While Luffy staged another 'funny' incident among most of his family members, Zoro and Law silently studied one another. Surprisingly, the normally patient Law broke first, though considering everything that had happened, he could be understood.
"Are you truly Roronoa Zoro? Zoro the 'Pirate Hunter'? Former pirate hunter, now a pirate himself, captain of the 'Pirate Slayers'?" The final question particularly interested the 'Surgeon of Death.' He had almost no doubt concerning the first two, but the last inspired nothing except doubt.
Without answering, Zoro continued silently examining Law. Trafalgar Law was a tall, lean young man. Faint shadows lay beneath gray eyes. He had a straight nose, thin lips, and black hair mostly hidden beneath a white fur hat with black spots at its base and brim. Small sideburns, a short goatee, and a gloomy expression. That was precisely why Luffy had called Law 'Sideburns', 'Skinny,' 'Spotted Hat,' and 'Gloomy.' There had also been 'Feather Collar' because the young man had... a feathered collar. More precisely, his dark-blue hoodie had one, along with a large yellow image of the Heart Pirates' emblem on the chest. He also wore light-blue jeans marked with black spots like those on his fur hat, and ordinary black shoes. His hands stood out as well, with letters already familiar to Zoro tattooed across the fingers: D E A T H.
"I really am Roronoa Zoro," the green-haired young man finally answered. "But I'm not the captain. I'm the first mate."
"One hundred million on your head in the weakest sea, and you're only the first mate?" Law's expression involuntarily changed, becoming even gloomier.
"Luffy had no opponents in East Blue, so he preferred remaining in the shadows."
The 'Surgeon of Death' disliked the answer intensely. It sounded too truthful. Law's experience told him that when someone calmly began revealing his secrets, it meant he was absolutely certain the listener or listeners would not share them with anyone... or more accurately, would be unable to.
"And you're telling me this so easily?"
"What's the point in silence? It isn't a secret."
"..."
Law had to admit that this possible answer had not even occurred to him.
"Luffy didn't avoid the front line because it was part of some carefully designed plan. He did it simply because it amused him... If you haven't understood yet, almost all his actions are guided not by logic, but by how entertaining or interesting they seem from his perspective."
That explanation allowed Law to see at least some meaning in what was happening.
"I assume he calls himself Pirate King as a joke too?"
"No. He simply is the Pirate King."
"..."
Ordinary logic waved goodbye to Law before disappearing once again.
"It doesn't matter whether you believe it." For the first time since the conversation began, Zoro's gloomy face relaxed slightly, and a barely visible smirk touched his lips. "Very soon, the entire world will recognize Luffy as Pirate King. It is as inevitable as sunrise."
Luffy behaved in a way that made taking him seriously impossible. Zoro was the opposite; he seemed capable only of seriousness, so every word he spoke sounded carved into granite, without the slightest hint of humor. Zoro's reputation also played no small role. He was not some unknown braggart whose words could be ignored.
"What happens now?" Law asked.
In the end, the young man simply decided not to trouble himself with the peculiarities in the heads of people he had barely met and focused upon matters that affected him directly.
"What do you mean?" Zoro did not understand.
"You attacked my crew and injured my people."
"Don't flatter yourself." Zoro frowned again. "If our family had truly attacked your crew, fish would already be gnawing your corpses at the bottom of the Grand Line. As matters stand, excluding the damaged submarine, all your people are alive and almost entirely healthy. Luffy simply liked your Fruit's ability, which is why he decided to visit personally. Don't do anything stupid, and we'll part soon."
"That's all?"
"Just don't let him like you for anything besides your Fruit. If that happens, nothing and no one will save you or your crew."
Law could say with confidence that it was the strangest warning he had ever heard.
"Like me? In what way?"
"Is that a polar bear behind you?" Zoro answered the question with one of his own.
"Bepo, my first mate."
"Can he speak?"
"Yes."
"Then it's probably already too late."
Zoro knew what he was talking about. In certain matters, Luffy was surprisingly predictable.
"Too late?"
"Most likely, you and your bear already appeal to my captain."
"..."
"Perhaps there is something you wish to accomplish?" Zoro suddenly asked.
"?!"
"Do you have a dream or a goal?"
At that moment, Law realized he had completely lost the thread of the conversation.
"My captain has countless flaws, and he is a professional at turning other people's lives into Hell. But one thing cannot be taken from him: with sufficient desire, he is capable of making any dream come true."
"Any dream?" Law's voice overflowed with unconcealed skepticism.
"You're right." Zoro nodded slightly. "If you want to become Pirate King or claim the title of World's Strongest Swordsman, you should forget it immediately."
"...I understand the Pirate King part, but what does the title of World's Strongest Swordsman have to do with anything?"
"That title is mine."
He said it as a final, unquestionable fact.
"..."
At that moment, Law began mentally searching through every psychology book he had ever read, trying to remember a case in which two highly active sociopaths had managed to coexist without killing one another. Before reaching a final conclusion, however, he heard crying muffled by distance. A girl was plainly crying, and so pitifully, so deeply, that the young man involuntarily began remembering things he preferred to recall as rarely as possible.
"I overdid it after all." Zoro shook his head. Without another word, he appeared, from Law and Bepo's perspective, literally to vanish from where he stood.
The 'Surgeon of Death' and his first mate needed several long seconds to realize that the swordsman had not disappeared. He had taken a running leap back to his ship - he had simply done it very quickly.
"Captain, Captain, what kind of people are they?" Bepo, standing beside Law, lightly tugged his sleeve. "We should escape from them as soon as possible! They make my fur stand on end!"
Law understood his friend perfectly. The pair of new acquaintances had soaked his entire back with sweat. He had no objection to escaping them as soon as possible, but as a man who rarely surrendered to emotion and desire, Law clearly understood their current position. Escape? Impossible. One could not escape opponents like that even in an intact submarine, never mind one riddled like a sieve.
"First we'll care for our people and the boat. We'll think about everything else afterward," Law finally announced his decision. "We'll escape when an opportunity appears. Until then, we'll wait for the right moment." However much he disliked following the plan Luffy had spoken aloud, he could not deny that a strategy of waiting was genuinely the Heart Pirates' best choice now. "Bepo, most importantly, warn everyone not to try avenging the attack upon us. You can easily imagine the consequences."
Law also understood that this was an excellent opportunity to learn more about his rivals. Given the abilities already demonstrated and all the information he possessed about the 'Pirate Slayers', the young man had no doubt they would soon become extremely serious players on the world stage. Why waste such an opportunity? Especially when the alternative, as he suspected, would be death? Finally, Law could not avoid thinking about Zoro's words concerning a 'goal and dream.' Law had no dream as such, but he did have a goal, and one far from easy to accomplish. He would not refuse the help of powerful people if such an opportunity arose. Or, as one might expect from yet another avenger, he could use those people without their knowledge. Predictably, either option suited Law.