"Ahhh~ (p≧w≦q), a little higher!!"
"Ahhh! That's enough!!"
Zoffy and Ace were both screaming with laughter and panic.
Suspended between two ropes, the little duo were flipping through the air in a constant up-and-down motion between sky and ground.
"Doflamingo-sama, maybe that's enough for now?"
Rouge crossed her arms in front of her chest, her big, bright eyes gazing nervously at the sky.
She was genuinely afraid her sons might fall at any moment.
"Fufufufufu~ Don't worry, it's totally safe."
The culprit behind all of this, Donquixote Doflamingo, was smiling with unrestrained joy.
"Besides, look how much fun they're having."
"BOSS! BOSS! Come quick!"
With hurried footsteps, Judge ran over to where Doflamingo was busy playing with his kids.
He looked like he was about to collapse from excitement, holding up a strange piece of alloy.
Doflamingo's eyes lit up.
Could it be... the Wapometal was finally complete?
At that thought, he moved without hesitation, completely ignoring the odd stench Judge carried. Grabbing him by the collar, he vanished on the spot.
Zoffy and Ace, still mid-flight, instantly sensed something was off.
They watched their old man disappear with the rarely-seen weird uncle.
"Wh-Wh-Wh...!!"
And then—free fall.
"Father! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!" *2
"Float."
A gentle female voice spoke beside them.
In the next instant, a strange force gripped the fabric of Zoffy and Ace's clothes.
The momentum of their fall suddenly ceased.
"Phew! We're alive! Thanks, Smoothie-san!"
Little Ace let out a huge sigh of relief, casting a look of lingering fear at the floating woman beside him.
Father is way too unreliable!!
Zoffy started flapping his arms like he was swimming midair—but, of course, nothing happened.
He turned eagerly to Smoothie.
"Smoothie-san, can we keep flying?"
"..."
...
Elsewhere, in the Divine Palace—
Doflamingo was laser-focused on Judge's demonstration.
"BOSS, look!"
Judge, visibly excited, shoved a chunk of alloy and a bomb into the newly crafted explosion-proof glass box he'd just built.
After a moment's delay—
BOOM!!
The bomb exploded loudly.
At the point of contact with the alloy, a tiny dent appeared—barely noticeable.
Then, slowly, the dent smoothed itself out and returned to its original shape.
"This isalloy! It's exactly the same as the combat suits I brought back from Egghead."
Even that quick test showed how the Wapometal surpassed conventional steel in both hardness and toughness.
No matter what kind of damage it endured, it would automatically return to its original high-heat molded shape.
A perfect scientific alloy.
If the other scientists around the world saw this, they'd go absolutely mad.
Judge was shaking with excitement.
"BOSS… where did you even find this? Even Egghead doesn't have anything like it anymore."
"From him."
Doflamingo walked to the window and pointed.
Judge leaned in, confused at first—but thanks to the palace's elevation, he easily spotted the enormous, obese man with a vacant expression.
Tons of trash were being devoured by him, and one bizarre toy after another popped out of his gut.
Judge's eyes gleamed.
These... these were all infused with Wapometal. His voice trembled as he asked:
"What kind of Devil Fruit is that?"
"Wapol has the Munch-Munch Fruit. He can swallow anything—objects, people, you name it. Then he can recombine them into new creations. Those toys are just a sample of what he's capable of."
Wapol now had the constant company of his dear older brother, Mushiru.
He was showered with care and discipline every day.
Not only had it completely corrected his picky eating habits—he now devoured garbage with joy—but his bratty, arrogant personality had been completely reshaped. Gone was the tyrant of Drum Island.
He was now astonishingly obedient.
In short, Doflamingo was extremely pleased with what Mushiru had accomplished.
He'd officially cancelled his previous idea of using Mushiru as a test subject for human vegetative state experiments.
Judge's mind raced.
"Material restructuring? Then… could he directly produce alloy?"
Currently, all Wapometal had to be refined a second time.
But if Wapol could generate it directly, it would be perfect.
"That's your job to find out. Wapol is yours now. Mushiru will assist you."
Doflamingo tossed the responsibility at Judge without a second thought.
He didn't care much for the specifics of materials. Judge was the real professional here. Let him supervise and train.
Wapol mastering this ability was only a matter of time.
"BOSS! I'll give it everything I've got!!!"
Judge bowed deeply and shouted with joy, practically bursting inside.
"I thought at best I'd get a bigger share, but the BOSS handed me the whole damn thing! Hahahaha! Caesar, this time you'll have to come begging to me!"
"Go on. Get some rest. Go find Tesoro and pick up your bonus."
Doflamingo, having finished watching the Wapometal test, wrinkled his nose and started ushering him out—Judge still smelled a bit ripe.
"Understood, BOSS!"
...
Immigrant District.
Click!
"Good evening, Little Lami!"
(T/N: Trafalgar Lami was Trafalgar D. Water Law's younger sister from the town of Flevance.)
Rosinante greeted her with a warm smile, handing her a cotton candy while patting her gently on the head with his other hand.
"You've grown, Little Lami."
"Rosinante-san! It's been forever!"
Lami's eyes squinted with joy as she nuzzled into the warm hand of the man who had once saved her life.
Then she excitedly called out to the kitchen.
"Papa! Mama! Rosinante-san's here to see us!"
From the kitchen doorway, Bone peeked out, waving his spatula, a sprout growing from his head as always.
"Well well, Rosinante! Long time no see. Dinner's almost ready—go ahead and sit down."
"Long time no see, Bone-san!"
...
A few rounds of drinks later—
Rosinante's face had a slightly unhealthy flush.
Thanks to his enhanced genes, Bone was no longer the powerless doctor he once was.
He could sense that something was weighing on Rosinante's mind.
"Rosinante, is something bothering you?"
"Huh? Bone… are you happy with the life you're living?"
"Of course!" Bone instinctively answered, glancing at his smiling wife and daughter.
Peaceful days, far from war, were a blessing.
If only Law weren't in the combat division...
"Bone… if my brother treats his people so well, why is he so cruel to the rest of the world?"
Before Bone could reply, Law, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up.
"The people of the world—do they belong to Doflamingo-sama?"
"Of course not."
Raised under Donquixote-style education, Law's tone grew more fervent.
"They've given nothing to Doflamingo-sama. The fact that he hasn't slaughtered them outright is already an act of mercy.
"Or... Rosinante-san, do you believe Doflamingo-sama should treat everyone equally?"
Rosinante fumbled for words. "I... I just think the rest of the world shouldn't have to live like this."
"Their suffering wasn't given to them by Doflamingo-sama. It came from the Celestial Dragons, the royals, the nobles."
"Their ignorance is what earned them their suffering."
Law watched Rosinante's naive, bleeding-heart expression with growing contempt.
He tossed down his bowl and chopsticks and turned to leave.
If the pain wasn't given by Doflamingo-sama, why should he take responsibility for it?
Rosinante sobered up quickly, watching Law's departing figure, words stuck in his throat. "I..."
"Rosinante-san," Bone spoke gently, patting him on the shoulder.
"No matter what Doflamingo-sama has done... We, who live up here on Sky Island, enjoying this peaceful life—it's all because of him."
"He's worthy of our devotion."
He picked up the sleeping Lami and left,
leaving behind a quiet room.
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg