"???"
At this moment, Merlin raised his head and looked with surprise in his eyes at the slender boy of about eleven or twelve years old standing in the middle of the trio at the door.
He wore a grayish-white furry winter hat with leopard spots, a gray shirt on his upper body, and brown capri pants on his lower body.
Around a pair of bright yet fierce eyes was a circle of particularly personalized black eyeliner. Merlin tilted his head: "Law?"
The boy was none other than Lami's older brother, Trafalgar Law.
"It really is you. You really didn't die. I knew it—how could a scourge like you die there?"
Eyes wide open, he walked forward, his body trembling with excitement. His hands, bearing white splotches, grabbed the chest of Merlin's beige short-sleeved shirt. Unknowingly, tears welled up in Law's eyes: "You really didn't die. That's really great!"
Merlin looked at the boy in front of him, who was only 1.4 meters tall. The look in his eyes became gentle. He reached out and patted Law's head, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Yeah! I didn't die. It's really great to see you're still alive too."
Suddenly, Law pushed Merlin's chest, blushing. Then he snorted lightly, slanted his eyes, grinned, and mocked: "Of course I wouldn't die. How could I possibly die?"
Seeing this brat actually putting on airs, Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly: "Do you want a beating? You dare talk to me like that?"
Law's expression suddenly froze, abruptly recalling the experience of being beaten by Merlin when he was little. With a dark face, he looked at Merlin fiercely: "Hmph! I'm not the same me as before. I've become very strong. Gunnery, martial arts, swordsmanship—I know them all. You definitely won't be my match now."
Merlin glanced him up and down, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smile: "You don't even have a gun or a sword. Do you plan to have a bare-handed brawl with me?"
Saying this, Merlin stood up. His "big" height of 1.8 meters completely dwarfed Law's thin and small physique. He smiled: "How about I give you a handicap of three punches and two kicks?"
Law's mouth twitched, and he stared at Merlin sullenly: "Laplace, did you take hormones during this past year or so?"
Giving him a grumpy look, Merlin sat back down on the stool speechlessly, looking at him with a chuckle: "Why are you here?"
Although he basically guessed it in his mind, he still had to ask what needed to be asked.
Law took a deep breath, glanced at Merlin's dining table, and then naturally sat opposite Merlin. Then, raising his hand, he shouted towards the counter not far away: "Waiter! Bring three sets of bowls and chopsticks here, and remember to fill the bowls with rice."
After seeing the other party respond, Law spoke to the two partners who came with him: "Baby 5, Buffalo, you guys come sit too!"
Merlin sized up the other two who came with Law at this time.
The one called Baby 5 was a cute black-haired girl wearing a navy blue maid dress.
She wore a large orange bow hair accessory on her head and had a small white apron tied in front of her.
About nine or ten years old.
About the same height as Law.
As for the other one, he was a fat boy with a round face, buckteeth, and spindly legs.
Visually estimated to be fifteen or sixteen years old, but with a huge body size of over three meters tall.
However, at this time, Law looked at Merlin somewhat nervously, "They came with me. You don't mind them sitting with you, right?"
Hearing this, Merlin's eyes carried a smile: "Are they your friends?"
And at this time, as the words came out, Merlin saw the different expressions of the three of them.
Law glanced at Baby 5 and the fat boy with a conflicted face, while the girl called Baby 5 had a face full of anticipation.
As for that fat boy, he had already sat in the seat with a playful smile.
"No!"
Law looked away with shifting eyes. Instantly, the anticipation on Baby 5's face turned into visible depression. As for the other one, Buffalo, he spoke angrily: "Law? How can you say that? And here I treated you as a good friend!"
Law glanced at him, "A guy who loves petty advantages has no right to say that."
Buffalo didn't mind and instead looked triumphant, "I got these petty advantages by my own ability. None of your business."
At this time, Baby 5 cheered up again and looked at Merlin curiously: "Are you Law's friend? Is your name Laplace?"
A smile appeared at the corner of Merlin's mouth: "Not a friend, his big brother. Also, my name is Merlin, Laplace Merlin.
"What about you, little girl?"
Looking at Merlin's smile, Baby 5 couldn't help blushing, feeling like she was needed, so she smiled cheerfully: "My name is Baby 5. By the way, can you be my friend?"
"Who is your little brother?" Hearing Merlin's words, Law was instantly furious. At this moment, he said with a face full of dissatisfaction: "I have never admitted that I am your little brother. Also..."
Thinking to himself, he turned to look at Baby 5 and said with a dark face: "Let me tell you, don't think this guy Laplace is a good person.
"He is a completely shameless lolicon. He will force you to call him Big Brother.
"You'd better not get involved with him. Be careful or he will pester you forever in the future."
Hearing this, Baby 5's pair of dark, bright eyes instantly sparkled. She stared at Merlin unblinkingly: "Will you pester me forever and never let go in the future? Do you want to be with me forever? Big Brother Merlin?"
Law's mouth twitched violently. He seemed to have forgotten about Baby 5's mental illness.
Merlin also found it hard to keep a straight face. Was this guy this familiar with strangers?
However, at this time, Law looked at Merlin blankly with delayed reaction: "Merlin?"
At this time, the waiter brought up three sets of bowls and chopsticks. Merlin said to him: "Another round of the shop's signature dishes."
The waiter nodded repeatedly: "Okay, please wait a moment."
Merlin nodded to Law at this time: "Mmh, Laplace Merlin, my full name. From now on, just call me Merlin. Of course, if you call me Big Brother, I won't mind either.
"If it's you, it's okay. After all, Lami always called me Big Brother."
Suddenly, hearing the name Lami after a long time, Law's eyes turned red.
His body trembled, his teeth clenched tight, and he looked at Merlin and said with a trembling voice, "Lami...
"Do you know what happened to Lami in the end?"
"Mmh, I know."
"No, you don't know." Law gritted his teeth and said: "Those bastards killed my parents and set fire to the hospital. Lami... Lami was also... burned alive by the fire."
"Kill them all. I want to kill them all. Not one left. I want to kill every single one of them."
Looking at Law who suddenly became hysterical, Baby 5 beside him had some fear in her eyes. Even the heartless Buffalo was suppressed by the killing intent on Law at this moment.
Even the diners at other tables nearby frequently looked over.
Merlin looked at Law with some pity in his eyes. He was somewhat silent, but after a few seconds of silence, Merlin said: "Eat first! We'll go out for a walk later and have a good talk then."
Law panted heavily, staring wide-eyed at Merlin, "You don't know. You don't know anything. As her older brother, you didn't even see Lami for the last time."
Hearing this, seeing him opening his mouth wanting to spray him again, Merlin's gaze became unkind, and he couldn't help mocking: "You probably don't know yet! I dug the hole and buried your parents. Personally dug the hole."
At this moment.
Law's eyes were dull, his mouth moving slightly. A few seconds later, he lowered his head, and a trembling voice came: "Thank you. Also, sorry."
Merlin sighed: "I don't blame you. If my parents died there, I probably wouldn't be much better than you."
The atmosphere was somewhat silent.
A long-awaited reunion meal that should have been happy ended in silence.
Witnessing the hospital being burned by the fire with his own eyes, the raging fire forced him unable to enter.
Crying until his tears ran dry, fleeing muddle-headedly, finally hiding in a pile of corpses. After the early morning the next day, he was transported out of the border by those soldiers and thrown into a deep pit.
By the time the corpses were being centrally incinerated, he had already used the cover of the dark night to secretly escape from that deep pit.
Afterward, he heard about the whereabouts of the notorious Donquixote Family. He joined them, learning combat techniques with them, until this time he came here with several officers, preparing to bid for the Devil Fruit.
Merlin and Law walked on the street, each holding a cup of milk tea, followed by two tails. After listening to Law's experience, a flash of understanding passed through Merlin's eyes. Law's trajectory hadn't changed.
—
It didn't change because of his arrival.
"Then what about you? How did you escape?"
Merlin said with calm eyes, "How could I escape? Hid for a few days, then ran out one night while it was dark."
"As for later, found a kendo dojo to cultivate. This time I was hired to come here to fill the numbers."
Law listened to Merlin finish speaking vaguely, his face dark, and said unhappily: "I spoke so detailedly, yet you just perfunctory me like this? You don't even say the name of the kendo dojo you went to?
"Do you take me for a fool?"
Merlin sighed, "It's not convenient for me to say now. Anyway, in the future, you will know.
"You just need to know in your heart that we are on the same side."
Law fell silent. A few seconds later, he started cursing grumpily again: "You bastard. Since you are still alive, why didn't you come to find me?
"During this time, as long as you paid attention to the Donquixote Family, you could have found me there.
"In the latest issue of the North Blue Daily, among their group of people, there is a photo of me. Don't tell me you couldn't recognize me?"
Merlin glanced at him: "If you turned into ashes. I wouldn't recognize you."
Law's face was hard to maintain. He glared at Merlin fiercely: " would you die if you didn't retort to me?"
Merlin chuckled: "Learned from you, you naturally black-bellied (scheming) brat.
"Your whole family, except your mom, is black-bellied.
"Law:
"
"
The next moment, his face turned dark.
Law raised his right arm and elbowed sneakily at Merlin's waist. However, Merlin had already taken a step back, then raised the toe of his left foot and poked the crook of Law's right leg.
Law's leg crook was hit, his right leg went soft, and he instantly half-knelt on the ground.
And at this time, Merlin flashed in front of him and said with a beaming smile: "No need for formalities, no need for formalities. Law! Why are you so polite, kneeling to me directly?"
Law raised his head while gritting his teeth, but also looked at Merlin with some shock, finding it even more incredible in his heart.
He jumped up immediately.
Then a series of capable combo attacks greeted Merlin.
Side hook, kick, uppercut...
Sidestep, back hop, leaning back...
Unfortunately.
Merlin's figure was extremely agile. Law couldn't touch him at all. Law was exasperated and couldn't help attacking even harder.
But still, he couldn't even touch the corner of Merlin's clothes.
A moment later, Law panted, staring wide-eyed: "Can you only dodge?"
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