Chapter Text
Trafalgar Law and his crew ended up disappearing into their submarine for nearly two hours.
And a lot happened in their absence.
Robin had returned to her own crew’s ship, to a bombardment of questions; a group of expectant ears and confused faces alike. In particular, those who hadn’t been present for the initial debacle.
Jinbe hardly reacted as the group huddled close to hear Robin out. The answers were short and to-the-point. The large fish-man could only close his eyes and hum pensively.
Brook seemed excited, since he took the news of an infant possibly coming on board as an opportunity to find a new type of sound for his music. The gentler, soothing kind— he could already see it. The same kind of music a certain baby whale had enjoyed as well.
Zoro pursed his lips with concern as he looked around at his crew-mates and their placated expressions. This couldn’t be as casual as everyone was making it out to be.
“And you think the kid will be better off with us than with a family here in Wano?” Zoro had to absolutely be the voice of reason for the crew at times. The role was typically Nami’s, but she could often be swayed by things like money or old friends… or children.
Robin nodded in reply, her arms folding gently over her chest with conviction. “Believe in Luffy. This could be his child, or in the very least, a relative of his through Dragon.”They would find out soon enough through Law’s testing, anyway.
A person like Luffy would never abandon somebody connected to him- whether by blood or by bond. Robin could tell her captain had been burdened by the old woman’s recognition of him and his father. Even he could surmise there were higher forces at play and incentives behind the baby’s spawning.
“What’s your problem?! Robin said she appeared out of a bolt of lightning! She has no family here! The only clue we have is Luffy’s father.” Nami was quick to anger of course, following Zoro’s suggestion. “Instead of talking so much, we should be preparing the ship to board and home a baby!”
It was often unclear who the supposed ‘number two’ of the Strawhat crew was. Usually it could be awarded to a person depending on the situation or day. Today, it seemed to go to Nami.
Almost immediately, the group nodded in understanding and dispersed with their own goals in mind.
Usopp followed Franky to their workshop areas, Sanji ducked away to his kitchen for some prep.
Chopper rushed to his medical wing to draw up a blank chart and to do some revision on the subject of babies. Jinbe helped him, also deciding he should revise his own knowledge with a more human aspect.
Robin vanished to the ship’s library for possible reading material, since it was an important part of infant development, of course.
And Zoro… made himself useful by sticking to Nami. He wouldn’t admit it, but he might’ve wanted to make up for his earlier suggestion that had apparently offended her. They made space in both bedrooms to fit a baby bed in each. Or whatever it was that Franky and Usopp were cooking up for her.
Brook got stuck with clean-up duty, not that he minded. He sung a soft tune while he worked.
Meanwhile, down on the ground, their captain hardly noticed the passing time. Luffy had spent the two hours with Yamato, Kin’emon and Momonosuke.
He’d given the new Shogun of Wano a flag with the Strawhat jolly roger, with a promise to return when he was needed- whether as a protector or to pick them up as new members to add to his crew. Luffy could hardly wait to come back to Wano and see the improvements first-hand. Above all, he couldn’t wait to take his new friends on an adventure together— especially Yamato, who had a story to fulfil per his own personal dream.
It was nice, with many Kozuki Momonosuke tears shed and roaring laughter from Yamato to counter. Chats ranging from what their next order of business would be, to simple appreciation for the cuisine of Wano.
Although, the conversation drastically deviated following Luffy’s casual mention of a certain baby.
His explanation of her acquisition wasn’t much better, contextually, either. Something about an old hag and a short-lived battle.
“So she’ll be travelling with my crew from now on!” Luffy concluded proudly, with both hands landing on his hips in a stance of finality. What else was there to say?
“Luffy, I understand your curiosity toward the child… Seeing as your opponent mentioned your father…” Kin’emon treaded lightly, since he couldn’t be sure how Luffy would take to the suggestion he had in mind. Of handing her over to Wano while they set off to investigate her origin.
The sayings must be true; that pirates never rest. After barely recovering from their take-down of both Kaido and Big Mom, their pirate alliance was already preparing for a newly paved adventure.
Yamato looked warily ready to suggest something as well, but instead turned his attention to the sound of a creaky metal door being opened in the direction of the ships.
“That’s your Law guy, right?”
Emerging from the submarine’s highest deck door, it was, in fact, his Law guy— pulling off a pair of rubber gloves and taking in a sobering breath of fresh air.
Nearly two hours of examination, which would’ve otherwise taken mere minutes using his devil fruit powers, and still no leads on whatever the mysterious ability-blockage was. This single evening was beginning to prove more exhausting than the goddamn Onigashima raid.
“Ooooooi! Tooooraaaao!” The familiar voice of Strawhat Luffy cut right through Law’s moment of peace. When he diverted his gaze toward the sound, he could see the way the younger man was trying to wave him down with enthusiasm.
Beside the small captain stood Kaido’s son, the leading samurai and the new Shogun of Wano, draped in what appeared to be a large black flag containing the Strawhat jolly roger.
So the Strawhats had planned to make it their territory after all.
“Are you finished here, Strawhat-ya?” Law asked him in a dismissive yet loud voice. He walked across the wooden decking, toward the railing that encircled the top of the Polar Tang. It made it easier to express his displeasure if the others could see his scowl.
Two whole hours of examination and testing, just to be greeted by the same level of carefree idiocy on Luffy’s behalf.
“We need to discuss our next course of action. Bring your navigator into our—“
“—where’s the baby?” Luffy interrupted him rather innocently. His eyes followed along the railing in hopes of spotting another member of the Heart pirates carrying the newborn girl.
Momonosuke cringed at the interruption, given how obvious Law’s scowl was. Even all the way from their ground level, his no-nonsense aura was powerful.
“I wanna show these guys the baby before we set sail!” Luffy continued, to Momonosuke’s horror. Even though Luffy’s captain-friends had aided in the liberation of his country, it didn’t take away from how intimidating Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid were to Momo.
“Shut up. She’s asleep.” Law denied him flatly. “Newborns require approximately fourteen hours of sleep a day. She’s been fed and put to bed already.”
As much as Law would’ve loved to leave it at that, it was never that easy. The universe was, as per usual, not on his side.
“Bleh…” Luffy’s pout had only been satisfying for all of five seconds before Bepo could come charging out of the submarine holding the topic of the day. Almost as though on cue.
“Captaaaain!” Bepo panted, with a very-much awake newborn in his furry arms. She looked cleaner now, dressed in a makeshift baby-wrap that was clearly made using one of the Heart pirates trademark orange boiler-suits.
Kin’emon reacted with a ‘Woh!’ of surprise upon catching a glimpse of the baby in the Mink’s arms. Yamato and Momonosuke followed in suit with the same sound. It was one thing for Luffy to poorly explain a story about her; it was another to actually see the baby in person.
“I’m sorry, captain! She woke up and cried until I picked her up! None of us knew what to do!” Bepo was quick to defended his decision of bringing her out, given the look of unwavering discontentment on Law’s face.
Before the Heart captain could release his trademark sigh, Luffy outstretched his rubber arms up toward the submarine. They looped in an animated fashion over the railing and the hands opened up in anticipation in front of Bepo. “I’ll take her!”
While it may be surprising and even slightly commendable of Luffy to want to take such eager responsibility of a child, Law wasn’t sure someone like Luffy was even capable of said responsibility required for the task. He didn’t seem the slightest bit aware of the newborn’s fragility, for starters.
Wanting to party with a baby and feed it meat would undoubtedly be on the ‘Do Not’ pages of any paediatric guide.
“It isn’t as simple as you’re assuming.” Law tried to interject against Luffy’s wishes, but… as the universe always deemed it; Luffy got his way.
Bepo inched the bundled newborn toward his rubber hands and let the Strawhat captain take the baby for himself.
“Make sure to support the head!” Kin’emon advised as she was lowered down toward them on the ground level. Fortunately, Luffy had already gotten the hang of it from his previous directions from Robin. Head supported, firm hold. He even made sure to lean her against his chest as soon as she’d reached them.
“Woah! She’s so tiny!” Yamato yelled in bewilderment. The loud noise made the baby attempt to shift within the confines of her clothes, but it was the most she’d expressed even after the momentary trip through the air from the top deck of the yellow submarine to the ground. She seemed undisturbed, for the most part, ever since coming into Luffy’s hold.
Luffy couldn’t help but join the other three in their blatant stares at the baby. They all had their respective questions and worries for her, but Luffy was too busy analysing the baby’s eyes. Her eyes were finally open, taking in the world around her with an unprecedented calmness.
Her eyes were grey, a cool tone that Luffy really liked. She was adorable.
Catching onto the way Luffy was appreciating her eyes, Momo let out a quiet laugh and followed his gaze as well. “I guess her eyes are all rounded like yours. I’ll give you that.” He joked lightheartedly, since the iris colour wasn’t as interesting or notable to him.
“That’s right, Momonosuke! Good observation.” Kin’emon agreed. He had a tendency to react positively to almost anything suggested by Momo, and it was something Luffy wondered about. Even after everything, Kin’emon’s gentleness hadn’t faltered. Even though Luffy didn’t feel like the young boy needed it.
“Say,” Kin’emon continued, with a vague gesture toward the baby’s ensemble of what appeared to be a swaddle of orange fabric. “I think we can do better for a child of Wano, don’t you think?” He broke into a smile as he turned his attention to the large man beside him.
Entangled in Yamato’s bright locks of white hair were small petals of the sakura blossom flowers, native to the land of Wano. It was quite fitting, Kin’emon thought to himself. He picked one of the pink petals from his hair, earning a united hum of confusion from both Luffy and Yamato himself.
Instead of answering, he placed the petal on top of the newborn’s head.
Poof!
With the use of his devil fruit powers, Kin’emon clothed the baby in a white, almost ceremonial-like fabric that folded at the chest, lined with a hemp-leaf pattern. “There we go! We always look our best in a kimono, don’t we, Momonosuke?”
The two shared a laugh that Yamato joined in on. Luffy grinned toothily, but was mostly just happy to see the baby girl in something more comfortable.
Law, who’d been observing them casually while in thought, had been stirred quickly out of his pensive stance when he was struck with the realisation of Kin’emon’s actions.
“Your devil fruit ability worked on her?”
Four pairs of adult eyes lifted to Law, who remained still against the railing of his Polar Tang.
Law’s brows drew close into a frown. Kin’emon also had a paramecia-type devil fruit, the Fuku Fuku no Mi; Garb-Garb fruit. That completely erased Law’s possible theory of a fruit-type resistance or blockage.
“What’s wrong, Traffy? Don’t you think she looks cute?” Luffy’s grin broadened, even as Law seemingly refused to answer.
It’s not that he didn’t consider the question, it’s that they had more important matters to attend to. Their alliance was up for debate, they needed to establish their next goal and set a plan into motion. Moreover… the responsibilities of caring for a child amidst a voyage.
“Strawhat-ya, please.” Law shut his eyes momentarily to summon forth some of the remaining patience in his small reserve.
Bepo watched the way his captain gripped the railing of the submarine while probably searching for the right words. He’d been with him through the medical processes in the submarine, had been with Law when he’d spaced out in thought with a concerned expression on his face.
It didn’t take a genius to guess the man was likely overwhelmed by the possibility of having a biological child, thrusted into the world without any prior knowledge. The possibility of said child also having a fleeting existence on a timed ability.
Hakugan, the beloved helmsman of the Heart Pirates, had even been concerned the infant would disappear mid-examination.
“We should invite the Strawhats to our meeting room! Right, captain? That way we can decide on a plan, just like you wanted!” Bepo suggested to lighten whatever load of emotions were weighing down his captain’s conscience.
Although, to Bepo’s surprise, Law’s eyes reopened to stare right down at the cutely-dressed baby in Luffy’s arms. The moment had obviously passed from Luffy’s question, but…
The big eyes and cute face were undeniable. Soft and tiny. Law loved hated cute things.
“Yes.” Law nodded once, but clicked his tongue in contempt as he tore away from the sight. “I have some ideas.”
“Sure thing.” Luffy shrugged affirmatively, completely unaware of Law’s inner conflict. Although, Law’s expression did remind him a bit of a scene that had taken place in Dressrosa, when confronting that girl. Sugar?
From the sound of things, Law was definitely interested in the adventure that had fallen into their arms. And by extension, the continuation of their alliance. That made Luffy happy.
“That would give us the time to collect some new supplies for you to take.” Kin’emon suggested, jumping at the first opportunity to offer further aid to their friends and saviours. “I’ll continue to reiterate that her emergence did occur here in Wano… it’s only fair we provide some clothes and such necessities.”
Momonosuke nodded along enthusiastically, despite the serious line of his mouth. “It’s true. As Shogun, I do have the power to… uh— you know.”
“Officiate the citizenship!” Yamato completed the statement helpfully, which Momo quickly repeated in agreement.
Law supposed it wouldn’t hurt to carry extra provisions for the child. The makeshift infant formula he’d put together using powdered milk and vitamins in their lab wouldn’t last very long. It would save them a resource-stop on an eventual island.
“Fine. Be back within the hour, though. Our meeting won’t take very long.” Law warned them. The last thing he wanted was to delay their departure even further. Especially now that they had an obstacle to overcome.
“You can count on us!” Yamato answered for the group, with a salute he’d been wanting to imitate from Bepo’s earlier actions. Even to the son of Kaido, the mink was pretty damn cute.
——————
“—Seeing as Bepo’s contact to the revolutionary army has family on Zou, it’s safe to assume they would have a vivre card or at least a mode of communication with him.” As Trafalgar Law explained the details of their plan, Shachi and Penguin of the Heart Pirates had taken to drawing up very important diagrams in a whiteboard behind their captain.
The poorly drawn elephant with a circle around it, for example, was a necessary depiction of their captain’s plan.
“Are you paying attention? Strawhats?”
Somehow, they’d managed to make Luffy the most responsible one of the whole crew. Their captain was the only one sitting down at the table of the Polar Tang’s war room, actually paying attention entirely to what their allied forces had to say.
The rest of the crew had crowded around a certain sleeping baby. It was their first time seeing her up close or at all, with the exception of Robin. The newborn laid still in the make-do bed the Heart Pirates had crafted for her out of a wooden barrel cut vertically down its middle.
It wasn’t bad for a temporary cradle, and the pillowy stuffing seemed comfortable enough for her.
“I think they really like Tuna Beast.” Luffy offered as an excuse for his crew’s lack of attention. They still hadn’t moved on from the whole ‘baby possibly related to Luffy joining them until further notice’ and were apparently pretty interested in her appearance.
“Tuna Beast?!” Law howled.
Shachi and Penguin began to draw a massive fish on the whiteboard.
“Yeah! And don’t act like it isn’t a smart name, I even thought of her eye colour matching a tasty tuna fish.” Luffy held up his head all matter-of-factly, but turned when Franky started to speak.
“Her eyes are grey? I’m starting to think she might not be yours at all, Luffy!” He teased.
The sight of Franky having to duck in on himself to fit inside the submarine was already amusing enough— it was no wonder his words pushed Usopp and Chopper to the brink of laughter.
“She’s got those Trafalgar eye-bags and a moody look while she sleeps. But it sure is cute.” Franky snorted, and a chorus of ‘aww’s erupted around the sleeping infant.
“Oi! Pay attention! We’re going to give you a piece of a vivre card that will lead you to Zou!” Law tried again. To no avail.
The baby’s stomach rumbled, and loudly. Reactions ranged from more ‘aww’ing to quiet laughter, Heart Pirates included.
In what could almost be described as a response, Luffy’s stomach rumbled even louder.
“Sanji, what’s for dinner?”
With a huffed laugh, Sanji shook his head in Franky’s direction. “No, I’m pretty certain she’s Luffy’s alright.”
“Perhaps Robin’s observations have once again proven correct.” Brook chimed in, to which Jinbe hummed a chuckle in agreement. Even as a newborn, the baby girl was showing quite the strong characteristics from both captains. At surface-level, that is.
Of all people to stay quiet, Zoro had simply stood back and observed the child with uncharacteristic thoughtfulness. Staring with an equally uncharacteristic softness, too.
Sanji eyed him knowingly, like it was something they’d bring up later. The flesh and blood of their captain wasn’t something to scoff at.
“I’ll take that!” Nami caught Law by surprise by reaching forward and snatching the vivre card out of his hand. Before he could complain, she ripped the long paper in half, and handed back the larger piece. “Don’t worry, I got it. We head to Zou, speak with your contact’s family, and hopefully find a way to track down Luffy’s father. You said Bepo’s friend was called Lindenbergh, right? A cat Mink?”
Law blinked, taken aback by the navigator’s acknowledgement of his planning. Just like that, the rest of the Strawhats had their heads turned toward their conversation. It was easy to forget how quickly they could switch from a group of clowns to the infamous pirate crew of an Emperor of the Sea.
The mental reminder of their new title sent Law’s head into a momentary spin.
“Are you sure you’re ready to see your father, Luffy?” Jinbe inquired, given his limited knowledge of their relationship in the first place. He had only ever heard of the man; leader of the Revolutionary Army and widely considered the world’s worst criminal. “That seems to be our goal here in terms of the child, after all.”
“Hm.” Luffy sat there, cross-legged and tapping on his chin with a rubber finger that continued to bend at impossible extremes. “I wouldn’t mind not seeing him. But I also do want to meet him. I think he’ll know something about that old hag that gave us Tuna Beast.”
It was a moment of vulnerability in the most invulnerable way possible. Luffy wasn’t the kind of person to let himself dwell on the past, nor on the decisions of other people. “Gramps said he met me in Loguetown but didn’t introduce himself. So I’m pretty sure he’s the one that helped me from Smokey.”
The four crew members that had been present in Loguetown all nodded, and then the few others that had heard about the event during their introduction with Garp in Water 7 followed in suit.
“I spent some time with Dragon, as you know, Luffy. I can assure you he thinks very highly of you.” Robin smiled. The way Luffy articulated his feelings in such an honest way always drew such a pleasant veil to his conversations. The rest of the Strawhats could only trust Robin’s judgement with mirrored smiles.
Their next step was to meet Luffy’s father, the leading man of the Revolutionary Army. While it may only seem to be a stepping stone for information regarding the child, it was also a very obvious milestone in their journey, given the rising political tensions in their convoluted world.
A level they knew they’d have to face sooner or later.
Even Law had some hidden excitement behind his pokerface. Monkey D. Dragon— debatably one of the most knowledgeable people sporting the name of ‘D’. Meeting him would surely answer some questions, or in the very least, point them in the right direction.
The moment of collective reflection was short-lived, however.
Piercing through the comfortable silence came the loud cry of ‘Tuna Beast’ herself, announcing her hunger once again since the tummy rumble hadn’t been enough.
“It wasn’t me!” Usopp jumped back defensively, and the rest of the Strawhats didn’t hesitate to also move out of the way. Law beelined through them quickly without hesitation.
“It wasn’t anybody. She’s just hungry again.” Which had nothing to do with the unrelenting appetite of Strawhat Luffy. No genealogy at play there.
Law waved him off dismissively while bending down to pick the baby up. “If there’s no further questions, I’d say we’re all on the same page and the meeting can be concluded.”
“So…” Luffy had one of those sheepish smiles on his face, like a kid who’d gotten their way but didn’t want to push their luck. “That means the alliance isn’t over yet, right?”
Shachi and Penguin exchanged a knowing look. The same kind that Robin and Jinbe shared as well.
Luffy’s enthusiasm toward the alliance had always been unshakable, but his attachment to Law was also becoming… palpable. To those who cared enough to observe, anyway.
“Obviously.” Law scoffed, but turned again in time to catch his crew members in the middle of sharing a certain look. He adjusted the crying baby against his shoulder carefully and shot both of them a glare. “What the hell are you standing around for? Go fetch some of the infant formula for the baby! The exact way I showed you.”
Shachi and Penguin’s little moment of smugness melted away immediately. They returned to attention with a salute and made haste with their captain’s orders.
“And check the temperature! I will know if it’s too warm!” Law made sure to add in a holler. He’ll be damned if his crew of medical assistants couldn’t even properly prepare a bottle of baby formula.
Robin had to giggle, which served as an opening for the rest of her crew-mates to laugh and tease as well. With all that had taken place in a single afternoon, it was hard not to resort to humour amidst the absurdity of it all.
“You’re really filling into the fatherly role, eh, Torao?” Sanji quipped with a lopsided smile. He had an unlit cigarette pressed between his lips, no-doubt waiting for the moment they stepped outside to bring it to life.
“Hey, we haven’t decided who’s gonna be the mom yet! It’s not fair you guys are already calling him the dad!” Luffy complained in a moan, though was completely unfazed by Law’s look of horror that came his way.
Unsurprisingly, Trafalgar Law was at his limit.
“Out. All of you.”
“Wait, can I bring Tuna Beast with me onto the Sunny?” Luffy asked— pleading eyes and all as he hopped out of his seat. “I’ll let her sleep like you said! All fourteen hours, please Torao?”
Although impressed by Luffy’s goldfish memory providing him with the correct information, Law stood his ground with a shake of his head. “I want to monitor her first night. I also need to ensure your ship has the necessary provisions and safety measures to carry an infant of her age.”
Unlike the one from earlier, Luffy’s new grand pout wasn’t very satisfying. This one came paired with big, gleaming eyes that were apparently trying to threaten tears.
“And to make myself clear, her name will NOT be Tuna Beast. Or any food for that matter.” Law had to double down on his harshness when dealing with Luffy at times. He scowled at the younger captain, but his eyes remained fixed on Luffy’s own exaggerated pleading expression.
Stupidity incarnate, Law often dubbed him. Behaving in the most moronic ways humanly possible and—
“What are you doing?!” Law huffed out. His gentle patting of the baby’s back came to a stop. It’d accomplished its job of soothing the crying down to some simple restlessness, anyway.
The so-called war room of the submarine was left to a volume too quiet for Law’s liking. It wasn’t enough to distract from the sudden explosive thoughts that ran through his mind, and it made him… angry.
Why was Luffy’s stupid pouting face of simultaneous disappointment and begging somehow akin to Bepo’s fluffy one? Why were Luffy’s eyes getting cartoonishly big? Were those sparkles?!
“M’not doin’ anything…” Luffy mumbled the words through his pouty lips in exaggerated contempt. “Torao’s keeping my newest crew-member to himself.”
The Strawhat crew were an audience. Most amused, but others like Robin were… fascinated.
“Luffy, I think it’ll be wise to let the medical guys handle her for now. We can see her tomorrow. Right, Law?” Nami stepped forward— sometimes they had to cut Law some slack. The guy wasn’t often left at a loss for words like this anymore. As amusing as it was to see a man like him try to handle Monkey D. Luffy, throwing a baby into the mix could be enough to drive anyone insane.
Law blinked himself back to reality, as though he’d just seen a fucking ghost.
“Right.” A shiver ran down his spine, but Law averted his gaze to retake the reigns of the conversation.
His brain must’ve turned to mush after spending such an unprecedentedly long amount of time around a baby. And a cute one at that. Perhaps this was the fabled ‘mom brain’ that scientific journals jested about. Law was starting to see stars around certain people’s pouty faces.
“As soon as I have the DNA test results I’ll have the submarine resurface beside your ship.” Law promised, with his free hand lifting up to meet his forehead. Palm pressed to temple, he felt for a non-existent fever, or anything to excuse his unexplained oddities. “We’ll stick close from below.”
Everybody seemed to nod in collective agreement and understanding. Against all odds, the meeting went relatively ‘well’. They all agreed on a plan, understood the points, and Luffy only interrupted Law about being hungry once. That was pretty successful by Strawhat standards.
“I’ll be waiting, so don’t take too long with the test stuff, Traffy.” Luffy insisted with that trademark toothy grin making a return. No such stars this time, but there was always a bright light that shone with his gleeful moods.
Law waved him off dismissively. The only one who received a semblance of a farewell from the Heart Pirates’ captain.
They all left for the Sunny, with Jinbe reiterating to their allied crew that they’d leave upon Kin’emon’s return with the promised supplies.
Which went down exactly as one would expect.
They brought an entire barrel full of the infant formula powder, as well as a medium-sized crate with some clothes and supplies for the child too. They weren’t about to let their friends struggle with a newborn at sea. Especially one proudly ‘born’ in Wano.
Momonosuke was once again reduced to tears as they waved the Thousand Sunny goodbye. Luffy had his promises of meeting them again to uphold, and never even thought of using the word ‘goodbye’ itself. He would see them all later, in a near future as their individual goals fleshed out.
The Strawhat jolly roger was held up proudly by the large wingspan of Yamato’s arms, with all three men enthusiastically yelling out to them until they left earshot.
It was a nice parting. Heartfelt and good.
The Polar Tang followed their lead through the official port. Without Eustass ‘Instigator’ Kid, neither crews felt the need to take the waterfall route.
Not long after that, the Polar Tang submerged below the waters, yet maintained a close distance to the Thousand Sunny. The two crews set out to sea into the incoming night, in the direction of Zunesha— the giant moving ‘island’ of Zou.
———
Like clockwork, Sanji fell back into his typical morning risings as soon as they returned to the seas. He awoke just as the first rays of sunlight began to tease the horizon, the perfect time to begin food preparations for the day.
They’d had a pretty rowdy night after receiving the world news and their new wanted posters via News Coo. Sanji had fallen down two entire spots in the crew’s bounty hierarchy, taken over by Zoro and their newest member, Jinbe.
If that wasn’t painful enough, news had broken out regarding the incidents that took place at Reverie; the gathering of world rulers every four years at Marijois.
Princess Vivi was missing, her father was pronounced dead, and Luffy’s brother was at the centre of it all, along with the Revolutionary Army— their next objective. It was a mess.
Still, they tried to have faith in Luffy’s family. It took some rationalising and convincing, but the general consensus had been to also believe in Vivi and trust her ability to prosper. The sooner they got to the revolutionaries, the sooner they’d have answers, too.
It was hard to get out of bed all things considered, but as the most hygienic man on board, Sanji had to live up to his title with his early wash-up.
He got the daily bath out of the way first, preferring it in the mornings when he had the entire bath to himself and could indulge in a few minutes of peace and quiet.
Not that he didn’t enjoy the typical rowdiness of his crew, but the calmness certainly helped to screw on his head the right way for a day of adventure.
He brushed his teeth, dressed himself, and lit his cigarette before stepping out of the steamy warm room to face the early morning cold again.
The cool breeze against his cheeks felt nostalgic almost, after the weeks spent away from his duties as a ship’s cook. They could finally return to some normalcy as a pirate crew after the whirlwind events at Zou, the debacle with his family and Big Mom, and then the weeks spent on the land of Wano.
Lost in thought, Sanji entirely missed the sleeping figure splayed on the Sunny’s lawn deck while strolling towards the kitchen. Resulting in an immediate stumble and an unexpected fall onto the ground.
To his complete and utter surprise, his captain had apparently chosen to fall asleep on the grassy deck outside.
“Oi, watch where you’re stepping next time. No one wants your curly marks on the floor.”
Sanji’s bad mood flipped on like a switch.
On his climb down from the ship’s crow’s nest, Zoro had witnessed the whole embarrassing fall of Sanji, tripping over the unconscious rock that was Luffy’s sleeping form.
“You are a mark on the deck, stupid Marimo.” Sanji quipped back in a mumble. He didn’t quite have the energy yet to initiate a full fight, and he was glad for that. He needed to get breakfast started, and neither wanted to wake their captain yet anyway. He collected himself off the ground with ease, but didn’t hesitate to glare at Zoro from his boots to his face on his way up.
Standing directly in front of him, Zoro was holding a still-lit cigarette between his fingers. Apparently Sanji’s cigarette had flown out of his mouth during his fall, and had at some point been picked up by the green brute himself.
“Give me that!” Sanji snatched the cigarette back quickly, but Zoro just stared at him unimpressively.
“You’re not gonna ask about that?”
When Zoro gestured lazily to Luffy with his thumb, Sanji could only scoff.
“You think I didn’t hear him arguing with Nami last night? I know he didn’t want to go to bed and wait for the submarine to re-emerge instead.”
Zoro hummed, Sanji shook his head in mild amusement before continuing.
“And I also knew he’d eventually fall asleep— just didn’t expect it to be in the middle of the goddamn walkway.”
Zoro had to snort at that. Even if it was the stupid love-cook making the joke. If there was one thing they could agree on, it was their appreciation for the unique antics of their captain.
The snort had apparently taken Sanji by surprise though, since he found himself taking a quick drag from his cigarette to think of a change of topic. “So…”
When Zoro raised an eyebrow, Sanji spoke again with a roll of his eyes, “Do you really think the kid is Luffy’s?”
Zoro’s arms lifted to fold across his chest sternly. “I do.” He stated simply— cutting straight to the chase. “We’ll know soon enough, anyway. No point dwelling on it.” He shrugged.
Anyone else would’ve assumed that was Zoro’s way of closing the conversation, but Sanji had been around him long enough to understand his unintentionally snobby patterns.
“You know it’s our job to protect our captain.” Sanji brought up, with a smooth exhale of cigarette smoke. “That extends to his flesh and blood, obviously.”
“Obviously.” Zoro immediately agreed. There was that shared look they’d also held the day before, in the submarine while watching over the sleeping infant. “Even without the flesh and blood. If Luffy decides that’s his daughter…” Another snort left him as his gaze drifted back to Luffy’s sleeping form.
“…it’s my duty.” Zoro finished. Luffy would never abandon or leave behind someone he considered family. Not a baby with nowhere else to go— someone without their own journey or place of belonging.
“Our duty. Stupid Mosshead.” Sanji corrected with a renewed scoff, and a slight step back to also look down at their captain. “We’re the wings of the next pirate king, don’t forget it.”
Zoro smirked. The asshole smirked as he revved up the blow that would ruin their moment of understanding and reignite their ongoing feuds. “That’s too big a job for number four. What was your bounty again?”
Sanji’s face plummeted into a glare. Moment ruined. “Oi!” His hand surged forward to grasp the front fabric of Zoro’s dark-green coat. “Don’t get ahead of yourself because of that ridiculous bounty they gave you!”
“Don’t you have breakfast to start? Stupid cook.”
“I’ve got time for a fight. I’ll end it quick.”
Zoro almost humoured him, since Nami wasn’t around to keep their fighting in check. But he held up both hands in a rare offer of peace. “I’ve gotta wake up Ussop for his shift on watch. I’m pretty sure I saw a Marine ship in the distance earlier.”
That caught Sanji’s attention at first, but a certain conversation lead by Robin the night before quickly dissolved his interest. “Marines can’t bother us, we’re an Emperor crew.” He reminded him. Jinbe and Robin had explained one of their only new ‘perks’ that came with the title.
Marines would require clearance of the highest authority to engage, and even then, there was no way the Strawhats were even breaking a sweat against a single vessel.
“Best to keep an eye out.” Zoro shrugged again, which should’ve drawn their conversation to a full close this time. Sanji even waved him off as he took a cigarette drag on his way to open the door to the kitchen.
“Make me those runny eggs you do. Scrambled or whatever.”
Sanji’s teeth grit behind his lips. “What was that?!” He demanded, with his grip on the door-handle tightening dramatically. Zoro was the only person on the whole crew who could request a certain food and be met with hostility.
But Zoro could only offer a nonchalant hum in response. He stepped over Luffy’s snoring body and headed towards the men’s quarters with a victorious smile. In his mind, he’d cracked the code long ago.
Sanji would, out of pettiness or rivalry, cook the exact opposite of what Zoro requested.
Today’s breakfast side? Slices of hard-boiled eggs. Just like Zoro wanted.
———
As expected, Luffy rose to life as soon as the wafting scent of Sanji’s cooking hit his nostrils.
“Did I miss it?!” Luffy barged into the kitchen abruptly, with a head of dishevelled hair and eyes still adjusting to the realm of the conscious.
Everyone was already at the table— save for Usopp who was on watch duty— awaiting their meals. Although, it did seem like a conversation directed by Chopper had been interrupted suddenly.
“What’s the matter, Luffy?” Nami decided to bite. There was a high chance their captain was still half asleep and functioning only on the fuel that was the aroma of Sanji’s cooking.
“Torao! Did I miss Torao coming here with Tuna?!”
Nami sighed, but her lips broke into a smile that couldn’t be helped. Luffy’s keen interest in the infant was pretty cute. Seeing him as the parental figure of a tiny baby was a dynamic no one could’ve expected to see, and yet… it was beginning to be something everyone awaited with curiosity.
“No, not yet, Luffy.” Nami followed her response with a shake of her head.
“However,” Brook butted in quickly, wanting to avoid any possible disappointment from their lively captain. “Chopper was just giving us the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ of babysitting.”
While there was some disappointment of Law and his crew not having resurfaced yet, it filled Luffy with determination to be there and ready for when the time actually came.
“But I already know what to do. Right, Robin?” Luffy assumed it was the rest of the crew that needed a lesson. After all, how hard could it truly be? Feed the baby, let her sleep all those hours, and have fun while she’s awake. Seemed pretty straightforward.
“Well, there’s more than simply knowing how to hold her, Luffy.” Robin put gently.
“Hah?”
Chopper watched as Luffy stretched his arms forward to propel himself into a seat at the table. Just the norm.
“Luffy! You need to be clean, for starters, when you hold a baby! Otherwise you can spread germs and make Tuna very sick!” He instructed him enthusiastically, and promptly got up onto his seat’s cushion to stand on it. For the height advantage or something like that.
“Will you stop calling that baby girl Tuna Fish?!” Nami interjected, right before Luffy could complain about the rule.
He still did so.
“It’s Tuna Beast, and I am clean, Chopper! You saw me in the bath the other day!” Luffy whined, with a new frown forming over his features.
Sanji laughed while manoeuvring around the kitchen, but Jinbe chimed in as the voice of reason.
“Luffy, you’ll need to start bathing everyday. Human children have weak immune systems.” He explained, voice gruff but full of mirth. Luffy’s youthful curiosity and innocence was amusing, to say the least. “If your hands aren’t clean, you mustn’t hold her. Do you understand?”
Luffy let out a huff, as always when rules were implemented against him. “Okay, okay, I get it! I’d never want her to get sick.”
It might be difficult for someone who’d never gotten sick before to understand it, but a quick memory of how ill Nami had gotten back on Drum island was enough for Luffy to take the matter seriously.
“Oh. So I’m not clean right now.” Luffy realised— the cogs were certainly turning in the right direction.
“That’s right.“ Chopper confirmed, with a proud nod of his head. “We also can’t feed her anything but the powdered milk formula until at least four months!”
“No meat?!” Luffy’s eyes widened. That just seemed plain evil, to restrict someone so heavily like that.
“It’s a baby, Luffy. It can’t digest that stuff.” Zoro stated, like it should’ve been obvious. He was sat with his swords rested against the table, which Sanji nearly knocked over on purpose to get the man off his high horse.
“I’m surprised you even know anything about that, dumb Marimo.” Sanji taunted him, while swooping in to place and distribute the plates of food around the table.
“Oh yeah?” Zoro found himself immediately responding to Sanji’s insult; a vein in his forehead even counted him down with a throb of signified annoyance. “You curly—“
Placed suddenly in front of Zoro, however, was the same plate of chopped ham over rice as everybody else… along with a bowl of perfectly runny, scrambled eggs. Exactly as requested.
The silence that passed between them was loud enough to turn a few heads around the table.
“Wh… What?!” Sanji spoke roughly, with an expectant look on his face that could almost be read as ‘self-conscious’.
Zoro’s eyes shifted between the food itself and the cook before him. Luffy answered for him instead.
“He’s probably surprised you aren’t smoking this morning.” Their captain suggested.
Sanji blinked, accepting the answer. He also had to chuckle at the observation. “Yeah, well… Chopper mentioned it’s bad to smoke indoors if we’re going to have a baby around. So I’m cutting the habit now.”
…?
“HUH?!” Everybody else exclaimed in near-unison, which made Sanji quickly clarify his point.
“Indoors! I’m not smoking indoors anymore!”
Franky scratched his blue sideburn thoughtfully, shock of the news still written on his face. “Man, next we’ll hear Luffy tell us he’s not hungry.”
“I am!” Luffy reassured, but got out of his seat for his next point. “But I can’t eat yet incase Traffy comes up with the baby and I’m not clean enough to hold her. I’ve gotta go have a bath.”
Eyes widened once again as the Strawhat pirates absorbed the information. Luffy, their silly glutton of a captain, was forgoing breakfast in favour of taking a bath.
A bath!
The world was going mad.
“That’s very sensible of you, Luffy.” Robin praised him with a smile, breaking through the air of bewilderment.
“Well, that’s true. You’ve gotta be clean to hold her, so…” Franky held up a thumbs-up Luffy’s way, in mutual agreement with Robin too.
Spurred on by a giggle that left Robin’s lips, Franky’s large cyborg hand released from one of its chutes a smaller hand— the extended mechanical one he could use for the handling of smaller objects. With the newly displayed hand, he held up a smaller thumbs up with it as well.
It made Robin exhale another delighted laugh.
Luffy wasn’t sure what it was, but the exchange between Robin and Franky made him grin, wide and toothy. Maybe it was Franky’s cool robotic antics, or maybe it was the way Robin’s giggling changed when it came to Franky.
“Yeah! I’ll go wash up now so I’m prepared and all.” Luffy decided with renewed conviction. “Save me some plates of food, Sanji. With lots of meat!”
As Luffy took his leave with haste, he left a group of confused but equally proud crew-mates.
“My, it seems the tides are quickly changing around here.” Brook mused with his trademark laughter following; Yohoho!
It was true. Everybody ate their breakfast rather chirpily, with the same thoughts running through the metaphorical Strawhat Hivemind.
Things were changing, and for the better. The baby hadn’t even officially joined them or even boarded their ship yet, but Luffy was already developing a sense of cleanliness. Sanji was restricting his smoking habits, and the rest was yet to come.
A tall plate of cooked ham was set aside for Luffy.
———
If Usopp’s incessant yelling from the top of the lookout wasn’t indicator enough, the loud splashing beside their ship had to be.
The Heart Pirates’ Polar Tang emerged to the surface a few hours past noon. The minor waves caused by the feat even rocked the Sunny somewhat. It was short-lived and barely a sway onboard, but it had all been more than enough to have Luffy running and slingshotting himself to the main deck with his rubber limbs.
“OOOOOOI!”
Luffy’s shout could’ve echoed across the ocean, considering its intensity and enthusiasm. Making one of the most impatient people on the planet wait so many hours would naturally warrant such a reaction, to be fair.
The Strawhat pirates slowly but surely began to pour out of the ship’s interior and onto the main deck, obviously curious and ready for the long awaited news.
Perhaps it was the crew itself that shared that same level of impatience with its captain.
“Well…?” Franky placed his metal hands on his hips expectantly. “Where are they—“
“WAAAAAH! Captain!!” Bepo’s wailing reached them first, the moment the main door to the Polar Tang was kicked open by a familiar pair of blue pants.
More crying became apparent, even before the Heart Pirates made themselves seen by stepping out onto their own submarine’s deck.
Luffy was at the very edge of the Sunny’s railing, with his crew exchanging confused glances. All they could do was wait warily as Law came into view, holding the topic of the hour— or day, more like— while simultaneously dragging a crying Bepo who was clinging onto his captain for dear life.
It was quite the spectacle.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” Jinbe called out, which was followed by all kinds of questioning along the same lines.
“Is the baby alright? Why are they crying?” Nami frowned.
“The hell is going on?!” demanded Sanji.
Luffy stayed silent. Waiting. He could even hear Usopp yelling something incoherent from the Sunny’s highest point. But his eyes stayed fixed on Law.
“Be- Because the c-captain…!” Penguin sniffled, but stopped himself per their previous instruction. Law had ordered them to let him speak and deliver any information and news. So all the Heart Pirates could do was express their emotions through their dramatic crying.
Law groaned, closing his eyes. If there was a god above, they had to be laughing. Especially if they had a hand in whatever the hell was happening to his life.
“Wait!” Franky shouted, assuming Law was about to use his cool teleporting ability for his crew.
All eyes turned to Franky, even amidst all the emotion and anticipation.
“I installed these suuuper bridges on each side of the Sunny!” He announced proudly, and shuffled himself toward a specific part of the ship’s railing where a few buttons had been hidden behind a metal cap.
The theatrical crying from the Heart Pirates was subdued then, by the mechanical whirring and sudden appearance of a small bridge, which outstretched and stopped right before the Polar Tang’s own railing.
“Oh yeah, that’s pretty neat.” One of the Heart Pirates whispered.
“Yeah, that’s cool.” They continued amongst themselves, as if they hadn’t all been weeping for the past twenty or so minutes.
“—Enough!” Law barked at them. “Everyone. To the Strawhat’s ship, immediately.” He ordered, firm and no-nonsense as usual.
As he lead his crew across the bridge, Law couldn’t help noticing the unexpected silence of a certain Strawhat. The Strawhat himself.
It was easy enough to get across, with Hakugan at the helms with strict orders to keep the submarine close to the Thousand Sunny in his absence. On the way over, one of the Heart Pirates could even be seen carrying Law’s beloved sword for him. Apparently it had lost the battle of importance to the baby.
“So?!” Luffy stalked over to the other captain the moment his boots hit the Sunny’s deck. “Do you know anything new about her? Actually, can I just hold her?” The excitement was distinct in his tone, and by the speed the words came out in the first place.
“Torao! How did the DNA testing go?!” Chopper called out before Law could even answer Luffy.
Law grit his teeth. It didn’t help that his heart had been racing the whole way back up to the surface. He could’ve sworn his brain had switched off at some point, too, with everything going on.
“Hey! Luffy! Torao!” Usopp screeched out abruptly while climbing down from the crow’s nest hurriedly. There was an urgency to his voice and actions that Law’s chaos and wreck of thoughts couldn’t possibly catch onto.
“YES, alright?!” Law snapped unexpectedly. All those sleepless hours and the high-stress had finally caught up to him, paired with the ceaseless sources of irritation surrounding him.
The bags under his eyes were deeper than usual, and upon closer inspection, one could tell his white, patterned hat was doing a poor job at concealing the mess that was his hair.
“The baby—“ Who on cue, began to cry into Law’s shoulder in response to his sudden movements and outburst. “—is genetically mine.” He declared, which placed a spell of complete silence across both crews. With the exception of the baby, of course.
Luffy leaned his head forward, waiting for more. His crew followed in suit for Law to continue.
“…and Luffy-ya’s. She is…” Sigh. “Genetically and only, mine and his.”
The news the Heart Pirates had discovered not too long ago was finally out.
The tension reached its maximum potential.
Strawhat jaws unhinged and hit the ground at their feet. Brook’s did so in the literal sense, with a loud clack of bone and everything.
Now that the revelation had been spilled, Shachi and Penguin lead the reignition of tears among their own crew.
“Th-The captain has a…” One started in a wail,
“—a l-little baby daughter!” The other finished, and thus came the onslaught of sobbing and weeping from the Heart Pirates. Who were obviously having a hard time dealing with the adorable implications it came with.
Luffy inhaled a deep breath on his way down, falling back onto his butt on the grass of the Sunny’s deck.
“Ha!” Jinbe joyfully stepped to Luffy’s seated form and gave the top of his hat a pat of acknowledgement. “Looks like you’re a father, Luffy. Congratulations are in order.”
“Luuuffy! You’re a dad now!” Chopper jumped up to his shoulder, hanging off the muscle while giggling with glee.
But Luffy’s eyes were glued to the baby. His daughter, who was being hushed in careful pats from her crying by Law’s tattooed hand. That little person existed as his and Law’s child, half and half.
“I think he might be broken.” Nami joked lightheartedly with a glance to Robin, who was standing beside her. “I knew you were right, for the record.”
Robin hummed a smile, but directed her knowing gaze in Law’s direction during her talk with Nami. “Well, it was only a hunch, anyway. But it does feel nice to have one’s theories vindicated.”
Law must’ve caught the gaze, with the way his eyes hardened to a glare.
“Our captain, a father. I can hardly believe my eyes!” Brook exclaimed, but Zoro reacted before he could complete his joke;
“Same here.”
“Actually, Zoro. Neither of us have eyes.” Brook jested in his voice of comedic calmness. “Not plural, at least, in your case. Yohoho—!”
Usopp fell from the ladder he’d been climbing down from with a loud thud, but it was only Chopper who rushed to his aid, given the ongoing commotion.
“Strawhat-ya, this is serious.” Law addressed the smaller captain, hoping to snap him out of whatever hole of shock he’d fallen into. “I’ve never heard of a devil fruit having the power to create human life, equal parts of two people without the necessary biological components…”
Luffy stared up at Law, still receiving proud words and congratulatory pats from Sanji and Franky who had knelt down beside him—specifically, while the latter did his best to hold back tears—It was becoming increasingly obvious that Luffy wasn’t paying attention to either.
“Can I hold her now? I promise I washed up.” He rose to his feet without further warning, and switched on his pleading eyes. “Pleaaase, can I hold our daughter?”
The wording sent a shiver of horror down Law’s spine. It was indisputable fact, actually, that the child was their daughter. And no matter how absurd it was to entrust someone like Monkey D. Luffy with a baby… there wasn’t much of a choice. Not when she was equally his, too.
Law wordlessly handed the baby over, who was wrapped in a white swaddle this time. It made sense she’d be washed and changed again in the time they’d spent apart— The Heart Pirates seemed like the type to practice utmost cleanliness, especially concerning a baby.
Luffy’s lips parted into a large, open-mouthed smile as he held her in his arms. The baby even stared back at him, albeit comedically emotionlessly.
To everybody else, the sight was cute at first. Seeing Luffy hold the baby so closely, and with Law sticking close to watch over.
But it was also… terrifying.
“What a family.” Sanji snorted, cementing the thought into the mind of anybody who wasn’t already thinking it.
To have two infamously monstrous pirates like those two as parents. Former Warlord of the Sea, a.k.a The Surgeon of Death, and the newly awarded Emperor of the Sea.
Trafalgar Law and Monkey D. Luffy.
“Family…” Usopp’s strained voice came from the ground a few feet away from the scene. Chopper had been checking his limbs for damage from his fall, but the guy just seemed a little loopy.
“Family!” Usopp repeated in a yell, sitting up with renewed urgency.
Eyes diverted to him; curiosity and concern in most.
“Luffy, there’s a Marine ship headed this way!” He raised his voice further, hands scurrying to adjust his hat in a nervous tick.
Both Luffy and Law turned to face Usopp, but neither mirrored any kind of worry.
“Oh, really?” Luffy blinked, adjusting the baby girl in his arms to hold her closer to his shoulder. She was growing pretty accustomed to being held, by the looks of it.
Unlike before, those same sudden movements Luffy enacted with the baby were enough to draw Law’s attention to the fullest. Anyone with eyes— and Brook— could see the stress in the poor surgeon’s eyes.
It was a little funny to consider the change in Law’s behaviour, now that the baby had a very real relation to him.
“No, guys!”Usopp forced their attention back onto him again. He wasn’t finished. “It’s not just any Marine ship, it had that dog sculpture on the front! It has to be Vice Admiral Garp’s ship!”
The climate of Usopp’s ‘report’ took a fast dip from there.
“Why the hell didn’t you open with that?!” Nami asked in exasperation, while everyone else seemed to unanimously make a break for the edge of the ship’s deck in search of the mentioned vessel.
Stacked along the railing once again, nobody had to look very far at all. In plain sight, the aforementioned ship was barely out of earshot in its movement. Soon, they’d surely be able to hear the splashing of water of its high speed.
“How did we miss that?!” Bepo cried out, taken by surprise like the rest of their conjoined group.
It was anybody’s guess, but one could assume the tearful fanfare of the baby news had something to do with it.
“What should we do, Luffy?” Brook turned to face his captain, but was surprised to find he was missing from where he previously stood. Instead, the rubber man had stretched himself up the mast of the Sunny for a better look.
While still holding the baby.
“Yep. That’s definitely gramps’ ship. I remember the dog on the front too!”
It was one thing onto the next with these guys, apparently. Law wished he could say he’d gotten used to the fast pace of the Strawhat journey, but he truly couldn’t.
Kaido’s tomb of lava had probably barely covered itself up by the time the baby had landed into their care. And now, not even an hour into discovering the identity of her bloodline and thus her parents, they were already bordering a risky encounter.
“Strawhat-ya! Get down from there!” Law called out to him in a shout, like his heart might leap out of his throat if he had to watch his child being held by a single arm several feet into the air.
As hard of a pill as it was to swallow, the mystery-child was now the only living thing on the planet that shared any kind of blood relation to Trafalgar Law. His crew was his family, but this was… something that exceeded simple emotion.
It was even harder to swallow on barely any sleep, while functioning solely on Strawhat-induced adrenaline.
“It’s fine! I wouldn’t do it if I thought it was dangerous for her!” Luffy ensured. Still, he loosened his grip on the thick of the mast to slide himself down with ease. It was evidently something he did often.
By the looks around them, their crews were awaiting instruction with bated breaths. It wasn’t just some Marine Vice Admiral… it was Luffy’s grandfather.
“We can’t engage.” Law said, addressing the enormous elephant that was headed straight for them. In the room. Or however the saying goes. “Not with the newborn potentially getting caught in the crossfire. I’ll have my crew take her away in the submarine, that way if it comes to it, I can fight—“
“Fight? Why would we fight?” Luffy interrupted him with a confused frown. The Heart Pirates looked ready to flee via Franky’s bridge in accordance to their captain’s quick planning, but were left at a halt as Luffy seemed to oppose the idea.
“What?!” Law took a step toward him, but Luffy took two.
10 minutes into becoming a ‘family’ and they were already at a disagreement.
“If they’re heading this way, it means they have permission to engage with us.” Law reasoned, and didn’t hesitate to tower over the smaller captain as they inched closer. “You can’t be stupid enough to believe Vice Admiral Garp would go easy on you. Not after the events of Marineford.”
“YOU’RE WRONG!” Luffy shouted; frown lines deep between his brows.
The Heart Pirates froze awkwardly where they stood, like a group of children watching their parents argue over a grocery list.
“Luffy, I’m afraid we don’t have much time.” Robin spoke up. “If they close the gap, they’ll have the opportunity to attack us.”
“What happened back then was different.” Luffy remained unwavering, and stood with confidence despite the duress of the situation. Despite the painful memories the subject brought forth, too.
Zoro walked into the conversation to stand at Luffy’s side in silent agreement. Sanji followed. All they needed to know was that Luffy knew what he was doing.
“I want gramps to meet my kid.”
Just like that, the nonchalant joy returned to Luffy’s expression. It was a miracle the baby had hardly moved amid all the movement and sudden loud volumes.
“No!” Law quickly tried to impose, but Luffy was already directing his crew.
“Jinbe, Franky! Get us close to gramps’ ship!”
If there was one thing Law learnt the hard way, it was that once Monkey D. Luffy set his mind on something, he'd do everything in his power to achieve it. Even to his own detriment.