In a vast room lavishly lit by crystal chandeliers, the air was heavy with the scent of wine and self-satisfaction. A young blond man, clad in an extravagant flamingo-feather coat, stood near a bay window. His red-tinted glasses reflected the light as he slowly swirled the crimson liquid in his glass, a faint smile stretching his lips.
"So…" he drawled, his tone almost amused, without even turning around."Do you have any news regarding Law's capture, Diamante?"
Behind him, a tall man with an elegant build bowed slightly. His dazzling, almost theatrical smile contrasted sharply with the palpable tension in the air.
"Not yet, young master," Diamante replied confidently. "But honestly, it shouldn't be a problem. I sent Dellinger, Machvise, Lao G, and Señor Pink. To be absolutely certain, I even mobilized more than a thousand men."
He spread his arms as if stating the obvious.
"Against Law and his small crew, that's more than enough."
He paused briefly, then added in a falsely casual tone:
"Our informants have only reported that another ship was spotted near the submarine. The beach shows signs of fierce combat… which suggests that Law is already injured, or at least exhausted."
The wine glass stopped dead.
Doflamingo was no longer smiling.
"Whose ship is it?" he asked slowly. "Have you identified it?"
Diamante hesitated for a fraction of a second, his confidence imperceptibly cracking.
"It's in progress, young master. Our intelligence services are analyzing the flag. At first glance, they thought it belonged to a North Blue crew—"
Before he could finish, a side door burst open. A young woman with black hair, dressed in a pristine maid uniform, rushed in clutching a folder.
"Young master!" she announced urgently. "Identification is confirmed. They are not pirates from North Blue… but from East Blue."
She swallowed before continuing:
"It's… the Straw Hat crew."
The wine glass cracked slightly under the pressure of Doflamingo's fingers.
Without another word, he spun on his heel.
"Follow me to the Vivre Card room, Diamante," he ordered, striding briskly toward an adjoining office.
Diamante followed immediately. His smug smile was gone, replaced by a tense, almost anxious expression. The maid—Baby Five—fell in behind them without hesitation, loyal to her master.
Upon entering the adjoining room, Doflamingo went straight to the corner reserved for Diamante's unit. There, beneath several finely crafted glass dishes, lay the Vivre Cards of his officers. None were pristine: some were cracked, others gnawed away at the edges, bearing witness to recent and violent battles.
Three immediately caught his eye—they had lost nearly half their size. And before a single word could be spoken, the card bearing Machvise's name completely disintegrated, crumbling into black dust before their eyes.
A deathly silence fell over the room.
Then, without warning, an overwhelming burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Doflamingo's body. The walls vibrated, glass rattled, and the air itself seemed to constrict. A low, guttural growl escaped his throat, laden with cold, dangerous fury.
Diamante clenched his teeth, planting his feet to avoid buckling under the monstrous pressure. His smile had vanished long ago.
Baby Five did not withstand it—her legs gave out instantly, and she collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
The pressure vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
Doflamingo straightened, adjusted his glasses with a sharp gesture, and spoke in a low voice, sharp as a blade.
"Diamante. I want every detail of what happened there. Everything. By tonight. Is that clear?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turned on his heel and left the room in long strides, already contacting someone urgently, his mind racing.
Diamante remained alone for a moment, his gaze fixed on the now-empty dish where Machvise's card had been. His throat tightened. A few tears silently rolled down his cheeks before he wiped them away roughly. He took a deep breath, then picked up a Den Den Mushi.
"Dellinger… are you there? Can you hear me?" he asked in a tense voice.
Long seconds passed—nearly a full minute—before a ragged breath answered.
"I hear you, Diamante…" Dellinger's voice replied, clearly short of breath.
"Immediate withdrawal. You and Lao G. Machvise is down. The young master is furious, so your survival is the absolute priority."
A brief silence followed, then a nervous laugh.
"Understood…" Dellinger replied. "We'll settle this another time, Straw Hat. Lao G, we're out! Direct order from Diamante-san!"
The line went dead.
Diamante immediately tried to reach Señor Pink. Once. Twice. No response. The only reassuring thing was that Señor Pink's Vivre Card didn't seem to be shrinking.
He switched channels and contacted the North Blue bounty hunters' headquarters.
"This is Diamante. I need information on the Flevance area."
The reply was delayed, then a cautious voice came through.
"We do have an operation in that sector… We'll check our communications and call you back."
Ten minutes later, the Den Den Mushi vibrated again.
"…We've lost all contact with our units on site. The situation is… unknown."
Diamante closed his eyes for a moment.
This time, there was no doubt: whatever had happened in Flevance went far beyond a simple skirmish. And the name of the Straw Hat crew had just been etched, in burning letters, onto Donquixote Doflamingo's personal blacklist.
Back in Flevance
Luffy and Sanji stood still for a moment, watching the torn-up street and the last enemies fleeing. The sudden disappearance of their opponents had caught them off guard—especially since, for Sanji, the fight had felt more like a warm-up than a battle to the death.
"…They ran off," Sanji noted, automatically lighting a cigarette—then stopping short as he remembered the promise he'd made to Kazuki. With a sigh, he put the pack away."Honestly, I was just starting to have fun. So, Luffy—what do we do? Keep exploring the area?"
Luffy was about to answer when the air abruptly changed. Black shapes began to emerge from the shadows, materializing all around the ruins. The Heartless descended upon the remaining conscious underlings—and even those already lying on the ground. Screams rose again, brief and muffled, then faded one by one.
In less than a few minutes, of the hundreds of men and women who had flooded the streets, only a few dozen were spared—cowering in terror or too far away to draw the creatures' attention.
Luffy clenched his fists, his gaze hard.
"No. We're going back to the others."
He turned to his crew.
"If we ran into enemies, they did too. We regroup. Now."
Sanji nodded without argument. Zoro resheathed his swords, Kuina steadied her breathing, and Koby nodded sharply before following Luffy in long strides.
Meanwhile
I'd taken advantage of a brief lull. With Nami nestled against me, I flew over the bleached ruins of Flevance, gazing down at the ghostly kingdom with a mix of sorrow and anger. Cold wind brushed past us as we descended near Law's old house.
A massive, newly formed Heartless stood motionless, a thick chain ending in an enormous iron ball dragging behind it. Not far away, an unconscious body lay on the ground: a man dressed like a baby, covered in bandages, still breathing faintly.
I blinked, surprised.
"…Uh. You okay?" I murmured, more out of reflex than any real expectation of an answer.
Charles arrived almost immediately and quietly summarized everything that had happened: the coordinated attack, the appearance of the Heartless, Machvise's fall, Señor Pink's collapse.
I let out a slow sigh once he finished.
"Alright…" I said, straightening up. "In that case, we need to move fast. If all of this reaches him, I'm almost certain that this Doflamingo guy will hold us responsible. And I really don't want him on our backs right now."
Law then approached, his face still drawn with emotion and fatigue.
"Jordan… can you send Lami somewhere safe?"
I nodded immediately.
"Of course."
I turned to Nojiko, who was standing a little apart.
"And you? Do you want to return to the base, or stay here?"
I paused, a slight smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
"Because I think I've found a way to make you stronger."
Nojiko thought for a few seconds, then replied calmly:
"I'd rather go back. But… I'll accept your gift. And I'll train with Lami."
A dark portal opened, and I sent both young women to safety, making sure to keep my distance so as not to reveal this ability.
Lami headed toward Belmère, who was standing with Hector and Hachi, chatting with Grandma Heartless, while Jerry was taking care of Léa, who was playing with her kitten.I passed the new Heartless to Nojiko, and she took on a hybrid appearance similar to Kaya's.
"Train well," I said with a gentle smile, waving to them as they waved back, before I stepped through the portal again.
Luffy arrived shortly after with the rest of the group. Once everyone was gathered, I approached him and spoke in a low voice—serious for once.
"We need to leave. Change islands quickly. What just happened here is going to attract way too much trouble if we linger."
Luffy looked at me for a few seconds, his expression serious, then his face lit up with that wide, honest grin that never left room for doubt.
"Perfect. Then let's get out of here before it gets really annoying."
The tension around us immediately dissipated, as if that single sentence had sealed the decision for everyone. Law then stepped forward, gripping the edge of his coat tightly, still marked by the recent events.
"Can we go straight to the island I told you about, Straw Hat?" he asked, calmer than usual.
Luffy nodded without hesitation.
"No problem. Show us the way."
I took advantage of the calmer moment to chime in, already thinking ahead.
"By the way, Law… do you know where we could buy some Den Den Mushi? I'd like to install one on the Merry, and ideally give one to each team. It'd keep us from getting cut off from each other like today."
Law frowned slightly, then nodded.
"There's an island just before our destination. It's called Spider Miles."
He paused, his gaze hardening.
"But we'll need disguises. It used to be one of Doflamingo's old headquarters. Even if it's quieter now, his networks are still very active there."
"Perfect," I replied simply. "That'll add a bit of spice to the trip."
Law returned to his submarine, the Polar Tang, while we boarded the Merry. Before leaving, I took a moment to discreetly summon a green Requiem and left it behind us, near the unconscious man dressed like a baby.
I cast one last glance at Señor Pink.
"Heal him," I said, hoping that if he woke up, he'd direct his resentment elsewhere—ideally toward Sora.
The Merry gently pulled away, leaving behind the white ruins of Flevance, while the Polar Tang submerged alongside us.
That was when I felt something strange.
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside my mind. Not an external sound. No one around me reacted, immediately confirming that it was meant for me alone.
"You have fully conquered East Blue."
I remained perfectly still, hiding my surprise.
The voice continued, relentless.
"Unlock confirmed: access to Expert dungeons (Traverse Town, Wonderland, Deep Jungle)."
Familiar symbols briefly overlaid my vision, like an echo of the system.
"Warning. Heartless in these areas will be considerably stronger. You may now enter with any number of companions. However, the larger the group, the more diluted the rewards."
A brief silence followed, heavy with promise.
"Final warning: Beyond Expert level lies Master level. Once the Master level is completed, it will disappear permanently. In exchange, a unique and irreversible reward will be granted."
During that month of intense training and our departure toward North Blue, they kept spreading, slowly but inexorably, like an oil spill that could no longer be contained.
I realized it almost with relief.
So… the Heartless are now everywhere in East Blue.
That meant I would no longer need to open every lock myself, island after island. The world was now doing part of the work for me. Darkness had found its own paths.
Good, I thought at the time, without yet grasping all the consequences.
Because while I was training, while the crew was growing stronger and we were preparing to leave, East Blue was changing its face—and without me realizing it right away, it changed the face of the sea itself.
Marine Heartless began patrolling near the trade routes, and Heartless ships—rarer, but very real—drifted like silent sentinels. Not predators. More like hunting dogs. They ignored ordinary vessels… but the moment they detected a cargo of slaves, a crew of raiders, arms trafficking, or drug smuggling, they moved. Criminals thought they had found easy prey; instead, they found a sentence.
The result was almost ironic: East Blue became safer.
Small merchants could travel with fewer escorts. Improvised humanitarian convoys organized by certain kingdoms passed through more easily. Even isolated villages, once extorted regularly, saw the pressure ease. Bandits vanished. Not arrested. Not imprisoned. Simply… erased.
For the shadow networks, however, it was an apocalypse.
Almost all black markets were hit first, because they were nests of red hearts—dens overflowing with greed and violence, drawing the Heartless like beacons draw storms. The traffickers who survived fled to other seas, swearing that "East Blue is cursed."
Even the Marines paid a price… but not the honest ones.
It was mainly the compromised bases—the ones that "looked the other way," charged protection money, sold information, or covered up abuses. Within a few weeks, roughly a third of the bases known for corruption were destroyed, attacked, or stripped of their filthiest officers. The good soldiers were often spared—sometimes even saved without understanding by what.
And the corrupt nobles… those who lived above the law, convinced that gold and titles could buy everything… discovered that the Heartless had neither fear, nor respect, nor mercy for that kind of status. Many didn't even have time to flee. Others tried to hide behind guards—who were themselves judged if they were complicit.
As for the Celestial Dragons, it was worse still.
They could still come, in theory, under heavy protection… but East Blue no longer offered them a docile playground. Their arrogance naturally drew condemnation. And this time, they didn't just risk human revolt, they risked hordes of Heartless who cared nothing for their slaves or their wealth, only for the darkness in their hearts.
(Author's note: That's it for this chapter. I'll do a few more chapters in North Blue, then I'll move on to the dungeon arc. I'll leave you with an image of a few Expert-version Heartless.)