Chapter 32

POV Law

To be honest, this was a familiar feeling. Not a good one…but one that I was all too familiar with. The first time I met Doflamingo, I knew that he was unbelievably powerful. So powerful that during my years working under him, I couldn’t even imagine myself in comparison to the level of strength he commanded.

An insurmountable wall.

Over the years and starting once again in North Blue, I had managed to overcome that wall. Brick by brick I had removed where it was necessary and step by step achieving power closer to Doflamingo’s level. When I had finally crossed blades with Doflamingo again after all those years…he was still stronger, knowledgeable, and cunning, but he was no longer an impossible opponent. I was at a height in which I could see the top.

However, before I could even finish my fight with Doflamingo, I witnessed another league in which once again, I was that child . It was only a moment but a moment was all I needed to realize that I was outclassed in the duel between the Navy Admiral Fujitora and the mysterious Big Mom Pirate.

Barely a month later, here stood that wall once again. Rebuilt in all it’s glory…brick walls showing no sign of weathering or age. Solid. Once again taking away my hopes of victory against this person.

Syrup: Your next words are going to be ‘I won’t die here like this!’. Shame…there are so many better last words.

I grit my teeth as everything she said cut through my will to fight like a hot knife through butter. She already knew, she saw everything. Was there even a reason for fighting if the outcome was already decided?

Standing there with my nodachi no longer in my hands, I felt vulnerable…weak, empty. Standing in her presence was like being in a steam bath. Not entirely affected but the water vapors sapping at my strength.

Despite this, I knew why I was here. I discarded and scoffed at the growing doubt before calling up my reason for why I was even stuck in this very position.

Bepo, Penguin…my nakama. I had sacrificed my safety so that they would be able t escape safety. Sure, this was a sacrifice but I had no intention whatsoever to never see them again.

Renewed will gave me strength. Determination filled my limbs with adrenaline and power once again. I might not be as strong or experienced without my blade but a true pirate stands true and strong wherever or whatever situation he is in.

Me: I won’t die here like this!!!

With that, I took a crouched stance like the one I had once learned from Doflamingo before activating my Devil Fruit.

I still have my Devil Fruit…if I could just cut her up without her noticing, then it’s my win. Sweet Commander or not!

POV Syrup

Law: ROOM!

Me: *Cube*

The activation of two space-warping and reality-defying Devil Fruits bent the concept of space as the entire Mirror Dimension seemed to cave into itself as the two Devil Fruit powers fought for dominance.

The Doctor’s Room was smoother, able to make preciser and smaller and finer moves. Mine? The chef’s domain, the Kitchen. Mine has both the elegance and power…sure, it was rougher but it was also bigger and powerful.

Comparing the clashing spaces I could see that it was to his fine control, I was brute strength. In the contest of dominance, his gave way as the Room crumpled away as my cube withered away his influence over the space.

Law: Impossible…not even Doflamingo…

Me: Why? Never seen anyone cancel out your powers before so directly? Haki isn’t the only thing that can cancel out Devil fruit abilities you know?

Law: *che* Room!

This time, he acted smart by going onto the defensive. Forming a small and focused (3m radius) room around himself, I was forced to relinquish control of that area.

Law: Looks like I’ll have to face you in close combat.

Me: I told you. I have a blade and you don’t. Are you out of your mind?

To prove a point, I sent a Ice lance at him which shattered when it entered his room. No damage done but point proven nonetheless.

Law: Fist-fighting isn’t the only trick I have up my sleeve.

Me: I see. Only tricks then? No fighting like a true gentleman?

Law responded by rushing at me in a manner which seriously reminded me of Lao G. General form of Martial arts…nothing more, nothing less.

Not willing to let him even think he has me, I rushed up directly to meet him. *dodge, parry, side, lean* I maneuvered around him as I tried to read some of his patterns.

It was quite obvious that he wasn’t used to bare-hand fighting. Shame.

Me: If you want to trade blows…then at least do it like this!

*crunch* Grabbing his right fist (with the satisfying sound signaling that this hand was now useless) which was aimed at my face, I pulled him in before retaliating with my own left hand hook (putting my blade back in the inventory).

!!

Just as my fist connected to his face, my observation flared up in warning. I instinctively covered my entire left arm in pitch black armament just as I felt a familiar cut attempt to cut my hand off at the wrist.

Me: *Instantaneous Mimic*

*SMACK!!!!* Law was blasted off into the walls of the Mirror dimension. A nosebleed sure to come. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a concussion as well but maybe that was too much to hope for against a top tier Supernova.

Me: Utilizing your Devil Fruit in short-range huh. I’ve never seen you do that.

Forming snow around my wrist, I fixed up the slight cut he had managed to make. Due to his Devil Fruit ability, I felt no pain whatsoever. Just a very wrong feeling that something wasn’t connected. When my skin touched each other again, it was as if I never got the slight cut in the first place.

Me: I’m honestly impressed. I didn’t see that one coming until the last moment. But you know…what about your wrist Law?

Law: ?? !! ah…AHH. AHGGGHHHH!!!!

Law just realized as his right hand was now a stump. The same place where I had mimicked his attack in the same instant he tried to attack me. Of course…it was to my benefit it wasn’t a perfect mimic.

Me: The Kitchen-Kitchen Fruit and the Ope-Ope Fruit has many similarities. Of course, my fruit is a direct superior to yours in both ability and power. Despite this…there are a few things that my fruit lacks.

Law clutched his cut off hand and tried to reattach it to his stump; however, unlike what his devil fruit should be like, the hand didn’t attach.

Me: Unlike yours, my powers do not negate pain. I cut directly through the nerves, giving all I cut a sense of great pain as if you had been cut by my own blade.

Law cried out in anguish once again clutching his stump.

Me: And one more…unlike your fruit, a chef doesn’t stitch wounds. In other words, unless I want to, your hand is gone for good Law.

Law: *groan* It’s too early for you to decide that. Don’t you think?

I felt his Devil Fruit flare up once again as I saw something that surpassed my expectations once more. With his own Devil fruit…he cut off a little of his stump as well as the end of his cut-off hand.

What the fuck?

With the thin slices of his wrist on the ground discarded, Law’s expression cleared up. Instead of panicking like I thought he would, he grabbed the hand before forcibly adapting the hand to latch onto the new stump…and this time it worked.

Law: I’ll have to do with a slightly shorter right arm but it’s better than no-hand. Don’t you think?

Me: …Shame. I thought Shanks, Crocodile, and Kidd would finally have another armless comrade.

I summoned my blade once again from my inventory before pointing it at his head.

Me: If my Devil Fruit powers are canceled out by yours, then I’ll simply have to cut off your head the old fashioned way.

Law: You won’t get the chance. I’m just trying to run away honestly.

Me: No pride as a Captain?

Law: I’m no Whitebeard and honestly, I value my life much more than pride.

Me: Good answer for a Doctor I guess.

Brûlée: Kill him Syrup. Kill him!

Me: *sigh* Sis please stay away before he uses you to go through one of the mirrors. That is the last thing we need right now.

Law: But…where’s your pride Sweet Commander? Fighting with a blade against a mere Supernover who’s unarmed and injured?

Me: You should know that taunts don’t work on me.

Law: It’s not about taunt. It’s about honor and chivalry.

Me: Pirates don’t care about honor and chivalry. …but it does hurt my pride to do this so consider your wish granted. You’re about to get the beating of the lifetime.

Throwing both of my ice blades at him in which one cut his legs, I charged at him for close-quarter-combat. My specialty.

As I got within range, I folded my limbs before sending my elbows out against him. As he ducked under, I sent a knee straight up which connected to his jaw, sending him flying.

Obviously, I wasn’t the dumb antagonist who waits for her opponents to recover before attacking again. Teleporting directs above him, I increased my weight heavily by piling snow, then into ice, before dropping.

Me: Ice Press

Slamming him down onto the floor, I removed the ice to see Law’s nearly broken form. Just by looking, I diagnosed several broken ribs, a broken arm, a slightly pierced lung, and an overworked heart and a slightly bent spine.

Me: Looks like you don’t have the endurance of a rubber man. Even still, I’m impressed you’re even alive after being pressed by nearly a hundred tons of sharp cold ice.

Law: *cough* *cough* I fucking used haki to defend myself. You’re the monster here you know? It’s not everyday someone can summon a fucking hydraulic ice press out of thin air.

Me: And it’s not everyday you get to meet someone who breaks the laws of Physics for breakfast. Fuck Torque

With that, I kicked him as hard as I could without using any physical enhancements. It wasn’t haki-strengthened, snow compacted, space bending fuckery, but I was Charlotte fucking Syrup and that alone broke through the barriers of Physics anyway.

The shockwave of the kick broke through hundreds of mirrors in the Mirror Dimension as the Surgeon was sent flying and breaking through the curved columns of the dimension.

Gathering the muscles on my legs, I soru-ed over to his location to see him unmoving and unconscious…well, semi-unconscious as he could probably tell I was here but unable to move at all.

Me: *sigh* Looks like I’ll need to drag you all the way back again then. Brûlée-nee?

Sis Brûlée appeared out of a random mirror that had miraculously not been broken.

Me: Where’s the nearest mirror the the Chateau…no!!!

Perhaps it was my arrogance, or perhaps I had gotten too used to beating up Supernovas…but this mistake proved to be fatal. I was sure Law was unconscious. I knew he wouldn’t be able to move in those conditions…yet he did.

As I crushed his legs under my foot, he teleported away tackling sis Brûlée into the mirror before disappearing from my sight. To make it worse…

*shatter*

He broke the mirror behind him. Essentially locking me in here…without him.

To be honest, I wasn’t even mad. Just shocked that a prey had managed to get away from me in a state like that. A little humiliating, a little pissed from him previous actions still, but amusement was the main feeling I had in me.

This was supposed to be impossible. If I decided to kill him, then she shouldn’t be allowed to survive. After all, didn’t I have to power to defy fate after all?

Me: Plot?

That was the only solution I could think of that had even the tiniest bit of logic to it. Whatever condition Law is in, he would find a way to fix himself up, essentially making my work useless except the physiological impact I would have had on him.

Why though? Was he needed to defeat Kaido? Would he play such a big role in the future that not even fate would allow me to mess around with? No…no…this was something bigger.

Fate has never been able to stop me before. Not when I had put my heart and head into achieving something.

I had saved Ace from certain death, a fated death. I had personally killed Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard), a man who was supposed to be the opposite of Luffy with an inherited will and speculated to be the final villain of the series.

Even besides that, I had forced Supernovas who should be elsewhere under Big Mom’s service and killed off others who would and could pose a threat. So why now?

I had a bad feeling about wha—whoever it was…a sinking feeling in my stomach as I could not even fathom whoever could disregard fate, destiny, and even my luck so casually.

Hopefully this was just a passing incident. Something that happened out of complete coincidence…and yet I couldn’t get rid of something that was approaching slowly. But I had nothing on it yet. No information, no proof, or anything to base my claims on. Only my instincts but my mind was trying to argue against it.

Enough. Enough nonsense for now. I can worry about this later.

The cards that I held fell apart one by one with Law’s sudden aggression, me turning to fight against him, and finally with him leaving me here like that. My plan for getting out of here might as well have gone down the drain.

I did have a backup plan but it wasn’t as well fleshed out as what I had planned out. It would need a lot of improvisation from one point to another. As a general rule, I hated when things go wrong…especially in such a tight and horrid situation.

Like now.

I sensed multiple very familiar presences behind me approaching. None of them weak either. 4 members of my family.

Katakuri: It’s time we talked about your betrayal Syrup. Why?

Of course he knew. Why wouldn’t he? Besides, shouldn’t he be fighting against Straw hat now?

Daifuku: Come back to us Syrup. It’s not worth it…especially not for you.

Cracker: You do know that Mama will chase you to the ends of this world right? You’re her strongest, smartest, and most useful daughter. She won’t have losing you as well.

Smoothie: Saying that right in front of my face Cracker-nee? It does hurt you know. *turns* Syrup-chan. What’s wrong? Tell us. We can help you.

Me: Just tell me how you know.

Katakuri: If you think about it carefully along with your behavior the past couple of weeks, it’s quite obvious. You acted different and on guard. You seemed to know exactly what will happen at what time. You were seem more and more alone as it got closer to the Tea Party. And finally…this.

He held up a small black den den mushi. One used for recording than calling.

Me: Is that…?

Katakuri: I really didn’t want to do this but I needed to remove the doubt that you had betrayed our crew. Unfortunately, your talk and plans with your Ace-kun didn’t really support my theory or heart.

I put my hood back on. I knew I was in the right…after all, I was a pirate. As a child, it was only natural for me to step out of my parent’s shadow and more so as a pirate. Besides, I’ve never had and nor do I still have the intention of hurting them. Of course, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t if they truly stand in my way.

Me: I see…

Katakuri: ‘I see’. Is that all Syrup??!

Big brother was losing his calm. It wasn’t often we saw him like this…scratch that, it was never.

Katakuri: Why…why? We’ve spent so much time and effort holding our family together. Yes…we are dysfunctional and often times we end up fighting each other but we are family in the end.

Me: I’m not denying that brother. I merely wish to leave the crew.

Cracker: *gasp* You mean leave the family!

Me: Crew, brother, crew. There is a distinct difference between those I consider crew and those I consider family. For one, I have no will to hurt family whereas I don’t care about our crew.

Daifuku: How could you not care? It was you that lead the charges…the attacks and the collections!

Me: For myself. I needed the power and experience if I was to survive in this cursed sea. For you…I needed Mama’s trust so that she would never sell me off like Lola or even my loving twin sister. I needed your faith in me so that no one would suspect me.

Smoothie: And why are you telling all of this to us now?

Me: Because the cat’s out of the bag anyway. With time, you would have put this together anyway with or without me. Rather I tell you myself than risk you all coming to a worse conclusion.

Katakuri: But why sister. Why? Is it for someone else? Is it for…the One Piece?

I think something in me snapped as I heard my brother’s accusation. It hurt to be doubted by family but it was so much worse when he made that assumption that I was doing something like this for something so little.

Me: Do you really think I’m doing this for the One Piece? To become the Pirate King? Those are Mama’s dreams. Along with creating this mess of a wonderland empire with all races equally ruled under her tyranny.

I took a deep breath to stabilize myself before continuing

Me: All of you trapped in the cycle and pattern, it disgusts me. I understand why, of course. Living all of your life in jealousy and envy of Gold Roger’s accomplishments and constantly being compared to who is the closest to the One Piece and more. The position of the Pirate King must look like a throne of gold to you.

I raised both of my arms to the side to gesture the world.

Me: But there is more to the world than the One Piece. There lies more outside of Grand-line that we, for decades, have trapped ourselves in hopes of taking Roger’s legacy. There is more to this world than a single treasure and title.

I took in a deep breath before I delivered my final blow

Me: I will leave this crew.

I could sense the shock on their faces but I didn’t give them the time as I continued.

Me: I will be free from everything that is. Mama could take her position as Pirate King for all I care but it would not be through me. I will leave this god forsaken land and explore on my own rights. Crusade across the seas under my own flag to the sea…the sea that has been calling for too long.

I could feel the tension rising but I continued

Me: I will venture out the line and into the Blues and find what lays within and beyond. Climb to the top of the Red Line and back again. I will go and return for myself and my own wishes.

I pointed my blade at my brother. It hurt to point my blade at him for real, knowing that this was no mock spar. My emotions insidewere raging up but I forced my gift (calm mind) to calm them before I finished what I planned to say.

Me: I will be free. Free…even if that means fighting past you.