Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 10
🕑 Added 2025-02-28 00:28:19 +0000 UTC"There's no need for thanks."
Tanaka shook his head.
What he did was not just to help Law, but also to help himself.
With the experience of performing surgery to treat Amber Lead Syndrome, he now had more confidence in removing the Caged Bird.
Before Rosinante could express his gratitude, Tanaka said, "Let's talk about something else. Now that the Amber Lead Syndrome issue is resolved, what do you plan to do next?"
Law was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
Previously, with a terminal illness and little time left to live, his mind had been consumed with thoughts of revenge against the world. That was until Rosinante appeared and saved him from despair, leading him on the path of seeking a cure.
Now that he was cured, what should he do next?
"I'll leave the Donquixote Pirates and start a new life." Rosinante had already planned everything out.
If everything went smoothly, once Law was cured, he would hand over intelligence on the Donquixote Pirates—the key information needed to save Dressrosa—to the Marine.
Because of Law's hatred for the Marine, Rosinante also planned to temporarily leave the Marine until Law had grown up and was well taken care of.
"The intelligence in your pocket, you plan to give it to the Marine, right?"
Tanaka's words were shocking.
"How do you know everything?" Rosinante's eyes widened in shock, his heart filled with waves of disbelief.
As expected.
His suspicions were correct—Tanaka's eyes could see through everything.
"Looks like I was right."
Tanaka was satisfied with Rosinante's reaction.
"You have no connection with Doflamingo, do you?" Rosinante asked cautiously.
"No need to be nervous. Regardless of whether I had any past dealings with Doflamingo, from the moment I ate the Op-Op Fruit, it was destined that we would have to face each other."
"After all, which Celestial Dragon could resist the temptation of the Perennial Youth Operation?"
Tanaka shook his head, easing Rosinante's unease.
"That's true."
Rosinante understood.
No one knew better than him how obsessed his inherently evil brother, Doflamingo, was with the Perennial Youth Operation.
Once he learned that Tanaka had eaten the Op-Op Fruit, there would be no choice but a fight to the death between them.
With his personality, he would stop at nothing to force Tanaka to perform the surgery on him.
"So, you have no objections to me handing over the Donquixote Pirates' intel to the Marine?"
Rosinante still wanted confirmation.
"If you think bringing Law to his death is fine, then I certainly won't object." Tanaka's words were like a thunderclap, shocking Rosinante to his core.
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
Rosinante's face was filled with doubt and unease.
"Am I to understand that Doflamingo has subordinates within the Marine?" Law pondered for a moment before making a bold guess.
As one of the future Supernovas, known for his meticulous mind and strategic thinking, now that he had overcome the despair of Amber Lead Syndrome, his true potential was beginning to emerge.
"Is that true?"
Rosinante was shocked.
What Tanaka said next made him shudder.
"Vergo."
"That name should be familiar to you. He's on that warship over there. And let me tell you one more thing—Doflamingo already knows you betrayed him."
Tanaka glanced at Law approvingly before pointing toward a warship docked at Minion Island's harbor.
"Damn it! So it was him. No wonder—so that was his mission."
Rosinante was shaken to the core. He sucked in a breath of cold air, his face filled with shock and fear.
If what Tanaka said was true, then he had almost personally sent the newly cured Law straight into hell.
"You saved Law again. No—You saved me too."
Rosinante looked at Tanaka with deep gratitude.
Without Tanaka's warning, he would have spent his last moments filled with regret.
No—he would have died here, full of remorse.
Tanaka took note of Rosinante's grateful expression but remained expressionless, silently thinking to himself.
The next second, a line of information surfaced in his mind.
[Rosinante: Favorability 86.]
[Law: Favorability 85.]
According to the feedback from the Void Walker's, once favorability reached 90 points, it meant a bond of life and death—A connection even stronger than blood brothers sworn over burning steel.
Not ungrateful souls. Tanaka nodded to himself.
Although saving their lives three times was nothing more than a flick of the finger to him, and he wouldn't have lost anything even if they didn't acknowledge it.
But no one would want to save someone who doesn't appreciate it. Let alone two people.
Clearly, neither Rosinante nor Law were merely offering words of thanks. They had genuinely taken it to heart.
Otherwise, their favorability wouldn't have skyrocketed to nearly 90 points in less than an hour of knowing each other.
"Are you interested in making a deal with me?"
After noticing their rising favorability, he made up his mind.
"Tanaka—If we count this time, today you've saved Law twice and me once. That means we owe you three lives."
"Talking about making a deal—doesn't that underestimate me?"
Rosinante shook his head.
"Whatever you need me to do, just say the word. As long as it doesn't involve crime or wrongdoing, I won't hesitate."
He spoke each word with firm resolve.
Law didn't say anything, but he agreed with Rosinante's words.
After all, their lives weren't that cheap.
Three times saved—a debt that can never be repaid easily.
The kind of person who repays kindness with betrayal? That wasn't him.
If he couldn't repay it now, then he'd spend a lifetime doing so.
"This is a separate matter. I've already said—I don't need you or Law to pay me back for curing his illness. And telling you about Vergo wasn't for any benefit either—I simply didn't want my efforts in treating Law to be meaningless."
Tanaka shook his head.
"But from now on, things are different. Helping you escape from the Donquixote Pirates' encirclement—That's something you'll have to pay me for."
He had no problem lending a hand to those he acknowledged, as long as it didn't put himself in danger.
Like curing Law's illness.
Or informing Rosinante about Vergo.
Those things cost him nothing more than lifting a finger or speaking a few words.
But getting them out of the Donquixote Pirates' encirclement? That was a different matter.
With his Byakugan and the powers of the Op-Op Fruit, while it wasn't exactly like being caught in a perfect trap or completely surrounded by enemies, it definitely wasn't as simple as just lifting a hand or speaking a word.
"Is Doflamingo here as well?" Rosinante's face darkened.
Tanaka didn't reply. Instead, he slowly tilted his head upward, gazing at the sky above Minion Island.
Seeing this, Rosinante and Law instinctively followed his gaze.
Then—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless silver threads shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption, piercing through the blizzard that covered the heavens, soaring toward the distant sky.
As the threads reached their highest point, they descended like a meteor shower, scattering across the island in all directions.
In the end, they formed a massive dome, encapsulating the entirety of Minion Island.
From a distance, it looked like an enormous birdcage, trapping everything within its confines.
This sudden cage was a clear, undeniable message to everyone on Minion Island.
The Heavenly Yaksha had arrived.
