Within the complex and unclear power structure of the Dark Continent, the only possible alliance partner was the Gatekeeper Clan.
Using Coo as an entry point, the likelihood of success should be decent. And as the relationship deepened, they might be able to leverage the power of the [Ginhanabi].
That might be... the opportunity to reach the World Tree.
"Alliance..."
Coo's gaze towards Law gradually became complex.
Cooperation and alliance were different.
Previously, they had a common goal, so they could establish a cooperative relationship.
But what about now?
From her standpoint, her first reaction was that it was impossible.
However, Kuro's importance and Law's abilities made it difficult for Coo to reject outright at first thought.
"I don't make the decisions."
After a moment, Coo gave her answer.
She wasn't the clan leader of the Gatekeeper Clan, so she naturally couldn't represent the clan in negotiating an alliance with Law.
But her choosing to answer this way was enough to let Law see her underlying intention.
Law made a judgment instantly, knowing that Coo wasn't a difficult obstacle. The key was getting the decision-makers of the Gatekeeper Clan to agree.
"You may not make the decisions, but you can convey my intention on my behalf. Furthermore, I believe you have enough influence. If you personally lean towards the alliance, you can likely play a significant role in this matter."
As he finished speaking, Law summoned his book and took out Coo's heart.
Coo's gaze involuntarily shifted to the heart. She watched as Law manipulated his Nen, sending the heart through the air to land gently in front of her.
Returning a vital part, and allowing her to read important information for free, were both expressions of Law's sincerity. This gradually tilted her scales to one side, but she still found it difficult to decide.
If she agreed to Law's proposal and took her heart back, she would have to leave here to find Red Shadow and the others.
That would mean she couldn't continue having sex with Kuro.
Seeing Coo still hesitating, Law asked calmly, "What's wrong? Isn't this enough to put your concerns to rest? Or do you have no intention of allying?"
Coo was silent for a while, then said, "I can convey your alliance intention to Red Shadow, but I have one condition."
"What condition?"
Law was amenable. Meanwhile, the others looked at Coo expressionlessly. In their view, Law had shown immense sincerity, and Coo continuing to make demands was a bit excessive.
"Before conveying the alliance intention, I want to get pregnant first."
Coo stated her condition very calmly.
"..."
Including Law and Kuro, everyone was momentarily stunned. None of them expected such a condition.
Coo's extremely calm expression made people doubt that she had even spoken those words.
Law hummed thoughtfully, then glanced at Kuro, who was practically raising both paws in favor.
"I agree to this condition."
"Good."
Coo paused, then said in a strange tone, "But aren't you afraid of letting the tiger return to the mountain?"
As she spoke, Coo raised her hand and tapped the notebook containing the important information.
"I believe you will make the right choice."
Law smiled slightly and used his Nen to suck the notebook into his hand from a distance.
Since he dared to do this, he wasn't afraid.
Having captured Coo once, he was confident in capturing her a second time.
If the Gatekeeper Clan didn't have the Ginhanabi, Law wouldn't treat them as equals.
Similarly, precisely because of the Ginhanabi, Law had other ideas.
Coo said no more, nodded to Law, and then asked Knov to take her and Kuro to their room.
Buhara was almost done preparing dinner, but Law didn't insist on Coo staying and signaled Knov to do as she asked.
Thus, Knov took Coo and Kuro to a separate room, letting them continue making babies.
Once Coo successfully became pregnant, she could undertake the transmission task, conveying the alliance intention to the others of the Gatekeeper Clan.
This matter carried considerable weight for Law.
Unless they could seize an ancient large-scale artifact from the Humanoids, they would have to place their 'possibility' on the Gatekeeper Clan's Ginhanabi.
After Coo and Kuro went to their separate room, many team members expressed their concerns. Only a few unconditionally trusted Law's decisions and choices.
The more rational ones were, of course, Biscuit and Shiro.
"Law, why would you think of allying with the Gatekeeper Clan?"
"Because of the Ginhanabi. It might be our only way to reach the World Tree."
"Then why don't we just take it by force?"
Only Uvogin could say something like that.
Machi glanced at Uvogin speechlessly. Knov, sitting next to Uvogin, also looked quite helpless.
The terror of large-scale artifacts was clearly understood by everyone present.
To seize a large-scale artifact by force, unless the target gave them an opportunity, it would be difficult even to get close, let alone seize it.
"Taking it by force is too difficult and quite risky." Law shook his head at Uvogin.
"But letting Coo go back to her kind with the information carries significant risk too, right?" Shiro said worriedly.
"That's unavoidable. However, with our abilities, we can minimize the risk."
Law looked around at his teammates. With the Hunter Association's team and Beyond's team as precedents, he believed his own team could be called the strongest among humans.
If he had to face the risk alone, he would be somewhat apprehensive. But with so many powerful people on the team, it gave him great confidence.
Everyone exchanged glances. Although Law had great confidence in them, when truly facing danger, it would be Ging, Stargie, Biscuit, and a few others who could play a major role.
As for the others, they could mostly only play functional roles.
But, since Law had expressed himself this way, how could they be cowardly?
Just then, Buhara arrived with steaming, fragrant dishes.
After waiting nearly two hours, dinner was finally ready.
Law didn't know if the others were hungry, but he himself was starving.
"Let's eat first."
Delicious food was soon served, filling the room with an aroma that whetted the appetite.
Buhara's cooking skills had improved tremendously in recent years, seemingly surpassing Law's.
In fact, before setting foot on the Dark Continent, Buhara was basically responsible for the team's meals. Handling various rare ingredients had led to astonishing progress.
Law was ravenous and wolfed down his food.
He had initially thought about eating and talking at the same time, but once he started eating, he decided to eat his fill first.
Law's swift, sweeping eating speed inevitably spurred the others to speed up as well.
A large table of food was completely devoured in less than ten minutes. Law had eaten at least half.
Law wiped his mouth contentedly with a napkin and exhaled deeply.
"Alright, let's get straight to the point."
Law put down his napkin and looked at Chucu, whose presence was very faint.
Noticing Law's gaze, Chucu's heart tightened slightly, though she feigned composure.
"Chucu, how would you like to be my weapon?"
Law's face carried a smile.
"..."
Chucu's eyes widened in shock. She didn't know how to respond.
The others, however, were not surprised at all.
Through the recorded information, they had roughly understood Chucu's identity and purpose.