It must be said that Barrels was truly an idiot. How he managed to climb to the rank of Commodore at Marine Headquarters was anyone's guess.
Perhaps he achieved a great feat through sheer chance, then slowly accrued seniority until he became a Commodore. It was likely his stupidity that prevented him from building connections or being trusted with any real authority, causing him to be marginalized into obscurity. Then, one day, a wire must have crossed in his brain, and he defected from the Navy.
The man actually kept the Op-Op Fruit, valued at five billion Berries, right by his side. Then, before the transaction with Doflamingo, he drank himself into a stupor, seemingly celebrating his imminent status as a tycoon. Wouldn't a normal person only start celebrating after the transaction was complete? Before the deal was sealed, one should be on high alert!
But this guy simply had to take the road less traveled.
The result was unsurprising. While Rosinante's combat strength was nothing special, he had received professional training in intelligence work and was a specialist in undercover operations. As long as he didn't succumb to his usual carelessness or trip himself up, he was actually quite formidable.
Using the Calm-Calm Fruit, Rosinante managed a series of daring maneuvers, successfully stealing the Op-Op Fruit from a group of drunkards.
Of course, he was discovered as he left, but he managed to escape with minimal injury, barely making it to the rendezvous with Law.
As Rosinante and Law were fleeing near the port, they happened to see Doflamingo's ship, the Numancia Flamingo, docking. His older brother, the Heavenly Yaksha Donquixote Doflamingo, was slowly descending from the ship.
Doflamingo had already adjusted his mindset. Losing the Gold-Gold Fruit was merely the loss of a major moneymaking opportunity, and such opportunities would come again. Right now, he was about to get the Op-Op Fruit, which was the most critical priority and a cause for genuine celebration! What was there left to be unhappy about?
Thus, Doflamingo's expression as he disembarked was quite cheerful.
However, he was a cautious man. After standing on the dock for a moment and waiting for his executives to follow him, he said in a deep voice, "Trebol, take some men and seal off this port. No ship is allowed to leave this island until I return. If anyone tries to run, kill them all. Ship and crew!"
Now that he was this close, he absolutely couldn't afford any accidents.
Trebol quickly responded, "Don't worry, Doffy. No one will escape from here."
"Good," Doflamingo nodded.
For this transaction, he had intentionally avoided his usual flashy attire. Although he still wore his signature pink flamingo feather coat, he was otherwise dressed in a complete black suit underneath.
Wearing a suit, tie, and leather shoes, Doflamingo looked quite dashing and imposing. As the biggest pirate boss and Underworld kingpin in the North Blue, Doflamingo commanded immense respect on Minion Island. When he said no ship could leave before his return, absolutely no one dared to challenge him.
The Donquixote Family executives followed Doflamingo, quickly moving off the port and heading toward the arranged meeting spot with Barrels.
Law, hiding in the shadows, even caught sight of his two good friends, Baby 5 and Buffalo, among the crowd. Yes, at this stage, Law was still close friends with both of them.
"Cora-san, what do we do?" Law turned and asked Rosinante, whose face looked terrible.
Rosinante looked at the port, then at the departing Doflamingo. In the end, he decided not to rush the blockade, saying in a low voice, "Come on, let's find some desolate spot to hide and wait for things to change."
After speaking, he took out the Op-Op Fruit he had just stolen and looked at Law. "I originally planned to find a powerful doctor, have him eat this Devil Fruit, and then cure your illness. But now, I might not be able to get this fruit off the island. Law, you once said your dream was to become a surgeon, right?"
Law's parents were both doctors, so he grew up in that environment and naturally aspired to the medical profession.
Hearing Rosinante's question, Law nodded. "Yes, Cora-san."
"Then, you should be the one to eat the Op-Op Fruit, Law. Go and fulfill your dream of becoming a doctor," Rosinante said, reaching out to ruffle Law's hair.
Law's expression was astonished, his mouth slightly agape, but before he could speak, Rosinante quickly shoved the Op-Op Fruit into his mouth. Law instinctively swallowed it whole...
Looking at the bewildered Law, Rosinante smiled and nodded. "Good. Now no one can casually kill you anymore. Let's go!"
He was certain that even if Doflamingo caught them now, Law wouldn't die. His brother would undoubtedly find a way to nurture Law so the boy could perform the Eternal Youth Operation on him later.
"Young Master... Doflamingo has sealed the port. Where are we supposed to leave from? Is it useful to hide on the island?" Law asked hesitantly.
"It is useful. If we can't find a chance to escape, we'll hide on the island. The Navy fleet will arrive in maybe three to five days. Once the Navy is here, we'll surrender to them. Don't worry, it'll be fine," Rosinante said with a reassuring smile, his tone remarkably relaxed.
That's right. Because Rosinante had successfully acquired the Gold-Gold Fruit, along with certain changes to events and his own change in character—plus the fact that he was unharmed—he no longer held the original storyline's death wish to protect Law. On the contrary, he still had options. As long as he wasn't captured by Doflamingo, he could hide on the island for a while, wait for the Navy warships to arrive, and then simply turn himself in.
Rosinante's current information came from Sengoku, leading him to estimate the Navy would take three to five days to arrive. Therefore, he didn't linger at the port. He quickly took Law and slipped into the wilderness, where the heavy snow naturally covered their tracks.
If he had known that Diarmuid's warship was already close to Minion Island, he would have waited at the port for a short time. The moment Diarmuid disembarked, he would have gone straight to his big brother for sanctuary.
Not long after, a standard Marine Headquarters warship appeared on the horizon.
Trebol, who was enforcing the island's blockade at the port, was stunned by the sudden appearance of the warship. That fast?
However, he dared not make a move to attack a Navy warship on his own initiative. He could only watch as the ship slowly sailed into the port. Meanwhile, he quickly contacted his Young Master via Den Den Mushi.
His Young Master didn't answer the call. At that moment, Doflamingo was staring furiously at the drunken Barrels and his men, who were kneeling before him.
"Say that to me one more time?" Doflamingo asked, his eyes savage.
"I... It's lost. It was just snatched away. I really didn't mean to. That guy was too cunning..." Barrels stammered nervously.
Doflamingo held a flintlock pistol in his hand, trying to force a smile onto his face. He asked, "What did the guy look like?"
"I couldn't get a clear look..." Barrels replied.
"What about his voice?" Doflamingo asked, his eyes growing darker.
"I didn't hear anything..." Barrels said again.
"Where did he escape to?" Doflamingo asked once more.
"I don't know..." Barrels replied, trembling.
As soon as he finished speaking, Doflamingo raised the pistol and shot Barrels right in the head, his voice exploding with rage. "Useless trash! Idiot! What good are you!?"
Next, he fired several more shots, killing everyone in the room. He was still unable to quell his fury and fired two more shots into Barrels' corpse...
Among the people shot was a young boy, Barrels' biological son, Diez Drake. Although they were father and son, Drake had been physically abused by Barrels since childhood and had no affection for him. Conversely, since Barrels had once been a Navy Commodore, Drake grew up in Marineford and felt a natural fondness for the Navy. Having been deprived of his father's love, he received much care from the Marines at Marineford.
Unfortunately, his father was insane and suddenly defected from the Navy, and Drake was helplessly dragged along by Barrels.
In the original story, Drake rejoined the Navy during this incident, resolving to become an outstanding Marine. He later joined the Intelligence Division's spy unit and infiltrated Kaido's Beasts Pirates. He also abandoned the surname Diez, which was a stain on the Navy, becoming X Drake.
However, in this timeline, the enraged Doflamingo shot him directly in the chest.
But he wouldn't die. Doflamingo didn't know that the boy, Drake, was a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, possessing the rare Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan, Allosaurus Model. Though he appeared young, Drake was already nineteen and had been a Devil Fruit user for many years.
In the original story, when he fled the Birdcage alone, Barrels' subordinates cursed him, saying he was the strongest fighter yet ran away, indirectly confirming that Drake was already a Devil Fruit user before he joined the Navy.
Drake was clearly quick-witted. After being shot, he immediately fell to the ground and played dead, not fighting back or revealing his ability.
Doflamingo clearly didn't give it another thought. After shooting Barrels a few more times, he raised his hand to the sky, and massive amounts of threads spilled out from his palm.
Birdcage!
At least he got one useful piece of information from that trash Barrels: the Op-Op Fruit had only just been stolen. He had already ordered the port sealed upon his arrival. Therefore, there was no way the thief could have left Minion Island.
Now, he would seal off the entire island and search every inch until he found that damned thief!
After finishing this, Doflamingo turned and walked out of the dilapidated courtyard with his executives. His anger finally seemed to have subsided somewhat. As he took out the frantically ringing Den Den Mushi, he ordered, "Go find them! Find everyone suspicious!"
Then, Doflamingo answered the Den Den Mushi. "What is it?"
"Doffy, the Navy warship has arrived! It's Diarmuid, and you're right in his path!" Trebol quickly reported.
Doflamingo: ???
What the hell is going on?
I just dropped the Birdcage, and the Navy is already here?
You've gotta be kidding me...
I was supposed to have a happy day today...
Meanwhile, at the port, Diarmuid reached out and touched the fine thread of the Birdcage, which he had just watched slowly descend onto the port ground. Honestly, Doflamingo's technique had truly reached the realm of manipulating the very laws of nature. The Birdcage was a true barrier, blocking everything, even Den Den Mushi signal waves. It was genuinely mind-boggling.
Reflecting on it, Doflamingo was indeed outstanding in developing his Devil Fruit power. The only pity was that his potential was limited by the string-string nature of the String-String Fruit. If he had been given a stronger Devil Fruit, he probably could have soared to the heavens.
Thinking this, Diarmuid glanced at the trembling Trebol not far away. Was it this idiot who gave the fruit to the young Doflamingo? He really screwed Doflamingo over for life. Doflamingo must have a decent temper; if it were Diarmuid, Trebol would have been sent to the bottom of the sea long ago.