Several days later.
Arson Island.
Stronghold of the Vengeful Blaze Pirates.
A group of civilians, captured and dragged here, were tightly bound to a massive iron pillar.
Pirates, their faces disfigured by burn scars, sneered menacingly as they raised torches, stepping closer.
The civilians clung desperately to the cold metal, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Their voices trembled in terror as they begged for mercy.
"No! Please!"
"We swear—we already gave you everything we had! We have nothing left!"
"..."
"Keh keh keh keh! I know that already. Boys, let's get on with the execution—time to start the feast!"
The hoarse voice belonged to Brand, whose body was a patchwork of old burn wounds.
He got those scars from being tortured by pirates as a child.
Now grown, he'd fully embraced what he'd learned—amplified it, even.
He lived to make others suffer just like he did.
"OOOOHHHH!!"
With wild cheers, the pirates hurled oil-soaked torches at the helpless victims.
"AAAGHHHH!!"
"Damn you, pirates!"
"Mommy! It hurts! It hurts so much!!"
The crowd ignited—first came the scent of searing flesh, then burnt meat, and finally, the acrid stench of death.
Amidst the screams, the pirates clinked mugs and roared with laughter, faces flushed with drink.
Eventually, only a pile of scorched remains and flickering embers remained around the iron pillar.
Drunk and wobbling, the first mate, Mondor, leaned in close to Captain Brand.
"Captain, with all the territory we've claimed... I still feel it's not worthy of your power."
The crew quickly jumped in, eager to flatter their brutal leader.
"Yeah! Captain!"
"You're a Logia user with the Flame-Flame Fruit! In the New World, there's hardly anyone who can match you!"
"Captain, you've got what it takes to become the Pirate King! It has to be someone like you!"
"With Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom recently clashing with the Marines, now's the perfect time to expand our territory."
"And that so-called 'Heavenly Yaksha' Doflamingo? Just a lucky punk. Let's take him out, steal his miracle drug, and rise to the top!"
Brand's tiny brain chugged along slowly... but eventually, the logic landed.
Kaido, the world's strongest creature, could use fire.
Queen Big Mom of Totto Land also used fire.
And he could use fire.
Therefore:
He = Kaido = Big Mom.
It was only right that he ruled more seas.
The more territory he claimed, the more pain he could spread.
A twisted grin crept across Brand's burned face, excitement mixing with sadistic glee.
"You're damn right... I'm the—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a cold, mocking laugh echoed from above.
"Fufufufufufu~"
"Who the hell?!" Brand roared. "Who dares cut me off?!"
His head burst into flames, turning into a ghostly blaze, his burning gaze scanning the sky like a vengeful spirit.
The pirates scrambled for weapons, eyes wide as they looked up.
That's when they saw it—a floating island hovering above them, silent and sudden.
But that wasn't the most terrifying part.
A man in a pink feathered coat stood atop it, commanding every gaze like the center of the world itself.
A chill ran down the pirates' spines.
"T-The Heavenly Yaksha... Doflamingo!"
"We've been invaded!!!"
"Boss! There's an island in the sky!"
"..."
The very man they were trash-talking seconds ago had just dropped in—with a whole island, no less.
The oppressive pressure of Conqueror's Haki hadn't even been fully released, yet the air already felt heavy, suffocating.
Under its weight, Brand sobered up in an instant, pupils contracting, chest heaving. He clenched his jaw, too afraid to move.
Every instinct screamed: attack him and you die.
Doflamingo chuckled as he stared down at them with disdain.
"How amusing. Tell you what—how about I hand out rifles to each of you?"
The joke flew over the locals' heads, but the menace in his tone was crystal clear.
"What do you want, Doflamingo?!" Brand demanded through gritted teeth.
"Just a tiny favor."
Doflamingo smiled faintly and flicked his finger.
"Overheat."
A streak of Haki-wreathed threads screamed through the air.
Splurt!
The last thing Brand saw was a black blur tearing through his vision. His body crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Captain!!!"
"H-He's dead!!!"
"He's really dead!!!"
The pirates were never much of a crew to begin with. Aside from a few loyal screamers, the rest scattered in panic.
"Smoothie. Kill them all."
With a single command, Doflamingo hooked his finger, rising swiftly into the sky with his Flame-Flame Fruit test subject.
"Your will, Dof!"
The red-hot iron pillar shot up into the air, then came crashing down like a divine hammer—crushing the fleeing pirates beneath it.
...
Sky Island.
Laboratory of Upper Yard.
Inside a thick coffin made of seastone...
"Sigh..."
Aramaki, now a shadow of his former self, had lost a shocking amount of weight in just a few days.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, he let out a weary sigh.
At this point, death might have been kinder.
But thanks to last time, he was starting to get used to it.
The Five Lords wouldn't abandon him.
The pain would only make him stronger.
Creak...
The seastone coffin slowly opened.
Blinding light poured in, forcing Aramaki to squeeze his eyes shut after so long in total darkness.
As his vision adjusted, two familiar figures came into view—one with curled ram horns, the other with an upside-down mustache.
"Shirolololo! Aramaki, we've got a brand-new idea! You're gonna love it!"
Caesar leaned in close, practically nose-to-nose with Aramaki, his face lit up with unhinged excitement.
"The Flame-Flame Fruit experiment gave us a flash of genius," he said.
"See," added Judge, stroking his inverted mustache, "eating the fruit just provides the potential to use an ability. But whether that ability can be harnessed—that lies in the mind."
Caesar's left hand morphed into gas as he took a chainsaw from a waiting assistant.
"So we were thinking... what if the Lineage Factor tied to a Devil Fruit binds more completely in the brain?"
BZZZZZZZ!
The chainsaw whirred to life, its teeth inching toward Aramaki's temple.
For the first time, his lifeless face twisted into a scream worthy of a teenage girl.
"No!! No, please!!! Take blood! Take all my blood!! I'll cooperate—I promise!!!"
Judge activated his power, immobilizing Aramaki's body from the neck down in crystal-clear glass.
He grabbed a second chainsaw and brought it to the other side of Aramaki's head, eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge—and revenge.
"Aramaki! Let's take a look inside that brain of yours!!!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg