Davy Jones and Alvida stepped into the infirmary, where the first sight that met their eyes was Buggy and Hachi lying unconscious on the beds.
Both were still out cold.
Law had already finished cleaning their wounds, but exhaustion finally overtook him. He collapsed onto another bed, panting heavily.
Yet he did not close his eyes to rest. Instead, he directed Mikita and Porche as they bandaged Buggy and Hachi.
Fortunately, Mikita and Porche were no strangers to tending wounds—after all, they had long fought in bloody battles. With just a few instructions from Law, they quickly understood what to do.
Kuro stood silently in a corner. As Alvida had said earlier, his injuries were already almost fully healed.
Aside from the unconscious Buggy and Hachi, everyone noticed when Davy Jones entered. One by one, they greeted their captain.
Law, dripping with sweat, tried to push himself up from the bed, but Davy Jones extended a tentacle and pressed him back down.
The captain stood among them.
"You all did well this time. You struck down a number of intruders with great force. And you, Law—you nearly exhausted yourself, yet still treated your comrades. That is good."
"Captain, I…"
"I don't like wasting words. Law—when you first made your contract with me, its term was forty years. If you swear loyalty to me aboard the Terror Ghost for one hundred years, you will receive the ship's Blessing and Curse."
From Davy Jones' perspective, it was a reward. From Law's point of view, not so much.
Swearing one hundred years of loyalty… for the Blessing and Curse of the Terror Ghost?!
Law had removed his hat. His black hair was plastered wetly to his head, his pale skin drained from overexertion, his dark circles even heavier than usual. He looked more like a man on the verge of death than a pirate.
But at Davy Jones' words, his mind quickly turned to the strange changes in Kuro and Alvida.
Nearly every crewmember of the Terror Ghost had taken part in the clash against the intruders. Most had been injured. Mikita and Porche were exceptions, but what about Kuro and Alvida? They seemed unscathed.
In truth, they had been injured—but their wounds had healed faster than Law could even treat them.
Not only that—their stamina was brimming, overflowing.
This was the Blessing and Curse of the Terror Ghost?
If the "blessing" was real… then the "curse" must be real as well.
Law no longer doubted that if he were to keel over dead right this moment, his soul—or perhaps his body itself—would continue wandering aboard the Terror Ghost for the forty years of his contract.
Now Davy Jones offered to extend it to one hundred years.
Was it worth it?
Law hesitated.
Before he could answer, Mikita's voice rang out.
"Captain… may I swear instead? I'm willing to remain aboard the Terror Ghost for one hundred years."
The doll-like woman blinked, nervous at first, but then gathered her courage and stepped forward, showing an earnestness she rarely displayed.
"I missed the chance back at the Spire of the Deep. This time, I've made up my mind. If I had this contract before, I wouldn't have nearly died at the hands of that Marine Captain Tashigi—forcing Porche to care for me all this time."
"Since boarding on Cactus Island, I've followed you, and I've begun to see how vast and endless the sea truly is. Back in Arabasta, hiding away as a mere little associate… how small that was."
"I thought I was dazzling then. I even had a fan club. But compared to continuing forward on the Grand Line—that was nothing."
At that moment, Crocodile happened to step toward the infirmary. Hearing the words of his former subordinate, he froze awkwardly in the doorway.
Mikita licked her lips. Her lemon-shaped earrings swung as she lifted her chin.
"To keep moving forward is to shine brighter. To move forward, one needs greater strength. Alvida and Porche once argued over who was the most beautiful woman on the seas. One of the names was the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock."
"She is not only beautiful, but powerful enough that none can look down on her."
"I want one day for my name to be spoken in the same way. Not forgotten, not ignored."
Alvida and Porche exchanged a glance—they remembered that exact conversation in Water 7, just before they crossed paths with Tashigi.
For women on these seas, very few truly rise to prominence. The greatest example was one of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin. Then came Boa Hancock.
Would they live as ornaments, destined to be wives, their youthful days forgotten? Or would they gamble everything to surpass even Linlin and Hancock, becoming legends?
Mikita had chosen the latter.
Davy Jones regarded her briefly, then nodded.
Her face lit up. She swore her vow at once, and the hundred-year contract was sealed.
Law hadn't expected the process to be so simple. Perhaps the plainer the oath, the stronger its binding force.
But was it worth it—to sacrifice one hundred years of freedom in both life and soul—for this contract?
Law knew full well that his Ope Ope no Mi ability was extremely powerful. The problem was, he had not developed it fully. Worse, his own lack of stamina held him back.
If he couldn't master his power, how could he accomplish his revenge?
Trafalgar Law… are you really weaker in resolve than Mikita? Too afraid to face a hundred-year contract?
For the sake of revenge, he should be willing to give up everything. Without sacrifice, how could he ever hope to stand against Donquixote Doflamingo and his officers?
This path was already cruel and dark.
So he hesitated no longer.
"Captain… I swear as well. I will abide by the vow."
Davy Jones nodded to him.
The crew watched as Law, too, bound himself in contract.
And immediately, both Law and Mikita felt it—the unseen weight of the vow pressing upon them, bringing with it something real.
Mikita's old scar across her chest began to itch. Before her eyes, the hideous mark smoothed as flesh knit itself together.
Law, too, felt his strength return. Color returned to his cheeks.
They both stared at themselves in disbelief. They had expected change—but not so swiftly, not so vividly.
From the doorway, Crocodile's expression shifted from awkwardness to severity.
He rubbed his golden hook with his right hand, frowning.
His contract with Davy Jones was set until his death. But at over forty years old, he had less than a hundred years left to live—far less.
He thought of the glaring weakness that had always prevented him from joining the power struggles of the New World with true confidence.
Should I…?
Crocodile furrowed his brow, wrestling with the thought. But in the end, he stayed silent.
Nico Robin, meanwhile, had intended to use the fate of Davy Jones' crew as a warning—an example to persuade the Straw Hats against reckless choices.
But her words had the opposite effect.
After all, who could have guessed that Davy Jones, borrowing the might of the "Gods of Water," would stand toe-to-toe with Admiral Kuzan, Aokiji himself?
To Robin, that same Kuzan was a monster who had haunted her childhood nightmares. And yet… he was also the man who had once saved her life. Her feelings for him had always been complex.
But the focus was no longer on her. It was on the Straw Hats.
Nami, Usopp, and Chopper were still timid, reacting like normal people. They understood Robin's words.
But Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were different.
They were brimming with excitement.
Even Zoro, usually so calm, kept polishing Wado Ichimonji, Sandai Kitetsu, and Yubashiri over and over. Luffy and Sanji were even less restrained.
The Davy Jones Pirates had not become a warning to them—rather, they had revealed a concrete path to becoming stronger.
At the same time, the crew also reached a shared resolve: to protect Robin, to truly accept her as a crewmate. Even the "coward trio" of Nami, Usopp, and Chopper agreed.
The storm had passed. As dawn broke over Water 7, yesterday's gales, rain, and monstrous tsunami became a memory.
The Straw Hats looked to the future. But to keep sailing, they needed a ship.
The Going Merry had been swallowed by the Gods of Water.
And so, they brought out the gold they had won from Skypiea and hired Water 7's best shipwrights, the Galley-La Company, to build a new pirate ship.
Everything was moving toward a brighter tomorrow.
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