"If you touch Sugar's hand, you'll be turned into a toy!!!"
"No, stop!!! Orin-sama!!!"
Under everyone's wide-eyed, horrified gaze, Orin simply smiled warmly and gently placed his hand on Sugar's tiny palm.
The next second—
As their hands touched, a brief flash of confusion appeared on Orin's face. Then, a strange cloud of mist rose up.
Bang—
Orin's figure suddenly vanished on the spot. When everyone looked carefully again…
On the main seat, there was only a half-meter-tall emperor puppet toy!!!
This scene shocked everyone into utter silence. The Donquixote Family executives froze. Even Doflamingo abruptly stood up from his seat, cold sweat rolling down his face, his mouth agape in disbelief.
"Wh-what the hell!!! Orin-sama got turned into a toy by Sugar!!!"
"What do we do now, Doffy?!"
But a panicked Doflamingo was in no state to answer them. He clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Are you kidding me?!!!"
Some reacted quickly. Pica instantly grabbed Sugar in his massive hand, his sharp, squeaky voice trembling nervously:
"At this point, we can only knock Sugar unconscious!!!"
"Yeah, right!!!"
The other terrified executives nodded in agreement.
But just as Pica was about to make a scary face or press a blade to Sugar's neck, a gloved hand suddenly covered his face.
Doflamingo's expression was cold and displeased. With a slight twitch of his threads, he pried Pica's massive hand away with ease and gently set Sugar down on the ground.
Holding his temper, Doflamingo glared at his panicking subordinates, veins throbbing wildly.
"I've lost my damn mind too… You bunch of idiots!!!"
The executives were confused by Doflamingo's reaction.
Especially when they saw him actually protecting Sugar, a bold and terrifying thought surfaced in their minds, making their hearts pound wildly.
Could it be…
Has Young Master decided to get rid of the Black Emperor this way??!!
But instinct told them this was a very bad idea. If anything ever happened to Sugar one day… the entire Donquixote Family—no, the entire Dressrosa—would be wiped out by the wrathful Black Emperor. And they wouldn't even have the slightest power to resist.
Even if, in the best-case scenario, they somehow managed to keep Orin from ever returning to normal, without the Black Emperor's protection, could they really hold on to their current market share… or even keep Dressrosa safe?
They wanted to persuade Doflamingo against this reckless plan.
But before they could speak, Gladius, one of the rare strategists in the Donquixote Family, interrupted sharply. He had noticed something long before Doflamingo did.
"Stop panicking, all of you! Orin-sama hasn't been turned into a toy at all!"
"You know Sugar's ability better than anyone. If Orin-sama really had been turned into a toy, how could you possibly still remember him?!!"
The moment those words landed—
The once-panicked executives froze, as if struck by lightning.
That's right!!!
The Hobby-Hobby Fruit erases all memories of those transformed into toys!
Which means…
Everyone turned to stare at the emperor puppet on the main seat. Its head drooped to the side, slumped lifelessly in the chair, completely unlike the autonomous toys outside in the streets.
Watching his subordinates panic so easily, Doflamingo sighed, sat back down, and rubbed his forehead with his palm.
He hadn't expected Orin-sama to play such a dangerous game on his own. Things were developing far beyond expectations.
Hopefully, nothing goes wrong…
...
"Hey!!! Who the hell are you?! I'll kill you!!!"
Wearing his spotted white hat, Law glared sharply at the tall stranger before him, instantly drawing his blade in vigilance.
Dressrosa, Royal Palace Plateau.
Orin had wandered around, entered early, and unexpectedly ran into someone… interesting.
A young brat with white patches on his face and a fierce, hostile expression.
Seeing a stranger strolling casually into the palace, Law immediately assumed this was an enemy intruder, his eyes full of killing intent.
Not all Donquixote Family members had been sent to greet Orin.
Law, being too rebellious and hard to control, had been kept away so he wouldn't offend Orin.
Same with Corazon—Rosinante—because the executives worried that unreliable maniac would somehow mess things up, like lighting a cigarette and burning the red carpet or the carriage.
"Hey, kid. What's your name?"
Even after recognizing him, Orin greeted him out of habit. But unexpectedly…
This kid, raised under Doflamingo's brutal teachings, was overflowing with hatred and extremism.
Whoosh—
Without hesitation, Law slashed his blade straight at Orin.
But, of course, the attack was doomed to fail.
Watching the fearless, reckless boy before him, Orin's thoughts stirred.
Before meeting Corazon, this kid really was exactly like young Doflamingo—burning with rage and rebellion, wanting to destroy the world. A perfect little troublemaker.
Now, faced with a complete stranger appearing in his home base, Law's entire being screamed caution and hostility.
After missing his strike, Law grit his teeth. From beneath the shadow of his white hat brim, his eyes glimmered with pure hatred.
"Die!!!"
Another slash, another miss. Nearly stumbling from the force, Law barely regained his footing and darted his gaze around.
But then he realized—Orin was now reclining lazily on a deck chair far behind him, by the poolside.
It was the same spot where Doflamingo himself often sat, enjoying the best view of the pool and the surrounding women.
Law's fury boiled over. He felt like he was being mocked, played like a fool!
"You should be able to see the difference between us by now, shouldn't you?"
Orin plucked a grape from the nearby table, popped it into his mouth, and raised his eyes toward the small, furious figure charging at him with a dagger. He smiled faintly.
Slowly, he lifted his fist, extending a single finger upward… then lightly flicked it.
"A mindless beast is easy to deal with."
Watching that finger rise, Law instantly sensed something was wrong.
The world around him blurred, distorted—
And suddenly, he was back in the exact spot where he'd almost fallen earlier.
Even when he lunged forward again, just as he was about to reach Orin, his body snapped back to his original position.
This was—?!!!
"Teleportation…"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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