Chapter Text
Shamrock threw the report in the flames, the fireplace coming back to life as the half burning embers started eating at the paper, turning it to ash before his eyes. So, the child was getting weaker... It was not a surprise unto itself; although he had not been privy to Saint Saturn's experiments, Shamrock was more than aware of their volatile nature and the disease in itself was merciless without needing additional help.
Still, it rankled at him, the fact that one of the Elders had dared take one of their property for their games. And afterwards let her run away, as if she was theirs to do with as they wished. Father had waved the matter aside - he had no use for a broken slave and cared little for the indiscretion he had left with her.
Between his father's missteps and Shanks' disgrace, Shamrock often felt as if they were one step away from following the Donquixotes in their downfall.
And although the slave had died, the child was still alive, if barely and Shamrock found himself tentatively curious. He had lost any chance of having a sibling when his twin had decided to return to the gutter and the rats he preferred to sail with. And apart from Shanks, Father had always made sure to be rid of all his other indiscretions in a timely manner.
Why he had let this one live, Shamrock did not know. For insurance perhaps? Blackmail? It made little sense to Shamrock, but part of him wanted to see it - her - survive.
And another wanted to get to know his sister.
He had been thinkin about the matter for days, if not weeks now. Ever since the spies he had sent to check on her had sent reports of her illness progressing and the former slave that took care of her becoming increasingly frantic to find a way to save her. Had wondered if it this issue mattered enough to him; enough to risk agering Father, to step away from his duties for a while, to lie.
Enough to do something that might even go against the agenda of the Elders, although that much was only supposition at this point.
It had taken him days to decide that yes. There was risk, but if he was careful, Father would never know. And the child would survive.
Shamrock would get the chance to know her.
Now, as he watched the last report go up into ashes, he realized that finding a way to keep her alive would be tricky. Vegapunk would be able to help most likely, but Shamrock was under no illusion the moment the child would be in his laboratory, the information would be leaked to Father, if not to Saint Saturn himself, which was something he wanted to avoid at all cost.
He already knew how Father dealt with such cases. He wasn't going to risk her, even if he had allowed her to survive once.
The other option — Shamrock returned to his desk and picked up another report, one that he had no reason to destroy. The full - real - accounts of the events on Minion Island and the loss of the Ope Ope no mi. Donquixote Rosinante's betrayal twice over, his death at the hands of his brother and the disappearance of the child he had been spending the previous six months trying to save. A child that disappeared at the same time with the devil fruit in question.
A child that all account said was suffering from Amber Lead disease.
And then, years later, the appearance of a rookie crew in the North Blue, the Heart Pirates. And their captain who bore suspicious resemblance to the lost child and used a devil fruit that could not be anything but the Ope Ope no mi.
Perhaps Shamrock's only chance to see the child cured apart from Vegapunk's experiments.
Setting in motion a plan of action was not as easy as Shamrock would have thought, especially if he did not want Father to find out.
Getting to the child would be easy enough - she was still in the Sorbet Kingdom, under her fa the escaped slave's supervision. Getting her away from there would be easy; it was keeping her away from Father's attention that would prove to be harder which meant she would be the last step to implement in his plan. Even if she were to be moved from the kingdom until then, Shamrock would be able to find her again, either by employing the few trusted men he had in CP0 or maneuvering the underground network once again.
No, first of all he needed to find the one who could save her and assure himself that the pirate would follow through their deal. Kidnapping him would be the easiest solution - after all, even if he sailed in a submarine, Trafalgar was known to do hit and runs on various Marine bases in the North Blue, especially on ones that were known for having high quality medical gear. As soon as he docked, it would be easy to take him away. Or perhaps even commander his crew and submarine - surely it had medical equipment that was at least on par with that on a Marine warship. Good enough to allow the pirate to start working on a cure for Shamrock's sister.
As for leverage; his crew of course. Trafalgar seemed like the type of pirate captain that did not wish to put his crew in the crossfire. There was no bounty for any member of the Heart Pirates so far apart from their Captain and the mink who had been confused by the Marines for a pet, getting a ludicrously low bounty that no bounty hunter worth their salt would even bother with.
His crew and perhaps something else.
Trafalgar could think, foolishly enough, that he could manage to get his crew away, sacrifice himself for them. It wasn't like Shamrock would not be able to find them again is he so wished to, but it would mean extra work he did not have time to bother with. No, he needed something else if the boy actually did manage to get them to safety. Something that would keep him in check from the beginning.
Threats worked well, but bait worked even better. And as his attention returned to the report about the events on Minion Island, Shamrock thought he might have the answer to his conundrum. Perhaps...
Once the plan was set into motion, implementing it took less time than Shamrock could have expected. Tracking down the Heart Pirates had been easy enough, as was securing a disguise for the Lower World .
Gunko would deal with whatever needed to be done in his absence, he knew. He trusted her well enough to make an excuse for him if anyone probed, but not enough to actually tell her his plans. All she knew was that he was following a trail in the Lower World that might take him a few weeks to pursue.
The clothes chafed at his skin, the cloak was a bother and Shamrock found himself hating the necessity of donning peasant's garments the like of which not even the lowest of slaves would have been dressed in at the estate, but it mattered little when it meant he could move around leisurely, without anyone taking notice of his presence.
not for the first time he wondered how Shanks could suffer this. Rough cotton and harsh winds, salt in his hair and no wonder his brother looked more like a ruffian than a Figarland scion.
As much as he hated it, the disguise was useful. Thanks to his brother's wandering habits, any sighting of him could be laid at Shanks' feet were anyone to take note of his features. And if word came to Father, he would not be hearing that Shamrock abandoned his duties, even if for a short period of time. He would simply case the news in fire, as he had done with any information he had received about Shanks throughout the years.
Which was why he had no need to hide his tracks as he made his way to the North Blue. The island he stopped at was one of the warmer Northern ones. With a medium sized marine base holding cutting edge medical technology, at least in comparison to what could be found in one of the Blues. It was a prime place for a raid from the Heart Pirates.
A raid that would be happening soon enough if his intel was correct. All he had to do was wait.
The raid wasn't supposed to be anything big; an in and out like they had done several times to get their hands on better medical equipment. The marine base was supposed to have a better heart monitor than the ratty one they had been dragging along since the first island they stopped at after Swallow and an ultrasound that Shachi had been drooling over ever since he had heard about it.
'Can't always rely on your scan, Captain, although it's nifty. You didn't train me and Peng for us to not be able to pull our weight around.'
It was true, to a degree, although Law did not want to think of a situation where Shachi and Penguin would be forced to deal with a medical emergency on their own. Not yet, at least. Not until his plan would force him to leave them on their own. And that was still some years in the future.
His expectations did not fail to be met, to a degree. Ikkaku and Hakugan crippled the Marine Base, while he and Shachi got their hands on the equipment they needed, Uni, Clione and Penguin running interference, and spreading the marines thin in order for them not to be able to rally a defense. Bepo remained on the Tang, ready to submerge as soon as they were back.
In and out. Equipment secured, another base in shambles and his crew unscathed. It was a success. It should have remained a success. That was until a dark portal opened on the deck of the Tang and all of Law's plans got thrown to the wind.
The vortex flared, black and purples making his eyes smart and for a moment Law didn't know what was happening. The next a clocked stranger was on the deck of the Tang, moving faster than Law had ever though possible, pressing a blade to Shachi's neck.
"Sail off. I am sure by now you have acquired what you wished from this island," he said in a bored tone, as if dealing with them was a chore that had been placed on his hands unwillingly. He did not seem to be a marine, but beither did Law think he was a pirate. There was no ship anywhere near after all, no crew waiting for him. Perhaps a bounty hunter? But how had he been able to appear on their ship? A devil fruit?
Law's fists clenched at his side, pushing down the instinct to call up his Room. He didn't know if he was fast enough to get Shachi to safety. Fast enough to make the blade that had already nicked his friend's skin disappear at least, reduce the danger. He had to wait; make sure he was leaving nothing to chance. Until then, the stranger kept talking.
"Once we are far away from this island, you will tell your crew to submerge," he demanded of Law, making the Heart captain's rebuttal die in his throat as he saw Shachi flinch in pain. A slow trickle of blood stained his skin and Bepo whimpered at their side, trembling in fear. "I have no wish to continue threatening your crew."
The 'although I can', remained unspoken, but Law understood it all too well.
"What do you want from us?" Law finally asked, trying to figure out a way to get Shachi away, before he engaged the other.
"From the rest of them?" The stranger scoffed. "Nothing. I do not waste my time with ants. Your devil fruit, on the other hand, is of interest to me."
Bounty hunter then, Law realized. Aiming to cash in the bounty for the Ope Ope no Mi even if it meant using Law to do so. He didn't want to think of the alternative. Of the possibility that the stranger would demand the Eternal Youth Operation. That he even knew of it.
"Set sail," he commanded instead, sharply. If the potential bounty hunter wanted only him, at least it meant his crew would be safe. And if he thought Law would just come with him without a fight, he was in for a rude awakening. But first, Law needed to see Shachi safely at his side. Or at least far away from the blade to be able to Shambles him away.
As soon as they were far enough from the island, in deep seas, Law gave the order to submerge. He didn't truly expect the stranger to hold his end of the bargain once they were in the depth, but he did. With a fluid movement he sheathed his sword, Shachi moving away from him unhindered, on trembling legs.
At least, there was an advantage being in the depth, an advantage the other handed them on a silver plate even though Law didn't understand why. His crew knew the Tang better than anyone, could use it to their advantage to get themselves rid of the bounty hunter. If his aim was the Ope Ope no Mi, why would he effectively cripple himself like that?
"I am glad to see you are reasonable," the stranger finally said, finally letting the cloak that had been obscuring his features drop.
"What the fuck?" Penguin hissed, and Law couldn't help but agree with his friend's outburst.
The strangers scoffed, features curling in disgust.
"I can assure you I am not who you think I am."
Which made sense because Calypso knew an Emperor had no reason to be on a rookie crew's submarine. But that did not explain why the other looked so much like Red Haired Shanks.