Law wore a foul expression. He hadn't thrown in the towel just yet, but his mind drew a blank. Whenever Bepo and the others tried to whisper among themselves, Law instantly silenced them. It was pointless right now.
As they drew closer to Wolf's base, Law made his choice. If he didn't act soon, he'd lose his window. Luckily, he had a newly developed trick up his sleeve.
To defeat an army, capture their king. His target was Bardock. If he could just snatch Bardock's heart, he'd secure the ultimate bargaining chip to negotiate their release.
"ROOM!"
Law unleashed his Devil Fruit power, attempting to instantly teleport Bardock directly in front of him.
Bardock slowly turned around. He hadn't shifted an inch. Law's spatial manipulation bounced right off him.
"Hey, brat. You looking to die?" Kid growled, his face twisting in annoyance. Beside him, Killer had already drawn his twin scythes.
His plan foiled, anxiety flooded Law's face, but he refused to yield. Flipping his tactic, Law teleported himself right up to Bardock, thrusting his hand straight toward the pirate's chest.
"Scalpel!"
Bardock raised a hand, ordering his crew to stand down. He remained motionless, allowing Law's palm to strike his chest. He watched the teenager's eyes spark with fleeting joy, only to instantly shatter into despair when the attack failed to pierce his skin.
Only then did Bardock speak, his tone unhurried. "Your Devil Fruit is impressive, but my Haki is vastly superior. As of this moment, you owe me four lives. That makes you part of my crew."
Bardock felt quite pleased with himself, using such a flimsy excuse to conscript the young doctor. Law and Bepo were his true prizes; Penguin and Shachi were merely bonuses—and convenient leverage to keep the first two in line.
Law was sharp. He caught the underlying threat instantly. He despised the coercion, but he had zero leverage to refuse.
"Please... leave Mr. Wolf out of this," Law finally gritted out. The old man had saved his life; to Law, Wolf was second only to Corazon in importance.
"We have no intention of harming him. We just need his engineering expertise," Bardock replied seamlessly. "In fact, I'm even willing to resolve a major headache for him."
With that, Bardock turned and continued walking. Law had no choice but to trust him. What other option did he have?
The group eventually halted in front of a secluded structure hidden deep in the forest. Bardock stepped up and knocked.
A long moment passed before the door cracked open. Standing in the threshold was Bardock's objective: Wolf, a retired pirate and a brilliant submarine shipwright.
Initially, Bardock considered recruiting the old man. However, seeing as Wolf had already embraced a quiet retirement, Bardock decided against uprooting his life.
"Who are you people?" Wolf asked, his brow furrowing. He had been buried in his workshop for days, ignoring the latest newspapers, so he didn't recognize the infamous pirates standing on his porch. But when his gaze shifted to Law and Bepo—and the tense, worried looks on their faces—his guard shot up.
"Take it easy, Mr. Wolf. I am the explorer, Bardock. We tracked you down because we need to retrofit our ship with your submarine capabilities," Bardock explained smoothly. "I know you possess the exact blueprints we need, so I took the liberty of dropping by. But we won't take your life's work for free. In exchange, I will help you subdue your son, Bagg. How does that sound?"
A heavy silence fell over Wolf. "How did you know about that?" he demanded gruffly. "I haven't breathed a word to anyone about my submarine, let alone Bagg."
"My sources don't matter," Bardock countered. "What matters is your answer."
"Do I even have a choice?" Wolf grumbled, his voice thick with resignation.
Bardock chuckled. "Not really. But rest assured, we'll handle it cleanly. Bagg is a rotten kid, but he's still your son, so we won't kill him. Since he's a Devil Fruit user, I'll shackle him with Seastone. Then, I'll use a specific Devil Fruit ability to extract his heart and hand it directly to you. He'll have no choice but to obey your every command."
Upon hearing the phrase extract his heart, Law's eyelid gave a violent twitch. He's already putting me to work? Still, if it meant helping Mr. Wolf, Law found he didn't mind the task.
Wolf mulled it over for a tense moment before nodding. "Fine. I'll hand over the submarine technology, but you have to deal with Bagg first."
"No problem. It's a deal," Bardock agreed instantly.
A low-level thug like Bagg didn't even register on Bardock's radar. Once the White Dragon finished its retrofitting, it would soar through the clouds and dive beneath the waves, granting them boundless freedom.
Grand Line... I'm coming back soon.