Corazon turned to where Law had been lying, only to find him standing up and looking directly at Kaito.
"How did you know?" Law asked, his eyes flicking towards Corazon with a sidelong glance.
"Well, it's something easy for me to do," Kaito said, sneering at the boy who thought he could pull a fast one on him.
Law stayed silent, then said, "I want to live."
Kaito nodded. "For what?"
"I... I..." Law stammered, confusion clouding his face.
Corazon interjected, "He just wants to live. Is the reason important?"
"Yeah," Kaito replied coolly. "I'm going to risk myself and my friends' exposure, so I want to know why I should."
"And if the reason isn't good enough, are you going to let a kid die?"
"Yeah. Don't try to appeal to my morals. I know I can't save everyone and claim the higher moral ground. My friends are currently working on high-minded goals and helping many people. They will continue to do so. So, is a kid who might one day become another Doflamingo worth risking their lives for?"
"He is not my brother! He is just mad at the world because of what happened to him. Once he is treated, he will be a different person!"
"I'm not trying to get philosophical with you. I told you I've been spying on you for a month. I don't see anything worth saving in him."
"Then how about a deal?" Corazon pleaded. "I will do anything you want me to do, and you cure him in return."
"Oh, I was going to ask for payment anyway if I decided to cure him. But his inability to answer a simple question is what's pausing the deal. So here's what I can do: you have about six or seven months to live from what I see. A year if you take good care of yourself. I will come back again in a few months and see what answer you will give me then."
With that, Kaito immediately disappeared.
Corazon's yell echoed through the empty alley. "Waaait!"
He spun around, searching the shadows, but only silence answered him. After a few futile minutes, he stopped, shoulders slumping in defeat.
He looked down at Law, who was still feigning unconsciousness, his mind reeling. With a sigh, Corazon picked up the discarded rope. "Wait here," he muttered, more to himself than to the boy, before retying Law's wrists—loosely, more for show than restraint. He then hurried back towards the Donquixote stronghold, left a vague message about "scouting for leads," and returned to find Law exactly as he'd left him.
Law remained silent, his expression a mask of confusion and suspicion.
"Don't mind him," Corazon said, forcing a lightness he didn't feel. "He was just trying to manipulate us. We'll find a cure ourselves."
Law just stared, offering no reply. For the rest of the day, Corazon tried to lighten the mood with silly faces and clumsy antics, but his efforts fell flat against the wall of Law's silence.
High above, unseen, Kaito observed them through the lens of his Observation Haki, a silent spectator riding the currents of the sky on the specialized glider Lindbergh had built for him.
---
Five months passed. Just as in the original timeline, their journey was a desperate, fruitless pilgrimage from one dead-end rumor to another. The hope in Corazon's eyes grew fainter with each failure, while the pallor of Law's skin became more pronounced.
One evening, watching Law wince in pain, Corazon finally broke the silence that had settled between them. "Do you think… we should go back? Wait for that man?"
Law didn't answer immediately. He stared into their small campfire. "Why did you try to help me, Corazon?"
Corazon was taken aback. He took a long moment to gather his thoughts. "I don't know," he began, his voice soft. "At first, I thought it was because you carry the name 'D.' But after our talk with the masked man, I realized it's simpler than that. I just don't want to see you get hurt anymore."
He looked at Law, his gaze unwavering. "When you stabbed me that day… it didn't hurt. I realized you were in so much pain that your mind broke. You just wanted the world to burn because it was the only way to express the agony inside you. I didn't see it before, but maybe my brother is the same. The world hurt him so badly that burning it down felt like the only answer."
He leaned forward, his voice intense. "But Law, watching the world burn isn't an answer. You survived Flevance physically, but your mind is still the mind of the child who watched everything turn to ash. These past months, I've thought about what that masked man said. He might be right. Maybe I was manipulated. But that doesn't change the fact that someone showed me kindness when I was in my darkest place, when I wanted to die. Seeing you resign yourself to death… it hurts me. I want you to live, Law. I want you to want to live."
Tears streamed down Corazon's face as he spoke. Law watched him, his own stoic mask finally cracking. Silent tears traced paths through the grime on his own cheeks. They didn't speak again that night, falling into an exhausted sleep filled with unspoken understanding.
The next morning, Corazon was awakened by a gentle shake and a voice.
"Coro-san, wake up. I made breakfast."
Corazon's eyes shot open. "Coro-san?!"
Law shrugged, a flicker of his old defiance returning. "What kind of face is that?"
A genuine, relieved smile spread across Corazon's face.
"Good. It seems you still have the ability to love and feel love. Your mind wasn't completely broken after all."
The voice came from the edge of their camp. Kaito stood there, his mask firmly in place.
"You?!" both Corazon and Law exclaimed in unison.
"Surprise," Kaito said dryly. "I've been monitoring you. I'm glad I did. I've prepared a place for your treatment. I can take you there now. But first, something has happened that you need to know."
Law stared at him. "Don't you want to know the answer to your question before you cure me?"
"No," Kaito replied. "I asked that question to see if you had passed the point of no return, if you desired destruction like Doflamingo. The fact that you can call this man 'Coro-san' is answer enough for now. But remember, Law: if I ever find you've chosen a path of cruelty, I will end you myself."
Law met his gaze and gave a single, solemn nod. "I understand."
"What's happened?" Corazon interjected, his protective instincts kicking in.
"The Ope Ope no Mi has appeared."
Corazon's blood ran cold. "What?!" Law just looked confused.
"Yes. There are whispers. It's here in the North Blue."
Corazon's mind raced. "What do you want?"
"Simple. You have connections. I want you to find its exact location and tell me. In return, I will uphold my end of the bargain."
Corazon was silent for a long time, a plan forming. "I want Law to eat it."
Kaito tilted his head. "You understand the implications? The ultimate power of that fruit will make him a target for the entire world, including your brother. Are you sure?"
"Yes. I believe he is worthy of it."
A slow smile spread across Kaito's features. "I see. You think I'm using you, that the cure is a lie, and this is a test. You want to give him a power that makes him invaluable, so I have to keep him alive. Correct?"
Corazon didn't deny it, his silence confirmation enough.
"Fine," Kaito said. "My only condition is that Law uses his abilities to treat my associates from time to time."
Law looked between them. "What is this fruit, Corazon?"
"It's like magic—" Corazon began, but Kaito cut him off.
"Don't romanticize it. Its power is a direct reflection of the user's medical knowledge. It creates a 'room' within which the user can perform any surgery without killing the patient, even if you dismember them. You can also swap the positions of objects and people."
Corazon's eyes widened. "Really?!"
"So you were going to give him a fruit whose mechanics you didn't even understand?" Kaito sighed in exasperation. Corazon could only blush sheepishly.
"Anyway," Kaito continued, "say your goodbyes. It will be some time before you see each other again."
"How long will the treatment take?" Corazon asked.
"Uncertain. A similar condition takes two to four years. This will be the first time we attempt this specific cure. The doctors will need to monitor his response."
Corazon nodded, then turned to Law. He made a ridiculous peace sign, pulling a face that was both funny and heartbreaking. "Remember, kid… I love you."
Law couldn't help it; he laughed. "Pffft, what kind of face is that?!"
Kaito took Law's arm. "You'll need to close your eyes for the journey. It won't take long." As Law shut his eyes, Kaito activated his glider. Six hours later, they landed on a secluded, revolutionary-controlled island.
After leaving Law at the advanced medical facility, Kaito met with Crow, the commander of the North Blue operations.
"So, this is the kid?" Crow asked, his voice a low rumble.
"Yes. He has potential. I'm not sure if he'll join us, but his family was a famous lineage of doctors. He could be an asset."
Crow nodded thoughtfully. "The Medical Corps could use a prodigy. I'll see if he's a fit for our cause." The Revolutionary Army's vetting process was infamous for its thoroughness, a key reason they had never been infiltrated by Cipher Pol.
After his first treatment session, Law met Kaito outside. "How do you feel?" Kaito asked.
"A little better," Law admitted. "But how did you get this technology? My father never had anything like it."
"We stole it from the World Government. It's based on the models used in Mary Geoise."
"But why didn't they give us the cure for Amber Lead?" Law's voice trembled with a mixture of hope and anger.
"Because it was expensive," Kaito stated flatly. "They calculated that the mining profits outweighed the cost of a cure for a population they considered expendable. They were content to wait for your people to die out and then develop safer mining methods using clones or cyborgs. Your tragedy was, to them, a simple economic equation."
Law shook with rage. "What?!"
"Flevance is a tragedy, Law, but not a unique one. Ohara was another. There was an island called God Valley, 26 years ago. Its only crime was having a name the Celestial Dragons found arrogant. They used it for a hunting festival. You can imagine what—or who—they hunted."
Law's face turned a sickly shade of green. He stumbled away and vomited.
When he returned, pale and shaking, he whispered, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because," Kaito said, nodding behind him, "someone wants to talk to you."
Crow materialized from the shadows. "That was a heavy burden to place on a child," he said to Kaito.
"Please. I'm only two years older. And he is not a weak child. He survived by hiding among corpses. The will that takes is rare." Kaito turned back to Law. "Crow will take you to the medical department. We'll see how much of your father's teachings you remember."
Days passed, and there was still no news from Corazon. Kaito kept trying to remember which island Corazon had stolen the fruit from in the original story, but he came up with nothing. He also had to stay away from the medical island because calls might be tracked. During that time, he visited different islands to see the world.
Then one day, the Den Den Mushi rang, and he immediately answered.
"Hello."
"Hey, I got the news."
"Great, where is it?"
"I want to talk to Law first."
Kaito frowned, then nodded; he understood Corazon's concern. "Where are you now? I can't let him talk to you because I'm not with him."
"Why?"
"You're a marine, in the end. I can't stay on a hidden island and risk you tracking the call."
Corazon stayed silent for a while, then said, "I'm on Swallow Island."
Kaito replied, "Oh, I'm near you. I'll see you in a while."
Kaito immediately flew off, arriving within the hour. Sensing the island, he found someone on the other side and went to him. As he arrived, he saw Corazon looking at a pirate group on a neighboring island.
"Is the fruit with them?" Kaito asked.
Corazon was shocked and looked behind him to see Kaito with his mask on. "How did you arrive and locate me so fast?" He had spoken to him less than an hour ago.
"Your Donquixote family really sucks at Observation Haki. Anyway, is that where the fruit is located?"
"...Yeah. The captain is a former marine who defected. He's been trying to sell it in the nearby seas but is asking for 500 million berries because he doesn't know what it is. I found out by chance through one of my underworld contacts; he was laughing that the guy wanted to sell a Paramecia fruit for 500 million when you can buy a Zoan for the same price."
Kaito nodded. "The World Government always hides the abilities of various fruits to buy them cheaply for themselves. Anyway, I'm going."
"Wait! I've held up my end of the deal. I want Law to eat it."
Kaito shook his head. "I will keep my word, don't worry. I just need to secure it before the news gets out and something happens."
Kaito disappeared and went to the pirate stronghold. He sneaked around until he found the boss's location. He entered the room but stopped when he saw a man beating someone.
"You fucking idiot! You can't even do a simple task! What's the use of you? You're a curse to me! I got kicked out of the marines, your mother left us, and now we're useless pirates dealing with stupid people who think a medical fruit is useless!"
The guy getting beaten up looked familiar. Oh, right, isn't that X. Drake? So that's his father.
Kaito appeared and punched the man in the stomach.
Kukh!
X. Drake looked up after hearing the sound to see his father knocked down.
"Hey, is he your father?" Kaito asked the young man.
The young man nodded but didn't say anything.
Diez Barrels looked at his assailant and said with difficulty, "Who are you?"
"Oh, you can take a punch. Let's see how much more you can take." Kaito started to beat him repeatedly. After a while, Diez seemed disoriented. "What do you want?"
"I'm just curious what it's like to beat someone who can't fight back, like you did to your son."
"Aaahh, spare me, please!"
"What do you think?" Kaito asked, turning to Drake. "Should I kill him or let him live?"
X. Drake looked at his father and didn't say anything.
"Drake, please tell him to spare me! I'm your father, after all!"
Drake kept looking at him, silent.
"You fucking idiot, do one—" He stopped as a jolt of electricity coursed through him.
"Hey, is that how you ask for forgiveness?" Kaito said. The electricity wasn't strong, meant only to hurt a little, but he didn't expect the man's reaction.
"You... you are the one who attacked Mary Geoise and freed the slaves!"
"Oh, you know me?"
"Know you?!! You're my nightmare!"
Diez then took out a weapon and started shooting. Kaito, seeing the future attacks, dodged them. The man kept attacking until his weapon ran out of ammunition. A fight broke out as pirates swarmed in, only to be quickly knocked out by Kaito. It wasn't a fair fight; there were no Haki users among them.
Kaito looked at Diez, puzzled. "Your nightmare? You even had a weapon with Seastone bullets."
"How dare you dodge, you fucker!"
Kaito appeared suddenly beside him and electrified him again. "Care to explain?"
Diez, after snapping out of his daze, tried to move but got electrocuted again. After three or four times, he began to explain.
Kaito remained silent for a while after hearing the story. "Well, you took a job with demons. What did you expect? I'm sorry about your wife, but I'm not the one who took her."
Apparently, after the slaves were freed in Mary Geoise, the marines stationed there were blamed and punished. Diez's wife, trying to save him, was seen by a Celestial Dragon who said he would take her in exchange for Diez's life.
"Hahahaha! That's all you have to say? Yeah, we are nothing in the eyes of you who have power!" Diez laughed bitterly.
Kaito shook his head and turned to look for the Devil Fruit. He found it inside a chest. After taking it, he turned back. "Hey," he said to Drake. "Do you want me to kill him? Speak up."
Drake stayed silent before saying, crying, "No. I just want to leave."
Diez laughed at that. "Yeah, good luck with that. That kid is cursed, I'm— Ahhhhh!" Kaito electrocuted him again.
"Okay, I'm leaving then," Kaito said, and he left the island.