"Found them!" Enel glanced to the side. "Want me to drag them over?"
Bardock had mentioned needing to find a few specific people before they even docked at Swallow Island. Given Law and Bepo's distinct appearances, Enel spotted the four of them hiding almost instantly.
"Oh? Is there an older man named Wolf with them?" Bardock asked casually.
Wolf held the submarine blueprints Bardock was after. While Law and Bepo were crucial talents, securing that marine engineering ranked just as high on the priority list. Furthermore, Bardock had no idea if Wolf had already finished constructing his vessel. If the inventor caught wind of their arrival and fled underwater, tracking him down would become a massive headache.
"No Wolf," Enel shook his head. "Just three teenagers and a polar bear."
"I see. Let's go ask them, then. Wolf should be associated with their group. Robin, sweep the island with your ability. Wolf has something we need—spotting a submarine works just as well."
With that, Bardock took the lead, heading straight toward Law and Bepo's hiding spot.
Robin crossed her arms over her chest as she walked, blooming her senses to scan the entire island's population. Enel's Mantra possessed an incredible range and functioned as a perfect wiretap, but if a target was sitting entirely alone in silence, the Lightning God couldn't instantly verify their identity.
"Crap, why are they heading straight for us?!" "Bepo, I bet it was because you yelled earlier!"
Penguin and Shachi panicked, pacing frantically.
"I'm sorry..." Bepo wilted instantly, hanging his head as a gloomy aura settled over him.
"Is this really the time to apologize?!" Penguin and Shachi snapped in unison. They spun back to Law. "We need to run, Captain!"
Even though Law didn't own a pirate ship yet, and technically wasn't even an official pirate, the trio already deeply respected and treated him as their Captain.
"Too late! ROOM!"
Law deployed his spherical field, drew his nodachi, and slashed fiercely over his shoulder.
Enel had silently materialized right behind them. Seeing the blade swinging toward him, Enel nonchalantly raised his golden staff to parry the strike.
"What?!" Enel's expression shifted drastically, as if witnessing something impossible.
His solid gold staff cleanly snapped in two. Even though he hadn't bothered to coat it in Armament Haki out of sheer carelessness, the weapon was forged and compressed by his lightning; it was significantly denser and harder than ordinary steel. To think this kid's sluggish sword swing could effortlessly sever his weapon.
There was definitely a trick here!
With the blade continuing its trajectory toward his chest, Enel dissolved into a flash of lightning, instantly retreating from Law's range.
"Discharge: One Million Volts!" Enel fired off a blinding burst of electricity.
It was too fast. Law and the others didn't even have a fraction of a second to react before the lightning slammed directly into them.
Cough!
The three humans coughed up mouthfuls of black smoke and collapsed weakly to the dirt.
Bepo, however, was a Mink. Thanks to his race's innate resistance to electro attacks, he managed to stay on his feet. He immediately stepped in front of his fallen friends, glaring fiercely at Enel as he dropped into a martial arts stance.
Regardless of the monstrous strength Law would eventually wield in the future, his current self had only recently cured his Amber Lead Syndrome. Having dedicated the vast majority of his time to studying medical science, his actual combat capabilities were still quite low.
"Whoa, Enel, don't you think that was a bit heavy-handed?"
Bardock's voice called out from behind. The sound made Bepo tense up, but the bear didn't dare pull his eyes away from the Lightning God.
"Pure reflex," Enel shrugged. "He sliced straight through my golden staff, so I overestimated his threat level."
Enel retrieved the severed half of his weapon. Rather than pressing the attack, he simply channeled a current to instantly weld the staff back together.
"Mansherry, go ahead and patch them up," Bardock requested before turning his gaze to the Mink. "Your name's Bepo, right? Don't worry, your friends will be fine."
Bepo maintained his defensive guard. A moment later, Mansherry tossed several glowing dandelion spores into the air, allowing them to drift down and land on the three fallen teenagers and the polar bear.
"WAAAH!" Penguin and Shachi screamed in delayed panic, scrambling to their feet. Law remained much calmer. The three stood and warily scanned their surroundings.
Law rapidly calculated whether he could use his Devil Fruit to teleport everyone out of danger. Realizing the odds of successfully escaping these monsters were practically zero, a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
"Relax, we don't have any malicious intentions," Bardock assured them smoothly. "I'm just looking for a man named Mr. Wolf."
"I don't know any Wolf, and there's no Wolf around here. You've got the wrong people," Law interjected sharply, cutting off his crewmates.
Bepo and the other two instantly caught his drift and kept their mouths shut.
"Bardock, I found him," Robin announced, lowering her arms. "Both Wolf and the submarine. He has a hidden base deep in the forest and is currently working on the vessel by himself. Judging by his demeanor, he remains entirely oblivious to our arrival."
"In that case, let's head straight there," Bardock said. He glanced back at Law's group. "You guys tag along as well."
Guided by Robin, the pirate crew marched forward, heading directly for Wolf's secret forest base.