A week later, sunlight like shattered gold spilled across the vast North Blue, making the shimmering waves look like a giant mirror.
On an island called Swallow lay a town filled with laughter and cheers—Joy Town.
(It is worth noting that this Joy Town is by no means the Pleasure District managed by Stussy, so be sure not to confuse them.)
In front of a somewhat dilapidated house in this bustling town, a tense standoff was playing out.
An old man with a head of white hair and a face full of wrinkles stuck out his neck and shouted, "I already told you, I don't know them at all!"
His gaze was firm and devoid of fear, like an unshakeable mountain as he resolutely refused to answer Princess Cifre's questions.
Standing opposite him, Princess Cifre narrowed her eyes slightly, staring fixedly at the stubborn old man, Wolf. Her gaze was like an arrow, seemingly trying to pierce straight through Wolf's soul.
She took a deep breath, fighting to suppress the anger rising within her, and spoke in as calm a tone as she could muster, "Wolf, think carefully. If Law knew you were in danger right now, do you think he would come to save you no matter what?"
Yet, in the face of Princess Cifre's interrogation, Wolf remained completely unmoved, stubbornly insisting that he would cooperate, like a hard, unyielding stone.
Seeing how obstinate Wolf was, Princess Cifre, who had been maintaining her composure, finally lost her remaining patience.
Over the years, because of Eleco's illness, she had endured countless hardships.
Now, having finally found a glimmer of a lead—learning that this man might be connected to the Wolf before her, and knowing that finding the user of the Ope Ope no Mi could save her critically ill husband—it had reignited her hope.
Therefore, at this very moment, she was utterly unwilling to waste another single second of precious time.
Guided by Eleco's detailed instructions, Princess Cifre had smoothly arrived at Joy Town, like finding a beacon in the dark.
Without pausing to rest, she had immediately inquired about Wolf's exact address from the sycophantic, boot-licking mayor, and then marched straight here with her people without a moment's hesitation.
Because their target was the immensely important and precious Ope Ope no Mi user, Princess Cifre had chosen to keep a low profile and conduct the search in secret to prevent leaks that might attract interference from other factions.
To the residents of Swallow Island, they had merely heard that a wealthy merchant had come to invest, knowing nothing else.
Perhaps the heavens felt that Eleco still needed to endure trials akin to purgatory.
Even though Princess Cifre had arrived with ghost-like stealth, she did not immediately catch Law in person upon reaching Wolf's home.
Although they failed to directly intercept their primary target, Trafalgar Law, fortunately, the overall plan was not severely impacted.
Thus, the decisive Princess Cifre made a prompt judgment, ordering her well-trained guards to pounce like hungry tigers and firmly take control of Wolf.
Wolf was, after all, a somewhat well-known figure on this island.
Not only did he possess numerous eye-catching inventions, but he also had a notoriously brutal pirate son named Bax.
However, none of this could become a stumbling block for Princess Cifre's operation.
For standing before Wolf at this moment was a noble Celestial Dragon, and this Celestial Dragon was determined to have him.
Seeing this, the sycophantic, boot-licking mayor seized the moment, eagerly offering up a seemingly reasonable pretext: arresting Wolf on the grounds that he had raised a pirate son who seriously endangered the lives and property of the public.
One had to admit that the residents of this town were truly foolish and short-sighted to a laughable degree.
Did they not know that when a Celestial Dragon wanted someone, no reason was needed at all!
(Well, perhaps certain high-level talents weren't quite so easily obtained, such as the top brass of the Marines. Rumor had it that back then, Zephyr ended up on a certain female Celestial Dragon's list, but he refused, and shortly after, Zephyr's family was murdered by pirates—and just think, that was inside the Marineford residential quarters, how on earth did pirates manage to break in?)
"Princess Cifre, we found a Den Den Mushi communication device inside this old man's room. Judging by the old man's stagnant daily life and lack of visitors, this Den Den Mushi is undoubtedly the key to contacting Trafalgar Law."
After rummaging through Wolf's house like hungry wolves, a few guards finally found a Den Den Mushi.
"Call him directly!"
At Princess Cifre's command, the attendants unhesitatingly dialed through the communication Den Den Mushi.
*Bloop-bloop-bloop...*
"Old man, what do you want this time? Didn't I tell you we're training? Got a new invention?"
Trafalgar Law's steady voice came through as if from the abyss. Now twenty-one years old, he had established the Heart Pirates five years ago.
(Note: Only pirates who officially enter the Grand Line and reach Sabaody within a year while holding a bounty of over one hundred million are called Supernovas.)
Over the years, Trafalgar Law had been like a solitary leaf drifting across the North Blue, weathering countless storms and hardships.
During this time, relying on his iron-clad conviction and formidable strength, he had successfully gathered a group of like-minded comrades who shared the same dreams.
Trusting and supporting one another like an unassailable fortress, they had laid a solid foundation for their future adventures.
Now, after a long period of tempering and honing, Law felt his crew was like a newly unsheathed sword, radiating a sharp edge.
However, he knew deep down that if he wanted to smoothly complete his grand quest for revenge, he needed to further elevate his overall combat power like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Therefore, he planned to spend another year or two carefully polishing them, letting every member shine like a diamond.
Once everything was fully prepared, they would resolutely set off like an arrow leaving the bow, entering the Grand Line to charge at the man who had once brought him endless pain and humiliation—Doflamingo, vowing to use the blade in his hands to claim justice for himself and Mr. Corazon.
At that very moment, an abrupt phone call shattered the peace.
"Law, don't answer..." came Wolf's anxious and weak cry from the other end of the line.
Before he could finish, a strange woman rudely interrupted him: "Hello, Trafalgar Law. I'll only say this once: if you still want to see Wolf, come back immediately. I don't have much time to wait for you."
Her voice was as cold as frost, chilling one to the bone as if it drifted up from the nether-hell.
Hearing this, Law's heart clenched fiercely, and a surge of anger rushed to his head. He demanded loudly, "Who are you? What did you do to Wolf?"
Yet, the only response he received was the busy tone of a hung-up call.
"Damn it!" Law cursed angrily, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.
Without hesitation, he issued an order: "Launch the submarine immediately, full speed ahead, destination Swallow Island!"
Though he knew nothing of the enemy's situation at present, and the opponent might even be targeting his special ability, Law could no longer care about that.
In his heart, Wolf was not only his friend and teacher, but also a savior who had spared his life.
Even if the path ahead was fraught with danger and the unknown, he had to ensure Wolf's safety.
As for Princess Cifre, achieving her own objective was more than enough.
According to what Eleco had said, Law would undoubtedly come here. Right now, she needed to attend to another important matter.
Though Princess Cifre would never have imagined it, her imperial brother's hair-raising prophetic nightmare had actually come true!
Still, thinking about it now, with the user of the Ope Ope no Mi about to fall into their hands, her brother's terrifying prophetic nightmare should be broken by now, shouldn't it?
After all, that very ability user who had brutally assaulted the Holy Land in her brother's prophetic nightmare would soon be reduced to a prisoner in chains...
Harboring these thoughts, Princess Cifre strode forward with determined steps.
Just then, a subordinate hurried over to report: "Princess Cifre, this is the reply from the North Blue Marine branch."
Princess Cifre stopped, turned to look at her subordinate, and asked with a hint of majesty in her gaze, "What did they say?"
The subordinate hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Princess Cifre, that Paramecia user of the Soru Soru no Mi, Bax, has already been securely packed up and is being escorted over."
Princess Cifre nodded slightly, then instructed, "Remember to put a slave collar on him."
"Understood, Princess Cifre!" The subordinate acknowledged quickly, then turned and sped away to carry out the mission.
As for Bax, he was merely a minor character to be dealt with on the side during Princess Cifre's journey.
However, the reality was far from simple, because Eleco had expressed a deep interest in the special ability possessed by Bax.
It was said that Bax could not only easily dissolve various objects, but even intangible things, such as human hearts and complex thoughts, could be dissolved and manipulated by him.
(This is sourced from online spin-off stories about Law; those interested can check it out.)
Imagine if such an ability could be mastered by Eleco and brought under his command—how much smoother would his future endeavors become!
Whether facing tricky enemies or difficult tasks, with Bax by his side, everything seemed destined to be easily resolved.
It must be pointed out, however, that Princess Cifre had another, even more important mission on this trip—to make contact with the Germa Family of the North Blue.
This mysterious and powerful family had always been the object of Eleco's attention, both in his past life and the present.
The Germa Family would become the key to him achieving certain goals.
To this end, even before setting out, he had fully mobilized the various resources at his disposal to successfully establish contact with the Germa Family.
After a round of negotiations, both sides had finally agreed to meet on this island today.
At this moment, Princess Cifre mused to herself: Judging by normal logic, the representatives of the Germa Family should be arriving here soon...