A BRIEF PRIMER, OF SORTS,

TO DRESSROSA HOSPITAL'S SO-CALLED

'DELINQUENCY PROBLEM'

 don't bring me to tears when I just did my makeup so nice...

──────────────────

City of Dressrosa

Sebio Ward

It was unusually quiet at the Sebio Ward Detention Center for a Friday evening, though that was obviously of little consolation to the only visitor waiting in the lobby. She was a pretty woman – well dressed, dark haired, about in her mid to late twenties – and seemed to be in an absolute state... though quite understandably, given the circumstances. She had been forced to wait there for over half an hour already, and it was clear from the moment she'd come in that she was already close to the end of her tether.

This woman would have been no unusual sight at the Detention Center – much akin to many an exasperated parent or girlfriend forced to put up with whatever scrape their dumbass miscreant of a loved one had gotten into – were it not for the frightfully murderous aura she emanated, potent enough to balk most of the rookie cops there. (Quite the irony considering her line or work, too.)

She muttered unintelligibly to herself as she paced, her long dark waves flouncing with every stride and pivot. The cramped, dingy interior was suffocating, perfused with a faint moldy odor – poisonous to both health and soul, only serving to worsen her mood. The harsh lights overhead cast a sickly sterile tinge over her pale skin, accentuating the sharp wings of her eyeliner and maroon lipstick. Grinding down on the lit cigarette between her teeth, she stalked up and down the row of chairs with the sort of grim fortitude that might be displayed by a famished beast prowling at the mouth of its prey's burrow.

There was a clatter from the hallway. The woman swiveled sharply.

"Your belongings, sir," a deep voice rang out. "Now this way."

The woman stood still and waited. Her frown deepened as a lanky young man presently came shuffling past the open doorway. A broad shouldered cop followed close at his heels, sporting an austere scowl and a long, thin scar which ran down the upper part of his face.

"...Baby 5?"

The woman didn't deign to respond. She huffed childishly and put out her cigarette on the faded No Smoking sign crookedly tacked to the wall. The young man squinted at her for a moment, betraying a flicker of genuine confusion on his thin, welted face. Then he looked around and peered quizzically over her shoulder.

"Where's –"

"She," Baby 5 enunciated, seething the word with enough venom to melt a sizzling hole through the grimy tiles, "refused to come, even when the Director intervened on your behalf. She is not talking to you right now because she's fed up with your bullshit, so you'll have to make do with me. Is that good enough of an explanation for you, Doctor?"

Even the cop was starting to look a little exasperated. He breathed out from around his twin cigars and maintained an irate scowl into the now-defaced No Smoking sign, as if to question all of his previous life choices.

"What were you thinking, Law?" Baby 5 prattled on. Now that the dam was broken, all of her grievances came spilling out in a relentless torrent. "Gladius thinks you should be committed, and Giolla wants you to get your head checked. Even Vergo thinks this is starting to get out of hand. Vergo!"

She would have been left sorely disappointed had she expected her admonition to have its intended effect. (She didn't. Not at this point, really.) In fact, the offender seemed even more unrepentant now by all accounts. Flashing a sardonic sneer at the officer, he turned and headed for the exit. Baby 5 scurried after him, heels clacking a tempestuous beat as she struggled to keep up with his long strides.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself? After causing this much embarrassment for the rest of us?" She shriveled only a little at his glare. Usually, that look alone would reduce her to tears, but today she was so pissed that she wagered she couldn't have cried even if she wanted to. "Diamante is still seething mad, by the way. If he could have had his way, you would have sat in that jail cell for the rest of the week!"

"Sounds about right."

"I swear to God... you're lucky the Director has the patience of a saint!"

"Patience, huh." And there it was, that stupid mocking tone of his which never once failed to make her skin crawl. He dug his hands deeper into his pockets, lips curling with contempt. "That's an interesting way to put it. Implies he even has a choice in the matter."

Baby 5 could have screamed. Had it not been for the government-issued Devil Fruit inhibitor chip in her neck, she was sure she would have lopped his head clean off with one swing of her arm-turned-axe. And who could blame her? For him to keep doubling down... to dismiss their concerns when they, as a Family, were so worried on his account... even after all of this? It was simply mind boggling! Maybe this was what Trebol and Diamante meant whenever they proclaimed him to be a hopeless cause.

"Quit being such an ungrateful asshole! This is why everyone hates you!"

Her car was the only one parked in the visitor lot, its slim, streamlined profile standing out against the gentle rain. It was a recent purchase – a hybrid Pacifista S270, the latest generation from Vegapunk Industries – and Baby 5 was still fiercely protective of it. Senor Pink from Pediatrics had recommended it to her for its mileage and affordability.

Beyond the guardrails, the roads glistened with the wavering hues of the overhanging traffic lights. Shielding her face from the rain, Baby 5 made a beeline over to the driver's side and wrenched open the door.

The car interior smelled vaguely of hand sanitizer and lavender, the latter thanks to the heart-shaped air freshener strung to the rearview window. Alongside it hung a cute teddy bear trinket with the words I need U ♡ written on its tag – a gift from an old ex she'd never been able to bring herself to toss; stupid feelings! – and a locket necklace containing a miniature of the handsome Izo-cchi, her longtime crush and favorite member of the Wano boy group KIBIDAN☆GO! (limited edition merch from their latest world tour! Stupid Buffalo had thought it was ridiculously overpriced, but to her, it was well worth the money!).

The hanging items rattled faintly as Baby 5 slammed the door shut.

"And of course you had to pull this on my day off...!" The paramedic continued to grumble beneath her breath as she tossed her purse to the back seat and started rummaging around for her seatbelt. "You owe me big time. I had to end my date early for this!"

Trafalgar Law was barely listening. He seemed to be looking at something far beyond the gleaming cityscape framed in the passenger side window as the car engine roared to life.

"Whatever. Just take me back to the hospital. Then you can go back to your stupid date."

"That's... not how it works, you moron! God, how hopeless are you?"

──────────────────

Acacia Ward – Corrida Plaza

"Does it still hurt?" Monet asked, a wine glass poised delicately between cradled fingers.

Diamante only snarled in annoyance, tugging at his tie with a grimace. Even beneath the warm, forgiving hues cast by the glittering chandelier overhead, the angry purple bruises crawling up the left side of his jaw stuck out like a sore thumb.

Every month or so, Director Donquixote Doflamingo would organize an expensive dinner for the Family – his circle of most trusted employees. It was his way of showing thanks for their loyalty, not to mention a perfect opportunity to circulate any important updates as to the handling of Dressrosa Hospital.

Monet quite enjoyed these little outings, even if it still technically counted as working overtime. She found Doffy's gesture to be perfectly thoughtful and wholesome. Her job as anesthesiologist could get monotonous at times, so the change in scenery did wonders for her mood. Besides, who in their right mind could turn down an offer of fine dining? Not to mention, she always appreciated a legitimate reason to dress up.

"Stupid, stupid Law," Sugar – Monet's little sister and Head of Human Resources – piped up from the other end of the table. She sat sandwiched between Giolla and Vergo, her posture slightly slouched as she picked bits of roasted grape off her plate of walnut cheese crostini. "I can't believe he chose jail time over this."

Sugar's slight figure only seemed to magnify the imposing stature of the man sitting next to her. Vergo, the Head of Security, had been with the hospital from its inception. He was a former military man – having been discharged under... dubious circumstances – and was sometimes a little too eager to correct both subordinates and peripheral strangers alike when it came to respecting rank and honorifics. Like Doffy, Monet found the quirk quite endearing, even if it did end up with a few additional complaints to HR from time to time. It only went to show how dedicated he was at his job.

"He only has himself to blame," Vergo said stoically, silverware in hand. He had ordered a porterhouse steak and didn't seem to realize that he was grinding his knife straight through the bone. He could be absent minded like that sometimes.

"Oh... the poor, troubled dearie!" Giolla shook her head, pushing up her glasses to wipe away a tear. She was also a longtime employee, having been promoted to Head of Internal Medicine last year.

"Poor?!" Diamante growled lowly, jutting a pointer finger up to his cheek. "Do you see what he did to my face!? Again? Are we really about to start infantilizing him now?"

"Behehehe~ Someone looks mad~!" Trebol sang. "Right, guys? Right, right?"

"Quit egging him on!" Gladius snapped before Diamante could rejoin. It was clear this conversation was wearing his temper thin already, judging by the white-knuckled grip over his fork and the subtle twitches of his spiky blue hair.

This trio – Trebol, Diamante, and Gladius – worked most closely with the individual in question as fellow doctors under the Department of Surgery. Monet had heard (and witnessed) enough to understand why they despised Trafalgar Law so thoroughly.

Alongside Doffy, they were the ones who helped forge Dressrosa Hospital's reputation as a miracle factory. Doffy's Ito Ito Technique, Trebol's Beto Beto Technique, Diamante's Hira Hira Technique, and Gladius' Pamu Pamu Technique were considered revolutionary advances both in the field and wider aspects of society, popularizing Devil Fruit-assisted surgeries as a low-risk, feasible alternative to costly, technologically intensive treatments. Ultimately, Dressrosa Hospital's success could be considered a significant step in de-stigmatizing ability users in modern society, demonstrating how Devil Fruits could be used for the benefit of humankind.

But now that success was hanging in jeopardy... all thanks to the capricious whims of the sole person holding the power to undermine everything the Director had built.

"How about we quit coddling him, for starters?" Diamante was grouching, pushing around his asparagus with a fork. "Can we agree on that at least? This is how we ended up here to begin with!"

Monet found herself chuckling aloud before she could help herself. On its face, it sounded a bit ridiculous, didn't it?

"Now, now... you know things aren't as clear-cut as that," she chided, meeting Diamante's twisted scowl with a diplomatic smile. "Isn't that right, Director?"

Everyone turned expectant eyes to the man residing at the head of the table. Up to this point, Donquixote Doflamingo had been listening quietly to his employees' grievances.

"Fufufufu... Indeed." Scarlet lenses gleaming, the Director turned to appraise Diamante's bruised face as a waiter leaned in to pour him another serving of wine. "What would this be... the fourth major incident this year?"

"Fourth, fifth... who knows?" Trebol laughed. "Far too many to keep track of! Behehe~"

Sugar pulled out her work tablet and began scrolling through the records.

"First, there was the fiasco with the Grand Line Aquarium," she declared, then proceeded to read the details listed in the entry. "Conspired with three other nurses to kidnap a baby seal with congenital heart defects for the purposes of an experimental surgery. When interrogated by police officers, his initial explanation was 'I was bored.' Then, upon further questioning: 'Bepo asked me to save it.'"

"Does that really count, though?" Gladius questioned. "The surgery was a success, and that got us positive press coverage."

Indeed. After a few productive conversations (and a little bit of bribery) with the aquarium director and government officials, Doffy himself had taken credit for the surgery. In the weeks afterwards, the newspapers had been plastered with photographs of him posing with various cute marine animals during a promotional tour of the aquarium. All in all, it was a major step forward in softening his public image.

"W-what the hell are you talking about?!" Diamante barked, his face reddening. "It was a major breach in policy, and a complete waste of hospital resources!"

Oh, that was right. Monet hid another laugh. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo – the three nurses involved – had kept the animal in one of the luxury guest suites reserved for high-profile patients while they prepared the OR. Unfortunately, that room in question also happened to be one of Diamante's favorite spots for...erm, trysts with some of his lady friends.

....needless to say, the baby seal heist had resulted in major embarrassment on the Hira Hira surgeon's part, and it was clear he still harbored a grudge for it.

"Next..." Sugar swiped the screen, adjusting her monocle. "We almost got sued after security officer Machvise hurled Dr. Trafalgar through the windshield of a client's limousine, incurring significant damages. And according to the Head of Security, it was the doctor himself who instigated the fight..."

Vergo remained stone faced, while Trebol began to giggle obnoxiously. The Director tapped his forefinger against the tablecloth, his smile tightening.

"Then there was the field trip incident with Hidamari Preschool. Dr. Trafalgar was reported to HR for 'bullying' when he made a group of schoolchildren cry."

And with just a single glare, too! One truly couldn't underestimate the power of that face, as Baby 5 could personally attest. An impressive feat, even detractors should surely concede... but Ms. Tashigi, the kindergarten teacher, hadn't been so amused. She had also threatened to sue them over that one, if Monet could remember correctly.

"– and in the end, it was only thanks to the security camera footage – which proved without a doubt that the students had snuck away to explore the staff offices without permission – that things didn't escalate any further."

Doffy's grin widened just a smidgeon. Another tap.

Sugar swiped again.

"He also was written up for his attitude towards that one elderly patient... Mr. Oikawa from Acacia, was it? Apparently Dr. Trafalgar came off as tactless and disrespectful during the initial consultation. Also, his statements – 'You'll die if you don't get surgery' in particular – were construed as intimidation."

"Well, no shit," Gladius punctuated.

Tap. Tap.

"Hm." Vergo nodded shortly. "And just last week, he bashed a resident's skull through the window for spilling coffee on a post-operative report–"

Tap, tap, tap....

"No, no... that was Dr. Gladius, Vergo-san," Monet pointed out.

"Oh. ...that was right."

"Speaking of which... that guy is still tied up in the basement, right? He has to be if we all still..." Gladius frowned, purposefully trailing off as a waiter walked past them. "Tch. What was his name again? Cabbage? Cadaver?"

"Dr. Cavendish." Sugar grimaced a little. "And you're right. I really should get around to erasing him before one of the nurses finds him..."

"The sooner the better. It's too dangerous to keep him around, being from a wealthy family and all. He'll file charges in a heartbeat if we let him slither off, and where would we be then?"

"Behehe~ It's really a shame~ He could have been such a draw!" Trebol exclaimed.

"Really!" Giolla nodded. "With that face, he would have made for an excellent addition to our commercials!"

"Unbearable attitude, though... So arrogant."

The Director continued smiling, though the muscles in his jaw gave a minuscule twitch. Monet decided it was time to redirect the conversation back to the original subject, and rose to the occasion accordingly.

"Very well. The point is taken – Dr. Trafalgar clearly has an attitude problem. Which is an issue for the rest of us, when we as a hospital have come to rely on him so heavily.

"So the question is... how do we fix it?"

A collective murmur rippled over the table.

"It's impossible," Diamante grumbled. "We've tried everything."

Gladius nodded.

"Appeasement didn't work. That only inflated his ego, and now he throws his weight around like he's in charge of the place."

"And therapy was a complete non-starter, no matter who we tried," Sugar added. "They all kept pushing for him to quit."

"How bewildering it must have been for him, the poor dearie!" Giolla wiped at her eyes again. "How can anyone come away from this thinking that we're the problem... when we as a Family have done so much for him?"

"Behehehe~ Neh, Doffy~ I keep telling you! Operation True Love was our best bet!" Trebol whined. "Remember~ We had sooooo many pretty nurses who volunteered to distract him!"

"Except that ended up killing their productivity," Vergo deadpanned. He dabbed at the corner of his mouth with his napkin, completely missing the baked potato adhered to his cheek. "A complete waste of time and resources. Not to mention, all those pretty faces only succeeded in distracting someone else... enough to nearly kill a patient during a routine valve replacement."

All eyes slid over to Diamante, who choked on his wine.

"Perhaps Kotone-chan alone might have been more effective, in hindsight," Monet reflected, resting her chin against her palm. "They've known each other for so long. But I fear it's too late to coordinate anything with her now. She seems so over it all, and I certainly don't blame her with how things are trending... I wouldn't be surprised if she resigns by next year."

"She also keeps charging us more and more for babysitting him, that snake..." Sugar muttered lowly, a shadow passing over her childish features. Putting her tablet down, she selected and ate another grape. "Tch, and she thinks she's so sly at doing it too! I hate it! We're a hospital, not a charity!"

The Director leaned back with an airy laugh.

"Fufufufu... Let's not get sidetracked again. Kotone-chan is a separate matter, and one you don't need to worry about. Tonight is about Law. More so... how flippantly he treats his patients.  It's bad for business."

Diamante was rubbing his cheek again, petulance bleeding over into his voice.

"After all the trouble he's caused us, I don't even see why we bother keeping him around, that good-for-nothing brat..."

Monet smiled knowingly as Doffy's eyes flicked sharply back over the three surgeons present.

"Trebol," he said suddenly, leaning in. "Your paper on Beto Beto-mediated laparoscopy was just accepted for publication, was it not?"

"Behehe~" Trebol puffed out his chest in pride.

"And Gladius. The police commissioner phoned me earlier this week, thanking us for his daughter's quick recovery. He wanted you to know that he was indebted to you for saving her, and that his family wishes you well in all your future endeavors."

Gladius folded his arms and smirked.

"And finally... Diamante. You were just invited to present on the Hira Hira Technique at the regional conference for the Grand Line Medical Review. Truly... how impressive."

"Pah, but it's no big deal..."

"Oh, but it is."

"No, no, you say too much –"

"Well then, I'll stop –"

"Uhahaha! Oh, fine! It is impressive, if you keep insisting on it!"

"The three of you," the Director went on deliberately, studying them all over steepled fingers, "are indispensable assets representing the face of the hospital, and your recent accomplishments reflect that. I'm well aware of this."

The three doctors started to preen. Monet sipped her wine and shared a look with her sister, knowing what was coming.

"Yet I am also aware..." Doffy went on, his voice assuming a crueler edge, "...that were it not for said good-for-nothing brat working behind the scenes, your careers would've gotten nowhere with your shoddy surgical skills."

Trebol continued to giggle beneath his breath, as shameless as always. Diamante clenched his fists in irritation, while Gladius sank further back in his chair and stared off to the side, his eye twitching.

"I recognized the potential in that boy from the very start," Doffy went on. He tilted his glass, watching the deep ruby fluid creep up the walls, and a knowing grin emerged over his face. "It's true his personality leaves much to be desired. But to achieve that level of skill with the scalpel so young, even without the crutch of his own Devil Fruit abilities...!" He chuckled. "Perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky, to be able to witness it. This isn't the sort of genius you'd expect to replicate in a generation. Perhaps even multiple. Like it or not, the future of Dressrosa Hospital depends on him."

His words were genuine, at least as far as Monet could tell. The depths of Trafalgar Law's inexplicable hatred towards him notwithstanding, the Director truly seemed to take pride in his protegee, perhaps even regarding him as a spiritual successor to his life's work.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Gladius muttered beneath his breath. As blunt as always, he was the first to voice what they were all thinking. "We'll cease to exist without him... but how can we continue functioning this way?"

Donquixote Doflamingo chuckled and lounged back in his chair.

"Sugar. Go on and show them."

Sugar puffed out her cheeks, then whipped out her tablet again with a sulky "Yes, Director..."

Everyone leaned in when she slid the device to the center of the table. An applicant profile was displayed in the glowing screen.

"This is our newest hire," Sugar explained around a mouthful of grape. "She's set to start late next week in the Internal Medicine Department... in Dr. Yotsuji's lab."

Monet studied the profile with a critical eye. First and foremost, the name and official role. Murasaki Arisa – perhaps she was from Wano? And Clinical Trial Coordinator... Well yes, that made a certain amount of sense. Giolla was forever gushing about how short staffed her PIs were, and Doffy had always been interested in raising the hospital's research output.

Next was education. Wano Imperial University – College of Arts and Sciences. Ah, so that confirmed her earlier hypothesis.

And now for the headshot. Monet's eyes slid over to the miniature likeness. Young, trim, conventionally attractive... Yes, of course. The Director had standards, after all.

Still, there was something that nagged at the back of Monet's mind. The silver hair and blue eyes did make for a striking look, but.... just overall, there was something overtly... familiar about this girl.

"Oh, how adorable!" Giolla trilled, hands clasped together. "She looks like an absolute doll!"

Meanwhile, the reaction over on the men's side was completely predictable.

"C'mon, Director." Gladius sounded exasperated. "I thought we were done with honey traps."

"...looks like the type to wear a watch on her inner wrist," Vergo noted in his usual blunt, out-of-context fashion.

"Behehe~ You think she's single?"

Meanwhile, Diamante was almost drooling over the photo. Monet inwardly rolled her eyes and made a mental note to warn Sugar ahead of time, in case HR was hit with sexual harassment allegations in the near future.

"Something about her looks familiar, though..." she mused, looking up.

Sugar popped another grape into her mouth.

"Well, yeah," she deadpanned, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Her mother is Uzuki Towa."

Uzuki To-... Wait, what? Excuse me?

The table was blindsided by the revelation. The Director folded his arms, smirking at their reaction.

"That actress?!" Diamante's jaw dropped. "The one who –?"

"Nehhh, are you serious?"

"I... didn't know her daughter worked in the clinical field," Monet murmured, blinking back down at the screen. "That's interesting."

"Didn't even know she was stable enough to have a kid," Gladius noted. He nodded at the image. "Well, that makes sense – this chick's a dead ringer. I guess that proves she didn't do any plastic surgery –"

"Gladius," Monet warned in a sing-song tone.

"Believe it or not, the celebrity connection is completely coincidental to my intentions for her," the Director said. He chuckled a little. "Fufufu... it's quite fitting, though, isn't it? As the daughter of a disgraced actress, she probably knows a thing or two about negative publicity!"

"Ehh?" Trebol blinked. "Neh then Doffy, how'd you find her?"

"Take a closer look at her profile."

Monet blinked and perused the lines again. Her eyes widened in realization, stopping just below the Work Experience header.

"Oh..."

Kōzuki Instruments – Clinical Research Manager.

Monet instantly recognized the name. Kōzuki Instruments was a life sciences company based in Wano. Aside from supplying analytical instruments to hospitals, they also maintained a wide network of clinical trial sites all across the globe, and their research throughput was said to be unparalleled.

Over the years, the Director had worked tirelessly to set up a partnership with the company, but to little avail. In recent years, K.I. had changed leadership to CEO Kurozumi Orochi, who seemed more open to the prospect... but still, progress with regards to that was frustratingly slow.

Sugar chewed on another grape.

"Her great uncle, Uzuki Misokatsu, is one of the company's co-founders."

"Oh, so she's a nepo baby then," Gladius scoffed. (Apparently the irony was not lost on him.) "Makes sense."

"Gladius," Monet repeated, wearing an artificial smile.

"Misokatsu is retired now, but still holds a considerable amount of sway over executive decisions," Sugar went on. She locked eyes with Doffy. "And according to some... insider information, he's the one who has put a leash on Kurozumi Orochi with regards to expanding to Dressrosa."

"And now that his niece is under our wing, so to speak..." Vergo nodded once in understanding.

"Indeed. Perhaps he will be more open to reason going forwards."

Diamante reluctantly tore his eyes away from the headshot.

"But how does this have anything to do with Law?"

"Fufufufu, isn't it obvious?" The Director wore a wide, knowing smile. "I've looked into this girl's work, you see. Her entire career has revolved around patient care, obtaining informed consent for clinical trials. You could say that her specialty is in tactful and effective patient communications!"

"Ah... so everything that little shit lacks," Gladius clicked his tongue. "I'm starting to see where this is going."

"Exactly. Now on paper, her position puts her under Internal Medicine, with Yotsuji. But that can just be a formality, you see. We'll assign her to Law's cases, outsource all the front-facing interactions... and we're golden."

His smile widened, illuminated ominously by the glow of the screen as he leaned in over the table.

"Why... we'd be killing two birds with one stone!"

──────────────────

Acacia Ward – Dressrosa Hospital

"Turn down the music..." Trafalgar Law got out between clenched teeth, his eye twitching as the obnoxiously upbeat chorus to KIBIDAN☆GO!'s latest hit single assaulted his eardrums.

"No way!" Baby 5 snapped back. "Izo-chhi's singing!"

"I said turn it down! I can hardly hear myself think!"

"Hmph! Well, this is what you get for wasting my time!" Baby 5 stuck out her tongue at him, raised the volume, and proceeded to sing along, her voice wildly off key.

Law swore beneath his breath and turned away. Leaning his head to the window seemed the only reasonable alternative to what his instincts urged, which was to bash his skull repeatedly into the dashboard.

They pulled onto the premises and past the parking garage. A young woman stood waiting around at the sheltered visitor entrance, her long blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail. The scrubs visible beneath her loose-fitting hoodie clearly distinguished her as a nurse off duty.

Baby 5 stopped singing and shot him a knowing look, muttering a timid "There she is..." beneath her breath.

Law only rolled his eyes.

Resslich Kotone, head scrub nurse at Dressrosa Hospital, looked up from her hand mirror as the Pacifista pulled up the lane. Her lips tightened ominously when she recognized the surgeon through the window. Baby 5 nervously gulped.

They passed her. She flipped him off. He smirked.  Truly, the pinnacle of healthy relationships.

"...she looks ready to bite your head off," the paramedic noted dubiously, turning the radio down as she steered the car towards staff parking. "You better have your apology ready."

"She'll come around. She always does."

──────────────────

...I don't know how or why it happened, but yes. Izō is the One Piece equivalent of a Jpop star in this. (Now Wpop doesn't roll off the tongue so easily, does it... What's funny is, though, Kano pop would totally work as Kpop xD)

Definitely gonna be tapping more into pre-TS Law with this story with the attitude and snark, as you can already sorta tell. In fact to be completely honest, he's gonna be a jerk for a good portion of the first half. Let's just call it good old fashioned Family influence (I love writing them all, they're so unrepentantly unhinged-) >:D

Quite a bit of setup with the worldbuilding too.  I hope it wasn't too overwhelming. Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts – I am so so excited for some of the things I have planned, you don't even know.

Thanks for reading!

-shiba