East side of Tenryu Island.
Inside the Munch-Munch Factory.
"Crunch! Crunch!"
A massive five-meter-wide mouth was devouring construction debris shoved into it.
This monstrous machine had two huge holes for hands, and mechanical toys were continuously being squeezed out from them.
The toys looked increasingly bizarre now.
Some had wings and were covered in thread-like filaments; others had mushroom heads and were sprouting mushrooms all over; some had three rows of eyes, two mouths, and were covered in tentacles...
Clearly, Wapol's mental state wasn't exactly stable.
In a nearby hut designed to resemble Drum Island's palace...
Mushiru stared at the increasingly grotesque toys and Wapol's vacant eyes, visibly uneasy.
"Is Wapol about to go insane?!"
"If he can't produce the toy Doflamingo wants, does that mean I'm useless too?"
...
On the other side, Wapol—who had been fully reduced to a factory disguised as a man—continued mechanically swallowing construction waste. His lifeless eyes gazed up at the clear blue sky.
Half a year of forced subjugation.
Of course he'd considered resisting.
But every time he did, he'd get beaten down. And among all of them, his own brother hit the hardest.
Still, people only get pushed so far. If fighting back didn't work, then he'd escape.
With that mindset, Wapol pushed his powers further than ever.
He molded a fake body on the spot and slipped himself into the garbage to sneak out.
But he didn't even make it out of the area before he was dragged back.
In the end, after trying everything, Wapol had only one outlet left: reshaping the toys to express his final, silent despair.
"Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!"
Static crackled from a nearby Den Den Mushi speaker.
Mushiru tensed and put down the bacteria culture in his hands.
Another demand for Wapol? He's already at his limit!
Not that Mushiru was actually worried about his dear younger brother.
He was terrified that if Wapol became useless, he'd be buried with him.
Wapol, off to the side: o_o
A moment later, the static cleared, and a mechanical voice came through.
"Mushiru, Wapol. To fully stimulate your motivation and push your abilities to the limit in service of the glorious Donquixote Kingdom..."
Mushiru was bewildered. He understood each word, but once strung together into a sentence, it was like gibberish.
Wapol: o_o?
"By decision of the Royal Council, new business targets and a reward-punishment system have been implemented."
"Starting today, for every ton of Wapol Alloy Wapol produces, he may beat Mushiru for ten minutes."
"Of course, he can also exchange that time for ten minutes of rest and enjoy the nation's finest cuisine."
Wapol's enormous head suddenly snapped down, eyes locking on his beloved older brother.
Mushiru: ???
"Likewise, if Mushiru develops a strain of bacteria beneficial to the family, he will receive the same reward."
Facing Wapol's malicious stare, Mushiru swallowed hard.
This wasn't a reward he wanted. He used to be able to beat Wapol whenever he liked!
"During the reward period, the recipient may not resist. Violators will be punished for breaking protocol."
"According to statistics, Wapol Alloy production currently totals 11.5 tons."
"As this is the first exchange, we're rounding up to 12 tons. Wapol, you have two hours."
"You may now begin your... joy ride. Food? Or some intimate bonding time with your dear brother?"
"Rumble—BOOM!"
The fifteen-meter-tall beast lying on the ground suddenly rose, shaking off stone and rotted wood.
Its window-like eyes locked onto Mushiru, and it let out a manic, ecstatic roar.
"Intimate bonding time!!!"
"I wanna get real close with my big bro!"
CLANG! The walls around them suddenly split open.
Dozens of laser shells extended from the holes, all targeting Mushiru.
"Reward execution commencing!"
Staring at the laser sights all over his body, and at Wapol's house-sized fists, Mushiru felt his clothes drenched in cold sweat. He swallowed hard and pleaded,
"W-Wapol, I-I'm your big brother..."
"Hee-hahaha! But we're not from the same mom, brother!"
Wapol cackled and swung his massive fist down without hesitation.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
...
Egghead Cloud Lab Test Zone.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Five massive laser beams fired simultaneously, triggering a series of explosions.
The five Pacifistas showed no signs of stopping. Energy poured from their mouths, sustaining the laser pillars.
Robin watched the center of the explosion nervously. Why did the BOSS always use himself to test his experiments?
Franky, too panicked to care about his idol, shook Vegapunk by the shoulders.
"Dr. Vegapunk! Stop it, stop it...!"
After sacrificing Spandam, both Franky and Robin had now become Doflamingo's newest fanatics.
SLAP!
Suddenly, Stussy appeared in a flash.
She snatched Vegapunk away and stood protectively between him and Franky, glaring warily.
"Don't treat Dr. Vegapunk like that!!"
"You almost scrambled my brain—and I don't even have a brain anymore."
Vegapunk wobbled, dazed, as his vision doubled.
"But..."
"You're underestimating Doflamingo-sama far too much."
A graceful female voice spoke from behind.
Franky turned around to see a woman in a research coat marked with the number 02 approaching elegantly. Her figure was curvy and refined.
Several other figures followed behind her.
"If the Pacifistas' energy output had affected the surroundings, the ground wouldn't be this calm. You understand what that means, don't you, kid?"
A man wearing a helmet marked 01 spoke in a flat tone.
Franky finally realized something was off. With explosions that intense, the cloud floor beneath them should've been shaking like crazy.
That could only mean the energy had either been entirely neutralized—or tanked head-on by the BOSS.
"Based on past demonstrations of Doflamingo-sama's power, it would take the full-force output of the research dome's maximum defense mode to even stand a chance of injuring him."
Two robots marked 03 and 04 spoke in turn, visible data streams flickering across their eyes.
"To kill Doflamingo-sama, you'd need to completely seal off his movement space, then hit him with something that could flatten..."
Behind them stood a massive girl, eyes shining with excitement as she stared at the explosion's center.
Next to her, another girl in a crop top had shimmering, unreadable eyes.
Franky looked at them, full of curiosity.
"You guys are...?"
At that moment—
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg