Thanks to crazykittylover who has edited and corrected my English in this chapter.

Enjoy your reading.

Chapter 5

Crime and punishment

Three days later

Kid grinded his teeth as he discovered the extent of the ship's damage.

That night, they had suffered from a storm of hellish portions. Giant hailstones had fallen from the sky into the turbulent seas, creating gigantic waves that struck and buried into the ship until it cracked at the level of the afterdeck and front railing. The wind blew fiercely and the crew, barely recovering from their fright of the hail, had to maneuver with downpours of frigid slush to avoid destructive whirlpools that formed up and away at any second. No one had slept all that night.

The sun was now slowly reappearing over the sea, dissipating the clouds apart along with the veil of the night. Kid then walked over to Killer who was already supervising the repairs.

"We need to find a place to dock," his first mate said to him immediately.

"Is the ship that really messed up?" Kid asked.

"More than that. It's a miracle we're still floating."

The captain sighed.

"Okay, we're gonna take a break…"

"It'd be safer to have something on dry land for a while, Kid" the blond went on.

"Don't start again…"

"The New World is dangerous; we can't cross it as easily as the Grand Line. We're gonna need to think about using strategies" his friend insisted.

Kid scowled. Killer had told him about that before and he knew his first mate was right but it went against all of his instincts. He had no time for patience and hated being burdened with negotiations. For him, things simply came down to those who supported him and those who opposed him. The latter obviously meaning little flexibility apart from fleeing or dying.

"Dammit, I fucking hate when we gotta think instead of kick asses" he growled.

"I know but we've got no choice now anyway. We need a shelter while we fix the ship."

"All right, all right. Do whatever you want…"

A few hours later, Wire spotted a small, wild-looking island. The crew headed towards it enthusiastically and quickly disembarked. While Killer was sending men to get some wood to fill in the gaps as quickly as possible on the ship, Kid ventured into the forest bordering the beach.

The island was no bigger than a small village and it was perfect in that sense. However, the Kidds Pirates crew soon realized that it was far from uninhabited. A tribe of men whom Kid called natives quickly intervened, one because the pirates were chopping their wood and two because their intentions were clearly hostile.

With his legendary impatience, Kid cut off a warrior's head just minutes after they met and the slaughter began. Either way, Killer had said they needed a hideout and the size of this island was perfect, he had decided. Too bad for those who would find themselves in his path.

Kid watched the corpses be piled up in the now empty village square with satisfaction. There was blood everywhere, on him and on the ground. It hadn't taken long to get rid of the inhabitants. None of them had possessed a devil fruit and they had naively believed their spears with metallic ends could hurt him.

In front of their horrified eyes, all he had to do was raise his hand to turn their weapons against them. Women and children had stared at him like he was the devil himself and he loved it. For this reason, he had allowed them to escape so that they would tell everyone about the terrifying aura the great Eustass Captain Kid was emitting.

The rest of his crew was now taking possession of the village. One of his crewmates entered a small house and came out with strange little dolls pierced with thin blades of wood which he showed to the others.

For his part, Killer gave instructions to select the wood that would be used to repair their ship and Kid slumped onto the seat of the former village chief. The sun was high and the ocean air pleasantly refreshed the atmosphere. After all, having a small place on dry land could be nice…

At the same time

Law chewed on his pencil as he was thinking in the middle of his submarine's navigation room. This room was the center of his ship and it had been designed so that the layout would allow everyone to meet there while keeping an eye on course. The Warlord had spread out many maps and letters on his table and was reviewing through all the information he had.

"Captain, you haven't eaten anything" Bepo suddenly spoke with concern, coming closer.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry. I was working" the surgeon replied.

"But the Captain needs to eat," the bear insisted, handing him a plate.

"I'll eat, I promise."

He grabbed the plate and put it down on the table to reassure his first mate. He then leaned towards his main map and compared it to the paper he was studying.

"According to Dressrosa's statements, there are regular trips towards an island further south. I'm sure that's where this Caesar Clown is hiding… I just have to find the right one" he showed him.

"There aren't many habitable islands in that direction" Bepo said, staring at the map.

"Exactly and that's why it makes sense for him to hide on a deserted island, but we don't have time to visit them all. In addition, we could be spotted. I need an informant or at least a sufficiently precise document…"

"There are lots of Doflamingo's customers on the next island", Penguin said a little further, "I'm sure we can find employees there who'll know the details."

"Good idea, Penguin," his captain agreed, "What's the island called?"

"It's a very wealthy island in the Loyotte archipelago" Shashi said, "It's said that the Who's Who take up residence there to have fun."

"There must be plenty of World Nobles," Penguin growled.

"Most certainly" Law said, "This is exactly the kind of place Doflamingo would use to offer a good time to those who dream of making a difference by offering him little favors."

The doctor grabbed his plate and stabbed some pieces of salad with his fork.

"Problem is, I'm too well-known in Doflamingo's circle" he stated, "It'll be hard getting anyone to speak to me and the chance of my presence being known and reaching back to his ears is too high of a risk…"

After swallowing his bite, the captain gazed down at his food and frowned.

"This salad is tasteless" he noted, "Are we really at the end of our reserves?"

"A little bit. It was a salad with crusts of bread rubbed with garlic" Shachi explained.

"It was great but we had to remove everything except the salad so…" Penguin added.

Law sighed and put his plate down.

"I get it, never mind."

"We gotta go shopping anyway" Penguin continued, pulling the list out of his pocket. "Want anything special, Captain?"

"It doesn't matter," he said, getting absorbed into his maps again.

"Captain, do you want some honey?" Bepo then offered him.

"That's nice, but it's your only snack and it's the last pot so you should keep it" the doctor politely declined.

"Put honey on the list!" the bear exclaimed, clearly panicked by the news, turning to his friends.

They sighed. As if they could forget it…

"Bad news, Kid" Killer said as he was coming out of the forest.

"What?" he growled.

The captain had walked around the small island to scout out the area and he had just returned from his inspection when his first mate jumped him. Without a doubt, what the blond was going to tell him wasn't going to please him.

"The guys don't wanna stay on this island," Killer explained.

Kid froze and stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What the hell is this about? We just killed all these assholes and they don't wanna stay?"

"They're afraid of the curse."

"The curse?" Kid choked. "What curse?!"

"Wire found lots of little dolls in the wizard's tent. He must have had time to make some with our portraits before he died because they look a lot like us and he cast a spell by sticking pieces of wood in them."

"Is this a joke?"

Killer shook his head, perfectly serious.

"We also found holy altars with dead crows and piles of poisonous herbs. They don't wanna take any chances."

Kid stared at his best friend for long seconds as he was feeling anger gradually take over him until it poured through his veins in the form of raging waves.

"Goddammit, do they realize who we are?!" he finally yelled at the top of his lungs. "We don't give a shit about these fucking omens!"

"I know, but they don't wanna stay," Killer calmly replied. "Something about their beliefs I think."

The captain turned to his first mate, eyes bulging.

"What the fuck do I look like now?! I'm in charge of a bunch of pussies freaking out in front of the first god passing by?! We're pirates for fuck's sake!"

"What do you want me to tell you? Personal convictions are very important; we need to find a solution."

"And what will they want next time? A holiday?!"

Kid ran a hand over his face, trying to calm himself down to think. Finally, he made a decision.

"Okay. I'll kill them all and we'll take some atheist guys next time. That way, no problem. What you think?"

"I think that's not the smartest thing, Kid. Who's gonna move the ship if you kill everyone? There's no one here."

His captain heavily sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, you ain't wrong. Besides, it pisses me off to get rid of Wire and Heat. They want us to move too?"

"I think they'll choose to follow you. If you wanna stay, they'll stay despite everything."

"Right…"

Kid sighed again and shook his head.

"I'm really too kind" he finally grumbled, "If people knew all that I do for them…"

Killer solemnly nodded.

"Tell yourself this is for the good of the crew and as captain, you must do what's best for us. Find us an island that ain't cursed."

"Fuck, okay" he grumbled. "We're gonna look for an island that ain't cursed…"

"Captain, I got an idea on how to get some information on the next island!" Shachi happily exclaimed as he stepped into the navigation room.

Law looked up from his medical journal and turned to him as their other crewmates were moving closer as well.

"What is it?" the doctor asked.

"We can use Eustass Kid!" he got enthused.

The surgeon stared at him in stunned silence for a moment before smiling.

"I know he's not too bright but I already did it not too long ago, I don't think it'll work this time…"

"Maybe he'll willingly do us a favor," Bepo suggested.

His crewmates stared at him, jaded, before Shachi insisted with a leering grin.

"We need to approach it differently. If he gives us that information, maybe he can get a reward in return…"

His friend's suggestion made his captain laugh, but Penguin did not seem to see the humor or potential in that suggestion.

"Our captain isn't a slut, you jerk! How could you even propose that?!"

"What if one of us just tried to get to the island?" Jean Bart suggested.

"We'll never even make it past the clubs' doors!" Penguin reminded him. "Did you see the level of entitlement needed to set foot there? These guys are real snobs!"

Indeed, the Hearts crew had studied the customs of Snorys inhabitants and to say the least, they were quite fussy about company on their island. Only World Nobles, their families and the high-ranking officers of the Marine were allowed to moor. Nevertheless, some dark clubs made an exception for deliberately inflammatory and well-known personalities. The golden youth of Snorys was bored and seeing a few highly rated pirates causing a bit of a stir was a popular distraction.

Law had therefore his chance to enter the places Doflamingo's minions were spending time in, but to be out in the open didn't seem safe.

"Still, Kid could come in and get the info!" Shachi went on.

"Yeah, sure! And he'll give it to us because he's a helpful and trustworthy person?" Penguin snorted disdainfully. "He's capable of selling us to Doflamingo for free for the fun of seeing us be killed!"

A disappointed silence settled among the crew which Law finally broke a few minutes later.

"I may have an idea," he said, getting up.

His crewmates gazed at him but he pushed back his chair, ignoring their silent questions.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Kid, Den Den Mushi for you."

The red-haired captain raised his head with a sigh. He was feeling stupid ever since he had given in to his crew's demands and promised them to find a suitable island. They had barely patched up the ship before heading back to sea since the crew was in a hurry to get away. In fact, the ship was still on the verge of breaking and they couldn't afford to moor anywhere. If it turned out that the island in question was inhospitable or full of Marine officers, they weren't even sure they could leave. He had made a dangerous decision.

"Who the fuck is it?" he grumbled toward Heat, who was holding the device out to him.

"Trafalgar Law."

"Trafalgar? What the hell is going on now?!"

He snatched the Den Den Mushi from his crewmate's hands and walked to his cabin so as not to hear the sound of the wind.

"What you want?" he roared, grabbing the receiver.

"Well, well, you don't seem in a good mood" the surgeon of death's hushed voice replied.

Kid stared at the device before feeling his anger double in volume. He wasn't feeling like playing today. He had to watch the sea and find a supply point as quickly as possible.

"I'm warning you, I ain't got time to waste!" he barked back.

He saw the Den Den Mushi wince and considered hanging up immediately.

"I have a deal for you."

Kid froze for a moment before smiling excessively.

"Got a problem, Trafalgar? How deep in shit are you that you had to stoop to asking me something?"

"Don't overdo it," the doctor replied. "Let's say it'd save me time."

"And what's in it for me?"

"As soon as you do me this favor, I'll show you the best island to hide within less than fifty miles."

"Wh-What? How do you know, motherfucker?!"

"Your crewmates are chatty," the Hearts captain said, laughing. "I think they're really afraid of ending up in the sea. Though I can understand, many of them ate a devil fruit. And then, I must say that it suits me because now I have something to negotiate."

"I'm gonna kill them," Kid muttered.

"May I explain what it is?" Law eluded.

The captain of the Kidds Pirates ran a hand through his hair in annoyance.

"Go ahead, we'll see if it's worth bothering with" he finally growled.

"I only need information about a place. You can get it on Snorys Island. You're probably close."

Kid grabbed a map from his desk and glanced at it.

"Right" he grumbled. "And how do you know that?"

"We parted not long ago and it's also the next island our Log-Pose points out" the surgeon answered matter of factly.

"Yeah…"

"This island is crawling with Nobles and the list of people allowed to enter is very limited."

"Let me guess, you ain't on the list?" Kid sneered.

"I am, but I'm too well known. I don't want to be spotted."

"What about me?" he wondered.

"You'll be recognized but no one will be suspicious of your presence."

"I see…What should I be looking for?"

"I'll send you the identification sheet of the man and the place where you can find him. I need the place where he loads his cargo."

"Cargo of what? And for whom?"

"You don't need to know that," Law replied. "The less you know, the more you'll go unnoticed. I just want to know the name of this island."

Kid rolled his eyes.

"And after that?"

"During that time, my crew will have found you a safe place to disembark and I'll tell you as soon as I have the information I'm looking for."

"And you can come back and kill us in our sleep" the red-haired captain grumpily pointed it out.

"That's exactly what I'd do if I found out you didn't give me the name of the right island" the doctor seriously stated.

"It's so nice to do business with you, Trafalgar…"

"We both can win, it's up to you. If you agree, send me a message before tonight."

With these words, the doctor hung up and Kid dropped on his bed with a sigh. The idea of making a deal with the surgeon of death didn't really please him. Trafalgar was a cunning and manipulative human being but he was in a difficult position himself right now. If it was enough for him to pick up an island name to be sure he could continue his journey, it was probably in his best interest to seize this opportunity regardless.

"Captain, he answered!" Penguin exclaimed, stumbling into the navigation room.

Around him, everyone gathered to read the fax he had in hand but for his part, Law didn't look up from his book.

"He agreed!" Shachi exclaimed, laughing.

As his crewmates were congratulating each other, Law grabbed the sheet Penguin had just dropped on the floor and read it.

"Make sure the island isn't cursed."

I had a lot of fun imagining the Kidds Pirates stumbling across a cursed island!

I hope you laughed as well and see you on next chapter for the next meeting between our two heroes.