On board the Polar Tang
The low hum of the engines echoed softly through the submarine's hull as it drifted at a respectable distance from the white shores of Flevance. Inside, the atmosphere was heavy, laden with memories and difficult decisions.
"Captain… are we really going to postpone our entry into the Grand Line?" Bepo asked, standing near the navigation station. The large white bear, dressed in his orange suit stretched tight over his bulky frame, tried to keep his voice neutral despite the concern that was clearly audible.
Trafalgar Law remained silent for a moment, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the unseen surface above them.
"Yes," he finally replied in a deep voice. "You saw the newspaper. With monsters like that guy from East Blue, I'd rather wait another month." He paused, then added more quietly, "And… it's been years. I want to give my family a proper burial."
A respectful silence followed his words.
Suddenly, a shout rang out from the observation post.
"Captain!" Penguin yelled, his eye pressed to the periscope. "There's a guy sleeping on the beach! And he looks exactly like the one from the East Blue paper… Jordan!"
Before Law could even react, Sachi shoved Penguin aside to look for himself.
"It's him. No doubt about it."
Law's jaw tightened.
"Damn it…" he muttered through clenched teeth. "I delay my departure, and he decides to come to my home." He clenched his fists. "How did he even do it? That monster might be able to fly, but the Red Line is three kilometers high above the sea…"
He walked over to the periscope himself, took a look… and confirmed what he feared.
It was him.
Lying casually on the beach, as if he owned the place.
Bepo swallowed hard.
"What do we do, Captain?"
Law took a deep breath, trying to rein in the rising anger.
"I'm going to go say hello."
He turned to the crew, his gaze suddenly very serious. "As soon as I get on the raft, you dive immediately. Stay out of that guy's range. I don't know if he's alone, or what he's planning."
He paused, then added coldly:
"If he was able to wipe out an entire bounty hunter HQ, our crew doesn't stand a chance in a frontal fight."
"Captain, that's madness!" Penguin exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Sachi added. "He's a monster, and on top of that he has a terrifyingly powerful Devil Fruit!"
Law didn't even turn around.
"I've made my decision."
The Polar Tang slowly rose to the surface, ballast tanks expelling water with a deep rumble. Law boarded the small exit raft, casting one last look at his ship.
The submarine immediately submerged again, retreating gently while leaving the periscope skimming the surface, ready to observe the scene.
Alone on the raft, Law grabbed the oars.
On the shores of Flevance
As I finally drifted into sleep, stretched out on the cold, white sand, my passive Observation Haki—the one that remains constantly active within roughly a meter around my body—picked up an anomaly. A sharp, artificial distortion.
I woke up at the exact moment a voice calmly uttered a single word:
"Room."
Instinct took over.
In a fraction of a second, I turned invisible and launched myself into the air, leaving the ground before the space around me could fully lock in. Gaining altitude, I immediately spotted my opponent.
Trafalgar Law.
Not yet the world-renowned figure he would later become, but already dangerous. Very dangerous.
I saw his eyes widen slightly. He had sensed something. Worse—he was looking straight at me, despite my invisibility. His ability extended his perception to everything inside his sphere.
Without hesitation, I leapt out of his area of effect, refusing to test the limits of what he could do.
"Damn it… really a monster…" he muttered under his breath.
I let out a soft chuckle and made myself visible at a safe distance, well outside the range of his Room.
"Less profanity, my dear fellow," I said with a calm smile."You won't blame me for staying out of your ability. Whatever it is, I have absolutely no desire to experience it firsthand."
My body then shifted, taking on my hybrid form. Dark scales emerged, my silhouette broadened, and the pressure in the air changed instantly.
"So?" I continued calmly. "Do you want a fight… or would you rather talk?"
Law drew his sword without hesitation, his gaze hard and calculating.
"I want to see if you're as terrifying as the paper claims."
He paused briefly.
"And to be clear: a duel. Just in case your friends are nearby."
"Agreed," I replied, knowing full well the others hadn't arrived yet.
In a flash, I lunged at him at extreme speed, closing the distance in a fraction of a second. Law barely had time to widen his eyes before shouting:
"ROOM!"
A bluish sphere burst out around him as he unleashed a lightning-fast horizontal slash. I dodged by springing over the blade, feeling the air tear apart beneath the attack.
I came down on him, Keyblade ready to strike.
But my Haki screamed a warning.
I shifted instinctively to the side.
At the exact spot where I had been a split second earlier, Law appeared—after swapping places with a rock. His blade came down in a vertical cut, cleaving the beach without the slightest resistance. The ground, coated in white lead, exploded into fragments.
I immediately cast the spell Gust around myself, scattering the particles before they could reach me.
"Tch… he dodged," Law growled in frustration.
"Try not to kick up too much dust," I replied, slipping out of his area of influence once more."I have no desire to get lead poisoning."
I took a breath.
"Your power is honestly a nightmare to deal with. So forgive me… if I shift up a gear."
Giant fireballs formed around me and were hurled one after another. Law narrowly avoided them using Shambles, teleporting from point to point with surgical precision.
But this time, he closed the distance.
His Room expanded again, almost instantly engulfing me, and he unleashed a torrent of attacks—rapid, chained slashes, impossible to dodge all at once.
My Haki calculated fast.
I couldn't evade them all.
So I chose the least dangerous one, adjusted my angle… and activated the Guardian Armor at the very last instant.
My head abruptly detached from my body and flew backward just before the blade passed.
From the outside, the illusion was perfect.
It looked as if Law had just decapitated me.
On the Merry — two minutes earlier
"Merry, Kazuki, speed up! Jordan is fighting a guy with a wool hat on the beach!" Usopp shouted, his eye glued to the spyglass, his voice already tight with urgency.
Without waiting another second, Merry and Kazuki combined their powers. The wind suddenly swelled in the sails, pushed to the very limit of what Kazuki could control, while Merry altered the currents around the hull: the water parted at the bow to reduce resistance, then closed in behind to propel the ship like an arrow.
"Faster… come on… faster…" Nami whispered, her fists clenched against her chest.
Her eyes never left the beach, where two silhouettes were already clashing. Every time Jordan went off alone, she felt that same dull anxiety—but this time… it was worse. The last thing she had done was tease him, toy with his feelings, and she hated herself for it. The thought that their last words might have been tainted by that unease tore at her heart.
At the front of the ship, Luffy stood atop the sheep's head, motionless, his gaze fixed on the fight, his jaw clenched. He said nothing. He watched.
Then everything collapsed.
On the beach, the final attack from the man in the wool hat forced Jordan to separate his head from his body. From where they were, the illusion was perfect.
He had been decapitated.
The world seemed to shatter.
"…No…"
Nami fell to her knees, a silent scream caught in her throat, tears bursting forth without restraint. She couldn't even breathe anymore. Her mind refused to accept what she had just seen, but her heart was already screaming in pain.
Five hundred meters from the beach, Luffy roared.
"JOOOOORDAAAAAAN!!!"
It wasn't an ordinary shout.
It was a primal roar.
A massive, omnidirectional surge exploded from him. Conqueror's Haki spread like an invisible wave, crushing everything in its path. Two-thirds of the crew collapsed instantly, unconscious, their bodies unable to withstand such pressure.
Only Zoro, Kuina, Sanji, and Usopp remained standing—and even then, each of them was struggling not to buckle under the crushing weight, teeth clenched, legs trembling.
On the shores of Flevance
Law, convinced he had won, didn't even have time to savor his victory.
A roar, coming from the sea, pierced the air.
Then the pressure hit.
Pure, crushing, ancient terror slammed into him, burrowing deep into his mind. His heart seized violently, his breath caught, and his thoughts drowned in a panic he had never known.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed, unconscious, his mind unable to endure such a shock after the battle.
"Damn it…" I muttered as I put my head back in place.
I staggered slightly, feeling the pressure of Luffy's Conqueror's Haki wash through me. Even I couldn't ignore it. I had heard his cry. I knew what it meant.
I turned around at once.
The Merry was charging straight toward the beach, completely out of control.
With my Haki, I immediately perceived the problem: Merry was unconscious. The emotional shock had traveled through the bond that connected us. If nothing was done, the ship would crash head-on into the lead-laden sand.
I dove without hesitation.
Underwater, I took my full crocodile form, my massive body cleaving through the sea with violent force. I positioned myself in front of the bow and stopped the ship through sheer brute strength, gouging the seabed for several meters.
The impact was brutal.
But controlled.
Only a few superficial marks appeared on the hull.
I then placed my hands against the living wood and cast a healing spell, instantly sealing the cracks. Merry and the ship were not mere objects.
The stop was violently abrupt for everyone still standing on board. The shock rippled through the entire hull, making the living wood groan with a deep, painful creak. Luffy, thrown by the momentum from the prow, was literally flung over the sand before crashing onto the beach in a cloud of white dust. Behind him, Zoro, Kuina, Usopp, and Sanji lost their balance and slammed heavily onto the deck, still dazed by the wave of Haki that had already brought them to their knees moments earlier.
I emerged from the water in silence, letting my full crocodile form dissipate as I returned to my human appearance. My breathing was heavy, but controlled. Without wasting a second, I went to Luffy and wrapped my arms firmly around him, preventing him from getting up too quickly. I gently pressed my hand against the back of his neck and, with a deliberate motion, let the shadows slide around my own neck. My head separated slightly, held in place by dark energy, before I put it perfectly back in place.
"Look… I'm fine," I murmured calmly, so he would understand, even in his confused state.
Then I turned away.
A little farther off, Law lay unconscious. I grabbed a heavy training chain ending in a metal ball—the one I usually used to strengthen my raw power—and fastened it securely around his ankle. I then dragged him to the water, letting his body rest on a large wooden plank so it would float, the ball fully submerged, preventing him from escaping when he woke up. The seawater would take care of the rest, neutralizing his stamina and therefore his power.
Back on the Merry, I moved quickly among the crew, placing a hand here, another there, letting a soft light erase cuts, bruises, and contusions. Nothing serious, but I refused to let a single unnecessary injury remain.
"You're alive!" Usopp shouted, his eyes shining as he almost threw himself at me.
I stopped him with one hand, amused, a tired smile on my lips.
"Sorry for the scare… but I'd rather avoid hugs from guys."
A nervous laugh escaped him, a mix of relief and emotion.
A bit farther away, Sanji, taking advantage of Kazuki's unconsciousness, discreetly lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag before exhaling the smoke, his expression still serious.
"You scared us pretty bad… Even I had my mind completely saturated by that pressure."
I followed his gaze toward Luffy, unaware of his new power, sitting on the deck.
"That was Conqueror's Haki," I explained softly. "You can't train it. You're born with it… or you're not. And it looks like our captain is one of the chosen."
Zoro straightened up, arms crossed, his gaze sharp.
"Can you explain why you and that guy were fighting?"
I shrugged lightly.
"A duel, nothing more. Not really serious. Even if he split my body into pieces, that's his Devil Fruit… he could've put me back together without any problem. He just wanted to fight me. And I had no intention of hurting him. I still have something to tell him."
Zoro slowly nodded, understanding. Facing a variety of opponents was part of the path.
Kuina then came up to me and leaned in to whisper in my ear, a teasing smile on her lips:
"Take Nami to her room. Stay with her. If you wait until she wakes up… you might just move forward with what you really want."
Under the amused looks of those still awake, I carefully lifted Nami, carrying her like a princess. Her body unconsciously nestled against mine as I walked toward her cabin. Silent tears were sliding down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry… forgive me…" she murmured in her sleep.
I gently laid her on her bed, sat down on a chair beside it… but she grabbed my hand, refusing to let go, even unconscious. I stayed there, motionless, watching over her.
About thirty minutes later, her eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes… and saw me.
At first, she thought it was an illusion born of her regrets. Then she squeezed my hand a little tighter, felt the warmth, the reality. Her breath hitched.
She suddenly sat up and threw herself into my arms, bursting into tears.
"Jordan… I'm sorry about earlier… I love you… stay with me…" she begged, still trembling at the thought of having lost me.
I held her gently, keeping her close.
"I love you too, Nami," I murmured near her ear, slowly stroking her silky hair. "And I will always do everything in my power to come back to you. Always."
We stayed like that, wrapped in each other's arms, the outside world seeming to fade away.
In the doorway, little Merry, now awake, watched the scene in silence. A tender smile lit up her face before she quietly slipped out of the cabin to go reassure the crew still on deck.
(I hope you enjoyed the combat moment. I tried to stay faithful to Law's techniques, and for Luffy's Haki, I thought his first crewmate dying in front of him was a valid reason for it to be released unconsciously. With that, I'll see you next week—I'm leaving a little gift as usual in this paragraph.)