Boy With a Scar

Chapter 27: The Stranger on the Dawn Island (Part III)

-four months after Law washed up on the Dawn Island-

The enormous Mt. Colubo tree split in two a mere second after Luffy rolled away from his position right in front of it. He sprang to his feet and sprinted across the field, swiftly maneuvering around the random remains of trees and chunks of boulders. When the shadow fell upon him, he glanced up and immediately darted to the side. Pieces of wood and stone one after another smashed to the ground after him, kicking up the big cloud of dust. It obscured the view and successfully hid Luffy within.

Law furrowed his brow in concentration. He rearranged his fingers on his unsheathed nodachi's hilt as his gaze flickered between both sides of the cloud, waiting for the boy to show himself. He didn't want to admit, but Luffy's ability to seemingly vanish from his perception area unnerved him. It was like he knew how to become insignificant enough not to be noticed, the total opposite of a usually loud and exuberant kid.

The man's ponderings were brought short by the slight air movement behind him. At the same time, his instincts screamed in alarm and he twisted around, lifting his blade to block the strike from Luffy's metal staff. Weapons met with a sharp, crisp ding.

Two opponents exchanged several blows. The younger D's staff sometimes twirled in a way that would have been impossible if the wielder hadn't been made out of rubber, but the older one still countered every blow with a flawless accuracy.

At the corner of his eye, Law spotted the boy's free arm stretching backward. He instantly switched with the nearest rock which the rubber fist pulverized a second later.

A smirk slipped on Law's thin lips. For such a scrawny kid, Luffy could sure pack a punch. He had the utmost confidence in his own body's durability, but he honestly wanted to avoid getting hit as much as possible. Fortunately, he was getting more successful in that with every spar they had.

Summoning his Devil Fruit powers, he readied Kikoku for another swing.

Luffy's head suddenly snapped in a different direction and his complete focus together with it. "Wait," he said quietly. "Someone's coming."

Law paused, his blade freezing mid-swing. Then he exhaled, easing his body and mind out of the battle mode. He recalled the Room, lowered the sword, and while resheathing it asked, "You don't know who?" When the boy shook his head no, he reminded, "It's about time for my crew to show up."

"But it's only one person."

The pirate let out a soft 'hmm', turning to look where Luffy was staring at. They were standing in the middle of the destroyed part of the forest—the unfortunate side effect of their frequent sparring matches—surrounded by the dense flora from all sides and had to wait till the visitor reached their battlefield to know who it was.

After a few tense minutes, the unknown person finally stepped out of the shadows and under the sunlight. He stopped, keen eyes sweeping across the area, quickly taking in all the destruction, before settling on two people.

Luffy drew a sharp breath, feeling like someone sucker-punched him. He knew that face, that hair, that hat, even his clothes and weapon of choice—the pipe—were similar.

Sabo.

But it couldn't be him. Ace said that Sabo died. There was no way that this person was his brother.

The shadow of doubt passing across the boy's face didn't go unnoticed. The stranger's lips twitched into an uncertain smile. "Hey, Luffy." His voice was cautious but gentle, expression soft in a way that spoke volumes of immeasurable fondness.

Luffy's eyes widened and he unconsciously took a shaky step back.

Law scowled at his reaction, shifting his nodachi into a more suitable position to draw it at a moment's notice, and made a subtle move forward so that he would be standing slightly in front of the younger D.