Chapter 43

The iron bridge to Green Bit was a twisted wreck of steel and vines, surrounded by fighting fish.

On the beach of the isolated island, a silent storm brewed. The air was thick with the chirping of insects and the crushing weight of Haki.

Trafalgar Law stood near the forest edge, sweat beading on his forehead. Next to him was Caesar Clown, currently shivering in fear.

Opposite them stood two monsters.

One was Donquixote Doflamingo, the Heavenly Demon, grinning with veins popping on his forehead.

The other was Admiral Fujitora, the blind swordsman, eating a bowl of soba noodles he had somehow brought with him.

"You never quit the Warlords, did you, Joker?" Law hissed, his grip on Kikoku tightening. " CP0 was here this morning. The papers were fake. You mobilized the World Nobles to trick the entire world just to trap us."

"Fufufufu!" Doflamingo laughed, spreading his arms. "The world is a stage, Law! And you are just a prop! You think a little alliance with Straw Hat and that Time Witch can break me?"

He looked at Fujitora.

"Admiral. These men are pirates. Law has formed an alliance. That revokes his Warlord status."

Fujitora slurped a noodle. "Indeed. If the alliance is true… then my duty is clear."

He drew his blade.

"Gravity Blade."

He didn't swing at Law. He swung at the sky.

A few seconds later, the clouds parted. A meteorite—burning red and massive enough to wipe out the island—screamed down from the heavens.

"Are you insane?!" Caesar shrieked. "You'll kill us all!"

"Arara," Fujitora muttered. "I may have pulled slightly too hard."

Slash. Slash. Slash.

Law created a Room and cut the meteor in half. Doflamingo created a Birdcage of strings and sliced his half into cubes. Fujitora simply let the debris fall around him, untouched.

The impact shook the entire archipelago.

The Underground Trade Port

While the titans clashed above, two shadows moved silently through the artificial tunnels beneath Dressrosa.

"It smells like oil and rotting candy," Carmen whispered, holding a handkerchief to her nose. She wore a tight red spy suit (Carmen-style), her hands glowing faintly to light the way.

"Keep your voice down," Laki ordered, her rifle scanning the darkness. "My Mantra picks up hundreds of voices. Small ones. And… crying."

They reached a massive, open area. It was the SMILE Factory. Tontatta dwarves were being whipped by Doflamingo’s subordinates, forced to cultivate the artificial plants.

"Those little people…" Carmen’s eyes narrowed. "They're being worked to death."

"Focus, Chef," Laki reminded her, though her own grip on the rifle tightened. "Target: Sugar. Location: The Officer's Tower."

They bypassed the factory floor, sticking to the catwalks. They reached the ornate tower in the center.

Inside, the room was filled with plush toys, candy jars, and a sticky, disgusting substance coating the floor.

Sitting on a throne of teddy bears was a little girl with teal hair, eating grapes. Sugar.

Standing next to her, dripping with mucus, was a hunchbacked man with a snot-nosed face. Trebol.

"Ne, ne, Sugar!" Trebol leaned in, his snot nearly touching her. "Did you hear the explosion? Doffy must be playing! Behehehe!"

"You're too close, Trebol," Sugar said flatly. "Die."

The Ambush

"Now," Laki whispered from the ventilation grate above.

She didn't hesitate. She aimed her white rifle.

Mosa Mosa: 100x Speed – Silent Round.

Thwip.

The bullet was aimed perfectly at Sugar’s head. It was a non-lethal sleeping round, coated in a potent sedative Kurumi had prepared.

But just before it hit—

SPLAT.

A glob of sticky substance shot out from Trebol’s body at blinding speed. It caught the bullet mid-air, stopping it instantly.

"Behehehe!" Trebol looked up, his eyes wide and manic. "A fly! A little fly is buzzing in the vents!"

"Cover blown," Laki cursed. "Carmen, go!"

BOOM.

The vent exploded. Carmen dropped down, wreathed in flames.

"Hell Course: Flambé Kick!"

She spun, delivering a heel drop of concentrated heat directly onto Trebol’s head.

SQUELCH.

Trebol’s body exploded into slime. Carmen landed in the puddle, but instead of burning, the slime just hissed and reformed.

"Logia?" Carmen backed away, flicking slime off her boot. "No… something feels wrong."

Trebol reformed, looming over them. "Behehehe! Fire? You want to burn me? I am flammable, you know!"

He threw a match.

WHOOSH.

The slime on the floor ignited. The entire room turned into an inferno.

"Crazy bastard!" Carmen shielded her face. "He lit himself on fire?!"

Sniper vs. Touch

"Don't let the girl touch you!" Laki shouted, hanging from a chandelier she had grappled to.

Sugar stood up, unbothered by the fire. She reached into her basket of grapes.

"Toys," Sugar whispered. "I need more bear toys."

She sprinted toward Carmen. She was fast—unnaturally fast for a child.

"Get away!" Carmen threw a fireball. Spicy Shot!

Sugar dodged with acrobatic grace, closing the distance. Her hand reached for Carmen’s leg.

Bang.

A bullet struck the floor right in front of Sugar’s toes.

Laki, swinging from the ceiling, fired rapidly.

Mosa Mosa: Bullet Rain.

She multiplied one bullet into fifty, creating a wall of lead between Carmen and Sugar.

"Don't touch the cook," Laki warned, reloading mid-air.

"Annoying," Sugar pouted. "Trebol! Get the fly!"

Trebol, now a burning pile of sludge, launched a massive chain of sticky mucus at Laki.

"Stick Stick Meteor!"

Laki couldn't dodge in mid-air. The slime caught her leg, gluing her to the ceiling.

"Gotcha!" Trebol laughed. He yanked the chain. "Come down here and become a doll!"

The Counter-Play

Laki was pulled down toward Sugar’s waiting hand.

"Laki!" Carmen screamed.

"I'm fine!" Laki twisted her body. She aimed her rifle not at Sugar, but at Carmen.

"Carmen! Catch!"

Laki fired a Breath Dial she had loaded into her chamber.

Carmen caught the shell instinctively.

"Use the heat!" Laki shouted.

Carmen understood. She channeled her Atsu Atsu no Mi into the Dial.

"Heat Dial… OVERLOAD!"

Carmen threw the Dial at Trebol.

BOOM.

The Dial released all the absorbed heat from the burning room plus Carmen’s own energy in a single concentrated blast.

The explosion vaporized the slime holding Laki. Trebol screamed as his sticky coat was blown away, revealing his true, skinny body underneath the mucus armor.

"HE'S SKINNY!" Carmen yelled. "He's not a Logia! He's a Paramecia hiding in a slime coat!"

Laki, free from the slime, activated her Geppo (Sky Walk) to stop her fall. She hovered three feet above Sugar.

Sugar reached up. "Touch."

Laki pointed her rifle down. Point blank.

Impact Dial: Release.

She didn't shoot a bullet. She released a shockwave directly into the floor.

The blast blew Sugar backward, tumbling into a pile of stuffed animals. The grapes scattered.

"Now, Carmen!" Laki shouted. "Knock her out! Don't kill her, or the toys won't revert!"

Carmen charged, her fist glowing white hot. "Lights out, brat!"

She aimed a punch at Sugar’s face.

But Sugar’s eyes snapped open. They were filled with fear, but her hand moved on instinct.

"Contract…"

Sugar touched a toy bear next to her.

Pop.

The toy bear turned back into a massive, armored gladiator. Kyros (though still missing a leg). But in the confusion, Sugar grabbed Carmen’s wrist.

The world stopped.

Carmen’s heat vanished. Her memories began to fade from Laki’s mind.

"Hobi Hobi…" Sugar smirked.

The Twist

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Sugar’s wrist before the transformation could complete.

It wasn't Carmen. It wasn't Laki.

It was a small, tattered toy soldier who had been hiding in the shadows of the room.

"Get your hands off her!" the soldier screamed.

He didn't have weapons. He had a bottle of Tabasco Sauce (courtesy of Usopp, who was currently running around in the background screaming).

The soldier jammed the spicy grape-sized ball into Sugar’s mouth.

"Eat this!"

Sugar bit down.

The spice exploded.

"GAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sugar’s eyes rolled back. Her face turned purple. She foamed at the mouth.

She passed out cold.

The Great Reversion

The silence was instant.

Then, a ripple went through the world.

Carmen, whose arm had started turning into plastic, reverted to flesh.

Laki blinked, remembering everything about her cook.

All over Dressrosa, toys began to glow.

The dog in the street became a man.

The monkey playing cymbals became a Vice Admiral.

The toy soldier became Kyros, the legendary gladiator.

And in the palace, Doflamingo stopped fighting Law.

"Sugar…" Doflamingo’s veins bulged until they nearly burst. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

The strings of control had snapped. The nightmare was over.

And the Birdcage was about to begin.