Trafalgar D. Water Law

Time passed quietly. With each day, his body grew a little stronger, making even the dull days feel incredibly fulfilling.

A month had passed since he returned to the family's base, and events in Flevance were unfolding just as they had in the original story.

The royal family and nobles of Flevance took their treasures and left the doomed country under Marine escort.

Corazon looked grim for the next few days after hearing the news. He had reported what was happening here to Sengoku long ago, but Sengoku's response had been: The World Government won't allow it!

Those words plunged the passionate Corazon into the depths of winter.

For the first time, his faith in his own sense of justice wavered.

The remaining civilians of Flevance were slaughtered in a sea of flames by the gunfire of the four neighboring countries.

Corazon had secretly gone to see it all for himself.

As a result, Buffalo finally got some time to rest over the next few days, without being beaten up by Corazon at the drop of a hat.

As for Gray, he'd have been more than happy if Corazon had come to beat him up. That would've given him an excuse to fight back and teach Corazon a lesson.

As an undercover agent, Corazon's strength was no greater than that of a Marine Headquarters lieutenant at most. In the original story, when he stole the Op-Op Fruit, aside from using his Devil Fruit ability and tools like grenades, he never showed off skills like the Six Powers.

Not only that, he'd even been injured!

Gray was being generous in his estimate when he put Corazon at Marine Headquarters lieutenant level. That was about the same physical ability Arlong had when he first appeared in the original story.

If Gray and Corazon started fighting, even if Corazon knew the Six Powers and other techniques, he wouldn't dare use them at the family's base.

Aside from pure physical combat or swordsmanship, Corazon couldn't reveal his Devil Fruit ability, and he didn't have either kind of Haki.

Pure physical and sword attacks were useless against Gray. After all, Gray's usual way of fighting was from the air, against targets on the ground.

A swordsman who couldn't use Slash Wave or a martial artist who couldn't use Geppo wouldn't be able to touch Gray.

Gray had the advantage from the outset. His Devil Fruit attacks were at least on par with Smoker's when he first appeared in the original story.

Because of his age, Gray was currently a fragile mage with high attack and low health. But one thing had to be acknowledged: aside from Doflamingo, none of the current officers in the Donquixote Family posed much of a threat to him.

Even if he couldn't beat them, he could retreat without a problem.

If that was true of the officers, then what was a little Corazon?

Having reached that conclusion, Gray was itching to teach Corazon a lesson.

Even if he was wrong, the worst that could happen was that he'd get beaten up.

Besides, ever since Gray's injury last time, Corazon seemed to think he was too fragile. The experience had left him a little wary, and he didn't really want to hit Gray.

And since Gray didn't like him either, Corazon wouldn't go out of his way to make a nuisance of himself. Baby-5 was always by Gray's side, which also kept him from getting beaten up.

And so, a world in which only Buffalo got hurt had been achieved.

That day, after Gray left the family's training ground, he saw Trebol and Diamante up ahead, teasing a little boy.

The boy was around ten years old. He wore a spotted hat, had a string of grenades wrapped around his neck, and was fighting Diamante with a sword.

"Hey, hey! Is that all it takes to wear you out, kid?" Diamante easily fended off his attacks, taunting him all the while. "If that's all you can do, you'll never make it into the Donquixote Family."

"After all, our family isn't some dump that takes in every stray cat and dog."

"Damn you!" His eyes burned with hatred, though it wasn't directed at Diamante. It was aimed at the world. "I won't lose. I'm going to... destroy this world!"

"?" Diamante was instantly at a loss. "Destroy the world?"

The kid's outrageous boast instantly killed Diamante's interest. He put some force into his swing and sent the boy flying, sword and all.

"Ah!"

Thud~

The impact looked tremendous, and a cloud of dust billowed up. But the rule that there was no injury if there was smoke applied everywhere.

Diamante had controlled the force of the blow perfectly. The boy wasn't hurt, though the abandoned building beneath him was completely wrecked.

"Damn you!" The boy glared fiercely, grabbed a piece of wood, and charged at Diamante again. "Let me join you, or I'll kill you!"

"Mm..." Gray covered his forehead, unable to watch. He'd finally witnessed what Law had been like as a chuuni kid. Just listening to him made Gray feel like he could curl his toes into a three-bedroom apartment.

"Fuffuffuffu..." Doflamingo had appeared on the balcony at some point, letting out a laugh that was impossible to interpret. It drew everyone's attention.

"Kid! You want to join us?"

"Do you know what we are? We're a gang. Pirates."

"I don't care about any of that. I just want to join you, get stronger, and destroy the world!" Law's words carried plenty of conviction, but the rumbling of his stomach ruined the mood. "Grrr..."

Doflamingo paused. "Fuffuffuffu..."

"Whether you want to destroy the world or do anything else, you'll need to fill your stomach first."

"Kid, do you dare come in and eat with us?"

"Hmph! Of course I do!"

Doflamingo liked Law at first sight, drawn in by his gaze and tone. By then, he'd already decided to bring Law into the Donquixote Family.

"Trebol, Diamante, take him to the dining hall."

"Yes, young master!"

"If you've got the guts, follow us, kid!"

No longer paying them any mind, Doflamingo turned to Gray, who'd been watching the show for a while. "Time to eat, Gray!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

At Gray's voice, Law couldn't help looking over at him.

"Can a cripple join this organization too?" Seeing Gray in his wheelchair, Law was puzzled.

But Law hadn't officially joined yet, and he had no time to worry about such a small question. His mind was entirely occupied with joining the organization, growing stronger, and dragging the world down with him as much as possible during the next three years.

However, it didn't take long for Gray's antics to broaden his horizons.

Gray barely did anything while seated in his wheelchair, yet it moved forward on its own. And whenever it came to a doorstep, the chair simply carried him right over it.

"What's that?"

Diamante answered his question. "A Devil Fruit!"

"Never heard of them, have you?" Seeing Law's puzzled look, Diamante launched into a lecture. "Devil Fruits are the secret treasures of the sea. Anyone who eats one gains all sorts of abilities."

"Flight, control over the elements of nature, magical skeletons, legendary beasts, and so on."

"Just eat a Devil Fruit, and you can gain powers like those."

"What, jealous?"

Law was indeed envious, but all he could do was turn his head away. "Tch!"

Here's a book by a big shot who's always looked out for me. It's a Genshin Impact fanfic set on Teyvat, and it's got plenty of chapters now, so go check it out.