Chapter 3: The Price of Information

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Emi's gaze stayed locked on Law's, his piercing grey eyes cutting through the darkness like sharp blades. She kept her composure, resisting the icy pressure of his presence, though a barely noticeable shiver ran down her spine.

Refusing to be intimidated, Emi took a deep breath and broke the silence. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm just here to gather a few details. It's nothing personal—I'm just doing my job as a journalist."

She hoped that her so-called honesty might ease the tension and shift the conversation to lighter ground.

But Law's cold stare didn't waver, and his tone remained harsh. "Your job involves poking around in things that aren't your business. Do you really think I'll let you off that easily, journalist-ya?"

The word poking made Emi bristle, and a flicker of indignation flashed in her eyes. But she quickly masked it with a composed smile. "You make me sound like a meddler, but you're a pirate. Can anyone claim to have perfectly clean hands in this world?"

Law narrowed his eyes slightly, his fingers idly brushing against his nodachi. He had his doubts from the start about Emi's intentions. He knew the questions she asked were not trivial. She was targeting him for a specific reason. The thought that she might be working for Doflamingo crossed his mind, raising his level of vigilance. He absolutely had to ensure the journalist's true allegiance. The slightest hesitation in her response could seal her fate.

"Who do you work for?"

Emi felt a wave of tension electrify the air as Law slightly raised his sword—damn, that thing was huge—, making it clear he was not joking. She felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her forehead as she searched for an answer that wouldn't put her life in danger.

"I already told you, I work for mysー"

purururu. purururu.

As Emi was about to finish her sentence, one of her portable mini transponder snail suddenly started ringing, breaking the heavy tension. Emi cast a surprised look at Law, but he nodded for her to answer, his Nodachi still firmly held on his shoulder. A shiver of annoyance ran through Emi as she realized she had no choice but to respond. Groaning slightly, she quickly rummaged through her bag to find the little snail making that irritating sound, praying internally that it wasn't a compromising situation.

But when she realized which Den Den Mushi (= transponder snail) it was, her heart sank at the realization. If she answered, she knew Law would discover the truth about her other activities. And that wouldn't end well. But seeing that Law was growing impatient, she took a deep breath and answered, adopting a neutral tone while trying to hide her anxiety.

"The sky is blue," Emi murmured into the Den Den Mushi.

Law watched with suspicion, wondering who had agreed on that code word.

The silence that followed was heavy, and Emi anxiously awaited the response from the other end of the line.

"Yo, I have some extra information for you to check out."

Her client's words hung in the air, and Emi felt Law's scrutinizing gaze weigh on her. She bit her lip, already regretting answering the call.

"I'm listening," she finally replied, exchanging a brief glance with Law, trying to gauge his reaction.

"It seems he's continuing his research in the New World, and I'd like you to go check it out."

Emi tensed up; she hadn't planned on returning to the New World seas so soon.

"Can you be more specific?"

"I don't have many details for now, but it seems he's established a new laboratory."

Emi's eyebrow twitched. Seriously? That was it? She hadn't risked this call for vague scraps of information she already knew.

"I already knew that, aside from it being in the New World. Next time you call me, give me more relevant details," she replied, exasperated by her client's lack of specifics.

Annoyed by Emi's response and tone, he snapped: "Hey, watch your words, you little brat! Do you need me to remind you who this intel is for?!"

The Den Den Mushi attempted to mimic the client's angry expressions with a nearly comical precision. Its eyes widened, its face almost contorted with frustration. The creature's efforts to capture every nuance of the client's emotions were both fascinating and amusing for Emi to observe, although the tense situation made it difficult for her to express amusement.

Collecting herself, Emi replied, "I'll see what I can do."

"You better have results next time I contact you!"

"And maybe next time, you'll actually give me something useful to work with. And I don't take orders from a pirate who can't even bother to get the intel himself." she snapped back, hanging up before he could reply.

The snail made a soft click as the line went dead. Emi placed the receiver back down and turned to find Law's grey eyes fixed on her.

"Interesting. I didn't know journalists were working for pirates now."

Shit. Her heart sank. She had spoken too much out of irritation. Emi scrambled to collect herself, putting on her best poker face.

"Pirate? That's just... how I label people who annoy me." she replied casually, though her voice came out a little too high-pitched for her liking.

Law's gaze didn't waver. "Who do you work for?"

"That's confidential information. I am bound by professional secrecy," she replied, attempting to evade the question.

Law, not tolerating half-measures, was starting to lose patience with Emi's reluctance. His usually calm and measured voice began to rise slightly in intensity.

"I won't ask you a third time, journalist-ya."

She swallowed hard. Oh, for the love ofーfine. He wasn't going to let this go, and she wasn't in the mood to be sliced in half today.

"Okay, okay," she said, throwing her hands up in mock surrender. "I sometimes use my privileges as a journalist to provide certain information to pirates, but only when I am well compensated in return," she finally admitted, feeling the weight of the words reluctantly leaving her mouth.

His frown deepened. "And this client?"

She exhaled sharply. "I don't know the client's name, they often prefer to keep it secret, and with my kind of job, you can imagine that's... tricky."

She tried for a cheeky grin, hoping it would lighten the mood, but Law didn't bite. If anything, his gaze sharpened. Of course.

"Look, I don't get too much on the client side. All I know is they're one of Big Mom's people."

Despite his calm nature, Law was surprised by this revelation. He hadn't expected her to be affiliated with such a figure. After all, they were talking about one of the Four Emperors of the New World. He became increasingly curious.

"Explain."

Emi complied. "They have business to settle with someone named Caesar. They want to know where he's hiding... That's all I know."

Law frowned. He vaguely remembered reports mentioning a researcher named Caesar Clown, specializing in weapons of mass chemical destruction. His troubled past and high bounty of 300,000,000 Berries were details that had caught Law's attention.

However, this information was still fragmentary, and he had little knowledge about him at this stage. The mention of Caesar in the context of Big Mom's affairs raised new questions in his mind. What were the connections between this scientist and one of the most feared emperors of the New World? What role could Caesar play in Big Mom's plans?

"You don't know anything more about this Caesar?" Law asked, seeking additional information.

"I'm the journalist here, I ask the questions," Emi replied, annoyed that she had already revealed too much about herself while still knowing nothing about Law.

"And I don't take orders from anyone. Answer my question," Law insisted, his voice betraying slight irritation.

"Why should I ? That's not very fair," Emi retorted, showing no signs of backing down. Fairness wasn't even the point, but she wasn't about to let him win this round.

"You're talking to a pirate. Don't forget that," Law warned, his gray eyes gleaming with a menacing intensity.

"Pirate or not. I won't cooperate with you! And you think you can threaten me with that hat?"

That was apparently the last straw. Law's face darkened, and he muttered something under his breath. "Room."

He activated his Devil fruit power, creating a blue sphere of energy around Emi, who instantly realized she was in danger. She tried to back away to escape the sphere, but her movements were too slow.

"Amputate."

The scene became a nightmare. Emi's limbsー HER LIMBSー were suddenly separated from her body, her Den Den Mushi scattering in the air. Law stepped forward and effortlessly seized the one belonging to the Big Mom pirate, then reattached her limbs, removed the sphere, and left Emi completely shocked and outraged, confronted with her own vulnerability against the relentless power of a pirate like Law.

Emi, utterly shocked by what had just happened, exclaimed, "What the fuck was that?! And you think this is how you get me to cooperate?!"

Law didn't even flinch. His sly little smirk made her want to throw something. "Now you know who you're dealing with. So I suggest you listen to me carefully."

He then handed her the Den Den Mushi and added commandingly, "Call him back. And ask him for more details about this Caesar."

Emi, still in shock from what had just happened and more irritated than ever by the dominance he had exerted over her from the start, she shot back, "It doesn't work like that, you sadist. I never call them myself. They always call me. And besides, I can't now. It's the procedure."

After listening to Emi's response, Law realized he needed to adjust his strategy. Although he was used to employing more direct methods to get what he wanted, he understood that this would only make her more resistant, without yielding the information he sought. He could have left her dismembered for his own satisfaction, but he couldn't ignore the value of the information she seemed to hold. Every piece of it was precious, every potential ally needed to be exploited to the fullest. Law was willing to do anything to achieve his goal, even if it meant adopting a more peaceful approach, which didn't necessarily match his usual methods.

"Well, we will wait for the call."

Emi, shocked by his announcement, quickly expressed her perplexity: "You do realize it could take weeks before he contacts me again?"

Law wasn't thrilled by the idea that it could take that long. He looked Emi in the eyes and added, "Let's hope for your sake that the wait is short. You're coming with us."

"Excuse me? I'm coming with you?" Emi replied, stunned. "And if I refuse?"

Law was tempted to reply that she had no choice but to obey him, but he held back, realizing that forcing her wouldn't get him the information he needed.

He answered her in a calm but firm tone, "You might get some information about my crew in exchange."

Emi was a bit surprised by this sudden change in Law. Was Caesar really that important to him? She was somewhat confused, but recalling that she absolutely needed to provide a convincing article to satisfy her editor in her journalism job, she decided to focus on this opportunity.

She hadn't given much importance to the mission of finding Caesar until now. But she suddenly realized that by exchanging information about him, she would have an opportunity to learn more about this crew. This might also protect her from Law's sadism, praying that the client would give her more details quickly, otherwise, he would soon realize he no longer needed her and discard her like an old sock.

She then kept in mind that at the first opportunity, she would flee. She didn't want to be directly involved with pirates and valued her life. But first, she had to be sure that Law would keep his word.

"A maybe isn't enough to convince me," Emi retorted, revealing her skepticism.

"I'm not giving you a choice to negotiate, journalist-ya," Law replied in a curt tone. "Be content with what I'm offering you for now."

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Emi embarks with the Heart Pirates! How will this "alliance" unfold? All the answers in the upcoming chapters ~

I am sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but the following ones will be longer , I promise 🙏