Minion Island

North Blue · Minion Island

The lead-gray sky hung like a great cauldron on the verge of collapse. Snow-covered ruins and wrecked ships formed the desolate backdrop to the battlefield.

The sea wind carried a bone-chilling cold, piercing eardrums like a sword. The mingled scents of rust and blood drifted from the distance.

The Op-Op Fruit, worth five billion Beli, was about to unleash a bloody storm here.

Atop a cliff on the island

Doflamingo looked down from above, his eyes gleaming with greed and cruelty behind his sunglasses.

"Fuffuffuffuffu... The Perennial Youth Operation... It's finally going to be mine."

The icy wind whipped around him, and his pink coat stood out against the snow.

Behind him, family officers including Trebol, Pica, and Diamante stood in formation, radiating killing intent.

Trebol gave a sinister chuckle. "Young master, the Marines have landed, but it doesn't matter. Our men have already infiltrated their ranks."

Doflamingo slowly raised a hand and flicked his fingertips. "Then let them watch their hopes be dashed."

At the dilapidated dock, three Marine warships lay moored like steel behemoths, their hull numbers blurred by the wind and snow.

"Admiral Sengoku's orders are to ensure the Op-Op Fruit is recovered safely!"

A Vice Admiral gripped the sword at his waist, cold sweat beading on his temple.

Footsteps sounded in a jumble, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and unease.

The Marines had no idea that Donquixote Family spies had long since infiltrated their ranks.

Deep inside a warehouse on the island, an oil lamp swayed in the wind. Its flickering light danced across the walls, casting long shadows.

"The transaction will begin on schedule at noon tomorrow."

Diez Barrels' voice was low and hoarse, greed glinting in his eyes in the gloom. "The World Government's demand is that the Op-Op Fruit must never fall into pirate hands."

In the shadows, another man licked his chapped lips and sneered. "Doflamingo's ship is already approaching the North Blue... Do you really think the Marines can stop him?"

Out in the snow, a pair of black leather boots trudged through the thick drifts, leaving deep footprints.

Rosinante had landed on the island ahead of time. He was the Donquixote Family's "Heart," codenamed "Corazon."

Smoke still curled from the muzzle of his pistol. Several unconscious guards lay at the door, and firelight reflected on his determined face.

"Law, stay close to me!"

He looked back at the frail boy wrapped in a blanket. The boy's golden eyes shone in the darkness, and the cracks of Amber Lead Syndrome covered his cheeks.

"Mr. Corazon... Where are we going?"

A resolute glint flashed through Rosinante's blue eyes. "To steal something that can save your life."

The North Blue's icy wind swept loose snow against the outside of an abandoned warehouse on Minion Island.

Rosinante pulled down the brim of his hat, his black coat blending into the night.

He glanced back at Law, who was hiding in the shadows. The marks of Amber Lead Syndrome had spread from the boy's pale face to his neck, standing out in the moonlight.

I have to get the Op-Op Fruit quickly...

He took a deep breath and silently activated the Calm-Calm Fruit's power, swallowing even the sound of snowflakes landing around him.

Diez Barrels' pirate crew was taking stock of their goods inside the warehouse. The metal case containing the Op-Op Fruit sat on a wooden table in the center, with several armed pirates standing around it.

Rosinante narrowed his eyes and pulled a Molotov cocktail from inside his coat. He lit it and gently rolled it into a corner of the warehouse.

"Boom!"

Flames shot up in an instant, and the pirates shouted in panic, "Fire! Put it out, quick!"

But their voices were completely cut off by the Calm-Calm Fruit's power, and the world outside the warehouse remained deathly silent.

Amid the chaos, Rosinante slipped in like a ghost and touched the cold metal case.

Got it!

He had just turned to leave when he stepped on a patch of oil on the floor—

"Bang!"

He fell hard, and the metal case flew from his hand, landing on the floor with a dull thud.

"Who's there?!"

The pirates reacted at once, blades flashing and gun barrels swinging toward him!

"Tch...!"

Rosinante gritted his teeth and rolled clear of the first volley of bullets, drawing his pistol and returning fire at the same time.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

His precise shots dropped several pirates in an instant, but several more closed in.

A long blade came slashing down. Rosinante dodged to the side, but it still cut his back, soaking his coat with blood.

"Damn it...!" He forced down the agony, snatched up the Op-Op Fruit, and crashed through a window.

The biting wind cut past his ears like a knife. Everything was white with snow, and blood spread across the ground in vivid red cracks.

A North Blue blizzard swallowed Minion Island's outline. Rosinante staggered into an abandoned lighthouse, the sword wound on his back leaving a stark trail of blood across the wall.

"Mr. Corazon!"

Law rushed over and caught his swaying body, desperately trying to staunch the blood that kept pouring out.

Rosinante curved his lips into a smile, his face as pale as snow. "Don't worry..."

With trembling hands, he pulled the spiral-patterned fruit from inside his coat and pressed it into Law's arms.

"Quick, eat it..."

Law stared at the strange fruit in his hands. The white patches of Amber Lead Syndrome had spread to his cheeks, and every breath brought a burning pain.

He looked up at Rosinante, his voice hoarse. "Mr. Corazon... This..."

"Quit wasting time!" Rosinante broke into a violent cough, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "Do you want to die?!"

Law gritted his teeth and took a big bite.

The fruit's bitterness nearly made him vomit, but the next second, a strange power burst through his body, followed by a clarity he had never experienced before.

"What is this...?" Law stared at his hands in shock.

Rosinante smiled weakly and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Now you're free..."

"Take this... Go to the Marine outpost and give it to someone in a white uniform..."

Rosinante pulled a bloodstained intelligence document from inside his coat and pressed it into Law's hand. "Remember... Don't trust anyone. Go straight to Sengoku..."

Law clutched the document tightly, tears falling in large drops onto the snow. "Mr. Corazon...!"

He looked at the determination in Rosinante's eyes, then nodded firmly and ran into the wind and snow, clutching the document.

But when he burst through the doors of the Marine outpost, panting for breath, the man who came toward him was not a Marine officer in a white uniform, but Vergo, a spy Doflamingo had planted in the Marine G-5 Branch.

"Little boy, what brings you here so late?"

Vergo pushed up his glasses, his towering figure looming over Law.

Law watched him warily, but the Marine uniform Vergo wore put him slightly at ease.

"This... Mr. Corazon told me to give it to the Marines..."

Vergo took the document, his gaze passing over the bloody mark on the seal. Something flickered in his eyes.

He slowly opened it, and the moment he saw its contents, his pupils contracted sharply.

It contained a map of the Donquixote Family's troop deployments and operational instructions for a Marine undercover agent, signed unmistakably with the name "Little Rice Cracker."

"Heh..."

A cold smile curved Vergo's lips. "So that's how it is..."

When Law appeared outside the lighthouse with Vergo, who was wearing a Marine uniform, Rosinante's heart nearly stopped.

"What a surprise, Corazon..."

Vergo's voice was ice-cold. "Ten years, and I never realized you were a spy who could talk."

Rosinante's throat tightened, but he kept the same silly grin on his face. "Mr. Vergo... What are you talking about?"

"Playing dumb?"

Vergo slammed a fist into Rosinante's stomach, sending him flying!

"Bang!"

Rosinante smashed through a wooden crate, blood spraying from his mouth.

Vergo strode forward, seized him by the collar, and lifted him up.

"The Marines' Little Rice Cracker... How ironic."

Vergo's fist, hardened with Armament Haki, came down again. "What kind of face would Doffy make if he knew his own little brother was a Marine?"

Rosinante coughed up blood, then suddenly laughed. "Heh... He's known for a long time..."

Vergo froze, but the next second, Law's furious shout came from behind him—

"Let go of Mr. Corazon!!!"

A pale blue spherical space suddenly expanded, Law's "ROOM" enveloping the entire lighthouse!

Vergo spun around, only to see Law aiming his palm at him—

"Shambles!"

"Swoosh!"

The space shifted! In the instant Vergo froze, he was forcibly transferred outside the lighthouse, while Law pulled Rosinante to his side.

"Go... Hurry..." Rosinante panted weakly, blood staining Law's sleeve red.

Law gritted his teeth, hoisted Rosinante onto his back, and charged into the blizzard.

Vergo's furious roar came from behind them, but the wind and snow soon swallowed it.

With Rosinante on his back, Law trudged through the snow, his feet sinking to different depths with every step.

The icy wind cut like a knife, but his heart raced. The power of the Op-Op Fruit flowed through him, and the man on his back was the only family he had.

"Law..."

Rosinante's voice was faint. "I'm sorry... for getting you caught up in this..."

Law's tears fell onto the snow and instantly froze. "Shut up! You promised you'd take me out to sea..."

Rosinante smiled and gently patted Law's shoulder with his bloodstained fingers. "Yeah... I haven't done that yet..."

Their figures gradually disappeared into the wind and snow at the edge of Minion Island.

In the distance, the Donquixote Family's flag snapped in the fierce wind, as though announcing that this betrayal was far from over.