"Hahahahaha~ You damn old bastard!"
Standing atop his own father's severed head, Mushiru threw his head back and laughed maniacally. The rush of patricide was overwhelming, flooding his brain with dopamine.
His loyal soldiers—
—instinctively raised their guns when Doflamingo suddenly appeared on the throne.
Their duty was clear: protect King Mushiru at all costs!
This reflexive act made Mushiru's scalp go numb, and his soul nearly fled his body.
The grin on his face twisted into sheer terror as he shouted, panicked.
"You idiots! What the hell are you doing?! Stop! Lower your weapons and get out!"
Were they trying to get him killed by attacking the Heavenly Yaksha?!
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The bewildered soldiers lowered their guns without protest, quietly exiting the hall—and even helpfully closed the doors behind them.
Mushiru didn't have time to process the strange feeling of hearing himself addressed as "Your Majesty." He hurriedly dragged the unconscious Wapol forward.
Approaching the throne with care, he cradled the lead-bullet pistol in both hands.
"Doflamingo-sama! Your gun!"
He handed it over with utmost respect, plastering on a sycophantic grin.
"Fufufufufufu~ Not bad."
Doflamingo gave him a nod of approval… but then, his tone turned slightly regretful.
"Too bad you acted too fast. Your father wasn't steeped in despair yet."
He hadn't even processed the moment when he'd killed Homing.
This brat clearly got overexcited and pulled the trigger too early.
He really should have drawn it out a bit.
As he picked up the lead-bullet gun used in the patricide, Doflamingo conjured a handkerchief in his palm and casually wiped off Mushiru's fingerprints.
"You're absolutely right! I'll be more careful next time!"
Mushiru blurted it out without thinking, nerves fraying at the edges.
Doflamingo shot him a strange look.
"Next time?"
"Shit! I screwed up again and made a bad impression on Doflamingo-sama!"
Mushiru cursed silently, clearly realizing how idiotic he sounded. How was he supposed to cling to a big shot's coattails like this?
His eyes darted, and he stepped aside, gesturing toward his beloved little brother.
"Doflamingo-sama, this is the item we agreed upon. Feel free to do as you wish with him! I'm not sure what value he holds."
"Your brother? Of course he's just a useless idiot."
Doflamingo's gaze sharpened. With a twitch of his finger, Wapol's unconscious body was hoisted into the air by threads.
A giant hand formed in the air—
Slap! Slap!
Two massive slaps landed on Wapol's face.
And yet... whether it was because Wapol had a thick skull or the barbecue platter earlier had really knocked him out, the brat didn't even stir.
"What's useful is the Munch-Munch Fruit."
The Munch-Munch Fruit allowed the user to absorb anything they ate into their own body—
To transform, assimilate, or even combine the materials within themselves.
They could even devour parts of their own body to restructure their skeleton.
It was practically a fusion ability—like a mix of Baby 5's Weapon Fruit and Seimei Kikan techniques.
The most powerful aspect? The fruit allowed the user to fuse with others without suffering a breakdown.
So… was it possible to fuse with multiple Devil Fruit users? Or even devour multiple Devil Fruits at once?
That wasn't the only reason Doflamingo had his eyes on Wapol.
As his body matured, memories buried deep in his mind became clearer, and he started realizing some valuable truths.
Over a decade before Luffy set sail, Vegapunk still hadn't perfected the Pacifistas.
Yet during the months Luffy stayed on Sabaody, they suddenly succeeded.
Caesar and Judge had already confirmed that Vegapunk ate the Brain-Brain Fruit and was using replicated ancient technologies.
So what if the Pacifista tech had already been complete back then?
The missing piece might've been a proper material to carry the Lineage Factor.
At that exact time, Wapol had—by accident—created Wapometal, which was discovered by a scientist.
Wapometal was incredibly helpful—whether for upgrading artificial Sky Island dials or for constructing Pluton.
...
"Munch-Munch Fruit?"
Mushiru's eyes flickered. He hesitated, then added cautiously:
"But… Wapol is only eight. He probably hasn't even begun to explore the fruit's potential."
Not because he had any sympathy for his younger brother.
He just didn't want Wapol to fall short of Doflamingo's expectations and end up dragging him down with him.
He couldn't afford that.
"You're telling me he's f***ing eight?!"
Enel—who had appeared in the hall at some unknown point—stared in disbelief, jaw dropping to his chest.
Right now, Wapol's body was covered in steel-like skin, his clothes burned and charred and clinging to him. His giant frame was as massive as a house, and his bloated face…
Eight years old? What was he, a Giant?
Hell, if he kept eating like that, he wouldn't be far off.
Enel's disbelieving gaze bounced between Mushiru and Wapol. Finally, he asked bluntly:
"Did one of you two get a mutated gene or something?"
Mushiru: …
What the hell was he supposed to say to that?
"Maybe read the compiled Devil Fruit guide for once. This is just a physical transformation caused by the Munch-Munch Fruit."
Doflamingo spared a glance at the book-averse Enel and explained lazily.
"Oh," Enel blinked and nodded like a dumbass.
Doflamingo's focus returned to the dangling Wapol.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
More heavy smacks flew through the air.
You're eight years old—how are you still asleep?!
Wapol's already-swollen face turned from red to purple as it ballooned even more.
"AAAAAAAARGH!!!"
With a pig-like screech, Wapol finally woke up.
His swollen eyelids barely opened, just enough to glimpse the scene in front of him.
A yellow-haired freak he didn't recognize and his always-ignored brother were both grinning at him with the exact same creepy smile.
And that yellow-haired freak was sitting on the throne that was supposed to be his in the future!
Realizing the situation, Wapol exploded in fury.
"Mushiru, what the hell did you do to me?! And you—!"
SMACK!
Another powerful slap landed squarely on Wapol's face, causing the swelling to jump another two levels.
If not for his steel-hard skin, the kid would've been bawling already.
"Oh? Still holding strong, huh?"
Doflamingo's eyes gleamed with malice as a spiked whip formed in his hand, coated in Armament Haki.
He'd been holding back since this was just a brat—but now?
Now he was interested.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
"AAAAAAARGH!!"
The whip struck his face, tearing through flesh and flipping up layers of skin.
Wapol howled in pain, trying desperately to escape, but his limbs were bound by threads, leaving him completely helpless.
In his agony, Wapol's instincts cried out.
"DADDYYYYYYY!!!"
But Twatte was already dead and gone.
The only thing that answered him was the relentless whip in Doflamingo's hand.
Fury rising, Wapol opened his mouth to bite through the threads—
But the next blow came even faster, even harder.
"IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH! DADDYYYY!!!"
Helpless, unable to resist, Wapol finally broke down, crying like a baby with snot and tears running down his face.
He was just a kid!
Why the hell was this happening to him?!
And yet… the whip didn't stop.
Then suddenly, a spark of inspiration struck Wapol.
His chubby little hands clenched at his chest as he mimicked the pitiful beggars who used to plead with him.
"Please… please don't hit me anymore!"
-----------
Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg