HI GUYS! I HOPE YOU ARE WELL. So much has happened this year, and it hasn't even been four months! How is everyone doing? My country's currently undergoing quarantine this month… so I have time to write. Ahhahah

Anyway—I am praying for everyone's safety and well-being. Be strong guys!

Warning: Literally compressing the rest of Dressrosa arc here! I'll skip way too many parts and almost skips every part without Luffy, Sabo, and Law in it so I apologize if you wanted to see those. Let's just rewatch the anime together! Haha

Disclaimer: One Piece is not mine. It's Oda-sensei's. The LawxLuffyxAce coverimage is NOT mine, either.

…

"Law won't follow you, Doffy!" Corazon yelled, a hint of doubt not found in his heart. He was bathing in his own blood, but his voice was shaking yet strong. The dying man breathed in, gathering the last of his energies. "He… He is no longer the Law who lost track of himself and came to visit a crazy pirate that day."

"Leave him alone now." He continued, voice inevitably softer, though his eyes stern—even when his entire body was dying. "Now, he is free!"

Law's eyes gathered tears at every word Corazon uttered, words that would echo in his ears for years to come. His young eyes widened when Corazon's sights shifted to him.

"There is nothing to bind you down anymore—" Cora uttered, eyes slowly losing the brightness indicating life. "…not the iron border of White Town or a short life expectancy—

The man smiled. His last words escaping his paling lips.

"Nothing will limit you anymore."

倒下

CHAPTER 21: The Fall

DRESSROSA

Law opened his eyes from the brief vision that passed his head, hands unconsciously forming a fist, body not knowing where else to divert his emotions.

He will truly be free, he thought, only when Doflamingo is gone!

"Why? You're a D? You think you're somehow destined to beat me?" Doflamingo drawled on with that smug grin of his, though the veins on his head indicated he was livid. Even in this situation, Law found some sort of vindication in that.

"The family of D—" Doflamingo continued, smiling arrogantly, though voice evidently rising. "The sworn enemies of the gods?"

"Cora-san had known all along. If it is only a name, it would be so easy." Law said, gathering the force he needed to finish his mission. He was there to pull the trigger that the kind-hearted Cora wasn't able to pull. He wasn't going to fail.

With renewed energy brought on by the image of his savior, Law jumped and teleported himself right in front of his enemy—the kikoku instantaneously hovering over Doflamingo's stomach.

"Injection!" He yelled and he felt the tremor of his blade vibrate through his enemy's skin and bones. Doflamingo gasped and coughed up blood, but he quickly countered, throwing Law to the ground. Law quickly made a massive Room, one big enough to cover the palace. He looked up to see the rampart tower he had been holding with his net. With his mind, he let go of the support hoping the massive falling rocks would be enough to distract Doflamingo.

For a moment, he thought it did.

Law teleported near Doflimingo, extending his palm, uttering his counter shock.

Doflamingo caught his arm, and Law's eyes widened. "You really should've stuck to the plan." The former Celestial dragon said, knowing that he never intended for a direct fight at first. "There are plenty of ways to deal with enemies you're no match for."

A dark aura enveloped Doflamingo, and its killing intent was palpable. Doflamingo raised his arm for an attack and Law braced himself. He knew this was not a killing shot. Not yet.

Doflamingo would no doubt make him suffer first.

"The moment you striked me yourself… you fated yourself to die."

And he lost an arm an arm a second later.

The sharp pain rocked his core a second after that.

He screamed.

…

"Whatever happens, we'll probably be Okay."

He opened his eyes at the voice in his head, it was Mugiwara's partnered with an image of that shit-eating grin of hers, telling him some ridiculous things. She said it before they even landed on Dressrosa, and at the time he thought she was being overconfident. Now it felt like the truth, even if the worst was to happen.

Law lied on the marble floor, writhing in pain. He knew Doflamingo was watching, amused, but Law nevertheless dragged himself farther away from his enemy. He willed another room to manifest—he needed it big, and he did so even when it shed a few years off of him.

But that didn't really matter right now. He wasn't planning on living very long anyway, if it meant killing Doflamingo.

Luffy should be here soon, he thought. Now that their ultimate stratagem was already used up (thanks to his hot-headed partner) they now had to use other means to deal with this. Hopefully, this 'other means' would occur to them sooner rather than later.

Nothing came to mind, but he coolly looked at Doflamingo, mind looking for ways to buy his ally some more time.

You better get in here, Luffy-ya.

Objectively speaking, nearly everything had gone done the drain: The plan, the attacks, his arm.

And yet somehow… he wasn't as afraid as he should be.

倒下

From his periphery Sabo heard crumbling of stones and turned his head to catch a building breaking down. His senses shot up when he realized the rubble was falling directly to a couple of people too paralyzed with fear to move.

He formed a knuckle and ignited his arms, using the force of fire to redirect the weight. "Fire fist!" He yelled and it took a moment for the people to realize they were not yet crushed under a building.

Interestingly, it was a child who caught his composure first. He beamed at Sabo, waving a hand. "Thank you, Mister!"

Sabo smiled and nodded, crossing his arms as he shifted his gaze at everyone nearby. "You better go now." He paused, looking at the adjacent buildings. "These buildings wouldn't be able to hold out any longer." He told them, and they thankfully did as they were told.

Right now, Sabo focused on helping as many civilians as he could. He was relieved he was helping people rather than blocking the path of such an enigmatic marine admiral, which was honestly inefficient and unfortunate—considering how much he actually liked that old man.

Sabo remembered their fight well, if you can call it that as he couldn't get too serious when his enemy seemed to be holding back and acting oblivious about it.

He had blocked the way of the marines so Luffy and her friends could do what they must, back when they were in their respective battles. "You must stay here." He had said, looking at Fujitora, blocking his army's path with his wall of fire. "And yes, even if you ask nicely."

"Why?"

"Mugiwara Luffy… her crew… and those who support them." Sabo had told them. "Anyone trying to hurt them… will not go through."

Fujitora's eyebrow rose at that. "Is it a revolutionary's job to cover for pirates?"

"Indeed. As a member of the revolutionary army, I cannot let you go through." But then he smiles. "Nope, nevermind. I lied. It's my duty…" He smirked, internally quite happy he was able to claim this title again. "As a brother!"

It was amusing how surprised they were that Luffy had another infamous brother, though they were quick to shake it off and attack him. He beat most of them easily, of course, even the vice admiral, though his momentum stopped when Fujitora promptly brought down a meteor.

"The owner of the fruit before you… Fire-fist Ace… claimed that he is Mugiwara's sworn brother." The admiral voiced out. "Are you saying you are her brother too?"

Sabo smirked, surge of confidence flowing at the mention of his sister. "If she ever calls for my help… no matter where I am in the world,

"I will be there."

…

A huge part of town was also destroyed during the scuffle, and Sabo noted how troublesome the man's power was. However, Sabo soon pointed out his observation—what the admiral was really planning by not taking on Doflamingo himself—and was told that the he never discriminated against anyone, with Sabo promptly being complimented for his insight.

The man put away his sword then, and Sabo's own form softened. "I am willing to bet my life on this fight." He had said, and Sabo knew he didn't mean the fight between the two of them. "It is impossible for marines to be heroes. Not this time."

He would understand Fujitora expressed his trust in Luffy as well. The man had taken a gamble, and he bets on Luffy.

Sabo agreed, because he'd be willing to do the same any time.

"Help us!" A voice from another block emerged against the others, the urgency of their voice evident. He ran to its direction and saw a building caught in fire. He mentally berated himself for causing so much damage even when he had controlled the intensity of his fire. "HELP!" Sabo pushed down the remorse at the screech and saw a woman and child trapped inside it.

The mother and child huddled at a corner, bending down low to avoid the smoke as much as she could. The mother blinked repeatedly at the footsteps that neared them.

Sabo smiled at them as he emerged from the flames. Her eyes widened at how their savior was engulfed in flames himself, but did not question his easy, reassuring, smile.

"You're okay now."

…

Sabo continued to rescue people where he could, including people from the Colosseum, particularly the prisoners who had been talking with Luffy and Rebecca during the tournaments. He also helped Moocy, Luffy's favourite bull, and two odd-looking people from getting sliced by the cage as well.

He had entered a rhythm by then, soon disrupted by a familiar rumbling of the ground. His eyebrows furrowed as he sensed where the epicenter was. He turned towards the plateau area, where spikes emerged from the stones, no doubt injuring people, likely those hurt warriors that sided with Luffy.

His lips thinned as he visualized what was happening there and wished he was next to Luffy, but he was not left much time to ponder as the ground shook more and more intensely—ending in what felt like an explosion of underground force. The giant upper body attached to the plateau emerged from the ground and formed a whole body, now twice as large as the king's plateau.

Sabo's eyes widened. He had a seen a lot of things, but this was surely one of the top ten weirdest sights he had seen.

Then the giant spoke with that ultra-soprano voice of his.

He laughed.

Scratch that, he thought. This was the weirdest thing ever.

It began walking and everyone were forced out of their shocked trances, with the citizens screaming frantically at how they were all going to die. The marines on the other hand were quick to fire their canons, though the damage they did was as much damage a fly could make to a person it landed on.

The giant paused and faced the soldiers, raising his feet to his knee level—which was easily about a few hundred meters high—and Sabo's eyes widened at what it was about to do, his own feet quickly moving to where the imminent stomp would land.

Sabo jumped and landed at an angle, using the displaced steps to push the endangered soldiers away from the feet as large as a small town. Pica moved his feet to stomp on where those marines had been, and Sabo caught a couple of citizens who were blown away by the force created by the wind.

He ran along Pica's path, saving a child and his kitten from being stepped on along the way. Sabo gulped because it was too close considering the statue's feet was as large as a whole town.

In any case, this guy was causing massive damage and he almost jumped up to take care of it when Sabo felt a sudden killing aura not too far away. He narrowed his eyes to sense if the aura was aimed at the enemy, and now Sabo watched carefully as the massive statue stood over the plateau.

The statue raised its hand into a palm and—was Pica speaking with someone in the plateau?—Sabo's eyebrows furrowed when the stone-hand paused midair. In retrospect, that pause saved the lives of hundreds.

The hand soon flinched signaling an intense and abrupt movement—finally continuing his attack—and Sabo's senses heightened again, ready to fly to where he was needed. But at that same moment another burst of aura nearby stopped his movement and in a blink of an eye a horizontal wave exploded and the statue was halved.

Its upper body was then floating in mid-air and cut further vertically another second later. The swordsman then proceeded on cutting another part, dissecting it, and Sabo recognized the plan and how the enemy's ability worked in the first place.

The arm was then cut further and he could see Pica's human form emerging from one of the slices.

Sabo whistled, impressed.

Luffy managed to get an incredible swordsman as her first mate.

As if hearing his thoughts, the swordsman finally took down Pica, finally ending the Gaint fiasco.

Until, of course, the debris made an entire land form was now falling to the plateau. One more laserbeam-like attack successfully redirected the debris away from the king and the people in the plateau but his eyes widened immediately when he realized there were still people to where all that rock was heading.

But Fujitora was there, using his ability to keep the rocks from falling on people.

He released the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He closed his eyes to ease off some excess adrenaline, releasing a smirk as he tilted his head to stare at the palace.

"Only a bit more, now, Luffy." He whispered, finally relaxing against a demolished building, looking up to the direction of the palace. "We're counting on you!"

倒下

Law's eyes widened as he saw Joker's clone all torn up, and he managed a smile even when his whole body felt like it was being continuously stabbed. He stood up, suddenly gaining a bit of energy. Doflamingo turned his head to him again, like a robot, and kept his wide annoyed smile. "You've spent thirteen years vying for revenge. Like you're a shell and living your life as his ghost."

"You've trusted mugiwara too much." He told Law. "It'll be your downfall."

Law, on the other hand, smirked. "That crew… has a history of leaving miracles in their wake." He looked at his arch-enemy. "This time will be no different."

Doflamingo's eyes twitched, but then he covered it up with an equally arrogant smirk. "Law..." He said, pausing, and suddenly Law's confident stance faltered a little. "I didn't think you'd be one to express admiration for an ally so passionately."

Law's lips thinned and Doflamingo's eyebrow rose, genuinely surprised. "Oh?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "What is this I see?"

The man walked around him, prowling, as if analyzing him. He then laughed at what he saw. "Oh, Law, you naughty boy." Doflamingo said, smiling wider as Law's smug expression turned dire. "What about I shoot her right in front of you, too?" Then his feet stopped at a thought. "Or maybe I should slice her up since bullets don't work…"

Law shots up and attacked, but this time Doflamingo was having fun. Losing an arm was a major handicap, and Trebol shooting his goo at him was making this an impossible fight.

With a kick, Law was once again down on the ground, but with the lack of strength and an appendage he struggled to even stand up.

It was then that he saw Doflamingo forming another spring gun, this one no doubt with a lot more bullets. "I'm feeling kind." He said, smirking. "As much as I want you to see how I torture her in front of you—OH, how amusing—I should end your suffering right now."

Law closed his eyes.

Shambles.

…

Law silently apologized to the minion who was shot multiple times in exchange for him, just before returning to his position. He remained there, unmoving and pretending to be dead, gathering strength and strengthening his will to deal with the pain.

Then she emerged, livid, and soon noticed the blood around him. "L-Law!" She yelled and his eyes almost widened at her voice, and how it just cracked, but he stopped himself—determined not to let Doflamingo know he was still fine. She turned around, atmosphere around her changing to face Doflamingo.

"Wait." He said, voice low, and that raging aura faltered. "I'm alive. Don't turn around! I have a plan."

Her back on him, he explained what it was. Her form did not shake, thankfully, and she must be truly angry to remain this focused even after everything. She nodded, though Doflamingo would not have any idea it was directed to her supposedly-very-dead ally.

She distracted him with her attacks, and when Doflamingo's undivided attention was directed to kill her, Law switched with her and performed one of his ultimate technique.

"Gamma. Knife."

He will destroy this man, inside out.

He watched with sadistic pleasure and relief as Doflamingo writhed in pain and lost his footing. Still, he was able to keep that smirk and stare down at him, despite practically being incapable of standing up.

Doflamingo told him he had always hated Cora and his annoying sense of justice—that he'd have killed him eventually. Law knew Doflamingo was provoking him, but it was too much to contain and he used his attack again to further destroy his insides.

They both lost their footing, but Law cannot move anymore. He was completely drained of energy by then and he lied down on the carpet, eyes on the sky lined with the birdcage.

I did it, he thought. Despite feeling like all his energy had been used up, so long as Doflamingo was—

"How naïve…"

He used his remaining strength to tilt his head to the voice, heart pounding in fear. It was no use. Doflamingo laughed and stood up, pointing at his body saying he can fix his insides with his ability, exultantly towering over him, wearing a smile filled with killing, and prepared to step on his head.

He couldn't beat this man, Law thought, and for a second he thought he'd have lived his whole life in vain.

Luffy stopped Doflamingo's feet with her own, stopping it a few inches from crushing his head. "Mugiwara—" He tried to utter, though he knew no voice has actually came out. Doflamingo frowned at her and wrapped his legs with armament to attack her. She blocked it with her own and kicked it away so they were away from his immobile form, and a battle of conqueror's haki clashed and the earth shook in response. It was almost like Pica's rising again, only the air is much much heavier.

She was powerful. He didn't think she—her haki—had gotten this powerful in two years.

When the tension broke she immediately attacked and placed clean hits on Doflamingo. The latter managed to block some of them and soon sent his own attack, leading to a spar where each hit created a massive shockwave the sent stones flying.

Law did not know how but he felt renewed energy flow in him, and he managed to stand up and watched as Trebol was distracted by another show of conqueoror's haki—he realized this must've been the first time the man saw another person use it.

Law heaved a deep breath, hoping his energy is enough to deal with this one, and Law sliced Trebol's gooey body that hid his real one.

Trebol, nearly unconscious, made a massive explosion as a last attack, and this time Law can only watch. But Luffy grabbed him and she carried him to the ground below.

As they landed, he noted she was actually gentle this time.

"You okay?" She asked, holding on to him tightly. At the back of his head he knew they had fallen to the flower field below where Nico Robin and others were, and he immediately knew Luffy's strength will focus on protecting.

He was part worried. But also part relieved.

Luffy was strongest when she was bent on protecting someone after all.

And with that thought, he lost consciousness.

…

Law woke up, carried by the man Luffy called a vegetable. Apparently Cavendish had taken everyone down the plateau and they were about to go next.

His eyebrows furrowed and his head whipped towards the heavy sound of clashing above them. He saw her fighting, risking her life.

He was the one who pulled her into this. How can he leave her now?

"No. Stop."

Cavendish made a face, looking at their route to safety somewhat longingly. "Look here—"

"For the past 13 years… I've been living to kill that man." Law only said, though it was directed mostly to himself. "I've done everything I can… and I must leave the rest to her."

He couldn't leave. Not now.

"We're all depending on her now. No need to be ashamed Trafalgar Law." "It's not like you'll be any use of her here, in that state."

Law shook his head, managing to escape from the blonde's hold with effort and pain. "Whatever happened: I will be here to see it."

The blonde stared at him, surprised, and Law didn't have the energy to bother looking at his expression. Shortly, the other pirate tried to reason with him, but Law had no room for such doubts.

"If she loses—then I will be here… to die with her."

There was something in his words that felt oddly liberating.

He almost smirked.

Cavendish looked at him, pondering, before sighing in defeat and placed him on a patch of land near the edge, telling the others to leave them behind. Law watched the blonde sit beside him, puzzled. "If you are to die, then it will be after me." He just said, and Law wanted to ask why but, as he listened to the sound of the clashes not too far above, he got his answer.

Honor, Loyalty, and Trust.

Things Luffy could easily roused in people.

Luffy truly made people want to be their best selves. Even if it was as stupid as sacrificing one's own safety for it.

They watched the stairs to the ground below disappear with its creator, and their sights went back to the ongoing fight, voicelessly cheering her on.

"Excuse us…"

They flinched whipping their heads to the direction of the voices, though they didn't immediately see who it was.

"Down here."

There were two small people in the grass, one female and one mail, looking up at them with those massive eyes half the size of their heads. Still, they paled a little in surprise. It was Cavendish who vocalized their confusion. "What… tiny people?" Then he paused, a though apparently passing through. "Wait—Fairies?"

"We're friends." Was all they said, and they calmed down afterwards. It was hard not to trust little people with big eyes, even for him.

The little ones circled him, studying, and soon one started stitching his arm back and the other emitting light that he later would feel to be healing.

They heard a strong hit and they saw Doflamingo thrown down to the ground. Their eyes widened and they widened even more as they saw Luffy in her new form, flying.

She had transformed into a larger version of herself, spring-like, and steam forming a floating envelope around her with her hair extending to arm's length, but the color of her appendages turned to dark maroon—similar to the color of haki, but more dynamic and powerful—and formed an odd pattern to the rest of her body.

Honestly? All of them could only gape.

倒下

Sabo heaved out a sigh, rescuing a few scores of people from the shrinking birdcage. He even tamed that blasted elephant (or scaring it, rather, Luffy would know to tame it though). He looked up and saw the clashes and when he followed it, his eyes widened at the sight.

"L-Luffy?!" He yelled, unsure because she was in an odd form.

But it's kinda cute in its own way.

He followed the sounds and watched. She and Doflamingo moved quickly at a speed normal people wouldn't even be aware of. Still, she seemed to be winning and kicked Doflamingo to a far away area.

"She's big!" One of the citizens yelled as they gathered around the spot where she landed. "She kicked Doflamingo away!"

But she won't stop bouncing. So cute.

Soon, she followed Doflamingo and heavier sounds of clashing echoed across the island. Eventually, they took their battle back to the air.

Sabo helped the civilians his head occasionally look up ahead where their battle was taking place. Doflamingo stood no chance, even Luffy seemed to be extremely fast for him—especially with those injuries he probably endured prior.

Soon, Luffy stretched her hands further and further until it was kilometres long and it began to worry him. Every inch of her arm required haki. Just… how much was she using?

Soon their battle took place on the town proper, where buildings turned into strings. If he wasn't trying to kill his precious sister, Sabo'd be impressed by how much Doflamingo developed a paramecia-type devil fruit power based on strings.

It was around this time when he felt her surge of energy dissipating.

He ran to wherever their battle was, to be there when she needed him. But then he turned his head to a direction and saw that blasted Blackbeard Pirate jumping down from the palace. From the colosseum, he knew this bastard was targeting his sister, and there was no way Sabo will allow him to get in her way.

His baby den den mushi rang then. It was probably Koala, but he couldn't answer it right now. Burgess was nearby and he was no doubt getting closer to his sister.

As expected, her power ran out and she couldn't even stand up anymore. "Luffy!" He yelled but Burgess appeared and claimed he'll kill her to get her power.

Sabo ignited his feet to accelerate and used fire fist on him, causing him to fly out. He quickly went to Luffy, unconsciously still in feiry form, and knelt beside her, putting up her neck as she opened her eyes. He did not notice some embers still surrounded him and his body, and how Luffy's fading eyes absorbed the sight.

The expression in her orbs changed to something so soft and warm that his heart stopped a moment. Frozen, he could only watch as her eyes register a recognition of sorts and smiled, as if she was not heavily injured. She struggled to raise her hand but she managed and it ended on his face.

She touched his cheek—caressed it—so tenderly that his breath hitched. "Ace."

Doki

It took a long moment for him to catch himself. "…it's me."

She blinked a little and a more lucid expression appeared. "Sabo?" "Oh, hi." She smiled. "Sorry. I'm a bit tired."

He gulped and looked away, and only then did she notice the announcer from Corrida was there. "S-She told me she needs ten minutes… to use that haki… or something…a-again." The man said, nervous under his presence, when he asked how she was. Sabo nodded and turned to him. "…take care of her for me." He said, placing Luffy in his care.

Sabo stood up then, forcing himself to calm, and—gripping his pipe weapon—turned to where his own enemy would emerge precisely a second later, knowing the announcer would do his best to protect Luffy.

Heck, as he looked at people gathered and still-gathering around—he had a feeling a lot more people will step up and do what they could as well. Their fates lied with Luffy winning this, after all.

He watched as the announcer placed her on his back, gesturing to move her to safety. Luffy's tired eyes met his just before they left.

"See you soon, Sabo."

He unconsciously tipped down his hat, as if to hide his increasingly reddening face. "Ah."

…

It was amazing. Koala heard the crew started it first, with the swordsmen using their swords and the robot using the seastone-based factory to buy their captain more time. Soon, the other fighters who allied with Strawhats got healed for a moment and helped out as well. Admiral Fujitora and the marines arrived to help and, soon, the whole town joined.

Koala marveled at the sight.

The birdcage may be shrinking at an accelerated rate, but that didn't stop the people from doing what they must. They were not giving up the fight, no matter how slim their chances of survival were.

If only every country in the world was like this, how nice would it be?

"It's her!" Some of Doflamingo's men pointed at her, and she recognized one of them as one of those she took out while she was taking proof of their underground activities. "Kill her!"

She didn't know how these men can remain so loyal when their master was obviously not batting an eyelid in making them collateral damage, but she entered her stance—fishman karate, a skill she'd spent her whole life learning in honor of her saviour—and she closed her eyes, feeling the water inside the men. With a swift movement of her hand, "Karakusagawara—" Her eyes opened. "Seiken!" A shock wave escaped her palms, enemies blown away.

She watched them fall down unconscious with a flop and turned around to resume to what she was doing: that was, looking for that blasted chief-of-command.

She soon realized where he was when she heard an explosion followed by a massive wall of fire, and then promptly by an echoing scream. It was not Sabo's scream—definitely his enemy's—so she didn't panic as she approached him.

However, when she got there she saw Sabo kneeling—shoulders slumped and form utterly weak—she immediately ran to him, worried. "S-Sabo?" She called, though she noticed that Burgess was unconscious, if not near-dead.

But there was no blood on Sabo's, no sign of injury, though he looked just very very red. "What…W-What happened?"

"K-Koala?" He asked, eyes dilated and still very red. "L-Luffy…"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "W-What happened?"

"I… I wanted to kiss her."

"What?"

"I wanted to kiss her." He said, panic increasingly becoming evident in his voice. "I wanted to kiss my little sister!"

She realized that something happened before he battled Burgess, and he succumbed to it right after the battle. In any case, she just sighed. "People tend to want to kiss their loved ones, Sabo." She said, though she knew what this was about, she debated herself whether to spell it out to the idiot.

"You don't understand—It's that sort of kiss!" He covered his head with his hand. "Shameful."

Koala knew Sabo was very very dense. She (to her embarrassment for years to come) had nursed a major crush on Sabo back when they were tweens, and she experienced this first hand.

He had been so dense that it got to the point of that she even stole his first kiss to finally freaking get the point across! But even that didn't clearly explain to him what she felt and she had to voice it out, word for word, which had felt like letter for letter.

Right now wasn't very different.

"What am I going to do?" He asked the universe.

And Koala only sighed.

倒下

Law thought they were running too far away from Doflamingo, so—as he watched Mansherry's bright flowers raining to heal the people—he used his gathered energy to summon his final massive room so he could get to her quickly.

There was an armoured man carrying her, and he recognized him as the announcer in the Colosseum (Gyats, was it?). The man and the people behind him looked at him, flabbergasted.

"T-Trafalgar Law!? T-T-The shichibukai!"

Law ignored them and stared at Gyats, going straight to the point. "When will she regain her haki?"

"Right now… we still n-need three minutes, and t-twenty seconds."

"There's no time to waste." Law told him, looking at the woman's weak form. "I'll take her." He said, and Gyats gladly agreed. He teleported them to ruins not too far away from the birdcage's zenith. He rested his shoulder on a ruined wall, slumped and barely able to move himself, and placed her right beside him.

"The star will return!" Gyats yelled over the speakers, catching his attention. "Lucy is just an alias!" He can hear the townsfolk murmuring—after all, everyone's running for their lives. "This is not the time, Gyats!"

Gyats did not falter, however. "Monkey D. Luffy is her name! And our very own King Riku called her our 'hope'!"

His voice cracked a little then, and the citizen listened closely, momentarily forgetting their dire situation. "She promised me! She just needs to land one more blow—One more shot and we'll be free!" He yelled, and while there was a metaphorical silence that loomed across the island, Law could feel hope slowly enveloping the country and he smiled before turning to the sleeping figure beside him.

She was breathing heavily and her limbs tired from using too much haki. He gently placed his hand on her head, simply for the sake of touching her. "Can you really really recover in just ten minutes?" He asked, thinking she was sleeping soundly to answer. But then again, he sometimes found it difficult to believe such a small woman can hold that much power.

"Uhn." She answered, weakly, and he almost lifted his hands away though he was apparently too tired to do so.

It was then that he began to hear the cheer calling her name, slowly growing in volume and passion, and he looked at her. "…they're calling for you, Mugiwara-ya." He said with a smile. She smiled too.

She opened her eyes—orbs filled with renewed energy—and he smirked.

.

"Shambles."

…

It was right after a massive shockwave—a clash that caused the air to crack, followed by a massive sound of someone passing through bedrock with such force that it tore a massive hole on the surface—when he knew for sure she had won. The birdcage cleared up and the sky cleared.

They did it. She did it.

He closed his eyes and listened to the cheer of the people. He didn't think he'd ever want to help people that didn't concern him, not after all he lost in his old life, but this girl had a knack for making feel a lot of things he didn't think he'd experience at all.

Like him, the country will finally be free of Doflamingo.

"She's losing consciousness!" Violet yelled and Rebecca tried to look for her, both of whom he transferred there just as Luffy rescued them from Doflamingo.

With haki, he found her presence and he watched her strongest form floating, panting heavily, and saw her transform back and lose consciousness. He used his ability to catch her fall and she landed next to him once more.

"…thanks." She mumbled, half-conscious, and slowly turned her head to him and sent him the brightest beam she can muster. "I kicked Mingo's ass!"

Law smiled. The genuine, teethy, smile and Luffy stared even with her tired eyes, fascinated. "You're very handsome when you smile." She told him, a quiet chuckle escaping her lips, just before finally succumbing to sleep.

Rebecca and Violet can only giggle at the tomato that was once a powerful shichibukai.

.

.

END OF CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22: BREATHE
Breathing can do wonders for the tired… and for the anxious

REPLIES TO ANGELS

Darkerwaves – OMG I'm glad I'm not the only one who's read this four times. Hahahhah. (I had to since I wanted to minimize loopholes). Thanks so much for your time!

Guest [December 17 2019] – Thank you for telling me I made your day better! You did the same to mine.

Guest [December 17 2019] – More Sabo it is! Hope you like it. I'll feature him a bit more soon. Thx for reviewing!

CallmeCrazylol – They did stay as Celestial dragons tho? Didn't they? He just went 'down from the heavens' haahaha. He's born a jerk. Ahahahah

Vanessa Masters – Thank you for reviewing as always! Yeah hahaha. It was sooo uncomfortable tho ahhahaha poor dude

Littlest1 – I knowww Akitora's super kewl. Definitely will be one of Luffy's allies. Ahahha. Thank you so much for your high-effort review! Loved reading every word of it. I hope you like this chapter, too! More sisComplex next chappy hahaha.

The Solitary Tempest – Thank you for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Sakihinata – Ohh I was worried about this arc. It was sooo hard to write it, honestly. I am relieved to know you liked it!

Guest [ Jan 17 2020] – Aww thank you! How sweet. And yes! Not easy, but it is thanks to reviewers like you that I am pushed to write more.

Rice with Chest-Nuts – I actually didn't really notice the different vibe Luffy has with Zoro and Law! I guess it's just how characters are, but if you can word it out can you share with me? :D And I didn't think about Girl!bart at all! Wasted opportunity I tell ya! xD Thx for reviewing btw!

AKAFirewalker – Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked it!

Guest [Mar 20 2020] – But I did update! I re-updated with the new Replies to Angels, I hope you're seeing this now!

SerenaDragneel – Thank you so much for telling me you love the chapter! I re-updated this with the replies to your review. Hope it is visible now!

Starrat – Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it so far!

Kitteninthemoonlight – OMG I wish I did this! I already uploaded when I read your suggestion though *sobs* Ah well, plenty of ways to see JellyTraffy anyway hehehe. Thank you for the review!

Currentwaves – Is it visible now? I re-uploaded with an updated Replies to angels section.

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