CC

In the broken snowfield after Law's battle with Smoker, Luffy spots Trafalgar Law and immediately waves as if meeting an old friend. "HEYYYY!! IT'S YOU!!" he calls, then shouts across the wreckage, "YOU REMEMBER ME, RIGHT?! THANKS FOR YOUR HELP THAT ONE TIME!!!" The others begin placing the face. Zoro remembers, "THAT'S THE GUY WE MET BACK AT THE HUMAN SHOP ON SHABONDY..." Robin adds, "YES... TRAFALGAR LAW. BUT THESE DAYS..." Usopp stumbles over the name, "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! TRAFAL... UH... TRA-DUDE!! YEAH, HIM!" Someone else explains why Luffy is so warm toward him: "HE'S THE ONE THAT HELPED ME GET AWAY FROM THAT BATTLE WITH WHITEBEARD! HE EVEN HEALED ME UP AFTERWARDS!!" The revelation surprises the group: "HE HEALED YOU...?"

Luffy beams at Law with simple gratitude. "YEAH! HE'S JUST LIKE JINBE... I OWE HIM MY LIFE!!!" Law watches in silence, unreadable beneath his spotted hat, while Luffy continues, "I NEVER THOUGHT I'D MEET YOU IN A PLACE LIKE THIS!! IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DID BACK THEN!!" Then Luffy notices the absence that matters to him right now: "HM? WHERE'S THAT TALKING BEAR?" Law keeps his distance and thinks, "I'M GOING TO GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!" as the snowy battlefield lies strewn with sliced ships, ice, and unconscious Marines. Luffy's friendly greeting does not erase the danger around them, but it establishes that his first instinct toward Law is still the debt from Marineford, not suspicion.

The medical side of the battlefield becomes urgent. Chopper, still acting from another body, sees Smoker down and declares, "LEAVE HIM TO ME, ALL RIGHT?! I'M A DOCTOR!!!" He warns the others, "WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HIM IF HE CARRIES ON LIKE THIS...? IF HIS WOUNDS OPEN UP AGAIN, HE MAY WELL DIE FOR REAL THIS TIME." Chopper gives instructions: "MAKE SURE MISTER STRAW HAT RESTS UP FOR A FULL TWO MORE WEEKS...!!" Law answers only, "UNDERSTOOD. ...YOU HAVE MY THANKS." Then he turns to Luffy and makes his position plain: "YOU'RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE, MISTER STRAW HAT. BUT THERE'S NO REASON... ...FOR YOU TO FEEL INDEBTED TO ME. I SAVED YOU ON A WHIM, NOTHING MORE." He also draws the boundary clearly: "YOU'RE A PIRATE, AND SO AM I. DON'T FORGET THAT." Brownbeard suddenly begs, "TRAFALGAR!! PLEASE, YOU GOTTA HELP MEEEE!!" while someone notices bodies nearby: "HEY... THERE ARE MARINES LYING OVER THERE!"

Luffy accepts Law's warning with his usual grin instead of fear. "...SHISHISHI!! YOU'RE RIGHT. IF WE'RE BOTH AFTER ONE PIECE... THAT MAKES US ENEMIES, BUT STILL, I OWE A LOT OF PEOPLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO!" he says. "I MUST BE PRETTY LUCKY TO RUN INTO FIRST JINBE, AND NOW YOU!!! SO THANKS - I REALLY AM GRATEFUL!!!" Law says nothing, but the moment breaks when cries rise from the wreckage. A voice pants, "*PANT*... *PANT*... SMOKER-SAN...?" Then the Marines find their commander: "SMOKER-SAN!!" Tashigi recognizes the scene with disbelief: "IT CAN'T BE..." and another voice says, "AHH... MARINES?!" Luffy looks toward the fallen body and wonders, "HUH? COULD THAT BE..." The reunion with Law is interrupted by the sight of Smoker and G-5 scattered across the snow.

The Marines confirm the disaster. "HEY, THIS LOOKS BACK, LUFFY!! IT'S THE MARINES!!!" one of Luffy's group shouts. Tashigi and the G-5 men panic over both leaders: "SMOKE-YAN, ARE YOU OKAY?!!" "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PRETTY CAPTAIN?!" and "SMOKER-SAN!!!" Smoker lies with "A HOLE... IN HIS CHEST..." and one Marine cries, "SMOKEY!! IT REALLY IS YOU! MAN, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU GUYS IN AGES!!" The truth dawns on Tashigi: "THIS GUY'S A MONSTER!! HE DELIVERED THE HEARTS OF A HUNDRED PIRATES TO MARINE HQ IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS SHICHIBUKAI TITLE!!" Brownbeard charges in fury, calling Law "YOU FIEND!!" but Law casually sends him flying with a "SWISH" and says, "OHHH, COME OFF IT. THAT KIND OF MINDLESS VIOLENCE... REALLY IRRITATES ME."

Law's irritation turns into another precise use of his power. With a sudden impact, he returns Smoker's heart to him, and Luffy stares in shock as the heart-shaped cube vanishes back into the Vice Admiral's chest. Smoker lies unconscious, and the Marines shout, "TASHIGI-CHAAAN!!!" One cries, "UGH... WAS ONCE NOT ENOUGH FOR HIM?!!" while another notices, "SMOKE-SAN'S LYING UNCONSCIOUS AS WELL!!" Zoro watches Law closely and asks, "WHAT DID HE JUST DO...?" Law warns Tashigi's side without giving comfort: "THAT WOMAN JUST DOESN'T LEARN... DON'T GET SO WORKED UP, ALL RIGHT?" Brownbeard tries again: "I KNOW!! OH, BUT YEAH - TRA-DUDE!! THERE'S SOMETHING I NEED TO ASK YOU!!" but Law cuts past him and points the way: "HEAD AROUND BEHIND THE FACILITY."

Law tells Luffy, "YOU'LL FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THERE. I'M SURE WE'LL MEET AGAIN." Brownbeard, relieved, thinks Law is talking about him: "PHEW...! HE'S TALKING ABOUT ME!! I CAN'T HANG AROUND HERE... I'M A FORMER PIRATE TOO!!" Law adds only, "WE BOTH HAVE THINGS... WE NEED TO RECLAIM." Luffy's group starts moving as the Marines stir behind them. "COME ON, LUFFY!! WE'RE GONNA GET AWAY FROM THESE MARINES!!" someone calls, and another asks, "YOU THINK SMOKEY AND HIS FRIENDS WILL BE OKAY?!" Luffy wonders, "DID THEY GET BEATEN BY TRA-DUDE?!" The Marines spot them and shout, "SHOOT THAT MAN DOWN!! HE'S STRAW HAT LUFFY!!" but the crew refuses the delay: "NO, DON'T GO AFTER HIM!! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! SMOKE-SAN AND THE CAPTAIN ARE...!!"

Behind the facility, Sanji's team pushes through the deadly cold with the rescued children. The caption places them clearly: "THE MOUNTAINS BEHIND THE FACILITY - SANJI'S TEAM." The cold is brutal enough that even the body-swapped adults are losing patience. One of them groans, "DEATHLY FREEZING COLD! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE SAMURAI OR THE KIDS OR ANY OF THAT!!" Sanji, still obsessing through Nami's body, wails, "I JUST NEED TO FIND MYSELF A CAMERA!! I'VE GOTTA TAKE SOME PICTURES BEFORE I TURN BACK TO NORMAL!!!" Usopp yells at him, "WHAT KIND OF PICTURES ARE YOU PLANNING ON TAKING?!!" and adds, "AND STOP SPURTING NOSEBLEEDS EVERYWHERE!! THAT ISN'T YOUR BODY, YOU KNOW!!" The children are still suffering, and Sanji asks them, "ARE YOU KIDS ALL RIGHT? IT MUST BE HARD ON YOU, BUT YOU HAVE TO HANG IN THERE! I HAD NO IDEA HUMAN BODIES FELT THIS COLD..."

The children begin to freeze in the open. They cry, "I'M SO COLD, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE... I CAN'T MOVE...!!" "ME TOO...!! I'M GONNA FREEZE TO DEATH...!!" and "ME TOO..." One of the adults realizes, "...UGH, MAYBE IT WAS A BAD IDEA TO BRING THESE KIDS OUTSIDE WITHOUT A PLAN...!! THOUGH I CAN'T REALLY FEEL THE COLD IN THIS BODY..." Looking across the mountains, someone says, "BUT I DON'T SEE HOW WE'RE GOING TO FIND ANY WARM COATS OUT HERE IN THE OPEN...!!" Another suggests, "MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE HUT SOMEWHERE WHERE WE COULD HIDE OUT AND WARM UP...?!!" Kin'emon cuts through the panic with his own odd logic: "THERE IS NOTHING ELSE FOR IT... LISTEN, ALL OF YOU!! YOU MUST EACH PLACE A SINGLE LEAF UPON YOUR HEADS!!" Sanji and Usopp react with disbelief: "HUH?! THE HECK ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT?!!"

The group obeys Kin'emon despite not understanding him. "ALL RIGHT, WE'VE DONE IT!! BUT WHAT WAS THE POINT?!" someone asks, while Kin'emon threatens, "IF YOU SAY IT'S SOME KIND OF WORTHLESS CHARM TO WARD OFF THE COLD, I'M SERIOUSLY GOING TO MURDER YOU...!!!" Then Kin'emon roars, "DORON!!" and smoke bursts around the children and adults. With a magical transformation sound, "WHAAAA AAAAAA AAA?!!" rises from the crowd, and the leaves become warm clothing. The children and crew are suddenly wrapped in coats and even shoes. "THEY TURNED INTO COATS!! WITH SHOES EVEN!!" someone shouts. The scene changes instantly from desperate exposure to astonished relief, proving that the samurai's bizarre instruction was a practical survival trick.

The children celebrate the warmth: "YAAAAY! THEY'RE SO WARM!!" and "REALLY REALLY WARM!" Sanji asks, "WHAT DID YOU DO?" and Kin'emon begins his explanation: "THE TRUTH IS... I ONCE PARTOOK OF A TERRIBLY RARE FRUIT... AND EVER SINCE, I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE STRANGE AND MYSTERIOUS POWER... ...TO DISGUISE MYSELF AND OTHERS AS I SEE FIT!" He clarifies the limitation: "I AM NOT TOO FAMILIAR WITH FOREIGN CLOTHING, BUT WILL THIS DO? I SHOULD WARN YOU THAT AS THOSE GARMENTS ARE FORMED FROM MY ARCANE POWER, THEY WILL VANISH IF YOU TAKE THEM OFF." The others cheer, "WOOOOW!! THANKS SO MUCH, HEAD-GUY!!" but Usopp snaps, "IF YOU COULD DO THIS ALL ALONG, WHY DIDN'T YOU DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!!" Kin'emon admits, "...IT SEEMED SUCH A SHAME TO COVER UP THAT BRAZEN CHEST BINDING...!!" earning the furious cry, "YOU IDIOT!!!"

The newly clothed group continues through the snow until they spot the others. "THERE THEY ARE!!! YOU GUYS!!" someone shouts, and a tiny voice calls, "HELLO, EVERYONE! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?! YOHO HOHO!" Luffy's side reacts in surprise: "AH!! WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?!!" Sanji is overwhelmed to see his crewmates: "I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU GUYS, DAMMIT!!" He names them at once: "ZORO!! USOPP!! ROBIN!! BROOK!!" Someone adds, "IT'S LUFFY AND THE GUYS!!" and another notes, "OH, THEY'RE HERE TOO?" But the reunion is not entirely orderly. Franky, in Chopper's body, crawls excitedly toward Robin and she recoils: "HUH? HEY, WHAT'RE YOU DOING, FRANKY?!! STOP THAT!!" Zoro notices the children and asks, "AND WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE? THEY LOOK LIKE GIANT CHILDREN!"

The reunited crew takes shelter near the shattered entrance. Someone gasps, "*PANT*... *PANT*... WE MADE IT... WE SHOULD BE OKAY HERE." The facility behind them looks ruined, and one of them observes, "THIS PLACE LOOKS LIKE IT'S MADE OUT OF THE SAME STUFF AS THE FACILITY BACK THERE. BUT IT'S ALL IN PIECES... THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME KIND OF GIANT EXPLOSION." Another says, "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS AS LONG AS WE CAN GET OUT OF THAT BLIZZARD!" The body-swapped crew tries to explain itself. Franky cries, "WAAAHHH! I INJURED MY OWN DELICATE BODY!!" Chopper says, "DON'T WORRY, I'LL FIX IT RIGHT UP!!" only for the reply, "SANJI-KUN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY BODY?!" and the correction, "I'M CHOPPER, REMEMBER?!" Brook celebrates, "ASHIMALLOW... MY WONDERFUL BACK LEGS..." while someone else shouts, "MY LOWER HALF HAS RETURNED!!!" The others can only stare and say, "THIS IS QUITE SURREAL" and "NOW, WHERE THE HECK DO WE START EXPLAINING...?"

A thrown newspaper or wanted sheet flutters past while the crew tries to calm down. "AT ANY RATE, WE ALL NEED TO CALM DOWN AND ASSESS THE SITUATION..." someone says. Nami offers, "I KNOW IT'S HARD FOR YOU TO GO WITHOUT THOSE THINGS... REALLY? YOU DON'T MIND?" and the roll call begins so everyone can understand the body swap. "FIRST UP, I'M FRANKY," says Chopper's body. "AND I'M CHOPPER!!" says Sanji's body, promising, "IF YOU'RE HURT, I'LL FIX YOU RIGHT UP!!" Then Franky's body declares, "I'M NAMI," adding, "I'D SOONER DIE THAN FIRE OFF ANY 'BEAMS.'" Sanji, now in Nami's body, proudly reveals himself: "...ARE NNNNAMI-SAAAAAAN!!" and others cheer, "YEAH!! THAT'S WHAT WE WERE WAITING FOR!" Nami is furious: "FUNNY, I DON'T REMEMBER 'NAMI-SAN' BEING A VULGAR OAF...!!!" Sanji begs, "I'M SORRY!! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!! PLEASE DON'T HURT NAMI-SAN ANY MORE!!" while Nami demands, "I WANT 200,000 BELI FOR EVERY TIME YOU TOUCH MY BODY, 100,000 FOR PEEKING."

Once the identities are sorted out, Kin'emon explains his place in the chaos. Someone summarizes, "SO BASICALLY, TO SUM THINGS UP... THIS GUY IS THE 'SAMURAI FROM THE WANO COUNTRY' WE HEARD ABOUT." Kin'emon explains how everything began: "THE DISTRESS SIGNAL WE PICKED UP... WAS SENT FROM ONE OF THOSE CENTAUR GUYS... TO THAT CROCODILE CENTAUR THEY CALL 'BOSS'. THE WHOLE THING GOT STARTED BECAUSE THIS SAMURAI WAS RUNNING AROUND SLICING UP ALL THE CENTAURS." Kin'emon then states his true goal: "I SOUGHT NOTHING MORE THAN TO FIND AND RECOVER MY MISSING SON, MOMONOSUKE. WHY SHOULD I NOT SLICE DOWN THOSE WHO STAND IN MY WAY?!!" The rescued children add the key piece: "AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE WERE A LARGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN HELD CAPTIVE IN THAT FACILITY!!" Kin'emon realizes, "DOUBTLESS MY MOMONOSUKE IS STILL IMPRISONED SOMEWHERE WITHIN!!"

The children clarify that the facility held more victims than the Straw Hats rescued. "IT'S TRUE, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY KIDS WHO WERE IN THERE," one says. Another adds, "AND I DON'T KNOW THE NAMES OF ALL THE KIDS WHO ARRIVED RECENTLY..." Zoro cuts to the real issue: "THE QUESTION ISN'T WHAT CAUSED THAT DISTRESS SIGNAL. IT'S WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS." Kin'emon then hears something shocking from Luffy's side: "HUHHHHH?! TRA-DUDE'S A SHICHIBUKAI NOW?!" Law's new title is explained: "INDEED. HE JOINED THEIR RANKS DURING THE SPACE OF THE PAST TWO YEARS. THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM REFERRED TO HIM AS A 'SHICHIBUKAI'." Kin'emon recounts the trauma that followed: "BEFORE I KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING, I HAD BEEN SLICED INTO THREE! MY HEAD WAS TAKEN TO THAT FACILITY... MY TORSO WAS ABANDONED... AND MY LEGS ALMOST BECAME FOOD FOR SOME MANNER OF WILD BEAST...! AS I RAN FOR MY LIFE, RELYING SOLELY ON MY ABILITY TO SENSE THE ENEMY'S PRESENCE, I FOUND MYSELF STUCK FAST TO SOMETHING..."

Kin'emon's story becomes stranger as the others try to imagine how his body parts survived separately. Luffy guesses, "COME TO THINK OF IT, HE WAS SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT AN 'ACCURSED SHICHIBUKAI'." Someone asks the obvious question: "WHAT, WITH JUST HIS LOWER BODY? HE COULD TALK LIKE THAT?" Zoro admits, "HM? THAT'S A GOOD POINT..." but Kin'emon insists, "IT IS A UNIQUE SKILL THAT I POSSESS, PFFT!" The crew recoils at the crude detail: "YOU WERE TALKING BY FARTING?!! THAT'S JUST GROSS!!!" Kin'emon answers, "BUT IT IS TRUE, PFFT! WHEN YOU DO IT INDOORS, IT STINKS!!" Brook tries to compare the impossibility to himself: "YOHOHO... IT IS RATHER STRANGE TALKING TO A PERSON WHO IS JUST A HEAD AND LEGS! ALMOST AS STRANGE AS EARLIER, WHEN I MET A PERSON WHO WAS ONLY A TORSO!" He then realizes, "THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THIS GUY'S TORSO, RIGHT!" while the Marines regroup nearby and Tashigi, strangely calm in Smoker's body, says, "STRANGELY ENOUGH, I FEEL FINE..."

The regrouped G-5 Marines examine the hidden ship and connect it to Punk Hazard. A Marine reports, "THE SHIP THAT WAS HIDDEN ALONGSIDE THE RESEARCH FACILITY BORE A MARK READING 'CC'." Another explains, "IF IT WAS A SHIP BELONGING TO THIS FACILITY, IT WOULD BEAR THE MARK 'PH' IDENTIFYING IT AS THE PROPERTY OF PUNK HAZARD." Smoker, now forced to reason through the situation from Tashigi's body, concludes, "BUT IF THERE IS SOMEBODY ELSE PULLING THE STRINGS HERE BESIDES LAW... SOMEONE WITH THE INITIALS 'CC'... THEN I CAN THINK OF ONE POSSIBLE CANDIDATE...!!" He names the man behind the mystery: "THAT FORMER ASSOCIATE OF DR. VEGAPUNK, NOW A DERANGED CRIMINAL WITH A BOUNTY ON HIS HEAD... THE MAN WHO SPEARHEADED DEVELOPMENT OF WEAPONS TO FACILITATE LARGE-SCALE SLAUGHTER... SCIENTIST 'CAESAR CLOWN'!!!" Outside the facility, Law stands in the snow and says, "THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT, LAW?!!" only to answer the larger conflict with Caesar: "I'M THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE COMPLAINING, CAESAR."

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