Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 44 - Never A Decent Clown

It was disgusting, truly, what this 'Caesar Clown' was doing to these poor children, leaving no doubt that we had done the right thing by helping them escape. We had discovered that the supposed 'Master' of the island was an avid researcher, and would even go to the extent of lying to the children's parents, claiming they had some rare, horrible disease so he could be free to experiment on them without raising suspicion from both the government and their families.

We were still hiding out in the caves, both as a refuge from the ongoing snow storm, and any hybrids who would be out searching for us. Chopper had just finished conducting several tests on the kids, to see if there was anything wrong with them to start off with, and if any of them needed medical attention, but to find the results that we did only showed us the level of depravity of the individuals' we were dealing with. 

The drug NHC10 was detected from several blood tests, which happened to be a highly addictive drug when given in large doses, and was certainly something that shouldn't have been administered to any child. The realisation however was too late, as we were left with a giant child who was beginning to experience withdrawal symptoms. The thrashing and half-crazed child had to be forcefully sedated, as the pain he was in couldn't be elevated without the drug itself, leaving us grasping at straws as to what to do.

"So, to make sure he can keep experimenting on them and that they won't run away, he's got them addicted to these drugs, through the sweets he's been giving them all this time" I stated, disgust evident in my tone at what we'd been able to conclude. We were just able to get the agitated kids to sleep with the help of Usopp's sleeping gas, but they were still going to be in pain when they woke up, seeing as the sedative would only temporary pause the withdrawal effects. 

Just as I was busy finding a solution to our growing problems, the events that followed couldn't have done a better job at setting my teeth on edge, seeing as the others who we really didn't have time to babysit, were managing to get themselves into even deeper trouble. Nami-Franky had gone into the snow storm, and had somehow gotten herself kidnapped. Chopper, who was still stuck in my body, also managed to get knocked out cold in the span of an hour. The feat the two were able to achieve in such a short time was beyond any of us, seeing as it had all happened in the time Luffy, Franky-Chopper, Robin, Usopp and I had been preoccupied. 

Not only that, Luffy had somehow wandered back with Law in tow, babbling on about how we were now in alliance with the Heart Pirates. It was something that hadn't been discussed with any of us, earning the complaints of the Straw Hats who watched the two with hanging jaws. However, knowing Luffy, it was probably a spilt-second decision.

"Law, despite how happy I am to see you, please do something about this mess" I gestured to my/Sanji's body which only earned a deep sigh from the tanned male. It was obvious that he was both exhausted and annoyed with our combined complaints, especially with Nami-Franky's screeches at him to revert her back, her loud voice echoing across the cavern we were in and leaving our ears ringing.

The switch-back to our rightful bodies was semi-successful, seeing as Franky, Chopper and I had thankfully been put back into our bodies, though we had to deal with Nami's complaints at her having to be in Sanji's body now, which earned the rest's amusement but my sentiments, understanding the struggle she was going through.

We were all still uneasy at having Law allied with us, but for the meantime, we would have to go with it, seeing as Luffy was being stubborn for now. I couldn't see any obvious issues arising, but I would still have to keep a suspicious mind. Whilst the man was intelligent and semi-honest, he was crafty, and so I would have to inquire further when everything was settled to better understand his motives. As Law explained what we had to do from here on out to achieve our current goal which consisted of kidnapping Caesar, the Master of the island and facility, a few pressing matters were quick to arise.