As always, I'm not completely sold on Law's characterization but official contents during trying times is always welcome! I'll leave an extended summary.
Part 1 recap:
The story takes place during Law's North Blue piracy years. Law and the Hearts (Bepo, Shachi, Penguin) battle a notorious pirate crew, which ends with Law defeating the enemy captain but falling into the ocean. His old sword is shattered into pieces. One of the captives in the enemy ship, Hakugan, saves Law's life. As a gratitude, the Hearts escort him and other captives back to their hometown Welbems. The island's northern side is occupied by Nagels Pirates. The two orphans - Hakugan and his younger sister, live at a southern village. Hearts take a few days off at the village to recharge themselves. Bepo, Shachi and Penguin decide to develop a naval combat style to help their captain in future, while Law decides to buy a new sword.
Part 2
Law wakes up sweating as he's still adjusting to the island's summer weather. He changes to his yellow jacket. Hakugan's sister comes to nag at him for oversleeping and they run a debate back and forth until Law leaves the room.
Everyone has gathered at the breakfast table. Apparently other than Law everyone else are decent cooks so they're not used to eating someone else's home-cooked meals. They devour some fish grilled by Hakugan without bothering the cutleries.
The fish is called Bembem, the dish is a unique delicacy from the island. Penguin admits his loss as a cook this round, but he's determined to beat Hakugan's cooking (and win everyone and Captain's heart again) next time. Law thinks Penguin would probably beat Hakugan if the overall culinary skills are compared.
Everyone else resume their training while Law personally meets Hakugan. He consults about the local sword shops. he wants to bury the remaining bits of his old sword somewhere too. Hakugan suggests their home garden as a spot for burial and asks Law if he could join him in the sword funeral. Eventually, they do the funeral ceremony together.
Hakugan takes Law to a weapon shop. He suggests a flashy sword, but Law dismisses it because it wouldn't survive difficult fights. They head to the next shop. (Law takes his hat off due to heat, Hakugan fanboys over how cool Law looks but Law brushes it off).
The next shop is less flashy, the owner asks what they want. Law tells him to show the best sword regardless of the price. The owner brings a sword which can allegedly "cut the moon", but Law passes verdict that it's a scam. They leave the shop.
It's getting too hot so they return home. They find Nanagi and Bepo playing on the slide. Nanagi interrogates why they're so late. Law plays mysterious and says "we went to pass some adult time" (pretty clear innuendo to red light district) which makes her furious, although she doesn't understand it properly. She calls him "Pervert Law", in return Law gets mad as well. Others are chilling at the beach so Law changes to a Hawaiian shirt.
They play dodgeball, Law is unreasonably brutal, no mercy towards a little girl either. Nanagi acknowledges Law as a strong person, the unusual sincerity throws Law off.
They do a polar tang startup and Hakugan tests his steering skills, everyone is impressed by how quickly he learns.
At night, Law studies about the Nagels pirates and local conflicts, and pays attention to a guy named Sheronia.
Next morning, Law and Hakugan visit the remaining weapon store in the island. It appears to be a worn out shop, the items are allegedly real deal but too quirky to be handled by normal people. Law takes a liking to a sword but decides that's not it, it's the same as his previous sword, he needs a stronger one.
When the shop owner hears the name of Law's sword, he asks Law about it. Then he says he can guide Law to a sword he might like. It's the "best", more like the "worst" sword he knows of. Law doesn't mind.
It takes them over two hours to reach their destination, a mountaintop shrine. The sword emits an ominous energy that leaves Hakugan frozen in his place. Law moves ahead to reach it. It's a sword longer than him and the markings look like a graveyard. The name is Kikoku.
The shop owner informs them he studied about the sword in his younger days and tried to fetch it from the shrine, but it was apparently too dangerous. The sword has been there for 200 years, rumors say it ruined nations and caused its wielders to die. There had been only one person, a Wano samurai, who could master this sword.
Law tries to pick it up and cut a rock but he feels his energy being sucked in. The old man urges him to drop it (he does), and suggests they should leave. Kikoku is known for absorbing the life force of its wielder, so it can kill a weak person or make them lose their sanity and attack own allies.
Law sets his goal to master it. He needs something like this to take down Doflamingo. (There's a poetic line about Law being known for his cool, dry nature but that's because he's a captain and has a mission to take down Doflamingo, while in reality, there's a passion beneath him "shimmering like magma.")
Law decides to remain there as long as it takes to master the sword. Hakugan wants to stay too, but Law tells him to first go back and let everyone know about it. When Hakugan leaves, he begins training.
Meanwhile, the Hearts have been training themselves. Shachi and Penguin are learning to shoot water bullets. When they hear the news from Hakugan, they respect Captain's decision and carry on with their own preparations.
48 hours has passed since Law came here, Hakugan helps him out and hands him food when he asks for It. Law is now able to fully lift the sword but he still can't unsheathe it. The only way it can be mastered is by using Haki. Law can't use haki yet.
He theorizes that he should try to awaken his strongest emotions and see if it works. The certain feathered brothers pop up in his mind....
He feeds all his rage into Kikoku and, in a twisted delight, he's happy to finally be able to unsheathe it. But Kikoku strongly rejects it and makes Law almost attack himself. Hakugan throws himself at Law and gets injured by the process.
Law gives him first aid while reflecting on Hakugan's action. He realizes he ignored Kikoku's own will and treated it like taming some wild animal rather than trying to understand it. He holds Kikoku gently and remembers his beloved people. The feeling of love flows from his fingertips into Kikoku. Law screams within his heart that he wants to be strong.
There are people I couldn't protect. That's why I need the strength to protect the people who will be with me from now on.
"So lend me your strength, Kikoku!"
It works. Kikoku accepts him, and Law is able unsheathe it and cut some large stones.
Right when they're about to celebrate, the remaining Hearts and the mayor come running. The Nagels kingdom is launching a full on invasion in their village, and they're badly outmatched. The mayor bows to Law and asks for his help. Law tells him not to do something like that so easily.
Everyone starts climbing down from the Mountain. When Law is about to leave, a hand made of mud grabs his leg. Then the lump grows and turns into a pitch black version of his own self.
goblins were not immune from the medieval humanoid urge to call anything too weird to be immediately categorized a dragon. here we have a selection of beings you'd find populating the illuminated manuscripts of older tomes as they are, and not as they're depicted after being seen once and passed from village to village via wandering storytellers. they are:
1: a Riven- not a dragon. these rarely seen beings are roughly described as a mix between selkies, mammalian mermaids, and water spirits. deep in the supernatural category of mythological sea creatures, but not quite incomprehensible horror tier. like, they're spooky, but fully comprehensible.
2: a Fairy Wring- actually a dragon. these smaller dragons resemble either haphazard mushroom clusters or jellyfish depending on who you ask, but they're closer to cephalopods. they freely show other sapient creatures their hoards because they don't care about bits getting stolen. you probably won't be able to get away from wherever they spirit you away to without their help, and besides, everything ends up back in the sea eventually. even you. they just have to wait :)
3: a Silky Hydra- not a dragon. it's contested on whether it's even a true hydra. when a head is severed from the main body it seemingly awakens from death with its own fresh consciousness and sprouts a new body, which is closer to reproduction than a splitting limb. heads still attached to the main body think and move as one creature, but the "hatched" heads clearly act like separate individuals and are carried back to the Silky Hydra's nest to grow until their new bodies are big enough to set out on their own. the damaged neck stumps close quickly, and new head buds develop within a few weeks.
4: a Dryvern- actually a dragon. much like Rivens, they're rare and more on the supernatural side. despite having no wings and an abstract body plan, they are commonly found in places they should only be able to get to by flying, surrounded by vegetation thriving in strange, unsuitable conditions.
5: a Lapidrairy- unknown. often found in the abandoned hoards of dead dragons looking for...something. other dragons stay away from them, looking away and going still if one comes near. they will not say why.
6: a Fulgrace- actually a dragon. these flying serpents appear during storms, causing strange lightning phenomena. they relish in being struck by lightning because it removes harmful parasites, and the excess energy is stored in their ever growing antler-like sensory organs for future use. they communicate through crackles, pops, and deep electrical hums that are clearly understood by other sapient beings no matter their language. the sound doesn't actually matter, it's just the audio result of them messing with the electric signals in your brain to make you perceive whatever they mean.
7: a Queendrake- depends on who you ask. these are the adult forms of a specific kind of mandrake root that emerges from the ground every hundred years in one large haunting chorus. researchers fight over whether these mysterious entities are dragons, dryads, or the result of cicadas evolving really really weirdly. no one has a solid answer because Queendrake are far more concerned with carrying out whatever business they have to attend to before they burrow back into the earth than explaining their biological quirks. dwarven and dwarven adjacent communities see them as minor deities, referring to them as Goddess Veins.
8: a Glass Dragon- actually a dragon. not actually made of glass. their strangely flexible exoskeleton feels like something that could be glass but it's much more durable. they're mostly called glass dragons because of their ability to modify their bodies into a vast variety of shapes and colors by either creating or finding furnace nests every year. these are used to soften and shape their new growth. Glass Dragons with access to a furnace can survive just fine for a while, but eventually their hides might start to crack as layers grow over stress points and internal organs might even become too large for ill-shaped cavities. personality wise, they are mischievous and creative creatures who like to befriend artisans. which just means they WILL find their way into your workshop so that they can plop down and watch your process. they say that this is a Muse Service and definitely not them adding to their mental technique hoard while freeloading.
This Scribbles piece was newly colored as part of a collaboration with The Marine Mammal Center! We have made signed prints available and a portion of all proceeds go to them.
I like to joke/think that fem!Luffy would be exactly the same as masc!Luffy, except that she'd use her boobs in an attack. Some kind of Gum Gum Boob Slap or something.
Horrible, horrible!
Bonus doodle:
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