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Minion Island, Ghost Town.
Not far from the temporary base of the Barrels Pirates, a warehouse-like building was suddenly struck by a rocket, and the intact structure was instantly blown to pieces.
But, strangely, the massive explosion caused no sound, as if it existed in a different dimension from the rest of the ghost town.
Naturally, it did not immediately attract the attention of the Barrels Pirates.
A short while later, a crew member who had stepped out to use the latrine suddenly cried out, "Captain! There was a huge explosion in the building outside without us noticing a thing!"
"What! What did you say?"
"How could that happen! An explosion right under our noses, and we didn't hear a thing! What about the stuff inside the warehouse?"
Hearing this, the pirates, who had been drinking merrily, all started shouting. That was where the wealth they had accumulated over years of plunder was stored!
Even with 5 billion Beri on the horizon, the loss was painful. They didn't have the 5 billion yet, but that treasure was their actual, tangible savings.
"Is it an intruder? Put out the fire now! Save whatever we can!" Barrels was also frantic, but he still held on tightly to the Op-Op Fruit in his hand.
However, what none of the pirates noticed was that a figure in a black feather coat had already snuck quietly into the room.
"..."
Suddenly, the brightly lit room plunged into darkness. The lightbulb on the ceiling fell without a sound, and only a belated shower of glass shards rained down on Barrels and his men.
"Hey! Did a glass break and fall on the floor?" a pirate exclaimed, feeling a piece of glass on his neck.
POW!
Barrels, who was curiously trying to investigate, suddenly felt a heavy fist land on his face.
His mind went blank, and then his hand felt empty. The Devil Fruit he had been clutching was gone!
All of this happened so suddenly and so silently that the entire Barrels crew failed to react. Their dream of becoming billionaires was shattered in an instant!
"What's going on!!?"
"Light a lamp!"
The shadow departed, and everything seemed to return to normal. The chaotic sound of footsteps echoed as the pirates shouted in shock and anger...
"The Op-Op Fruit is gone!!? Go get it back! That's a 5 billion Beri deal!"
Elsewhere.
Having successfully stolen the Op-Op Fruit, Rosinante rushed excitedly toward Law's hiding place.
"Mr. Corazon...!!?"
Law, weakened by the torment of his Amber Lead Syndrome, breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Rosinante running toward him. He had thought he would never see him again.
"Look, this is the hope that can cure your Amber Lead Syndrome—the Op-Op Fruit!!"
Rosinante's expression was ecstatic. He held the fruit high, a pure, child-like smile on his face.
Although he and Law were not related, his innate kindness had already forged an unbreakable bond with the boy since he decided to help him.
"Mr. Corazon, you... You're safe! That's great! I saw the fire in the distance and heard gunshots. I thought you... something had happened to you."
Clearly, the gunshots from the Barrel Pirates after Rosinante had made Law had led him to misunderstand his escape.
"Hey! There is no time to talk about that! We've got the Op-Op Fruit that can save your life!"
"Is it true? Can a terminal illness like mine really be cured by a single fruit? I still find it hard to believe..." Law's vision was starting to blur.
The torment of his illness had left him too weak even to speak.
"Don't be silly! Eating this will definitely cure your Amber Lead Syndrome!" Rosinante said urgently, stuffing the fruit in his hand into the sickly Law's mouth.
"Mmph... Mmmph...What are you doing... Mmph..."
"Hurry up, just swallow it! Eat the whole thing!"
Although rumour had it that eating just a small piece was enough to gain a Devil Fruit's power, Rosinante didn't dare risk Law's life to test that rumour.
He had to make Law eat the entire fruit. When a life was on the line, worrying about whether it tasted bad was an irrelevant luxury.
"Phew~"
Law struggled to swallow the entire fruit. Although it tasted much worse than he had imagined, he did as Rosinante said and ate the whole thing.
Thud!
Suddenly, the moment Law completely swallowed the Op-Op Fruit, Rosinante could no longer support his own wounded body and collapsed face-first onto the ground, a look of profound relief on his face.
"That's great. Now you can cure yourself. But... the Op-Op Fruit alone won't be enough for you to escape from Doffy's grasp. You still need..." Rosinante said, his hand trembling as he reached into his coat.
"Don't say any more, Mr. Corazon! You're covered in blood!" Law cried out, seeing the shocking wounds revealed on Rosinante's body.
Although Rosinante had stolen the Op-Op Fruit and escaped, he had been hit by stray bullets from the Barrel Pirates during his final getaway.
He had been forcing himself to stay on his feet and hadn't collapsed on the way back.
"Don't cry, Law. Listen to me. I have a favour to ask you. Take this to the Marines. They're on the west coast of this island. Remember... you have to deliver it into their hands personally!"
Rosinante handed Law the intelligence document he had pulled from his coat. He knew that in his current state, he couldn't get Law off the island safely.
Law's only hope was to go alone. But with Law's stubborn personality, he would never abandon him to save himself.
So, his only option was to entrust Law with the intelligence he had originally planned to give to Sengoku, believing the Marines would surely save Law from Doflamingo.
"Okay! I promise you, Mr. Corazon! I'll find the Marines and they'll come save you!" Law shouted, his voice choked with tears.
Rosinante smiled faintly. He knew that as long as Law found the Marines, he would live today, because the Marine hunting Doflamingo was the famous Vice Admiral Tsuru!
After quickly applying some first aid to Rosinante, Law ran in the direction he had indicated.
Soon, a strange Marine with a bamboo stick on his back appeared before Law's eyes...
"...Hey! This is for you, huff..."
Law ran right up to the Marine with the bamboo stick and handed over the intelligence document, which was still warm from Rosinante's body.
"Hmm?"
This Marine was Vergo, who had asked Atlas for leave to return to the North Blue.
Doflamingo had ordered him to wait on this island, but he hadn't expected a child to run up and hand him something suddenly.
"Ah...!! So it's an intelligence report."
Vergo was startled for a moment, then quickly regained his composure. He knelt to meet Law's gaze and asked calmly, "Someone asked you to run an errand, right?"
"...Can I trust you?"
"Of course you can. I'm a Marine of 'justice'!" Vergo said righteously, squeezing the document in his hand.
"I want... You have to help me save someone! He has a serious gunshot wound, and he's not going to make it!"
"Please, save him...!! He's the most important person to me! I absolutely can't let him die!" Law cried out, his voice raw. Anyone could feel the helplessness in his heart.
"Alright. You show me the way. I'll carry you."
...
North Blue.
Half-concealed by the clouds, Atlas flew at high speed with Tesoro, his Observation Haki locked tightly onto Vergo.
He was lucky that Vergo hadn't awakened his own Observation Haki yet; otherwise, tracking him wouldn't have been so easy.
"Phew~ We're finally almost there. That guy Vergo can really run..." Atlas let out a long breath.
For the better part of a month, he had been tailing Vergo at a safe distance, and they had finally reached their destination.
"Mr. Vergo? The target you're tracking is Mr. Vergo?"
Tesoro, who had only recently joined the Marines, had been assigned to Vergo's command.
Vergo liked his subordinates to call him 'Mr. Vergo and Tesoro had a good impression of him, so he was confused as to why Atlas was tracking him.
"Yep~ That guy's a traitor! Oh, no, to be precise, he's an undercover agent sent by a pirate."
"What! Mr. Vergo is an undercover agent for a pirate?" Tesoro was shocked, but out of his reverence for Atlas, he didn't immediately try to defend Vergo.
"That's right. And now, it's time for us to get to work..."
...
Elsewhere.
Vergo, carrying Law, had successfully found Rosinante's hiding place.
"Mr. Corazon—! This Marine says he'll save you!" Law shouted from Vergo's back.
"Hmm!!?" Vergo was first incredulous, then his eyes widened as he stared at the injured man before him. "Corazon? What are you doing here, and so badly injured!"
"Vergo!!!" Rosinante couldn't help but cry out in shock. He never expected to see the previous Corazon of the Donquixote Family here.
If he wasn't mistaken, the man was wearing the coat of a Marine Commodore!
"You can talk!!?" Vergo was shocked again. He didn't even care about Law on his back anymore, letting him fall to the ground.
If he wasn't mistaken, the Young Master's own brother, the second Corazon of the Donquixote Family, was an undercover Marine!
"Damn it, I screwed up again!" Rosinante slapped his forehead and said in frustration.
"Eh? You two know each other?" Law's voice interjected at a very inopportune moment. "You called him Vergo...? Huh?"
The name sounded familiar to Law. Doflamingo's words suddenly came back to him.
Vergo... was a former Top Executive of the family!
"So, the so-called 'top-secret mission' the family sent you on was to infiltrate the Marines!" Rosinante said, seeing the increasingly cold expression on Vergo's face.
A sense of despair rose in his heart. Of all the countless Marines in the world, he had to run into Vergo, the Marine mole.
It would be very difficult to get off this island today.
"I understand everything... Rosinante!" Vergo no longer called him Corazon. In his heart, a man who had betrayed the family was not worthy of that title!
POW!
Suddenly, Vergo kicked the collapsed Rosinante, shouting angrily, "You traitor! To think I'd catch a big rat like you!"
"Do you have any idea that if your intelligence gets out, all of the family's plans will be ruined!!" Vergo furiously accused him of his 'crimes' while kicking him repeatedly.
"Are you the guy called Vergo?"
"You stop it!!!"
Law, startled by Vergo's sudden violence, threw himself at him, opening his mouth to bite him fiercely.
SMACK! Vergo swatted away Law, who was clinging to his waist.
"You must be the boy the Young Master mentioned, the one named 'Law,' right? Since you know my name, you should show some respect to your senior and call me..."
"MR. VERGO!!!"
After throwing Law aside, Vergo continued to beat Rosinante, the sound of his foot hitting flesh echoing continuously as more blood seeped from Rosinante's body.
"You disappeared when you were 8, and when you reappeared before us 14 years later, just because you were his brother, Doffy never once suspected you! He even made you a Top Executive of the family!"
"And you!!!"
"How dare you betray Doffy! Aaargh—!"
As his words sped up, Vergo's attacks became more vicious. As if that wasn't enough to vent his hatred, he pulled Law over and started beating him, too!
Purupurupuru~ Purupurupuru~
Just when Rosinante thought he was about to die, the Den Den Mushi on Vergo's body suddenly rang.
"Hey, where are you now, Vergo?" The call connected, and a naturally arrogant voice came from the Den Den Mushi's mouth.
"I've arrived at Minion Island, but I've discovered a secret..."
"Oh? Summarise it for me... what's going on?"
"Rosinante is a spy sent by the Marines to the family. That guy has betrayed you, Doffy!"
"Fuffuffuffuffu! My dear little brother. You haven't killed him, have you, Vergo?"
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach the top 100)
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