"Orochimaru?"
This was the second time Sasuke had heard about Orochimaru on this island.
From Naruto, he also learned that Orochimaru had previously created a copy… no, a clone would be more accurate… to try to spy on another world.
Unexpectedly, Naruto directly wiped that clone's memories and threw it to that big pirate called Big Mom to be her fiancé.
Recalling the brief glimpse at the Summit War, Sasuke shuddered involuntarily.
Big Mom was a very powerful female pirate.
But Naruto, who threw the enemy to this female pirate, was, in a sense, even more terrifying.
But looking at the current situation, it seemed he had already escaped from Big Mom's grasp.
Should he say, as expected of one of the Legendary Sannin? Even after losing his memories, he was still not simple.
"Experiment..."
Chewing on this word, Sasuke looked at those barrels, his eyes slightly reddening as the ability of [Huodou] activated once more.
The next moment, in Sasuke's vision, a wisp of black smoke representing [Calamity] drifted up from the barrels, stretching into the sky.
One, two... the entire sky above Dressrosa was now shrouded in countless black smoke trails!
…
"G-great... Orochimaru-sama, the arrangements you requested have been completed."
A low-ranking member of the Donquixote Family approached Orochimaru's room tremblingly, reporting the progress of their work.
Originally, they had intended to report to Trebol first, but when they went to the Spade Corps' station, they learned that Trebol had already headed to the eastern port where the disturbance was happening.
So they came to Orochimaru instead.
For these small fries, who they served wasn't really a big issue.
They had sought refuge under the Donquixote Family, this group of villains, precisely because their own strength was insufficient to stand on their own.
Currently, with Doflamingo not showing himself and high-ranking members like Trebol seemingly controlled by this newcomer, they could clearly see who was active and who was passive.
It's just that the pressure Orochimaru gave off was too strong. Just being in the same room with him made these low-ranking members feel an involuntary chill crawling up their spines.
If not absolutely necessary, they really didn't dare to approach Orochimaru actively.
"You've worked hard, everyone."
Surprisingly, Orochimaru's attitude towards them was very gentle… even friendly.
Towards these low-ranking members, considered as expendable as weeds, Orochimaru could still maintain elegance and courtesy.
In this aspect, he was somewhat better than the Donquixote Family's executives.
... If only he wasn't so terrifying-looking.
The messenger, by the light coming in from the window, could barely make out half of Orochimaru's face under the hood.
It was a somewhat sickly pale face, with scales on it.
When he opened his mouth to speak, his already forked tongue would occasionally flick past the corner of his mouth.
'Eek! Still too scary.'
"Orochimaru-sama... um, then we'll take our leave now."
This low-ranking member really didn't dare to stay here any longer, so he gathered his courage and spoke.
Fortunately, the imagined scolding or even beating didn't occur. Orochimaru even responded in a voice that could be described as 'gentle'.
"Very well. Go and rest properly."
After that person ran out as if granted amnesty, only Orochimaru remained alone in the room.
He gently removed the hooded cloak. Underneath the clothes was a one-piece suit.
-That was specially made to prevent being ambushed by Sugar's ability.
Sugar's Hobi Hobi no Mi required direct physical touch, nothing could be in between.
Even though Sugar's body was only the size of a little girl, she had developed extremely fast hand speed over these more than ten years.
Ordinary people... no, even trained warriors could easily be caught off guard by Sugar's speed.
Just one touch, and everything would be over.
Walking to the floor-to-ceiling window, Orochimaru seemed somewhat unable to bear the stuffiness of the one-piece suit and actually reached out to tear it open.
After the suit was torn open, what was revealed was a half-human, half-snake 'monster'.
At this moment, Orochimaru seemed to have 'mutated' even more thoroughly than when he first arrived here.
His eyes, his head were all showing signs of changing toward a snake.
Fortunately, Orochimaru's limbs hadn't degenerated like a snake's… in fact, they seemed even more powerful than before.
Compared to when he first 'awakened' on Whole Cake Island, after living in this world for a while and eating many foods rich in vitality, Orochimaru seemed to have just entered a 'growth' stage.
He was changing… no, evolving!
But it wasn't enough yet.
Faced with those sea-faring powerhouses who could casually destroy the world, he was still far from being a match.
He needed more directions for evolution, more results from trial and error.
He needed... enough experimental samples.
"Join the glorious evolution... become my strength!"
His pale fingers pressed against the glass window, directly covering a large area below.
Just as he said this, changes also appeared on those barrels that had been transported to various places across Dressrosa.
Hiss!
A device on the top of a barrel was triggered, opening automatically.
Immediately, a light pink smoke drifted out from it, spreading at an extremely fast rate.
"Huh? What's this? It smells... quite nice?"
"Is it some kind of event?"
Soon, people on the streets noticed the pink smoke.
Caesar had to admit, Orochimaru was a rather meticulous guy.
He had corrected a conceptual error for him.
Orochimaru actually had him make the gas mixed with the experimental drug into a rose scent.
Pink, rose fragrance… these things looked much more harmless than the killing gases he usually used.
And that was its most fatal aspect.
Spreading this kind of smoke in a passionate country like Dressrosa not only wouldn't make people sense danger, but many might even mistake it for a gimmick created by shops to attract customers.
By the time those people sensed something wrong with their bodies, it would be too late to run out of the gas-covered area.
He had even given this gas a 'gentle' name with a touch of dark humor.
[Pink Memories.]
...
Inside the Corrida Colosseum, Chinjao was still swaggering on the arena.
He didn't follow the colosseum's rules at all.
Even after knocking everyone in the arena down, he didn't leave the ring. Then, no matter who came up, they would get a headbutt from Chinjao.
Those low-ranking members under Doflamingo's command still wanted to overwhelm him with numbers, but Chinjao simply used Conqueror's Haki to clear the field.
If not for wanting to conserve some stamina and keep some people conscious to attract enough attention, Chinjao alone could have swept through the entire Corrida Colosseum by now.
There was no helping it… after all, the current Doflamingo wasn't generous enough to offer a Logia Devil Fruit as the winner's prize.
Therefore, those attracted to the colosseum were mostly just wandering criminal pirates and some local gladiators.
Rebecca, looking at Chinjao still slowly swinging left and right in the center of the arena, put on her helmet, picked up her long sword, and prepared to go up.
But her move was stopped by a one-legged soldier toy.
"Soldier-san?"
Rebecca was somewhat puzzled.
She had defeated opponents larger than herself before, and Soldier-san never stopped her then.
However, Kyros, the former gladiator champion turned into a toy soldier, wasn't as narrow-sighted as his daughter.
Chinjao was not on the same level as previous opponents.
Against such a strong opponent, not only Rebecca, but even he in his prime wouldn't dare claim victory.
And the most crucial thing was-
"It ends here, Chinjao."
Along with Gladius's low voice, Pica and his group emerged from a passageway on the other side.
Pica didn't speak, while Gladius temporarily spoke for him to issue the challenge.
"Hoh? Finally arrived, have you? Doflamingo's loyal dogs."
Upon seeing Pica and the others, strong hatred immediately surged on Rebecca's face.
With the Donquixote Family in front, Chinjao was completely pushed to the back of her mind.
'It was these people!'
'It was them! They killed Mother!'
All these years, Rebecca had constantly wanted revenge for her family.
Whenever she couldn't persevere through training, what supported her, besides Soldier-san's encouragement, was her hatred for the Donquixote Family.
"Rebecca... I know what you want to do, but right now, you-"
Kyros understood his daughter's feelings intimately. In fact, as someone turned into a toy and forgotten, the fire of hatred in his heart burned even stronger than his daughter's.
He wanted to tell Rebecca not to do anything foolish, but halfway through his words, he heard a thud, the sound of someone falling.
"Rebecca! What's wrong?!"
"Rebecca!"
Kyros hopped anxiously on his single leg to his daughter's side.
Unbeknownst to him, pink mist had already begun to fill the preparation area of the colosseum.
And Kyros… he was a toy now. He couldn't smell it at all.