"It's the former Marine Rear Admiral who turned to piracy, X·Barrels, with a bounty of 37 million Belly."
Robin hid in the room, observing the port situation with her abilities.
A small warship flying a Pirate flag was approaching the harbor.
"They'll dock in about five minutes. Should we intervene?"
Hearing this, Dier frowned. The surname X was rare—so rare that he could only recall one person.
X·Drake.
If this X·Barrels was related to Drake, then they couldn't let him go.
"I'm heading back now."
Dier tucked the Den Den Mushi into his coat and leaped into the air, flying toward the town.
"Sorry, Wolf. We'll talk about the submarine later."
Compared to a submarine that was likely defective, he was more interested in X right now.
Besides, the submarine wasn't going anywhere, but X might.
Ever since arriving in this world, he had often revisited the plot in his memories—these future details were crucial intelligence.
And since coming to the North Blue, he had focused particularly on recalling events that took place here.
The main players were still Germa and the Donquixote Family.
Germa didn't have much presence in his memories, just scenes of sibling bullying in the palace.
But the Donquixote Family was different.
This family was tied to two Devil Fruits he coveted.
The Op-Op Fruit and the Hobby-Hobby Fruit.
The Hobby-Hobby Fruit was clearly more important, but there was no trace of it—the anime never explained how it was found.
However, the Op-Op Fruit had been discovered by Drake's father.
At this thought, he picked up speed. It wasn't the immortality surgery he coveted, but the spatial abilities of the Op-Op Fruit.
Meanwhile, Wolf dragged the innkeeper deeper into the forest.
"What are you doing, Wolf?! Pirates are coming—I need to go back and help everyone!"
"Shut up! What can you even do if you go back? Come with me—we're taking the Little Red Flower Invincible for backup!"
Wolf remained calm. Even if they went to town, they wouldn't be much help.
But the submarine was equipped with weapons he had designed—those could actually change the course of the battle.
The two quickly entered a cave. When the lights turned on, a metal door came into view.
Creak—
After inputting the password, the metal door opened, revealing a laboratory inside.
It was filled with all kinds of instruments and parts. Everything from cleaning robots to other gadgets had been developed here by Wolf.
"You actually have a lab like this?! I thought you handcrafted the cleaning robots in the vegetable patch?!"
"Shut up, amateur!"
Wolf didn't linger, pulling the innkeeper forward to another password-locked door.
Click—
The door opened, revealing a steep staircase.
The entrance wasn't particularly large, but the space below was surprisingly spacious.
Inside, prototypes of inventions similar to those in the lab were haphazardly piled up—likely early versions of those so-called "bots."
By now, the innkeeper was bursting with questions.
Just from appearances alone, it was clear that this lab and secret chamber weren't cheap to build.
But Wolf only went to town once a week, selling vegetables and small inventions—the money he earned was barely enough for daily necessities.
Where did this guy get so much money to build a research lab?
Unfortunately, Wolf didn't have time to answer his questions, simply pulling him forward as they turned left and right, eventually arriving at a vast underground cavern.
"Th-that's… the thing you mentioned…"
The innkeeper's jaw dropped, too shocked to form a complete sentence.
A golden-yellow submarine floated in the cavern's bay.
If Dier had been there, he would have recognized it instantly—this was the Polar Tang he had been dreaming of.
Wolf was the creator of this submarine, and he had given it a name that perfectly reflected his personal style.
"That's right, this is the greatest invention of this rare genius inventor."
He lifted his head proudly and declared:
"The submarine, Little Red Flower Invincible!"
"B-b-but you… you…"
"Stop standing there dumbfounded. Get on board—it's just the two of us, and it'll take some time to get it started.
Once we leave the bay and make a turn, we'll reach Happy Town's port. We need to hurry."
The innkeeper was dragged inside the submarine.
The controls weren't complicated—even in the future, Law, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin, four complete amateurs, could operate it.
Though there were only two people here now, Wolf's expertise easily made up for the lack of manpower.
"Squeak—"
The submarine started up, emitting a sharp, grating sound.
"So the 'sea swallows' were your doing?!"
There were two legends on Seagull Island. One was the treasure of Radoga from over fifty years ago.
Rumor had it that a notorious group of Pirates had come here, only to perish from an epidemic, leaving their riches behind on the island.
The other legend was that of giant swallows emerging from the sea.
Fishermen had reportedly witnessed them and heard their loud cries from beneath the waves.
"That's right. Years ago, right after I finished building it, I couldn't resist taking it out for a spin."
But that wasn't all.
Almost every night, Wolf would pilot the submarine alone, patrolling the nearby waters in search of Pirates.
Give & Take—effort yields reward.
Or rather, equivalent exchange.
This was his debt to the island, so he would protect its safety.
Unfortunately, last night, he had been too engrossed in studying Veggie-Kun in the vegetable patch and failed to notice Barrels' arrival in advance.
"Let's hurry. Hopefully, we're not too late."
The two maneuvered the submarine out of the bay, turning toward the port.
At that very moment, X·Barrels' small warship had already docked.
With one foot planted on the head of patrolman Rad and a knife in hand, he snarled:
"We're only here for the money—we won't hurt you!"
"Give up quietly, and we'll leave once we've taken what we want.
Money can be earned back, but once your life's gone, it's gone for good."
Having once been a Marine Rear Admiral, his methods were ruthlessly efficient.
He always timed his robberies precisely, fleeing before the Marines could arrive.
Normally, he'd only target the port, avoiding deeper incursions into town to prevent pursuit.
But this time was different—there were no Marine bases on the nearby islands, so he decided to go all out.
"Alright, men, move out! Grab your sacks and fill 'em with cash!!"
"Ooooh!!!"
The vicious Pirates brandished their weapons, ready to storm the port and loot everything in sight.
Bang!
A patrol officer was about to raise his gun to resist when he was instantly shot in the back of the knee and collapsed.
"Save it, old man!"
The pirate sneered, stepping on the elderly officer's head with his foot and pointing his gun at the man's skull.
Against an ordinary town, killing just two people as an example was enough to break the fighting spirit of the resisting townsfolk.
And this old officer had become the chosen example this time.
His face was grim, yet showed little fear.
Over a decade ago, when pirates had burned down towns, he had fled in terror. For years, he had lived with regret.
Now, dying to protect this small town would finally bring him peace.
But after a long moment, instead of a gunshot, he heard a voice filled with remorse,
"Ahhh!! I'm such a scoundrel, capable of harming an old man as venerable as my grandfather!
If there's a next life, let me be a bug crushed underfoot."
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