"Law-dono… this… this must be a pirate trap…"
Kin'emon struggled to his feet, with Momonosuke still unconscious beside him, his expression twisted with trauma.
"Law-dono! Please, help us!"
"Blackleg-ya went in too hard… with his foot, I mean…"
Law gave a weary sigh, shooting an exasperated glance at the group now leaping aboard his submarine.
"Strawhat-ya, you lot just came back after two peaceful years, and you're already stirring up chaos again."
"Ahahaha! Tra-guy, don't be a stranger! You're a Warlord of the Sea now, huh? That's amazing!"
Luffy, as always, was instantly at ease as he inspected Law's submarine.
"Whoa, awesome~~ I never realized before—is your ship actually a submarine? That's so cool!"
"Law-nii!"
Chopper threw himself into Law's arms. For the first time in a while, a small smile crept across Law's usually cold face.
"Chopper. Long time no see… You must've become an even better doctor by now."
"Yaaah~ cut it out~ praising me right off the bat~ That won't make me happy at all, you jerk~!"
Chopper's cheeks were practically melting with joy. He knew just how skilled his senpai, Law, was in medicine. Two years would've only made him stronger.
"Chopper, check on those two guests for me… I'm supposed to escort them somewhere, but it looks like your captain won't give me a moment's peace to treat them myself."
Law gently set Chopper down and nodded toward the still-bleeding Kin'emon and the unconscious Momonosuke.
"Hey, Tra-guy… these two…"
Zoro's expression was serious as he gestured to the pair. Sanji cut in beside him:
"They're samurai from Wano, right? That topknot—there's no mistaking it."
"Huh? Since when are you two getting along so well?"
With a single quip, Law successfully derailed the conversation, prompting the usual outburst:
"Like hell I'm close to him!"
"You bastard, stealing my line!"
"Wanna die, you curly-browed freak?!"
"I'll kick you into minced meat, you moss-headed dumbass!"
"Navigator—Nami-ya, right?"
Law turned to the most reasonable member of the crew.
"You guys planning to land on that 'Raijin Island'?"
"Raijin Island? Is that what it's called? That really fits…"
Nami sighed.
"Our Log Pose shows three possible routes, but that one's the most unstable… and looks the most dangerous, too."
"But Luffy's already decided. So we don't have a choice…"
Law frowned. Had they really set out into the New World without doing proper recon?
"You don't know? Raijin Island is territory of the Warlord of the Sea… Enel, the Thunder God."
A heavy sigh escaped Law as Nami's face twisted with growing alarm.
"You've heard of Enel, haven't you? He showed up during the Summit War—he's a Logia-type, wielder of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. And you're just barging into his territory like this? You'll be walking to your deaths."
"One of the duties of a Warlord is to suppress nearby pirates, maintaining order for the World Government and the Marines."
"You guys took out Moria… but Enel isn't in the same league. And unlike Moria, who didn't bother with pirate affairs, Enel actively hunts them down."
"Yikes! That's terrifying!"
Usopp and Brook were already halfway to fainting.
"Good thing we can still change course, right?!"
"Ah—Tra-guy-kun, wait a sec. You're a Warlord too, yeah? So technically, doesn't that mean you should be handing us over to the Marines?"
Robin's observation made Usopp scream:
"Robin! Don't give him ideas! Two Warlords—We're dead, we're so dead!!"
"Warlord?!"
Luffy had come running the second he heard the word. Grinning wide, he exclaimed:
"So Tra-guy, there's a Warlord on that island ahead? Awesome… I wanna go even more now!"
"And those guys are samurai, right? Real samurai!"
Luffy's eyes lit up with excitement.
"If they're samurai, then there's gotta be… ninjas!"
"Tra-guy! You know ninjas, right?! Ninjas!!"
"..."
Law's lips twitched. He was about to shut it down—until he saw Chopper bouncing over with equally sparkly eyes.
"Luffy~~ They're really samurai! Samurai! Like the kind who cut people down with swords!"
"Law-nii! They said you're taking them to meet their allies—are they ninjas?! If they're samurai's comrades, there must be ninjas, right??"
"The kind that go 'ninninnin~'!"
Sweat beaded down Law's forehead. On one hand, he cursed Kin'emon for leaking military secrets. On the other, he—somewhat instinctively—blurted out:
"There are ninjas, actually… Ah!"
Law's eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said. Cold sweat rolled down his face. Not only Luffy and Chopper, but even Usopp and Zoro—who was still bickering with Sanji—had turned toward him with gleaming eyes.
"There really are ninjas!?"
"What the hell is this situation…"
Nami and Robin were totally dumbfounded.
Damn it! I leaked it too… Must be the Straw Hats' bad influence! Why the hell would I—
Law clenched his teeth. This was military intel. Even if he had let it slip, he wasn't about to spill the whole truth.
"You're heading to Raijin Island, right? I am a Warlord, after all—how about I put in a word with Enel for you?"
"But… I really wanna meet a ninja…"
Luffy tilted his head, torn between two incredible options.
Please, Law-nii! Take us to meet a ninja! There's no way normal people can survive that island!!
Tra-guy! Don't let Luffy land on that island! It'll be a massacre!!
Tra-guy-kun~~!
Chopper, Usopp, and Nami were practically in tears. Law wiped his forehead again—just in time to hear Luffy shout:
"It's decided! First, we go to Raijin Island! Then we meet the ninjas!"
"Nooo—!"
"Hey! You don't get to decide everything! That's classified! Classified!"
Law roared.
"Classified?! That's my favorite!"
"DAMN IT!!"
…
After the chaos died down, Kin'emon and Momonosuke finally recovered. The boy's face was beet red, his whole body trembling—he couldn't bring himself to even glance at Nami or Robin.
"This might be… a psychological condition," Chopper said, puzzled.
"His mental development seems near-adolescent, but when it comes to women—especially beautiful women—he freezes up, even faints. Did he suffer some kind of traumatic experience?"
"Well…"
Kin'emon had realized that his earlier slip had caused serious trouble. This time, he wasn't foolish enough to say anything more.
"Perhaps so…"
Maybe it's what Fleet Admiral Wright called… "not properly adjusted"…
Kin'emon stood straight and spoke solemnly.
"In any case, thank you for your help. As friends of Law-dono, I trust you're not villains of the worst sort…"
"Once I've settled my affairs, I'll invite you all to Wano as honored guests!"
"Yaaay~~ We wanna meet ninjas!"
"That's classified information!"
Law crossed his arms and scowled.
"You want Fleet Admiral Wright himself to come after you?!"
"…Fine! We'll go to Raijin Island first!"
"But we are going to Wano afterward!"
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