Chapter 20 : One Piece (10)

After gaining Law and Lami as crewmates, I decided to leave Flevance immediately. The very air was toxic, and I didn’t want to risk further exposure for Law and the still-frail Lami.

“A… a ship in the sky?”

“What are Shine-san’s abilities?”

“Ahem! That’s our captain!” Yamato puffed out her chest proudly.

“Why are you acting smug?” I retorted, rolling my eyes.

I pulled the Maxim from my Inventory, loaded everyone on board, and left Flevance behind.

“Lami, you need to rest below deck.”

“Okay,” she replied weakly.

“Yeah, stay put for a few days, even if you feel restless. You’ll be feeling much better soon.” I settled Lami, whose hair and eyes were still white from the advanced stages of Amber Lead poisoning, onto a bed in the ship’s infirmary.

I called Law aside.

“What is it?” she asked, tilting her head.

“This is for you.” I held out the Op-Op Fruit.

“Is this…?” Law’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Yeah, it’s a Devil Fruit.” Her surprise was understandable. Devil Fruits, regardless of their type, were incredibly valuable, each one worth at least 100 million berries. They were like winning the lottery.

“But… why are you giving this to me?”

“Why else would I give you a Devil Fruit? I want you to eat it.”

“I… I can’t accept something this valuable. I haven’t even repaid you for saving Lami…” Law protested, hesitant to accept such a precious gift.

“Law,” I said, my voice gentle but firm, “this is your repayment. Eat this fruit, become stronger, and become a valuable member of my crew. That’s all I ask.” A strong Law would be an invaluable asset. And there was another reason. Law was still suffering from the effects of Amber Lead poisoning. The Op-Op Fruit was the perfect cure.

I could have healed her with magic, but it would have taken a severe toll on her already weakened body. Lami’s current frailty was a direct result of my magical healing. I explained this to Law, emphasizing that eating the fruit would be the best course of action. Finally, she relented.

“Ugh…” she grimaced after taking a bite.

“It tastes awful, doesn’t it? Just swallow it. You’ll gain its power.”

“Okay…” she mumbled, forcing the fruit down, fighting back the urge to gag.

And so, the number of Devil Fruit users on my ship increased to three, myself included.

After Law consumed the fruit, I began teaching them about Haki, starting with Yamato, who had already shown some understanding of it.

“Sit in front of me,” I instructed.

“Okay.”

“I’m going to stimulate the Haki within you. Focus and try to feel it.”

“Got it.”

I placed my hands on Yamato’s back, channeling my Divine Haki to stimulate the dormant power within her.

Twitch.

Yamato’s body twitched as her Haki began to circulate.

“It… it tickles…”

“Focus, even if it tickles. Try to memorize this sensation—the feeling of Haki flowing through your body.”

The first step in wielding mana was to sense it. The same principle applied to Haki. And that’s what I was helping her do. I channeled my Divine Haki—a power derived from Haki, though slightly altered by the addition of holy energy—into Yamato, stimulating her own Haki and making her aware of its presence.

“This… is Haki.”

“Can you feel it?”

“Yeah! It’s moving inside me! Is this really Haki?”

“That’s right. Now, let’s learn how to use it—Armament, Observation, and Conqueror’s.” I shared with her the sensations of wielding Toushinki, Kanshinki, and Tenshinki—coating, extending, and releasing my Divine Haki. Since Divine Haki originated from Haki, my experience would be beneficial to her.

Yamato quickly grasped the concepts, internalizing the sensations and rapidly increasing her proficiency. I was once again reminded of her incredible talent.

“I did it!”

“Impressive.” In just three days, she had mastered the basics of Armament, Observation, and Conqueror’s Haki. From this point on, she needed practical experience to further refine her skills. There was nothing more I could teach her.

I left Yamato to practice and brought over Law, who had spent the past three days familiarizing herself with her Devil Fruit powers, and Lami, who had finally recovered some of her strength. I explained that I would help them awaken their Haki.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

“Okay!” Law sat before me, her expression eager and focused.

I placed my hand on hers, channeling Divine Haki to stimulate her latent abilities.

Law, in the original storyline, was a prodigy, possessing exceptional talent in both Armament and Observation Haki. Law had even managed to defeat a Yonko in his twenties, earning a 3 billion berry bounty.

As expected, she quickly sensed her Haki.

“Now, try to manipulate your Haki, using the sensations I showed you. If you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to ask me or Yamato.”

“I’ll do my best!”

“Do you really have to be so formal?”

“I can’t speak casually to my benefactor.”

“Fine… Go practice.” I patted her head, amused by her insistence on formality. Her face flushed slightly as she hurried away to practice her Haki.

I called over Lami.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

Trafalgar D. Lami. In the original storyline, she was a minor character, appearing only briefly in Law’s tragic backstory. I had no idea what her potential was. Haki relied heavily on talent. While I hoped she possessed above-average aptitude, there was no guarantee.

I channeled Divine Haki into Lami, hoping for the best.

The result was surprising.

‘Even better than Law…’ Lami’s aptitude for Haki was remarkable. She sensed her Haki almost instantly, significantly faster than Law. If Law was considered a genius, then Lami was potentially even more gifted.

‘This is promising.’ I knew how strong Yamato and Law would become, thanks to the original storyline. But Lami was an unknown factor, which made her potential even more exciting.

“Is… something wrong?” Lami asked, tilting her head, noticing my intense gaze.

“No, nothing’s wrong.” I smiled and patted her head, a gesture of affection and encouragement. She blushed, just like Law. Perhaps it was a Trafalgar family trait.

I sent Lami to practice alongside Law. Since they were both at similar stages in their Haki development, training together would foster both competition and cooperation.

Time flew by. We clashed with numerous pirate crews. Yamato and I handled the captains and stronger fighters, while Law and Lami, despite their young ages – ten and seven, respectively – faced the weaker crew members, the cooks and navigators. It might have seemed harsh, but it was necessary training, conducted in a controlled environment where their safety was ensured. They needed combat experience to survive in this world, especially as members of my crew.

To my relief, they performed admirably. Law combined her developing Devil Fruit abilities with her nascent Haki, while Lami displayed surprisingly adept control over her Haki, particularly Observation Haki, allowing her to predict and counter her opponents’ moves.

After defeating more than ten pirate crews…

“Shine! Look!” Yamato exclaimed, rushing towards me, a newspaper clutched in her hand.

“What?”

“We have bounties!”

“Already?”

“Yeah! We’re in Morgans’ newspaper! And they included our bounties!”

I took the newspaper and saw our wanted posters.

[DEAD OR ALIVE

SHINE

700,000,000]

[DEAD OR ALIVE

YAMATO

255,000,000]

[DEAD OR ALIVE

TRAFALGAR LAW

400,000]

[DEAD OR ALIVE

TRAFALGAR RAMI

200,000]

“Wait… why do I have a 700 million bounty already?”

“Mine’s over 200 million! We have bounties! I finally feel like a real pirate!” Yamato jumped up and down excitedly.

I chuckled, ignoring her exuberance for the moment. While my high bounty was concerning, I wanted to show Law and Lami their wanted posters. I called them over.