of Death' seen anyone so arrogant and self-assured. Were it not for Luffy's strength, Law would without hesitation have dismissed him as yet another foolish pirate rookie, merely possessing the largest ego the 'Surgeon of Death' had ever encountered. The problem was that the strength existed, and its level clearly did not fit the type.
"Why did you attack my crew?" Law asked another question, deciding not to rush his final conclusions.
"Why not?" Luffy tilted his head slightly as though confused. "I thought the way you joined the two halves of your submarine was cool, so I decided to meet you personally. If I like you, I might even become your friend."
Law realized he had significantly misjudged his uninvited guest. Arrogant and overconfident? More like simply a very powerful madman! At the very least, unquestionably abnormal. That promised nothing good. If a person did not act according to accepted logic, understanding his thought process was impossible, which meant planning one's own behavior around him was impossible as well. In addition, Luffy's words did not leave Law indifferent.
"You destroyed my submarine, injured my crew, and now you say you want to be my friend?" Despite his own wishes, clear irritation entered the 'Surgeon of Death's' voice.
"I don't understand why everyone always reacts so negatively to my actions." Luffy sighed heavily and visibly drooped. "The method is flawless and time-tested. My first meeting with my first mate began with me beating him thoroughly, yet now he's prepared to give his life for me. I beat and tortured my ship's cook for a year and a half, which allowed him to become one of my most loyal people. I threatened to kill Ryu and Yosaku if they refused to follow me, then turned the next several months of their lives into pure Hell on earth. As a result, I can now entrust my life to them without hesitation. I also beat and robbed my sworn brothers, which made them try to kill me in my sleep... nearly successfully, incidentally... Yet only after all that did we become sworn brothers. Isn't it obvious? The best way to learn what a person is made of is to become his enemy first. Then he has no reason to pretend to be somebody else and will always show you his true nature. Anyone who wants to befriend someone always tries to present his best side, which he certainly will not do when dealing with an enemy. One month of open confrontation can teach you more about a person than twenty years of friendship. I'm serious, no joke! The method truly works and, as I said, has been tested by time."
The longer Law listened, the colder his heart became. The 'Surgeon of Death' understood that he had once again misjudged his unexpected visitor. The boy standing opposite him was not some ordinary madman—harmless people, really—but a genuine sociopath. Worse, a highly active sociopath. Law could never have become as exceptional a psychologist as he was a surgeon, but he understood human psychology nearly as well as any experienced psychologist. He now saw before him every sign of a highly active sociopath. Only the attachment to other people sat somewhat outside Law's familiar picture of the disorder. On the other hand, such deviations were hardly rare in medicine. An ordinary cold could differ radically among ten different people, so some variation was easily explained. Moreover, Law could not say for certain that his diagnosis was absolutely correct. Complete confidence required more information.
Law was torn from his thoughts in the most unexpected way possible.
"Die, bastard!" With that cry, Luffy attempted to knock the 'Surgeon of Death's' head from his shoulders with one punch.
"I thought you wanted to be friends?!" Law exclaimed after seeing the blow he avoided only at the final instant tear yet another hole through his submarine's hull. People did not normally survive strikes like that.
"Exactly! Let's be friends!" came the cheerful answer, immediately followed by a kick that completely demolished the steel bulkhead between compartments beside which the 'Surgeon of Death' had stood an instant earlier.
Law realized that further conversation was pointless, or he might actually die. He did not want to fight either. They were aboard a submarine, so whoever won, the already badly damaged vessel would suffer even more. Beyond that, Law was far from certain of victory. His opponent plainly considered everything no more than an excuse for amusement, yet even then, every strike delivered at perhaps half strength could easily become Law's last.
"Room!"
Spreading the fingers of his right hand as though gripping an invisible ball, Law activated his Fruit's ability. Immediately, a translucent spinning ring appeared a short distance from his fingertips. It expanded in every direction, passing freely through every obstacle and ultimately creating an enormous sphere that completely enclosed the submarine.