Hearing this, the pirates who were silently sinking into the City of Devouring Time saw hope and began to struggle.
Hera sighed: "Sigh, why bother struggling? Wouldn't it be better to just sink down quietly?"
The shadows wrapped around the heads and bodies of the prisoners. With a crack, the heads of the struggling prisoners were twisted off.
Snowflakes drifted around Hera. Suddenly, the speed of the falling snow quickened. A beautiful woman with wavy grass-green hair, golden eyes—her left eye hidden by bangs—and a tall, slender figure appeared amidst the snowflakes.
"Who are you? Your methods are so ruthless."
Hera looked at Monet, whose limbs had not yet been modified, and said: "Oh, did Doflamingo send you to monitor Caesar Clown? Is he still on this island? Law hasn't arrived yet."
Monet replied subconsciously: "Lord Doflamingo has already left. Why would Shichibukai Law come?"
Then she immediately realized something was wrong. Extending her hands, she shouted, "'Kamakura'!" The nearby snow transformed into a barrier, trapping Hera and the others.
"Who are you? How do you know my identity? Could it be that there's a mole among us?"
The clever Monet quickly realized that the information must have leaked from the higher-ups.
Hearing Monet's quick reaction, the City of Devouring Time began to spread again as shadows eroded the barrier. "What a clever woman. I'm becoming more and more interested in you."
Kuina sighed, knowing Hera wanted to recruit someone again. Haki coated the wado ichimonji. "Shimotsuki Sword Style: Haki Slash!" A black slash flew toward the barrier.
The seemingly sturdy barrier was sliced through by Kuina's blade. Monet's expression changed. She tried to use the snow she'd created on the ground, only to find the area already occupied by the City of Devouring Time.
Monet's body turned into snowflakes as she tried to escape; she had to let Doflamingo know about the mole at the top. Just as she was about to elementalize, she felt heat behind her and was forced to stop.
Nami transformed into a bolt of lightning, blocking Monet's path. The high temperature from the lightning in her hands made Monet hesitate to move.
Hera said: "What a beautiful lady. Are you interested in jumping ship from Doflamingo?"
Hearing Hera's praise, Monet's face flushed despite the circumstances, and she became somewhat bashful.
However, her loyalty to Doflamingo snapped her back to reality: "Even though you praised my looks, I won't defect. If you have the guts, just kill me."
Hera felt a headache coming on. Killing Monet wasn't really an option, but letting her go was even worse.
At this moment, Hera realized the main difficulty of this mission: how to take Caesar Clown away without raising that Flamingo's suspicions.
Using the power of her ability, Hera saw Monet's loyalty to Doflamingo, which was no less than the trust her own crew had in her.
Realizing persuasion alone wouldn't work, Hera had no choice but to first put Sea Stone handcuffs on Monet, who was being held by Nami.
Monet said: "Imprisoning me is useless. If Lord Doflamingo can't contact me for a long time, he'll know something's wrong. Your Marine mole will be exposed sooner or later."
A white clock face appeared behind Hera. White ribbons of light extended from it, binding Monet, and pink energy was injected into Monet's body through the ribbons.
Monet felt her image of Doflamingo being gradually replaced by Hera in her mind. Panicked, she asked: "What did you do to me? Why is my loyalty to the Lord changing?"
While controlling her ability, Hera said: "Jie jie jie, don't worry. Soon, you'll willingly become a member of the Marine."
A look of humiliation appeared on Monet's face: "No! Don't change my loyalty to Lord Doflamingo! Doflamingo is the one worth following; he's the man who will become the Pirate King!"
Hera continued: "Jie jie jie jie jie, why follow the Pirate King? Soon, you'll be following the Marine King."
Kuina's hand-chop interrupted Hera's laughter: "Can you laugh normally? Where's your image?"
Hera quickly looked around and found her crew looking at her with disgust, as if they were looking at something filthy.
Hera hurriedly rubbed her head in embarrassment: "Sorry, I got too into character." She focused on controlling her ability, her inner embarrassment so great she wished she could dig out a four-bedroom apartment with her toes.
As a tear from the corner of Monet's eye hit the ground, the ability's modification of her ended. The white ribbons of light released Monet, and even thoughtfully unlocked the Sea Stone handcuffs on her wrists.
The modified Monet knelt before Hera without hesitation: "Master, is there anything Monet can do for you?"
Hera sighed. This was why she didn't like using this ability; she hoped her companions would be recruited through sincerity, not brainwashing.
That said, in situations where it was necessary, she still had to use it.
Feeling the cold gazes of Kuina and Ain behind her, Hera hurriedly said: "Just call me Boss. Forget about 'Master'. Take me to where Caesar Clown is."
Monet stood up: "Yes, Boss. Caesar Clown is this way." She walked ahead to lead the way.
Ain floated over to Hera's side and whispered into her ear: "So you like that title. Should I start calling you that too, Master Hera?"
Feeling the hint of coldness in Ain's voice, Hera shivered and quickly explained.
"No, it's all because of that detestable Doflamingo. He must have required Monet to say that. 'Master' this, 'Master' that... just call me Captain."
Kuina watched Ain floating beside Hera and acting so intimately, vaguely sensing something was off.
"Did something happen while I wasn't looking? Since when did you two become so close?"
Guilty, Hera immediately thought of Ain's kiss in Loguetown and blushed. "No! Besides, once you're on the ship, we're family. Family is naturally close, right, Nami?"
Nami, who had been watching the drama, suddenly found herself involved and hurriedly said: "I suppose so."
Kuina straightened Hera's face with both hands, looked into her eyes, and wore a dangerous expression: "Is there really nothing going on, Little Ye Shi?"
Hera stiffly turned her head. Her eyes darted around guiltily, and she didn't dare look Kuina in the eye. "Maybe... a little something."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!