Koby led the Marines to handle the pirates who were slowly regaining their strength, while Ace stood at a distance, watching Law, who was holding a long blade and gazing toward the warship.
"Trafalgar Law, I heard you were planning something big... but I didn't expect it to be an internal mutiny. Your twisted sense of humor is still as unbearable as ever."
Ace adjusted the Marine cap on his head and greeted Law—he was well-acquainted with him and understood the reasoning behind Vice Admiral Rosinante sending him here.
"You're really ruthless, you know that? The visual effect is downright atrocious!"
"Tch! Compared to you Logia users who recklessly endanger innocent bystanders, I merely drained their stamina for a while..."
Law smirked with his usual roguish grin.
"At least their lives aren't in danger... right?"
"And as for being cruel..."
"Could it be worse than Marineford?"
Law drew his long blade as Bepo and the others finished collecting the hearts. The pirates around them were beginning to regain consciousness, but upon seeing the warship—and "Fire Fist" Ace standing aboard—it didn't take long for them to panic and flee.
"Something feels off..."
"Forget that! That's 'Fire Fist' Ace, a Commodore of Marine Headquarters! Run!"
"You mean the one who can suppress most Vice Admirals in combat?! The Marines actually sent him?!"
"Run! Get out of here!"
"Head to the town! The Marines won't be able to do anything if we take hostages!"
"There are Marines in the town too!"
"Then we fight! We have no choice but to break through! Trafalgar, that bastard, is using us as a shield!"
"Let him deal with 'Fire Fist' on his own! That scumbag planned this all along!"
…
The pirates scrambled toward the town, where Koby and his Marines were already in formation, waiting to intercept them.
Meanwhile, those whose hearts had been taken were left in a dazed confusion, not even realizing at first what had been stolen from them!
"Fire Fist, don't go killing them now. If you do, their hearts will stop beating."
Law flashed a wicked smile, making Ace shake his head.
"Why the hell are you doing this, anyway?!"
"Obviously... to exchange them with the Marines—"
"For a seat among the Seven Warlords!"
"The Seven Warlords..."
Ace raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded.
"I see... then let's see if you have what it takes to match that title!"
"Being a Warlord isn't just about intimidation. Strength comes first!"
As Ace's right fist ignited into flames, Law raised his blade with one hand while extending the other, forming the initial stance for "ROOM."
"That goes without saying... Wright-sensei's disciple, I've been wanting to test your strength for a while now!"
"Bring it on!"
"Fire Fist!"
"ROOM: Slaughterhouse!"
…
"That guy, Law, still has a nasty streak."
Wright's brow twitched as he looked at the massive chest Ace had brought back to headquarters—inside were 100 hearts, each individually packed in small bags, still pulsating rhythmically.
"Well, that aside, he's an incredibly reliable ally."
Ace recalled Law's peculiar abilities and clicked his tongue.
"The Ope Ope no Mi is insane. Just in terms of combat, he's ridiculously flexible. Without strong Observation Haki, you can't even land a hit on him."
"That's the nature of Paramecia abilities—they come with all sorts of strange effects."
Wright nodded, picking up a pen to write a report before calling Ain over.
"Ain, send this report to Commander-in-Chief Kong. The application for the Warlord position still needs approval from the World Government."
"As for these hearts... Ace, take them to Admiral Kuzan. If the government wants them, they can have them; if not, let Kuzan put them on ice."
"So these are the hearts from the Rocky Port incident…"
Ain frowned as she glanced at the container.
"Honestly... this plan is just awful."
"Well, I can't deny the intimidation factor—it certainly achieved the desired effect."
Wright shook his head with a resigned sigh.
"And Law's battle with Ace showcased his strength. His Warlord appointment shouldn't be a problem now."
"Vice Admiral Rosinante will probably be pleased, huh?"
Ain, who was also aware of Law's true background, had heard plenty about the "Surgeon of Death" and his grim sense of humor.
Truth be told, Law's abilities often looked gruesome, but in terms of sheer lethality, he didn't actually have that many one-hit-kill moves.
Ace hoisted the chest of hearts and carried it outside. A moment later, Kuzan's voice echoed through the halls:
"Why the hell are you bringing that here?! Can't a guy get some sleep around here?!"
The rhythmic "thump-thump" of a hundred beating hearts... Kuzan was probably going to have trouble sleeping tonight.
…
As expected, the World Government quickly accepted Law's "defection."
With the undeniable deterrent of 100 pirate hearts and combat strength on par with "Fire Fist" Ace, Trafalgar Law—whose bounty stood at 440 million berries—was officially named one of the new Seven Warlords of the Sea.
From that moment on, Law was, in name at least, aligned with the Marines and the World Government, making his presence at Marine bases a more common sight.
Punk Hazard, which still had intact research facilities, was assigned to Law by Wright as a base of operations.
After Wright's duel with Sakazuki, the toxic gas on Punk Hazard had been completely purified—Sakazuki's magma and Wright's Holy Light had cleansed the island.
Half a year later, though one side of the island had been permanently transformed into a "Flame Mountain" landscape of ever-burning fire and flowing lava, the other half—bathed in Holy Light—was beginning to regrow lush greenery.
Punk Hazard was close to Rosinante's G-5 Branch, and the research facility still contained a functional Lightforged Beacon, making travel between the two locations convenient.
For Law, joining the Warlords at this time was largely a strategic move to assist Rosinante in handling intelligence on Doflamingo. Operating as a pirate would have made certain dealings with the Marines significantly more complicated.
Now, with both Raijin Island and Punk Hazard as Warlord territories surrounding G-5, pirates passing through the area had far more to fear than ever before.
Among the three islands a Log Pose would point to upon leaving Fish-Man Island, Raijin Island attracted far more attention than the magnetically dead Punk Hazard.
Upon learning that Raijin Island belonged to "Thunder God" Enel, most pirates avoided it at all costs.
But one group of Supernovas, after taking some time to recover, sailed straight into its domain.
"High Priest, this lightning is like a downpour! How are we supposed to land on this island?!"
It was the Fallen Monk Pirates, led by one of the Supernovas, "Mad Monk" Urouge.
Urouge, undoubtedly from a sky island, though no one knew which one.
"'Thunder God' Enel... I heard of him even in the sky islands. He destroyed his homeland and then vanished…"
Urouge muttered to himself.
"At the very least, he's from the sky islands too. I wonder... does he know the legend of Vearth?"
"We'll find out soon enough!"
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