The next day.
Under Enel's supervision, the news article written by Morgans was distributed across the seas.
[Massive Shock! Giants Attend BIG MOM's Tea Party—Both Sides Bury the Hatchet!]
[Bloody Wedding—Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo Actually Did That?!]
[Strongest Logia in History—Thunder God Enel Obliterates the Major Undertaker with a Single Blow!]
...
Elbaf, Land of Giants.
The hot-tempered and not-so-bright giants were instantly enraged by the headlines, their furious roars shaking the heavens.
"Damn it! That demon BIG MOM has stolen the bloodline of the giants!!!"
"Which tribe is responsible for this disgrace?! Have they abandoned the glory of Hero Jorul?!"
Back when BIG MOM lost control as a child, she had accidentally killed the fragile giant hero Jorul.
Since then, giants all over the world had grown to despise her.
"Calm down. These aren't our people,"
Prince Loki tried to pacify the others.
Though he was just as furious, as a ruler, he couldn't let emotions dictate his actions.
He forced himself to read through the full article carefully.
Even though giants were scattered across the globe, the different tribes and clans remained connected.
Each group bore unique marks for identification.
But these "giants" shown in the photos wore only a few scraps of fabric.
No recognizable features of any known giant clan.
And those eerily similar faces… Something was off.
The giants, blessed and burdened by their divine physique, had always struggled with reproduction. They only ever birthed single children.
Loki couldn't even imagine how a septuplet birth would be possible for giants.
"They're not giants?! That's impossible! We giants are the only giants left!"
Hajrudin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Prince Loki, are you sure you're not mistaken?!"
The rest were just as agitated, glaring at Loki in angry confusion.
"Hajrudin, cool it. Look here."
Prince Loki held up the newspaper with his fingernail, peering through a magnifying glass at the tiny print.
"This was Doflamingo's wedding gift to BIG MOM's daughter. Everything traces back to him. Can you find the Heavenly Yaksha on the seas? Even if you could, Hajrudin, what would you do about it?!"
His words silenced the fiery mob for a moment.
"But… we can't just let BIG MOM disgrace the Giant Race."
"Contact Charlotte. It's time we made a change."
Loki murmured.
Unlike BIG MOM, who once lived in Elbaf,
Doflamingo had no reason to care about the giants' opinion.
Hero Jorul had passed away before Loki was even born.
Dorry and Brogy were still dueling, with no intention of returning to Elbaf.
And the new generation—like Hajrudin—wasn't yet ready.
The giants needed to change.
...
Marine Headquarters.
"...Sigh."
Kong exhaled deeply, gazing at the empty office of the Fleet Admiral.
He lowered his eyes to the newspaper, staring at Doflamingo's smug photo. His rarely seen despondence showed clearly.
Even during the era of Roger, Shiki, Whitebeard, Redfield—even Rocks— the Marines had never been pushed into such a passive position.
First came Bullet, the Demon's Heir, colluding with Doflamingo.
And now a Logia user with this level of power had emerged.
And they still couldn't find Doflamingo's true weakness.
All they could do… was watch him grow stronger.
...
And as for Doflamingo—who lingered in Kong's mind—
He was still wreaking havoc in the sky above some unnamed sea.
"How long's he planning to stay in there?"
Morgans flinched at the thuds and Doflamingo's ecstatic howls coming from below deck.
"If he doesn't want to leave and keeps pulling me back in... Don't tell me he's planning to kill me too?!"
Nervously, Morgans squeezed deeper into the sofa behind him, searching for a sliver of safety.
But there were others in even more panic.
Once feared across the New World, the Shipping King and the Storage Warehouse owner were now cowering in a corner of the ship, doing everything not to be noticed.
"Uhh… no idea. Depends on BOSS's mood."
Enel took a bite out of one of the talking apples he'd swiped from Totto Land, giving Morgans a strange look.
With Bullet gone, even Enel was getting itchy fists.
This bird-brain was an animal-type user... Maybe he should test his strength?
...
Below Deck.
Even though Stussy was a clone of Miss Bakkin, and had powers from a Zoan-type fruit...
She had been subjected to a full day and night of relentless Armament Haki massages.
Her mind and body were nearly broken.
She had long since lost all concept of time, defending purely on instinct against Doflamingo's constant blows.
Thud!
With one heavy strike, the assault came to a halt.
Her twisted face no longer bore a hint of the seductive beauty she once had.
Her limp body slumped like mush, showing no signs of recovery.
Only the faint rise and fall of her chest hinted that life still clung on.
"Not bad, Stussy. You've got quite the feel. That should be about enough."
Doflamingo flexed his hand, pleased with himself.
A beautiful woman's body certainly felt better under his fists than Bullet's iron frame.
With a flick, strings materialized out of thin air, forming a T-shaped wooden stake.
He hoisted the unconscious Stussy onto it, suspending her in an indecent, M-shaped pose.
Her closed eyelids were forcibly peeled open by threads, revealing bloodshot, bulging eyes.
Doflamingo removed his sunglasses, revealing his crimson pupils.
He stepped forward and released his Observation Haki.
But unlike Queen Otohime's, his Observation Haki was invasive, even violent.
This was his torture technique.
For someone like Stussy—a spy—basic resistance training was a given.
So he'd simply beaten her half to death, and now he would use his Haki to pull the memories from her subconscious.
As a clone born in Egghead, even if the World Government had tried to erase her memories,some trace had to remain deep within.
Time passed...
And a flush of crimson bled into Stussy's once-blue irises.
Doflamingo's lips curled into a satisfied grin.
"Where is Egghead?"
"In..." Stussy coughed up blood, her voice robotic.
"In the Uto Sea... a region beyond Wano, closer to the far end of the New World..."
Splurt!!
With a spurt of blood, Stussy's head slumped completely.
"Shit! Went too far—almost ruined everything!"
Doflamingo's expression shifted in a flash from pleased, to thrilled, to panicked.
He rushed over, firing near-invisible threads from his fingertips.
They wormed into her damaged body, stitching up the organs he himself had shattered.
"First, we head for the Uto Sea. When Stussy wakes up, we'll do this again."
Moments later, the airborne ship near Wano's sea region changed course, heading straight toward the Uto Sea.
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg