Three thousand meters under the sea.
This is a land of eternal night where sunlight cannot reach.
The immense water pressure is enough to twist steel into scrap metal.
However.
A yellow metal submarine, like a silent giant whale,
was moving steadily through the dark ocean currents.
The Heart Pirates, Polar Tang.
At this time.
Inside the submarine's medical room, which also served as the Captain's quarters,
there was only the faint hum of operating instruments.
A man wearing a spotted plush hat and a black trench coat
was leaning back on a sofa.
In his hand was a thick medical tome.
The brim of his hat was pulled low, covering most of his face.
Only his deep dark circles under his eyes could be seen,
along with the smiley face pattern tattooed on the back of his hand.
Trafalgar Law.
Nicknamed the "Surgeon of Death."
A Supernova from the North Blue and Captain of the Heart Pirates.
At this moment, he seemed somewhat bored.
"How much longer until we reach the Sabaody Archipelago?"
Law asked flatly without looking up.
His voice was deep, carrying a unique magnetic quality.
"Reporting, Captain!"
"At our current speed, we should surface in about two hours!"
Penguin, who was operating the helm nearby, reported loudly.
Law closed the book in his hand.
He sighed softly.
The long sword named "kikoku" leaned against his leg,
emitting a faint chill.
"Too slow."
"If we can't reach the Grove 13 area before dark,"
"the resupply plan will have to be delayed again."
Just then.
A sudden patter of footsteps broke the silence in the cabin.
"Captain! Captain!"
"This is bad! Something huge has happened!"
A white bear wearing an orange jumpsuit,
waving a freshly printed fax in his hand,
stumbled into the room.
Perhaps because he was running too fast,
when crossing the threshold,
the clumsy white bear tripped over his own feet.
With a splat,
he fell flat on his face, sprawling out completely.
He even slid two meters across the smooth floor,
stopping right at Law's feet.
"..."
Law looked down at the white bear at his feet.
Several black lines appeared on his forehead.
"I'm sorry..."
Bepo the white bear lay on the ground, instantly becoming depressed.
It was as if several ghosts were floating out of his head.
"Don't get depressed at a time like this!"
Shachi, standing nearby, couldn't help but retort.
"Hurry up and show the intel to the Captain!"
Only then did Bepo snap out of it.
He scrambled to his feet.
Ignoring the dust on his face,
he held out the fax to Law with trembling hands.
His small bead-like eyes were full of terror and shock.
"Captain..."
"You have to see this!"
"The Underworld has gone completely insane!"
Law frowned.
He didn't remember Bepo, this emotionally fragile bear, ever being so dramatic.
Had a Marine Admiral been deployed?
Or had the Four Emperors gone to war?
Law reached out
and casually took the paper.
He glanced at it nonchalantly.
However.
With just that one glance,
his eyes, which were usually as calm as a still well,
instantly contracted into pinpricks!
Clang—!
An extremely sharp aura
erupted from his body without warning!
The air in the cabin seemed to freeze in that instant!
The temperature plummeted!
"Five billion?!"
Law suddenly sat bolt upright.
He stared fixedly at the dizzying string of zeros on the paper.
He, who was always calm,
now had a hint of unbelievable trembling in his voice.
"How is this possible?!"
"Even Whitebeard's head would only be around this price, wouldn't it?!"
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Law quickly looked further down,
trying to find the identity of the person with this astronomical bounty.
However.
When he saw the name,
he was stunned once again.
"Doctor... Bian Que?"
"A name I've never heard of?"
"And..."
Law's gaze locked onto the mark in the bottom right corner of the bounty poster.
That eerie grinning symbol.
Even if it were turned to ash, he would never mistake it!
It was the nightmare he hated most in his life, the one he wanted to tear into a thousand pieces!
"Doflamingo..."
Law gritted his teeth
and squeezed the name through them.
The bounty poster in his hand creaked as he gripped it tightly.
The paper instantly twisted and deformed.
"C-Captain?"
Bepo, standing nearby, was startled by the killing intent radiating from Law.
He cautiously shrank his neck.
"Um... has Joker gone crazy?"
"Five billion Berries!"
"Even if he sold all of Dressrosa, he might not be able to scrape together that much cash, right?"
Law didn't answer.
He took a deep breath,
forcing down the churning hatred in his Heart.
He regained his composure.
That man, as cunning as a fox,
would never make a losing deal.
A five billion bounty on a Doctor,
explicitly stating he must be "captured alive,"
and even offering the position of "Top Officer."
This could only mean one thing.
"This Doctor named Bian Que..."
"holds something that Doflamingo dreams of."
Law's eyes became deep and cold.
As the former "Heart" of the Donquixote Family,
he understood that man's ambition all too well.
Money?
Power?
No.
To Doflamingo, those were just tools.
What he truly desired
was the power to subvert the World and drag the Celestial Dragons down from their pedestal!
"Eternal youth..."
In Law's mind,
those two words suddenly flashed.
As the user of the Ope-Ope no Mi,
he knew very well
that Doflamingo had been looking for someone who could perform the "Perpetual Youth Surgery."
It was for this very purpose
that Mr. Corazon... died at the hands of that demon!
"Could it be..."
"that this person named Bian Que possesses another method to achieve immortality?"
"Or perhaps he has mastered some key biotechnology?"
Thinking of this,
Law stood up abruptly.
He grabbed the "kikoku" beside him.
His black trench coat billowed behind him.
"Bepo! Shachi! Penguin!"
Law's voice was as cold as a blade,
carrying an unquestionable determination.
"Change course!"
"Surface at full speed!"
"Target: Sabaody Archipelago!"
The crew members, still in a daze, were taken aback.
"Eh? Surface now?"
"But Captain, our original plan was to lurk on the outskirts..."
"The plan has changed."
Law strode toward the control console.
In his eyes with their dark circles,
a raging fire of revenge was burning.
"If it's someone Doflamingo wants,"
"then it is a target that I, Trafalgar Law, must fight for!"
"No matter who this Bian Que is,"
"and no matter what he has in his hands,"
"he must absolutely not fall into Doflamingo's hands!"
"Even if I have to destroy him!"
"I won't let that demon have his way!"
"Yes!!!"
Feeling their Captain's resolve,
the entire crew immediately entered combat status.
The submarine's engine roared.
Huge propellers churned the seawater.
Like a yellow torpedo, it sped toward the surface!