Journey to One Piece

283. Poison? What is that?

"So, I am here to propose an alliance," Law said, looking at Luffy. He felt a bit downhearted when he saw Luffy almost snoozing off, and Ken not paying attention. Just like others, he had seen how Ken and Luffy fought in the Paramount War. In order to bring an empire down, he would need help, and hopefully, the Straw Hats would accept the offer of alliance.

Luffy, who had been dozing off a bit, woke up after Jinbe shook him. He was slowly starting to understand what kind of crew he had joined and what kind of Captain he had.

"Oh, the story ended!?" Luffy asked.

"No thanks to you," Jinbe replied.

"Well... As I said, I don't really care as long as we don't go after Shanks. Yes, we can make the alliance," Luffy said.

"Wait, Luffy, pirate alliances are mostly filled with betrayals and backstabbing. Are you sure about this?" Robin asked.

"Are you going to betray us?" Luffy asked Law directly.

"No," Law replied with his usual expressionless face.

"See," Luffy said.

"Be a little realistic," Jinbe shouted. "Ken, what do you think of the alliance?" Jinbe had to ask Ken because he was the most trustworthy person in the whole group. Though Ken always fooled around with Luffy, he always knew what he had to do when the situations demanded it.

"The Captain has chosen to believe him, so the crew should too," Ken said as he slowly moved away from the hard ice he had been sitting on. As he did so, he cursed his luck because the fight in Punk Hazard never happened, making this place filled with nothing but cold.

Law extended his hand for a handshake with Luffy, and Luffy returned the same respect. And thus, the alliance between Luffy and Law was formed, with the intention of bringing down Kaido and Doflamingo. Ken knew the story and wondered if they would follow the same path or if Law would betray them.

Though there was almost no probability of that happening, he would have to keep an eye out. Law was his favorite character in all of One Piece, but he wouldn't let his emotions get in the way of actual business. Jinbe and Robin just sighed and accepted the Captain's decision.

"So, Caesar is experimenting on children?" Robin asked, having heard the story. She wanted to know more and asked questions, to which Law promptly answered.

"Chopper, are you listening?" Robin said after sending everything over her watch to Merry.

"Yes. We will need to cure them. Do me a favor: after getting inside the lab, send me the blood samples. I will be able to find out what they did to the children and make antidotes based on that," Chopper said.

"I can't be seen together, so you will have to face them alone for now to confuse Joker," Law said. Luffy didn't understand, but he accepted his words. With that, Law walked away in a different direction while Luffy and the others headed towards the direction Ken had told them about.

As they walked further in the cold weather, they suddenly heard loud crunching noises on the ice and snow. The sound resembled that of a big man walking on land, creating a discernible tremor and noise. Before they could grasp what was happening, they heard a gunshot. Two bullets came hurtling towards them, but before they could reach Robin, Ken had stepped forward and sliced the two bullets in half with his sword, all in one swift motion.

"Thank you," Robin said.

"Oye... It's very cowardly for two Yetis to attack from behind. Don't you think so?" Ken shouted. He knew who had attacked. It was the two Yeti brothers who lived on the island and essentially served as the last gatekeepers.

They were hired assassins working for Caesar and were instructed to act when necessary. By this point, Caesar knew that something was amiss, and from the hidden cameras on the island, he could roughly discern that the Straw Hats were heading in the direction of the laboratory.

"Yeti? What is a yeti? Sound delicious," Luffy chimed in.

"Those are not something to eat, you idiot," Ken retorted. In response to Ken's earlier shout, there was no reply. Instead, there were more gunshots. This time, it was Jinbe who stepped forward.

"Fishman karate: Karakusagawara Seiken (Arabesque Tile True Punch)."

The bullets gradually halted in mid-air in front of them and then slowly reversed their trajectory in the same manner they came, at the same speed. Luffy, who had been surveying the surroundings, vanished from his spot. After a moment, everyone heard two loud thuds followed by a slight tremor. A minute later, Luffy reappeared with the staff in his hand.

He had just knocked the Yeti brothers out cold and triggered an avalanche on them. Though ice was their domain, having thousands of tons of weight fall on them must have caused considerable pain.

"I'm pissed off now. Let's go," Luffy said. He had expected something to eat, and instead, when he fought them, all he encountered were long, hairy, white giants. This must have further fueled his anger.

They quickened their pace and soon arrived at the laboratory, which had a massive blast door.

"This place seems to have significant problems," Jinbe remarked, sensing that many people were inside. His Haki wasn't yet as honed as Luffy and Ken's, so it took him a bit of time. Ken knew the blast door wouldn't open on its own and drew his sword, swinging at the door.

Just like before, the door was instantly brought down, and they entered. There was no welcome at the door, but they could easily detect the rancid odor emanating from inside. Luffy stepped forward and sucked in all the air around him into his stomach, then blew it out.

The Straw Hats weren't confused after seeing this. Over the 2 years, Ken had insisted Luffy to take a training that would make him invulnerable to poison. Magellan didn't happen but he had the character to help him and thus in 2 years he had been using his godly power to make his body invincible to poison attack. 

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