CHAPTER 1:
It was just another normal day drifting in the sea by the Heart Pirates- and by 'normal' for the Heart Pirates, it was the usual hot, and windless day wandering in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the Grand Line. They were submerged about an hour ago but Bepo could no longer hold his steam when they came across underwater volcanoes. The heat was too much for the bear to bear and so when his request was approved by the one and only captain, they surfaced.
As soon as the submarine had reappeared, Bepo ran to the deck as if it was his first time seeing the sky. "H… Hot" Bepo fanned himself with his paw, looking weary and tired. His sweat protruding from his face and his fur was all wet. His fellow crewmate, Shachi followed behind. The sun was up; it was still noon. The overwhelming heat made Shachi frown and thought it must be hard for Bepo.
"You have it rough, eh?" He comforted his bear friend while fanning himself with his hand. Bepo nodded. "very hot isn't it?" He added. "We must be near a Summer Island…" Bepo replied. "Is that so? I hope we land soon I don't like drifting in the sea when it's too hot." His bear friend nodded in agreement. "I hope we go to a Winter Island soon…"
"You know, a Summer Island's not so bad. I wish I could have an Ice Cream right now…" Shachi started to drool as He averted his thoughts from the heat to the Ice Cream.
"Ice Cream, huh? I'd like to lie in a bed of Ice…" Bepo's eyes sparkled and stared at the clouds. Clouds are white, he thought, and Polar caps are white, He thought. Ahhh. Ice, Ice, Ice. But his friend Shachi wasn't so amused. "What are you talking about? There's no way you can sleep in a bed of Ice in a summer Island!" He joked. But instead of laughing, the only response the bear could make was an apology. "I'm so sorry…" He sulked.
Soon, Penguin went to the deck; but not to join the typical conversation of his friends, but because he was sent by his captain to call for everyone to assemble. "Shachi, Bepo, sorry to bother you when you guys are enjoying but Captain's called for us. So we'll be using the deck for a while" Penguin grinned. Shachi and Bepo didn't mind as long as it was outside.
Law was lying on his back, and stared at nothing but the grumbling of the ceiling fan in his room. He could hear the noise outside, voices of his men screaming, calling for one another. In about five minutes, he would have to go out of his cabin to face his crew and tell them about his plans. He had his plans alright. He closed his tired eyes. Thinking of nothing but the devices he's been making for the past few months. And how long has it been since the Marineford war?
The men gathered together in the deck, chitchatting about what the Captain would have to say. Is it another adventure? Another one of his schemes? But those chats and questions with one another stopped when their captain entered the deck.
Law positioned himself in front of his men. He sat on the deck together with everyone. His huge sword leaning on his left shoulder. Bepo was awake, so Law didn't have to lean on him.
"Men…" He started. Everyone looked at him with eager eyes. Like the eyes of men ready to follow their leader. Law smirked. "This task I'm going to assign to you is very important. I want you to know that with what we will be doing, we will be prone to danger." His men gulped altogether. "I have bigger plans… But for now, what I will be telling you is this." He remained silent for a while to see if someone would have anything to say.
"Men, I will be aiming for the title of the Shichibukai…"
Law smirked as He saw his men's eyes widen in astonishment. Even the bear was not spared.
"And to achieve that, I have to meet certain degrees of requirements…" Some of his men gulped out of fear and shock. Someone who could no longer contain it raised his hand and voiced his concern.
"C… Captain! But that's dangerous!" his men in white overalls said while raising his right hand. "Aiming for the Shichibukai means making enemies out of pirates who hate the Government!"
"That's right; it's going to be dangerous…" He replied as if He didn't care. The plan was going to go on, regardless. "Even I cannot guarantee your safety and your life…" he added.
"So what are we going to do, Captain?" Penguin who sat in front of Law asked with a hint of hesitation in his tone. Law took his time before He answered. No point in hurrying, he wanted to surprise his crewmates. "For the time being, we will dock in the next Island and scout for Pirates. Don't touch them; just tell me if you will find any pirate whose minimum bounty is worth 10 million Bellies. Got it?"
His crewmates nodded and lastly "Men are you going to follow me?" Everyone shouted their YES. Even the men, who were fearful, were carried along. They knew that even though their captain had crazy ideas in mind, He was still their Captain, and they believed in him regardless.
In the Island of Namae nai, located somewhere in the Grand Line, a Pirate was wandering on her own searching for something even she herself never knew of. All she knew was that grief and solitude had brought her into the very Island she was stepping on.
She had been in the Island for the past two weeks and even though she hated the Summer Sun, she found herself unable to leave the place. Her log pose had finally adapted to the next Island's log but still, she was in the Island for certain reasons she couldn't fathom. She often called this 'Fate' or it might just be her indolence from packing her things and moving to another Island.
From her inn, she took off and went to the restaurant she recalled to have become her favorite ever since she came to the Island. It was named 'Pop dessert' the most famous dessert house in the Island of Namae Nai. She sat in the counter and ordered the best Ice cream in town. As the owner served her order, she rolled her sleeves up to her elbow and dug in.
"Chiaki-chan, when do you plan to leave this Island?" the fat old man who owned the restaurant asked. He already grew fond of the girl ever since she first came and ate in the place. "You want me gone already, old man?" She asked in humor while stuffing herself. "No, of course not you silly girl. But if you go, we'll miss you terribly…" He replied. "I'll probably still be staying here for who knows how long? There's no need for me to rush…" she smiled and heir typical conversation went on with smiles and laughs and Chiaki ordered a bunch of his Ice creams.
Unknown to the people in the Island however, was that the Heart Pirates had already made its way to town. They had already docked at midnight, and infiltrated by morning. Men in overalls had already started their search for pirates with a minimum of 10 million Belly bounties. It just so happened that the Captain, together with Bepo and Penguin had decided to go to the nearest restaurant that serves anything cold when Bepo could no longer bear the heat, and so he repeatedly begged his Captain for anything that could satisfy his craves.
"Captain! Captain!" Bepo called. "Just one… just one I promise!"
"Aren't you the annoying one, Bepo. You're slowing the Captain down!" Penguin complained.
Law realized it wouldn't be so bad to stop by. After all, Pirates are known to gather at places where food is abundant.
"I don't mind, let's go." He replied.
They came across Pop dessert, and by the time Bepo determined that the place harbored his cravings, He spent that last of his energy and ran for the place. Bepo might seem to have forgotten his purpose, but Law never did.
The place was big and full of people. Some wannabe pirates were also gathered, something Law was not looking for. Some typical Island dwellers were also there, a little bit of music that livens up the place. But something was bothering Law. He sat at the corner together with his comrades, and ordered while observing a group of men just ahead of them. Cigarettes were lit, their faces covered by their hats, and weapons hidden underneath their clothes. Law knew they were bounty hunters.
Bepo finally had his share of something cold and busied himself stuffing the food in his mouth while Penguin did him some reprimand. But Law was eager to know who the target was.
His concentration was broke when a sudden laughter was heard directly from the bar counter. "You seriously screwed up, Old man! HA HA!" the girl in the counter laughed. "Yes, I did. I don't even know why I came to be a restaurant owner when I couldn't even cook! Ha Ha!"
"That girl… is worth 15 million Bellies…" the man across Law whispered to his comrade. "Not only that… She was a Whitebeard pirate before its whereabouts became unknown. She's been spotted recently wandering around the Grand Line sometime after the War of the Best."
Bingo. Law thought. He looked at the girl with long black hair tied in a loose ponytail, a cap in her head, and wearing a dark Blue hoodie in a summer island- in the counter who laughed as loud as she could while talking to the owner. If she truly was worth 15 million and a Whitebeard pirate, then she is just the right candidate.
After chitchatting with the owner, Chiaki decided to go back to the inn and spend the rest of the day to drown herself with her thoughts. She passed from alley to alley, knowing the fact that she was being shadowed. She knew they were bounty hunters. When Whitebeard was still alive, nobody dared to take the head of a Whitebeard pirate because they know the risky consequence. But when Whitebeard died in the War of the Best, the bounty hunters took advantage and it didn't surprise her that some were after her. Whitebeard was gone, she was just a nameless pirate that only had her bounty recently after she accidentally made a mess in some previous Island; more importantly, she was one of those men who supported the crew from behind the front lines. She had none of that inhuman strength or devil fruit abilities, or cool titles. Of course, bounty hunters would come after her. And this time was no different.
As she passed through a narrow alley, men in black started to appear. Sharp eyes pierced through, and pistols emerging their pocket were aimed at her. She looked at them and didn't flinch. Soon enough, one of them talked.
"Give up now, little girl…" a stout man with a squared mustache said while pointing his pistol. "If you come with us peacefully, you won't be hurt…"
Chiaki smirked. Of course they'd want her go without resistance. If she ever did and died, they would lose half the bounty. She stuck out her tongue and lifted her middle finger and said "Not a chance you bearded pig!" This made the old man mad and pulled the trigger.
Chiaki missed the bullet by a hair but still thankful she did. She took out her knife from underneath her jacket and fought her way out of the mess. About 15 men were after her already. Probably too much for her to handle, but she had no choice. Kicks and punches, pistols and clubs were after her. One after another, she evaded and blocked them all until the men were tired. "Ha, that all you got?" she probed with cockiness while panting for air. The man who tried to shoot her was disgusted. He signaled and raised his left hand. A man with a bazooka emerged from behind, his weapon aimed at none other the one with a 15 million belly bounty.
She frowned while stepping back a bit, knowing that the wisest thing to do would be to run away. "Well what the heck…" she murmured with a faint smile. The man smirked and said "The age of Whitebeard is over, girl. We will hunt you one by one until none of you are left. We will be the next to rise…" He laughed hysterically.
Bluffs. She thought as she sulked at the man's remark of Whitebeard's ended reign. She knew Whitebeard was gone, but whenever Whitebeard was insulted, she couldn't just stand and listen. The Old man meant a lot to her, after all. She stepped forward, ready to fight again. "Say that after you beat one of Old Whitebeard's weakest crewmembers you bearded pig!" she said. There was no turning back, and it was too late to run when the guy decided to fire the bazooka.
Room.
A sphere that seemed to have dark Blue shade covered the area. Men started to yell at the top of their lungs, as sounds of clanging and slashing were heard. Chiaki covered her face as the smoke from the fired bazooka spread all over the place. Shambles. She heard someone say, and the men who attacked her screamed again.
She didn't know what happened apart from the Blue sphere and screaming men. When the smoke subsided, what she was the men who attacked her, dismembered.
Her eyes widened. Shocked, confused, relieved, and scared at the same time. A young man in his twenties suddenly appeared when the smoke subsided. His face painted with nothingness. In his right hand was a large sword, resting on his shoulder, He wore a Black and Yellow hoodie printed with most likely to be a Jolly Roger, and weird hat with a weird pattern.
"U… Um…" She tried to speak in spite of the awkwardness. This was probably the person responsible for all the havoc. But it did save her. "I don't know who you are, but you did save me…" The young man didn't say a word but continued to make his way towards her. Somehow, she knew she had seen the face somewhere. "Thank… you…" She said hesitantly.
When all the smoke had finally cleared, she remembered the person. And when she did, it was already too late. The person, whom she thought had saved her, was apparently after her, too.
Scalpel.
He said as he stuck his hand into her chest, and her heart went flying towards the back. Penguin, who had been hiding behind had caught it.
Chiaki felt something ache, but then she couldn't register what had happened. She started to lose consciousness and as she came falling, she caught another glimpse of her attacker. "What did you do?" she said softly as her voice betrayed her. No answer was heard as she stumbled.
Trafalgar Law. She remembered now. Worst Generation. The Surgeon of death.
