On the Thousand Sunny, Law set down the receiver of the Den Den Mushi and said, "There. That should do it."
Law stood up and looked toward his own crew and the members of the Straw Hat Pirates. Among them, Caesar Clown and Monet were shackled in Seastone chains; for double insurance, Law had already removed their hearts.
Currently, the Thousand Sunny and the Polar Tang were gradually sailing away from Punk Hazard, heading toward Zou. They were waiting for news of the outbreak of war between Kaido and the Donquixote Alliance.
"This way, we only need to wait for Kaido's fury to boil over. Once he enters a fierce battle with the Donquixote Alliance, we can watch from the sidelines and wait for our chance."
Law raised his hand and continued, "If possible, Straw Hat-ya, you could split off a unit to raid Kaido's headquarters. See if you can steal the rubbing of the Road Poneglyph."
"Are you kidding?! Entering a Yonko's territory without a plan is a suicide mission!" Usopp shrieked.
"Ehehehe~"
Monet, the Snow Woman, tilted her head and gave a seductive smile, showing no concern for her status as a hostage. "Law, you're too naive. Do you think having the Immortal as your backer means you can do whatever you want? You have no idea what the relationship is between Young Master and your captain..."
"It's precisely because I know that I am cooperating with the enemy."
Law cut her off coldly before she could finish. His face darkened as he added, "You'd better worry about yourselves. Your lives are being spared only as insurance. Once I confirm you're useless, I'll kill you without hesitation."
"You bastard! How dare you treat an elite scientist like me this way?!" Caesar cursed. "By the way, is it true that Vegapunk is actually in your crew?"
"Yeah," Law said with utter contempt. "Compared to Vegapunk, your research is barely worth mentioning."
"You brat! How dare you say I'm inferior to Vegapunk!!" Caesar roared in a rage.
"Hmph."
Law let out a cold snort and turned to return to the Polar Tang. Just then, a child around eight years old ran out, pointing at Law and shouting, "I remember now! The flag on your ships! It was you people who destroyed our country!"
This was Momonosuke, the child the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates had rescued after attacking Punk Hazard, alongside the samurai Foxfire Kin'emon.
The moment Momonosuke spoke, Kin'emon rushed out and covered the boy's mouth. "Say no more, Momonosuke!"
"Country? Destroyed?"
"What's going on?"
The Straw Hat crew was completely baffled; they had assumed Momonosuke was just another child kidnapped from a civilian family, like the others in the research facility.
Poof!
In that instant, Momonosuke transformed into a small, peach-colored dragon.
Law frowned at the sight. "The Azure Dragon Fruit, the strongest of the Mythical Zoans, sharing the same title as the Tremor-Tremor Fruit of the Paramecia class. You ate that counterfeit artificial Devil Fruit, didn't you?"
Law turned to glare at Caesar, who barked back, "Don't look at me! He ate the SMILE prototype invented by Vegapunk. I didn't make that one."
"I heard Joker and Kaido sent squads to search for a child... was that you?" Law asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Momo, you said Tra-guy and his people destroyed your country. What did you mean by that?" Nami cut in to ask.
Momonosuke sniffled. Seeing that he could no longer hide the truth, Kin'emon had no choice but to honestly explain the current situation in Wano, though he kept Momonosuke's true identity a secret.
"Taking over an entire country in one go... that's horrible..."
"To think they'd do such a thing."
The Straw Hat crew sighed, their gazes toward Law turning somewhat resentful.
"Hey, hey, don't look at our captain like that. For pirates in the New World, occupying territory is just common sense, right?"
"Exactly! Besides, our Heart Pirates didn't even participate in that war. Don't lump us all together!"
Shachi and Penguin stepped forward to defend Law.
"Alright, shut up."
Law, sitting on the ship's railing, spoke coldly. "The only reason we didn't participate was because I was training on a Sky Island at the time. Otherwise, I would have been there too."
"Captain..." Bepo muttered worriedly. Momonosuke, meanwhile, gritted his teeth and stared at Law with pure hatred.
"But you two escaped from Wano, didn't you? Judging by your skills, you must be people of high status." Law looked directly at Momonosuke and Kin'emon. "As a member of the Immortal Pirates, I could report your whereabouts right now. People would come to seize you."
"Stop it, Tra-guy! That's too heartless!"
"Seriously, you already destroyed their country, and now you won't even let a kid go?"
The Straw Hat members jumped in to protest.
Law turned around, his expression indifferent. "If you want to play babysitter and meddle in other people's business, that's on you. I'm only going to Zou because of Bepo. Don't think for a second I'm a 'good guy' like you, escorting them home."
"Also, don't let personal feelings ruin the plan. Because other than me, you likely won't find any other allies."
With those final words, Law jumped back onto the Polar Tang.
"What did Tra-guy mean when he said no one else would ally with us?" Luffy asked, looking blank.
"You don't know yet?"
Penguin walked up and pulled a piece of paper from his clothes. It looked very much like a Marine bounty poster, complete with a photo and a reward amount. Without a doubt, it was a wanted poster.
However, the photo wasn't of a single person; it was a group shot of the entire Straw Hat crew.
At the bottom, the amount was listed: $1,500,000,000.
In the bottom right corner was a mark, the symbol of the Immortal Pirates.
"A bounty? One, ten, a hundred... fifteen... 1.5 billion Berries?!" Chopper was so terrified he fell flat on his butt.
"What is this?" Zoro and the others were equally confused.
"This is an Underworld bounty, a hit list. The symbol in the corner means it was issued by the Immortal Pirates. But don't misunderstand; the issuer wasn't Alucard-sama or our captain. It was Bartolomeo," Penguin explained.
"Bartolomeo... wait, isn't that..." Nami tried to recall.
"Yeah, exactly." Penguin nodded. "The guy you fought back at Fish-Man Island, Straw Hat Luffy."