The door to the Cookie Room, if it could even be called a door, was essentially a gigantic chocolate wafer decorated with piped cream patterns.
Sanji's eyes were already sparkling with pink heart-shaped pupils. He could almost smell, faintly drifting in the air, the scent of premium cocoa butter.
"Oh la la! I–Is this one of the legendary edible buildings made with the mythical cocoa beans from Cocoa Island in the West Blue?!"
As he spoke, he stretched out a hand, itching to break off a piece to taste it.
But before his fingers could touch the wafer, the door swung open from the inside.
A warm breeze rushed out, carrying with it a thick mixture of sugary candy sweetness and… some ominous chemical smell. Children's laughter echoed louder and clearer from within.
A colossal figure blocked the light at the doorway.
It was… a child?
He was at least five meters tall, wearing an oversized striped hospital gown. His face carried a simple, innocent smile, but his eyes were unfocused, and his irises glowed with an unnatural bright violet.
He held a lollipop thicker than Sanji's leg, licking it slowly. When he saw the strangers at the door, he tilted his huge head and asked in a soft, childish voice: "Are you… here to play with us?"
"A kid from the giant race?" Sanji muttered, but he immediately sensed something was wrong.
The child's body was enormous, yes, but his proportions, his bones, his behavior… all felt wrong. More like a forcibly overgrown product than a naturally large child.
Behind him, inside the massive Cookie Room, a dozen more oversized children ran wildly around.
They crashed into cookie tables and biscuit chairs, shattering everything, their laughter sharp, empty, almost hollow, sending a chill down the spine.
"N…No…"
Ain's face darkened completely. From these children, she sensed something terribly unstable.
"Their bodies… they were forced to grow using drugs. This isn't playtime, this is burning through their lives!"
At that moment, the child at the door suddenly lost his smile.
Because he hadn't received any new "candy" for too long.
His expression twisted into something manic, almost like an addict crashing hard.
"Candy! Where's my candy?! Caesar-sama! I want more candy!!"
He screamed. His huge body trembled uncontrollably. The massive lollipop in his hand shattered in his grip. His violet pupils filled with blood-red veins.
Then he saw Sanji and Potts,
And in his frenzied state, they looked like two walking pieces of candy.
With a roar, he lunged!
"Candy! Give me candy!!"
His enormous hand swung down, strong enough to flatten even a smaller Sea King into paste.
Potts shrieked and dove behind Ain.
Ain drew her sword instantly, ready to intercept.
But faster than both of them, was Sanji's fury.
"You bastard!!!"
A roar erupted from Sanji's throat, fiercer than anything they'd heard from him, filled with the righteous rage of a cook and the chivalry of a gentleman.
He didn't ignite Diable Jambe.
Instead, he moved with impossible speed, appearing right in front of the charging giant child.
He didn't attack.
At the exact moment the giant hand came crashing down, he shifted his stance into perfect judo form, redirecting the child's momentum aside while pressing his other hand firmly against the boy's violently heaving chest.
"Calm down, kid!" Sanji's voice wasn't loud, but carried a strange, piercing clarity.
"What you need isn't candy."
"It's the antidote!"
But the drug-warped child couldn't understand a single word. He thrashed, reaching with his other hand to grab Sanji, and then, Renzo's, voice drifted from behind them.
"So noisy."
Renzo had somehow floated in without anyone noticing. He hadn't even bothered to get off his CC1, still lying sideways on it, head propped up by one hand, looking down at the scene like it was mildly annoying entertainment.
"A bunch of brats stuffed full of fake knock-off chemicals… making this much noise. Totally ruined my post-meal digestion."
He waved his hand casually at the frenzied giant child.
[Sloth's Declaration]
"No more fussing. It's nap time."
The child froze.
The bloodshot red in his eyes drained away visibly. His manic expression collapsed into a crushing wave of exhaustion. He let out a massive yawn, eyelids drooping. His huge body wobbled, then thump, fell to the ground, snoring peacefully.
And not just him.
Inside the room, every one of the giant children suddenly dropped like puppets with their strings cut, flopping over and falling asleep instantly.
The entire Cookie Room filled with rolling, thunderous snores.
Sanji stood frozen in place, still holding his calming hand posture, stunned into silence.
Ain slowly sheathed her sword, looking at the dozens of sleeping children around them. Her gaze flicked toward Renzo, who remained lounging on his fluffy cloud sofa as if he'd done something utterly trivial.
"Alright, it's quiet now."
Renzo nodded in satisfaction, then told Sanji: "Curly-brow. Don't just stand there. Go see if these brats are still saveable. If not… think of a way to make them sleep more peacefully."
"If they wake up halfway and start yelling again, I'll be annoyed."
"You…"
Sanji stood up, dusting off his suit, his eyes turning resolute as he looked at the sleeping but still visibly suffering children.
"Don't worry. I will save them. Anyone who uses kids as lab animals… I'll never forgive scum like that!"
He rolled up his sleeves and immediately began examining the children, searching their vital signs for clues to Caesar's drug formula.
Ain stepped beside him. "I might be able to help. I know a bit about pharmacology. Let's analyze it together."
Potts tiptoed around the sleeping giants, picking up discarded candy wrappers to search for clues.
Renzo watched his three suddenly hardworking subordinates and sighed silently.
He knew this meant their journey was about to get far more troublesome than he'd hoped.
Floating to a corner near a window, he repositioned his cloud sofa and tucked himself under a blanket.
"Sigh… saving people really is a hassle…"
He muttered, closing his eyes.
Meanwhile, deep within the research facility,
Watching through the surveillance monitors as his prized Giantification Soldiers collapsed like dominoes,
Caesar Clown shrieked so loudly it nearly pierced the skies.
"My children! My masterpieces! That bastard, WHAT DID HE DO TO MY PRECIOUS BABIES?!!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu