Master and Disciple of Space

Law remained bowed, his neck nearly stiff, but still heard no answer from the man before him.

Standing beside him, Rosinante kept shooting Ron meaningful looks.

Ron looked at one, then the other, and finally sighed.

"All right, I'll take you as my disciple."

"Really?!"

Law jerked his head up, his eyes lighting up.

"Don't get too excited yet."

Ron held up three fingers. "First, you need a solid foundation to study medicine. Don't think knowing a little medicine means you can just cut people open whenever you like."

"Second, I can teach you to control space and train your physical skills, but the Door-Door Fruit and the Op-Op Fruit aren't the same thing. Don't try to force my moves to work for you."

"Third, you're still sick. I decide how much you train, and you're not allowed to risk your life trying to be tough."

Law nodded quickly. "I can do all that!"

"All right, let me hear you call me master."

"M-master!"

The boy's ears turned bright red in an instant, while Ron grinned with satisfaction.

Rosinante laughed too and reached out to pat Law on the shoulder, but his swinging arm knocked over the ink bottle on the desk.

"Brother, could you leave my new disciple with a good impression?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

After the laughter, however, Ron's expression soon became serious.

"Come on, let's go discuss something with old man Sengoku."

"What trouble have you caused this time?"

In the Fleet Admiral's Office, Sengoku didn't even look up, his pen still moving across a document.

"I took on a disciple."

"Oh, that boy Law?"

Sengoku was just about to nod when Ron added something.

"By the way, I should tell you, he ate the Op-Op Fruit."

Click.

The pen in Sengoku's hand stopped abruptly, and a small blot of ink spread across the paper.

"The one the World Government specifically wanted to buy for five billion Beli?"

"That's the one."

Sengoku looked at Rosinante, who was standing nearby. Rosinante immediately stood ramrod straight, barely daring to breathe.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Keep it quiet."

"Do you know who you're keeping it from...?!"

"Sure, the World Government, right~"

Ron pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone calm.

"That's not what I'm asking!"

"The report on Minion Island will only say the fruit was stolen and its whereabouts are unknown. We won't report who ate it for now."

Ron tapped his fingertips on the desk. "That kid just crawled back from the Gates of Hell. If the Holy Land finds out who he is, won't they drag him back and cut him to pieces for research?"

Sengoku fell silent.

He knew better than anyone how important that fruit was. Once Law's identity was exposed, Cipher Pol and the government's upper ranks would never treat him like an ordinary sick child.

After a moment, Sengoku finally spoke.

"There's one more thing. Doflamingo knows Law ate the fruit, doesn't he?"

"He does."

"What if he tells the government?"

Ron shrugged.

"He's still hoping to catch Law and make him work for him. He might not be willing to hand that information over to the government."

"But we can't gamble on him keeping his mouth shut."

Sengoku frowned.

"Seal his medical records separately. The fewer people who know about Law's power, the better."

"Don't worry, I won't let him open a ROOM whenever he likes out in public."

"How long can we keep it hidden?"

"As long as we can. At least until he learns to protect himself."

Sengoku glanced at the bandages still wrapped around Rosinante's shoulder. After a moment's silence, he finally closed the document.

"Only a very small number of people are to know."

Ron grinned. "I knew you'd be reasonable, old man."

"Enough flattery!"

Sengoku glared at him. "The government already knows the fruit is missing. Hiding the user's identity only buys us time. Sooner or later, they'll find out!"

"Understood."

Sengoku looked again at Law, who stood nearby. The boy's back was straight, but there was still a trace of wariness in his eyes.

"He's thirteen and still undergoing treatment. He can't be formally assigned to a combat unit."

He picked up his pen and approved the paperwork for a special training program.

"Rosinante will be his guardian. The Medical Department will handle his treatment and medical courses."

"Ron, you'll handle his ability, physical training, and the basics of Haki later on."

Hearing that, Law stood even straighter.

Sengoku looked at the child before him. "Kid, do you really want to be a Marine?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because I want to save people!"

Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then a hint of a smile appeared on his stern face.

"Then study hard."

The next day, at Marine Headquarters, in Ron's private training room.

The room had originally been set aside for senior officers to train alone. It was enclosed on all sides, and few people usually entered.

Ron had added a Spatial Door at the entrance.

Without his permission, no one could get in.

"Remember, come here whenever you train your fruit ability from now on."

Ron tapped Law on the head.

"Don't open a ROOM whenever you like outside, especially where people from the World Government can see it."

"Got it, master!"

Law took a deep breath and thrust his right palm forward.

"ROOM!"

Hum—

A pale blue spherical field barely spread open, less than two meters across.

Sweat soon beaded on his forehead. After only a few seconds, the field trembled and scattered completely.

"Damn it! Again!"

He had just raised his hand when someone grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Stop."

"Master, I can still train!"

"You're learning how to use your spatial ability to save people, not how to work yourself to death."

Law protested, "But your doors can cross the sea in a single step!"

"How many years have I trained? How long has it been since you ate your fruit?"

Law opened his mouth, then finally closed it.

Ron brought over three blocks of wood and a cup of water, arranging them neatly on the table.

"Today, we're not aiming for range. Just switch the block on the left to the right inside the ROOM, and don't knock over the cup."

"That's it?"

"Give it a try."

"ROOM!"

The blocks didn't budge.

Instead, the cup beside them suddenly flew into the air!

"Huh?!"

Before Law could react, the mouth of the cup was already pointing at Ron.

Splash!

Half a cup of water splashed squarely into Ron's face.

Master and disciple stared at each other.

"Master, I..."

"Good."

"Huh?"

Ron wiped his face.

"At least now I know exactly how bad you are."

Law: "..."

Ron set the cup upright again and straightened the blocks.

"Focus on your target, not the whole ROOM. You're only moving one block of wood, not everything on the table."

After three more failures, Law finally made the leftmost block wobble.

His eyes lit up, and he was just about to exert more force when Ron pressed down on his wrist.

"Remember how that felt. That's enough for today."

"But it barely moved!"

"Once you can control that little bit, you can move on to the next."

Ron picked up a sheet of paper with a withered leaf resting on it.

Click.

A Spatial Door so thin it was almost invisible opened along the leaf's center line.

The leaf split neatly in two and drifted onto the paper. The white paper beneath it didn't have so much as a mark.

Law's eyes went wide.

"How did you do that?!"

"Precision."

Ron pushed the paper toward him. "You'll use this fruit to treat patients someday. What matters isn't how many buildings your ROOM can cover, but knowing exactly which part you need to move."

"If you pick the wrong spot, no matter how powerful your ability is, you could end up hurting someone."

Law looked down at the two halves of the leaf and said nothing for a long while.

"Don't neglect your medical studies."

Ron tapped him on the head. "The fruit's ability is just a tool. The doctor is the one who saves people."

In the days that followed, Law's schedule was laid out for him.

Early each morning, he went to the hospital for a checkup. During the day, he studied pharmacology, learned anatomy, and practiced basic surgery under the doctors.

He still had the medical foundation his parents had given him, and he learned quickly.

In the evening, he returned to Ron's private training room to open a ROOM, move blocks of wood, and swap pebbles, until Ron sent him off to eat when time was up.

At night, Rosinante helped him memorize his notes. Often, Rosinante's own head would start nodding as they studied, and he would finally fall asleep with a thud on the table.

"Corazon, you got the name of the medicine wrong again!"

"Huh? I read it just like it was written..."

Law snatched the notebook back and couldn't help laughing.

Watching him laugh, Rosinante suddenly remembered the kid in the North Blue whose eyes had been full of hatred, the one who had said he wanted to destroy the world.

Now Law would argue until his face turned red over a pharmacology question, and clench his fists with joy when he successfully moved a block of wood.

"What are you looking at?"

Law looked up warily.

"Nothing."

Rosinante smiled and poured him a cup of hot water. "I think you're doing pretty well now."

"Shut up!"

Treatment for Amber Lead Syndrome wasn't over yet. Whenever his test results were poor, Ron canceled training for the day.

"Master, I really feel great today!"

"If the doctor says you're not well, then you're not well."

One evening, training had just ended.

Ron brought Law back to the office, where Vergo was waiting at the door with a stack of documents in his arms.

"Rear Admiral, the navigation materials you asked for."

"Perfect timing."

Ron pointed to the table beside them.

"Teach this kid how to organize the publicly available navigation materials later. Don't let him spend all day doing nothing but training."

"Understood."

"Wait!"

Law's head shot up.

"Your name is Vergo?!"

He had heard Corazon mention that name.

He was the Donquixote Family's former Heart Executive!

The documents nearly fell from Vergo's hands.

What was this kid doing here?!

Law quickly turned to Ron.

"Master, he's—"

"I know."

Ron patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"I'll explain later. Don't make a fuss for now."

Law: "???"

Vergo: "..."

Ron turned back to Vergo.

"Remember to leave his mealtimes free. The kid still needs treatment."

"Understood!"

A little over a month later.

Three pieces of wood and two pebbles were arranged in a row on the training table.

"ROOM."

A stable, light blue field enveloped the tabletop as Law gently moved his fingertip.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The blocks of wood and pebbles swapped places one after another. The cup of water beside them remained perfectly still, its surface undisturbed.

"I did it!"

The boy's face flushed red with excitement as he turned to Ron.

Ron sat in a chair, leisurely flipping through a medical textbook.

"Mm, a little better than yesterday."

Law couldn't help smiling.

"Master!"

"What is it?"

"I'm going to become an amazing doctor someday!"

Ron looked up at the boy before him, whose eyes were finally no longer filled with hatred, and smiled too.

"All right. Then finish today's assignments first."

Meanwhile, in the Fleet Admiral's Office.

Sengoku had just finished reading the initial training report, and his gaze settled on the record of Law's progress.

He put down his pen, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Looks like the kid Rosinante saved really isn't ordinary."