For the past six months, they had been hiding their identities to evade the World Government. Traveling on passenger or cargo ships made it difficult to escape if needed.
But now, with a submarine, things were different.
Unless an Admiral personally came after them, they could sleep soundly by simply diving underwater.
Dier planned a grand comeback performance—both to spread their fame and to allow the comics from the West Blue to circulate naturally into the North Blue.
Before that, however, the group had to stay on Petrel Island for a few more days to learn how to operate the submarine and purchase some furniture.
Primarily, it was Dier and the other two who needed to learn. Perona just had to read the precautions to avoid accidentally causing damage.
At night, the four gathered in the meeting room to discuss the design of their Pirate flag.
Dier lacked creativity, Perona was too young, and Robin's ideas were too abstract.
In the end, only Hina came up with a suitable design.
"A skull in the center, with a background symbolizing Dier's pocket watch. Robin's birthday is February 6th, so the hour hand points to eight o'clock. My birthday is March 3rd, so the minute hand points to six. Perona's birthday is June 7th, so the second hand points to thirteen."
After finishing the flag, Hina couldn't resist tilting her head proudly and declaring,
"Hina is amazing."
Dier and the others had no objections, so this design became their official emblem.
As for the submarine's name, the four couldn't agree.
Robin suggested "Darkness Maru," Hina proposed "Yellow Restraint," and Perona came up with "Phantom Bagel Hot Cocoa."
None were serious, especially Hina's "Yellow Restraint."
In the end, Dier decided to keep it simple: the Petrel.
The island had legends of "the swallow beneath the sea," inspired by the submarine's whistling sound when activated.
The next day, Dier commissioned Wolf to print the pocket watch skull emblem onto the sail.
During the process, he also learned Wolf's true identity.
Well, he was still Wolf.
But he also had a son—Bagg.
Bagg had been wicked since childhood, and over a decade ago, he decided to set sail as a Pirate.
Wolf wanted to keep an eye on him, hoping the vast ocean might temper Bagg's violent nature, so he joined the crew.
Unfortunately, Bagg never changed. After challenging the Grand Line, he returned to his hometown, Petrel Island, and burned Joy Town to the ground.
Wolf failed to stop him and was utterly disillusioned. He severed ties with Bagg and remained on Petrel Island alone.
A legend persisted on the island.
Over fifty years ago, the infamous Ladoga Pirate Crew arrived on Petrel Island.
Tragically, they contracted an epidemic and were wiped out.
Before dying, Ladoga buried his treasure somewhere on the island.
Most dismissed it as a myth—the seas were full of similar treasure legends.
But Petrel Island's tale was real.
Wolf accidentally discovered Ladoga's treasure and secretly delivered some of it to the ruins of Joy Town.
Give & Take.
His son had destroyed the town, so he would help rebuild it.
The remaining treasure funded his research lab, materials, and inventions.
Though his inventions seemed abstract, if successful, they would benefit Joy Town.
Vegetable Vegetable Lord No. 4's greenhouse technology allowed townsfolk to enjoy fresh vegetables even in winter.
The stun guns and flying skateboards were for the patrol team, while Hot Spring Fellow and Sweeping Fellow were for the ordinary townsfolk.
As for Little Red Flower Invincible, it was meant to safeguard the security of Joy Town.
"This is my debt to this town… and to this world."
Wolf tilted his head back and took a swig of liquor, his voice low with regret:
"My son... no, that bastard Buck has harmed who knows how many people out there."
"I don't have the means to compensate them all."
"So, I've always hoped these inventions could spread worldwide and bring some positive change to this world."
"You could research weapons," Dier suggested through a mouthful of meat, mumbling indistinctly.
"I think you've got a real talent for that."
Every failed experiment inevitably ended in an explosion—in a way, that was a kind of talent.
Wolf shook his head, firmly rejecting the idea.
Weapons were made to kill, and as their creator, he couldn't shirk responsibility.
The only two weapons he had ever made were the torpedoes on the submarine, meant to protect Joy Town, and the stun gun, which wasn't lethal.
It was a rigid way of thinking, but Dier didn't push him to change his approach to invention.
Dier stood up, wiping his mouth, and said solemnly:
"Then, once again, thank you for the submarine. If I ever run into that bastard Buck in the future, I'll take care of him for you."
It was now the fourth day since the group had arrived at Petrel Island, and everything was ready—it was time to leave.
The three of them had learned the basics of operating the Petrel, and they had only bought some ordinary furniture for now.
Joy Town wasn't particularly wealthy, and the furniture available there was of average quality. They planned to replace it gradually during their travels.
The food storage was fully stocked, enough to last them two months at sea.
The engine room was piled with charcoal and fuel, so there was no need to worry about power shortages.
In the lowest-level control room,
Hina's hands trembled slightly as she gripped the steering wheel, her eyes fixed intently on the instrument panel ahead.
Though she had spent the past few days studying, this was her first time actually operating the vessel.
She took a deep breath and went through the checklist once more.
The main and auxiliary sails had been retracted, all doors on the deck were closed, the rudder was aligned straight ahead, and the tail fin was back in position...
After confirming everything was correct, Hina bent down to glance at the three pedals beneath her feet once more.
The rightmost pedal was the throttle—stepping on it would activate the six cylindrical thrusters at the ship's base, propelling the vessel forward.
The middle pedal controlled ascent, while the left pedal controlled descent.
There was no brake; releasing the throttle effectively served as one.
Combined with the wheel-shaped helm, this was the Petrel's control system.
In front of Hina was an operation panel covered in buttons, controlling the tail fin, pressure release, searchlights, and other functions.
"Screech—"
Hina pressed down on the throttle, her face tense as she stared ahead.
Fortunately, nothing went wrong. The thrusters activated, and after a brief shudder, the ship began moving out of the bay.
Then she pressed the descent pedal while flipping a switch to turn on the searchlights.
The Petrel gradually submerged, and the group entered the underwater world.
"Quite a sight," Dier remarked, gazing out through the window.
Sunlight filtered through the waves, casting shimmering patterns across the seabed and lending the coral reefs an extra touch of color.
The scenery in the shallows was indeed magnificent, but as the Petrel continued to dive deeper, the surroundings gradually darkened.
Perona, however, grew more excited, pressing her face against the window as she eagerly scanned the view.
Perhaps influenced by her earlier graveyard experiences, she had developed a fondness for such dimly lit environments.
Hina, now relaxed, steadily maneuvered the Petrel while asking,
"So, where to next?"
"White Town, Flevance... or rather, its neighboring country."
"What are we going there for? Didn't you say we shouldn't go before?" Hina questioned, puzzled.
"To save someone. We won't actually enter—just operate remotely from the neighboring country."
Having taken Law's submarine and now eyeing his Devil Fruit, Dier decided to offer him some compensation.
It wasn't a difficult task anyway—might as well treat it like a trip.
Hmm, and for the comeback performance... might as well debut it right next to Flevance.
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