Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"I'm...I'm sorry, Dover."

Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Doflamingo suddenly revealed a relieved smile and said, "Oh well, what can we do? We're family."

“That’s right, that’s right, Dover, we’re family, the closest family.” Torrebol breathed a sigh of relief and echoed in agreement.

Meanwhile, a tiny window was open on the forehead of the canary standing in the corner, and Robin crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Flower-Flower Fruit, activate!

An eye suddenly appeared in another corner, and then that eye looked toward Rao G's forehead, who was standing in the crowd.

Rao G had just vaguely sensed something, and before he could even move, a strange pattern appeared on his forehead.

"Cursed Eye Sangha!"

In an instant, Rao G was completely under the control of the "Cursed Eye Sangha" ability.

Immediately afterward, just as Doflamingo was about to say something, Lao G suddenly burst into laughter and said...

"What a touching family bond!"

These words, so out of character for Rao G, drew puzzled glances from the Don Quixote family executives.

"Hey, Rao G, what are you doing?"

Señor Piqué, the "Water-Water Fruit" user closest to Rao G, spoke up to remind him.

Rao G. ignored Señor Piqué's reminder and instead burst into laughter, saying...

"Hehehe, anyone who dares to attack our Hueco Mundo organization will have to pay the price, even... the Celestial Dragons!"

Upon hearing this, the officers present were immediately taken aback, and even Doflamingo's eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses, froze for a moment.

It's important to know that the fact that Doflamingo was once a Celestial Dragon is a secret even within the Donquixote Family. Apart from a very small number of top executives, no one else knows about it.

However, Rao G's words seemed to subtly imply that the other party knew this secret.

The next moment, a sharp sword suddenly stabbed towards Rao G's vitals.

Faced with Diamanti's sudden burst of fierce sword skills, Rao G, while dodging with incredible agility, continued to speak.

"That attack was just a small warning!"

"You have one day. This is the time the Lord of Hueco Mundo is giving you. Either return the five Devil Fruits and hand over the murderers who killed the outer members of Hueco Mundo; or..."

"destruction!"

When he said the last two words, Rao G's calm tone subtly conveyed a chilling feeling.

Diamanti felt a sudden surge of panic, but was also furious at the fact that Rao G, who belonged to the "Cube Legion," was actually an enemy spy. As he became more ruthless, he roared.

"Rao G, you bastard, how dare you betray the family?"

"It is not a shallow betrayal. I am merely using this aged body to convey the will of the Lord of Hueco Mundo."

Rao G. spoke calmly and expressionlessly.

“One day from now, state your choice. Will you accept the mercy of the Lord of Hueco Mundo, or perish in the ocean?”

[Chapter 82. The Upper Limit of the Cursed-Eye Monk]

As Rao G finished speaking, his movements as he dodged the attack abruptly froze.

"Pfft~"

The next moment, Diamanti's sword pierced through Rao G's chest.

Stimulated by the excruciating pain, Rao G's eyes suddenly shifted from calm and blank to disbelief and anger.

"boom!"

Rao G clenched his fists and pulled the sword from his chest cavity. He then performed several agile backflips to create distance between himself and Diamanti, assuming a defensive stance, and roared angrily.

"Diamanti, what do you want to do?"

Diamanti, the "Cube," noticed the stark contrast in Rao G's reaction and asked, "Rao G, you have no idea what you just did?"

Rao G, feeling the near-fatal wound in his chest, questioned him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. On the contrary, you, Diamanti, how dare you harm family members in front of the young master?"

Rao G's question, filled with anger and incomprehension, not only puzzled the Don Quixote family executives present, but also inexplicably instilled a sense of fear in them.

If Rao G wasn't lying, then Rao G, who is skilled in martial arts and has an extremely strong physique, was just unknowingly manipulated by the enemy.

Even afterwards, Rao G had no idea what had just happened.

What does this mean?

This means that Hueco Mundo can control any of them at any time, manipulate their every move, and even draw their swords against the other Don Quixote Family executives who are family members.

Or perhaps, like puppeteers on strings, they are manipulated at will.

Originally, this situation, which almost only appeared under Doflamingo's "String-String Fruit" ability and was something that the Donquixote Family executives were proud of, was now befalling them instead, making them feel even more fearful.

Unbeknownst to them, the Don Quixote family executives broke out in a cold sweat, instinctively keeping their distance from the other executives around them, constantly on guard against any possible attack.

Seeing the cohesion among the Donquixote Family executives crumble and a great deal of suspicion and wariness arise among them, Doflamingo could no longer hold back and spoke up.

"This should be a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit ability, and its effect is most likely to be the ability to manipulate humans. However, such a powerful ability must have extremely strong limitations or flaws, so it is completely unreliable."

As Doflamingo spoke, Lao G gradually came to his senses and asked, "Was I... just controlled?"

“That’s right, Rao G., you just said quite a bit as an agent of Hueco Mundo, and you even skillfully dodged Diamante’s sword techniques,” Señor said.

"Impossible, I...I have no recollection of it at all."

After a pause, Rao G. spoke. "I only felt a moment of dizziness before Diamanti's sword pierced my chest."

“Senecol is telling the truth.”

Doflamingo spoke up himself. "Lao G, did you sense anything unusual or amiss during the whole process?"

Rao G's strange eyebrows twitched as he tried to think, but he shook his head and said, "No, young master."

"Impossible. Even the most bizarre Devil Fruit would leave traces..."

"Plum Blossom" Torrepol, sniffling, suddenly thought of something and guessed.

"Could it be that Lao G is really a spy for Hueco Mundo? Or is Lao G currently being controlled and is therefore concealing his true state?"

Trebol's words caused the atmosphere, which had been gradually easing under Doflamingo's authority, to tighten completely once again.

After all, no one can say for sure whether the family members you once trusted are now being secretly controlled and pretending to be normal.

In fact, the suspicious Doflamingo also harbored this suspicion, but some things could not be made public.

Despite his anger at Trebol's stupidity, Doflamingo's tone remained flawless, speaking with a light touch.

"Don't be too nervous. If this Hueco Mundo organization really had the ability to easily control the entire Donquixote Family, then it wouldn't need to go through all this trouble to launch an attack and demand that we hand over the Devil Fruit and the murderer."

"Therefore, that unknown Devil Fruit ability must have huge limitations, and it might even be deliberately showing itself and causing trouble in order to undermine the trust between us in our family."

……

Meanwhile, inside Little Gold, Yan listened to Doflamingo's profound theories and felt as if he had suddenly gained some insight, trying hard to think about the feasibility of the plan that Doflamingo mentioned.

Indeed, if the entire Donquixote Family could be quietly controlled through the "Cursed Eye Sangha's" abilities, not only would Arn's problem be solved, but Corazon would also no longer need to act as a spy in this pirate crew that would "voluntarily" surrender to the Navy.

"Robin, are you confident about Doflamingo's suggestion?" Yann asked.

Robin, who had experienced a major blunder in the "White Town" of Flevance that nearly caused the entire plan to collapse, shook his head in response.

In fact, after the "White Town Incident," Robin had been systematically studying the abilities of the "Cursed Eye Sangha" in order to avoid similar mistakes and accidents from happening again.

Besides the fact that the "Cursed Eye Sangha's" abilities are completely ineffective against Yorn, there is also a limit to the number of "Cursed Eye Sangha" can control!

However, it is not limited by the number of eyes, but by another kind of upper limit similar to mental power and soul.

The stronger and more numerous the enemies Robin controls, the more her own energy will be depleted.

Upon hearing Robin's explanation, Yann nodded, not disappointed, but rather with a greater sense of anticipation for Robin.

After all, this actually shows from another perspective that Robin's ability to use "Cursed Eye Sangha" has considerable potential for growth.

“Brother Yann, I’m sorry, but based on the burden I bear in controlling Rao G, I probably won’t be able to completely control the entire Don Quixote family.”

Robin spoke calmly, but the fingers gripping the book were turning white from the exertion.

As he patted Robin's head, Yann comforted him with the words of someone who had been through it all.

"Don't worry about it. After all, you're still young. The future is your real stage. It's too early now."

[Chapter 83. The Mystery Enveloped in Mist]

Meanwhile, outside, as Doflamingo spoke, the Donquixote Family executives gradually calmed down.

“I remember now, a noticeable pattern just appeared on Rao G’s forehead…”

Señor, who was sucking on a pacifier, adjusted his sunglasses and spoke.

"Now, that pattern is gone, and Rao G has returned to normal. That might be the condition or characteristic that Hueco Mundo uses to control people."

Upon hearing this, Trebol looked as if he had just realized something and said...

"Does the Hueco Mundo organization's controllers have a time limit? After a certain period of time, the patterns will automatically disappear, and the control will be released."

"Possibly." The other cadres nodded in agreement.

(Inside Xiao Jin's body.)

"Did you hear that? Remember it. In the future, when using 'Cursed Eye Monk' against an enemy, you can deliberately create this illusion to make the enemy lower their guard and deliver a truly fatal blow."

“Okay, Brother Yan.” Robin nodded.

"However, the most crucial thing is to figure out exactly what the conditions for controlling the activation are?"

Diamanti said, puzzled.

"Logically speaking, the most common condition for activating a Devil Fruit ability is contact with the target. But right now, the surrounding area is completely empty, and everyone present is a family executive; there's no sign of outsiders. It's impossible for the target to have made contact with Lao G so quietly. But as for the other conditions..."

After a pause, Diamanti turned his gaze back to Rao G and asked.

"Rao G, think back carefully, did you have any particular feelings at that time?"

"A special feeling?!"

Rao G frowned, then suddenly realized something and said, "I remember now! The gaze!!!"