On the frigid winter island, a bitter cold wind blew across the white landscape, carrying with it a flurry of snowflakes, along with a few pink and black feathers. On the scarred battlefield, the two brothers stood opposite each other, one with a cold expression and the other with a grave one.
Rosinante reached out and touched Law's head, not hiding anything as he spoke directly, "I made Law eat the Ope Ope no Mi. He's already a Devil Fruit user!"
Doflamingo's expression became a twisted grimace as he gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on Law. A terrifying murderous aura, mixed with a hint of Conqueror's Haki, swept forward like a landslide and a tsunami.
Law's face paled. He saw a hallucination of a sea of blood rushing to drown him, and he stopped breathing for a moment.
"Say what you have to say, but don't take your anger out on a child!" Cross's eyes widened, and a powerful aura erupted from him like a volcanic eruption, blocking Doflamingo's aura.
Rumble!
In an instant, the two invisible auras clashed, creating a fierce gust of wind that swept in all directions, kicking up a storm of flying snow.
"Huff... Huff..." Law snapped out of it, gasping for breath, with a look of deep fear still in his eyes.
"Law, are you okay?!" Rosinante quickly pulled Law behind him, using his body to shield the boy.
"Cross, you bastard..." Doflamingo's face was dark, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent as he glared at Cross, who met his gaze without flinching.
Fortunately, Doflamingo wasn't completely blinded by rage and still had a sliver of reason left. He didn't unleash his Conqueror's Haki directly. Otherwise, Cross would have released his own to counter it, and the clash of their Conqueror's Haki would have created an enormous commotion.
Click.
At that moment, Rosinante pulled out a pistol from his coat and aimed it at Doflamingo. He cocked the hammer and said in a low voice, "Doffy, the Marines have surrounded Minion Island, and with Commodore Cross here, you're not getting the Ope Ope no Mi!"
Doflamingo calmed down and turned his gaze back to Rosinante and Law, speaking with a mix of reminiscence and sarcasm. "You can't shoot me. You're too much like Father! It's always something useless with you!"
As he said this, Doflamingo's voice grew louder, and his tone was filled with cold killing intent. "Why did you stop me? Why do I have to kill my real family twice?!"
"Hey, hey, hey~ Are you ignoring me?" Cross said, looking annoyed and a little angry. "Rosinante's life is my responsibility, and not even a Celestial Dragon can stop me!"
"Law, if I remember correctly, Corazon often beat you when you were in the family. Furthermore, your country was destroyed because of the World Government's incompetence and deceit..." Doflamingo ignored Cross, looking past Rosinante and toward Law behind him. He said with a smirk, "What, are you going to run to your enemy's side?"
Doflamingo's words made Rosinante's expression change drastically. "Don't listen to him, Law!"
"The World Government!" Law's small face immediately filled with hatred as he recalled the hellish memories of the Kingdom of Flevance. In his memories, the beautiful White City was already a blood-red hell, filled with raging fires and mountains of corpses. It was all the fault of the World Government!
Seeing this, Doflamingo's mouth curled up into a smile, and he let out a low laugh. He spoke with the voice of a demon, trying to tempt Law. "Come to me, Law! Follow me and turn this world upside down! Destroy everything you see! Knock the World Government off its throne once and for all!"
"Law won't be your pawn!" Rosinante shouted in a panic. "Law has won against his fate of dying from Amber Lead Syndrome in three years! He's not the same boy who was lost and fell into the hands of a mad pirate!"
"He has nothing to gain from a hypocrite like you, a so-called Son of God! If he did, it would only be endless madness and slaughter! That's not the life for Law! The heavy shackles of 'hatred' shouldn't be on him anymore!"
"Law is free!" Rosinante roared the last sentence like a primal scream. His words struck deep into Law's heart, and tears suddenly blurred his vision.
"Cora-san..."
"Corazon..." At that moment, Doflamingo's face turned a dark shade of green. His rage burned away all of his reason, and he pulled out a finely-crafted, gold-inlaid pistol from his coat without hesitation, aiming it at Rosinante and ready to pull the trigger.
"Babel!" a fierce roar suddenly rang out.
Kraaak—BOOM!!!
A blinding flash of lightning dispelled the darkness on the island. Accompanied by the roar of thunder, a giant column of lightning fell vertically from the clouds above, engulfing Doflamingo and Vergo.
After a moment, the dazzling lightning faded, leaving a charred, well-like crater in the white ground with a wisp of smoke rising from it.
"Trying to lay a hand on someone under my protection shows a severe lack of respect!" Cross's expression was icy, and his sharp, blade-like gaze focused on the two figures in the air.
Doflamingo had escaped Marduk's attack with Vergo, but Cross wasn't surprised. On the contrary, he would've been surprised if he hadn't.
"Cross, are you going to keep being a thorn in my side?!" Doflamingo's expression was twisted, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Cross ignored Doflamingo's question and walked directly to Law, his expression somber. He sighed and said, "Your name is Law, right?"
"I can understand your hatred for the World Government. Even as a Marine, I have no fondness for the World Government's actions. But you should know that the truth about the Amber Lead Syndrome was revealed by the Marines. It was Zephyr-sensei and I who charged into the royal palace of the Kingdom of Flevance, shot King Aryel XIII, and handed over the members of the Aryel royal family to the people of the kingdom to be dealt with."
"I just didn't expect that just a few months later, the Kingdom of Flevance would still be destroyed..." Cross squatted down and gently touched Law's head. He said softly, "I understand your hatred, but that doesn't define your entire life! Now that you've escaped your fated death, you must live a good and happy life. Don't let down Corazon's expectations for you, and don't take the Ope Ope no Mi for granted!"
"You must remember that you'll be a great doctor someday, a good doctor who saves many lives!"
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