The transition from the burning lands to the frozen lands was jarring. One moment, the air was filled with choking ash and the heat of a furnace. The next, a wall of biting cold slammed into them, freezing the sweat on their skin instantly.
Luffy adjusted the fur coat he had "borrowed" from the centaur, pulling the collar up to protect his ears. The coat was a bit tight around the shoulders, but it smelled like wet dog, which was funny to him.
"This island is broken," Usopp chattered, his teeth clicking together like castanets. He was wrapped in so many layers of fur he looked like a walking ball of wool. "How can it be summer on one side and winter on the other? It defies science!"
"It is the power of Admirals," Robin said, her voice muffled by her scarf. She walked close to Luffy, using his larger frame to block the wind. "Aokiji and Akainu possess Devil Fruits that can alter the environment permanently. Their battle scarred this island forever."
"Scary," Usopp whimpered. "I never want to fight an Admiral."
"You will be fine," Luffy said cheerfully. "You just shoot them from really far away."
"That is my strategy for everything!" Usopp shouted.
"I am cold!" The pair of legs hanging off Zoro's shoulder shouted. "My toes are numb! Put me down! I need to run to generate heat!"
"If I put you down, you will run off a cliff," Zoro grumbled. "Stop wiggling. You are making it hard to walk."
"I am a samurai!" Kin'emon's legs kicked. "I have dignity!"
"You are a pair of legs," Zoro retorted. "You have no dignity."
They trudged through the snow for another twenty minutes. The landscape was white and desolate. Massive icicles hung from the cliffs like jagged teeth. In the distance, a large, domed facility rose from the ice. It looked like a prison, dark and foreboding.
"That is it," Luffy pointed. "The lab."
"It looks evil," Usopp judged. "Can we knock?"
"We kick," Luffy corrected.
They reached the massive steel doors of the facility. The metal was frosted over, cold to the touch.
"Gomu Gomu no," Luffy pulled his leg back.
"Wait, Luffy!" Robin warned. "There might be a security system."
BANG.
Luffy's heel slammed into the door. The steel groaned, buckled, and then flew off its hinges, crashing into the hallway inside with a deafening clang.
"Security system broken," Luffy grinned.
Alarms immediately began to blare. Red lights flashed, illuminating the icy corridor.
"Intruders! Intruders in Sector A!" A mechanical voice announced.
"See?" Usopp cried. "Now the whole base knows we are here!"
"Good," Luffy started walking. "It saves time looking for them."
They ran down the hallway. Strange men in yellow hazmat suits appeared, wielding gas guns.
"Stop right there!" one of the hazmat men shouted. "This is a restricted area! Don't move or we will gas you!"
"Gas?" Luffy frowned. He hated poison. He remembered Magellan. He remembered nearly dying.
He moved.
He didn't use Gear Second. He just used pure, explosive speed. He appeared in front of the hazmat squad before they could pull their triggers.
"Sleep," Luffy said.
He unleashed a burst of Conqueror's Haki. It was focused, directed only at the enemies in front of him.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The hazmat men collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
"Amazing," Robin noted, stepping over the bodies. "You didn't even touch them."
"They were weak," Luffy said. "Let's keep going. The kids are this way."
"Kids?" Zoro asked. "You mentioned them before. How do you know?"
"I hear them," Luffy tapped his ear. "Voices."
They turned a corner and entered a massive room. The sign above the door read Biscuits Room.
Luffy kicked the door open.
Inside, the room was brightly colored, filled with giant blocks of candy and toys. And sitting among the toys were children.
But they were not normal children. They were giants. Some were twenty feet tall, towering over the Straw Hats. They looked at the intruders with wide, innocent eyes.
"Who are you?" a giant girl asked, holding a doll the size of Usopp.
"Pirates," Luffy said.
"Pirates?" The children gasped. "Are you bad guys?"
"Depends on who you ask," Zoro smirked.
"We are here to help," Robin said gently, her motherly instincts kicking in. "Are you all okay?"
"We are sick," a boy said, coughing. "The Master is curing us. He gives us medicine."
"Medicine?" Chopper's voice echoed in Luffy's head. He knew the truth.
"It is not medicine," Luffy said, his voice hard. "It is poison."
The room went silent.
"Luffy," Robin whispered. "Be careful. They are children."
"I know," Luffy looked at the kids. "Listen to me. The candy you are eating. The stuff the Master gives you. It is making you sick. It is turning you into monsters."
"No!" The giant girl shouted. "Master is good! He saves us! We need the candy! It is almost candy time!"
Suddenly, the children began to shake. Their eyes dilated. Sweat poured down their faces.
"Candy," one boy groaned, clutching his stomach. "I need candy."
"My head hurts!" another screamed. "Give me the candy!"
"It is starting," Luffy tensed. "Withdrawal."
"What is happening to them?" Usopp panicked as the children stood up. They were massive. Their tantrums caused the floor to shake.
"They are addicted," Robin realized, horror dawning on her face. "Caesar Clown. He is drugging children to keep them here."
"CANDY!" The children roared. They lost all reason. Their eyes turned red. They grabbed massive debris and toys, swinging them like weapons.
"They are going berserk!" Zoro drew the back of his sword. "Luffy! Do we cut them?"
"No cutting," Luffy ordered. "They are victims. We just need to put them to sleep."
"Put giants to sleep?!" Usopp screamed, dodging a flying block of ice. "That is impossible!"
"Usopp," Luffy said calmly. "Use the Sleep Star."
"I only have three left!"
"Make them count!"
Luffy launched himself into the air. A giant boy swung a fist the size of a boulder at him. Luffy caught it with one hand. The impact shook the room, but Luffy didn't budge.
"Calm down," Luffy said.
He threw the boy over his shoulder. The giant child crashed into a pile of soft cushions.
"Zoro! Use the blunt side! Robin! Restrain them!"
"Gigantesco Mano!" Robin crossed her arms. Giant limbs sprouted from the floor, wrapping around three children, holding them gently but firmly.
"Sleep Star!" Usopp fired his slingshot. The green pellets exploded in the faces of the children, releasing a potent sleeping gas.
One by one, the giant children fell. Their breathing slowed. Their rage faded into snoring.
"That was close," Usopp wiped sweat from his brow. "Giant kids are terrifying."
"They are suffering," Robin looked at the sleeping forms, her eyes full of sadness. "To do this to children. It is unforgivable."
Luffy clenched his fist. His anger was a cold, burning thing in his chest.
"Caesar is going to pay," Luffy said. "But first, we have a guest."
"A guest?" Zoro asked.
Luffy turned toward the back exit of the Biscuits Room.
"Outside," Luffy said. "The Surgeon of Death is here."
Outside the facility, the snow was falling heavily.
A warship was docked at the edge of the ice. Marines in white coats stood in formation. Leading them was a man with white hair, two cigars in his mouth, and a jitte on his back. Vice Admiral Smoker.
Beside him stood Captain Tashigi, clutching her sword.
Standing opposite them, leaning casually against a rock, was a man wearing a spotted hat and a long black coat. He held a large nodachi, resting it on his shoulder.
Trafalgar Law. The new Warlord of the Sea.
"What is a Warlord doing at a condemned government facility?" Smoker asked, smoke billowing from his body. "This island is off-limits, Law."
"I could ask you the same thing, White Hunter," Law replied, his voice calm and mocking. "I am just vacationing. It is a nice, quiet spot."
"Don't give me that crap," Smoker growled. "We intercepted a distress call. Someone is crying for help on this island. And now I find you here. Are you living here?"
"And if I am?" Law smirked. "As a Warlord, I have the right to do as I please. You, however, do not. If you step foot in my territory, I will have to remove you."
"Try it," Smoker's body turned into smoke. "White Blow!"
His fist launched forward, propelled by smoke.
Law didn't move. He lifted a finger.
"Room."
A blue, transparent sphere expanded rapidly, covering the entire entrance area, encompassing the Marines and the warship.
"Shambles."
Zip.
Smoker's fist hit empty air. Law was gone. He reappeared behind Smoker.
"You Marines are always so hasty," Law said. He swung his sword.
Clang.
Smoker blocked with his jitte. The Sea Prism Stone tip nullified Law's power on contact, but the force of the swing was heavy.
"Tashigi! Get the men back!" Smoker ordered. "His range is the entire circle!"
"I am not leaving you!" Tashigi shouted, drawing her sword. "Shigure!"
She charged at Law.
Law looked at her. His eyes were cold.
"Weak," Law said.
He swung his sword horizontally.
Slash.
Tashigi didn't feel pain. She didn't bleed. But suddenly, the world tilted. Her upper body slid off her lower body. She hit the snow, looking at her own legs standing a few feet away.
"What?!" The Marines screamed. "Captain Tashigi has been cut in half!"
"She is not dead," Smoker yelled, his anger spiking. "It is his ability! He separates without killing!"
"Correct," Law said, walking toward Tashigi's torso. "But it is annoying to have weaklings rushing me."
He raised his sword to finish the job—not to kill, but to scatter her pieces so she couldn't fight.
"Hey! Tra-guy!"
A loud voice echoed from the facility doors.
Law froze. His eyes widened slightly. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard it in two years, but he remembered it from the war.
The heavy steel doors behind Law burst open.
Luffy walked out. He wasn't wearing his straw hat; it was hanging on his back. He was wearing the ridiculous centaur coat. Flanking him were Zoro, Robin, and Usopp.
"Straw Hat-ya," Law lowered his sword. "What are you doing here?"
"Luffy!" Smoker shouted, his cigar almost falling out of his mouth. "Why are you here?!"
"Smokey!" Luffy grinned. "You look old! Did the smoke turn your hair white?"
"It is natural white!" Smoker roared. "And don't call me Smokey!"
Luffy looked at Law. He walked right up to him, ignoring the Room still active around them.
"Yo," Luffy said. "Long time no see. Thanks for saving me back then."
Law looked at Luffy. He analyzed him. The carefree attitude was there, but Law sensed something else. A density to his presence that hadn't been there two years ago.
"I didn't do it for you," Law said coolly. "It was a whim."
"Sure, sure," Luffy waved his hand. "Anyway, are you guys fighting? Can we join?"
"No!" Smoker yelled. "I am arresting all of you! Marines! Surround them!"
The Marines hesitated. They looked at Law, who could cut them apart with a thought. They looked at Luffy, who had a bounty of 400 million. They looked at Zoro, who looked like a demon.
"We are doomed," a marine whispered.
"Tra-guy," Luffy ignored Smoker completely. "I have a proposal."
"A proposal?" Law raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Luffy stepped closer, dropping his voice so only Law could hear. "You want to take down Kaido, right?"
Law's composure cracked. His eyes narrowed into slits. "How do you know that?"
"I know a lot of things," Luffy smiled. "I know about Doflamingo. I know about the SAD factory. I know about your plan."
Law tightened his grip on his sword. "Who told you?"
"A little bird," Luffy said mysteriously. "Or maybe a giant bird. Anyway, your plan is good, but it is too slow. I want to speed it up."
"Speed it up?" Law asked cautiously.
"Alliance," Luffy said the word. "You and me. We team up. We kick Caesar's butt. We break the factory. We beat up Mingo. And then we go for Kaido."
Law stared at him. This was... unexpected. He had planned to make a move eventually, but having the Straw Hat Captain offer it on a silver platter? It was suspicious. But looking into Luffy's eyes, Law saw no deceit. Only a terrifying amount of confidence.
"An alliance," Law tested the word. "You know that in the pirate world, an alliance usually means betrayal."
"I won't betray you," Luffy said simply.
"And you trust me not to betray you?" Law asked.
"If you do," Luffy shrugged. "I'll just beat you up."
Law paused. Then, a small smirk touched his lips.
"You are an interesting man, Straw Hat-ya."
"Is that a yes?"
"We will discuss the details later," Law said, turning back to Smoker. "But first, we have to deal with the smoke problem."
"Hey!" Smoker yelled. "Stop whispering! What are you plotting?!"
"Smoker," Law said. "You should leave. You are out of your depth."
"I am a Vice Admiral!" Smoker turned into a massive cloud of smoke, preparing his strongest attack. "White Launcher!"
He launched himself at Law.
"Room," Law lifted his finger again. "Scan."
But before Law could swap Smoker's heart, a blur of motion interrupted them.
Luffy appeared between them. He caught Smoker's jitte with one hand and blocked Law's sword with the other. Both his hands were coated in black Haki.
CLANG.
The shockwave blew the snow away for fifty meters.
"Stop it," Luffy said.
Smoker's eyes bulged. He couldn't pull his weapon back. "He stopped both of us?"
Law looked at his sword, held firmly by Luffy's rubber fingers. His Haki... it is stronger than mine.
"We don't have time for this," Luffy said. "Caesar is watching. If we fight here, he will gas the kids."
"Gas the kids?" Smoker froze. "What are you talking about?"
"There are giant kids inside," Luffy explained. "Caesar drugged them. He is experimenting on them."
Smoker's face went pale. His justice, though rough, was absolute. He hated nothing more than harming children.
"Is that true, Law?" Smoker asked, looking at the Warlord.
Law hesitated, then sheathed his sword. "I am not his keeper. But yes. There are children."
Smoker pulled his jitte back. He looked at his men. He looked at Tashigi, who was being put back together by her subordinates.
"Marines!" Smoker barked. "Stand down! Our priority has changed! We are securing the facility! If there are children involved, the Warlord and the Pirate can wait!"
Luffy grinned. "Good choice, Smokey."
"I will catch you later, Straw Hat," Smoker spat. "Don't think this makes us friends."
"Sure, sure," Luffy laughed.
He turned to Law.
"So, Tra-guy. Where is the back door? I want to say hi to the gas clown."
Law sighed, pulling his hat down. He realized, with a sinking feeling, that his peaceful vacation—and his carefully laid plans—were officially over. He had just made a deal with the storm.
"Follow me," Law said. "And don't call me Tra-guy."
"Okay, Traffy," Luffy said.
Law didn't respond. He just walked into the snow, wondering if he had made a terrible mistake.