As soon as they reached the door, Gion snatched a key from Malverick's hand, hurriedly opened one of the rooms, and darted inside.
Alone, she could finally breathe —
no need to worry about that beast suddenly losing control,
and maybe, just maybe, she could find a chance to escape.
Perfect plan.
But before she could even shut the door —
Malverick's hand caught it mid-swing.
He pushed it open with a grin.
"What are you doing? Let go! I'm tired and I want to rest!"
Gion shoved at his chest in panic, but he didn't budge.
Instead, he stepped inside and calmly shut the door behind him.
Seeing his confident stride, Gion instinctively raised both hands to her chest, eyes filled with wariness.
"I'm warning you," she said sharply,
"touch me and you're dead."
To Malverick, her threat sounded adorably empty.
"Hahahaha… You're a Marine, I'm a pirate.
Even without taking you hostage, if the Navy caught me, I'd be dead anyway."
He took another step closer, smirking.
"So, tell me…"
He lifted a strand of her hair, brought it to his nose, and inhaled softly.
"Hmm. Smells good."
Then he leaned in with a mock-thoughtful tone.
"What if I send you back carrying my child?
Maybe Kong will spare me for the baby's sake?"
"In your dreams!"
Gion stumbled backward, pale.
If that really happened, she didn't even dare imagine the consequences.
"Then behave," Malverick said coldly.
"You slashed my face — don't expect me to let that slide without compensation."
He hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him, eyes dark with a dangerous gleam.
Then, unexpectedly, he turned toward the bed.
A swirl of black mist appeared, and two figures fell out of the Dark Hole Space —
Corazon and Law.
Gion froze.
Who were these two?!
"Cough… cough!"
"Captain, I—"
Corazon tried to sit up, but Malverick pressed him back down.
He stuffed a towel between Corazon's teeth and hovered his hand a few inches above the man's chest.
A black vortex formed under his palm, sucking downward.
"Ahhhh—!"
Corazon bit the towel hard as pain tore through his body.
A few seconds later, Malverick withdrew his hand — holding several bullets dripping with blood.
"Don't talk, don't move. Rest."
He tossed a medical kit toward Law, who was just waking up, dazed and confused.
"Stop staring, kid. You studied medicine, didn't you? Treat him."
Then Malverick handed the spare room key to Gion.
"Go wait in the other room. Don't try anything stupid — or the consequences will be… severe."
His gaze deliberately lingered on the part of her he'd spanked before.
The meaning was clear.
Feeling his stare, Gion shivered, snatched the key, and fled without a word.
Once in the other room, she rushed straight to the bathroom and lifted her skirt slightly—
her face turned bright red.
"That bastard… he actually hit that hard!"
——
Back in the main room, after a flurry of medical work, Corazon's wounds were bandaged.
"Corazon-san, how do you feel?" Law asked anxiously.
"I'll live," Corazon rasped.
"Listen, Law — I've given you the Ope Ope no Mi.
With it, and your medical training, you'll master its power soon.
And once you do, your illness will be cured."
Law's eyes widened.
He had always wanted to be a doctor — before tragedy destroyed his home.
Now, with both his medical skill and the power of the Surgery Fruit,
he could truly save lives.
"Thank you… Corazon-san!"
Tears welled in his eyes.
They weren't related by blood, yet this man had done everything for him —
even risked his life.
"Alright, Law."
Corazon's voice grew serious.
"From now on, I'll be following this man."
He glanced toward Malverick.
"As his subordinate."
"And you…"
Malverick raised a brow. "Don't worry, I won't force him."
"If you don't want to follow Corazon and become one of mine, then leave.
You're free."
Truth be told, Law wasn't much use to Malverick yet.
He didn't even care for the Ope Ope no Mi — let alone the boy.
If Law chose to stay, fine.
If not, that was fine too.
Law looked between them both.
Then he bowed deeply to Malverick and knelt before Corazon.
"Corazon-san, thank you for everything this past year!"
Corazon smiled faintly, eyes misting.
He patted Law's shoulder.
"Go. Live your own life. You'll do great things one day."
Law nodded and walked out.
By the time he crossed the doorway, silent tears were already rolling down his cheeks.
Watching him go, Malverick sighed softly.
"Tough kid."
"Rest up, Corazon," he added. "We leave tomorrow."
Instead of heading for the door, Malverick opened the window.
"Captain, aren't you going to sleep?" Corazon asked.
Malverick looked out into the moonlit night.
"Can't yet," he said with a smirk.
"My little rabbit's being naughty — trying to run away right under my nose."
"Guess I'd better go catch her first."
A flicker of black light — and Malverick vanished.
——
Indeed, Gion had escaped.
By the time Malverick tracked her, she was already far from the island, rowing a small boat at full speed.
Glancing behind and seeing no pursuers, Gion let out a breath of relief.
"Good. He didn't chase me."
"Hmph, 'Dark King' Malverick — even you have moments of carelessness."
She clenched her jaw, hatred burning in her chest.
He spanked me… repeatedly!
One day, she swore, she'd make him pay for that humiliation.
But for now, she had no choice but to flee.
She was nowhere near strong enough to face him yet.
Then—
Splash!
A column of seawater shot up beneath her boat, hurling it skyward before splitting it clean in two.
"What—?!"
Gion's eyes widened.
She kicked off instantly, using Geppo to leap into the air.
But before she could steady herself—
BOOM!
The sea below erupted again.
A massive water dragon rose from the waves, its maw gaping wide—
and in one swift motion, it swallowed Gion whole, dragging her back into the dark ocean.
~~--------------------------
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