Chapter 34

Sailing with one arm had probably been the stupidest thing she had ever done.

When Mina arrived to the North Blue, the weather changed radically. The Grand Line was wild. One day it was sunny, then it changed to a storm and then it returned to normal.

But North Blue was a constant storm. Always bad weather, rain and cold. It snowed almost everywhere, and the sea was impossible to navigate.

After a horrible storm, her small ship sank to the shore of a small island. She ended up in a cove near the coast, where took refuge from the horrendous cold.

She was wet and had no spare clothes, as had lost almost everything in the ocean.

-What a shitty place - she thought aloud - Now I understand why the hell you had a submarine.

She felt her eyelids begin to go down. It was cold, very cold. She lay down.

"Maybe ... I just need to rest"

Mina woke up suddenly and looked around.

She wasn't in the cave, but in what looked like a cottage. What's more, she was inside a warm bed.

-Am I... dead?

-Hahaha you are not, but a little more and surely you were! - a hoarse voice answered her.

A man in his 70s has just entered the room with a warm food.

His hair was completely white from gray, and brushed back like a toupee. He wore a Hawaiian shirt that didn't match at all with the weather outside. And above all, he didn't look at all like a 70-year-old man, because you could see his body still robust and strong.

-I brought you something to start warming up. I would give you meat, but if you have only one hand I think it will be much easier for you something that you don't have to cut.

-Thanks - she replied as he began to eat.

The war was over, so she had stopped worrying so much about the hospitality she received, since there was no longer a World Government to betray her.

The old man looked at her.

-I found you almost dead of hypothermia in that cave. You're not from around here, are you? Outsiders often underestimate the low temperatures of North Blue.

Mina thought how much she should tell that man. Finally, shook her head.

-I'm from Dressrosa - she replied - I came here for some pending matters.

-Dressrosa! - he answered excitedly - They call it the country of flowers. Is it as beautiful as people say? I have always wanted to go on vacation to a country like that.

-It's been a long time since I visited it... But I suppose it has its charm.

-Oh, how exciting! We don't usually have travelers in a place like this - he sat in a nearby chair - It's been almost 10 years since I had someone young living in my house.

-Do you have children?

-Yes, I have one kid, but I don't mean that. Three children and their talking pet lived with me 10 years ago, until they set sail for the sea to become pirates.

The man smiled, as if he remembered something with happiness.

-And well - changed the subject - My name is Wolf. What brings you to a small island like this?

Mina was thoughtful. He seemed a good man, nothing would happen if she told him, right?

-There's something I have to do.

-Hm? That sounds interesting. Are you looking for someone?

-Something like that - she pulled a wet notebook out of her jacket.

The man read the content inside.

-What the hell is this? - Wolf asked surprised.

The man felt tears fall.

-Girl... Doing something like this... - turned each and every page - It's impossible for you to do it. Most of them will be dead by now.

-Then I will find the alive ones.

-But if you find them, what will you do with them?

-I'm looking for a place where they can live. I will look for an abandoned house, something that will help them have a roof to live in.

Wolf remembered something.

-There's a mansion that was requisitioned many years ago. It belonged to the uncles of one of the children who lived with me. They were smuggled bastards, so we got the police to take the house from them, but the boy didn't want it.

-Here?

-Yes, it's a huge mansion that, apparently, belonged to some Tenryubitos who decided to live among us many years ago.

Mina was surprised. It wouldn't be possible for that place to be...

-Can we go and take a look?

-Of course.

The man turned out to be an inventor with a bunch of curious gadgets. Although most of them were useless.

However, he had a kind of car that took them to a huge mansion in the middle of the forest.

Mina looked at the mansion.

It was huge. Definitely the house of some noble.

-What happened to the noble who lived in the house?

-They were a couple with two kids. When the population found out that they were Tenryubitos, they tortured them to near death as their revenge. Not every day you can find a Tenryubitos without protection from the World Government.

They both entered the mansion. It was completely abandoned. The furniture was full of cobwebs and dust, but still looked luxurious.

While walking in one of the rooms, she found a paper hidden between the walls.

It was a very old photograph. It was probably 30 years old without anyone touching it.

Mina was surprised. She was right, that had been the house of Doflamingo and her father when they were both children.

In the photo you could see a family smiling. The father was a man with long hair and a platinum blonde beard. He looked like a kind man.

"It must be Grandpa Homing"

Next to him was his wife, and their two children.

The smallest boy with wild hair must have been his father.

"He was pretty adorable" she smiled "Law would pay a fortune to see this"

But she kept her gaze on the older brother. A boy with blond hair and sunglasses covering his face. His arms were crossed and his face was angry, but you could see a slight blush on his cheeks.

-Doffy...

She knew the history of that house because Mjosgard told her about their family's misfortune when she was with him in Marijoa, since Mjosgard himself learned of the fate of his cousins.

"Mjosgard..."

She would give anything to find a memory of him. Any photo or something. But everything had been destroyed during the war.

Maybe if she traveled to Marijoa and explored the ruins of the palace, could find something, but she felt that it was too early to face that. She wasn't yet ready to return to that place.

-Do you think it's a good place? - Wolf asked, not knowing that this was the family home of the girl in front of him.

Mina smiled.

-Yes, it's perfect - she looked around while she kept the old photo - But it will need a face lift.

-Ha! - The man exclaimed with pride - Leave it to me. I just invented a machine that can solve all our problems!

-But will it work? All your junk looks defective ...

The man dropped a drop of sweat behind his head.

-Well, I'll fix it... But you can definitely count on me!

-What a great man~

-Hey girl - he approached her seriously - I've noticed that you always have that expressionless face. Can't you smile when something good happens to you? Life is something to celebrate!

Mina was a little surprised. People used to not be so direct about her face.

-I can't help it, it's my face.

-What a shame, you're so beautiful! If you smiled more you would be popular with men!

-I'm already more than I would like to.

The man laughed.

-Is there a man who has caught your attention?

She stopped.

For the first time since he met her, Wolf saw a true smile on her face, not the fake one she always used to show.

-Maybe.

-It must be someone incredible.

-He is - she changed to a sad smile - But I abandoned him to come here. I bet he's very angry with me.

-Bah, you came for a good reason. If the guy is interested inyou, he must bear it.

Mina laughed a little.

-You are a very direct man.

-Well, I've had a very long life, girl.

She looked at him.

-Sometimes, I feel that I have too...

Wolf and Mina got along better than expected.

The man found the girl very funny, even though she never did anything for him to think like that.

-So... you were revolutionary...

-And you were a pirate? It's weird, you don't seem like one.

-Well, it has rained a lot since I was. But I'm much more intrigued by your life. A revolutionary! I have always wanted to meet one of you!

-Is that so?

-I have always admired Dragon, he seems to me a man with clear ideas. Were you close with your boss?

She smiled.

-Yes. I was a in a high position after all.

-I see, a high position with how young you are. You must be very strong then.

-Well, I guess so.

-And what will you do with that arm? It will be difficult to navigate like this. Or fight... - he said while looking askance at her sword.

-I lost it, I have no choice but to live with it.

-Girl, in these times there's from Devil Fruits to engineers capable of giving you a robotic one, don't be stupid.

She chuckled.

-Well, I guess I'll find an engineer, I like to swim.

The old man thought that when she laughed she looked pretty. She was a very young girl, however, always had a poker face. Just like that golden-eyed boy who lived with him so many years ago.

Wolf laughed.

-Huh?

-Nothing, it's just that you remind me of that dwarf.

-Have you seen her? -Law asked the man from the tavern as he showed him a photograph of Mina.

-Huh? Yes, she was here like two weeks ago.

-And do you know where she went?

-No idea, but she seemed to be in a hurry. I seem to remember that she was looking for someone.

Law returned to the table where his nakamas were drinking. He sighed as he sat down.

He had been searching for her from island to island for months. She traveled too much, and was never more than two days in the same city, so people practically didn't remember her.

- Still no luck, huh? - Shachi said.

-What the hell is she doing!? It's impossible to track her!

-Maybe Sabo-san is right - Penguin said to him - We should just wait for her to come back.

Law remained thoughtful.

"Waiting for her to come back, huh?... It's not that easy for me..."

Hello!

I haven't invented Wolf. For those of you who don't know * spoiler? * Wolf is the man who took care of Law, Shachi, Penguin and Bepo during their teens after Cora-san died.

He appears in the official Law novel. You can find it on Wattpad easily. There are four volumes (but it's a short story) that narrate the beginning of Law's friendship with them and how he began to be a pirate.