The next morning Zoro found Nami watching the news when he went downstairs.
"Morning. The major news is reporting over 50 casualties in the explosion, but human news sources are saying it's more like 10 or 20. There apparently have been a lot of arrests, too, but no names have been released as of yet. Lucci is claiming responsibility, saying they followed the Emerald Prince to his evil lair. Congratulations on becoming an official of the Revolutionary Army, by the way," Nami concluded her update with a snicker.
"So I'm evil now," Zoro grunted, settling down on the couch. "Any word on Luffy?" he asked anxiously.
She shook her head. "I've called a donor of mine who will probably know what is actually going on. He'll be here soon, and I'm paying him to feed you since your aura looks like crap right now. Don't think I didn't notice all of the blood last night," she chided him.
"Bullet wound. Pretty much healed," he said with a shrug.
"I'm also charging you twice what he costs plus interest," she said smugly, uncrossing and recrossing her legs.
"How generous," he said flatly, but in reality, he was getting hungry and didn't want a repeat of what nearly happened with Sanji the other night. He just hoped that Nami's donor could be trusted, because he would most likely be recognized.
"Is this guy going to turn me in the second he leaves?" Zoro asked.
Nami shrugged. "I know he sometimes takes information instead of money, so it seems like he knows a lot of secrets. Whether he keeps them, who knows?" she laughed lightly, relishing the scowl on the sulking incubus's face.
"You have to play to win, Zoro," the orange-haired succubus reminded him.
"Wonderful. Perfect donor for you. I bet he never charges you with your loud mouth," Zoro grumbled under his breath.
He heard a soft scuff on the carpet as Sanji appeared on the landing of the stairs, freshly showered and wearing the old dress clothes that Zoro had set out for him. The dark gray shirt, black tie, and suit coat he had worn for Bellemere's funeral didn't look half bad on the cook.
"Good morning, Nami-swan! Any news?" Sanji inquired cheerfully, sauntering down the stairs and digging through the fridge for breakfast ingredients, unable to resist the urge to cook for a beautiful woman, even one who wouldn't be eating it.
The doorbell rang while Nami was repeating her explanation of the conflicting reports for the cook.
When she opened the door, a black-haired man with tattoos on his arms and dark circles under his eyes stepped in. He spotted Zoro immediately, and a sly smile crept across his face.
"I didn't realize I would be servicing the Emerald Prince, Nami-ya," he said with a gleam in his eye.
Sanji appraised the newcomer from the kitchen. "Who is that?" he whispered to Zoro.
"No clue," the green-haired man said back.
"Guys, this is Trafalgar Law. It looks like you are already familiar with Zoro, and this is his friend Sanji," Nami introduced them.
"Have you heard what happened to my friend Luffy and his brother Sabo? They were supposed to be with the Revolutionaries when the explosion happened," Zoro impatiently asked him.
"Roronoa-ya," Law said smoothly, using his throne name. "Let's get the business I came here for out of the way, and then we can discuss that." He started up the stairs, pausing to make sure the incubus was following.
Sanji glowered at the tattooed man as Zoro reluctantly got up and fell in behind him.
As soon as they disappeared, the cook snatched his cigarette pack from the counter and escaped out to the back porch to smoke.
Nami peeked her head out the sliding glass door. "You ok?" she asked.
"I'm alright, my dear. Worried about my old man," Sanji told her, taking a long draw off his cigarette. "But I'm better with your pretty face around," he added with a boyish grin, his eye sweeping over her.
Nami squinted at him, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm sure you are," she muttered with a bored inflection. "You might ask Law if one of his contacts has heard anything," she offered.
"Can we trust this guy, Nami-san?" the cook asked, his voice steeped in worry.
"Depends. Law hates the current monarchy, and I've heard from a reliable source that he has his own plans to move against the palace. Zoro will need someone with Law's network of spies and information gathering skills if he wants to take the throne, which is the only way he's ever paying me back," the succubus said, clasping her hands together like she were praying as visions of cash filled her eyes like a shower of falling cherry blossoms.
"Think of all the treasure in the palace!" she exclaimed jubilantly, making Sanji's heart melt a little.
The cook cleared his throat as he remembered the concern he had been about to bring up.
"You didn't tell him Zoro would be here, right? It just seemed to me like Law was pretending to be surprised, that he was expecting him all along. And then he insists on screwing him the second he walks in the door with barely a hello, like he's trying to get him to drop his guard or something, not that it's any of my business," he huffed, taking a hard puff of smoke.
Nami squinted at Sanji, her eyes slightly out of focus as she studied the unseen energies that radiated from his body. A mischievous grin spread across her face.
"You know, the only reason that he's up there with Law right now is because he's hungry. That's it. He's just eating food. You're not up there because you're not food to him. And as tasty as you are, that's no small thing. We don't feed on those we care about the same way as random donors," she reassured him with a wink.
"What?! It's nothing like that, Nami-san! I think you misunderstood me!" he blurted out, nearly dropping his cigarette.
"I wouldn't bet on it," she laughed playfully, ducking back in and closing the door.
Sanji leaned heavily on the railing of the deck, shaking slightly. He decided to blame the burn of his cheeks on the chill of the morning air.
They came back down in a shorter amount of time than Sanji had predicted. He thought that Zoro's color looked better, his movement more energetic. Law looked about the same as he did before, but it was hard to tell with his drab and serious nature. They all found a seat in the living room to talk.
"First of all, I have something to show you both," Law announced, fishing some folded papers out of his pants pocket. He uncrinkled them and handed them to Zoro.
"Our arrest warrants," the incubus muttered as he thumbed through the documents.
"So you did know we'd be here in advance," Sanji said coldly.
Zoro froze as he got to Sanji's warrant. He met Law's steady grey eyes for some kind of explanation.
"This can't be right," Zoro said, letting Sanji snatch the papers out of his hand.
"Execute on sight? What the hell did I do?!" the cook exclaimed.
"Luffy-ya has a similar one as well. They're forcing you to make your move, Roronoa-ya. The authorities want you to show yourself so they can capture you and take the Conqueror's Haki that's been eluding them. That is why they've moved against the Revolutionary Army and your friends. They think you'll have no support system, and that's where they're mistaken. There are many who are moving against King Lucci and his allies who are not Revolutionaries," Law hinted.
The tattooed man's haggard eyes were like coals as his intense stare burned into the Prince. "I need your help, and if you choose to help me, I'll use my resources to locate your friends," he said, dangling the bait.
"You seem like the kind of guy who does pretty well without help," Zoro said gruffly.
"If I could do this myself, I would. That's why I want to form an alliance with you," Law told him.
Zoro laughed under his breath. "You're the type would would screw over his own mother if it got you what you wanted. No thanks," the incubus snarled.
"All I need is to get into certain parts of the palace that I can't access right now, doors that only you, the current bearer of the Conqueror's Haki, can open. Unlock these sealed doors for me, and I'll find your friends in exchange," the grim man explained.
"Zoro. Listen to me very carefully, because this is important," Nami interrupted. She took in a deep breath.
"The palace has a lot of treasure, so if you ever want to pay me back, you better go find some of it for me, alright?" she told him with deadly seriousness.
"The Royal Treasury was one of my stops," Law said, nodding. "Surely you want something from there for yourself, perhaps a family heirloom?"
Zoro hummed, thinking hard, his face scrunched up as he struggled to account for all of the factors. His eyes darted over to the fast-thinking cook, who was calmly watching him from an oversized armchair with a regal air.
He got up and lightly kicked Sanji's shoe, motioning for him to follow.
"I'm going to have a talk with my advisor," the incubus told Law, leading the confused cook up to his bedroom.
Sanji gave him an unimpressed look as he surveyed Zoro's disheveled room. "Why the hell am I up here, marimo?" he asked.
Zoro grimaced, mentally asking himself that same question as he started to regret asking for this smart ass's help.
"I need someone else's take on this," he explained.
"Ha. You've never given a damn about my opinion before," the cook said in a snarky tone.
The incubus took in a generous breath. "Look. This is a shitty situation that could go very badly for me. I just need you to not be a dick for five minutes," he said, anxiously rubbing a hand across his forehead.
Sanji's eyebrow twitched. "Fine. What do you want from me?" he huffed.
"What do you think about what he said?" the incubus asked him.
Sanji seemed to look right through Zoro as he paused in thought. "This guy is really sketchy. I'd like to know how he knew we were here before he even came over. As for his offer, I wouldn't step foot in the palace again unless you are planning on reclaiming your birthright. I've been wondering about that myself - are you going to go for the throne?" he asked evenly.
"I've never wanted anything to do with it," Zoro said forcefully, then he sighed, relenting.
"But it seems like these assholes who are chasing me won't stop until I'm dead, and if Luffy became King, things would change for the better. Plus I'm going to have fix things so you can go back to the Baratie or else you'll bitch at me for the rest of eternity," the green-haired man said, giving the cook a beleaguered frown.
Sanji's gaze jumped up to search Zoro's eyes as Nami's words on the deck echoed through his brain.
"Since when do you give a shit about me?" the cook responded, his spiral eyebrows drawing together.
"No, you're right, curly brow. I don't care. I'm really doing this so I can finally join that yacht club," Zoro replied acidly.
"Will you shut up?!" Sanji hissed. "We don't have time for this. I'll take that as a yes then, you're going to do it. What a way to announce it, asshole," he grumbled.
The incubus shrugged. "What now?"
"I guarantee you he already knows where Luffy and Sabo are since he seems so confident about finding them. Make him tell you that first before you make the alliance, because what he's offering isn't enough for you to go risk your life, although paying back Nami-san would be a really good idea," the cook advised.
Zoro rolled his eyes.
"You need to argue for something more since Law is definitely getting the better deal right now. There must be something awfully important behind those sealed doors if he wants to sneak into the palace for it. This would be the perfect setup for a trap, having you voluntarily walk into the place that's most dangerous for you."
"However, if he has the intelligence gathering skills Nami-san says he does, they would be absolutely necessary for success in reclaiming your throne. It also seems like he's skirting around the fact that he has allies that are also against Lucci, and you need all the help you can get if you're really going to do this," Sanji told him.
"So I have to play to win," Zoro mused, absentmindedly cupping his chin.
Sanji nodded. "You have to decide if he can actually get you that information, if you can use those allies, and if it's worth the risk of him possibly turning on you," he said.
As Zoro considered that, he realized he had never really taken anything the cook said to heart like this before. He had to admit that he was perhaps a little more intelligent than he had given him credit for.
They went downstairs to finish up with Law, now ready for battle.