-Present Timeline: Dressrosa Underground-
The massive toy soldiers that had seemed so imposing just moments before now lay scattered across the underground loading dock like broken dolls.
Chopper stood beside the destruction he had wrought, but the cost of his enhanced technique was becoming apparent. His legs trembled with barely controlled spasms, the aftereffects of pushing his body beyond its natural limits making every step a struggle.
"Chopper, you don't have to push yourself like this," Robin said with gentle concern, her experienced eye immediately recognizing the signs of physical strain. Years of surviving on her own had taught her to assess injuries quickly, and she could see that the little reindeer was paying a heavy price for his devastating speed.
The small doctor tried to maintain his usual cheerful demeanor despite the obvious discomfort. "Don't worry about me, Robin. I just used my legs too hard and got some cramps. It's nothing serious."
But Robin wasn't fooled by his casual dismissal. She had watched him consume an entire Rumble Ball's worth of enhancement in a single technique, pushing his Zoan physiology to its absolute limits. The fact that he could even stand after moving at light-speed was a testament to his Devil Fruit's regenerative capabilities.
The advantage of Zoan-type users, Robin thought with clinical detachment. Enhanced physical resilience, accelerated healing, expanded limits on what the human body can endure. Still, even Zoan users have their breaking points.
Chopper's breathing gradually steadied as his enhanced metabolism began processing the strain. The Hito Hito no Mi (Human-Human Fruit) was working overtime to repair cellular damage and restore his normal function. Within minutes, the trembling in his legs subsided to barely noticeable twitches.
"See? All better," Chopper said with forced brightness, though Robin could tell he was still monitoring his own condition carefully. "Besides, we've got bigger problems coming."
The massive underground space fell into an ominous quiet. The destruction of the toy soldiers had been loud and chaotic, but now an expectant hush settled over the loading dock like a heavy blanket. Dust motes danced in the dim light filtering down from ventilation shafts far above, and the distant sound of the sea seemed to echo from hidden passages.
Robin's senses, honed by years of living as a fugitive, detected the subtle signs of approaching danger. Footsteps—multiple sets, moving with purpose rather than panic. These weren't more mindless toy soldiers or frightened factory workers.
These were the real threats.
"Sister, do you like eating grapes? I can treat you to some grapes!"
The voice was sweet, innocent, exactly the kind of childish offer that would disarm most adults immediately. From the settling dust where the largest toy giant had fallen, a small figure emerged with careful, measured steps.
She appeared to be perhaps ten years old, with vibrant green hair and a cherubic face that radiated harmless curiosity. A red bear-themed cloak draped her small shoulders, and a golden crown sat slightly askew on her head, giving her the appearance of a child playing dress-up. Most distinctive was the monocle perched over her right eye, lending her an oddly sophisticated air despite her obvious youth.
Chopper's reaction was immediate and predictable. His kind heart, always ready to protect the innocent, responded exactly as the little girl had hoped.
"Why is there a little girl here?" The reindeer stepped forward instinctively, his medical training overriding tactical caution. "You need to leave immediately! This is an extremely dangerous place for someone your age."
He had taken perhaps three steps when Robin's firm hand clamped down on his shoulder, stopping him cold.
"What's wrong, Robin?" Chopper looked back at his crewmate with confusion, unable to understand why she would prevent him from helping a lost child.
Robin's usual gentle expression had vanished, replaced by the hard-edged wariness of someone who had survived two decades of betrayal and assassination attempts. Her dark eyes fixed on the approaching girl with laser focus.
"Chopper, don't you find it strange that a child would be wandering around in the deepest, most secure level of an underground weapons facility?" Robin's voice carried the cold logic of someone who had learned never to trust appearances. "In a place where toy soldiers patrol constantly and intruders are killed on sight?"
The little girl paused mid-step, her innocent facade flickering for just a moment. When she realized her deception had been detected, she didn't bother with denials or further attempts at manipulation. Instead, she simply lowered her head and continued walking toward them with mechanical determination.
All she needs is one touch, Robin realized, her tactical mind immediately grasping the threat. Whatever her ability is, physical contact must be the trigger.
"I knew it! You must be Sugar—the one Leo mentioned!" Robin's hands moved with practiced efficiency, activating her Hana Hana no Mi (Flower-Flower Fruit) without hesitation.
Two pale arms sprouted from the air directly behind Sugar, grasping her small wrists and yanking them backward with enough force to lift her feet off the ground. The restraint was perfectly calculated—enough control to prevent any movement while avoiding serious injury to what was, physically at least, still a child's body.
"The Devil Child really is hard to deceive," Sugar said, her voice dropping several octaves to reveal the mature intelligence hidden beneath her youthful appearance. "I almost had you there. Most people can't resist helping a lost little girl."
Character Notes: Sugar, Donquixote Family Executive. User of the Hobi Hobi no Mi (Hobby-Hobby Fruit), which allows her to transform living beings into toys through touch. Her Devil Fruit has halted her aging, leaving her with the physical appearance of a ten-year-old despite being an adult. Extremely dangerous in close combat due to her fruit's instant-effect transformation ability.
Chopper immediately reached for another Rumble Ball, his medical training warring with his natural compassion. Even knowing that Sugar was an enemy, the sight of Robin restraining what looked like a child made him uncomfortable.
"I almost got completely fooled," he admitted, popping the yellow pill into his mouth and feeling the familiar surge of enhanced capability flow through his system. "If Robin hadn't stopped me..."
"You would have become another toy soldier," Robin finished grimly. "And I would have had to face all of Doflamingo's remaining forces alone."
But even as she spoke, Robin's attention was focused beyond their current captive. Her Observation Haki was detecting multiple approaching presences, each radiating the confident aura of someone accustomed to violence and victory.
"Don't bother hiding anymore," Robin called out to the shadows beyond the loading dock. "Come out and show yourselves. Chopper and I are ready for whatever you're planning."
The response was immediate. As the dust finally settled completely, four figures emerged from concealment with the casual confidence of predators who had cornered their prey.
The leader was impossible to mistake for anyone else. A massive man draped in a quilt-like cloak covered with circular patterns, he moved with the shuffling gait of someone who had never learned proper posture. His appearance was almost comically slovenly—snot running freely from his nostrils, small sunglasses perched crookedly on his nose, and a cane topped with a clover symbol clutched in one oversized hand.
"Ms. Robin," Trebol said, his voice carrying the wet, unpleasant quality of someone with chronic nasal congestion. "Our Donquixote Family could be very beneficial allies for someone in your position. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes?"
His small eyes gleamed with calculated cunning behind his ridiculous sunglasses. "You're wanted by the World Government with no powerful organization backing you up. A woman with your... reputation... won't survive long in these waters without proper protection. We could provide that protection."
Character Notes: Trebol, Donquixote Family Executive. User of the Beta Beta no Mi (Stick-Stick Fruit), which allows him to produce and manipulate highly adhesive mucus. Despite his slovenly appearance, he is one of Doflamingo's most trusted lieutenants and was instrumental in the young master's rise to power.
"This woman came prepared," observed a second voice, this one distinctly feminine despite carrying an odd, musical quality.
The speaker had once been human, but surgical modification had transformed her into something between woman and bird. Her lower body ended in powerful eagle talons instead of legs, while massive feathered wings sprouted from her shoulders. Light green hair framed a face that bore a distinct resemblance to Sugar's, though her features carried the maturity that the other's frozen appearance lacked.
Character Notes: Monet, Donquixote Family Executive. User of the Yuki Yuki no Mi (Snow-Snow Fruit), a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows her to create, control, and transform into snow.
The remaining two figures were barely recognizable as human anymore. One appeared to be a massive, four-legged creature with an enormous propeller mounted on his head like some bizarre organic aircraft. His partner was even more disturbing—what had once been a beautiful woman was now little more than a multi-barreled weapons platform embedded in the larger creature's back, her humanity reduced to a pair of eyes mounted above the gun barrels.
"Four more Devil Fruit users," Chopper observed, his voice carrying a note of professional interest despite the danger. "Doflamingo really has assembled quite a collection of abilities."
His own crew wasn't exactly lacking in Devil Fruit users, but seeing so many gathered in one criminal organization was still impressive from a tactical standpoint.
"Buffalo, Baby 5," Trebol called to the transformed pair without taking his eyes off Robin and Chopper. "Secure the perimeter. Make sure our guests don't have any unexpected surprises waiting."
The massive flying form of Buffalo lifted off with surprising grace for something his size, while the gun-platform that had once been Baby 5 swiveled to cover multiple angles of approach. Their coordination spoke of years of combat experience together.
Robin assessed their situation with the cold calculation of someone who had spent her entire adult life in life-or-death scenarios. Four Devil Fruit users, at least three of whom appeared to be skilled combatants.
-Real World: Dressrosa Palace-
In the upper levels of the palace, where the Sky Screen's revelations were being watched with growing horror, the remaining Donquixote Family members experienced a mixture of anticipation and dread as their turn in the spotlight finally arrived.
Baby 5, still in her normal human form and dressed in her characteristic maid outfit, could barely contain her excitement as she watched her transformed future self appear on the ethereal display.
"Finally!" she exclaimed, bouncing on her toes with genuine joy. "I was starting to think the Sky Screen had forgotten about me completely! All the other executives got their moments to shine, but I was beginning to worry I'd been left out."
Her companion Buffalo, meanwhile, watched his own bizarre transformation with growing unease. The sight of his future self—converted into some kind of organic aircraft—made his stomach churn with apprehension.
"Baby 5, this really isn't good news," Buffalo said, his voice carrying a tremor of fear that he couldn't quite suppress. "After watching what happens to most of the family members who appear on the Sky Screen... I'd rather have been forgotten entirely."
The pattern had become disturbingly clear over the course of the broadcast. Almost every Donquixote Family member who received significant screen time ended up dead, defeated, or worse. The Sky Screen seemed to take sadistic pleasure in using their organization as stepping stones for the Straw Hat Pirates' rise to fame.
"Don't be such a coward, Buffalo," Baby 5 replied, though her response revealed the deep psychological damage that years of abuse had inflicted on her psyche. "Being known throughout the world means people will need me. And if people need me, then maybe I actually matter."
Her smile was bright and genuine, but it carried the desperate quality of someone whose sense of self-worth had been systematically destroyed over years of manipulation. The idea of being needed—even if it meant dying in the process—appealed to her more than continuing to exist in obscurity.
"I've been abandoned by loved ones before," she continued, her voice taking on a dreamy quality. "At least this way, when I die, it will be because someone needed me to. That's better than just... existing."
Buffalo stared at his childhood friend with a mixture of pity and horror. Baby 5's complete detachment from her own survival instincts was deeply disturbing, but he had long since given up trying to convince her to value her own life.
Doflamingo himself was dealing with increasingly urgent communications from the World Government, the king of Dressrosa was discovering that his carefully constructed criminal empire was being dissected for the entire world to see.
Every secret, every hidden capability, every carefully concealed alliance was being broadcast to enemies and allies alike. The strategic advantage of operating in shadow had been completely eliminated in the span of a few hours.
Two decades of careful planning, meticulous recruitment, and strategic positioning were being undone by forces completely beyond his control. The Sky Screen had turned his greatest strengths into public knowledge, rendering years of careful preparation worthless.
Even worse, the Five Elders had begun asking increasingly pointed questions about his activities, his connections to ancient weapons Terra, and his continued usefulness to the World Government's broader goals. The protection that his former Celestial Dragon status had provided was beginning to feel increasingly fragile.
At this point, all of Doflamingo's cadres had appeared on the Sky Screen, and all his secrets had been exposed to the world. No one would have thought that this seemingly legitimate businessman had cultivated such a formidable force in Dressrosa.
Even accounting for the current timeline being five years earlier than the Sky Screen's visions, the quality of the Donquixote Family's executives could not be underestimated. Their capabilities would be impressive even in the New World, where Yonko crews set the standard for elite pirate organizations.
As expected, the identity of a former Celestial Dragon proved invaluable for building such power. The ability to switch between legitimate business operations and criminal enterprises, to maintain contacts within the World Government while operating a criminal syndicate, had provided enormous advantages over the years.
Doflamingo had accomplished so much thanks to the World Government's support, but now that he was being questioned by the Five Elders, he did not seem to be in high spirits at all.
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