Chapter 119: A Devil's Bargain (Part I)

Because Rocinante had cast his ability upon him, Law could not make a sound inside the chest no matter how much he struggled. By this point, he already knew that what Rocinante had told him earlier—that "because you are Doffy's own brother, nothing will happen to you"—was a complete and utter lie.

Just as he thought that wailing at the top of his lungs was the only thing he could do in this situation, a note was slipped into the chest.

Law picked it up and found a line written on it:
"Go back to Rocinante; he is still alive."

Following that was a Den Den Mushi number.

Just as Law was wondering if this was some kind of trick, he felt the chest shake three times in succession... Yes, someone knew he was in this chest but had chosen to keep it from Doflamingo. Based on that, the contents of the note were not entirely unbelievable.

No, if that were the case, he had to try to believe it no matter what; he had to go back to Rocinante's side one more time.

But the problem was, how could he escape from the chest?

After traveling some distance, Law felt the chest being set down again.

The Donquixote family members had reached the shore; they were waiting for their ship to pull in.

Law quietly poked his head out, and after confirming that no one was paying attention, he climbed out of the chest without making a single sound—this was not something he did by choice; in fact, even if he had wanted to make a sound, he couldn't have.

However, he was not foolish enough to act immediately. He quickly hid among the nearby jagged rocks, and thanks to the heavy blizzard, the footprints he left behind were instantly buried.

"Young Master, we've spotted Vice Admiral Tsuru's warship!" Baby 5 and Buffalo, who were still flying in the sky, reported another piece of bad news.

This crushed the last glimmer of hope Doflamingo had of reclaiming Law from the Navy... though even if he had stood his ground against Vice Admiral Tsuru's pressure and attacked the Navy, the person he would have retrieved would not have been Law, but merely the "useless" man named Diez Barrels.

"...Retreat."

No matter how much resentment he felt deep down, Doflamingo ultimately made the most rational decision.

Going head-to-head with Vice Admiral Tsuru would undoubtedly result in casualties, and with a major event imminent, Doflamingo did not want the family's strength to suffer any losses.

Law, watching from the shadows, did not notice anything unusual about any of the family members, so he could not determine who had left him the message.

But regardless, Law's escape from Doflamingo could be called the luckiest moment of his life. It wasn't a question of who was helping him, but rather who wasn't... At this moment, it even felt as if heaven itself was serving Law.

***

As the family members boarded the ship, Rocinante, lying in the snow on the hillside, had only one breath left—he was holding on by sheer force of will. If he died, the silent ability cast on Law would be dispelled; every second he held on, Law had a greater chance of escape.

However, many things cannot be overcome by will alone. Rocinante felt his consciousness drifting further away, yet his cold body suddenly felt warm again. Was this the fabled "final flare" before death?

Wait! His body was warming up?

Ain, who had already boarded the pirate ship, felt beads of sweat forming on her brow.

The cold touch of the snow, the sharp intake of breath in his nostrils—everything around him became vivid again. Rocinante, who should have breathed his last, was instead becoming more and more spirited, as if his soul had been unshackled from his body.

Before his eyes was pitch darkness... Ah, so I really am dead.

As Rocinante thought this, his hand moved subconsciously, and he felt a small, round object.

A lead bullet?

The professional quickly understood what was beside him.

No, that wasn't right. Rocinante touched his chest, and the bullet wounds that should have been there had all vanished... What on earth was happening? Had time reversed?

This time, he guessed correctly. Time had indeed reversed, and it had certainly reversed much further than Rocinante could have imagined—not just minutes, hours, or days, but twelve years.

Just as his chaotic consciousness cleared and Rocinante began to truly contemplate what had happened to him, the darkness before his eyes vanished.

The snow had been so deep and so heavy that he had been completely buried, which explained the darkness, but now... a pair of hands, not very large, were digging him out.

"Law? Is that you, Law?" Before his eyes had even adjusted to the light, Rocinante could already tell who the blurry figure before him was.

"Corazon! You really are alive! Thank god!" Law, who had been holding back tears the whole way, was prepared to wail at the sight of Rocinante's "resurrection," but the surge of emotion stopped abruptly.

"Are you really Corazon?"

Judging by his clothes, this was indeed Rocinante, but looking at his face... there was no clown-like makeup, and he looked far too young.

"It's me." Rocinante had not yet realized what had happened to him. He sat up halfway in the snow and asked the most critical question: "Where's Doffy?"

The Birdcage that had shrouded the island was gone, so had Doflamingo vanished as well?

"He has already left Minion Island. I saw him get on the ship with my own eyes," Law said hurriedly.

Although he looked much younger, his demeanor, tone, and the questions he asked confirmed that this was indeed the Corazon that Law knew.

"Then... what is going on? What happened to me?" Rocinante was even more confused. The pain of multiple lead bullets piercing his body was still fresh in his mind, yet after such a fatal attack, why was he still alive?

And he didn't even have a single wound on him.

The reason was simple: he had received help from Qiu Bai.

For Ain, using direct contact to reverse a person or object to their state from twelve years ago was an effortless task. But the key to saving Rocinante without Doflamingo noticing did not lie in that; it lay in the fact that this regression ability was not triggered directly, but was processed with a time delay.

Undoubtedly, this was an incredibly difficult feat, and it was only through long-term, persistent training that Ain had barely managed to achieve it.

This was a method of separating the energy infusion from the activation of the ability. Ain had used contact to infuse special energy into Rocinante’s body, and only after everyone had left did she trigger the power contained within that energy... Just thinking about it made one's kidneys ache.

Although it placed a significant burden on Ain, this had been planned long in advance.

But if Qiu Bai claimed this was merely an act of charity... nobody would believe it.

This was nothing more than a transaction.

The price was fair, and the service was genuine, but because they were the only ones who could offer this life-extending service, a new question arose: Do monopolists have a conscience?

Well, asking that seems a bit mindless.

You bought that bag of salt for several dollars or even tens of dollars, didn't you?

The logic is simple: if you aren't heartless, why bother creating a monopoly?