The plan unfolded with unsettling smoothness.
Roughly ten minutes later, another figure entered the small garden.
He looked like a native warrior, wearing a fringed hat, a red cape draped over his shoulders, and two distinct facial tattoos. His steps were steady, his presence confident.
Diamante had arrived.
Diamante was a Paramecia type Devil Fruit user who possessed the Flag Flag Fruit. This ability allowed him to turn any object he touched into a soft, fluttering fabric like state while keeping its original material intact. Steel could become as flexible as cloth, allowing him to create armor and weapons that were both deceptive and lethal.
He was one of the four highest ranking executives of the Donquixote Family.
Like the others, he sensed nothing wrong with Sugar.
The moment he stepped close, Sugar extended her hand.
Pop.
Diamante vanished instantly, replaced by a toy shaped like a fluttering red cape.
"Sugar, what are you doing?" came the furious voice of the toy.
"Don't speak," Sugar said calmly, looking down at him.
The toy immediately fell silent.
At that moment, Lucien stepped out from the room, casually carrying Pica's bear shaped toy in one hand. He had just finished testing something inside and confirmed his suspicion. A toy, being an inanimate object, could not be converted into a ghost. Pica would need to regain his flesh and blood body first.
Law followed behind him, disguised as an ordinary guard.
"Master," Sugar said respectfully as Lucien entered the pavilion. "Trebol is usually with Doflamingo. I'm the one who normally goes to see him."
"That won't be necessary," Lucien replied calmly.
At this point, nearly the entire Donquixote Family present in Dressrosa was under his control. Gladius was absent, but everyone else had already fallen.
Two of the four highest executives had been neutralized without a single drop of blood.
Doflamingo was, for all practical purposes, already sidelined.
Only Trebol remained.
"Wuwuwu…"
The toys that had once been Diamante and Pica glared furiously at Sugar. To them, her betrayal was unforgivable.
"Let's go meet Donquixote Doflamingo," Lucien said.
"Yes," Sugar replied without hesitation.
At the same time, in the castle's backyard pool, Doflamingo lay beneath a sun umbrella, sunglasses on, wearing casual beach shorts as he lazily swirled a glass of red wine. Nearby, several beautiful women in swimsuits laughed and played in the water.
The moment Pica was turned into a toy, Doflamingo frowned.
It felt as if something important had slipped from his mind.
At first, he ignored the sensation, dismissing it as minor discomfort.
But when Diamante disappeared as well, Doflamingo suddenly sat upright. Veins bulged across his forehead as the sense of loss became undeniable.
He was forgetting something.
Something crucial.
"Go call Diamante and Trebol," Doflamingo ordered.
The guard hesitated. "Young Master, who is Diamante?"
Doflamingo froze.
He realized he did not know either.
Then why had the name come so naturally to his lips?
"Are you certain I said Diamante?" he asked coldly.
"Yes," the guard replied.
Doflamingo's expression darkened.
There was only one explanation.
Diamante had been extremely important to him.
And there was only one ability capable of erasing someone like that from existence.
Sugar.
"Young Master, Sugar is outside," a subordinate announced.
Doflamingo's lips curled slightly. "Let her in."
He leaned back against the lounge chair, his expression once again calm.
Moments later, footsteps approached.
Sugar entered first. Lucien and Law followed behind her, stopping near the pool like ordinary guards. They were halted there deliberately to avoid alarming Doflamingo.
"Young Master," Sugar said softly, bowing slightly.
Doflamingo turned his head and studied her closely.
She looked exactly the same as always.
"Did you turn Diamante into a toy?" he asked suddenly.
Sugar's heart skipped.
Though she regained her composure instantly, Doflamingo had already seen enough.
So he truly had forgotten Diamante.
"Diamante was a pirate," Sugar said. "I turned him into a toy."
The moment she finished speaking, Sugar lunged forward, her small hand striking toward Doflamingo without warning.
It was fast, decisive, and fueled by urgency.
She knew he was suspicious. Even if he did not fully understand yet, he would not stop questioning her. This was her only chance.
Bang.
Doflamingo did not turn into a toy.
His wine glass, coated in Armament Haki, blocked Sugar's hand.
"SUGAR," Doflamingo growled. "What are you doing?"
His face twisted with disbelief.
He could not accept that Sugar had betrayed him.
And yet, the danger he felt just now was real.
Sugar retreated immediately. She knew better than anyone that if her first attempt failed, there would be no second chance.
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
Applause echoed across the poolside.
Doflamingo turned his head.
"Stop breathing," Lucien said calmly.
Using his Law's ability, the guards nearby suddenly clutched their throats and collapsed one by one, their bodies twitching briefly before falling still.
Lucien continued clapping as he walked forward.
"As expected of Donquixote Doflamingo," he said. "You're not easy to deal with."
Doflamingo watched Sugar move behind Lucien, cold light flashing beneath his sunglasses.
"Fufufu… Who are you," he asked, "to control my people without a sound?"
Lucien smiled faintly. His amethyst eyes gleamed.
"I'm your admirer," he replied. "I want you to follow me, grow stronger, and help create something even more magnificent. At the very least, you'd make a perfect villain."
Golden lightning burst forth.
Lucien's right foot ignited with black and red steam as Armament Haki, hardened flesh, and searing heat combined into a single devastating strike.
The air detonated.
Doflamingo barely managed to cross his arms, both coated in Armament Haki.
The impact hit him like a collapsing mountain.
His arms smashed into his own chest as blood sprayed from his mouth. His body was launched backward, tearing through multiple buildings before crashing into the rubble and vanishing beneath it.
The explosion shook the entire castle.
Trebol rushed over immediately, while Senor Pink and Machvise, already converted into ghosts, arrived moments later.
"Take Sugar away," Lucien said without looking back.
He understood the danger. If Doflamingo released his Conqueror's Haki, Sugar's will could falter. Even as a demon, her mental endurance had not changed.
If Sugar fainted now, everything would unravel. Pica, Diamante, and every toy across Dressrosa would revert instantly.
Lucien was not ready to expose himself yet.
Controlling Doflamingo from the shadows was enough.
"ROOM," Law said.
His Op Op Fruit ability expanded instantly, and he vanished along with Sugar.
"Fufufu…"
From the ruins, Doflamingo rose slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. Veins crawled along his face as he stared at Lucien.
Snap.
Lucien lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. As the weight enhancement faded, the tension in his body released, cell by cell.
A wave of comfort washed over him.
It felt like drinking an ice cold cola under a blazing sun.
He had not truly fought since arriving in this world.
So he would start here.
With Donquixote Doflamingo.