Hello all, and welcome back to Coby's Choice! This is a shorter chapter in preparation for a full, robust, flipped-over Dressrosa Arc. At this point, so much is different from Canon that there will be little in common with the start of this arc, making it the first arc with such a drastic change at the start. Please, tell me what you're looking forward to in the chapters to come.

As always, thank you to my Patrons: Andrew Bohl, Animephilosopher1, Ankhseram123, Ant Franklin, Badmr7, Cam Bliss, Christopher Mitchell, Clark Kent, Claude Walker, Cordell Sanders, Cory Johnston, Darko129, David, David Bowling, David Reynolds, Emi Stafford, Eric Bandel, Eugene Malone Jr., EvilJelly, Fenrir ragnarok, FlakeTrain, Garvin Lee Nelson-Mathlin, GLADIUS315, GODA98, Illiasse Naji, Immagenius, Inucbus, Jacob McCarthy, JEP1010, Jkat, John Mekjian, Jonathan Moh, Joseph Baty, Joseph Cheung, Joseph Morrison, Joseph Vargas, Joshua, Joshua Groves, Kcx1, Kevin Calderon, Korakas, Lamont Hale, MAEGHT Maxime, Marielle Orff, Matt Walther, Matthew Burley, McBanjo, Mcgin28, Milagros Peres Davila, Milla, Neridian, Rafael Cardenas, ReactedLyric, Richard Barkley, Riley Bolerjack, Ryuu, Sasha, TheWolfThatExist, Thomas Sanders, Tom Peissig, and ViewtifulSoul! Without you, This story would be so, SO much slower.

Chapter 56:

Transit and News

"So…" Usopp blinked as he and several other crewmembers helped clear away the dishes from breakfast. They had left Punk Hazard's frozen shores two days ago and Law estimated that it would take another full week of sailing to reach Dressrosa, assuming no unexpected storms tossed them off course. So far, however, the only inconvenience had been a pod of blue sea-rabbits swimming with enough force to rock the ship. Considering the usual sea life that rocked the ship on a day-to-day basis, they were doing pretty well. "No one's gonna ask why Nami and Luffy are in each other's bodies?"

"I really don't want to think about it," Coby sighed as he helped gather the plates. Law, several spots away, buried his face in his iced tea with a loud slurp.

"Come on," the sniper insisted, shifting the dragon egg Ace had entrusted to him on his lap so he could look at the Zoan. "You're not the least bit curious?"

"Incredibly-strong Observation, remember?" the roset commented, tapping the side of his head. "I really don't want talk about it."

"Are you certain?" Robin asked, sipping her Alabastian Black coffee with two cubes of sugar. "It is quite the entertaining story."

"Of course you would know," Amy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Because you're a v—"

"I do believe I have previously informed you I care not for that moniker," Robin said, a frozen grin on her face as arms sprouted from Amy's back. The blonde pursed her lips, reaching up quickly to grab the bloomed arms by their wrists before Robin could move them. The archeologist barely reacted but Amy could tell she wasn't excited about the tight grip or the small spots of Armament Haki threatening to slow the woman's reaction long enough for something bad to happen.

"And as I think I've said before," Amy echoed, "it's true, so it doesn't matter what your feelings are."

"Am I the only one who's lost here?" Grace blinked, snacking on a plate of rice crackers.

"Well—" Robin began.

"Of course not," Coby quickly intercepted. "Zoro-sensei's always lost."

The roset breathed a sigh of relief as his joke earned several laughs and a cold stare from his teacher. Amy released Robin's arms, allowing the dark-haired woman to disperse them into petals without injury.

"Every hour, you outsiders turn weirder and weirder," Kin'emon commented, one eye quirked as he tried to follow the conversation. He had already attempted to question the captain and navigator as to why they had consumed their breakfast with their bodies swapped—something that caused the poor chef of the crew to nearly have an aneurysm between wanting to dote on Nami has he always did but not knowing if that meant offering more to her body or Luffy's. He also could not kick Luffy for his usual stupidity because it would have been the man's wife taking the beating, one way or another. Chopper had had to escort the blond out for physical recovery until the pair finished their food.

"Mommy and Daddy already said why," Ace piped up from Robin's lap, the boy tracing Poneglyphic letters on a sheet the archeologist had crafted for his learning. "Mommy said so. She got mad at Daddy for always eating so much, so he told her to be him to see how hungry he gets. Duh."

"And the only cost of the whole experiment was Sanji's sanity, baahaha!" Merry laughed. She didn't believe the excuse for a moment, but just as a part of her enjoyed watching Zoro flounder, so too did a part of her enjoy Sanji's misery. Even now, she could see the amused smirk the green-haired swordsman hid behind his morning booze. "Plus, did you see the look of horror on Captain Na-Luffy's face when he actually got full for the first time in his life? Baaahahahaha!"

"And Mrs. Lu-Nami got to have such a smug smirk while she kept eating!" Sunny's manifestation grinned from behind the older Klabautermann, hands on the back of Merry's chair. She decided against mentioning the navigator's words about working off all the food Luffy ate while in her body as she dragged her husband out of the room. Sunny had inherited Robin's spying habits and was much more informed about her ship's going-ons than the Flower-Flower Fruit's user despite Robin's attempts for otherwise.

"I hate body-swapping," Grace groaned, dragging a hand down her face. "It just makes things unnecessarily confusing."

"It certainly makes asking particular questions more painful, yohoho!" Brook offered, a welt prominent from his afro still due to his question to Na-Luffy that morning.

"That's because you don't have any common decency or manners, you lemon-hating brainless bag of bones," Amy sighed.

"Pardon th' interruption," Gin said, the lightning-man sticking his head into the room from the deck where he'd been borrowing Zoro's workout equipment. "Mornin' paper's arrived. I think y'all're gonna wanna see this."

"We shall join you in a moment," Robin promised. "Kaku, could you be a dear and retrieve Franky from his workshop? I shall summon our captain and navigator."

"But Wind isn't a deer, Robin," Coby grinned. "He's a giraffe."

"Good one, Horn!" The pair shared a high-five.

Grace dropped her head into her hands. "I'm stuck with a moron."

"You're the one who practically superglued yourself to him," Merry laughed.

"Don't remind me."

"I don't want to say I told you so," Amy began, "but—"

"Big Sis, I swear to Goda I will Pavlov you into hating lemons."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Can we just go outside and read the damn newspaper already?" Zoro demanded, his empty bottle thunking against the table. "I'm out of booze so it's time for my second morning workout."

"Zoro-dono, this system of drinking heavily before each workout cannot be healthy," Kin'emon said.

"It kills me or it makes me stronger. I've still alive, aren't I?"

"I do not think that is how such things work."

"I'll go get Chopper and Sanji," Grace offered, being the first the stand and make her way to the door. The rest of the pirates and guests all but copied her response, the crew and a few meeting on the lawn-deck within a few minutes. They were bundled together, each and every one staring down at the paper now resting in the hands of their captain possessed by his wife.

"'Supernova Alliances Threaten to Shake World'," she read from the newspaper's headline. Under it were two sections totaling five pictures, the article in question printed around the images. The first pair on the left showed the wanted photos of both Luffy and Law while the other three showed Kidd, Hawkins, and Apoo. She continued. "'Breaking today, word has spread from trustworthy sources that two New World pirate alliances have formed for as-of-yet unknown purposes. The purpose of the first, an alliance between the Warlord 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law of the Heart Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates under 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy, is theorized by internal sources but nothing has been corroborated or confirmed by the Marines who reported the deal. Law's status as a Warlord is now under contention to be decided by tomorrow. The second alliance, reported to the World Economic Journal by independent reporter Absa, is believed to be on the warpath with one of the Emperors, but which one is uncertain. This alliance consists of 'Captain' Eustass Kidd of the Kidd Pirates, 'Magician' Basil Hawkins of the Hawkins Pirates, and 'Roar of the Seas' Scratchman Apoo of the On Air Pirates. What chaos these alliances will cause is yet to be seen. The current states of the other captain Supernovas, 'Glutton' Jewelry Bonney, 'Mad Monk' Urouge, and 'Red Flag' X Drake are currently unknown while last reports have 'Gang' Beige now as a member of the Big Mom Pirates. For more information on the pirates and crews in question, see page 7.'"

"Well, that didn't take long," Coby commented as Lu-Nami rifled through the paper to see what more it might have to say about them. Seeing Luffy's body reading something other than a menu with such an interest was jarring and the roset almost begged Law to switch them back. "I wonder if Smoker told his higher-ups about us targeting Doflamingo. If he did, I wouldn't be surprised if they warn him."

"He should already know we're coming either way," Law said. "Monet got away to report to him. Caesar isn't a fighter, so without her help, Monet knows we'd beat Caesar and that we're targeting the Donquixote Familia next." Law scowled, a hand reaching up to press against his chest.

"Is something wrong, Traffy?" Na-Luffy questioned. He still wore his straw hat despite not being in his body currently. The other pirate captain leaned away as Luffy got too close.

"It's nothing, just—"

"We need to know what's wrong," Grace interrupted. "If there's a hole in our plan, we need to be able to plan around it."

Law's hand fisted, the passenger on the Sunny gritting his teeth. He growled. "Doflamingo has my heart."

"Wow," Merry blinked. "I didn't think he was your type, but with that hate-bo—"

"Merry!" Usopp chastised before she could finish.

"That's not what I meant, Ghost Ship!" the Surgeon of Death hissed, his eye twitching at the mischievous, knowing smirk on the Klabautermann's face. "Do not make light of this situation. Caesar had us remove our hearts while under his employ to appease his need for control. Monet got to them before I did, presumably taking back her own and absconding with mine and Velo's while she was at it."

Luffy raised a hand.

"Absconding means to steal and get away, Captain," Coby interjected.

Luffy lowered the hand. Law blew out a hard breath. "I… I could die at any point if Doflamingo feels the urge to crush my heart once he gets it."

"Do you think he will?" Amy asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't think he would. Doflamingo's a sadistic bastard willing to kill his own family, but he'd derive more fun by hanging my heart over my head and torturing me with it. I wouldn't be surprised if he uses it like a stress ball as soon as he gets it. If that's the case, I'm going to be more of a liability than anything else. On the bright side, we'll know as soon as he gets it."

"How?" Ace asked.

"I'll double over in pain out of nowhere."

"Oh," the boy blinked. "That's bad. That's bad, right?"

"Yes, Ace-chan," Robin nodded. "That is bad."

"Then getting your heart will have to be one of our first priorities, Law," Coby noted. "I imagine Doflamingo won't let something that important far from him."

"Not unless he gives it to one of his officers," Law agreed, "but I think he might want to kill me himself after what happened years ago. On top of that, he's the king of Dressrosa and can mobilize their standing army if he choses to. Those soldiers wouldn't be to the level of any of his crewmates or any of you, but they are still a New World army and could overwhelm any of us if they catch us alone."

"So we just gotta infiltrate a country that knows we're comin'," Gin began, counting his points on his fingers, "sneak into a Warlord king's castle t' steal your heart back b'fore he gets bored o' torturin' you, take down said Warlord an' all his crew, an' maybe gotta worry 'bout th' Marines joinin' th' fight on their side. Did I miss somethin'?"

"The Marines are not aware of our goal," Robin offered. "At least, not a great majority of them. Smoker reported to former Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the true events of Punk Hazard, who in turn ordered him to give Sakazuki what amounts to a redacted report. Whether the Marines as a whole know we are going to Dressrosa or not, however, remains unknown."

"We could just call him and ask," Na-Luffy suggested. "I mean, we do have his number now."

"You really want to go all-in on being Smoker's friend, don't you, Captain Luffy?" Coby questioned.

"Why not? Smokey's finally started coming around."

"Oh, Garp why?" Lu-Nami sighed, dragging attention to where she'd been reading the rest of the report on their crew.

"Did Gramps do something?" her husband possessing her body asked. In response, Lu-Nami held up the paper, gesturing to a particular section.

'My Adorable Great-Grandson, by Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp,' the headline read. What followed was a picture of a hand-written letter in the most atrocious handwriting any of them had ever seen. Beside it was the best approximation the newspaper could glean from the letter. The end of it specified that the section had been paid for by Garp to be printed unedited.

"Luffy," Sanji muttered. "Your grandpa's a nutter."

"Perhaps 'senile' is a better description?" Sunny suggested.

"Seriously," Franky agreed. "Who super pays to publish a handwritten letter about their great-grandson for no reason?"

"You can't even read half of it," Grace said.

"Old Man Garp writes real bad," Ace laughed, pointing at the printed letter. "Some of that's not even real letters! Giihihihi!"

Robin leaned over, a hand rising to her chin as she studied the puff piece. She hummed. The handwriting was truly atrocious, but it also seemed familiar for some reason she couldn't place.

"Can we get back to the Warlord we're getting ready to attack when he knows we're coming‽" Usopp demanded.

"It really isn't the optimal plan," Merry agreed. "It's the hand we've been dealt, though. We just need to run through it. If we wait, there's all the chance in the world that Doflamingo pops Law's heart like a grape just 'cause he can."

"Ew," Ace muttered. "That's mean."

"Kid, 'mean' is the most underwhelming description of Doflamingo possible," Law grunted. "He's a murderous psychopath with a god complex, ready and willing to kill, manipulate, and blackmail his way through the world, causing chaos and leaving death, destruction, and lamentation in his wake. He's a heartless, slimy madman too powerful for the Government to touch because they know he only keeps his destruction contained because they appease him, and his crewmates are no better; they gather around him because they admire the destruction and misery he has, and can, wrought."

Ace stared at the rival pirate captain, blinking slowly. Law deflated.

"Yes," he sighed, resting his face in his hands as he remembered why he didn't deal with brats. "Doflamingo's a really mean guy."

"I knew it! Daddy wouldn't agree to punch a good guy."

"I don't know," Coby commented. "The first time I met your father, he punched me."

"He did?"

"I did?" Na-Luffy blinked. "Oh yeah, I did. I forgot you use to be such a scrawny coward, Coby! Shishishi!"

"What's he talking about?" Amy asked. Coby coughed, trying to ignore the curious side-eyes he was getting from later members of their crew like Franky and Sunny.

"It's nothing, really," the roset tried to wave off. "We just had a—"

"First time we met, Coby was a forced cabin boy on this fat lady's ship," Na-Luffy said without a hint of hesitation. The Ancient Zoan moved to strangle the captain only to remember he was currently in the navigator's body. Na-Luffy spread his arms wide, apparently forgetting he didn't have his rubber powers for emphasis. "She was this big, fat, ugly whale with a club and he was this small, whiny baby going on about becoming a Marine Admiral someday. He even tried to say me finding the One Piece would be impossible."

"Oh, right," Usopp recalled. "You were just starting to learn from Zoro when we met. Didn't even have real swords yet."

"We're getting on a tangent again," Grace commented, patting the top of a pouting Coby's head. "Cute as small Coby was, it doesn't help us with our current predicament."

"We have three main goals for our assault," Robin offered. "We must retrieve Law's heart, we must liberate Dr. Velo so the Donquixote Familia cannot utilize her services, and we must defeat Doflamingo."

"Velo's survival isn't that much of a concern," Law said. "In fact, we cannot let her get back to Kaido with the secrets she must know. On the other hand, we need to destroy Doflamingo's SMILE factory."

"Velo's still a priority," Lu-Nami interjected, nearly crumpling the newspaper in her barrowed hands. "I still need my pound of flesh for her snagging Ace."

"Do not forget locating Kanjuro!" Kin'emon added. "Liberating my homeland requires all the swords we can locate and, as one of the Red Scabbards, Kanjuro is one of the few skilled samurai we can be sure is still loyal to our true Daimyo!"

"Do you really think one guy is going to make that big a difference against someone like Kaido?" Zoro asked. "How do you know Doflamingo hasn't killed him by now?"

"I'd be terrified if we didn't have you or Luffy or Sanji or Gin!" Chopper piped up.

"While not to the same degree, I agree with Chopper," Coby commented. "We're pretty strong, but these are still New World warriors we're talking about, Zoro-sensei, and Wano samurai at that. Rayleigh-sensei had plenty of stories about one person turning the tide of a battle."

"Let me at 'em!" Na-Luffy cheered, a Monkey D. smile stretching Nami's lips further than they usually went as Luffy punched the air. "We'll find Kandigo and send Mingo flying!"

"Can you and Nami please go back to normal?" Grace begged. "It's too weird seeing you act like that in Nami's body."

"Why?" Na-Luffy asked. "I'm enjoying myself. I mean, other than not being able to eat as much as I usually do and Nami's hair getting in my face sometimes. Speaking of, I'm hungry! Sanji! Get me something orange-y!"

"Me too! Me too!" Ace cheered, running over to his father-mother who scooped him into his arms. "Uncle Pervy Cook, second breakfast, please!"

"Rrrrrr…" Sanji bit his tongue, his visible eye twitching as he tried to not foam at the mouth.

"Ne, Traffy," Merry grinned, turning her eye on their pirate guest. "Can you swap Zoro and Sanji? I'd love to see that!"

"Hell no!" the pair screamed in tandem, pointing at each other. "I'd rather die than have to spend even a second in his swirly-browed/moss-headed ass!"

"I'm sure both of them would have different answers if it were Robin they were switching with," Usopp muttered.

"Robin-chwan!" Sanji noodled. "Shall we?"

"Like Hell!" Zoro yelled at the same time. "Being in Billy's body was bad enough! And no woman deserves to have you anywhere near them, Pervy Cook, much less inside them!"

"Baaahahaha!" Merry laughed, the ram-sheep-like Klabautermann being joined by Sunny and Luffy while the others only chuckled.

"Daddy," Ace said. "Uncle Pervy Cook and Uncle Stupid Moss are fighting again."

"And what did Mommy tell you to do when that happens?" Na-Luffy asked.

"Oh, right." Ace turned as well as he could. "Uncle Gin! Uncle Cook and Uncle Moss are fighting again!"

"You're offloadin' them onto me?" the lightning-man questioned.

"Mommy said she doesn't want to deal with them."

"How does this crew get anything done?" Law muttered to himself, rubbing his face as Gin smacked the arguing pair in the back of their heads with his tonfa. This, predictably, did not settle the argument and only got Gin involved in the ensuing brawl as swords and feet came out. "This was a terrible idea."

"We're not that bad!" Chopper insisted.

"The background noise is rather constant," Robin added, "but you get used to it. In fact, I would go so far as to call it calming."

"That—" Law gasped, keeling over as his hands shot to his chest. He fell over, gritting his teeth as what he'd predicted came to pass.

"Law/Traffy!"

Law's breathing turned ragged and uneven, the pirate doctor rolling into his side as he gasped for breath. Chopper ran over to him, but there was nothing the reindeer could do as the captain of the Heart Pirates flailed in pain for several minutes before he finally fell silent, panting hard.

"Alright, he hurt Traffy!" Na-Luffy growled, punching a fist into the opposite palm. "We watched him hurt Traffy! No more games! Double speed for Dressy Rose! It's time to kick Mingo's ass hard!"

The kingdom of Dressrosa was not an expansive kingdom with dozens of cities and towns like Alabasta. Rather, like many countries in the Grand Line, it was practically one massive city that covered the island for which the country was named. Unlike what it might seem from the air, Dressrosa was made of five cities that had grown to the point where the borders between them had blurred, all focused around the King's Plateau and the castle there.

Balsa was the city to the north with Primula to the west. To the south was Acacia, the largest city boasting both the south harbor and the Corrida Colosseum. To the east-south-east stood Sebio and to its north and to the east of Balsa was the final city of Carta with the east harbor. These five cities —which, at their size, were more like districts to a greater metropolis— were themselves surrounded by massive boulders that made assaulting the island more costly than anyone other than the World Government could afford. The only entrances onto the island were the south or east harbors or the bridge connecting the island to Green Bit off the west coast.

The castle in the center was a grand structure, its architecture unchanged save for minor repairs and additions since its first construction during the Void Century. The castle's height and grandeur only compounded with the height of the King's Plateau, allowing one at its pinnacle to see every border in the country.

And how the country had changed in the ten years since Doflamingo returned to his family's ancient homeland. The buildings had been bland and boring, made with structure in mind because there was little money to go around between the infrequency of New World traders and the outflux of the Heavenly Tribute. Now, with the money his rule had brought in through every channel imaginable and no more need to give more than a paltry sum for the Tribute, the buildings were colorful and beautiful. The sight made Doflamingo's mad smile widen as he leaned against one of the castle's windows.

Yes, life was good for the royal Warlord.

"Young Master," a voice said, the king of the land turning to the door. A young man with white hat and horns offered a small bow. "Baby 5 and Buffalo have returned with Vergo and Monet. They have the scientist."

"Excellent," the Warlord grinned. He was a tall man, tall enough to stare eye-to-eye with the likes of Bartholomew Kuma and Gecko Moria, with short blond hair and skin tanned from hours in the hot Dressrosa sun. He wore casual, breathable clothing that possessed a plunging neckline and a coat of pink flamingo feathers that acted more like a cape. His eyes hid behind pointed, red shades, but his wide smile was more than enough to convey his emotions. "Bring them to the throne room, Dellinger. I'll meet them there. Then go tell Sugar her sister's returned."

Dellinger took his leave at the king's command, leaving the man alone once more. Long legs carried Doflamingo through the hallways, guards and pirate crewmates alike bowing to him as he passed. A pair of armored soldiers opened the doors to the throne room as he approached, the man not needing to slow down as he entered and walked to his throne.

His expected arrivals entered not two minutes after him, the man having felt their approach. His smile continued to widen as they drew closer, his eyebrows rising at Monet's new look. She stood on one side, Vergo on the other, with them both flanking a small woman with periwinkle hair in a lab coat. Monet and Vergo knelt —though Monet had to get a bit creative with her new bird legs— while the scientist between them glared at the king.

"Vergo."

"Young Master," the man replied.

"Monet, wonderful to have you back after so long. Beautiful wings."

"Thank you, Young Master," the woman answered. "It's wonderful to be back. I hope Sugar's doing well."

"She is. Been positively dying to see you again from what the others have told me." The man on the throne turned to the shortest member of the trio and flared the smallest amount of Conqueror's Haki he could. "Kneel."

"I don't answer to your dreadful orders," Velori Velo spat, the oppressive force nothing compared to what she'd been exposed to while living in Wano before her relocation to Punk Hazard two years prior.

"Oh?" Doflamingo questioned, impressed that she could handle that much, no matter how little it actually was. Vergo raised a transparent cube and prepared to squeeze it but backed down from a glance from his captain. "Why not?"

"The number of people I respect enough to kneel for I can count on one hand, and you don't make that dreadfully-short list, Government Dog."

"That's right," Doflamingo chuckled, tapping his head as if he'd just remembered some interesting factoid. "You're a member of Kaido's crew. One of Queen's little pupils, right?"

"You are not worthy to speak his name!" Velo yelled, stepping forward as one of her eyes took on a red gleam and her teeth sharpened. "When Queen-sama hears what you've done to me, the results with be most drea—!" She doubled over onto her knees, one hand clutching at her chest as she struggled to breathe.

"Vergo," Doflamingo warned.

"My apologies, Young Master," the Marine said, releasing his grip on the heart in his hands. Velo's breathing eased, the woman taking in deep breaths to try to calm down. "I could not accept her tone with you."

"I understand, Vergo, but some people take a little longer to learn the ways of the world." The tyrant king turned his eye on the scientist again. "When in my kingdom, under the roof of my castle, you will give me the respect I am due as both a king and a Warlord. This attitude will only be amusing for so long before I get bored of it and decide your lip overshadows your usefulness."

"Y-You wouldn't!" Velo gasped. "You can't! Kaido and Queen-sama would bring dreadful war to your kingdom! A-And I know too much you don't have access to! The Marines have surely captured or killed Caesar Clown by now!"

Donquixote Doflamingo laughed. It was not a chuckle or a giggle, but a loud, hardy, full belly laugh that filled the room with his voice. Velo's eyes widened, the small woman taking a step back.

"I wouldn't?" Doflamingo echoed through his lowering chuckled. "I can't? I don't think you know who I am, Velori Velo. I am the king of Dressrosa, the Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo. In this country, my word is law. I can do whatever I want."

"I don't answer to—" She doubled over again with a gasp. The king's smile faded.

"Vergo."

"Sorry, Young Master." Vergo loosened his grip on the heart again.

"Monet, tell me everything."

"Caesar was useful, but he was far more eccentric than Velo," the harpy said. "She also conducted research into the SAD formula behind his back, not just the SMILEs and their users. She upgraded the formula to increase SMILE's success to 50% and managed to find a way to specify what type of animal the Zoan power might be thanks to her knowledge of the lineage factor. She calls this new formula GLAD. She was planning on running to Wano and cutting us out of the SMILE business."

"I see," the blond nodded. "Well, with Caesar gone, we don't need to sink money into that lab of his anymore and we don't even need to pay this one."

"E-Excuse me?" Velo coughed. "Y-You think you can make me work for you? Dreadful chances, I assure you."

"Oh Velo, you are a treat!" the Warlord chuckled. "You think you have a choice in the matter! Monet, I'm putting you in charge of Velo and the lab. It's connected to the Toy House at the base of the King's Plateau. You can gather workers from the toys under Sugar. I'm sure you won't say no to working alongside your sister?"

"Many thanks, Young Master," Monet replied with a bow and a smile. "I gladly accept."

"Well, I'm happy with all this. Anything else to report?"

"The Straw Hats should be on their way. It was them and the marines of G-5 that Law sided with against Caesar."

"G-5… That's your branch, isn't it, Vergo?"

"Yes, Young Master," the stoic man replied. "Would you like me to deal with them?"

"No, there's no need for that," Doflamingo waved off. "Return from your vacation early; see if you can catch them with Caesar still in their possession. If you can't, it's no big loss. I just want to know where he ends up."

"And if I can?"

"Silence him. He knows too much about our operations and I wouldn't mind getting my hand on his Devil Fruit. You know the gladiators fight harder when there's a Devil Fruit as a prize."

"Of course. I'll leave as soon as I can."

"One more thing," the harpy said, gesturing to Vergo with a wing. "We have a… present for you, Young Master." Vergo stood, reaching into his long coat to pull another heart from within. He offered it to their captain.

"Law."

That was all Vergo needed to say for the king's expression to light up like a spoiled child on Christmas morning.

"It must be my birthday," Doflamingo laughed, accepting the beating organ to study it. "How'd you get Law to remove his own heart? Torture?"

"It was Caesar's idea," Monet said. "He was so insecure from Law's presence that he demanded Law, Velo, and I remove our hearts to give him leverage over us. We went to get Velo's heart to control her, but poor Law was too slow on the uptake and missed his chance to get his back, so we took it too when we left."

"This is the best gift you all could have given me. Poor, poor Caesar; I'd send him flowers if I could. Oh well. I'll just enjoy this to the fullest." He squeezed the heart, relishing the knowledge that, somewhere, Law was writhing in pain. "Now then, I think you all have places to be."

Two of the three bowed, Vergo grabbing Velo by the arm and dragging her away. Sugar was waiting just outside the door, her and Monet having a loud, happy reunion as the door closed. Doflamingo slowly released his grip on the heart, thinking.

"Baby 5!" he yelled, flaring his Haki in a particular pattern. He only needed to wait a few minutes before the maid rushed through the door.

"My apologies for being so slow, Young Master!" she called as he hurried to his side. "What can I do for you?"

"Baby 5, please bring me a snail then go find Trebol. Have him bring me the items. Then go get Diamante. It's about time we gather the powerful for the ultimate prizes they've been waiting for. After all, the intended mouse is finally approaching." His grin stretched wide. "Baby 5, did you know my grandfather had a Fishman friend?"

"I did not know that," the maid admitted.

"He was Dellinger's grandfather, actually. I don't remember him all that well or how they met, but I remember he was a bard and knew how to tell one Hell of a story. It might have been part of why my foolish father made the poor choices he did, but that's not what matters. I was simply remembering what he always said when he began a story."

"What would that be, Young Master?"

"This…" he paused, his grin widening to show too many teeth, "will be very entertaining."

End of Chapter 56

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-SwordOfTheGods