HMJ - Chapter 45 (Patreon)

? POV

‘I did it, Law! It’s the Ope Ope no Mi.’ Corazon grinned happily as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. ‘We can cure your disease!’

But the feeling of relief and happiness didn’t last for long; just when everything was going well, Corazon slipped and fell, rolling down a slope. At the same time, this broke the effect of his Devil Fruit.

The Nagi Nagi no Mi, or Calm Calm Fruit, is a Paramecia Devil Fruit that grants the user the ability to create a soundproof field and to cancel all noises. It’s not a useful fruit for combat, but it very much excels in the fields of covert operations and espionage, boosting the user's skill in stealth.

Still, it wasn’t infalibale. A strong enough interruption of the user's concentration, like slipping and falling down a slope, would cancel its effect, causing enough noise to gain the attention of the pirates Corazon had robbed of a valuable devil fruit just now.

After all, the Marines had offered 5 billion berries for the infamous fruit. There is no way these pirates would let it escape their cludges without a fight.

“Huh!?” “What’s with that guy?” “How did he suddenly get here?” The surrounding pirates cried out as they noticed Corazon, who had loudly rolled down the slope.

It only took them a few a few moments to recognize the fruit he had been carrying in his hands.

“Hey! That Guy in the large black coat stole the Ope Ope no Mi!” “Don’t let him get away!”

“That’s him!”

Corazon would learn the hard way to never let down his guard.

Baam Baam Baam

———

Trafalgar D. Water Law POV

‘Law I know you are in bad shape; just hang on over here!’ These were the words that flew through Trafalgar Law's mind as he heard the shots from the direction Coraton had disappeared a while ago: ‘I’ll be right back. With the Ope Ope no Mi in my hands.’

Suddenly there was a voice from behind him: “Don’t worry. Corazon is strong for someone in the Four Blues. He will make it back.”

This scared Law, but in his weakened state, it took him a lot of energy to turn around and see who had spoken. His Amber Lead Syndrome was in its final stage and took a heavy toll on his body. He hadn’t lived long enough anymore.

It was a young man, only a few years older than him, who had spoken. The law didn’t recognize him. It was a young man with messy black hair, glowing green eyes behind a pair of glasses, slightly pointy ears, and a bit of an ethereal look.

“Yo!” I greeted the teenager with a grin and said, “Trafalgar D. Waters Law, right?”

‘How does he know that name?’ Law paled visibly as he heard the words leave the opposing party’s mouth, not that he could get much paler with the Amber Lead Syndrom: “What did you do to Corazon? Who are you?”

“Nothing. My name is Harry Potter. To explain why my exact identity is a bit troublesome, let’s wait for Corazon. I am here with an offer for you guys.” The young man Harry said as he sat down beside Law, observing him.

“What are you starring at?” Law gritted weakly out, annoyed by the starring.

“Not much. Your condition is something I have never seen before. It doesn’t exist where I came from, but there are other ailments that don’t exist here.” Harry replied as his eyes wandered as if they were reading through something above Law’s face, “I am confident that you would be able to find a cure if you had more time. But a devil fruit will work too.”

“It will?” Law muttered.

“Oh, yeah. Think of eating a devil fruit as rebuilding your body. It alters your genetic code, or lineage factor, into a completely new one. It will remove the damage of the Amber Lead accumulation inside your body." Harry explained it, at least as best as he could explain it himself. The exact details of what actually happens if you eat a devil fruit are still a mystery to him.

Even with the understanding of the Linage Factor, Vegapunk hadn’t been able to replicate a Logia Devil Fruit.

“Who are you?” This time, the threatening voice of Corazon appeared from nowhere behind Harry.

Harry, even with a pistol aimed at his back, remained calm. "Ah, there you are, Corazon or Donquixote Rosinante. I am not a foe.”

“How do you know my identity?”

“I watched a bit of the history of this world. Including Law’s backstory. And you die today.” Harry replied, “How are your wounds?”

Law looked at Corazon with worry. “He will die?”

“At least in the original timeline. But hey, cheer up. I don’t exist in it.” Harry grinned brightly as Corazon began to breathe heavily.

“Don’t lie, my wounds are not that grave.” Corazon gritted out.

“It’s not these wounds that will kill you. But your brother The assignment Vergo was sent to was to infiltrate the Marines. He will intercept the message about Dressrosa you will send through Law after feeding him the Ope Ope no Mi.” Harry explained calmly, “And worse, escape from the island is impossible for you. Even if you rush to a ship right now, Doflamingo is here and ready to employ his bird cage. After all, this devil fruit is far too valuable to let it escape.”

Corazon stared at him for a long moment, while Law held his breath and considered his options. The stranger had to tell the truth; some of the information he mentioned, nobody but Corazon himself knew he was planning to do.

“Will Law survive? Will the Ope Ope no Mi save him?”

For a moment, Harry muttered something before answering.

“Yes. Any Devil Fruit will heal him.” Harry replied while he looked conflicted, “To be honest,I am here for Devil Fruits. I am from a different world, and Devil Fruits don’t exist there. They are extremely valuable to me. Especially the Ope Ope no Mi. If you give it to Law, he will always have to watch his back. But at the same time, Law is a fitting match for that fruit and would become the greatest doctor in the world.”

“What are you trying to say?” Corazon gritted out, and the pistol he used to threaten Harry long since lowered as he was breathing heavily. His wounds clearly impact him heavily.

“I want to recruit the two of you. I know a bit of the future. I need people who are capable and whom I can trust. Especially someone like Law who has been trained as a doctor by his parents. He has the expertise I need. Both of you are or will be Devil Fruit Users.” The dark-haired boy stated honestly, “I can give you a home and guarantee your safety.

I have the ability to create contracts that are absolutely binding and can’t be broken if not through conditions written up on them.”

“Huff I am unable to speak for Law. But I am a Marine. I have a duty.”

"Well, I thought you would say that. You probably know that the Marines are not clean themselves, but you most likely believe in helping the people for the greater good. I am not sure how much you know... You were a celestial dragon. How much do you know about the true history of the world?" Harry asked.

“Not much… My brother knows far more. I was too young. Corazon breathed heavily, his wounds impacting him.

Harry continued as if he hadn’t noticed anything: “Did you know that once the land mass was far larger? Most of the world is now flooded because the ocean has risen. And that was a man-made disaster. The people responsible for that are sitting in Mary Geoise right now. And worst of all, they are planning to repeat it.”

“…What!?” The shock had been too much for Corazon, as he lost his consciousness.

It seemed as if Harry had expected that and caught the man.

“It seems like I was too slow with my explanation.” Harry said before he took the fruit that had been in Corazon's hands and looked at it, "Law, eat it. We will talk about my offer once we save Corazon and you are better.”

“How are we supposed to escape? The bird cage will trap us.” Law cried out, and then he saw the blood leaving Corazon's body. “No, Corazon. Please save him. I will join you, but save him.”

“I was planning it either way. But we need to get him to a safer place. And don’t worry, I have my own methods to escape.” As he said that, a door appeared in front of them in the wall that Harry pulled open. At the same time, he pointed his hand at Corazon, and he began to float. “Let's go. Oh, right. Here, eat this.”

For a moment, Law hesitated and looked at the heart-shaped fruit. But he gained new determination and bit into it.

“Can you walk?” Harry asked a few seconds later, after Law had gulped down the fruit. As he saw that the boy stood on his two own feet, he pointed at the opened door, and Corazon began to float in, “Follow him. There is something else I want to take care of.”

Just as he said that, a massive cage appeared around the island. Law didn’t hesitate and followed Corazon into that strange door as it closed behind them.