"Who do you think you are?"
The innkeeper whispered a warning:
"Long-range bombardment should suffice. With just the two of us, how can we fight in close combat?"
"Just get closer. That young man from earlier is also on board."
At this moment, Wolf still held immense trust in Dier.
"I'll go check on the deck to see what's up with that drowning kid."
Not long ago, he and the innkeeper had stealthily navigated their submarine to nearby waters.
Originally, they planned to remain submerged and directly torpedo the enemy ship's hull.
Such a surprise attack would not only be effective but also eliminate concerns about the enemy's artillery.
But Wolf suddenly spotted a drowning boy slowly sinking underwater.
He immediately directed the submarine closer, pulling the boy onto the deck while surfacing to allow him to breathe.
Wolf, who knew some medical skills, began administering first aid to the unconscious boy as soon as he reached the deck.
As the submarine gradually approached the small warship, Barrels—who had been hoisted up—suddenly cried out:
"My lord, my lord! That strange ship's deck has my son Dolly on it!"
Now a prisoner, he had no bottom line, focused solely on survival.
Besides, he never liked this son of his who dreamed of becoming a marine.
"Daring to run away—I'll make sure to teach him a lesson when we get back!!"
Zzzzt—
A sharp electric current crackled, causing Barrels' hair to stand on end as his face turned as black as Wolf's.
Dier expressionlessly tossed him back onto the deck, inwardly scoffing.
Not long ago, he'd met Yasopp, who abandoned his wife and child. Today, he encountered Barrels, who kept shouting about beating his son.
In the North Blue, there was also Doflamingo's father, who discarded his status as a Celestial Dragon and dragged his wife and children into ruin.
Then there was Sanji's father, who experimented on his own sons and erased their emotions.
In this world, there really weren't many decent fathers around.
As the submarine drew near the warship, Dier got a clear look at the boy's chin—marked with an X-shaped scar.
It was definitely the future Drake.
Two strokes of luck at once.
Not only was a submarine delivered right to him, but the future father of the Op-Op Fruit's discoverer, Drake, was also right here.
This round, he won twice.
Dier leaped onto the submarine's deck and cautiously asked:
"Does this thing have any flaws?"
Though from his memories, it didn't seem to have any, Wolf's earlier performance didn't inspire much confidence.
"Absolutely none! I'm a rare genius inventor!"
Wolf assured him while continuing first aid, then asked:
"What's the deal with this warship? Were they the ones who attacked the port earlier?"
"Correct, but it's already handled."
"Tch, owe you again, huh."
Wolf rubbed his temples. He owed a life debt, then a favor for protecting the town.
Give & Take.
But he was starting to feel like he could never repay it.
"How about you just take all my inventions?"
"That won't be necessary."
Dier quickly waved his hand. Maybe after some improvements, but not now.
"Just give me the submarine. And hand over the kid too."
"You know him?"
"You could say that."
"Fine. He's coughed up most of the water. He should wake up soon."
Out of trust, Wolf didn't press further.
Dier called Hina over and instructed her to take the Den Den Mushi and Wolf back first, while also gathering Robin and Perona from the inn.
He decided to stay on the small warship to maintain control over Barrels and Dolly.
The former was a key figure in locating the Op-Op Fruit, while the latter was a future Marine Rear Admiral and an Ancient Zoan-type ability user.
Dier made no specific arrangements for them, merely keeping them under hypnosis.
What they would do in the future was entirely up to them.
Just as he had allowed Mr.1 to develop freely, following the original storyline to join Baroque Works, Dier hoped these two would also follow their original path to find the Op-Op Fruit.
Though their life trajectories had already undergone some changes.
Still, it was something to look forward to.
During the hypnosis, Dier also learned about Barrels and Dolly's past.
Barrels had indeed once been a good Marine, serving for twenty years—a seasoned veteran.
Though his strength paled in comparison to the monsters at headquarters, his years of merit had still earned him the rank of Rear Admiral, serving as deputy base commander at a branch.
Until later, when a wealthy merchant's son joined the Marines and set his sights on Barrels' position.
The merchant bribed the base commander and bought achievements for his son.
In contrast, Barrels suddenly found himself smeared with countless false accusations—corruption, embezzlement, stealing credit, harming colleagues—all unfounded rumors spreading through the base.
Though he wasn't court-martialed, he was still stripped of his rank.
Refusing to accept it, he reported the matter to the base commander.
The outcome was predictable.
Later, as a Rear Admiral leading a small warship to hunt Pirates, he suffered heavy losses.
Returning to base would mean punishment, possibly even losing the privilege of leading missions.
In a fit of desperation, he killed the remaining Marines and officially became a rogue Marine.
He swore to make money—lots and lots of it.
At the same time, he grew increasingly resentful of his son, Dolly, who constantly talked about becoming a Marine, often beating and berating him.
As a result, Dolly, now fourteen, looked no older than eleven or twelve.
Soon after, the small warship set sail again, leaving the area.
They would continue to act according to their nature, wandering the vast seas. If luck was on their side, they might still encounter the Op-Op Fruit as they had in the original story.
Dier took a detour, leisurely flying toward Swallow Island, his eyes brimming with unconcealed joy.
Three years—how had he spent these three years!?
Either on cargo ships or passenger ships, lucky to get a suite, unlucky to sleep in the hold.
Now, he had finally secured this submarine.
Sorry, Law—submarines are just too good.
Well, the Op-Op Fruit is pretty tempting too.
He'd make it up to Law by saving his family later.
Dier decided to give Law some compensation.
It wasn't actually that hard—at least, not before the Platinum Lead Disease outbreak.
Just send a few dozen people to Flevance for a "vacation"—find Law—then kidnap his entire family and take them away.
But he'd deal with that after checking out the submarine.
He circled around, deliberately avoiding the sight of Happy Town's residents, and returned to Wolf's residence.
Robin had been waiting there for some time.
"Where are the others?"
Dier looked around but didn't see Hina or Perona.
"They're inside the submarine, picking out rooms."
Robin took his hand and led him deeper into the dense forest.
"Let's hurry and join them."
Dier didn't know the location of the research lab, which was why Robin had specifically waited here to guide him.
"You seem quite happy. You didn't even read a book while waiting for me this time. Are you that eager to see the submarine?"
"Of course I'm happy to have a ship of our own. I want a big study room."
Robin walked with light steps and turned her head to ask:
"Speaking of which, shouldn't we have a Pirate flag?
And what should we name the submarine? We can't just keep calling it Little Red Flower Invincible, can we?"
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