Doflamingo's scheme didn't merely aim to annoy Bardock; he also wanted to sabotage any chance of the pirate ever becoming a Warlord of the Sea. After all, a Warlord carrying a one-Belly bounty would be a laughingstock.
Regardless, it was a petty spite tactic. Bardock quickly shook off his frustration and shifted his focus back to the task at hand.
Swallow Island lacked widespread fame in the North Blue, but it boasted excellent technological development, particularly in advanced submarine engineering. More importantly, this was the current residence of Trafalgar Law and the Mink, Bepo.
Conveniently, Bardock planned to retrofit the White Dragon for underwater travel. By fusing Swallow Island's engineering with the technology he already possessed, dominating both the skies and the ocean depths would become effortless. Law and Bepo were also prime talents Bardock sought: one was a brilliant surgeon possessing the Op-Op Fruit with immense potential, while the other offered a direct link to Zou and the Mokomo Dukedom, where a Poneglyph awaited Robin.
With a flash of lightning, Enel materialized beside Bardock, his face contorted as he fought to suppress a smirk. "Ahem. Bardock, we've arrived at Swallow Island."
"Wipe that smile off your face, will you?" Bardock snapped. "So what if it's a one-Belly bounty? Your starting bounty hit three hundred million, but the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is worth way more than that. Don't you think you're dragging down its reputation?"
"Struck a nerve," Enel deadpanned.
"Hey! Let's fight! We're throwing down right now!" Bardock rolled up his sleeves, feigning a lunge.
Enel hastily backed away. "I pass! We're at Swallow Island!" Then, he bolted. He knew for a fact that fighting Bardock right now would end in a brutal beating.
Bardock was only blowing off steam. Even Chopper netted a hundred Belly—slightly higher than his initial bounty in the original timeline—and Bardock hadn't complained about that. He simply lamented that all his hard work hyping the crew up back on the Sabaody Archipelago had gone down the drain.
As the White Dragon docked, the crew assembled on the front deck. Bardock swept his gaze over them and nodded in approval. They had finally managed to rein in their expressions. Though a few lips twitched subtly, they kept their composure.
"Disembark! Move out!" Bardock ordered.
"Yes, Captain!" the crew chorused.
The residents of Swallow Island had spotted their approach well in advance. Thanks to the freshly minted bounties circulating the globe, the locals quickly identified the crew, leaving the port deserted.
It made sense. This single crew boasted three individuals with bounties crossing the hundred-million threshold: "Thunder God" Enel at 300 million, "Manslayer" Daz Bonez at 270 million, and "Devil Child" Nico Robin at 130 million. Toss in several others carrying bounties in the tens of millions, and this group constituted a formidable force that even New World veterans would hesitate to provoke.
Naturally, the locals hid themselves away. Among those taking shelter were Trafalgar Law, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi. While they stayed out of sight, they peeked from their hiding spots to observe the infamous pirates.
"Weird," Penguin murmured. "Why is the guy with a one-Belly bounty leading them?"
"Yeah," Shachi chimed in. "Even that Thunder God guy is walking a few steps behind him!"
"Bounties don't tell the whole story," Law analyzed calmly. "If that explorer is walking in the front, he's the captain. His strength must be the real deal."
"Ah! It's a raccoon-dog Mink!" Bepo suddenly blurted out. Mistaking Chopper for a fellow Mink, his excitement got the better of him, and his voice boomed a little too loud.
The other three instantly glared at him.
Bepo wilted, his head drooping. "I'm sorry..."
His three companions facepalmed in unison. "Stop apologizing for everything!"
While they bickered in the shadows, they remained blissfully unaware that in just a few short sentences, Bardock and his crew had already pinpointed their exact location.