North Sea, near Tsubame Island.
Considering his previous experience in the Harual Kingdom, Caesar chose not to make a grand entrance through the port this time. Instead, he discreetly disembarked at a natural dock, with none of his companions following him.
It couldn't be helped. While Trafalgar Law's Operation Fruit ability consumed an enormous amount of stamina, it posed too great a threat to those who hadn't mastered Haki. Even those who had mastered Haki could easily fall victim to it if they weren't careful.
Thus, aside from Caesar, everyone else remained on the ship.
Arriving at a small house on the outskirts of town, Caesar rang the doorbell.
The chime sounded, and soon an elderly man with graying hair opened the door.
"Hello, who—"
The moment the old man caught sight of Caesar's face, his jaw dropped in shock, his eyes widening to their limits.
"V-Vampire Caesar!"
"Let's drop the 'Vampire' part..."
Caesar sighed in exasperation. He had no idea which Navy officer had come up with that nickname for him.
"Seems introductions aren't necessary. First time meeting you, Dr. Wolf. Mind if I come in for a chat?"
"...Please, come in."
Wolf stepped aside cautiously, ushering Caesar inside. A bizarre-looking robot approached the two, serving them hot tea.
"I can't imagine what a man of your stature would want with me," Wolf said, his voice tinged with unease. "Are you here to commission some research?"
"Let's cut to the chase. I'm here looking for someone."
Caesar spoke plainly. "Trafalgar Law—I assume you're familiar with him?"
"You're after the Operation Fruit?"
At the mention of Law, Wolf's expression instantly darkened.
Law's Operation Fruit ability had long been exposed to the world since he set sail. Given Caesar's astronomical bounty, Wolf couldn't think of anything else about Law that would be worth his attention.
Caesar shook his head slightly. "You might not believe this, but I'm here for his medical skills. And, of course, his personal potential."
"To what end?"
A bead of sweat trickled down Wolf's temple. He couldn't tell whether Caesar was being truthful.
If Caesar truly sought the Operation Fruit, Wolf would never let him find Law—at the very least, he wouldn't reveal a single clue.
But if the man was genuinely here just to recruit Law, then overreacting would make Wolf seem paranoid...
"I plan to unite the four seas and overthrow the Celestial Dragons!" Caesar declared solemnly.
Wolf's sweat intensified, threatening to rival the legendary "Sweat King."
With ambitions that grand, it's hard to believe you don't have designs on the Operation Fruit!
"Well... you might not know this, but Law's ideals don't align with such things. More than anything, that boy wants to become a Pirate."
"I know."
Caesar smiled faintly. "That's why I'd like you to help me contact him. Tell him... I can help him defeat Doflamingo. But the condition is... he joins my crew."
"..."
Honestly, Wolf wanted to refuse.
But after a moment's thought, he realized he didn't really have a choice.
"How about making a phone call to ask?"
Caesar crossed his arms, watching Wolf with leisurely amusement.
"In that case... I'll help you ask him."
Dr. Wolf took out the Den Den Mushi and dialed Law's number.
Brrring brrring brrring—click—
"Grandpa Wolf!"
A magnetic voice came through the receiver, the kind that instantly gave the impression of a handsome, ascetic man.
"Well... Law, I have a guest here who wants to meet you," Dr. Wolf said quickly, careful not to accidentally reveal any clues about Law's whereabouts. "It's that Jin Caesar fellow who was recently given a 2.8 billion berry bounty. He says he wants to invite you to join his crew and, as a show of sincerity, is willing to deal with Doflamingo."
"Jin Caesar?"
Law's voice noticeably tightened. "Grandpa, please hand the receiver to him!"
Caesar took the phone. "Hello~ Is this Trafalgar Law?"
"Is Grandpa alright?" Law asked, a hint of tension in his tone.
"Relax, I wouldn't lay a hand on an old man," Caesar chuckled. "The only reason I came to Dr. Wolf was to get in touch with you."
Law's ship, the Polar Tang, was a yellow submarine built by none other than Dr. Wolf himself—which was precisely why Caesar had sought him out. Submarines were notoriously hard to track if they wanted to stay hidden, even harder to find than Zoro.
Fortunately, Caesar had watched Law's official biography, explained by an anime blogger. Since the story was relatively short, he'd finished it in one video.
The gist of it was that after gaining his freedom, Law had fled to Swallow Island, where he used his Operation Fruit ability to remove the lead from his liver without anesthesia in a cave. He passed out from the pain and was later found and cared for by Dr. Wolf. On the island, he also met Bepo the polar bear, as well as his loyal crewmates, Penguin and Shachi. Later, when Dr. Wolf's ungrateful son caused trouble, Law defeated him, and the group officially formed their Pirate Crew. They set sail on the Polar Tang, built by Dr. Wolf, amid the cheers of the townspeople.
That was the general plot. Swallow Island was relatively prosperous, making it easier to locate.
"I've heard of you... Jin Caesar," Law said after a moment of silence. "What do you want with me?"
"I want to invite you to join my crew!" Caesar said earnestly. "I'm not a pirate, but I set sail with the goal of overthrowing the Celestial Dragons. Right now, I'm in need of a ship's doctor—and to be honest, I'm quite taken with you."
"Taken with the Operation Fruit, you mean?" Law replied coolly, unconvinced.
"To be precise, what I'm taken with is you—someone who wields the Operation Fruit and was raised under the guidance of Rosinante and Dr. Wolf," Caesar said cheerfully. "I may be short on crewmates, but I'm not desperate enough to recruit just any scumbag."
"You know about Rosinante?"
"Baby 5 is my woman—though, of course, I had to take her from Doflamingo first."
"That annoying woman..." Law's tone dripped with disdain.
He and Baby 5 had known each other since childhood, both raised by the Donquixote Family and trained in combat, assassination, and other skills. Back then, he'd been a resentful little brat hellbent on taking his anger out on the world.
"So? Shall we talk?"
Caesar said calmly, "If you're willing, I'll wait for you on Swallow Island. If not, I'll leave now. Don't worry, I won't trouble this old man."
Upon hearing this, there was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds.
"I can cooperate with you!"
"Forgive my bluntness, but as you are now, you don't have the qualifications to cooperate with me."
Caesar shook his head slightly. "The power of the Operation Fruit is strong, but it's not invincible. You should know that very well. Right now, you wouldn't stand a chance against Doflamingo. Even if I gave you a few more years, you still wouldn't be his match."
"Can you defeat him?" Law asked.
"I can kill him..."
Caesar scoffed lightly. "That guy's strength isn't top-tier. Among the top officers of the Emperor crews, he wouldn't even rank in the top five. But with your talent and abilities, in another decade or so, you could probably take him on. Even if you can't beat him, you could outlive him, couldn't you?"
"You... really have a way with words."
Law was a bit annoyed, but since Dr. Wolf was right beside Caesar, he didn't dare provoke him too much, despite his frustration.
"In that case, wait for me. I'll return as quickly as possible—probably in about a week."
"Alright..."
After hanging up, Caesar handed the phone back to Dr. Wolf. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Not at all... It was just a phone call."
Dr. Wolf hesitated before asking, "You... really won't force that child, will you?"
"Everyone has their own path. I won't impose mine."
Caesar shook his head. He already had Deuce as his ship's doctor. Though he was still inexperienced just after setting sail, people grow. Worst case, they could swing by Drum Island later and recruit Chopper too.
The reason he invited Law wasn't just because of his character and personality—what Caesar valued most was the spatial ability of the Operation Fruit, which had significant strategic utility.
Compared to that, something like the Perennial Youth Surgery held no value to him at all.
Perennial Youth Surgery wasn't the same as Immortality Surgery.
He was already immortal, not to mention the existence of Pure Gold in this world.
Judging by the little girl's condition in the Gold Heart special, a grain-sized piece of Pure Gold could easily let someone live for tens of thousands of years!
And that giant lantern fish had an ostrich egg-sized chunk of Pure Gold in its belly!
"That's good..."
Dr. Wolf sighed. "I hope you'll keep your word."
"What kind of scientist are you, Doctor?" Caesar asked curiously.
"I specialize in mechanical research."
Dr. Wolf puffed out his chest. "I'm an expert in this field! That submarine of Law's was built by me!"
"How do you compare to Vegapunk?"
"That's not a fair comparison... That guy ate the Brain-Brain Fruit. Whether it's thinking or calculations, he's on a whole other level from ordinary people like me."
Dr. Wolf grumbled, sounding a bit indignant. "We occasionally exchange academic ideas, and his abilities... are indeed slightly better than mine. But he's a polymath, with deep research in every field."
Caesar chuckled. "It seems you scholars all keep in touch?"
"Of course! You can't achieve anything by working in isolation. Progress comes from exchanging ideas."
Once the topic turned to research, Dr. Wolf grew animated, shaking his head as he spoke. "The North Sea might be a bit chaotic, but our technology is absolutely top-tier. Where are you from, young man?"
Caesar chuckled, "I'm from Loguetown in the East Blue."
"The town of beginnings and endings, huh…"
Wolf studied Caesar with rare interest, thinking to himself that this place must hold some significance.
"Compared to the North Sea, the East Blue is quite behind in terms of technology, but we have a great environment and decent public safety," Caesar said cheerfully.
Despite how in the original story, Luffy fought his way from Buggy all the way to Arlong, those were the top-tier pirates of the East Blue. There were only a handful of them, and Luffy beat every single one.
Under normal circumstances, pirates in the East Blue were only worth a few million berries—about the level of Alvida, that fat woman.
Pirates of that caliber wouldn't dare sail on major routes, sticking instead to remote areas to scavenge for scraps. (In the second chapter of the original manga, Luffy sent Alvida flying at her own base. Nami wasn't even there—just him and Koby. Poor Alvida, really.)
"Speaking of which… have you ever been to Sky Island, Doctor?" Caesar asked with a grin.
"Haven't been, but I've heard of it."
Wolf replied, "A few friends of mine are into that kind of research. They live on a small Sky Island in the Grand Line, specializing in meteorological studies."
"A bunch of little old men dressed like wizards?"
"Oh? Seems like you've been there before?"
Wolf was delighted. "What a shame—I've never visited Sky Island myself. We met at a technology symposium Vegapunk invited us to."
"So, Doctor, would you like to go see Sky Island?" Caesar's smile grew even wider.
"Of cou—huh?"
Wolf froze for two seconds before his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Wha—?! You're even scheming against an old man like me?!"
"The legendary City of Gold is on Sky Island, and the place also has highly advanced Shell Technology. If we could get up there, we could probably conduct research on any scale, right?"
Caesar rested his chin on his hand, looking wistful.
Wolf was tempted—no, he was utterly sold in less than a second.
What researcher wouldn't want ample funding? And then there was the Shell Technology Caesar mentioned, which sounded like an entirely different scientific system from the current one.
As a mechanic, how could he resist such temptation?
Wolf glared. "Are you serious? You're not just saying this to trick Law into joining your crew, are you? I'm an old man with not many years left—if you're lying to me, I swear I'll die right in front of you!"
"No need to get so worked up…"
Caesar couldn't help but laugh. "I do intend to establish a research division. In fact, I plan to invite Dr. Vegapunk as well."
"Vegapunk, huh…"
Wolf sighed softly. "As far as I know, he's under the World Government's control right now. He won't be easy to recruit—at the very least, he won't come willingly. He's a good man, so I hope you won't make things too difficult for him."
"Don't worry, I have a solid plan."
Caesar was brimming with confidence. Right now, he was just waiting for Punk Hazard to explode.
Once that happened, he'd fly straight to Egghead Island and quietly whisk Vegapunk away without anyone noticing.
By the time the World Government caught on, he'd probably have mass-produced Seraphim by then…
"Then it's settled! You and Law will both board my ship when the time comes!"
"Who said anything was settled?!"
Wolf's face darkened. Although he was indeed tempted, he hadn't agreed yet!
Whether to follow or not would ultimately depend on Law's choice.
Over these years, he had come to regard Law as his own child.
If Law didn't join, he wouldn't leave with Caesar either, lest the boy worry.
As for scientific research...
Though he was tempted, he was already this old. It would be best if he had the conditions to support his research, but if not, he wouldn't insist.
Caesar smiled as he watched Wolf.
Recruiting Wolf was another purpose of his visit.
Caesar wanted to assemble a scientific research team!
At this point in time, not to mention the Seraphim, even the Pacifista hadn't been created yet.
If they could develop them one step ahead...
To be honest, Caesar wanted to create a Yamato Seraphim first to see how it would turn out.