The submarine broke through the surface with a splash.
The Polar Tang rose steadily above the sea.
The hatch opened, and a man wearing a spotted hat and carrying a long blade stepped out first.
Trafalgar Law led his crew onto the deserted island.
The moment their boots touched the sand, three figures appeared beneath the palm trees not far away.
Law stopped dead.
He looked up, and his pupils shrank sharply.
The three men were dressed in casual clothes, looking no different from retired elders on a seaside holiday.
Yet cold sweat instantly soaked through Law's back.
Monkey D. Garp. Sengoku. Zephyr.
Three legends of the old Marine era.
Why were they all here at the same time?
So it really was a trap to lure him out?
But this lineup was absurdly excessive.
Any one of them alone was more than enough to wipe out his entire crew. Why go to such lengths?
"Trafalgar Law."
Sengoku spoke first.
"User of the Op Op Fruit. Born in the North Blue, in the White City of Flevance."
"You were once a member of the Donquixote Family."
With every sentence, Law's gaze grew heavier.
"By coincidence, I had a kind hearted adopted son," Sengoku continued, his voice tinged with an emotion difficult to name, sorrow and remembrance intertwined.
"His name was Donquixote Rosinante."
Law's pupils contracted again.
In that instant, all sound vanished. The waves, the wind, everything disappeared.
In his world, there was only Sengoku's grief stricken face, and that name that made his heart seize.
Corazon.
He was actually…
The adopted son of the former Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Sengoku the Buddha?
"Law, I have already investigated everything that happened on Minion Island," Sengoku said slowly.
"The child Rosinante gave his life to save was you."
"Corazon…" Law's voice trembled for the first time, beyond his control. "He really was your adopted son?"
Sengoku found a clean rock on the beach and sat down, nodding gently.
"Thirty one years ago, during a mission, I found him."
"At the time, I believed he had no family, so I brought him back to the Marines."
"Later, I learned he was the younger brother of Donquixote Doflamingo."
"The Marines needed an undercover agent who could infiltrate the Donquixote Family. He volunteered."
"When we exchanged intelligence back then, his code name was Corazon. Mine was Sengoku."
Law fell completely silent.
These details, secrets known only to Corazon and his Marine superiors, left no room for doubt.
His grip on Kikoku loosened, slowly.
Inside him, a storm surged.
All this time, what he hated, what he wanted to overthrow, was the World Government represented by the Marines.
Yet the man he respected most, the one who gave him a second life, Corazon, was himself a Marine.
And not just any Marine, but the adopted son of the legend standing before him.
Sengoku looked at Law, complex emotions flickering in his eyes.
The transformation of the Marines, the rise of a new generation, had changed many things.
Justice that had once been restrained by rules, unable to be carried out, now finally had an outlet.
"Law, the reason I came today is to invite you to join the Marines."
Sengoku's words pulled Law back from his chaos of thoughts.
"If you are willing, I will give you Rosinante's former code number, 01746."
"You will inherit his will, and complete the justice he could not finish."
Law's heart clenched violently.
Inherit Corazon's Marine number?
The thought had never once crossed his mind.
He was a pirate. A doctor. A man driven by revenge.
But to inherit the will of the man who gave him new life, who protected him with his own death, was an honor beyond measure.
And yet, he still needed to take revenge on Doflamingo.
That man was a former Warlord, the king of Dressrosa, protected by the World Government.
Would the Marines allow him to seek that revenge?
Law wavered, torn by fierce inner struggle.
"Law, you want revenge on Doflamingo, don't you?" Sengoku said calmly, as if reading his heart.
"The Marine traitor who exposed Rosinante's identity and led to his death, Vergo, has already been thrown into Impel Down."
"He is now imprisoned in the frozen hell, enduring endless cold and isolation every day."
Sengoku's voice turned cold and ruthless.
"Join the Marines, and watch with me as he pays for his crimes."
"Doflamingo, and every executive of the Donquixote Family, will be captured by my own hands in the near future."
"The Marines have already severed ties with the World Government. You have nothing to worry about."
"As for your Heart Pirates…"
Sengoku glanced at the tense crew behind Law.
"They can be absorbed as a unit into the Marine medical corps as special personnel. Excellent待遇 will be guaranteed."
Sengoku's words struck Law head on, shattering every doubt and hesitation.
Vergo had been captured.
Doflamingo would be judged.
Everything came so suddenly, yet felt inevitable.
He had watched the broadcast of the Summit War.
The Marines' terrifying efficiency, their resolve to wage all out war against the Emperors, signaled the arrival of a new era.
Sengoku watched Law in silence, then softened his tone.
"Rosinante gave his life so you could be free, not so you would be shackled by hatred and live in darkness."
"What he wanted to see was you standing in the sunlight, inheriting his will, protecting others who, like you, were toyed with by fate."
"Come, child."
Sengoku stood and extended his hand.
"The Marines need you."
"And this world needs you."
Law slowly raised his head and looked at the former Fleet Admiral, the man who had been Corazon's father.
In the sunlight, he almost saw Corazon's familiar foolish grin.
"Corazon…"
Law took a deep breath. The hand gripping Kikoku's hilt finally relaxed completely.
He looked at Sengoku's outstretched hand and clasped it firmly.
"Sengoku, I am willing to inherit Corazon's will."
...
Author's note:
According to information from chapter 1159 of the manga, the top prize at God Valley was Shakuyaku.
Saint Garling was absolute scum.
The original six treasure chests were increased to nine.
The Devil Fruit Dragon ate was most likely one of the prizes from God Valley as well.
Rocks attacking God Valley to save his wife and child?
Hahahaha.