Chapter 513: A Difficult Problem
With Trafalgar Law's explanation, Ian immediately understood.
It was all Doflamingo's doing from the past.
The Donquixote family were once Celestial Dragons, but Doflamingo's father, for some inexplicable reason, decided to abandon his status as a World Noble and return to ordinary life. He actually took his family and left Mary Geoise to live among commoners. This gave people who harbored a deep hatred for the Celestial Dragons a target for their vengeance.
The later life of Doflamingo's family could only be described as utterly miserable. For someone as twisted, violent, and arrogant as Doflamingo—who was born with the temperament of a Celestial Dragon—this was absolutely intolerable. So he killed his own father with his own hands, hoping to present his father's head as a trophy and earn a chance to return to the ranks of the World Nobles.
However, the Donquixote family's identity chip had already been retrieved. Without that chip, how could the Celestial Dragons ever allow Doflamingo to return?
Thus, Doflamingo was forced to wander the seas, becoming a pirate. But this guy was truly wild by nature, willing to dabble in any kind of business, and his strength was extraordinary. In the end, he rose to become a major pirate at the level of a Warlord of the Sea.
As for Doflamingo's biological younger brother, Rosinante, he had witnessed his brother killing their father with his own eyes. Although he had always followed Doflamingo, deep down, he could no longer identify with his brother at all.
Rosinante served as "Corazon" in Doflamingo's pirate crew, meaning "Red Heart." But he never considered himself a member of the crew. Instead, he later found an opportunity to join the Marines, becoming a disciple of Fleet Admiral Sengoku. He then returned to the Donquixote Pirates as a Marine spy, monitoring his own brother on behalf of the Marines.
Trafalgar Law was also an unfortunate soul. He was born in a place called the White Town in the North Blue. Tragically, the people of that town had excessively mined a mineral called Amber Lead, causing trace amounts of toxins from the mineral to accumulate in their bodies over time. When the toxins finally reached their limit, an outbreak occurred, and the entire town's population fell victim to this poisoning.
This disease was not contagious, nor was it a plague, and it seemed possible to cure. However, the World Government suppressed the news, leaving neighboring countries unaware of the truth. Terrified of the disease, they blockaded the town and shot anyone attempting to escape to seek treatment.
Law's parents were doctors who actively searched for a cure, hoping to save the entire town. But they were mercilessly gunned down by a cleanup squad. Even Law's younger sister, lying in a hospital bed, died when the hospital was set on fire...
Left alone, Law escaped by hiding among a pile of corpses. The upheaval in his family and the cold, heartless nature of people twisted his personality. As someone who could die at any moment, Law became mentally distorted. Harboring a desire for revenge against the world, he joined the Donquixote Pirates.
However, within the crew, Law met Rosinante. Sympathizing with Law's tragic story, Rosinante did everything he could to cure him.
He took Law across the world, searching for renowned doctors, never giving up despite facing cold shoulders and misunderstandings.
Young Law saw all of this, and his once-frozen heart gradually thawed under Rosinante's influence.
But just then, Rosinante learned of the Surgery Fruit's whereabouts. Doflamingo told him about it, hoping to obtain the Devil Fruit for Rosinante to eat, so he could cure Law's illness.
Of course, that was just the surface. In reality, Doflamingo wanted Rosinante to eat the fruit and then perform the "Perennial Youth Surgery" on him, granting him immortality.
The problem was that Rosinante was a Marine spy and already a Devil Fruit user. He couldn't eat the Surgery Fruit. Doflamingo's plan was doomed to fail. During the struggle to obtain the fruit, Rosinante was unfortunately discovered by Vergo. Vergo was Doflamingo's spy within the Marines, and upon learning Rosinante's true identity, he informed Doflamingo.
In the end, Rosinante was killed by Doflamingo's own hands. Law, who was hidden in a box by Rosinante at the time, heard the entire conversation between the two, as well as the gunshot when Doflamingo killed Rosinante.
Crying uncontrollably, Law managed to deceive Doflamingo and escape. From then on, to avenge Rosinante, he regarded Doflamingo as his greatest enemy, constantly yearning to kill him with his own hands.
If Ian hadn't appeared, Law would have continued into the New World, eventually presenting a hundred pirate hearts to the World Government in a brutal manner to become a Warlord of the Sea.
Then, he would have teamed up with Luffy to scheme against Doflamingo, aiming to strip him of his Warlord title and remove the Marines' support, before taking his revenge.
The reason for this approach was that Law knew exactly how strong Doflamingo was.
He understood that even as a Surgery Fruit user, he stood no chance against Doflamingo.
But Ian's appearance changed many things.
Back then, Ian led a group of Warlords, forcing Doflamingo to flee in panic, abandoning his base in Dressrosa. He also exposed Doflamingo's atrocities to the world, leading to the revocation of his Warlord title.
Although the intervention of the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates allowed Doflamingo to escape, when the news spread across the world via newspapers, Trafalgar Law knew that his hope for revenge now rested on Ian, the Warlord known as the "Black Dragon."
He formed the Heart Pirates and set out on the Grand Line, specifically to find Ian.
At this point, Law was still a complete rookie pirate. Despite having a high bounty, he held no status in Ian's eyes.
In the original timeline, even after becoming a Warlord, he was willing to form an alliance with Luffy to take down Doflamingo, showing that he would stop at nothing for revenge.
Now, facing Ian, he couldn't propose an alliance as an equal. So he chose another approach: requesting to join the Dragon Hunter Pirates as a subordinate.
In other words, if there were wine on hand, he would even drink a cup of sake with Ian, becoming his sworn little brother!
As a time traveler, Ian knew all the ins and outs of this story. But Luffy and Hawkins had no idea, so they were very surprised by Law's mention of killing Doflamingo with his own hands.
In an instant, Ian figured out why Law was doing this. But honestly, he was quite surprised. When he fought Doflamingo, he never imagined that Trafalgar Law would come to him like this.
The butterfly effect wasn't random; every cause had its effect.
"You want revenge on Doflamingo. Do you know where he is now?" Ian asked Law solemnly.
"Yes!" Law nodded. "He's now part of the Beast Pirates, under one of the Four Emperors. I know I can't shake a giant like that on my own, so I can only turn to you, Ian-dono!"
Ian nodded. He had already received news that Doflamingo had joined Kaido's ranks. But he knew he wasn't a match for the Beast Pirates yet, so he had put aside the idea of going after Doflamingo, only keeping a wary eye on them.
"Since you know Doflamingo is under Kaido now, you should understand that even joining the Dragon Hunter Pirates won't let you get revenge right away," Ian reminded Law.
"I understand!" Law nodded. "Rest assured, if I join the Dragon Hunter Pirates, I'll give my all, even if it means dying. I only ask that you remember your promise to me, Ian-dono!"
A promise... Ian's mind wandered. Many members of his crew had joined because of a promise from him. For example, Robin—he promised to take her to find the Poneglyphs. Or Enel—he promised to let him go to the Endless Vast after six years. These promises varied, but to Ian, they were all responsibilities.
Fulfilling these promises would make Ian a captain truly worth following...
After thinking it over, Ian reached out and placed his hand on the sheath of the nodachi Law was holding with both hands, saying, "I promise you that one day, you will kill Doflamingo with your own hands. From today onward, your Heart Pirates will merge into my Dragon Hunter Pirates!"
This was his acceptance of Law's request to join. For Ian, his crew already included Urouge's Monk Pirates, so adding another Supernova's crew didn't matter.
Seeing Law join Ian's crew, Hawkins began to think about what he should do. After witnessing the strength of Marine Admiral Kizaru, he realized his own power was far too weak.
Should he also seek shelter under a powerful force? Ian seemed like a good choice.
But before Hawkins could decide, Drake stepped forward to take his leave. "Ian-sama, thank you for your help this time. I'll be leaving now. If there's a chance in the future, I'll repay this debt of gratitude!"
Ian nodded without saying anything.
Drake left. Scratchman Apoo hesitated for a moment, also thanked Ian, and followed.
Seeing Hawkins' hesitant expression, Ian knew what he was thinking. "Feel free to leave if you want. Don't worry about what I think."
He understood the mentality of these Supernovas. Law and Urouge might be exceptions, but the others were all proud and ambitious, wanting to make a name for themselves. The dream of becoming the Pirate King hadn't been abandoned yet. Only when they truly entered the New World and understood its cruelty would their mindsets change.
Hearing Ian's words, Hawkins stopped hesitating. Nodding expressionlessly, he also took his leave.
Now, it's just you guys left!
Ian looked at the Straw Hat Pirates, feeling a massive headache. Kuma, you really left me a difficult problem...
[Chapter End]