-Broadcast-
Following CP0's devastating defeat, the Sky Screen's omniscient gaze shifted to focus on a blonde child being escorted through ornate corridors by an unusual figure—a grown man dressed in an oversized baby's outfit, complete with bonnet and pacifier. The incongruous pair made their way through what Dressrosa's older citizens immediately recognized as the former royal palace.
The very halls where King Riku had once held court now served a different master. 16-years had passed since the Donquixote family claimed this seat of power, transforming it into the nerve center of their criminal empire.
"Elsa, the Young Master doesn't know about your unauthorized excursion yet," Senior Pink said softly, his large hand gently clasping the child's smaller one. Despite his bizarre appearance, his voice carried genuine concern and paternal warmth. "If you wish to avoid punishment, this incident must remain our secret. We cadres have no business interfering with the Young Master's family affairs."
The man's devotion to his ridiculous costume stemmed from a promise made to someone precious—a vow that gave meaning to every embarrassing stare and muffled laugh he endured. As the manliest member of the family in all ways that truly mattered, Senior Pink planned to use his Sui Sui no Mi (Swim-Swim Fruit) abilities to transport the girl back to the flower fields without detection. If they could avoid the other executives entirely, this breach of protocol might go unreported.
Unfortunately, fate possessed a cruel sense of timing. From around a corner stepped a flamboyant figure in gaudy attire that somehow managed to be both colorful and menacing. The executive who normally oversaw operations at the Corrida Colosseum had inexplicably appeared on the palace's main floor.
"Well, well... little Elsa has disobeyed again and attempted another escape," Diamante observed with theatrical flair, his voice dripping with false concern that barely concealed malicious amusement. "The Young Master will be devastated when he learns of this betrayal."
Character Profile: Donquixote Family Executive - Diamante, user of the Hira Hira no Mi (Flutter-Flutter Fruit)
Recognition blazed in Elsa's precocious eyes, followed immediately by a fury that seemed far too intense for someone her age. Her small hands clenched into fists as she glared up at the towering swordsman. "You are the bastard who punch my mother... someday I'll repay every blow tenfold."
Diamante threw back his head and laughed with genuine delight, the sound echoing through the marble corridors like breaking glass. The child's threat amused rather than concerned him—what could a caged bird possibly do to a predator like himself?
"Such bravery from someone so small," he replied with mocking applause. "Perhaps when you finally escape that gilded prison of yours, you'll be worthy of adult conversation. Until then, your royal bloodline means absolutely nothing."
The cruel truth hung in the air like poison. As long as Doflamingo refused to publicly acknowledge his relationship with Violet and her children, they would remain shadows—invisible except to the simplest family members who still possessed functioning consciences. Diamante certainly didn't count among that number.
Senior Pink's jaw tightened beneath his pacifier, but years of discipline kept his temper in check. The family's internal rules absolutely forbade violence between executives, and violations resulted in punishment that made CP0's methods seem merciful. "Elsa, don't engage with him," he said firmly, placing a protective hand on the child's shoulder. "He's deliberately trying to provoke you. We're leaving."
The Sui Sui no Mi granted its user the supernatural ability to swim through any solid matter as though it were water. Senior Pink lifted Elsa onto his back with practiced ease, then pressed forward into the palace wall. Stone and mortar parted like liquid around their bodies, offering no resistance to his Devil Fruit powers. Short of dropping them into the ocean itself, no barrier could impede their escape.
"How touching—such paternal devotion," Diamante called after them with venomous sweetness. "If she didn't bear such a striking resemblance to her mother, people might actually mistake her for your own child. What a tragedy it must be, remaining a bastard unacknowledged by her father."
The words struck Elsa like physical blows, each syllable designed to inflict maximum emotional damage. An overwhelming sense of injustice and abandonment swelled within her young heart—feelings too complex and painful for someone her age to properly process. She wrapped her arms around Senior Pink's neck and held on desperately, tears gathering in her eyes despite her fierce determination not to shed them. Even at her tender age, she'd already learned that some men viewed female tears as signs of weakness rather than expressions of genuine pain.
Senior Pink felt the child's grip tighten and sensed her emotional turmoil, but said nothing. What comfort could words provide against such harsh realities? Instead, he focused on swimming through solid matter with increased speed, carrying his precious burden away from Diamante's toxic presence.
Their journey through stone and earth eventually brought them to a hidden paradise—an endless expanse of flowering meadows that stretched beyond the horizon in every direction. Countless varieties of blooms created a living rainbow that shifted with each passing breeze, filling the air with intoxicating fragrances. At the center of this botanical wonderland stood a modest two-story villa, home to the most important people in Senior Pink's carefully compartmentalized world.
Yet for all its beauty, the flower field represented something else entirely to its youngest resident—a prison with walls made of petals instead of bars.
"Sister Elsa! Uncle Pink!" came a cheerful voice from among the sunflower stalks. A blonde girl with twin pigtails emerged from the golden forest, her clothes dirty from gardening work and her face smudged with soil. Unlike her sister's mature composure, this child radiated pure innocence and joy.
Where Elsa had been forced to grow up too quickly by circumstance and harsh reality, Anna remained blissfully unaware of the darkness that surrounded their family. Her genuine happiness served as both a blessing and a reminder of what childhood should be.
Senior Pink gently set Elsa down before producing a clean handkerchief from his jacket pocket. He knelt before Anna with surprising grace despite his bulk, carefully wiping away the dirt and grime that marked her afternoon's adventures.
"Anna, I've told you repeatedly—gardening is adult work," he chided gently, his voice carrying the patient tone of someone who'd repeated this conversation dozens of times. "Whenever I have free time, I'll handle the flower maintenance. Look how dirty you've gotten yourself."
The contrast between the two sisters never failed to astound him. Had he not watched both girls grow from infancy, he would have struggled to believe they shared the same bloodline. Anna embodied everything pure and innocent about childhood, while Elsa carried burdens that would have broken many adults.
"Anna, what is Mother doing?" Elsa asked, her voice still slightly hoarse from suppressed tears.
"She's been baking cakes in the kitchen since dawn," Anna replied with excited anticipation. "She said she knew you'd want them as soon as you returned home. She's been working all day just for you!"
Warmth spread through Elsa's chest at her sister's words, followed immediately by a crushing wave of guilt. Her selfish desire for freedom had caused unnecessary worry and extra work for the woman who sacrificed everything to keep them safe. The yearning for the outside world still burned within her, but at what cost to those she loved?
Senior Pink and Anna began an impromptu game of horsey, the grown man's dignity apparently nonexistent when it came to making children smile. Elsa had outgrown such simple pleasures years ago—another casualty of her accelerated maturation. She pushed open the villa's front door, steeling herself for the emotional confrontation that awaited.
Before she could fully enter, warm arms enveloped her in an embrace that spoke of desperate relief and unconditional love. Violet held her daughter close, her body trembling slightly with emotions too powerful for words. No accusations came, no angry lectures about disobedience—only the fierce protectiveness of a mother who'd thought her child might be lost forever.
"Thank goodness you're safe," Violet whispered against Elsa's hair, her voice thick with unshed tears. "As long as you're unharmed, nothing else matters. You don't need to explain anything."
Elsa studied her mother's face and saw exhaustion written in every line—the toll that constant worry and fear extracted from someone trying to maintain hope in hopeless circumstances. The sight broke through her emotional defenses completely.
"I won't leave again," she promised, the words emerging as little more than a whisper. "The outside world... it's not as beautiful as I imagined."
Violet's smile bloomed like sunrise after the longest night—genuine joy reserved exclusively for her daughters, unmarked by the careful masks she wore for everyone else. "I've prepared your favorite cake," she said, smoothly changing the subject to spare her daughter further guilt. "If you'd returned any later, it would have gone cold. Come sit down and eat while it's still warm."
Character Profile: Former Princess of the Riku Royal Family, Current Donquixote Family Executive - Violet, user of the Giro Giro no Mi (Glare-Glare Fruit)
As Elsa settled at the small dining table to enjoy her mother's loving confection, a voice she'd grown to despise drifted through the villa's thin walls.
"Violet, I require your Devil Fruit abilities. Come outside."
Eren Yeager's commanding tone carried the casual authority of someone accustomed to instant obedience. For Elsa, that voice represented everything wrong with the adult world—a reminder that her brief taste of freedom had revealed not wonder, but cruelty beyond her young comprehension.
The psychological trauma of witnessing such brutality firsthand had taught her a lesson no child should learn: that the world outside their flower-prison might be infinitely worse than the cage itself. For the first time in her short life, she truly understood the meaning of despair.
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