Novel Law Part I - English
Translation: @danklossmemes
PART 1 (OP Magazine Vol. 4)
I don't want to die.
I can't die.
That was all I could think as I dragged my feet forward. With every step, the sound of snow
crunching beneath my feet reached my ears.
I wonder how far I've walked. All I can see around me is a forest of pointed trees in a silver-white
world. How far it was to the "neighboring town" that Cora mentioned, I couldn't tell.
Damn it. My limbs are starting to lose feeling. Not surprised; I've been walking for three days
without food. If I don't do something, the cold and hunger will kill me before the Amber Lead
disease has a chance to.
I'm so tired, my body feels so heavy. Thoughts of just collapsing into the snow to get some relief
drift through my mind.
No!
If I die here, I cannot pay my debts. Corazon gave up everything, dragged me everywhere to cure
my disease, and it resulted in his death. It would be a disgrace to him if I died.
I take out a scalpel from the bag hanging around my waist, and...
"Aaagh!"
I stabbed the scalpel into my left arm.
"There... that should keep me awake."
After wrapping gauze around the wound I continue walking once more. I'm no match for boars or
wolves in this state, but I have no time to be thinking such things.
Have to... get to the... town.
The town that Cora promised to meet me at.
---
It finally came into view, just as my mind was growing hazy.
"Lights..." No mistaking them, the lights of a town. "I'm saved. They can help me!"
Those very words lifted the weight from my body and it was easier to walk. If I just reach the town,
I can eat! Some hot soup, maybe, then sleep wrapped in a soft blanket.
I take off running, quickly reaching the town of brick houses. A sign at the entrance proclaims it as
"Pleasure Town" in large lettering. I wonder if this is the "neighboring town". At any rate there are
many people walking around that I didn't notice from afar. This place is good enough. If I just call
out to them, someone will offer a warm place to stay.
I hurried closer. Started to call out to anyone...
But I stopped.
I waited anxiously at the entrance, suddenly remembering everything that had happened to me.
The memories of how I was treated because of my Amber Lead disease.
Memories of being hated by everyone, shunned, hurt. The past that I didn't want to remember
came flooding back.
Remembering my hometown of Flevance, the "White Town", quarantined because everyone
thought that Amber Lead was a contagious disease. Remembering how the government ignored
us, and a war broke out, a war that killed my father, mother, sister, and church members.
Remembering how I hid among the bodies of the dead to escape the town.
And remembering how I was treated like filth at every hospital Cora took me to as he tried to cure
me.
Useless memories.
I stopped believing in anything the day my town was burned and everyone I cared about was
killed. I joined the Donquixote family afterwards with the sole purpose of destroying as much as I
could before I died.
All I knew was despair.
But Cora shed tears for me. He said my name with a voice like it was wringing the tears from his
face.
I thought this world was hell and that I couldn't put my faith in anything, but Cora made me believe
in people, in humanity again.
Despite that, my body still won't move forward. It's terrified of entering this town full of people.
Terrified of being shunned again. It would probably hurt even more than last time. Just the thought
of it sends my knees shaking.
Yet, somehow I forced my legs forward, and I finally entered the town. I called out to someone
shoveling snow just up ahead.
"Um, excuse me..."
"Hey, your face..."
...!
They've already noticed the Amber Lead disease. Here comes that all-too-familiar expression.
Revulsion. Eyes that tell me I have no right to live.
"W-Wait!" I ignored the woman's cry to stop and just ran out of the town. I didn't have the courage
to even continue the conversation.
I'm pathetic.
Cora, you gave me all the love you had but it seems like I still can't trust people.
---
I wandered around aimlessly until I spied a cave on the coast and went inside. At least here I can
escape the cold. My stomach growls. Food, I need food.
Dry branches, untouched by the snow, lay in abundance on the ground near the cave. Thick
branches and thin ones. I pick out the thick branches and pile them up, then light a fire. Funny that
the survival skills I learned in the Donquixote family would only be of use to me now, of all
situations. What a joke.
I hover my hands over the crackling fire. So warm.
But this isn't the time for relaxing. I need to hunt for meat, but weighing my current state, that's not
a viable plan. I take another branch and attach string to the end of it, then dig up the ground for
worms, tying them at the end of the string, and cast it over the cliff. Even with just a makeshift
fishing rod I manage to catch several large fish.
I'm so hungry I can't stand it.
I returned to the cave quickly, taking out the fishes' guts and skewering them on the branch, and
placing them on the fire. A delicious smell began to waft in the air. With this I can get my energy
and morale back. Then sleep. Later, think about what to do next.
Suddenly a sharp pain racks my entire body.
Hands, legs, head, back, everything hurts. So much I almost cry out. Can’t breathe. Damn, even
though I expected this to happen eventually, I somehow let it slip my mind.
Three years and two months. That’s how long I was given to live based on the data my parents
left behind about the Amber Lead disease. Those three years have passed. I already had one of
these attacks when I was with Cora. Given the margin of error in the data, I could even drop dead
right now…
What can I do?
I’ve eaten the Ope-Ope Fruit. According to Cora, the person who eats it becomes a “Free
Modification Human” and gains the power to heal any illness. But it’s not like some sort of magic
that you can suddenly be able to wield. And it doesn’t mean any illness will be healed upon eating
the fruit.
Until I learn how to use this power, I can’t do anything.
“Shit!”
Unthinking, I slam my fists into the ground. I feel feverish. Death is closing in. I can feel it. I can’t
move… I fall backwards, woozy.
No good. I can’t give up.
The Ope-Ope Fruit is Cora’s life, materialized. If he hadn’t tried to find it for me, he wouldn’t be
dead. That’s why…
“That’s why, I have to live! His death can’t be in vain! I won’t allow it!”
I cried out. I can’t let the kindness and smile Cora showed me at the end lose their meaning!
*Thump*
Suddenly, I felt my heart pound.
*Thump. Thump*
The beat was quickening.
*Thump thump thump thump thump*
It felt like my body was just a pump of blood. But I didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. It was
like some power inside of me had woken up.
*Whoom*
A loud noise sounded. I realized I was suddenly lying in the middle of a dome circled around me.
“What is this?” From inside the dome it felt like I could see into everything. Even inside my own
body. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. Brain, heart, lungs, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, spleen… I can sense it all. I can feel where they are, how the muscles and nerves are
attached, almost as if I held them in my hands.
“This… is the power of the Ope-Ope Fruit!”
It wasn’t just internal, either. Everything inside this dome can be “modified” by me, I could tell.
Move things and switch their places, at will. The inside of this dome is my “operating table”.
“I can handle this…!”
A fire started burning in my half-dead body. I will cure this Amber Lead disease. With a newfound
resolve, I set to work.
Closing my eyes, I once again focused my mind. Amber Lead is a disease caused by the lead
accumulating in the body. That means I need to just take it all out. I begin by checking each spot
carefully. After examining my liver, I discover a massive amount of it accumulated there.
I moved next to a barrel left in the cave and took my own liver out of my body. There was no pain.
I took out my insides like it was the most normal thing in the world. And I placed my liver on top of
the barrel.
“Let’s start with this, then.”
It wasn’t like I could cut my liver to pieces. If I did that, I would die, Amber Lead disease be
damned. I would have to remove the lead and put the liver back in my body. First, I used the devil
fruit power to gather all the lead from every bit of the liver into one spot, then I took out the scalpel
from my bag.
“Where am I?”
I get out of the bed and look around me. There’s a desk and a chair in the room, with a full
bookshelf, an aquarium of swimming goldfish, and a grand fireplace housing a burning fire.
Somehow I’ve been taken to someone’s house.
As I’m pondering, I hear a clicking sound and the door to the room opens.
“Oh, you’re finally awake.”
An old man I didn’t know entered carrying a tray of soup. He looked about 60 years old. White hair
slicked back, covered with a dark red sun visor, and he was wearing a tropical shirt with shorts
and sandals.
No matter how you looked at him, he was a suspicious old man. On top of that, what he was
wearing wasn’t even close to what should be worn in the middle of a snowstorm in winter.
But, whatever. The issue at hand was who this man was. Thanks to Cora’s actions, Doflamingo
and the Donquixote family think I’ve been taken by the Marines. But once they find out the child
they took isn’t me, they’ll come to Swallow Island, wiping it out trying to find me.
That’s how much Doflamingo wants the Ope-Ope Fruit’s power. If he put a price on my head,
there’s no doubt someone would try to hand me over to Doflamingo.
The old man standing in front of me could have already contacted him, and the family is on their
way here now.
“You must be hungry,” the old man said. He came closer towards me, and placed the soup next to
the bed. A wonderful smell hits my nose and I gulp hard. I haven’t eaten for days. I want to jump
into that soup.
But I don’t touch it, instead brandishing my scalpel and jumping on the old man’s back. I wrap my
left arm around his neck and aim the scalpel at his throat.
“What’s your deal, old man?”
I wasn’t fully recovered yet, but there was no way the man could best me. With that in mind I
demanded what he wanted. But he he didn’t even flinch.
“Well, well… hah!”
“Whoa!”
In a flash, my body did a flip, and I hit the floor hard. What just happened?
“I may be old but I have the body of a 20 something. You lost the second you got behind me.”
The old man had thrown me over his shoulder. Although I may be a child, I trained how to fight
with the Donquixote family. I must have overestimated myself.
I get up swiftly and face the old man. I glare at him with wide eyes trying to bluff.
“You look like a wild, hungry animal with those eyes.”
The old man didn’t try to attack and simply picked up the spoon from the bowl of soup. Then he
moved the spoon towards me.
“Eat up. You almost froze to death. You have to get some sustenance in you.”
It did look delicious. Light brown broth with meat that could have been chicken or beef. It was
specked with colorful vegetables, sparking my appetite.
But… I was scared. He could have spiked it with sleeping powder to get me asleep again and buy
time until Doflamingo made his way here. I have to be careful. I can’t let my guard down.
“I guess you think there’s something weird in it, huh. Can’t trust strangers?”
I say nothing, determined not to let my gaze wander from the old man. I saw him put the spoon to
his own mouth. One sip, then two, he slurped it with relish.
“You should be able to tell by now there’s no poison in it. You’re fine. I am not your enemy. I don’t
side with “justice” either, but I’m not the type of trash to make bargains with a dying child.”
At that, the old man thrust the spoon at me again. Without thinking I grabbed it with my left hand.
In my right, the scalpel was still pointed at the man, and I took a sip. The savory flavor filled my
mouth. I could almost feel the nourishment spreading through me.
I suddenly realized I was crying. The soup was so good, so warm, it made me realize my life had
been saved. All those feelings crashed together, and I couldn’t hold back the tears.
“Shit… it’s so good. So good!”
Once I had a taste I couldn’t stop. I dropped the scalpel off to my side and finished off the soup,
meat and vegetables and all. It was probably the hunger talking, but that was the greatest soup I
had ever eaten.
“I’ll get you seconds.” The old man laughed.
He said it like someone who had picked up a stray cat that finally started to warm up to him.
---
I took a bath at the old man’s insistence. Oh, how long has it been since I had. The only memories
floating in my head are of walking all over in the falling snow, searching for the “neighboring town”.
For the first time, I realized just how good it felt to be in a hot bath.
“Ahh…”
As I washed myself, I glance in the mirror and noticed something wildly different about myself.
“It’s gone… The bleached skin from the Amber Lead disease, it’s gone back to normal!”
I touch all over my face, making certain that the disease has completely disappeared. I feel
tremendous relief, such as that I’ve never felt in my life, at the thought of no longer needing to fear
the Amber Lead disease.
My whole body relaxed and I just simply took in the feeling of the warm water.
When I got out of the bath, a fresh set of clothes was waiting for me. “They’re my son’s. Glad I
kept them. They’re old but there shouldn’t be a problem with them.”
After changing into the clothes, the old man and I both sat down facing each other. Unlike before,
there was no atmosphere of impending danger. It seemed somehow my suspicions about the old
man had disappeared.
“So…”
“What?”
“Did you… really save me?”
“Hah. As I was returning back to town, I heard a scream coming from a cave. I went to check it
out and a ragged child was passed out, alone. I couldn’t just let you die, it would be bad for my
sleep. So I took you here, and put you in bed.
“I see.”
So this old man had nothing to do with Doflamingo, didn’t have his sights on a bounty; he simply
saved me of his own free will. Suddenly I felt sorry.
“Hey, old man.”
“Hm?”
“I guess I’ll thank you for saving me.”
“What a sour child! Boy, the world is all about give and take. You owe me now. Remember that.”
“Right.”
“Now, tell me your story, and we’ll call it even. What on earth was a kid doing alone in a cave in
this weather? Must be some reason.”
I started to quietly explain how I got into the situation that he spoke of, from my point of view. I told
him about growing up in the “White Town” of Flevance, learning about medicine from my parents.
I told him about the outbreak of Amber Lead disease and how the government refused to help.
About how a war broke out, and how my parents, sister, and friends were burned alive.
I explained how I lost hope in the world and joined a pirate crew, and how my savior, a man
named Corazon, helped me.
As I went through all these points it felt like a weight was lifted, as if I had been waiting to tell
someone all of this. However, I opted not to say anything about the Ope-Ope Fruit. I was afraid
the old man would think me disturbing, or try to steal it for money, or change his behavior toward
me in any way.
I simply told him an excellent doctor managed to cure my Amber Lead disease.
When I finished my story, the old man crossed his arms and sighed, deep in thought. “I see. Boy,
you’ve lived through more than any kid should have any right to.”
“I’m not ‘boy’. My name is Trafalgar Law.”
“Law, huh. Quite a sharp name you’ve been given. So let’s see, you are now completely alone
with nowhere to go and no objective in mind, is that right?”
An objective. That I certainly don’t have. Until now, all I could think about for the longest time was
taking the world down with me. Then, with Cora, the objective became to save my life, but with
that no longer an issue I can’t think of anything I want or need to do.
“What is it you want to do?” the old man asked.
“I have no idea,” I responded.
“So, then,” the old man slapped his hands on his knees. “You should stay here until you figure it
out.”
“That isn’t a problem?”
What he said I was glad to hear. I was in unfamiliar land all alone, too afraid to even go into
town… To be offered a warm bed and food indefinitely was an immense help.
“Just remember, though. Life is give and take! That’s my creed, so you’ll be helping me out too.
Doing the wash and cleaning, as well as giving me a hand in the farm. There’s plenty of work I
can have you do. I’ll give you a safe place to live, and you’ll lend me your labor. Any issue with
that?”
What’s with you, old man? The way he says it makes him seem like he doesn’t want to appear
nice. It came off as so odd that I smiled without thinking.
“Oh, you finally showed me a smile.” After saying that, the old man laughed pleasantly.
“Say, what is the work you do anyway, old man? I refuse to help you rob people or anything.”
“Idiot. What kind of person do you think I am? I wouldn’t do something like that.”
“I don’t know anything about you or what kind of person you are.”
“Oh, right. I haven’t even introduced myself. Open your ears and listen up! My name is Volff. The
one and only genius inventor Volff!”
“A genius inventor? You?” I take another look at the sun visor and gaudy shirt he’s wearing. He
looked more like a conman than an inventor.
“Looks like you don’t believe me. Wait here.”
The old man left the room and came back holding a box of strange items. “I’ll let you take a look
for free. Go ahead, take a gander at my glorious inventions! Here, this is ‘Hot Spring Anytime!
Version 1’! With this you can instantly change even the coldest water into hot water. No more
need to spend time heating up a bath!”
“Ahh…”
I suppose it was convenient. I wondered if this weird old man could actually invent something like
this.
“It has a flaw, though. There’s no way to set it to a certain temperature, so it just instantly boils the
water until it evaporates.”
“That’s useless!”
“Wait, wait, wait! That’s not all I have. How about this? ‘Super Cleaner! Version 3’! It reacts to the
presence of dirt and trash and picks it up. Just leave it be and your house will be clean in no time!”
“Ahh…”
“But this has a flaw, too. If you leave it going for more than three minutes it will explode and take
your house out with it.”
“That’s more than just a flaw! This stuff is junk.”
“You know, the first version of this couldn’t tell the difference between what was trash and what
wasn’t. It almost ate my foot off.”
“Stop! That’s grotesque.”
The old man continued to show me his inventions, but they were all useless and flawed
contraptions. “Well, with that I hope you’ve come to understand my genius.”
“I haven’t because you don’t have an ounce of it.”
“At any rate, starting tomorrow, you’re gonna help me with my research. You’ll have to memorize
what’s dangerous and what’s not.”
Seriously? This job could kill me, I thought as I sighed deeply. But, whatever.
“Hey, Mister Junk.”
“That’s worse than ‘old man’!”
“I haven’t repaid you for saving my life. Plus, I am really grateful you’re allowing me to stay here.
So, I am in your hands.”
WIth that, I extended my right hand. Volff snorted in laughter and shook it.
“I’ll work you to the bone! Otherwise it wouldn’t be ‘give and take’!”
---
I had begun my life with Volff. I woke up at dawn to help him with the farmwork and his inventions.
I would read a ton of books, eat warm meals, and even train some with a sword he had lent me.
And at night we would talk and laugh together.
It was a normal, calm, and peaceful daily life.
The farmwork surprised me the most. Winters on Swallow Island were long, and in reality, it was
next to impossible to grow vegetables. However, Volff had built a vinyl greenhouse behind his
home, and made a device to control the temperature and lighting inside, so that you could grow
and harvest all year long.
“What do you think, Law? With ‘Veggie Veggie! Version 7’, you can harvest vegetables from a
greenhouse! I want to grow more and more and eventually sell them in town!”
That name was terrible, but it was actually a great invention. Plus, the feeling of being able to help
other people out with it wasn’t so bad either.
Some days, we went hunting together. The first time a wild boar appeared I got worried for the old
man, but Volff was good with a rifle, and took the boar down in one hit. I tried asking him how he
had gotten so good with it, but all he would tell me was he just learned it in the past. I didn’t press
him further.
Volff was someone I could eat with, laugh, and talk about various subjects, but I knew better than
to cross any boundaries. And Volff knew not to get chummy with me or treat me like a child. It was
the perfect relationship for me.
---
Once a week, Volff would head into town to sell his vegetables and inventions, then buy whatever
we needed with the money. I never went with him. I would rather stay here anyway. I saw no
reason in interacting with the townsfolk. There shouldn’t be a reason.
When Volff was out of the house, I’d read books on medicine, and when I tired of that, I’d go for a
walk to clear my head. After a month since Volff took me in, I had finally adjusted to normal life.
But I still hadn’t found my “objective”. Mostly, I didn’t think it all that important.
As I was mulling over things on one of my walks, I approached the entrance to the forest and
spotted a huge polar bear and two boys.
“Stop! Please stop it!”
The polar bear was talking…? “What’s going on?” There should be no such thing as talking bears
in this world. But, I had once heard of a talking reindeer before, so I suppose a talking bear could
be possible.
The situation looked troublesome. The two boys were kicking the bear from behind as he put up
no fight.
“Heh heh! You’re way too weak for a bear!” The boy wearing a casquette over brown hair jabbed
at the bear’s head.
“Hurry up and go back to the woods!” The other boy wearing a hat with the word PENGUIN on it
repeatedly punched the bear.
...What a messed up bunch.
“Tch.”
The scene before me was so unpleasant I clicked my tongue without thinking. The two boys heard
the sound and turned towards me.
“Who the hell are you? Just staring! You got something to say?” the casquette-wearing boy spat
out like some common thug.
“Not really. I have no interest in you or the bear so do what you want.”
“Don’t get cocky! I don’t like your attitude. But I’ll let it slide if you leave all your valuables.” The one
with the penguin cap was confronting me.
Annoying people like this no matter where you go, huh.
“I said quit staring!” The two boys took out a knife and bat respectively and closed in on me.
“ROOM” I said in a low voice. A circular dome spread out, with me at its center.
“Wh-What the hell is this?!”
“We’re closed in?!”
So far so good. Whenever Volff wasn’t around to watch, I had been honing my skills with the
Ope-Ope Fruit. I could move and control anything within the circle. Just like that, I picked up two
rocks at my feet, and threw them up in the air. Then…
“Shambles.” I exchanged the boys’ and rocks’ places. Casquette boy and penguin-hat boy were in
the air in an instant, and fell to the ground, knocked out.
“Hm.” I figured this power wasn’t just for medical purposes, and it could also be used to fight, but it
went better than expected. I wouldn’t feel right if I had killed them, so just to make sure, I took their
pulses. They were simply unconscious, and would probably wake up soon.
All right, problem solved. Pretty soon Volff would be returning to the house. I should start
preparing dinner. Just as I turned to walk back, the polar bear grabbed me from behind.
“W-Wait.”
“What do you want?”
“Um, thank you for saving me. I was so scared I couldn’t move!”
“They came after me and I only defended myself. I wasn’t helping you.”
“But still! Still, wow, I’m so happy!”
After saying that the polar bear started crying while still clasping my clothes. How annoying.
Since it didn’t seem like he would let go any time soon, I reluctantly directed him to a nearby cave
so we could talk.
“Why didn’t you fight back? You’re a bear, aren’t you? How could you lose to a bunch like that…”
“They actually talked to me.”
“That’s all?”
“I thought we could get along.”
“You thought that as they were hitting you?”
“Yea. I thought if I just let them do it, we could maybe become friends.”
Friends. It was a word I hadn’t heard in a long time. I don’t have any anymore. They were all
burned up in a fire. I suddenly remember my family and church members as they were when they
were alive. Those weren’t such bad times.
As my mind wanders I start to think why this polar bear is here, alone. Actually, come to think of it,
he was probably like I had once been. I grew just a little interested in his circumstances.
“Say, do you live around here?”
“Nope, I just go to this island yesterday. I don’t know anyone, and I have nowhere to stay.”
“Where are you from?”
“Um, do you know the New World?”
“I’ve heard of it.” From the Donquixote family. I picked up various information regarding the seas
from them. The New World was the other half of the Grand Line. Pirates looking for One Piece
need to find their way there eventually.
“Did you really come all the way here from New World?”
The polar bear nodded. It seemed like “normal” in the New World was something else entirely.
Sea currents, weather, magnetism. All the things one needed knowledge of to sail was topsy turvy
in the New World. That’s what Doflamingo had told me. It was a place where regular pirates and
explorers could not travel in a normal ship.
And to be able to come all the way to Swallow Island in the North Blue…
“Did you come here on your own ship?” If so, that would make the bear quite the navigator.
“Of course not. I know a little bit about navigation but… Um, there’s an island called Zou in the
New World.”
“Zou? What a strange name. Is that your hometown?”
“Yep, I live there with others of my kind, the Mink tribe. It’s peaceful on Zou, and I’m on good
terms with my family but, one day, my older brother disappeared.”
“He didn’t say he was leaving?”
“Nothing, not a word. So I decided to go looking for him and got on a ship. But once I realized it
was the wrong ship, I was already in the North Blue…”
“That’s quite the mistake.”
“Yea, plus, the ship shook so bad, and was almost struck by lightning, I thought I was gonna die!”
“Hah hah, you’re an idiot. I guess a talking bear is still just a bear.”
As I said that, the polar bear suddenly stood up, taking a rope from the ground and slinging it
around his neck.
“Wait, wait! Are you trying to die?!”
“Maybe I should. An idiot like me is better off dead.”
“I was joking. It was a joke! You’re so damn sensitive.” I took the rope and threw it to try to calm
the upset bear. If he died because of a stupid joke I couldn’t live with myself.
“All right, so, you don’t have anywhere to stay, right?” I asked him.
“Nope. I really want to get on a ship back to the New World, but it’s so hard to find a ship headed
for a place so dangerous. I can’t take a ship on my own; with my navigation skills, I’d get caught
up in a storm and die.”
“Well then, I suppose your ‘objective’ is to get better at navigating so you can head out again and
find your brother.”
“That’s right, I guess.”
“Okay. Come with me.”
“H-Huh?”
I ignored the hesitant polar bear and started walking. He soon came shuffling after me.
“So, name?”
“Oh, my brother’s name is Zepo. In the Mink language it means ‘handsome’!”
“I meant your name, tell me your name!”
“Oh, me?! I’m Bepo!”
“Bepo, huh. Not bad, easy to say. I’m Law. Trafalgar Law.”
“Law…”
“Okay, now just shut up and do what I say, Bepo. ...What? I’m not gonna try to hunt or eat you.”
“A-Are you sure? You’re not gonna get a bunch of people to turn me into bear stew or anything?”
“Why would I do that?!”
We walked for thirty minutes and returned to the house. Volff was already there.
“Hey, Mister Junk.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not ‘Mister Junk’, it’s ‘genius inventor Volff’! ...What on
earth is that huge bear?!”
“Oh, this is Bepo. He’s a polar bear and he’s lost. He’ll be living here now, so be nice.”
“You didn’t think to ask permission of the owner of the house?!”
“Well, I mean, he could also probably lend a hand with the work.”
“Ah, hello. I’m Bepo. He took me here without really explaining anything…”
“It talks!!!”
“Not so loud, Mister Junk. So, can he stay here?”
“I’m sure you brought him here for a reason, huh.”
“Maybe.”
“At least tell me the details.”
I took about an hour talking to Volff about Bepo while the three of us sat on the sofa. Volff asked
Bepo about his past and his family. Once there was a lull in the conversation, he went to the
kitchen and made tea for the three of us, which we drank silently.
Bepo looked a little less nervous as he drank his tea. But it was a little surreal to watch a bear
drink tea from a teacup.
“I think I understand now,” Volff broke the silence suddenly. “You want to learn more about
navigation and go find your brother. I can’t believe bears worry about their family but, well, it’s not
a suspicious motive or anything. Plus you answered all my questions. You don’t seem like the bad
sort.”
“So…?”
“So you can stay here. But! Don’t forget about the give and take! Bepo, I’ll be making you work
your fair share, too! Don’t expect to eat for free! And if you don’t work, I’ll kick you right out,
understand?!”
“A-Aye-aye! Roger! I’ll do my best to be useful!”
Volff went off to his bedroom, snorting and muttering about how his life’s nothing but brats now. I
think I’m finally starting to understand him. He snorts when he’s somewhat happy.
---
Bepo and I slept in the same room. I claimed the bed since I got here first, and I placed a mattress
on the floor for him.
“Hey, Law, why are you being so nice to me?” Bepo asked in a hushed voice not long after I
turned off the light.
Why am I being nice? I have no idea.
“Because I feel like it,” is all I can respond. As if convinced by the answer, Bepo soon started to
snore.
Maybe I got caught up in your story about your family.
Sometimes I think about what a family really is. I had my father, who taught me medicine, my
mother, always kind, and my sister, Lami, who never stopped smiling as she suffered through the
Amber Lead disease. That’s right, a long time ago I had a family.
But now everyone is dead.
I had pushed it out of my head when I wanted the world to feel my despair. Now, recently, I’ve
been confused. With Volff’s kindness towards me and mine towards Bepo… It seems as if I want
to start believing in people again.
It was all thanks to Cora that I’ve been able to get to this point. All thanks to the man who gave up
his own life trying desperately to save me.
What was Cora to me? We had no blood relation, and we didn’t even know each other that long.
Yet, somehow, we were family. A love that could be felt without even putting it into words.
I wondered if I could “love” someone like that ever again. If I stay with Mister Junk and the bear,
could I grow to “love” them? Or will it just continue to be a relationship of give and take, like the old
man says, where we simply use each other?
“Got it! I’ll boil some water. You focus on what you need to do!” Volff was quick to take action after
hearing how serious I sounded.
The two boys were set down in the living room, and I went into my bedroom to grab my tools.
When I came back, Bepo asked, “L-Law… what can I do?” His voice was shaking terribly.
“I’ll start with casquette’s abdomen. You should stop penguin-hat’s bleeding! Tie a rope around the
end of his arm, tightly, and hold it up! Then place his severed arm in a plastic bag and put it in ice
water!”
“Aye-aye!”
I lift the casquette-wearing boy onto a table and check to see how deep his wound is. Okay, not
too bad. He lost a lot of blood but his organs weren’t seriously injured. I don’t need the Ope-Ope
Fruit for this.
I can do this with my own medical knowledge.
“Hey, penguin-hat, are you with me?”
“Y-Yea…”
“Do you know your friend’s blood type?” If he doesn’t get a blood transfusion, he’ll die. But if the
wrong blood is given to him, he’ll reject it. If that happens, his red blood cells will be destroyed and
the cells in his entire body will go into shock. I need to know what his blood type is.
“I know… it’s… X type. The same as… mine. So I remember.... I’m sure.”
“X type…”
Damn it. Not my blood type. There’s no time to try to get blood from somewhere else.
“Law! Use mine. Just so happens to be X.”
“Mister Junk…” If that’s the case, then there will be no issue with the transfusion. However…
“Old man, these two have lost a lot of blood. Even if you’re offering, that’s two people’s worth of
transfusion. Worst case scenario…”
“Idiot! I already know. And I made my decision. Don’t you worry yourself about me. When I was
younger, I lost more blood in battles than you can even imagine. I’m not so weak a man that I’d die
from giving two kids’ worth of blood.”
“...Understood. Then I’ll take you up on your offer.”
From here on it was a race against time. I took a needle and extracted blood from the old man,
placing it into a hospital-grade plastic bag. Then I placed a needle in casquette’s arm and allowed
the blood to flow slowly into him. I started to do the same to penguin-hat.
All right, no big issues as far as the blood transfusion is concerned.
“Hey, old man, are you okay?” I call out to Volff. He’s given up a lot of his own blood. More than
the loss of bodily fluid, the threat of him going into shock is high.
“I don’t need you… worrying about me! I’m only a little dizzy, like I stood up too fast. You have no
time to worry about an old fart like me, so hurry up and finish what you’re doing!”
“I… got it. Thank you.”
“Tch, it’s just… give and take. I’ll have you and Bepo do all the chores for… a week after this…”
As Volff said this, he collapsed on the sofa, completely drained of energy.
“I still need to finish.” I take powder extracted from a very special plant and dissolve it in some
water, then inject it into the casquette-wearing boy. It’s a sedative I made after coming to this
place. With it, I can make sure he won’t be conscious while I operate on him.
I then sterilize my scalpel in the fire, then cut open the boy’s abdomen. His stomach is perforated
but nothing I can’t handle. I quickly stitch the wound with needle and thread, then check to make
sure he has no other injuries.
Looks all right. I then close up his abdomen with the thread. One person done.
“Bepo! Bring penguin-hat over here!”
“Roger!”
I take the casquette-wearing boy off the table and place him on the sofa, and the penguin-hat boy
takes his place on the table. He was silent as he lay there, most likely too weak from the blood
loss to make a sound. His operation would be much more difficult, in all honesty. To save his life,
all I need to do is stitch up his arm and give him a blood transfusion.
But, I want him to get his arm reattached and movable again.
“Law, how are the two brats?”
“Old man, you’re awake?”
“Yea, I couldn’t sleep thinking I might wake up to dead bodies.”
“No worries there. My operation was a success. As long as they don’t catch a cold or anything
they’ll be fine.”
“Is that right? I’m glad.”
“Glad? That’s a word I never thought I’d hear you say. Saving them doesn’t help you in any way.”
“Saving the lives of two children is rewarding enough.” As he said that, the old man hid his face,
but I could feel his clumsy affection, and it made me happy.
---
It was four days until they woke up. They seemed to understand what had happened to them.
Casquette was extremely weak from the stomach surgery but would be fine if he got some food in
him.
Penguin-hat wasn’t as lucky. I may have saved his life, but if I messed up the reattachment
surgery, he would be unable to use his arm, and he might go into shock at the realization.
“I’m going to remove your bandages. See if you can move your arm and fingers.”
“O-Okay…”
He seemed terrified. Everyone else in the room looked anxious and watched him with bated
breath.
Penguin-hat stared at his arm. An arm that might possibly hang useless at his side for the rest of
his life.
*Twitch*
His pinky finger moved. Then, in order, he moved his ring, middle, pointer fingers, and thumb.
Then, slowly, he lifted his forearm.
It was a success. I managed to reconnect the nerves correctly.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it! Really? Aye-aye!”
Shachi and Penguin glanced at each other. Then, they nodded at the same time. Facing me, they
both bowed and said in unison, “Please let us stay here!”
Volff sighed heavily and remarked under his breath about the increase in brats. “Hey, kids! I guess
it can’t be helped. I’ll let the four of you stay here. But make no mistake! I am not your guardian
and don’t want to be! I have no need for family or friends! The only relationship I need is give and
take! All right?! If you want a place to live, you’ll need to help me around the house! Fair
exchange! As soon as the wounded have healed, I’m putting you all to work in the town so you
can have a taste of a real job! Any questions?!”
No one said anything. And not one of us looked upset. Only Volff turned bright red after he gave
his embarrassing speech.
---
Sometimes I think about what Cora meant when he talked about “freedom”. The four of
us--myself, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi--we experienced an immense loneliness in this world and
somehow managed to overcome the despair. I still don’t know what “freedom” is. But I do know
that it’s comfortable being inside Volff’s home.
I wonder why?
The old man who claims to live by give and take doesn’t ever push us too hard. He treats us like
equals and respects us. So, it’s not so bad being here. While I live here together with the others, I
might even find that “freedom” Cora never explained to me.
I have no guarantee, but I believe I’ll find it.
While the five of us continue this weird cohabitation, I’m sure I’ll find what I’m looking for.
Now that I think about it, maybe this world isn’t so bad after all. As I watch the other four being
loud and rambunctious, my mouth curls in a smile.
PART 1 (OP Magazine Vol. 4)
 |
| Novel Law Part I - English |
I don't want to die.
I can't die.
That was all I could think as I dragged my feet forward. With every step, the sound of snow
crunching beneath my feet reached my ears.
I wonder how far I've walked. All I can see around me is a forest of pointed trees in a silver-white
world. How far it was to the "neighboring town" that Cora mentioned, I couldn't tell.
Damn it. My limbs are starting to lose feeling. Not surprised; I've been walking for three days
without food. If I don't do something, the cold and hunger will kill me before the Amber Lead
disease has a chance to.
I'm so tired, my body feels so heavy. Thoughts of just collapsing into the snow to get some relief
drift through my mind.
No!
If I die here, I cannot pay my debts. Corazon gave up everything, dragged me everywhere to cure
my disease, and it resulted in his death. It would be a disgrace to him if I died.
I take out a scalpel from the bag hanging around my waist, and...
"Aaagh!"
I stabbed the scalpel into my left arm.
"There... that should keep me awake."
After wrapping gauze around the wound I continue walking once more. I'm no match for boars or
wolves in this state, but I have no time to be thinking such things.
Have to... get to the... town.
The town that Cora promised to meet me at.
---
It finally came into view, just as my mind was growing hazy.
"Lights..." No mistaking them, the lights of a town. "I'm saved. They can help me!"
Those very words lifted the weight from my body and it was easier to walk. If I just reach the town,
I can eat! Some hot soup, maybe, then sleep wrapped in a soft blanket.
I take off running, quickly reaching the town of brick houses. A sign at the entrance proclaims it as
"Pleasure Town" in large lettering. I wonder if this is the "neighboring town". At any rate there are
many people walking around that I didn't notice from afar. This place is good enough. If I just call
out to them, someone will offer a warm place to stay.
I hurried closer. Started to call out to anyone...
But I stopped.
I waited anxiously at the entrance, suddenly remembering everything that had happened to me.
The memories of how I was treated because of my Amber Lead disease.
Memories of being hated by everyone, shunned, hurt. The past that I didn't want to remember
came flooding back.
Remembering my hometown of Flevance, the "White Town", quarantined because everyone
thought that Amber Lead was a contagious disease. Remembering how the government ignored
us, and a war broke out, a war that killed my father, mother, sister, and church members.
Remembering how I hid among the bodies of the dead to escape the town.
And remembering how I was treated like filth at every hospital Cora took me to as he tried to cure
me.
Useless memories.
I stopped believing in anything the day my town was burned and everyone I cared about was
killed. I joined the Donquixote family afterwards with the sole purpose of destroying as much as I
could before I died.
All I knew was despair.
But Cora shed tears for me. He said my name with a voice like it was wringing the tears from his
face.
I thought this world was hell and that I couldn't put my faith in anything, but Cora made me believe
in people, in humanity again.
Despite that, my body still won't move forward. It's terrified of entering this town full of people.
Terrified of being shunned again. It would probably hurt even more than last time. Just the thought
of it sends my knees shaking.
Yet, somehow I forced my legs forward, and I finally entered the town. I called out to someone
shoveling snow just up ahead.
"Um, excuse me..."
"Hey, your face..."
...!
They've already noticed the Amber Lead disease. Here comes that all-too-familiar expression.
Revulsion. Eyes that tell me I have no right to live.
"W-Wait!" I ignored the woman's cry to stop and just ran out of the town. I didn't have the courage
to even continue the conversation.
I'm pathetic.
Cora, you gave me all the love you had but it seems like I still can't trust people.
---
I wandered around aimlessly until I spied a cave on the coast and went inside. At least here I can
escape the cold. My stomach growls. Food, I need food.
Dry branches, untouched by the snow, lay in abundance on the ground near the cave. Thick
branches and thin ones. I pick out the thick branches and pile them up, then light a fire. Funny that
the survival skills I learned in the Donquixote family would only be of use to me now, of all
situations. What a joke.
I hover my hands over the crackling fire. So warm.
But this isn't the time for relaxing. I need to hunt for meat, but weighing my current state, that's not
a viable plan. I take another branch and attach string to the end of it, then dig up the ground for
worms, tying them at the end of the string, and cast it over the cliff. Even with just a makeshift
fishing rod I manage to catch several large fish.
I'm so hungry I can't stand it.
I returned to the cave quickly, taking out the fishes' guts and skewering them on the branch, and
placing them on the fire. A delicious smell began to waft in the air. With this I can get my energy
and morale back. Then sleep. Later, think about what to do next.
Suddenly a sharp pain racks my entire body.
Hands, legs, head, back, everything hurts. So much I almost cry out. Can’t breathe. Damn, even
though I expected this to happen eventually, I somehow let it slip my mind.
Three years and two months. That’s how long I was given to live based on the data my parents
left behind about the Amber Lead disease. Those three years have passed. I already had one of
these attacks when I was with Cora. Given the margin of error in the data, I could even drop dead
right now…
What can I do?
I’ve eaten the Ope-Ope Fruit. According to Cora, the person who eats it becomes a “Free
Modification Human” and gains the power to heal any illness. But it’s not like some sort of magic
that you can suddenly be able to wield. And it doesn’t mean any illness will be healed upon eating
the fruit.
Until I learn how to use this power, I can’t do anything.
“Shit!”
Unthinking, I slam my fists into the ground. I feel feverish. Death is closing in. I can feel it. I can’t
move… I fall backwards, woozy.
No good. I can’t give up.
The Ope-Ope Fruit is Cora’s life, materialized. If he hadn’t tried to find it for me, he wouldn’t be
dead. That’s why…
“That’s why, I have to live! His death can’t be in vain! I won’t allow it!”
I cried out. I can’t let the kindness and smile Cora showed me at the end lose their meaning!
*Thump*
Suddenly, I felt my heart pound.
*Thump. Thump*
The beat was quickening.
*Thump thump thump thump thump*
It felt like my body was just a pump of blood. But I didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. It was
like some power inside of me had woken up.
*Whoom*
A loud noise sounded. I realized I was suddenly lying in the middle of a dome circled around me.
“What is this?” From inside the dome it felt like I could see into everything. Even inside my own
body. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. Brain, heart, lungs, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, spleen… I can sense it all. I can feel where they are, how the muscles and nerves are
attached, almost as if I held them in my hands.
“This… is the power of the Ope-Ope Fruit!”
It wasn’t just internal, either. Everything inside this dome can be “modified” by me, I could tell.
Move things and switch their places, at will. The inside of this dome is my “operating table”.
“I can handle this…!”
A fire started burning in my half-dead body. I will cure this Amber Lead disease. With a newfound
resolve, I set to work.
Closing my eyes, I once again focused my mind. Amber Lead is a disease caused by the lead
accumulating in the body. That means I need to just take it all out. I begin by checking each spot
carefully. After examining my liver, I discover a massive amount of it accumulated there.
I moved next to a barrel left in the cave and took my own liver out of my body. There was no pain.
I took out my insides like it was the most normal thing in the world. And I placed my liver on top of
the barrel.
“Let’s start with this, then.”
It wasn’t like I could cut my liver to pieces. If I did that, I would die, Amber Lead disease be
damned. I would have to remove the lead and put the liver back in my body. First, I used the devil
fruit power to gather all the lead from every bit of the liver into one spot, then I took out the scalpel
from my bag.
“Where am I?”
I get out of the bed and look around me. There’s a desk and a chair in the room, with a full
bookshelf, an aquarium of swimming goldfish, and a grand fireplace housing a burning fire.
Somehow I’ve been taken to someone’s house.
As I’m pondering, I hear a clicking sound and the door to the room opens.
“Oh, you’re finally awake.”
An old man I didn’t know entered carrying a tray of soup. He looked about 60 years old. White hair
slicked back, covered with a dark red sun visor, and he was wearing a tropical shirt with shorts
and sandals.
No matter how you looked at him, he was a suspicious old man. On top of that, what he was
wearing wasn’t even close to what should be worn in the middle of a snowstorm in winter.
But, whatever. The issue at hand was who this man was. Thanks to Cora’s actions, Doflamingo
and the Donquixote family think I’ve been taken by the Marines. But once they find out the child
they took isn’t me, they’ll come to Swallow Island, wiping it out trying to find me.
That’s how much Doflamingo wants the Ope-Ope Fruit’s power. If he put a price on my head,
there’s no doubt someone would try to hand me over to Doflamingo.
The old man standing in front of me could have already contacted him, and the family is on their
way here now.
“You must be hungry,” the old man said. He came closer towards me, and placed the soup next to
the bed. A wonderful smell hits my nose and I gulp hard. I haven’t eaten for days. I want to jump
into that soup.
But I don’t touch it, instead brandishing my scalpel and jumping on the old man’s back. I wrap my
left arm around his neck and aim the scalpel at his throat.
“What’s your deal, old man?”
I wasn’t fully recovered yet, but there was no way the man could best me. With that in mind I
demanded what he wanted. But he he didn’t even flinch.
“Well, well… hah!”
“Whoa!”
In a flash, my body did a flip, and I hit the floor hard. What just happened?
“I may be old but I have the body of a 20 something. You lost the second you got behind me.”
The old man had thrown me over his shoulder. Although I may be a child, I trained how to fight
with the Donquixote family. I must have overestimated myself.
I get up swiftly and face the old man. I glare at him with wide eyes trying to bluff.
“You look like a wild, hungry animal with those eyes.”
The old man didn’t try to attack and simply picked up the spoon from the bowl of soup. Then he
moved the spoon towards me.
“Eat up. You almost froze to death. You have to get some sustenance in you.”
It did look delicious. Light brown broth with meat that could have been chicken or beef. It was
specked with colorful vegetables, sparking my appetite.
But… I was scared. He could have spiked it with sleeping powder to get me asleep again and buy
time until Doflamingo made his way here. I have to be careful. I can’t let my guard down.
“I guess you think there’s something weird in it, huh. Can’t trust strangers?”
I say nothing, determined not to let my gaze wander from the old man. I saw him put the spoon to
his own mouth. One sip, then two, he slurped it with relish.
“You should be able to tell by now there’s no poison in it. You’re fine. I am not your enemy. I don’t
side with “justice” either, but I’m not the type of trash to make bargains with a dying child.”
At that, the old man thrust the spoon at me again. Without thinking I grabbed it with my left hand.
In my right, the scalpel was still pointed at the man, and I took a sip. The savory flavor filled my
mouth. I could almost feel the nourishment spreading through me.
I suddenly realized I was crying. The soup was so good, so warm, it made me realize my life had
been saved. All those feelings crashed together, and I couldn’t hold back the tears.
“Shit… it’s so good. So good!”
Once I had a taste I couldn’t stop. I dropped the scalpel off to my side and finished off the soup,
meat and vegetables and all. It was probably the hunger talking, but that was the greatest soup I
had ever eaten.
“I’ll get you seconds.” The old man laughed.
He said it like someone who had picked up a stray cat that finally started to warm up to him.
---
I took a bath at the old man’s insistence. Oh, how long has it been since I had. The only memories
floating in my head are of walking all over in the falling snow, searching for the “neighboring town”.
For the first time, I realized just how good it felt to be in a hot bath.
“Ahh…”
As I washed myself, I glance in the mirror and noticed something wildly different about myself.
“It’s gone… The bleached skin from the Amber Lead disease, it’s gone back to normal!”
I touch all over my face, making certain that the disease has completely disappeared. I feel
tremendous relief, such as that I’ve never felt in my life, at the thought of no longer needing to fear
the Amber Lead disease.
My whole body relaxed and I just simply took in the feeling of the warm water.
When I got out of the bath, a fresh set of clothes was waiting for me. “They’re my son’s. Glad I
kept them. They’re old but there shouldn’t be a problem with them.”
After changing into the clothes, the old man and I both sat down facing each other. Unlike before,
there was no atmosphere of impending danger. It seemed somehow my suspicions about the old
man had disappeared.
“So…”
“What?”
“Did you… really save me?”
“Hah. As I was returning back to town, I heard a scream coming from a cave. I went to check it
out and a ragged child was passed out, alone. I couldn’t just let you die, it would be bad for my
sleep. So I took you here, and put you in bed.
“I see.”
So this old man had nothing to do with Doflamingo, didn’t have his sights on a bounty; he simply
saved me of his own free will. Suddenly I felt sorry.
“Hey, old man.”
“Hm?”
“I guess I’ll thank you for saving me.”
“What a sour child! Boy, the world is all about give and take. You owe me now. Remember that.”
“Right.”
“Now, tell me your story, and we’ll call it even. What on earth was a kid doing alone in a cave in
this weather? Must be some reason.”
I started to quietly explain how I got into the situation that he spoke of, from my point of view. I told
him about growing up in the “White Town” of Flevance, learning about medicine from my parents.
I told him about the outbreak of Amber Lead disease and how the government refused to help.
About how a war broke out, and how my parents, sister, and friends were burned alive.
I explained how I lost hope in the world and joined a pirate crew, and how my savior, a man
named Corazon, helped me.
As I went through all these points it felt like a weight was lifted, as if I had been waiting to tell
someone all of this. However, I opted not to say anything about the Ope-Ope Fruit. I was afraid
the old man would think me disturbing, or try to steal it for money, or change his behavior toward
me in any way.
I simply told him an excellent doctor managed to cure my Amber Lead disease.
When I finished my story, the old man crossed his arms and sighed, deep in thought. “I see. Boy,
you’ve lived through more than any kid should have any right to.”
“I’m not ‘boy’. My name is Trafalgar Law.”
“Law, huh. Quite a sharp name you’ve been given. So let’s see, you are now completely alone
with nowhere to go and no objective in mind, is that right?”
An objective. That I certainly don’t have. Until now, all I could think about for the longest time was
taking the world down with me. Then, with Cora, the objective became to save my life, but with
that no longer an issue I can’t think of anything I want or need to do.
“What is it you want to do?” the old man asked.
“I have no idea,” I responded.
“So, then,” the old man slapped his hands on his knees. “You should stay here until you figure it
out.”
“That isn’t a problem?”
What he said I was glad to hear. I was in unfamiliar land all alone, too afraid to even go into
town… To be offered a warm bed and food indefinitely was an immense help.
“Just remember, though. Life is give and take! That’s my creed, so you’ll be helping me out too.
Doing the wash and cleaning, as well as giving me a hand in the farm. There’s plenty of work I
can have you do. I’ll give you a safe place to live, and you’ll lend me your labor. Any issue with
that?”
What’s with you, old man? The way he says it makes him seem like he doesn’t want to appear
nice. It came off as so odd that I smiled without thinking.
“Oh, you finally showed me a smile.” After saying that, the old man laughed pleasantly.
“Say, what is the work you do anyway, old man? I refuse to help you rob people or anything.”
“Idiot. What kind of person do you think I am? I wouldn’t do something like that.”
“I don’t know anything about you or what kind of person you are.”
“Oh, right. I haven’t even introduced myself. Open your ears and listen up! My name is Volff. The
one and only genius inventor Volff!”
“A genius inventor? You?” I take another look at the sun visor and gaudy shirt he’s wearing. He
looked more like a conman than an inventor.
“Looks like you don’t believe me. Wait here.”
The old man left the room and came back holding a box of strange items. “I’ll let you take a look
for free. Go ahead, take a gander at my glorious inventions! Here, this is ‘Hot Spring Anytime!
Version 1’! With this you can instantly change even the coldest water into hot water. No more
need to spend time heating up a bath!”
“Ahh…”
I suppose it was convenient. I wondered if this weird old man could actually invent something like
this.
“It has a flaw, though. There’s no way to set it to a certain temperature, so it just instantly boils the
water until it evaporates.”
“That’s useless!”
“Wait, wait, wait! That’s not all I have. How about this? ‘Super Cleaner! Version 3’! It reacts to the
presence of dirt and trash and picks it up. Just leave it be and your house will be clean in no time!”
“Ahh…”
“But this has a flaw, too. If you leave it going for more than three minutes it will explode and take
your house out with it.”
“That’s more than just a flaw! This stuff is junk.”
“You know, the first version of this couldn’t tell the difference between what was trash and what
wasn’t. It almost ate my foot off.”
“Stop! That’s grotesque.”
The old man continued to show me his inventions, but they were all useless and flawed
contraptions. “Well, with that I hope you’ve come to understand my genius.”
“I haven’t because you don’t have an ounce of it.”
“At any rate, starting tomorrow, you’re gonna help me with my research. You’ll have to memorize
what’s dangerous and what’s not.”
Seriously? This job could kill me, I thought as I sighed deeply. But, whatever.
“Hey, Mister Junk.”
“That’s worse than ‘old man’!”
“I haven’t repaid you for saving my life. Plus, I am really grateful you’re allowing me to stay here.
So, I am in your hands.”
WIth that, I extended my right hand. Volff snorted in laughter and shook it.
“I’ll work you to the bone! Otherwise it wouldn’t be ‘give and take’!”
---
I had begun my life with Volff. I woke up at dawn to help him with the farmwork and his inventions.
I would read a ton of books, eat warm meals, and even train some with a sword he had lent me.
And at night we would talk and laugh together.
It was a normal, calm, and peaceful daily life.
The farmwork surprised me the most. Winters on Swallow Island were long, and in reality, it was
next to impossible to grow vegetables. However, Volff had built a vinyl greenhouse behind his
home, and made a device to control the temperature and lighting inside, so that you could grow
and harvest all year long.
“What do you think, Law? With ‘Veggie Veggie! Version 7’, you can harvest vegetables from a
greenhouse! I want to grow more and more and eventually sell them in town!”
That name was terrible, but it was actually a great invention. Plus, the feeling of being able to help
other people out with it wasn’t so bad either.
Some days, we went hunting together. The first time a wild boar appeared I got worried for the old
man, but Volff was good with a rifle, and took the boar down in one hit. I tried asking him how he
had gotten so good with it, but all he would tell me was he just learned it in the past. I didn’t press
him further.
Volff was someone I could eat with, laugh, and talk about various subjects, but I knew better than
to cross any boundaries. And Volff knew not to get chummy with me or treat me like a child. It was
the perfect relationship for me.
---
Once a week, Volff would head into town to sell his vegetables and inventions, then buy whatever
we needed with the money. I never went with him. I would rather stay here anyway. I saw no
reason in interacting with the townsfolk. There shouldn’t be a reason.
When Volff was out of the house, I’d read books on medicine, and when I tired of that, I’d go for a
walk to clear my head. After a month since Volff took me in, I had finally adjusted to normal life.
But I still hadn’t found my “objective”. Mostly, I didn’t think it all that important.
As I was mulling over things on one of my walks, I approached the entrance to the forest and
spotted a huge polar bear and two boys.
“Stop! Please stop it!”
The polar bear was talking…? “What’s going on?” There should be no such thing as talking bears
in this world. But, I had once heard of a talking reindeer before, so I suppose a talking bear could
be possible.
The situation looked troublesome. The two boys were kicking the bear from behind as he put up
no fight.
“Heh heh! You’re way too weak for a bear!” The boy wearing a casquette over brown hair jabbed
at the bear’s head.
“Hurry up and go back to the woods!” The other boy wearing a hat with the word PENGUIN on it
repeatedly punched the bear.
...What a messed up bunch.
“Tch.”
The scene before me was so unpleasant I clicked my tongue without thinking. The two boys heard
the sound and turned towards me.
“Who the hell are you? Just staring! You got something to say?” the casquette-wearing boy spat
out like some common thug.
“Not really. I have no interest in you or the bear so do what you want.”
“Don’t get cocky! I don’t like your attitude. But I’ll let it slide if you leave all your valuables.” The one
with the penguin cap was confronting me.
Annoying people like this no matter where you go, huh.
“I said quit staring!” The two boys took out a knife and bat respectively and closed in on me.
“ROOM” I said in a low voice. A circular dome spread out, with me at its center.
“Wh-What the hell is this?!”
“We’re closed in?!”
So far so good. Whenever Volff wasn’t around to watch, I had been honing my skills with the
Ope-Ope Fruit. I could move and control anything within the circle. Just like that, I picked up two
rocks at my feet, and threw them up in the air. Then…
“Shambles.” I exchanged the boys’ and rocks’ places. Casquette boy and penguin-hat boy were in
the air in an instant, and fell to the ground, knocked out.
“Hm.” I figured this power wasn’t just for medical purposes, and it could also be used to fight, but it
went better than expected. I wouldn’t feel right if I had killed them, so just to make sure, I took their
pulses. They were simply unconscious, and would probably wake up soon.
All right, problem solved. Pretty soon Volff would be returning to the house. I should start
preparing dinner. Just as I turned to walk back, the polar bear grabbed me from behind.
“W-Wait.”
“What do you want?”
“Um, thank you for saving me. I was so scared I couldn’t move!”
“They came after me and I only defended myself. I wasn’t helping you.”
“But still! Still, wow, I’m so happy!”
After saying that the polar bear started crying while still clasping my clothes. How annoying.
Since it didn’t seem like he would let go any time soon, I reluctantly directed him to a nearby cave
so we could talk.
“Why didn’t you fight back? You’re a bear, aren’t you? How could you lose to a bunch like that…”
“They actually talked to me.”
“That’s all?”
“I thought we could get along.”
“You thought that as they were hitting you?”
“Yea. I thought if I just let them do it, we could maybe become friends.”
Friends. It was a word I hadn’t heard in a long time. I don’t have any anymore. They were all
burned up in a fire. I suddenly remember my family and church members as they were when they
were alive. Those weren’t such bad times.
As my mind wanders I start to think why this polar bear is here, alone. Actually, come to think of it,
he was probably like I had once been. I grew just a little interested in his circumstances.
“Say, do you live around here?”
“Nope, I just go to this island yesterday. I don’t know anyone, and I have nowhere to stay.”
“Where are you from?”
“Um, do you know the New World?”
“I’ve heard of it.” From the Donquixote family. I picked up various information regarding the seas
from them. The New World was the other half of the Grand Line. Pirates looking for One Piece
need to find their way there eventually.
“Did you really come all the way here from New World?”
The polar bear nodded. It seemed like “normal” in the New World was something else entirely.
Sea currents, weather, magnetism. All the things one needed knowledge of to sail was topsy turvy
in the New World. That’s what Doflamingo had told me. It was a place where regular pirates and
explorers could not travel in a normal ship.
And to be able to come all the way to Swallow Island in the North Blue…
“Did you come here on your own ship?” If so, that would make the bear quite the navigator.
“Of course not. I know a little bit about navigation but… Um, there’s an island called Zou in the
New World.”
“Zou? What a strange name. Is that your hometown?”
“Yep, I live there with others of my kind, the Mink tribe. It’s peaceful on Zou, and I’m on good
terms with my family but, one day, my older brother disappeared.”
“He didn’t say he was leaving?”
“Nothing, not a word. So I decided to go looking for him and got on a ship. But once I realized it
was the wrong ship, I was already in the North Blue…”
“That’s quite the mistake.”
“Yea, plus, the ship shook so bad, and was almost struck by lightning, I thought I was gonna die!”
“Hah hah, you’re an idiot. I guess a talking bear is still just a bear.”
As I said that, the polar bear suddenly stood up, taking a rope from the ground and slinging it
around his neck.
“Wait, wait! Are you trying to die?!”
“Maybe I should. An idiot like me is better off dead.”
“I was joking. It was a joke! You’re so damn sensitive.” I took the rope and threw it to try to calm
the upset bear. If he died because of a stupid joke I couldn’t live with myself.
“All right, so, you don’t have anywhere to stay, right?” I asked him.
“Nope. I really want to get on a ship back to the New World, but it’s so hard to find a ship headed
for a place so dangerous. I can’t take a ship on my own; with my navigation skills, I’d get caught
up in a storm and die.”
“Well then, I suppose your ‘objective’ is to get better at navigating so you can head out again and
find your brother.”
“That’s right, I guess.”
“Okay. Come with me.”
“H-Huh?”
I ignored the hesitant polar bear and started walking. He soon came shuffling after me.
“So, name?”
“Oh, my brother’s name is Zepo. In the Mink language it means ‘handsome’!”
“I meant your name, tell me your name!”
“Oh, me?! I’m Bepo!”
“Bepo, huh. Not bad, easy to say. I’m Law. Trafalgar Law.”
“Law…”
“Okay, now just shut up and do what I say, Bepo. ...What? I’m not gonna try to hunt or eat you.”
“A-Are you sure? You’re not gonna get a bunch of people to turn me into bear stew or anything?”
“Why would I do that?!”
We walked for thirty minutes and returned to the house. Volff was already there.
“Hey, Mister Junk.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not ‘Mister Junk’, it’s ‘genius inventor Volff’! ...What on
earth is that huge bear?!”
“Oh, this is Bepo. He’s a polar bear and he’s lost. He’ll be living here now, so be nice.”
“You didn’t think to ask permission of the owner of the house?!”
“Well, I mean, he could also probably lend a hand with the work.”
“Ah, hello. I’m Bepo. He took me here without really explaining anything…”
“It talks!!!”
“Not so loud, Mister Junk. So, can he stay here?”
“I’m sure you brought him here for a reason, huh.”
“Maybe.”
“At least tell me the details.”
I took about an hour talking to Volff about Bepo while the three of us sat on the sofa. Volff asked
Bepo about his past and his family. Once there was a lull in the conversation, he went to the
kitchen and made tea for the three of us, which we drank silently.
Bepo looked a little less nervous as he drank his tea. But it was a little surreal to watch a bear
drink tea from a teacup.
“I think I understand now,” Volff broke the silence suddenly. “You want to learn more about
navigation and go find your brother. I can’t believe bears worry about their family but, well, it’s not
a suspicious motive or anything. Plus you answered all my questions. You don’t seem like the bad
sort.”
“So…?”
“So you can stay here. But! Don’t forget about the give and take! Bepo, I’ll be making you work
your fair share, too! Don’t expect to eat for free! And if you don’t work, I’ll kick you right out,
understand?!”
“A-Aye-aye! Roger! I’ll do my best to be useful!”
Volff went off to his bedroom, snorting and muttering about how his life’s nothing but brats now. I
think I’m finally starting to understand him. He snorts when he’s somewhat happy.
---
Bepo and I slept in the same room. I claimed the bed since I got here first, and I placed a mattress
on the floor for him.
“Hey, Law, why are you being so nice to me?” Bepo asked in a hushed voice not long after I
turned off the light.
Why am I being nice? I have no idea.
“Because I feel like it,” is all I can respond. As if convinced by the answer, Bepo soon started to
snore.
Maybe I got caught up in your story about your family.
Sometimes I think about what a family really is. I had my father, who taught me medicine, my
mother, always kind, and my sister, Lami, who never stopped smiling as she suffered through the
Amber Lead disease. That’s right, a long time ago I had a family.
But now everyone is dead.
I had pushed it out of my head when I wanted the world to feel my despair. Now, recently, I’ve
been confused. With Volff’s kindness towards me and mine towards Bepo… It seems as if I want
to start believing in people again.
It was all thanks to Cora that I’ve been able to get to this point. All thanks to the man who gave up
his own life trying desperately to save me.
What was Cora to me? We had no blood relation, and we didn’t even know each other that long.
Yet, somehow, we were family. A love that could be felt without even putting it into words.
I wondered if I could “love” someone like that ever again. If I stay with Mister Junk and the bear,
could I grow to “love” them? Or will it just continue to be a relationship of give and take, like the old
man says, where we simply use each other?
“Got it! I’ll boil some water. You focus on what you need to do!” Volff was quick to take action after
hearing how serious I sounded.
The two boys were set down in the living room, and I went into my bedroom to grab my tools.
When I came back, Bepo asked, “L-Law… what can I do?” His voice was shaking terribly.
“I’ll start with casquette’s abdomen. You should stop penguin-hat’s bleeding! Tie a rope around the
end of his arm, tightly, and hold it up! Then place his severed arm in a plastic bag and put it in ice
water!”
“Aye-aye!”
I lift the casquette-wearing boy onto a table and check to see how deep his wound is. Okay, not
too bad. He lost a lot of blood but his organs weren’t seriously injured. I don’t need the Ope-Ope
Fruit for this.
I can do this with my own medical knowledge.
“Hey, penguin-hat, are you with me?”
“Y-Yea…”
“Do you know your friend’s blood type?” If he doesn’t get a blood transfusion, he’ll die. But if the
wrong blood is given to him, he’ll reject it. If that happens, his red blood cells will be destroyed and
the cells in his entire body will go into shock. I need to know what his blood type is.
“I know… it’s… X type. The same as… mine. So I remember.... I’m sure.”
“X type…”
Damn it. Not my blood type. There’s no time to try to get blood from somewhere else.
“Law! Use mine. Just so happens to be X.”
“Mister Junk…” If that’s the case, then there will be no issue with the transfusion. However…
“Old man, these two have lost a lot of blood. Even if you’re offering, that’s two people’s worth of
transfusion. Worst case scenario…”
“Idiot! I already know. And I made my decision. Don’t you worry yourself about me. When I was
younger, I lost more blood in battles than you can even imagine. I’m not so weak a man that I’d die
from giving two kids’ worth of blood.”
“...Understood. Then I’ll take you up on your offer.”
From here on it was a race against time. I took a needle and extracted blood from the old man,
placing it into a hospital-grade plastic bag. Then I placed a needle in casquette’s arm and allowed
the blood to flow slowly into him. I started to do the same to penguin-hat.
All right, no big issues as far as the blood transfusion is concerned.
“Hey, old man, are you okay?” I call out to Volff. He’s given up a lot of his own blood. More than
the loss of bodily fluid, the threat of him going into shock is high.
“I don’t need you… worrying about me! I’m only a little dizzy, like I stood up too fast. You have no
time to worry about an old fart like me, so hurry up and finish what you’re doing!”
“I… got it. Thank you.”
“Tch, it’s just… give and take. I’ll have you and Bepo do all the chores for… a week after this…”
As Volff said this, he collapsed on the sofa, completely drained of energy.
“I still need to finish.” I take powder extracted from a very special plant and dissolve it in some
water, then inject it into the casquette-wearing boy. It’s a sedative I made after coming to this
place. With it, I can make sure he won’t be conscious while I operate on him.
I then sterilize my scalpel in the fire, then cut open the boy’s abdomen. His stomach is perforated
but nothing I can’t handle. I quickly stitch the wound with needle and thread, then check to make
sure he has no other injuries.
Looks all right. I then close up his abdomen with the thread. One person done.
“Bepo! Bring penguin-hat over here!”
“Roger!”
I take the casquette-wearing boy off the table and place him on the sofa, and the penguin-hat boy
takes his place on the table. He was silent as he lay there, most likely too weak from the blood
loss to make a sound. His operation would be much more difficult, in all honesty. To save his life,
all I need to do is stitch up his arm and give him a blood transfusion.
But, I want him to get his arm reattached and movable again.
“Law, how are the two brats?”
“Old man, you’re awake?”
“Yea, I couldn’t sleep thinking I might wake up to dead bodies.”
“No worries there. My operation was a success. As long as they don’t catch a cold or anything
they’ll be fine.”
“Is that right? I’m glad.”
“Glad? That’s a word I never thought I’d hear you say. Saving them doesn’t help you in any way.”
“Saving the lives of two children is rewarding enough.” As he said that, the old man hid his face,
but I could feel his clumsy affection, and it made me happy.
---
It was four days until they woke up. They seemed to understand what had happened to them.
Casquette was extremely weak from the stomach surgery but would be fine if he got some food in
him.
Penguin-hat wasn’t as lucky. I may have saved his life, but if I messed up the reattachment
surgery, he would be unable to use his arm, and he might go into shock at the realization.
“I’m going to remove your bandages. See if you can move your arm and fingers.”
“O-Okay…”
He seemed terrified. Everyone else in the room looked anxious and watched him with bated
breath.
Penguin-hat stared at his arm. An arm that might possibly hang useless at his side for the rest of
his life.
*Twitch*
His pinky finger moved. Then, in order, he moved his ring, middle, pointer fingers, and thumb.
Then, slowly, he lifted his forearm.
It was a success. I managed to reconnect the nerves correctly.
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it! Really? Aye-aye!”
Shachi and Penguin glanced at each other. Then, they nodded at the same time. Facing me, they
both bowed and said in unison, “Please let us stay here!”
Volff sighed heavily and remarked under his breath about the increase in brats. “Hey, kids! I guess
it can’t be helped. I’ll let the four of you stay here. But make no mistake! I am not your guardian
and don’t want to be! I have no need for family or friends! The only relationship I need is give and
take! All right?! If you want a place to live, you’ll need to help me around the house! Fair
exchange! As soon as the wounded have healed, I’m putting you all to work in the town so you
can have a taste of a real job! Any questions?!”
No one said anything. And not one of us looked upset. Only Volff turned bright red after he gave
his embarrassing speech.
---
Sometimes I think about what Cora meant when he talked about “freedom”. The four of
us--myself, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi--we experienced an immense loneliness in this world and
somehow managed to overcome the despair. I still don’t know what “freedom” is. But I do know
that it’s comfortable being inside Volff’s home.
I wonder why?
The old man who claims to live by give and take doesn’t ever push us too hard. He treats us like
equals and respects us. So, it’s not so bad being here. While I live here together with the others, I
might even find that “freedom” Cora never explained to me.
I have no guarantee, but I believe I’ll find it.
While the five of us continue this weird cohabitation, I’m sure I’ll find what I’m looking for.
Now that I think about it, maybe this world isn’t so bad after all. As I watch the other four being
loud and rambunctious, my mouth curls in a smile.
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