Everyone turned.
Light Yagami was sitting comfortably on a barstool, swirling a glass of water. Beside him, Bonney was happily tearing into a massive slice of pizza, oblivious to the heavy emotional drama unfolding around her.
Light sighed, resting his chin on his hand. He looked at Shakuyaku with an expression of profound, sterile judgment.
Hide inside a woman's dress? Light thought, his sociopathic mind running the variables. Sneak aboard a highly monitored Marine vessel based on the whims of a Warlord? Did I really just give a solid gold bar to an information broker who suggests Looney Tunes tactics? Is she right in the head?
Light shook his head slightly, returning his gaze to the Straw Hats.
"No way!" Luffy yelled, glaring fiercely at Light. "I don't care about your plan! I'm going to save Ace!"
Light looked at the fiercely determined rubber boy.
After Alabasta, and after watching them right now, he felt strangely casual around them. They were loud, idiotic, and completely irrational. But his panel confirmed it— some of them were so pure it was absurd. The racoon had the bad karma value of 5.
A BAD KARMA value of five. FIVE? Had that racoon never done anything bad in his entire life?? What's the five for? Maybe he stole some cotton candy?
This racoon... not bad. It could make a good pet. Bonney could have some company... hmmm.
"I'M A REINDEER!! REINDEER!!!"
Light looked at Tony Tony Chopper a bit longer than necessary, he admitted.
"...But I didn't say anything?"
"...I- I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry.... please don't kill me." Chopper looked at his toes and trembled.
Cute.
Light turned his gaze to the others in the room. The rest of the Straw Hats had their bad karma values below 5000, the moral threshold he had decided in his earlier days.
Except one.
[ NICO ROBIN ]
[ Green: 22232 | Red: 8430 ]
Light looked at the dark tanned beauty.
Why is this person a part of this pure crew?
Hmm.
I'll find a time to kill her later.
His hyper-accelerated mind returned to the current agenda and processed the board. He needed to get to Level 6 of Impel Down. To do that, he needed the upper levels to be chaotic. He needed the guards, the Blugoris, and Warden Magellan completely distracted so he could harvest the millions of Karma Points in peace.
He looked at Luffy. The boy who declared war on Enies Lobby. The boy who dared and almost punched a Celestial Dragon in broad daylight. I guess that will be on news tomorrow.
Well, Light calculated, a slow, dark smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. This energetic idiot...
Light took a sip of his water and set the glass down.
"Say," Light spoke, his voice entirely casual, yet carrying an undeniable, magnetic weight. "Wanna get in an alliance?"
The bar went dead silent.
Rayleigh didn't say a word. The Dark King simply leaned against the wall, his sharp eyes locked entirely on Light, watching the gears of the False Deity turn.
Robin immediately stepped up, her protective instincts flaring. Nami moved right beside her, gripping her Clima-Tact. They had met this man. They knew how ruthlessly he operated. She couldn't let Luffy get manipulated into a fatal disadvantage.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked, her blue eyes narrowing dangerously. "What kind of alliance?"
Light lazily gestured with his hand, looking incredibly bored by the entire conversation.
"Well, I am going to Impel Down," Light elaborated, picking up the Tarai Current charts from the counter. "And apparently, you are making profoundly stupid plans to go to Impel Down." He shot a sideways glance at Shakky, silently judging her dress-hiding scheme again. "I have the navigational charts to ride the current straight to the prison gates. And frankly... I don't want us getting in each other's way."
Light looked back at Luffy, his dark eyes locking onto the captain's.
"We can make an alliance, Straw Hat," Light proposed smoothly, hiding absolutely nothing of his true nature. "I want to kill the criminals locked in those cages. You want to save your brother. Our objectives do not overlap, but our paths do. We both get what we want. This should make you happy, right?" Light smiled at Luffy.
Zoro stepped forward, his hand resting menacingly on his swords. He looked at the man who had decapitated a celestial dragon, his lone eye filled with deep, wary suspicion.
"And why would you help us, False Deity?" Zoro demanded, his voice a low growl. "You could just go alone. Why offer a ride to a pirate crew?"
Light looked at the swordsman. Then he looked at Luffy.
For a moment, the calculating facade dropped entirely.
"Why else?" Light chuckled, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement.
Light gave them a bright, utterly honest, completely sunny smile.
"You're the bait, of course."
.
.
A/N:
Here's a peek in Bonney's mind right now.
"Tch, wannabe poser."
Lol. Can you guess how is the Impel Down storm party gonna look like?
( Dumping chapters since I'll be staying at my village for 3-4 days so no writing. )