One Piece: The Devil of the Seas

"Get out here or I will break the door open and beat you two up!"

The old woman kept screaming until the main door of the room was forcefully opened, and in walked Hancock with the rest of the crew.

"Dr. Kureha." She narrowed her eyes as she recognised the woman from the details she had learned from Dalton and his men.

She had spent most of the afternoon gathering as much information about this woman as possible, and now that she finally saw her, every single thing she learned about her seemed to be true.

"You seem just as crazy as everyone says you are." She smirked.

"Says the Pyromaniac who threatened to burn the town down." And the old woman smirked back at her.

"Hancock." Bonney placed her hand on her friend's shoulder as she caught her narrowing her eyes. "We need to talk." She then looked at Kureha and smiled.

"About what?" Kureha raised her brow at her. "Nevermind. I am not interested in talking to you." She smirked as she looked away, and this time it was Hancock who stopped Bonney from lunging at the old woman and pummelling her with her fists. "Look at you, a bunch of green kids who love playing Pirates!"

Kureha laughed at all of them, which did not sit well with anyone.

"Shut up, Old Hag!" Surprisingly, it was Bepo who shouted at her, and Law smacked his head with his fist.

"Mind your words." He said and gestured to Nami and Nojiko, who were standing right behind them.

"Sorry..." The Bear-Mink timidly apologised, and it resulted in Kureha laughing some more at them.

"Enough." Just when things seemed ready to escalate, the door of the washroom opened, and out walked Sin, now dressed up after taking a quick shower. "Augur, take Nami and Nojiko to Kuina."

"Aye, Captain." The tall man, who was standing outside the room, followed his command and took the two girls away.

Without him needing to say anything, Robin utilised her Devil Fruit Powers and sealed the room in a film of ice.

Her action made the old woman narrow her eyes.

"Law."

"Yes, Captain?"

"The letter." Sin said, and the young boy nodded his head before taking out the letter from his coat and walking over to the old woman.

"What is this?" Kureha asked, but without waiting for a reply, tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter from inside it.

No one said anything as the old woman read the letter, and it was not Law whom she looked at after reading the letter.

She looked at Sin, right into his cold grey eyes, and then she tore the letter into numerous pieces before throwing them in the air.

Her action was rather rude, but since Sin kept quiet, no one else said anything either.

"That kid told you I owed him a favour?" She smirked, and Sin frowned but nodded to her. "I don't." She clearly said. "He was my student once, and though he thinks he did me a favour, I did not really need it. So, do you think it counts?"

"No." Sin shook his head.

"Good. Because I don't intend to teach this boy anything." She said and gauged his expression.

"It is fine. You don't seem like much of a doctor anyway, Old Hag." Law smirked, and his words earned him a kick right in his stomach, which sent him flying to the wall.

Thankfully, Hancock managed to catch him in time, and then she dangerously smiled at Kureha.

"I have no qualms against beating an Old Hag like you." She warned her.

"I don't doubt it. You are disrespectful." Kureha smirked at her and then looked at Sin again. "What are your intentions toward my home?"

"I intend to take Drum Island under my protection." He told her.

"Under your protection?"

"I will be announced as the 8th Warlord in the next few months." He told her truthfully, and Kureha narrowed her eyes at him.

Silence lingered between them for a few minutes, and this silence soon got onto the nerves of the crew.

However, since Sin kept looking Kureha back into her eyes, no one said anything.

"What's your goal, Black D. Sin?" She asked and glanced at the two swords that were placed on the table next to her. "You want to rule over everything?"

"I do." He smiled at her.

"At what cost?" She meaningfully smiled.

"I don't like bearing costs." He shrugged.

"Hehehehehehe..." She suddenly started laughing like a witch. "I knew a man once, and you remind me of him. Just like you, he wanted to rule over everything. He was powerful. Very powerful, vicious, and ambitious." She brightly said. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"He died." Sin shrugged, and his answer made Kureha frown. "Since I haven't heard of anyone like that succeeding in ruling over the world in the last century, it means that he is dead."

"Yes." She nodded. "He died."

"Who are you talking about?" Bonney curiously asked.

"His name was Rocks." Kureha lightly said.

"Rocks?"

Everyone except for Sin and Robin frowned at the name.

The two of them had once listened to a story that their mother had told them one night. It was about the most fearsome pirate, or rather a terrorist, who roamed the seas.

"I don't think I am like him. As I said, I don't like bearing costs." Sin smiled.

"Neither did he." She mysteriously smiled and then looked at the Mink and the Fishman in his crew.

Law, who had managed to suppress the pain and stand straight again, looked at Kureha in confusion.

"How old are you?" He wanted to know the answer. "You called Crocus a kid."

"It's rude to ask a lady her age." Kureha smiled at him. "I am a young 99-and-a-half-year-old."

"That's not young!" Law and Bepo shouted in unison, but what they heard next shocked them.

"She's lying." Bonney smiled. "She's 131 years old."

"What?" Hancock frowned and looked at the old woman again.

"She packs a lot of power for someone on the verge of death." Law frowned.

Humans in the world could, at most, live up to 140 years. And if she was 131 years old, she should not have been in such a fit state.

Sin too curiously looked at Kureha, but he was not too keen on prying into her secret to longevity.

And right now, the old woman was curiously looking at Bonney, probably trying to figure out how she knew about her true age.

"Since you don't intend to teach Law anything, you can take your leave." Sin spoke, but the old woman ignored him and opened the bottle of plum sake that she had brought with her.

"Do you want to know the secret of my youth?" She playfully asked, but before anyone could say anything, Sin shook his head.

"No."

Kureha smiled at him.

"How long do you think it would take people to remove the D. from your name?" She cryptically asked, and narrowed her eyes when she sensed Law deeply frown at her words.

"Don't know." Sin shrugged, again showing a lack of interest in whatever she was saying. "If you are not going to teach him, leave." He told her.

He knew what she was referring to. The World Government would one day undoubtedly try to remove D. from his name. And frankly, he could not care less.

"Hehehehe..." She laughed again and then stood up. "The Marines will reach this place in a few minutes."

Everyone frowned at her words, but then rushed at her when she suddenly approached Law and grabbed his arm.

Kureha frowned when she sensed the cold blade kiss her neck.

It was Sin who was holding his Dagger against her neck, and even without looking back, she could sense the coldness in his eyes.

"I thought you wanted me to teach him?" She laughed.

"What made you change your mind?" He lightly asked.

"I think I would like some young company." She grinned but narrowed her eyes. "You won't be seeing him for the next year."

"I don't want to go." Law immediately shook his head.

Staying away from the crew for a year was something he was not willing to do. They had plans, and he was the only doctor onboard.

"You don't have a say." She smirked.

Everyone looked at Sin, and to their surprise, he withdrew the Dagger.

"Go with her." He told Law, who looked at him in disbelief.

"Sin..."

"It's an order." He cut off whatever the young boy was about to say, and Kureha simply dragged Law behind her as she punched the Ice on the window, breaking it and rushing out of it.

"Captain..." Bepo worriedly looked at him.

"He will be fine." Sin assured the Mink.

"Is she really a good doctor?" Bonney frowned.

"How else do you think she's so fit in her 130s?" Hancock shrugged and then looked at Sin. "Crocus had an ulterior motive. Did you sense anything from her?"

"I did." He smiled at her.

"What?"

"Compassion." He replied, and though it made all of them frown, they did not doubt his words.

Sin was a godly judge of character, and he was never wrong. Since he decided to leave Law with Kureha, they did not doubt him and simply accepted it.

"Now we will be short of a doctor on our ship." Robin reminded them.

"Couldn't wait, eh?" Bonney narrowed her eyes as she looked at her dripping wet hair, not in the least concerned about the matter she had raised.

Sin sighed when he watched Robin and Bonney lock gazes.

"Let's go and deal with the Marines." He left the room, and Bonney pouted before following after him.