After quickly greeting Grandma and Léa with Koby—who bowed respectfully despite their familiarity—and while Nami took a few moments to hug Nojiko, exchange a few words with Belle-Mère, and greet Hachi with a sincere smile, we quietly slipped away toward the southern part of the island. There, the dense vegetation and natural terrain formed a perfect barrier, keeping us out of sight—especially from Law's crew, who were still exploring Heartless Island.
I stopped and turned toward them, my expression growing more serious.
"Alright. I've unlocked new elements in the system… and I think we can start finishing the dungeons."
I paused briefly to make sure they understood the importance of what I was about to say.
"There are only Expert and Master levels left after the Hard mode we've already cleared on most of them."
Koby frowned slightly, already focused.
"Is that why you called us specifically?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Yes. Because you two are the most suited for what I have in mind."
Nami crossed her arms, but her smile already betrayed her.
"You're planning to go to Wonderland, right?" she said, her voice filled with almost childlike excitement. "I can't wait to see if I can strengthen the card soldiers I got."
I returned her smile.
"I think so. And even more than that. But there's a constraint. Once a dungeon's Master level is completed… I lose access to it. It disappears."
The seriousness immediately returned to their faces.
"That's why I'm still thinking about what I really want to finish. I'll probably keep Traverse Town in Expert mode, and maybe Deep Jungle too. There, the Heartless are numerous, varied, and I still need a reliable way to grow my forces. I don't know yet if the final reward is really worth permanently losing the dungeon."
Koby nodded slowly, fully understanding the strategic implications. Since his early days, he had improved tremendously. His Observation Haki now fluctuated between basic and semi-advanced levels, allowing him to read movements in combat with impressive precision. However, his Armament Haki still lagged behind—a point I intended to fix quickly. Not to mention that he would soon need a Heartless derived from a Devil Fruit suited to his fighting style.
"I'm ready," he said with enthusiasm, his eyes shining slightly.
Something tells me that wanting to find Alice again isn't unrelated to his eagerness, I thought with a smile.
Nami, on the other hand, was practically bouncing in place.
"Come on, let's go!" she exclaimed excitedly.
I couldn't help but smile at the sight. Her evolution was fascinating. Unlike most of the other girls in the crew, who had naturally developed heightened perception and thus Observation Haki…
Nami had strangely awakened Armament Haki.
A rarer path for her, with the notable exception of Kuina. This gave her magic far more dangerous potential than before: even if, for now—like the warriors of Amazon Lily—she could only lightly coat her direct attacks, once she strengthened it further, even her lightning constructs would be able to carry a certain amount of Haki when created.
You will be teleported to Wonderland – Expert Mode – with your team.
• Objective:
- Defeat 1200 Shadows, 8 Giant Shadows (optional), 240 Large Bodies, 240 Red Nocturnes, 240 Yellow Operas, 240 Blue Rhapsodies, 240 Flying Soldiers, and 8 Tower Masters.
- Prevent the Queen of Hearts from completing the coronation ceremony.
• Reward:
- Command of the Card Army (54 cards)
- The other teammate will receive an equivalent reward.
- Full recovery of all defeated Heartless under your command.
I saw a three-hour timer appear above my head.
"Let's go, no time to waste—it's timed!" I said as I ran straight toward the strange room where we had each touched the potion.
Once we shrank, the Heartless began to appear—and it was clear they were far more imposing than before.
In the now gigantic room, I could already see half of the Heartless required for the challenge at once. Except for the Tower Masters, half of everything else was already there.
Half of the enemies had appeared all at once.
"Nami, don't hold back!" I shouted as I leapt into the air, the wind coiling around me. "We need to finish them as fast as possible! I'll give you ethers afterward!"
I let my body shift slightly into my hybrid form—my arms growing stronger, my jaw reinforcing, my presence becoming heavier… more dangerous.
"Koby! Take down the Shadows as fast as possible! I'll handle the elementals!"
The battle erupted.
The elementals reacted immediately. Several Yellow Operas raised their hands, generating lightning that curved mid-air to track me. Blue Rhapsodies erected shifting walls of ice, while Red Nocturnes launched fireballs they guided like intelligent projectiles.
But it wasn't enough.
Thanks to our time in Hard mode, I had become almost immune to their elements. Flames brushed past me without truly affecting me, ice cracked upon contact with my body, and lightning slid across me without slowing me down.
I tore through their ranks like a spear.
The sweeping force of my Keyblade almost systematically unleashed blades of wind, shattering multiple enemies at once as they vanished in bursts of light.
On his side, Koby had become a true precision machine. His eyes tracked every invisible movement.
Thanks to his Observation Haki, he anticipated the Shadows' appearance before they even emerged from the ground. Each time one began to materialize, his blade was already striking.
A Shadow tried to rise behind him.
CLACK.
It was cut down before it could fully exist.
His style was becoming fluid—almost instinctive.
Nami, on the other hand…
Had become terrifying.
Lightning creatures burst into existence around her, taking the form of wild beasts—electric wolves, birds of energy, serpents of light.
"Devour them!" she shouted.
The Large Bodies exploded under the impacts, unable to withstand the violence of the discharges. The Flying Soldiers tried to evade… but Nami's creations pursued them, changing trajectory mid-flight.
Each strike hit with surgical precision.
The battlefield became controlled chaos.
Explosions of light, fragments of shadow, gusts of wind and energy clashing everywhere.
Despite their numbers and increased power…
We dominated.
Minute after minute, the enemy ranks collapsed.
The Shadows vanished by the hundreds, the elementals exploded into fragments of energy, and the Flying Soldiers dropped like flies.
In less than an hour…
All 1,560 enemies had been annihilated.
A heavy silence suddenly fell over the massive room.
Only residual energy drifted in the air.
Nami placed a hand on her knee, slightly out of breath.
"Jordan… toss me two ethers…" she breathed, one hand resting on her thigh as faint arcs of electricity still crackled around her before fading.
Beside her, Koby had already uncorked a potion and downed it in one gulp. His breathing, initially uneven, quickly stabilized. He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his gaze already focused again.
"I can keep going," he said firmly. "But… they're clearly faster and more coordinated than before."
I nodded, pulling two ethers from my inventory and tossing them to Nami.
"Of course," I replied. "Expert mode. They're starting to behave like a real army."
She caught the flasks precisely and drank them immediately.
The effect was instant.
Her posture straightened slightly, her eyes regained their brightness, and a wave of energy coursed through her arms. Fine bluish sparks danced between her fingers, far more stable than before.
I took a potion myself and drank it calmly, feeling my endurance gradually return as the fatigue left my muscles.
"Alright…" I said, looking around at the now empty room. "Let's move. We need to finish this dungeon."
I slightly raised my head, watching the timer still ticking.
"There's still half the enemies left… and probably the most interesting ones."
Koby tightened his grip on his sword.
"The Tower Masters…" he murmured.
I smiled faintly.
"Exactly. And them… they won't go down so easily."
I took a few steps forward.
"If we're cutting it close, I'll use my own troops to overwhelm the field…" I added with a shrug. "But I'd rather avoid that. This is still training."
Koby nodded seriously.
"I'd prefer that too… I want to see how far I can go without help."
Nami had just finished her ethers. She took a deep breath, as if absorbing the energy around her.
"Haaa… that feels good…"
She briefly closed her eyes, savoring the sensation.
"It feels like my mana is flowing even better than before…"
She opened her eyes again with a bright smile, her fingers faintly crackling with residual electricity.
"I think I've found a way to increase my mana capacity."
I raised an eyebrow, immediately interested.
"Oh?"
Nami lifted one hand, observing the thin layer of energy covering her palm.
"Like a muscle…" she explained, stretching her arms above her head with satisfaction. "I nearly drain my mana completely, and when I take an ether… it forces my body to produce more to fill the gap. At least… I think so."
She let out a small laugh, clearly proud of her discovery.
"I'll have to spend some time with Elise… after all, now that she can produce ether herself, it's not really a waste anymore."
I nodded, satisfied with her reasoning.
"Good idea. If you manage to stabilize that growth… your endurance will skyrocket. And you'll be able to last much longer in combat."
Beside us, Koby tightened his grip on his blade. His gaze was serious, almost harsh.
"I need to keep improving too…" he said.
He had just fought hundreds of Shadows on his own, yet he knew it was only the bottom of the ladder.
I gave him an encouraging look.
"Don't worry, Koby. When I find a power that truly suits you… you'll break through to the next level."
I paused briefly before adding with a slight smile:
"And if not… you can always focus entirely on your physical strength. Either way, you'll get stronger."
We then moved forward through the gardens of Wonderland.
But something was wrong.
The silence.
No Heartless.
No movement.
The hedges, once small and decorative, now rose like massive vegetal walls, distorting perspectives. The outer court we had seen before… had become a true castle, surrounded by high walls and imposing towers.
Guards… stood along the ramparts.
Card soldiers.
As we approached further, we discovered the inner courtyard.
And a strange sight.
The card soldiers were fighting the Heartless.
But…
None of them were truly dying.
The cards were being sliced, blown apart, crushed… then slowly reassembled, returning to the fight as if nothing had happened. Opposite them, the much stronger Heartless continued attacking relentlessly.
An endless battle.
A frozen cycle.
"…This is weird…" Koby murmured.
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"They're tied to the area…" I analyzed. "As long as we don't intervene… this fight will never end."
Then I noticed an important detail.
No elementals.
"Perfect."
I raised my hand, deciding to use Aokiji's signature move.
The cold fell instantly.
"Ice Age."
A wave of ice spread from my feet, sweeping across the entire courtyard like a frozen tide. In seconds, Shadows, Large Bodies, and Card Soldiers were trapped in complete frost, their movements halted within icy sculptures.
Without hesitation, I spun on myself before launching my arm along with my Keyblade toward the frozen statues.
"Diskobolos."
My arm and Keyblade, coated in Armament Haki, detached thanks to the Guardian Armor's ability. It tore through the courtyard like a spinning blade, pulverizing everything in its path.
CRASH.
Around a hundred Shadows were reduced to dark fragments, along with fifty Large Bodies that exploded under the impact.
Nami immediately sprang into action, targeting the winged Heartless still in the air.
"My turn!"
Lightning burst from her hands, forming a massive net. The Flying Soldiers, though more agile than before, were caught all at once, exploding into shards of light after being struck by the electricity of Nami's giant net.
Meanwhile, Koby had vanished from our sight, slipping toward the special enemies.
Then—
FLASH.
He reappeared behind a massive silhouette.
A Giant Shadow.
His blade struck with precision.
One.Two.Three.Four.
In just a few seconds, he neutralized four of the Giant Shadows we hadn't faced yet, striking their weak points with almost surgical accuracy.
"Alright… time to cancel a coronation," I said as I moved forward without hesitation.
We passed through the castle gates, and as soon as we entered, I raised my hand to erect a massive wall of ice behind us. The barrier formed with a deep rumble, completely sealing the entrance. Through the translucent ice, we could already see the silhouettes of the card soldiers reforming in the courtyard, relentlessly striking the wall without being able to pass.
"That way, we won't be disturbed," I added calmly.
We advanced through the oversized corridors of the palace until we reached the great hall. As soon as we stepped inside, we instinctively stopped, struck by the scene unfolding before us.
At the center of the room stood a younger, more slender version of the Queen of Hearts. Unlike the one we had encountered before in the dungeon, her gaze was not twisted by madness. She looked tense, worried… but deeply human.
Behind her, several civilians huddled together, trembling with fear. Heartless tried to reach them, emerging from the surrounding shadows. Yet the card soldiers formed a solid defensive line, standing between the creatures and the innocent.
"Protect them!" the young queen ordered firmly. "Not a single one of them must fall!"
She raised her hand, and a soft red light spread around her, enveloping the wounded card soldiers. Their bodies slowly reformed, their shapes straightening as if their injuries had never existed. She wasn't just commanding… she was supporting, protecting.
Koby slowed slightly, visibly troubled.
"She… she's not like the one we saw…" he murmured.
Nami frowned, carefully observing the scene.
"No… she's trying to save everyone…"
I narrowed my eyes, beginning to understand.
"We're before…" I said quietly. "We're witnessing what broke her."
Then suddenly, an oppressive presence filled the room.
An unnatural chill spread through the air, making the torch flames flicker. The very atmosphere seemed to contract, as if something abnormal had entered the space.
Then… she appeared.
Behind the civilians.
A tall, imposing woman, surrounded by corrupted green flames that warped the air around her. Her smile was cruel—almost satisfied.
No one had time to react.
"NO!" the young princess shouted, turning abruptly.
But it was already too late.
The green flames surged forward like an uncontrollable wave, engulfing the civilians in a single instant. Their screams echoed briefly before vanishing, smothered by the supernatural fire.
Then…
Silence.
Only charred bodies remained, frozen in positions of escape or desperation.
Nami instinctively brought a hand to her mouth, her expression shocked.
"This is… horrible…"
Koby clenched his teeth, unable to look away.
"She… she killed them all…"
The tall woman slowly stepped forward, savoring the scene. Her footsteps echoed through the now silent hall. An old man, who had still been alive just seconds earlier, collapsed to the ground for good.
The crown rolled to her feet.
She stared at it for a moment… then pushed it away with a simple kick.
The metal rang throughout the entire room.
"Pathetic…" she murmured with contempt.
The card soldiers, disoriented, instinctively regrouped around the young queen. But she no longer moved.
She was trembling.
Her eyes were fixed on the bodies.
"No…" she whispered, her voice broken. "No… no… NO…"
Her pupils flickered.
Then changed.
They turned red.
A consuming rage replaced every trace of compassion.
She slowly raised her head, her gaze burning with pure hatred.
"Off with her head!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout the hall.
At that exact moment… the tall woman disappeared.
The young queen threw away her small princess crown, and I saw my timer drop from two hours to two minutes as she stepped toward the king's crown, surrounded by her soldiers protecting her from the Heartless.
(Author's note: I'll leave you with images of the different Expert-mode Heartless here. See you next time ^^)