Landing just feet from the ship, the Sunny sent a spray of sea water up and over the railings, dousing both ships. Zoro mutely waved his hand, and the Straw Hat crew took a few steps backward. Zoro pulled out his Wado Ichimonji, holding it right in front of him, pointing at the ship with the blade. He sliced it downwards, expecting the ship to cut into two, but the ship didn't so much as creak. He snorted. They did some serious coating on this thing if it could survive that. The Sunny inched closer, but suddenly crashed into an invisible forcefield and came to a shuddering stop.
"They're using some kind of magic!" Usopp shouted, noticing the way the sun's rays glinted off of something invisible and shiny. On the Dragon's ship, a few guards came running to the surface, weapons in hand. When they noticed the Sunny couldn't get any closer, they laughed and jeered at the pirates, mocking them. But the pirates didn't care for the insults, or the fact they couldn't get any closer. Because something very familiar was rising out of the water. A submarine. The sub pulled up alongside the pirate ship, and the top opened up. Someone climbed out and stood on the sub, arms crossed, face solemn.
"I heard Straw Hat-ya was here?" Law said coldly. Not waiting for a reply, he held out his hand, palm facing downwards. "Room!" A small sphere appeared and expanded until it covered nearly a whole mile of sea. Law pulled out his sword, then sliced it at the ship. The forcefield neatly split in half, and the halves dispersed into glittering dust. Once the guards aboard the Dragon's ship realized that, they panicked, calling for reinforcements. But it was already too late. Once they had gotten the chance, the pirates, Law included, surged onto the ship.
"Look for Luffy," Zoro ordered, pointing at Law. The surgeon didn't disobey, nor did he outright refuse. Instead, he wordlessly slipped inside the ship, face grim as he cut down the guards in his way. "Hold them off so Tra-guy won't have any trouble!" Zoro moved to the doorway, all three swords out in a defensive stance. The Straw Hat crew-now his crew- obeyed instantly, moving to stand beside Zoro and fend off the guards that had appeared from nowhere. Most probably came from the room above, but that wasn't important. What was important was that they kept them back.
"Found him!" Chopper's ear twitched. He was the only one that heard.
"He found him!" Chopper breathed quietly. "I'm going in!" Zoro nodded, and Chopper backed inside, using Kung-Fu Point to kick someone away from Sanji's unprotected back. He followed Law's scent, worried by the smell of fresh blood. He turned the corner and paused. There was someone in front of him, but it wasn't Law. No, this person was fat, ugly, and smelled horrible. Chopper almost got ready to fight, but the person pitched forward, landing on the wooden floor with a loud crash. The ship lurched, and it took Chopper a second to regain his balance. Once he did, he carefully climbed over the body. And promptly froze.
"We don't have time! Move it!" Zoro jumped away from the door as it exploded off it's hinges. Chopper, in Arm Point, dashed out, carrying something big covered in cloth. It took Zoro a moment to register that the cloth was stained with red, and that a hand was dangling out from a fold, painted crimson. He instantly knew.
"Retreat!" he shouted. All the pirates, even the Heart Pirates, drew back to their ship and submarine. The Dragon guards cheered as if they had one, but their cheers turned to cries of alarm as their ship broke into pieces, leaving them stranded in the sea. The pirates didn't turn back.
Once the crew was aboard, Chopper disappeared inside. Nobody said a word. Their conversations were just brief glances, and their movements were small and subdued.
"Robin!" The woman walked to the infirmary at Chopper's call. She was the least affected by blood and violence out of everyone in the crew, Chopper included, so it made sense that she would be called. That left only six on the deck, nervously shifting and glancing once in a while at each other. Once, Zoro went to go peer at the wreckage they left behind. There was only a few guards left, desparately clutching on scraps of wood floating on the sea's surface. He had scoffed at them, and nearly put them out of their misery, but Nami's hand on his shoulder stopped him. He impatiently turned to the navigator, a cutting remark on his lips, but he stopped at her expression. Nami shook her head slowly, then turned and sat under her tangarine trees, absently tossing an orange between her hands.
They hadn't had the chance to say a proper good-bye to Law, but Zoro could sense them trailing behind, waiting to either be noticed or recieve a report on Luffy's condition. Even if Law wouldn't admit it, he was worried about the Straw Hat captain, and he wanted to know if Luffy would be okay or not. Luffy did always have that effect on people, Zoro thought in amusement. Making friends out of enemies and strangers.
"You better not die on me, Luffy."
Yep, Law helped save them all. And the Heart Pirates are going to be around for quite a while, until I get tired of Law. *Which will never happen*
