In the small kitchen of the Cookie Room, a thick, rich aroma of cocoa drifted through the air, accompanied by Sanji's muttered curses as he tried to keep his temper in check.
"Damn lazy bastard… ordering people around like it's nothing… Molten chocolate cake? What a pain… the heat has to be perfect, or the core won't stay liquid… Why the hell am I going all-out even for this guy's afternoon tea?!"
He grumbled nonstop, yet his hands moved with flawless precision.
A top-class chef's professional pride wouldn't allow him to produce anything subpar, even if the dish was for the man he wanted to kick into orbit the most.
Meanwhile, outside the kitchen…
Ain studied the report in her hands. Combined with the "corrosive" and "catalytic" traits Sanji had identified through smell alone, a flash of clarity crossed her ice-blue eyes.
"I understand now… Caesar's 'NHC10. Its core principle isn't that it adds something to make the children grow huge, it accelerates their own life processes in an extreme way!"
Her voice grew cold.
"It's like a switch that turns their biological clock forward by hundreds of times, forcibly burning through decades of their future lifespan just to achieve a temporary gigantic form."
"That means… they're doomed?" Potts' face went pale.
"No," Ain shook her head.
She stepped forward, looking at the sleeping giant children with renewed determination.
"If Caesar's ability is 'acceleration,' then all we need to do… is turn their sped-up clocks backward again."
Sanji emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray.
On it sat a perfect molten chocolate cake radiating sinful temptation.
He overheard Ain's words and raised an eyebrow.
"Turn it backward? Time doesn't just… rewind."
Ain didn't respond.
She walked straight to the smallest of the giant children.
Her pale hands lifted, glowing with a soft, blooming cherry-blossom pink light.
"Modo Modo no Mi…"
She gently pressed her palm to the child's forehead.
"Years Rewind."
A miracle happened.
The warm pink light washed over the child like a tide.
His massive body began to shrink, steadily, gently, visibly.
The grotesque muscle bulges softened.
The unnatural purple glow in his eyes faded, restoring the clear innocence of a child.
Not a trace of pain.
He even smacked his lips in his sleep, as if dreaming of snacks.
Minutes later, the light faded.
The five-meter "giant" had become a normal boy barely a meter tall, wearing a striped hospital gown and still chubby-cheeked like a toddler.
He slept peacefully, breathing steadily and strongly, the signs of life-force exhaustion gone without a trace.
"S–success!" Potts gasped, tears welling in his eyes.
Sanji's cigarette had gone out at some point.
He stared blankly. "…That's insane."
"Good."
Sanji snapped out of it. "If we can save them, then we need to move fast. But the people in this facility won't just let us do it. We need to secure the whole area first."
"Exactly. Caesar and all his subordinates…" Ain steadied her breath. "We must take them down in one sweep."
At that moment, the lazy voice that made Sanji's blood pressure spike floated from the corner again.
"Aaah… can't you just rescue people quietly…? 'Take them all down at once' sounds so loud. And troublesome…"
Renzo had somehow woken up again.
He lay draped over the edge of his floating sofa, staring at Sanji's cake with drool threatening to spill.
Apparently, their discussion had interrupted his sacred ritual of "waiting for food."
He frowned, gave a helpless sigh, then snapped his fingers toward the empty ceiling.
[Sloth's Decree, Domain]
"Alright, alright. It's time. All employees, mandatory clock-out! Go home!"
Ain and Sanji blinked.
That sentence didn't… make any sense.
But then-
The entire facility's broadcast system suddenly cut off all alarms.
In their place flowed a soft, harmonious "end-of-shift" tune, warm, gentle, utterly out of place.
Then Renzo's lazy drawl echoed through every hall and room
"Attention all staff, repeating: attention all staff. Today's work is over."
"Please immediately stop all activities, including but not limited to scientific experiments, patrol duties, combat engagements, and all forms of overtime."
"This is now your personal time."
"Proceed at once to the plaza outside Cookie Room No. 1 to clock out and go home."
.....
Across the research facility, absurd scenes unfolded.
A scientist mixing a new poison in Lab B froze mid-movement, calmly put away his test tubes, took off his lab coat, and sleepwalked toward the plaza.
The centaur patrol squad guarding the prison suddenly turned in formation, humming a cheerful "off-shift" tune as they marched toward the plaza.
Even Monet and Vergo, deep in the core sector, were affected.
Vergo, mid-report to Doflamingo, stopped abruptly.
"Apologies, Young Master. It's time to clock out. We'll talk tomorrow."
He hung up.
Monet and Vergo managed to resist enough not to join the gathering, but they immediately tried to flee.
The only person not affected was the facility's director, Caesar Clown.
He stared helplessly at the monitor, watching all his loyal subordinates abandon their posts en masse, humming like happy office workers on payday, gathering in neat lines before the plaza.
"W–WHAT'S HAPPENING?! My army! My subordinates! Where are you going?! COME BACK!!
I'll triple your PAY!!"
His screams echoed pathetically across the empty control room.
Minutes later, the entire plaza outside the Cookie Room was packed with every staff member in the facility.
They all stood quietly, eyes unfocused, postures relaxed, like exhausted office workers waiting for the commuter bus.
"Alright. Done." Renzo clapped his hands.
"Ain, go on. They're very obedient now, they won't resist."
"Hurry though… you're delaying my dessert."
Ain and Sanji exchanged glances, though they have already seen it dozens of times they were still deeply shaken.
Ain didn't waste more time.
She and Potts strode out into the plaza.
Facing the sea of harmless but numerous enemies, she inhaled deeply and declared:
"For violating world peace and conducting inhumane experiments, I hereby declare: Caesar Clown and all his subordinates are-"
"ALL UNDER ARREST!"
...
Dressrosa
Doflamingo lounged comfortably on a sofa, listening to Vergo's report via Den Den Mushi, a confident, wicked smile on his face.
Everything was going perfectly.
Then Vergo said the words:
"Time to clock out."
Doflamingo froze mid-smile.
"C…clock out?"
Before he could process it, click, the line disconnected.
"Vergo? VERGO!"
The only response was the Den Den Mushi's cold dial tone.
A horrible premonition flooded his chest.
He called Monet, no answer.
He called Caesar.
The moment the call connected, Caesar's broken, hysterical scream burst through:
"DOFFY!!! HELP ME!!!"
"My facility… my subordinates… my SAD… EVERYTHING'S GONE!!
"That lazy bastard, he's a monster!!"
"He doesn't follow ANY rules!!!"
CRACK!!
Veins bulged on Doflamingo's forehead.
His Haki flared uncontrollably, crushing the wineglass to powder.
"R...e...n...z…o"
He said the name one syllable at a time, teeth grinding audibly.
That pest AGAIN.
From Warmwave Island to Punk Hazard, destroying his SAD production base completely.
This parasitic fly always appeared precisely at the most critical moment in his plans, and then ruined everything in the most senseless, humiliating way possible.
Once could be chance.
Twice… absolutely deliberate.
He was being targeted.
"Fufufufu… fufufufufufu!!"
Doflamingo laughed through clenched teeth, sunglasses sliding down to reveal eyes burning with rage and madness.
"Renzo… whatever you want… You've succeeded in one thing-"
"You've thoroughly pissed me off."
He kicked the expensive table into splinters.
But anger was all he had, separated by an entire ocean, he could do nothing.
That powerless feeling was worse than failure.
Back on Punk Hazard…
Renzo finally got his afternoon tea.
He cut into the molten cake and watched the warm chocolate flow out, sighing contentedly.
"Mm. Not bad. Though… it's a bit cold."
He glanced at Ain and Potts, exhausted from handcuffing hundreds of people… then at Sanji preparing dinner inside…
And lazily commented: "Service efficiency… needs improvement."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu