After watching Law slowly disappear deeper into the snowstorm for a few seconds, I finally decided to follow him from a reasonable distance. I had no intention of interrupting this moment — I knew perfectly well that he needed to confront certain memories on his own — but I still wanted to remain close enough in case the emotions became too difficult for him to handle.
Lami naturally followed beside me without saying a word, her small boots sinking softly into the fresh snow while Charles walked just behind us, unusually quiet as well, probably understanding that this journey represented far more than a simple visit for our new ally.
As we began following the trail Law had left behind, I heard footsteps quickening behind me. I turned my head slightly and wasn't surprised in the slightest to see Nami catching up to us, holding her coat tightly around herself to protect against the biting cold.
She shot me a sideways glance before shrugging lightly.
"What? Did you seriously think you were leaving without me after what happened between us?"
An amused smile immediately spread across my face.
"I definitely wasn't going to complain."
I summoned several fire spheres around the four of us, letting their warmth surround us as we continued following behind Law while he wandered forward in his half-dazed state.
Meanwhile, Law's crew clearly had no intention of intruding on such a deeply personal moment for their captain. Bepo watched his friend's silhouette disappear between the snow-covered trees for a few more seconds before eventually turning toward Luffy, who already looked physically incapable of standing still for more than thirty seconds.
The Straw Hat captain wore the overly excited grin I unfortunately knew far too well.
"Alright! While they do their serious stuff… we're going to explore the island!" he shouted immediately, pointing toward the island's interior as if some legendary treasure was already waiting for him somewhere.
Penguin let out a heavy sigh while Shachi simply shrugged.
Sanji followed the group with visible resignation.
I briefly turned my attention toward the Merry, still anchored near the shore.
Unlike the others, Zoro and Kuina had decided to stay on board as a precaution.
Well… in theory.
In practice, only Kuina was actually keeping watch.
Sitting against the railing, one hand resting calmly on the hilt of her sword, her gaze methodically scanned the horizon and the surrounding frozen forest, as disciplined as ever despite the apparent calm.
A few meters away…
Zoro was sleeping soundly.
As always.
Leaning against the main mast with his arms crossed, head tilted slightly to the side, his steady breathing made it clear he had fallen asleep almost immediately after our arrival.
But that wasn't what truly drew attention.
Merry, in her human form, had curled herself up against him during his sleep, using his shoulder as an improvised pillow, completely unaware of just how close she was lying against the swordsman.
Her soft blond hair moved gently with the freezing wind while she slept just as peacefully.
Kuina had been watching the scene for several minutes already.
I shook my head slightly, already imagining the emotional blackmail Zoro would be suffering through later.
As for Kuina…
She had very clearly already decided to preserve this image in her memory for the sole purpose of teasing him about it for a very, very long time.
We continued moving forward through the snow, still following the trail Law had left behind a few minutes earlier. Gradually, silence settled once again around our small group.
Ahead of us, Law kept walking alone, his tense shoulders already betraying the weight of the memories rising back to the surface. Behind him, Lami walked beside me while Nami kept her coat tightly wrapped around herself against the biting cold. Charles naturally brought up the rear, carrying that same silent vigilance that seemed ingrained into his very nature.
And yet…
Something felt wrong.
An invisible weight slowly began pressing against my chest with every step we took.
A bad feeling.
I frowned slightly.
This wasn't simple intuition.
My instincts were literally screaming at me that something was wrong.
But that made no sense.
No one should know we were coming here.
So why…
As a precaution, I slowed down slightly before instinctively moving closer to Lami. Without saying a word, I gently shifted her position so she stood between Nami and me, while Charles, immediately understanding the sudden change in my demeanor, naturally let his hand drift toward his weapon as he began carefully watching the rear of the group.
Nami noticed my expression instantly.
Her voice lowered.
"Jordan… what's wrong?"
I kept scanning the surroundings.
The snow-covered trees.
The silence.
The freezing wind.
That oppressive sensation growing stronger with every passing second.
"I don't know…"
I clenched my jaw slightly.
"But something's telling me we're not alone."
We kept walking for several more minutes.
No more than fifteen.
Then suddenly…
I immediately understood where my unease had been coming from.
Ahead of us, Law had abruptly stopped.
His Nodachi was already drawn.
His entire body had gone rigid.
My gaze moved past his silhouette.
And around fifty meters in front of him…
I felt my blood run cold.
Sitting calmly atop a gravestone partially covered in snow…
Doflamingo was watching us.
His eternal arrogant grin twisted across his face while his pink sunglasses faintly reflected the gray light filtering through the overcast sky.
And right beside him…
I immediately noticed something no one else could perceive.
Corazon.
His ghost.
He was kneeling beside his own grave, his face distorted with panic as he frantically waved both arms toward us.
He was screaming.
I could clearly see him yelling at Law to run.
But obviously…
No one except me could hear the dead.
Around Doflamingo, several figures were already standing in battle formation.
Senior Pink.
Gladius.
Lao G.
Dellinger.
And Diamante.
A genuine heavyweight strike squad.
Especially for North Blue.
My mind immediately analyzed the situation.
And there was only one positive point.
Sugar wasn't there.
I sincerely hoped she hadn't come at all.
Because if that little monster showed up…
Things would become far more complicated instantly.
Law was trembling slightly now.
His breathing accelerated sharply.
His eyes were locked entirely on Doflamingo, as if the last ten years had suddenly vanished.
The Heavenly Demon slowly stood up.
Then his smile widened further.
"Fufufufufu…"
His voice echoed ominously through the frozen forest.
"I knew you'd come back here someday to say goodbye to Corazon, Law. All I had to do was have the surrounding area watched… and my men spotted your two ships."
Lami immediately tensed beside me.
Law, meanwhile, said nothing.
Then Doflamingo slowly turned his head in our direction.
And then his smile vanished instantly, his gaze filling with cold hatred.
"As for you… Straw Hat crew…"
A murderous aura seemed to spread around him.
"You're going to pay for Machvise's death."
I let out a long breath.
My shoulders sagged slightly.
"I really should start listening to my instincts…"
Without wasting another second, I violently thrust my hand toward the sky.
A gigantic green flame erupted instantly before exploding high above the forest in the shape of a massive blazing skull.
An emergency signal.
Wherever they were on the island… Luffy and the others would understand immediately.
Major danger.
Nami paled slightly as she looked up at the signal.
"Do you think they'll make it in time?"
I stepped forward.
My Keyblade instantly appeared in my hand in a flash of light.
"No idea."
I briefly turned my head toward Charles.
"Protect Lami."
Then toward Nami.
"Cover me."
Finally, I turned my eyes back to Doflamingo.
The smile I had been wearing only seconds earlier had completely disappeared.
"So… you want to fight?"
A dark aura began vibrating around my body.
"Then let's do this."
The instant I finished speaking, Diamante burst out laughing.
"Who the hell do you think you are, brat?"
The man suddenly lunged forward, his sword already raised.
"Challenging Young Master?!"
I vanished instantly.
The ground exploded beneath my feet.
Mid-motion, my body began changing violently.
My skin became covered in thick scales, my frame rapidly expanding.
In less than a second…
My gigantic mutated crocodile form appeared in midair.
Diamante barely had time to widen his eyes.
My massive tail, coated in jet-black Armament Haki, whipped through the air with terrifying force.
The impact should have torn half his body apart.
But at the last second—
SHHHK.
A web of countless strings suddenly appeared in front of him.
Doflamingo had intervened.
My tail crashed violently against his defensive string barrier.
The shockwave instantly blasted away every trace of snow within dozens of meters.
The surrounding trees shook violently.
Diamante froze in place.
My attack had stopped…
Only centimeters from his face.
I could literally see sweat sliding down his temple.
Even his usual arrogant grin had completely vanished.
Behind him, Doflamingo observed my transformation with sudden seriousness.
His Haki-coated strings were still vibrating under the monstrous pressure of my strike.
I immediately felt that he had realized something.
I wasn't some rookie he could casually bully.
A predatory grin slowly spread across my massive reptilian snout as my eyes remained locked onto Doflamingo.
I could feel his strings trembling under the pressure of my Haki-covered tail.
And more importantly…
I could see in his expression that he had finally realized he'd made a mistake underestimating me.
"Sorry…" I muttered while reinforcing my Haki even further, making the strings restraining my attack creak dangerously.
"I really don't like being underestimated."
I suddenly pulled back before launching forward again, this time bringing down one of my gigantic claws straight toward him.
Doflamingo reacted immediately, crossing several layers of strings in front of himself.
But the impact was powerful enough to send him sliding several meters backward through the snow.
At that exact moment, Nami moved.
She raised one hand, her eyes shining with newfound authority, and the air around her began trembling as though an invisible gate had just opened.
"Card Army… defensive deployment!"
Instantly, fifty-two figures appeared around both her and Lami.
These weren't simple floating magical cards.
They were real soldiers summoned from Alice's Kingdom, each one bearing the emblem of its suit and rank.
Cards from Two through Ten formed the core of the army, their size and build varying according to their value.
The lower ranks were smaller, faster, and more agile.
The higher ranks were larger, sturdier, and capable of holding the line against powerful opponents.
The Hearts immediately took position around Nami and Lami, tridents raised in a fluid, perfectly coordinated formation like disciplined royal guards.
The Diamonds stepped forward next, their massive shields locking together to form a compact defensive wall.
The Spades, larger and far more imposing, spun their enormous axes with brutal force, ready to crush anything attempting to break through the defense.
Finally, the Clubs positioned themselves in the rear, their mage staffs glowing with a green-blue light, intelligent eyes already tracking every enemy movement with unnerving precision.
Nami stood at the center of the formation like a queen commanding a battlefield, with Lami safely protected just behind her.
Senior Pink frowned the moment he saw the army appear.
"What the hell is this now…?"
Dellinger let out a mocking laugh as he lightly bounced on the spot, but some of the confidence faded from his grin when he saw the card soldiers react like a perfectly disciplined military unit.
"Doesn't matter. We break through and crush the girls!"
Nami slowly raised her Clima-Tact as electricity was already crackling wildly around her.
"Go ahead and try."
At her command, the Diamonds absorbed Senior Pink's initial charge while two Spades stepped forward, swinging their massive axes in an attempt to force him backward.
Dellinger, far faster than the others, immediately tried circling around the defensive line.
But several Hearts intercepted him with their tridents, forcing him backward under a perfectly coordinated flurry of strikes.
Nami immediately followed with her own offensive magic.
Several lightning beasts formed beside her — jaguar-shaped constructs made entirely of crackling electricity, their glowing fangs radiating dangerous energy — before leaping over the card soldiers and attacking Dellinger from the side.
The young fighter gritted his teeth as he narrowly dodged, only to see two Clubs raise their staffs and channel a second wave of lightning around him.
Nami wasn't simply summoning an army.
She was commanding it, reinforcing its attacks, and exploiting every opening like a true battlefield strategist.
Even if the cards lacked offensive power, they were effectively immortal as long as their queen could heal them.
And the corrosive effect attached to her magic forced Dellinger to keep dodging, instinctively sensing the danger.
On the other side of the battlefield, Charles had already engaged Lao G in close combat.
The old pirate struck with surprising power for someone his age, but Charles blocked the assault using his newfound strength, his boots sinking deep into the snow from the impact.
"G… for Great Surprise!" Lao G shouted while striking one of his bizarre martial arts poses.
Charles remained perfectly calm and immediately countered with a sharp tonfa strike directly into Lao G's ribs, forcing him to stagger backward several steps.
"I was actually hoping to test my new strength against someone experienced."
Meanwhile, Law took advantage of a brief moment of distraction from Diamante, who was still shaken from my previous attack, and immediately created his familiar blue sphere.
"Room."
Diamante turned his head too late.
"Shambles."
In a fraction of a second, his position was swapped with a nearby rock.
Law appeared directly in his blind spot, sword already raised.
There was nothing calm left in his eyes now.
They were ice cold.
Tense.
Filled with ten years of suppressed hatred.
"This time…"
His voice came out dangerously quiet.
"I won't run."
His blade came crashing down violently, forcing Diamante to raise his weapon at the last second just to block the strike.
I quickly glanced around the battlefield.
Nami was holding the line with her Card Army while protecting Lami.
Charles had Lao G occupied.
Law had fully engaged Diamante.
That meant only one real problem remained standing in front of me.
Doflamingo slowly straightened himself in the middle of the snowstorm, countless strings dancing around him like invisible serpents.
Behind him, Corazon's ghost was still screaming silently.
But this time…
His expression wasn't filled only with panic anymore.
There was hope there now.
I flexed my Haki-covered claws while staring directly at the Warlord.
"Good…"
A predatory grin slowly formed on my reptilian face.
"Now that everyone's found their opponent…"
I took one slow step forward.
"Let's see if the Seven Warlords of the Sea really deserve their reputation."
Doflamingo's smile vanished instantly.
"You're looking down on me?"
An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki exploded out of him, crashing directly against my consciousness like a bulldozer.
But I simply coated my entire body in Armament Haki, resisting the pressure he had focused entirely on me.
(Author's Note: And yes… what a plot twist. Part Two next week ^^ And sorry for the delay, but I absolutely cannot stand heat. Writing while dealing with 42°C? Yeah… impossible.)