Law continued through the groves, counting down the numbers leading up to where his ship was docked. The pirate captain was still in the shady part of town because it was just about the only place one could go and be fairly unnoticed, no matter the bounty on their head.

The liveliness also took the edge off of his mind.

Up ahead of him was your everyday friendly bar fight. Law raised an eyebrow at it and stopped in front of a window. It seemed that even though it was only the afternoon people still found an excuse to get drunk and beat the crap out of each other.

But then what else could a guy expect in the lawless zone?

The pirate captain smirked and turned away, recognizing a few people beyond the panes and successfully dodging a chair as it was hurdled through the glass.

Law coolly turned back to his path.

-Flashback-

Out of the corner of his eyes the boy could finally see the land the crew had been shouting about for the past twenty minutes. Of course he could hardly even risk a sideways glance before having to dodge a deadly blow coming from his sparring partner. Vergo held the same expression he always did, refusing to take off his sunglasses no matter the lighting and not speaking a word unless feeling the burning need to.

Law narrowly escaped an uppercut and quickly defended a blow to the gut. Unfortunately, his size and weight still measured into his fighting technique and usually caused his moves to back fire.

The boy was sent tumbling into the side of the ship, successfully crashing through a few guys and sending them to the floor as well. Of course by now everyone was used to the possible out comes of these sparring sessions but no longer dared to make fun of the boy. Whether the rest of the crew liked it or not, the eight year old was stronger and faster than the majority of them.

Law stood quickly and resumed to rush his teacher.

~0~

No more than a half hour later and the ship was secured to a dock with the crew members hopping onto dry land for a peak inside town. Now that they had been in the Grand Line for a while it was definitely easier to find islands with nothing but pirate ports.

Law climbed up onto the railing and was about to hop off when he was suddenly caught midair.

Very few people on the ship had the balls to do that and only one ever felt the need to.

The boy scowled as familiar laughter sounded off behind him. Suddenly, the young doctor was dropped awkwardly to the dock below, causing Law to lose his balance and fall over when he landed. He sat up, rubbing his head and not bothering to acknowledge the presence that had dropped down beside him.

Law flinched when a wad of cash was tossed onto his lap unexpectedly.

"Your equipment sucks. Go get some new stuff." The pirate said. With that, Doflamingo turned and strode away towards town. Law blinked a few times in slight confusion but drew his attention back down to the money on his lap. He picked it up and quickly counted it, determining all of the possible combinations of things he could get.

But for now, he'd stick to gathering herbs in the forest and maybe save the money for a new gadget.

The island climate was that of a temperate rainforest, meaning it was stock full of great plants but also heavy rainfall. For now, the clouds only hung over the town ominously.

The town was fairly large so it took the boy a while to find the tree line. Over the tops of some buildings he noticed something large and green, assumed it was the forest and set off in that direction.

When he came to the area he was headed for, the boy was marginally dissatisfied. In front of him stood a large, green tent that was nearly four stories high. Law looked up at it, intrigued. He had never seen anything like it except in a few books, but those described the tent as being either white or with red stripes.

But written in fancy letters was the name "Fanty and Cat's Circus Extraordinaire".

Law couldn't even begin to describe how excited he was. The boy dashed up to the front, hoping to see a show or at least look at all of the animals and freaks once or twice.

To his disappointment, the ticket booth was empty and the doors were closed, but that didn't cause him to give up hope. Law began to run the perimeter, thinking maybe he could meet up with someone or find an entrance.

After a couple hundred feet Law finally came to an opening. It was no more than a large tear in the fabric but an entrance nonetheless. The boy smiled sinisterly to himself and slipped in, making sure no one was watching before ducking in the entrance.

Inside was lit up like someone was there working. The kid came out to the front row seats of the audience and glanced around for anyone he could get a hold of. Just as the boy drew in a large breath in order to call out to anyone nearby he was cut off when the sound of something large and metal started creaking somewhere in the tent. Law listened intently for a moment before catching some voices.

"You sure nobody's in they'uh?" Came a man with a heavy accent. Two men wheeling a large contraption came into the ring.

"Ah checked three times before, Pa. Ain't nobody here." The younger man said, moving the tarp covered box into the center of the room.

Law sat quietly, deciding it would be fine for him to stay behind the fence that had been conveniently placed around the ring. He peaked slowly over the top, anticipating what was going to come out from under the tarp.

Just as he finished imagining a seven foot tall dragon with green scales and three heads the covering was dramatically thrown off. Law marveled at the discovery anyhow though. Revealed underneath was a tiger, a bangle one with a fierce attitude. The animal lunged for the man, moving the whole cage a few inches closer to the older man. He only grimaced and grabbed the whip from his belt, securing it in his hands and smacking it against the cage. A growl came from the tiger and the boy snickered to himself. He had all he needed to see from these buffoons and decided to look for more of the animals.

Quietly, Law crept to the back of the stands and jogged along the perimeter before he came to another doorway. The boy turned the handle and poked his head inside. When he didn't see anyone, Law gingerly stepped in and closed the door behind him.

He was back outside yet still in the tent enclosure. In front of him was cages with different animals lounging around on the floor and chewing on some hay. There were camels and an elephant, dogs, cats, a hippo, a few giraffes and some empty cages.

Law walked down each of these cages and marveled at the animals, taking in their strange shapes until he eventually came to a cage with nothing but a white blob of fur in it.

For a moment Trafalgar Law didn't know what he was looking at until he saw it move. As soon as the eyes and nose were visible Law was instantly aware that the blob was a baby snow bear.

One of the very few that were left, if he remembered correctly.

It didn't seem like this little guy wasn't getting a break in life either. The snow bear laid on the ground, head and shoulders trying to wedge themselves firmly in the gaps in the bars while reaching for a plate of food just out of his grasp. Law stood for a moment, just long enough to realize the poor little guy needed help.

The boy walked over to the cage, earning a few looks from neighboring animals and the attention of the snow bear. The cub retracted his arm and tried his best at a roar.

The gesture had no effect on the boy except to make a smirk appear on his face. Law picked up the dish of food, examined it to see of it was still any good. When he was satisfied, he placed the dish in front of the baby snow bear and quickly looked for an exit. Law found it and turned back, happy to see the little guy munching away at his meal.