The heavy steel doors of the SMILE factory hung off their hinges. Smoke drifted from the edges of the destroyed entryway.
Ben stood at the threshold. He adjusted his coat.
A blur of black and blonde landed next to him. Sanji ignited a fresh cigarette with a flick of his golden lighter. He exhaled a plume of grey smoke. His black suit was dusted with debris, and his right shoe smoked slightly from friction.
"Gladius?" Ben asked.
"Dealt with," Sanji replied. He adjusted his tie. "He tried to blow himself up. I kicked him into the sky before he popped. Rained a bit of debris, but he's out cold."
"Good work. Let's head inside."
They stepped over the twisted metal doors. The interior of the factory was massive. Conveyor belts spanned the length of the building. Giant vats of SAD liquid bubbled with a sickly yellow glow. The air smelled of artificial sweetness and toxic chemicals.
But it was quiet. Too quiet.
Doflamingo's guards lay on the ground. Hundreds of heavily armed grunts were scattered across the steel grates. Some twitched. Most snored.
Sanji raised an eyebrow. He tapped the ashes from his cigarette. "Looks like someone beat us to the punch."
They walked past a control console. A half-human, half-fighting-fish hybrid was wedged headfirst into a solid steel pillar. His high heels dangled in the air.
"Dellinger," Ben noted. He looked at the burn marks on the steel. "Lightning. And heavy blunt force trauma."
"Nami-san and that cyborg idiot," Sanji said. He grinned. "She really doesn't pull her punches."
Ben raised his wrist. He tapped the Kimiyo bead strapped to his wrists. The bead pulsed with a soft blue light, connecting to the secure network.
"Franky. Nami. Are you in here?" Ben spoke into the bead.
Static hissed for a second. Then, Franky's booming voice echoed from the bead.
"OW! Super loud and clear, bro! We are currently in the sub-level."
"We are at the main entrance," Ben said. "The guards are down. We found Dellinger stuck in a wall."
Nami's voice cut in over the comms. "That creep tried to kick me. Franky gave him a Strong Right, and I followed up with a Thunder Lance. Where are you guys?"
"Main floor, sector A," Sanji answered. "Do you need backup?"
"No," Franky replied. "We found the vault. We are rescuing Princess Mansherry and the rest of the Tontatta tribe right now. Just hold your position. We'll be up in a minute. Super wait for us!"
The bead clicked off.
Ben and Sanji leaned against a railing. They watched the yellow SAD liquid pump through the reinforced glass pipes.
Two minutes later, an elevator at the far end of the factory chimed. The metal doors slid open.
Franky stepped out. Nami walked beside him, spinning her Clima-Tact.
Behind them, a swarm of tiny figures flooded out of the elevator. The Tontatta dwarves cheered. They carried a tiny, crying figure on a makeshift throne of leaves. Princess Mansherry wiped tears from her large eyes.
"Nami-land! Franky-land! You saved us!" the dwarves chanted.
Mansherry looked at Ben and Sanji. She sniffled. "Thank you for helping my people."
Sanji immediately swooned. His eye turned into a heart. "Anytime for a beautiful princess, even a tiny one!"
Ben nodded to Mansherry. He looked at Franky and Nami. "Is everyone out of the sub-levels? Any stragglers?"
"Clear," Franky said. "We checked the holding cells and the refinement bays. Everyone is out. The only things left in this building are the machines and the SAD vats."
"Good," Ben said. He stepped forward. He stood in the center of the main factory floor. "Take the dwarves. Get outside."
Nami blinked. "Are you going to blow it up?"
"I will take care of the factory. Just clear the area."
Franky grinned. "Got it! Come on, little guys! Super evacuation time!"
The crew herded the Tontatta dwarves toward the ruined entrance. Sanji ushered Mansherry out with exaggerated bows. Nami gave Ben a quick nod before jogging out the door.
Ben waited. He expanded his Observation Haki. He felt their presences move past the two-hundred-yard mark. He felt the unconscious bodies of the guards on the floor.
He didn't move the guards. He didn't need to.
Ben closed his eyes. He channeled the Transmutation magic.
Ben opened his eyes. They glowed with a pale, shifting light.
He placed both hands flat on the steel floor grates.
*Transmutation Magic: World Shift.*
Magic circles expanded from his palms. They were massive. The intricate geometric patterns flashed across the floor, running up the walls and across the ceiling. The circles locked onto the physical matter of the factory.
Ben didn't destroy. He altered.
He targeted the SAD chemical. The toxic, artificial Devil Fruit compound bubbled violently.
Ben changed its atomic structure. He shifted the complex carbon chains. He erased the toxic properties.
*Hiss.*
The yellow, glowing liquid turned clear. It stopped bubbling. In a matter of seconds, tens of thousands of gallons of volatile SAD became pure, drinkable spring water.
Ben targeted the machinery next. The gears, the hydraulic presses, the refinement tubes.
He pushed more mana into the circles.
The steel shifted color. The metal softened. Bark grew over the iron. Leaves sprouted from the exhaust pipes.
The heavy steel gears turned into massive, solid blocks of oak. The hydraulic presses transfigured into giant sunflowers. The glass pipes morphed into hollow bamboo shoots.
The explosive gas lines pumping through the walls dissolved. Ben transfigured the methane into harmless oxygen.
He stood up. He dusted off his hands.
The factory was gone.
In its place stood a massive, overgrown greenhouse. Pure water flowed through bamboo pipes, watering giant wooden gears and sunflower presses. The unconscious guards slept peacefully on a bed of soft moss that used to be steel grating.
Not a single explosion. Not a single drop of blood. Permanent, irreversible structural transfiguration.
Ben turned and walked out the front doors.
He met rest outside. They stood on a small hill overlooking the factory.
Sanji lit another cigarette. Nami held her staff. Franky had his hands on his hips, waiting for the fireworks.
Ben stopped in front of them. "It's done. Let's move."
Franky blinked. He looked at the factory. He looked back at Ben. He tapped the side of his head.
"Bro," Franky said. "Did I miss a step? The building is still there."
"It's not a factory anymore," Ben said.
Franky looked at the building. He zoomed in through the broken doors using the lens installed in his eyes. He saw the bamboo. He saw the sunflowers. He saw the moss.
Franky's jaw physically unhinged, dropping to his chest.
"Did you... destroy the SAD?" Sanji asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I did," Ben said. "I used transmutation magic. I changed the SAD into pure water. I changed the steel machines into wood and plant matter. The factory is entirely neutralized. It is permanently useless."
Dead silence fell over the group.
Franky's robotic eyes filled with digital tears. He fell to his knees. He slammed his metal fists into the dirt.
"Why?!" Franky wailed. He looked up at the sky. "Where is the boom?! Where is the fire?! Where is the shockwave?!"
Ben looked down at the weeping cyborg. "Why would there be explosions? I changed the environment to harmless materials. It's safer. Nobody gets caught in the blast radius. It requires zero cleanup."
Franky grabbed Ben's coat collar. He shook him back and forth.
"Because explosions are a MAN'S ROMANCE!" Franky roared, tears streaming down his face. "You don't just turn an evil villain's weapons factory into a botanical garden! You blow it up! You walk away in slow motion while the fireball reflects in your sunglasses! That is the rule! That is the law of the sea!"
Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke. He nodded solemnly. "I hate to agree with the tin can, but he has a point. A little fire adds flair to the victory."
Nami facepalmed. She shook her head violently. Black lines of frustration appeared over her forehead.
"You are all idiots!" Nami yelled, punching Franky in the back of his metal head. "Ben did the smart thing! We don't want to draw every enemy on the island to our location with a massive fireball! Thank you, Ben, for being the only sane person in this crew."
Franky sniffled, rubbing the dent in his head. "It's still anticlimactic."
"Get over it," Nami sighed. She looked at Ben. "Okay. The factory is down. What now? We should check in with the others."
Ben nodded. He raised his wrist. He tapped the Kimiyo bead. He tuned the frequency to Robin's channel.
"Robin. Come in."
The bead hummed. Audio fed through. Ben heard yelling. He heard the sound of hundreds of panicked citizens screaming.
"Ben," Robin's calm, measured voice cut through the noise.
"Status?" Ben asked.
"We are at the King's Plateau," Robin reported. "We have successfully rescued former King Riku. We also have Princess Rebecca and Kyros who is King Riku's Son in law."
"Understood," Ben said. "Where is Riku?"
"He is currently speaking through a megaphone," Robin said. "He is trying to calm the citizens down. It is... partially working. The rioting in our sector has slowed, but the panic remains."
"Hold your position," Ben commanded. "Sanji, Franky, Nami, and I have neutralized the SMILE factory. We are heading your way."
"Understood. See you soon." Robin cut the connection.
Ben tapped the bead again. He switched the frequency.
"Brook. Report."
"Yohohoho!" Brook's voice echoed cheerfully. "Ben-san! I am happy to report success! Although, considering I am already dead, I don't have a heart to feel happiness with! Skull joke!"
Ben didn't react. Sanji sighed.
"Did you find Kanjuro?" Ben asked.
"We did!" Brook cheered. "He was hiding in the scrap heap. We are currently riding a very poorly drawn sparrow out of the underground. It looks like it is in constant agony! Yohoho!"
"Head to the King's Plateau," Ben ordered. "Meet up with Robin and Riku. We will converge there."
"Copy that!" Brook signed off.
Ben adjusted his sleeve. He had one more group to check on. The liability group.
He tapped the bead. He dialed Chopper's frequency.
"Chopper. Do you read me?"
The line clicked open. Ben didn't hear riots. He didn't hear screams.
He heard carnival music.
"Hello?" Chopper's voice came through, muffled by something. He sounded like his mouth was full.
Ben frowned. Nami leaned closer to the bead. Sanji raised an eyebrow.
Ben frowned. Nami leaned closer to the bead. Sanji raised an eyebrow.
"Chopper," Ben said slowly. "Where are you? What is your status?"
"Oh, hi Ben! Chomp, chew. We are currently... um... well..."
A loud crunch echoed through the comms.
"Are you eating?" Sanji asked, recognizing the sound of chewing instantly.
"We're sightseeing!" Chopper finally blurted out.
Ben froze. Nami froze. Sanji froze. Franky stopped crying over the lack of explosions.
Thick, jagged black lines dropped over all four of their foreheads. A collective sweatdrop formed on the back of their heads.
"Sightseeing?" Nami yelled into the bead. Her teeth turned into sharp shark triangles. "The entire island is a warzone! Citizens are actively hunting pirates! How are you sightseeing?!"
"I didn't want to!" Chopper panicked. The sound of him dropping whatever he was eating echoed through the speaker. "I swear, Nami! I tried to be the responsible doctor! But Bonney, Sunny, and Merry insisted! They dragged me!"
"Dragged you?" Sanji asked.
"Yeah!" Chopper yelled defensively. "Bonney said the riot distracted the shop owners, so all the food was unguarded! And Sunny said they are the 'Kids Group', so even if the angry mobs catch us, they will forgive us because we're cute!"
"Angry mobs do not care about cute!" Nami screamed.
A new voice entered the audio feed. It was high-pitched and defensive.
"Papa! Chopper is telling lies!" Merry yelled into the bead.
Ben sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Merry. Explain."
"Chopper is the one who started it!" Merry accused. "He heard some running villagers screaming about a 'special fairy cotton candy' sold on the east side of the island! He started drooling! He said as the ship's doctor, he needed to investigate the medicinal properties of the sugar!"
"I DID NOT!" Chopper screamed in the background. "That was a tactical assessment! Sugar is fuel!"
"Liar!" Bonney's voice boomed over the comms. She sounded like she was chewing through an entire side of beef. "You literally transformed into Heavy Point to rip the cotton candy machine out of the wall!"
"You ate an entire bakery!" Chopper shot back. "I watched you shove a five-tier wedding cake into your mouth in one bite! The baker was crying!"
"The baker was throwing rocks at a Donquixote pirate!" Bonney yelled. "I saved the cake from collateral damage! I am a hero of cuisine!"
"Both of you shut up!" Sunny's voice chimed in. The avatar of the Thousand Sunny sounded incredibly smug. "Papa, don't listen to them. I am the only responsible one here. I have been carefully navigating us away from the combat zones."
"You shot a laser beam at a toy poodle because it looked at you funny!" Merry yelled.
"It was a preemptive strike!" Sunny defended. "You never know who is an enemy! It growled!"
"It was a regular dog!" Chopper cried. "I had to bandage its tail!"
Ben listened to the chaos. The audio feed devolved into a four-way screaming match. Bonney accused Chopper of hoarding sweets. Chopper accused Bonney of eating their map. Merry accused Sunny of trying to adopt a stray fighting fish. Sunny accused Merry of using the ship's emergency funds to buy a souvenir snow globe while a building burned down next to her.
Sanji covered his face with his hand. "We leave them alone for two hours."
Franky laughed. "Super kids! Let them have fun!"
Nami gripped her staff tightly. Lightning sparked from the tip. "I am going to murder all of them when we get back to the ship. I am going to charge them a hundred thousand berries per calorie they consumed."
Ben let the argument rage for another thirty seconds.
"Enough," Ben said quietly.
His voice didn't boom, but it carried absolute authority over the comms. The shouting on the other end ceased instantly.
"Chopper," Ben said.
"Y-Yes, Ben?"
"Bonney. Sunny. Merry."
"Yes, Papa," the avatars answered in unison.
"Enjoy your cotton candy," Ben said flatly. "Stay out of the central blast zones. Let the citizens handle their revolution. Do not engage any executives."
Nami stared at Ben in disbelief. "You're letting them sightsee?!"
Ben looked at Nami. "They are eating. They are not in immediate danger. Forcing them to navigate a city filled with lynch mobs to reach us puts them at higher risk. Let them wander the safe zones."
He brought the bead back to his mouth.
"Kids. Have fun on the island. But listen." Ben's eyes narrowed slightly. "If anyone touches you. If any pirate, marine, or rioter gives you trouble. Call me immediately. Understood?"
"Understood!" the four voices chorused.
"Good. Ben out."
He tapped the bead. The connection severed.
Ben looked at the overgrown, wooden greenhouse that used to be a weapons factory. He looked at the smoke rising from the King's Plateau in the distance.
"Alright," Ben said, stepping forward. "The kids are fine. The factory is gone. Let's go help King Riku calm down his country."