After throwing Law out of the second-floor window for the twentieth time, Corazon lit a cigarette, his head throbbing with frustration.
He hadn't expected such tenacity from a mere child.
'But he must be reaching his limit soon," Corazon thought. 'He's already covered in injuries.'
Law, however, had no intention of giving up.
He absolutely refused to yield!
Corazon successfully received the menacing glare.
With a sigh of resignation, he went outside and randomly sat down.
This time, he intended to block the entrance completely, denying Law any chance to enter.
Another reason for this was his fear that if he threw Law around a few more times, he might accidentally kill the boy—a result completely contrary to his original intentions.
'Once I get rid of this brat, I hope the other kid lying in the medical room will be easier to handle,' Corazon thought to himself, his mind drifting as he pondered.
Meanwhile, Law was nearly blinded by rage.
Warnings and the Blood Family Rule were completely forgotten.
All he knew was that if he couldn't deal with Corazon, that bastard, he would never have a chance to join the Donquixote Family.
Gritting his teeth, Law glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, a sinister idea took root in his heart.
'Kill him! If no one sees, no one will know it was me!'
He retrieved the dagger he had dropped nearby on his first day and stealthily approached the distracted Corazon.
Just as Abel and Baby-5 emerged from the building, they witnessed Law raising the dagger and stabbing Corazon viciously in the back.
"Ah!"
Baby-5 instinctively cried out in alarm.
Corazon and Law's attention was drawn to her almost simultaneously.
'Damn! I've been discovered, and at the worst possible moment!'
But the arrow was already nocked, and Law couldn't afford to hesitate. Gritting his teeth, he thrust the dagger forward.
Thwack!
Sensing the killing intent behind him, Corazon inexplicably didn't dodge. Instead, he twisted slightly to avoid a fatal blow, bracing himself to take the full force of the strike.
'Success!'
Law's heart surged with triumph. Now all he needed to do was eliminate the witnesses.
The girl was just a child, and to his surprise, Abel, whom he hadn't seen in days, was standing right beside her!
With their combined efforts, they still had a chance to pull off this deception.
It must be said that Law, at this stage, still harbored a degree of naivety.
In this world, many acted without needing so-called evidence.
If Corazon truly died here, when Doflamingo returned, he would simply slaughter every suspect to avenge his beloved younger brother. That would be the end of it.
"Law, you're absolutely dead now!"
Fat Buffalo suddenly appeared behind Law, not far away, clutching a large ice cream cone. He looked like he had just returned from an errand.
At that very moment, Law happened to witness Corazon's assassination, the shock causing him to drop his ice cream.
Turning around, Law was speechless to see Buffalo returning.
'Why the hell couldn't you have shown up two minutes earlier?!'
'Not sooner, not later, but right when I was about to strike!'
Law was so frustrated he felt like vomiting blood.
Even in a 2-on-2 fight, his and Abel's chances of winning were slim. After all, Abel's arms were broken, and Buffalo, despite his chubby appearance, looked surprisingly formidable.
Moreover, if the enemy simply shouted for help, reinforcements would arrive, and everything would be over.
With this in mind, Law made a snap decision:
Escape!
He didn't want to die, or rather, he couldn't afford to die yet.
That left him with only one option: flee.
To avoid implicating Abel, he didn't even glance back before turning and sprinting away.
"You can't escape! You're dead!" Buffalo roared, chasing after him.
'If I capture Law, wouldn't that be a major accomplishment?' he thought. 'When the Young Master returns, he'll reward me with a hundred ice creams, maybe even eighty!'
'For ice cream, I'll give it my all!'
Abel watched Law vanish in an instant, utterly speechless.
He understood why Law was running and why he hadn't acknowledged him.
But... this really wasn't necessary!
At the same time, he had no intention of chasing after Law. Buffalo had said something right for once: Law couldn't escape.
Since he'd be caught sooner or later, why waste the effort?
Then he saw Corazon, bleeding profusely, struggle to his feet. With a knife still lodged in his back, he staggered deeper into the room.
Abel suddenly wondered if Corazon had deliberately failed to dodge the knife, all to force Law to flee.
After all, this man was a genuine Lieutenant Commander of the Marine Headquarters. He couldn't possibly have no reaction to Law's vicious sneak attack.
But if he'd done it on purpose, just to scare Law away, everything would make sense.
Even the most incompetent officer wouldn't be this incompetent...
As Corazon passed Abel and Baby-5, he suddenly reached out to grab Abel's head.
"Damn it, I was waiting for you to try that!"
Cursing under his breath, Abel, who had been watching Corazon's movements closely, immediately dodged backward, avoiding the grasp.
Surprised by Abel's swift reaction, Corazon, who had been about to press his advantage, froze for a moment before pretending nothing had happened and continuing on his way.
"Can you promise not to tell anyone about Law stabbing Corazon?"
After Corazon left, Abel began cleaning up Law's mess.
"I'm needed again... Hmm, I won't say a word~" Baby-5 immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes sparkling with delight.
With one down, only Buffalo, the chubby kid, remained. Corazon himself would never reveal the truth.
"Baby-5, what does Buffalo usually like?"
"I know! Buffalo loves gambling."
"Gambling?" Abel nodded thoughtfully, adding another weakness to his mental list. "Anything else?"
"Well... does liking ice cream count? Buffalo's favorite is the deluxe ice cream at the town's dessert shop. It costs 500 Beri a serving, so he often borrows money from me."
'That's it!'
Abel planned to bribe Buffalo.
Though the kid might seem dim-witted, he wasn't as stupid as he looked.
Abel believed he could bribe Buffalo simply because he thought Buffalo disliked Corazon. After all, according to Baby-5, the two of them had been "tortured" by Corazon back in the day.
Given this history, Abel figured Buffalo would be willing to conceal the truth for the sake of a lavish ice cream treat.
If Baby-5 and Buffalo kept quiet, and if Abel, Law, and the injured Corazon all remained silent, the matter would naturally fade away when Doflamingo returned.
With a dazzlingly sunny and handsome smile, Abel turned to the little girl and said, "Could you lend me some money? I really need it."