Law's Purpose

At the center of Gudora Island, a winding path ran through a pitch-black cave. Deep inside, a faint light seeped out.

"Is it fixed? If it is, I'm leaving!" A purple-haired man wearing sunglasses spoke, though they did nothing to hide the wrinkles on his face. He was old, and his skin had begun to lose its vitality.

"Mm, more or less. With this reinforcement, you should be fine—as long as you don't take on one of the Four Emperors head-on."

"Good!" The purple-haired man nodded and glanced at the enormous mechanical arm on his right hand, smiling.

But the next moment, his expression changed. He pulled a white slip of paper from his pocket.

It was the Vivre Card of his subordinate, Shuzo. It suddenly burst into flames and turned to ash!

"How is this possible? Shuzo was defeated by that little pirate?" The purple-clad man flew into a rage. He sprang up, moving with a nimbleness that belied his age, and raced through the rugged cave. In an instant, he was outside, running toward Lu Zhuo.

Elsewhere, Lu Zhuo walked forward slowly, each step seeming to land right on Biz's heart.

The sword pressure gradually gathered, bearing down on Biz alone.

At last, sword marks began to appear across Biz's body.

It was a sign that the sword pressure had condensed to an extreme degree and was beginning to form a Sword Domain.

But that was as far as it went. Lu Zhuo pushed it a few more times, only to find that his Sword Domain's rudimentary form could barely cut slits less than a millimeter deep.

He shook his head, then gently drew his sword and sheathed it.

Overwhelmed by the sword pressure, Biz couldn't even speak. He could only watch helplessly as the sword cleaved him in two!

After killing Biz, Lu Zhuo turned and walked toward Bepo and Law, his expression calm.

Law stared at Lu Zhuo, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and clutched his chest as he panted.

Bepo stared at Lu Zhuo and stammered, "W-we're saved."

Seeing Bepo's adorable appearance, a hint of a smile suddenly appeared on Lu Zhuo's otherwise placid face.

"Not necessarily. Someone even stronger is coming."

"Whoa! It's gotta be that weird guy with the sunglasses! Captain, we should run!" Bepo was so frightened that he fell on his butt again and wailed at Law.

Law panted a few times, then snapped at him, "Quiet!" He turned to Lu Zhuo, struggled to his feet, and asked, "What do you want?"

At that, Lu Zhuo smiled faintly. "It's easy talking to someone clever. My crew is short a ship's doctor, so I'm inviting you to join us!"

"Sorry, I won't join anyone's pirate crew," Law said coldly.

Bepo let out a strange cry and gave Law a pleading look. "Captain... our pirate crew is already finished. Maybe we should—"

"Shut up!" Law snapped.

Bepo immediately fell silent, looking at Lu Zhuo with a pitiful expression.

Lu Zhuo found him amusing, but he wasn't too fond of Law's cold demeanor.

Just then, another figure emerged from the forest.

"Lu Zhuo, is this the ship's doctor you mentioned? Why does he look like a swordsman?" Nami walked over slowly, looking Law up and down with a puzzled expression.

Lu Zhuo didn't answer. He kept his eyes on Law and smiled faintly. "Why don't you hear my offer first?"

"Sorry, I'm not interested. You're the captain of the Holy Sword Pirates, Sword God Lu Zhuo, who made a name for himself across the seas recently, right? If you put out the word, countless doctors would come running to join you."

Lu Zhuo chuckled. "But you're the only ship's doctor in the world with the Op-Op Fruit."

Law stared straight into Lu Zhuo's eyes and said gravely, "Captain of the Holy Sword Pirates, I'm grateful that you saved me. But I won't become anyone's subordinate. I still have a goal to accomplish. If you're disappointed, you can kill me now."

Lu Zhuo sighed and shook his head. "As expected of Trafalgar Law. You really understand people. You know that since I saved you, I won't kill you."

"Captain, I'll consider this a debt I owe you. I'll repay you." Law felt a little relieved. He was ninety percent sure of what Lu Zhuo would do, but it was still difficult to remain entirely calm in front of someone who held his life in his hands.

Lu Zhuo suddenly sneered. "How will you repay me? You want to sabotage the deal between Kaido of the Four Emperors and Joker, using one to kill the other. But once your plan is complete, either Joker or Kaido will kill you. Do you expect me to collect a favor from a dead man?"

His words struck Law like a bolt from the blue. Horror filled his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground.

"N-no way! How could you know? This was only a plan in my head, and I'd just finished putting it together. I haven't even started carrying it out... You... you!"

Law's face was full of disbelief. He could no longer keep his composure. Anyone would be utterly horrified if someone suddenly revealed a secret they'd never even spoken aloud!

Seeing him like this, Lu Zhuo suddenly smiled again, his expression changing in an instant.

"Of course I know. I know far more than you can imagine. I even know about your grudge against Joker, your past, and... everything about you!"

When he heard that, Law's mind went completely blank. Though famous for his calm, he couldn't even think!

Nami, standing beside Lu Zhuo, suddenly reached out and poked him with a finger. She whispered, "How did you know?"

Lu Zhuo glanced at her and said softly, "I know a lot of things. Maybe I'll tell you why someday."

Though Lu Zhuo's words left Nami extremely curious, she could only keep her questions to herself.

After a long while, Law finally recovered.

"Could it be some kind of special mind-reading Devil Fruit?" Law looked at Lu Zhuo with deep hostility.

No one would be pleased to have all their secrets exposed.

"No. I just happen to know." Lu Zhuo smiled faintly. "So, since your goal is to kill Joker, even if it means dying with him, I'll help you take him down. In return, you'll work for me for the rest of your life!"

Law was tempted by Lu Zhuo's offer, but his cautious nature kept him from agreeing right away.

"Is a user of the Op-Op Fruit really worth going up against Joker for? What's your true motive?"

At Law's question, Lu Zhuo narrowed his eyes.

He assessed Law's character and integrity. Nearly perfect!

If Lu Zhuo weren't from Earth and didn't know everything about this world, Law might even have been able to manipulate him completely.

If Law's intelligence were measured against Detective Conan, he probably wouldn't be much less clever than Conan.

Thinking this, Lu Zhuo began to speak. "First of all, to me, you're more than just a user of the Op-Op Fruit. You, as a person, are what matters most. You're worth ten times more than the Op-Op Fruit!"