33 Invitation

( 3rd POV )

On a sunny day, a massive black ship sailed high above the clouds, tailing a pink ship on the sea below. On the ship's deck, several figures engaged in exercises. A girl with halved red and white hair moved her legs quickly, occasionally disappearing and reappearing nearby. There was also a skinny boy with a little white bear trying to do push-ups not far away from the girl. They were panting, and sweat could be seen dripping from their bodies.

"Yosh! I managed to use Soru for the first time, Vanze nii-san!" She said with enthusiasm to the purple-eyed guy watching not far from them.

"Hahaha, good job Uta-chan!" The purple-eyed guy named Vanze replied to her.

"98... 99... 100...! Huft... Huft..." The skinny boy and the bear beside him were also done with the push-ups, and now they were lying down on the deck trying to catch their breath.

"Damn, it's tough... Huft..."

"I agree with you, Law. Huft... Thankfully, there is you now. Uta used to be dragging me alone with her to train."

"I see... You suffered a lot huh, Bepo."

"Ehehe, not really..."

While the boy and the bear still chatted after finishing their exercise, the girl, not far away from them, overheard their conversation.

"Oi! Don't make me look like I'm a villain, you twig! I'm doing it for Bepo's sake; he needs to stay healthy and become powerful for his dream. And I don't recall asking you to do the same exercise as him either." She retorted.

"You dragged me here and always taunt me, so of course I need to prove that I'm not a sickly bastard I used to be, and stop calling me twig, damn it." Law said to her. Uta and Yamato always dragged the gloomy Law and Bepo with them to play along and when they trained. Yamato, as a Spartan woman, looked at the skinny eleven-year-old Law with disapproval, so she also began to train him.

"Okay, brats. Here, drink this milk; it's good for your growth." Vanze approached them and also shared a few bottles of milk with them. They accepted it and said thanks before drinking it.

"Puah... Oni-chan's milk is always fresh. I love it!"

"Hmm, it's good but why is it warm?"

"Thank you, Vanze-san."

"Of course, I heated it up before in the kitchen, and warm milk is healthy for your body. Anyways, let's go back. I think Robin and Reiju already done cooking breakfast. I know you guys are hungry after the training." Vanze said, instructing them to get up and go back to the cabin together.

The kids, hearing that breakfast is ready, also started to get excited, and they headed towards the dining room together. Upon entering the room, almost all of the crew was already sitting, waiting for them. They sat on the empty chairs, and the last two people also entered—Rosinante and Azel.

"Cora-san!" Law shouted, realizing that Rosinante is already capable of moving around today despite still being helped by Azel.

"Hello, everyone. I'm fine already, Law." Rosinante first greeted the people on the table before taking a seat beside Law. He could sense everyone glancing at him for a moment before focusing back on the food.

"Mr. Vanze and everyone, let me say thank you for saving me and Law back on the Minion island and healing me from the brink of death. I'm really grateful to you. I, Rosinante, owe you." Rosinante said solemnly. The others hear his words and suddenly tilt their heads toward the savior, Vanze. They wanted to see how he will respond.

"It's fine, don't need to be so tense, Rosinante. Congrats on your recovery, though. Well, let's talk later. For now, let's start to eat." Vanze casually replied, mentioning everyone to start the feast. Listening to the leader's order, they started to pick up the foods excitedly.

"Itadakimasu~!"

"Wow, Reiju, your cooking is delicious!"

"Really? I only know a little about cooking from my brother..."

"Robin nee-chan, I want that meat!"

"Hai~ hai~ here, it's for you, Bepo and Law."

"Thank you, Robin-san."

They started to eat with relish, especially the kids who are hungry after their exercises. Even the quiet Azel and Mr. Clown are smiling when eating the foods, but there is a brown-haired guy with an X scar on his chin on the edge of the tables who is eating very slowly and seems absentminded all the time while eating. The guy seems to be isolating himself from the other people around him.

.....

Below Vanze's airborne vessel, a flamboyant pink ship fashioned like a flamingo with pirate flags sailed on the sea. Having eluded the relentless pursuit of the Marines for several days, the crew aboard the ship now took a moment to plan their next move.

Standing on the ship's deck, a man clads in a pink fur coat frowning while listening to the opinions of his crew around him.

"Huft, we finally managed to escape from that old lady's pursuit."

"You are right, Diamante. She is so persistent, but thankfully, our ship didn't take much damage. Oi! Gladius, when will we reach the next island?"

"It won't be long, Trebol-san. According to the map, there is a small island not far away from here; it'll take four hours more or less."

"Good, we need to repair the ship and gather more supplies before going to the Grand Line. How about it, Doffy?" The ugly man with a lot of mucus shared their plan with the pink fur coat guy.

"Hmm, let's do it. I'll go back to the cabin first and try to figure out Vergo's situation." He replied to Trebol before walking through to the cabin.

"Alright..." The crew observed their young master's departure to the cabin with concern.

"Young master seems very concerned about what happened at Minion Island..."

"Of course, he is. Not only did we fail to get the Ope - Ope no Mi, but we also failed to catch that bastard Corazon, and the treasures we looted from those idiots are also not a lot."

"There is also the matter about Vergo..."

"Um... I don't feel good these days; I feel something bad is coming..."

"What nonsense are you talking about, brat! Young master is very powerful; no need to worry much about it, Baby 5. Get out from here and train more with Buffalo there!"

"Hai~ Lao G old man..."

The girl with a maid dress was kicked out from their circle and headed towards the big guy who is training not far away from them. Even though she's reluctant to do it, she will do everything they say because she is afraid of being abandoned by anyone again. Sometimes, she even found herself missing the rude, sickly kid who was always quarrelled with her.

Doflamingo finally arrived at his room before reached for the den den mushi on the table, dialing a number.

"Tsk..."

After a few minutes of silence and no answer from the phone, he put it down before clicking his tongue, showing how annoyed he is at this moment.

"What happened to you, Vergo...? Did he get caught? Even if he is, he will definitely try to escape and give me a message or something before it happens... He is not that stupid... Except..."

Contemplating what might have transpired with his spy in the Marines, Doflamingo's expression suddenly turned grim. His face frowned so much, and the veins on his forehead were also shown before walking behind the table and opening one of the drawers on it hastily.

Vergo is one of the elite men from his crew; not only is he smart, but he is also a powerful guy and has a lot of potential. That's why he sent him as a spy to the Marines; only he could do that task, and he is also a loyal man. Doflamingo's worry makes sense; if he is losing someone as capable as him, it is really a great loss.

When he opened the drawer, there were a few white papers stacked with each of his elite crew names on it. He takes it and sees it one by one; there is Trebol and Pika named on it. Until he finished checking out all the white paper, he didn't find Vergo's vivre card at all. He looked at the drawer once again, and there is only dust and ashes in there.

Realizing that his bad premonition had come true, his expression, which already showed how much annoyed he is, became even more twisted and turned to frustration. Doflamingo is gritting his teeth, while his Haoshoku Haki emanated uncontrollably. His crew outside the cabin senses their young master's Haki, but none of them dared to enter the cabin; they knew that their young master is extremely angry right now.

"Uhm... It looks like Doffy is angry..."

"Well, I guess he finally figured out what happened to Vergo..."

"If he figures out what happened to Vergo, then there is only one answer that can make Doffy so angry."

"You better shut your mouth, Diamante..."

The crew, after talking about their guesses, finally ceased talking, especially the people who joined the crew early and are personally close to Vergo.

Back in Doflamingo's room, the chaos ensued as he expressed his anger by tossing the desk. The veins on his forehead are pulsating like crazy while he touches his forehead with his palm.

"Fufufufufu..." He started to chuckle and giggle like a madman.

"Fufufu... Good... Very good..."

"Let's see who dares to mess with me, fufufu..."

In his disheveled room, Doflamingo continued to laugh, his laughter reflecting his inner rage upon learning of Vergo's apparent demise. As his luck took a turn for the worse from last week, he finally snaps. The fallen "god's" next move is still unknown and remained unpredictable, but one thing was certain—the next island they landed on would bear the brunt of his wrath.

.....

(Vanze POV)

After we finally finished our meal, I ushered everyone into the meeting room. It's about time we talked about the matters concerning Law and Rosinante. Oh, there is also that brown-haired guy matter, Dory.

If not for his X scar on his chin, I would never recognize him. He is so cowardly, and nothing about him represents his future self at all. Yes, he is one of the Supernova and the leader of SWORD, X Drake. Looking at him right now, following us with a cowardly and depressed attitude. It was hard to fathom how this seemingly cowardly man would evolve into the powerhouse he became.

Isn't he supposed to get to the Marine ship and get protection from them when he escaped from Minion Island? You know what, it's not my business.

[ So, how are you going to convince Law to stay and join us without Rosinante, brother? ]

'Hmm, I honestly don't know. I'm just going to give them the truth about their current situation, I guess.' I replied to Seele. Currently, Law and Rosinante could only hide and lay low because if those people know their location, they will end up being hunted.

[ And how about Drak... No, I mean Dory? He is quite powerful for the North Blue standard. Will you also invite him? ]

'Dory... That guy is a mess right now. He didn't even have any resemblance to his future self. Let him stay first like Rosinante; if he can't change and doesn't want to change, then just let him leave, I guess.' With my KG, I could see that Dory had consumed his Zoan Devil Fruit, but how the fuck does he still have that kind of attitude? was the abuse from his pirate crew really that severe?

While I continued conversing with Seele in my thoughts, we finally reached the meeting room. I sat down on my own seat, followed by Robin, Hancock, and the others beside me.

Seeing that me and the others take our own seats, the newcomers also take the empty seats for themselves. There is a silence for a moment after we sit at this round table until I pretend to cough and manage to get everyone's attention.

"Ughm..."

'Damn, why are you guys so tense...'

[ Well, if it is only Law, it's fine. After all, he's already blending with us for a few days, but Rosinante and Dory are just pure strangers to them. With both of their personalities, of course, the meeting will become awkward. ]

'Huh...'

Rosinante finally snaps out from his daze before standing up and staring at everyone. "Well, let me say it once again. Thank you for saving me and Law on that island and healing me from the brink of death. I, Rosinante, owe you. C'mon Law, thank them..." He bowed after finishing his words while whispering the last one for Law.

Law hears Rosinante's words and also stands up and bows to express his gratefulness to them. "Vanze-san and the others, I also want to express my gratefulness for all the help you guys provided for us. Also, sorry if I caused an inconvenience."

Law is a stubborn and also somewhat a tsundere person, but in front of his savior, he doesn't hesitate to say all of those things even though he is already embarrassed by saying that. He understood that without them, he and Rosinante might have perished on that island or met an even worse fate.

"It's fine, it's fine, don't need to be so polite with us. We indeed have our own intentions coming to that island after all, so helping you guys is just a matter of fact." I accept their thanks but also state my objective to them. They seem surprised, and Rosinante is looking at us with a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

"Relax, it's not for the Ope - Ope no Mi that Law already ate. But we came to Minion Island looking for a future capable doctor." Rosinante and Law were caught off guard by the mention of the Devil Fruit, but they patiently listened.

"Uhm, what do you mean Vanze-san? There is no doctor living on that island as far as I know?" Rosinante said. He looks at me with a puzzled look. I ignore Mr. Clown and instead directed my attention to the skinny boy.

"Oh, you are mistaken, Rosinante. There is one; we want to invite him to become our ship doctor because, as you can see, there is none of us who has that talent and knowledge on our groups. Saving you who is already dying that time is also kind of miracle."

"So, Trafalgar D. Water Law, I, as the leader of The Infinite Trailblazers guild, invite you to join us as a new doctor on our group...!"

The silence returned after I'm done with my words as a few individuals have their eyes widen clearly shocked.

"Huh...?"

.....