Title: Seafaring Heartless: Exit North Blue

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. It belongs to Eiichiro Oda. The following story is a work of fanfiction only.

Summery: Law had to admit that when one considered the state of the world and that he didn't have the temperament to sit on his heels as a civilian, piracy was by far a better option than joining the marines. Pirates may be considered evil by the majority, but Law had met quite a few of the world's navy who were corrupt to the core and putting up a very thick facade. He reasoned that if he was going to manipulate and scheme his way into that goal, at least he was going to be honest enough to admit it.

Genre: Adventure

Rating: T, If you can handle the original Manga and/or Anime (subs or Funimation dub) you've probably got nothing to worry about as I intend to write this at about the same level.

Pairings: I do not intend to write any pairings at this time.

Chapter Fourteen

Check and Mate: The Match is Won

When Law woke, his head was pounding. Not just the dull throb of little sleep and overwork, but the unceasing sharp stabs through both temples and all his sinuses cavities that came as a side effect of the involuntary drugged sleep he had been subjected too. The pain was so intense that he almost didn't even want to open his eyes, but he knew that was a necessity. Whatever was happening he was going to have to work through his own extreme discomfort and continue with his plans. Besides the sooner he finished things here the sooner he could return to the submarine, treat himself properly, and go to bed.

It was the sound of voices that convinced him it was worth admitting he was awake, but when he opened his eyes the blinding light along with the sounds that rattled his head were enough to make him feel nauseous. He forced his face to remain blank. There was no point to admitting that they had gotten to him, no point in admitting that he had miscalculated when he had decided to let himself be captured. No point in admitting that had they administered any more of the drug then they had, he might not be waking up at all. There were men Law had met that were eerily like himself, same thought processes and everything, men who would claim they believed in planning and the proper manipulation of circumstances, that there was no such thing as luck. But Law had learned the opposite in his twenty four years of life. Now, like in past events, there was no doubt in his mind that he was incredibly lucky. He was, however, going to have to learn to read situations better if he had any hope of never allowing this to happen again.

"So, you are awake, Clancy-san." Stated a highly amused voice that went straight through Law's head. "I was beginning to think my men had over done it." Law looked up straight into Nekonushi's piercing eyes and smiled. The man in question jerked back in surprise giving Law a chance to get a grasp of his surroundings.

He was tied to a wooden ladder backed chair seated in the center of what appeared to be a large warehouse. Some feet in front of him was a sturdy scrubbed wooden table upon which Monique Jacqueline was seated, legs crossed and kicking the top foot in irritation. Nekonushi had backed up to lean against the same table and crossed his arms. Surrounding all three of them was a large group of men in black suits. More of the security personnel like the man who had grabbed and drugged him. But none of that was what caught Law's eyes.

The warehouse itself was full of crates containing various supplies each stamped quite boldly with the logo of Pencroff and Sons'. "Ah I've seen you've noticed, Clancy-san." Nekonushi smiled. "Yes, I've taken you to his warehouse. Though technically an ally the man has been a thorn in my side for quite some time and should anything untoward happen, well, we both know who would take the blame."

Law continued smiling. "Untie me, Nekonushi-ya, and perhaps we can talk about what it is I seem to have done to upset you."

Nekonushi frowned at Law's sudden lack of manners, but snapped his fingers and second later a guard was loosening his bonds. The moment he was free Law smirked and leaned forward resting his arms across his knees and ignoring the protesting pain from his head that made the whole world momentarily spin. "I take it the reason you've brought me here like this is because you've finally taken the time necessary to discover that the plans I sold you were flawed?" Law watched with satisfaction as the blood drained from Nekonushi's face and Monique Jacqueline sat up with a start.

"The reason you're here," Nekonushi said licking his lips, "Is because my men were supposed to bring my money back to me and when they finally caught up to you, you no longer had it."

Law chuckled lightly ignoring the pained protest from his head, "Well, you have been a naughty, naughty boy haven't you, Nekonushi-ya?"

"And what, precisely, might you mean by that?" Nekonushi sneered. Behind him Law heard one of the guards crack his knuckles.

Law only laughed and shook his head though he instantly regretted doing so. "You know it puzzled me." He started deciding to have it all out here and now, ignoring Nekonushi's frown, "Why a company with whole halls filled with priceless artwork would have only two security den den mushi. Most people would just assume the rest were hidden, but I, I have been trained to see them. So why would a wealthy businessman such as yourself be so willing to needlessly invite thievery unless you were hiding something else. And surely you wouldn't be so incompetent as to not hire proper security personnel." It was almost funny how much their facial expressions told him. Nekonushi had gone white as a sheet while Monique Jacqueline's posture had suddenly become completely rigid. Oh yes, he had hit the nail on the head.

"Yet, there were only two guards when I visited," Law continued. "Two for the entire building full of priceless artwork. There was something I wasn't seeing. Your own staff solved it for me when Verne decided he was going to cause that little disturbance outside your front doors. The main secretary of yours stepped out to help contain the situation. He shouldn't have done that. You see the moment he did I knew that your offices were in fact crawling with security. Not in den den mushi or alarms or any form of surveillance that could catch whatever it was you were doing, but in personnel. Well-trained staff, people whose loyalty could be bought if the price was high enough. You see Nekonushi-ya, video footage cannot be faked, it cannot lie. People on the other hand, can."

Nekonushi's hands were shaking now. A casual glance at the security guards showed that they were holding their position even if they were shooting uncertain glances at one another. "It was then that I realized what you were doing. Why everything was on paper so easily disposed of, why there was minimal surveillance, why your staff was so well paid and so highly trained. What in short, it is that you're actually doing. You're embezzling Nekonushi-ya. You're laundering money; you're selling goods on the black market, information as well. All of that and more." Law folded his hands tapping his index fingers together in a gesture that implied he knew even more. "More importantly you're doing it all on your own. Why else would you be so secretive about it? If you were working for Doflamingo or another like him it wouldn't matter if the World Government found out, it'd all be good. He is after all one of their own." Law smirked.

"Prove it!" Nekonushi spat his face red now with rage.

"Gladly." And out of a hidden pocket on the inside of his suit jacket Law pulled a handful of photographs.

-:-:-:-

Shachi jumped into a forward roll as the snake man's tail crashed down onto the ground he'd been standing on moments earlier. Behind him Bepo leapt to the side. Both were required to dodge a stream of cactus spines as they came to their feet. It seemed that the concept of individual combat had been abandoned as Kakutamon and Oushigi decided to work together to beat down both Bepo and himself. Well, Shachi mused, two could play at that game. But before he could get near enough to the bear to work out a strategy Kakutamon launched himself across the ground, curling into a ball, spines growing out of every available surface yelling the words "cactus spine boulder!"

Shachi dodged, not because he was afraid of getting hurt if he got hit, but because he simply couldn't see an easy way to grab and suppress the man when he was curled up like that. Ideally he'd like to dunk both opponents into a pool of water and leave them paralyzed, but there was no way to get near enough to the edge of the docks to make that a viable possibility, and there was no sea-stone nearby that he knew of. That meant the availability of decent options for victory were limited. Still, there was always the chance that if he kept dodging long enough they would wear their opponents down enough for them to do something stupid. Either that or he could attempt to make them mad. Shachi suddenly grinned, now there was an idea.

Across the way Shachi could see Bepo dancing around Oushigi's form in an attempt to get at the snake man's head. It was a good idea, except that the ice-bear's nine foot tall bulk was simply too large to make it through the few opening his opponent left open. Well, perhaps Shachi could take care of two birds with one stone.

"Hey, Okema," Shachi shouted at Kakutamon, "what do you say we call this a draw. You obviously lack the ability to make this interesting and I'm getting a little tired of wasting my time!" The reaction was immediate. With a roar of rage Kakutamon uncurled from his ball thrust his hands out in front of him and began shooting a spray of needles from his palms.

They probably would have hit him had he not already been moving. Running towards Bepo Shachi leapt over Oushigi's tail and dropped to a crouch behind as the telling sound of the spines hit Kakutamon's partner instead of him. Oushigi reacted just enough to spare Shachi an annoyed glance, his scales having deflected the needles leaving him without so much as a scratch. There was a brief moment when Shachi believed he could see a flower starting to form on the side of Kakutamon's head, but there was no time to be sure and seconds later he was dodging a strike in attempt to avoid Oushigi's fangs. Those teeth were sharp, and far more dangerous than Kakutamon's needles.

Yet as Shachi jumped and rolled out of the way Bepo was moving in, both paws raised overhead obviously planning on bringing them down in a fist on top of Oushigi's head. Before the bear could complete the blow Oushigi's nose shot forward and back, not trying to bite, but striking with the blunt tip of his closed mouth in true nature of his actual form, the bull snake. The blow struck Bepo's abdomen as the bear sailed through the air, sending him tumbling head over heads into the steal side of a nearby storage container leaving a sizable dent.

Shachi didn't dare spend the time to find out if Bepo was ok. Instead his attention was focused on Kakutamon. There was a blossom forming on the side of his head. The man's face was red with rage and the flower was growing with each angry breath he took. The spines around that flower were growing longer and sharper as well. Unlike the previous needles the man had been shooting these might actually be capable of doing more than just sticking to everything. Kakutamon turned sideways and Shachi began to run.

"Blooming Needle Beam of Rage!" Kakutamon roared, and this time, even the scale armored Oushigi got out of the way.

Shachi made it to Bepo's side just in time. Grabbing the bear-mink's paw just as he made it shakily to his feet, Shachi launched himself around the near side of the storage container and pulled them both behind. The pinging sound of the needles hitting the first wall and tearing through to hit the wall behind their heads was a bit nerve rattling, but Shachi forced himself to remain calm. He'd already seen the solution to their pest problem, he just needed the bear-mink to agree.

"That was dangerous!" The minkman moaned.

"Bepo," Shachi panted struggling to catch his breath, "Is it alright with you if we switch opponents?"

-:-:-:-

The photos Law pulled out of his pocket were of course the very same pictures that Mouse had snapped when he had snuck into Nekonushi's office. The very same pictures they had sat around Phineas's dining room table sorting. Fortunately for the Heart Pirates those photos had been full of little tidbits that could help them in their goal, Shipping schedules of black market goods for example, locations and times for payoffs, the sailing patterns of marine ships they wished to avoid, a separate ledger containing numbers which did not match the numbers of the company's supposed profit. Law had taken the opportunity to clip those last photos together so they could be compared side by side. Now he handed them over without a qualm. "Please don't be stupid enough to think these are the only copies." He smirked as the man in question took them. Somewhere behind him one of the guards dropped something that echoed with a loud metal ping and Law forced himself not to wince as the sound went straight through his head.

"I don't understand how are these supposed to . . ."

"Try actually reading what's on them, Nekonushi-ya," Law scoffed.

By this time Monique Jacqueline had slid off the table and approached her boss to look at the photographs over his shoulder. "What? These were taken in your office," she gasped. "How? The Lindy girl!" her eyes suddenly widened in horror, "she didn't have her camera during our meeting! That boy must have gotten inside after all!"

"I don't understand!" Nekonushi muttered again, "I thought you were selling us faulty submarine documents."

Law smiled, "that was only half of it."

Four Days Earlier . . .

"The bear's right," Verne said, "What are we going to sell him? And more importantly how is a fiddle game going to save HullDesign from a world government buyout?"

"It's not," Law answered leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, "at least not by itself. My status as a non-local of this island is going to allow me to do the one thing nobody else here can. I'm going to buy Nekonushi-ya's share of the company right out from under him. However, to do so successfully he can't see what's happening until the very last instant."

"The fiddle game's a distraction tactic," Shachi pointed out bluntly stating the obvious, "because if we're trying to sell something we should be able to talk with nearly any ship builder on the island and only look as though we're seeking the right buyer."

"When we're actually convincing those most likely to help Nekonushi'ya to sell us their shares." Law's grin in that moment had been one of a man who had just found a promising challenge.

. . . Present

"You might want to take a good look at the photos on the bottom of that pile," he smirked gesturing vaguely. "I think you might find those of the greatest interest."

Frowning at him Monique Jacqueline took the photos from an increasingly worried looking Nekonushi, pulled the pictures in question, and nearly dropped the whole stack when she saw what they contained. "What are these?" She demanded.

"Those?" Law's smile widened, "those are photos of the documents recording the sale of certain shares of your company . . . to me." It really had been good thinking to have Lindy take and develop pictures of those transaction receipts once they'd been completed. As for keeping them in his pocket at all times since, well it paid to be prepared. "You'll recognize the names of course, all those who were going to sell to you. They were a bit hesitant about speaking to me that first day, but once they saw you greeting me outside your office, not to mention taking me to lunch . . . it was a simple thing to convince them that you had hired me to handle those transactions. Of course, you thought I'd approached them about the blueprints didn't you?"

The Previous Day . . .

Law sat in the office of one Glassknow-san facing the bespectacled, salt and pepper haired man across a large mahogany desk "That seems a little low," the man grumbled.

Law had only smiled, "what do you expect, you threw me out of your office the other day, and then there's the little fact that once the World Government takes over the value of the company will drop. When you think about it you're actually making a profit compared to what the price would be if you sold your shares after the main sale. As for us, well, this is a risky investment on our part." Glassknow had nodded in understanding and Law continued. "Now just so the others don't get jealous of your price, why don't we say I was trying to sell you blueprints for a submarine . . ."

. . . Present

"Give me those documents, now!" Nekonushi hissed lunging at Law, but the man's vice president held him back. Her face looked worried, but there was a shrewd calculating look to her eyes. Law would have been more worried had the look not been there. He liked knowing he wasn't dealing with a company completely made up of idiots. Stupid people did stupid things after all.

"Do you really think I'd be dense enough to have them on me?" Law's head throbbed with each of the resulting yells to that statement, but he was almost done here. Just a little longer, a few more words, and he could return to the sub.

"I suppose it would be futile to ask what you actually did do with those bills of sale?" Monique Jacqueline murmured.

"Don't worry they're someplace safe." Law replied. "Sadly I don't have your money either, so I can't give you a refund, as that is the next thing you probably want to ask. That sale was technically legal anyway. You really should have been paying more attention to what you were buying." He shook his head slightly as if in disbelief that these people could have been so stupid as to not see it. "Besides, I have plans for that money. You see in order to buy those shares I had to spend something, and what you gave me for those blueprints was more than enough to refund my crew three times over, not to mention what I'll make from having a foothold in this company. Especially after it's value sores when the world government deal falls through, and even if you don't inform them that you don't have the control necessary to sell, it will fall through. They can't have a questionable deal take place in this part of the ocean, not after what happened on Krocylea."

-:-:-:-

Zharrah had freed herself from Penguin's grip by aiming a kick to his groin. That was one blow he was not going to take no matter who he was fighting. He glared as the woman laughed wildly flourishing the rapier. Penguin twirled the pipe in his own hand. Off to the side he saw Shachi and Bepo diving behind a metal storage container, seconds later the cactus man was shooting needles at them and Penguin's eyes widened in shock as he watched those needles rip through the front wall of said container. Weren't those needles supposed to be harmless? Damn, he cursed mentally, he was going to have to stop playing around and actually finish this so he could help them if needed. Penguin had been half hoping Zharrah would grow tired of the endless circles and give up.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your own fight!" Zharrah snarled and lunged at him again. This time Penguin was ready. He shifted his length of pipe as he dodged so the Zharrah's blade slid through one end out the other, and then with a simple twist he was able to wrench the rapier out of her hand. At the same time he lunged forward using his elbow to strike the woman on the jaw. He tried not to hit her too hard, but she still staggered back several paces and sat down heavily in the dirt shaking her head as if she was disoriented. Seconds later Phineas was there length of rope in hand, taking full advantage of the woman's suddenly confused state to tie her up beyond any chance of escape.

"Well done, well done." The man grinned at him handlebar mustache quivering with the expression, "especially for one who obviously didn't want to fight her in the first place." His smile slipped slightly as he looked across the way towards the container Bepo and Shachi had temporarily hidden behind, "no offence meant towards your companions, but if they don't finish this soon my work men will come back from their lunch break and I can make no guarantee that they won't get involved."

Before Penguin could speak, Shachi and Bepo came charging around opposite sides of the storage container, each shouting in rage as if to intimidate their opponents. In fact Bepo's full out snarl was nothing short of hair-raising and Penguin felt a little shiver of alarm roll down his spine at the sound of it. It did make sense though; Bepo was a minkman with the form of an ice-bear after all.

What was surprising about the arrangement, however, was the fact that they had seemingly switched opponents. It took Penguin only a few seconds to realize why. Bepo had been able to full out charge Kakutamon, his bulk barreling down on the cactus man at an incredible speed, the man's cactus spins getting stuck harmlessly in the bear-mink's fur. Penguin wondered briefly why Kakutamon wasn't shooting the more dangerous spine he seemed capable of creating, before he noticed that the flower on the man's head that connected to those spines, seemed to have wilted. As he faced down the angry minkman, in spite of still shooting stream after stream of needles from his palms, Kakutamon seemed to be quivering in fear.

Shachi on the other hand seemed to having a much easier time taking on Oushigi than Bepo had earlier. His smaller frame and greater agility allowed the man to slip through gaps in the serpent man's defenses that Bepo never would have made, and while Oushigi's tail probably presented a greater threat to Shachi's more fragile, human body, Shachi had always been light on his feet. The man made avoiding the snake's blows look like child's play.

Bepo reached Kakutamon in a matter of seconds, sweeping the man up into what looked like a bone breaking bear hug. Crushing the man into his chest, against his own cactus needles that were tangled in the fur, Bepo squeezed tighter and tighter until the man went limp, when he simply dropped Kakutamon to the ground and walked away. A low groan escaped the injured man's mouth indicating he was still alive, but probably going to need a great deal of medical attention.

Shachi meanwhile, had managed to slip through Oushigi's coils, and successfully dart up from behind placing the serpent man into a chokehold. How he had gotten his arms around the snake's thick neck Penguin wasn't sure, but soon after Oushigi too was lying on the ground unconscious. Penguin smiled. It seemed he wasn't going to have to get involved after all. A relief really. If he set his shoulder back again . . . well it wasn't a pleasant thought. Besides, Penguin mused, if all went well he'd actually be able to fight for real next time.

-:-:-:-

He was done here. There was nothing left but to tell the people the consequences of their actions, and leave. Law sighed and rose to his feet brushing off the legs of his pants as he did so. "I regret to inform you that copies of those photos will find their way not only to your local authorities but to the closest marine base at my earliest convenience. Monique-san, I suggest you have Nekonushi-ya arrested before his failed reputation brings you down with it. I also suggest that you clear out of here before you are discovered and Phineas-san has you arrested for trespassing." It was deliberate. Calling Phineas "san" when he had been referring to Nekonushi as "ya" the entire time. "I am sorry to leave you with nothing."

Monique Jacqueline remained completely calm. In fact she even smiled slightly. "Well played, but you haven't actually left me with nothing. I still maintain a good a quarter of the company. Some people did sell before you arrived after all." She laughed and snapped her fingers. The guards surrounding the room jumped. "Men, Have Nekonushi-san taken into custody and held until the authorities can mount a full investigation into what exactly he's been doing behind all our backs." She grinned and Law had to give her credit. That smile nearly matched the cunning of his own. "I'm afraid," she started now looking completely innocent, "that when I found that second ledger I simply had no choice but to contact them."

Nekonushi's eyes widened in horror as two of his own goons stepped forward to each take an arm. "Wait no!" he screamed, and Law's scull felt as though it was about to split in two. "you can't do this!"

"Oh but I can." Monique Jacqueline chucked. "My dear man, just who is it that signs these good people's paychecks?"

It was done. He had won. Not bothering to hide his sigh this time Law turned and headed for the door. No one tried to stop him. If anything they made way, several even nodding in respect.

"Wait!" Monique Jacqueline called after him. Law stopped and waited though he didn't look back. "What's your name? Your actual name."

"Trafalgar Law." He answered simply, and in another few steps he was at the door.

-:-:-:-

Bepo grinned a bear's toothy smile of triumph. He'd done it. He'd taken down an enemy. True it had been dangerous, but he had won. The bear-mink looked at the chaos around him. It seemed that during their fight much of the surrounding dockyard had been destroyed. In fact most of it had been broken beyond recognition, not that Bepo knew what most of the junk was supposed to be in the first place.

And it would seem that Bepo was not the only being present who looked around with surprise. Many of the workmen were returning from wherever they had gone to get food, and their expression were one of complete horror and disbelief.

"Sir, hey, Sir," one called out in confusion, "what happened here?" looking suddenly weary Phineas sat down next to the woman who had been trying to kill Penguin, now tied up, and simply waved his hand in greeting.

"Pops needs to rest," Verne answered for his father, "any questions can be directed through me for the time being. As for what happened, let just say these guys got a little over zealous in their persuasion tactics and fortunately some of our customers were on hand to take care of things for them. Speaking of which, that yellow submarine . . ."

"I think they finished it right before break." Someone answered.

Verne nodded, " then what needs to happen is this. Someone needs to inform my idiot brother so he can come up with a clean up plan, while Pops rests, and someone needs to get the authorities so we can send these nuts to the slammer . . ."

Just then a light breeze picked up blowing through the wreckage of the dockyards and Bepo sniffed, his nose picking up a very familiar scent. "Captain?" he rumbled, and before anyone could ask what he meant, Bepo was taking off running through the rubble, around various corners, and knocking various things over, generally causing more chaos, until he came to a place that had managed to remain untouched by the battle. He could hear Shachi and Penguin panting behind him as they followed, but Bepo ignored the two men altogether as he focused on his nose.

The breeze had faded by this point, but the scent was still there lingering on the ground and leading towards a large steel sided warehouse up ahead.

"Bepo, what are you doing!" Shachi yelled at him his scent agitated. Penguin said nothing, only looked around, but he too smelled wary.

"The captain's here!" Bepo answered.

"There's always the chance he finished early and walked through the yard on his way back to the submarine . . ." Penguin started.

Bepo cut him off. "No. He's here, I mean in this place, probably inside that building."

"Don't be absurd." Shachi muttered but he never had the chance to say more. With an ear splitting squeal the warehouse door slid open and out stepped Trafalgar Law one hand rubbing his temples.

Bepo watched as the man stopped and blinked in the sunlight moving the hand to shade his eyes before dropping it to his side. He face showed no shock at finding several members of his crew waiting for him, but Bepo could smell his surprise. Yet the scent faded into something far stronger, pain, and a slightly sharp smell Bepo associated with sickness. Was Law ill?

The captain approached them and looked around, suddenly smiling, though the bear-mink wondered briefly if the smile might not have been forced just to reassure them. His suit was only a little rumpled, and Bepo noticed the strange fedora hat was missing, but Law seemed to be in good health. So what was with that pained scent?

Law reached up and rubbed the back of his neck slightly, "Well that was easy." Bepo caught Shachi's expression suddenly going blank and Penguin's slight smile as the man looked at his shoes. Shachi's clothes were torn up, both he and Bepo were covered in dirt, scrapes, bruises, and in Bepo's case cactus needles. Even Penguin sported several rips in his jacket where he had just missed being turned into a walking pincushion by Zharrah, but not one of them said a word. "Everything taken care of out here." Law asked looking at each of them by turn.

It was left to Bepo to reply. "Aye, captain."

Shachi opened his mouth and then closed it again. Law laughed though quickly winced and raised a hand back to his temple. The smell of pain grew stronger and Bepo suddenly knew that whatever he had been doing it had been just as difficult a fight as what the rest of them had just experienced. "What no snarky comments?" The captain managed to smirk at Shachi.

The other man only smiled and readjusted his sunglasses. "No, no I've got nothing."

Together the four, three men and the bear-mink, walked back through the dockyards towards the current location of their submarine. No one spoke as they passed the destruction of the fight, but as Bepo watched, Penguin bent down to pick up the parcel containing the boiler suits that had somehow remained unharmed, a question formed in his ursine mind. "Captain?"

"Yes?" Law answered softly.

"Can I have a boiler suit?" looking down at his chest Bepo half-heartedly began picking out some of the tangled cactus needles. "Maybe if I have one things won't get stuck in my fur so much."

"All right, Bepo, we can get you a boiler suit."

Bepo picked out a few more needles a second question forming as he did so. "Captain?"

"Hmmmm?"

"When we get back to the submarine, can I borrow your hair brush?"