On the coast of Dressrosa, Don Quixote and his group from the West Sea got off the ship one after another and gathered behind Doflamingo.
Everyone looked at the bustling port, their faces bright with smiles. Only Corazon, who wore the same shirt as Doflamingo, but with a different pattern, held a cigarette between his lips and only smiled faintly.
"I never thought that our generation would have the opportunity to set foot on this land."
"Isn't this fate? Now, don't you think so, Corazon?"
Doflamingo put his feet on the ground of Dressrosa, his smile still there, but there was a bit more emotion in his tone. As he spoke, Doflamingo turned his head slightly, looked at Corazon behind him, and asked.
In response to Doflamingo's question, Corazon showed a look of reminiscence and longing on her face, and then she nodded slightly, with the corners of her mouth curled up a little wider.
Seeing that his brother seemed very happy, Doflamingo was in a good mood. He suddenly opened his arms, took a deep breath, walked to Corazon's side, put his arm around Corazon's shoulders, and whispered in Corazon's ear:
"After I take Dressrosa, I will be able to become a Celestial Dragon again."
"Corazon, don't worry, I will make those guys recognize our identities again."
"By then, no one will be able to bully us two brothers."
"Not only that, I will make those people pay the price!"
"Fufufufufufufufufu!"
As he spoke, Doflamingo suddenly chuckled. Behind him, a group of members of the Don Quixote family looked at Doflamingo and his brother with fanatical eyes.
“Hey~ Hey~”
"Dover, don't forget your family when the time comes!"
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"
Trebol came to Doflamingo's side, pointed at his nose and said with a smile.
Doflamingo heard this, patted Trebol's shoulder gently, and replied with a smile: "Of course, you are my family!"
In Doflamingo's mind, family is really something very important.
For Doflamingo, the person closest to him is actually his mother. However, ever since his family left the Holy Land, as former Celestial Dragons, they have not been able to live a normal life. Their houses were burned down, their property was taken away, and they themselves were even captured by people who hated Celestial Dragons and were tried to burn them to death.
Although the family survived in the critical moment thanks to Doflamingo's awakening of Conqueror's Haki, Doflamingo's most cherished mother died of illness during the escape.
He blamed his mother's death on his father. In order to regain the "right to survive", he killed his father with his own hands in order to return to the holy land.
Ideals are beautiful, but reality is cruel.
The Celestial Dragons who left the Holy Land have been regarded as "ordinary untouchables" by the Five Elders. How can they return to the Holy Land whenever they want?
The miserable experiences in his childhood made Doflamingo, who was originally a "born evil", completely twisted, but Doflamingo needed to find a fully reasonable reason that could convince himself for his evil deeds.
The word "family" became the driving force behind his actions. As long as it was for his family, it didn't matter if he killed his own father; as long as it was for his family, murder, arson, robbery and looting were justified.
But in essence, everything Doflamingo did was ultimately for himself.
In his mind, he is far more important than his family.
Because of this, Doflamingo's biological father, who made him suffer when he was a child, deserved to die; Corazon, who later betrayed him, also deserved to die; and when his "family" had a negative influence on him or were no longer valuable to him, they also deserved to die.
But then again, Doflamingo is still very kind to his useful "family members".
The Don Quixote Family, established by Doflamingo under the coaxing of Turrebol and others, is, in its true essence, a collection of interests. Is it some kind of familial bond that keeps Turrebol and others around Doflamingo? All the same, it's because Doflamingo has shown since childhood the qualities to be a king!
The arrival of the Don Quixote family did not attract much attention. In Dressrosa, trade has been very developed in recent years, and the number of passing passengers and merchant ships is simply countless.
The guards on the coast will only be deployed when facing pirates, and basically do not inspect passing merchant ships.
The Don Quixote family did not fly the pirate flag and did not cause any disturbance after arriving on the island, so no one knew about their arrival.
After arriving on the island, Doflamingo sent his men out to gather intelligence in the city.
He wanted to confirm a piece of information, to confirm that Tsugikuni Yoriichi and his subordinates had indeed evacuated from the island. Doflamingo was a cautious man, and he didn't want to get himself into trouble that he couldn't handle.
Although Tsugakuni Yoriichi is no longer an admiral of the Navy Headquarters, his reputation in the Navy can be said to have completely disappeared. However, this does not mean that someone like Tsugakuni Yoriichi is someone that the Don Quixote family can afford to offend at this stage.
Even if he is wanted by the World Government, if Yoriichi Tsugakuni still regards Dressrosa as his territory and acts rashly, big problems will probably arise.
While his subordinates were gathering intelligence, Doflamingo himself was strolling around the city with Corazon.
A few hours later, the members of the Don Quixote family who were out gathering intelligence met up with Doflamingo and Corazon one after another, and reported the basic situation of the country to Doflamingo.
"Tsugikuni Yoriichi and his Sword of Dawn Navy have indeed all left."
"More than a month ago, the Whitebeard Pirates came to Dressrosa, but we have already inquired and found out that this is not the Whitebeard Pirates' territory."
"They didn't 'plant the flag' here!"
"The Dawn Sword's naval branch here has been taken over by King Riku III's forces, who are responsible for both coastal defense and city security."
"The head of the guard is King Riku III's son-in-law."
"and"
"I heard about an incident where after Kuniyoshi and his men returned to the island, a protest against his entry broke out on the island."
"Dressrosa should have been completely cut off from Tsugikuni Yoriichi's power!"
For the members of the Don Quixote family, gathering information was a very easy task, and the information they gathered was well known to the people on the island.
At that time, the Whitebeard Pirates' landing on the island caused a huge commotion. Even some people who had never seen the Whitebeard Pirates in person heard the alarm on the coast. Afterwards, many people came into contact with members of the Whitebeard Pirates, so this kind of information was easy to find out.
As for the news about Ji Guoyuan, it was even easier. The previous protests by the people on the island had already attracted a lot of participants and made a lot of noise, and Ji Guoyuan's ships could be seen leaving the island.
Moreover, the Sword of Dawn's base in Dressrosa was indeed taken over by the country's army. Those soldiers would usually spend money in the bars and restaurants around the base. Some things have already spread widely.
"It was removed from membership by the World Government."
"It's not some maritime overlord's territory."
"Wouldn't Dressrosa become a 'no man's land' if this were to happen?!"
After Doflamingo gathered the information from his subordinates, a smile immediately appeared on his face and he chuckled.
He suddenly felt that God was still blessing him. If he could control such a country with developed transportation and prosperous business, it would be a great help to his career development.
"Dover, I have another piece of news."
“It’s kind of important.”
Just as Doflamingo began to look forward to his future in his mind, Senior Pico suddenly spoke.
At this time, Senior Pique had not changed into his "milky boss outfit". Instead, he was wearing a neat suit, a slim figure, and sunglasses, looking like a "handsome guy".
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Doflamingo murmured softly and turned his head to look at Senior Piquet.
"The commander of the city defense army is the son-in-law of King Liku III."
"My name is Cyrus. I was once the base commander of the Sword of Dawn's naval branch stationed in Dressrosa."
"Former Vice Admiral, now a wanted criminal with a bounty of 600 million!"
As soon as Senior Piqué finished speaking, the rest of the Don Quixote family looked at each other in bewilderment. In this day and age, the means of information dissemination were extremely limited, and the only way for ordinary people to receive information was through official newspapers.
Before coming to Dressrosa, Don Quixote and his companions had no idea that there was such a relationship between Cyrus and King Riku's family.
Cyrus
Doflamingo muttered, his brows furrowed slightly. Corazon reacted quickly, pulling out a stack of wanted posters from somewhere, quickly finding Cyrus's wanted poster, and handing it to Doflamingo.
At the same time, he took out a drawing board from somewhere and quickly wrote something on it:
"Brother, let's give up this place."
"This island is inextricably linked to Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
"The risk is too great. It's better to retreat."
Corazon knew very well what kind of character his elder brother was. If he were allowed to rule Dressrosa, he could not imagine what the country would become.
Taking this opportunity, Corazon just wanted to persuade Doflamingo to leave here as soon as possible.
Doflamingo's eyes quickly swept across the drawing board in his brother's hand, his face showing a thoughtful look, and he did have some hesitation in his heart.
"Hey, Dover!"
"I don't think there's anything to worry about!"
"That Cyrus must have 'split up' with Tsugikoku Yoshiichi!"
"He's King Riku's son-in-law. After Tsugakuni Yoriichi was stripped of his rank as general, there's no future for him to continue following Tsugakuni Yoriichi, right?"
"Rather than leaving like a lost dog like Tsugikoku Yoriichi, it would be better for me to stay and continue to be the king's son-in-law!"
"Hehehe, it must be a family split! A family split!"
Just as Doflamingo was thinking, Trebol's voice came from the side, patting Doflamingo on the back gently and encouraging him.
Torrepol has fallen in love with this prosperous and stable country. The place they were in before was too small after all and could not compare with the prosperity of the "big country".
How could Torrepol be willing to give up such a place just because it "might be related to Yoriichi Tsugikuni"?
Doflamingo's frown gradually relaxed at Trebol's words. Without giving the others a chance to express their opinions, he chuckled and said:
“Fufufufu——”
"Don't worry. We have time."
"Let's just stay in Dressrosa for now."
"Observe and you'll find the answer, won't you?"
Doflamingo said as he looked around at the shops around him, then randomly found an inn and walked over. As he walked, he said to the people behind him:
"During this period, everyone should not be idle."
"No matter where you are, there are always some forces operating in the shadows."
"Let our Don Quixote family take control of the underground forces here first!"
The Don Quixote family settled down in an inn in Dressrosa. Some time later, Doflamingo's men "defeated" a local sugar merchant in Dressrosa, annexed the other party's industry, and then moved into the other party's manor.
This incident did not cause any commotion, because on the surface, the wealthy businessman suddenly went crazy while out for a trip with his family, killed his family with a knife, and then committed suicide.
This scene was witnessed by many people at the time, so the city defense forces' investigation was extremely swift, closing the case in just three days. As for the property, Doflamingo was not a man without funds. By spending money and using some tricks, he could easily acquire it.
The sugar business is a big industry in the New World.
In other words, the sugar business is a big industry in any chaotic situation!
Although Dressrosa has been peaceful for many years, the New World is not. Sugar, as a strategic material, is a true "commodity".
With the industry, Doflamingo used business as a cover to develop an intelligence system, collect relevant information on the island, and learn some things about Cyrus.
Then, one day more than a month later, Doflamingo used a shipload of cargo to fish and hooked a pirate from the New World with a bounty of 150 million, who came to Dressrosa to steal the cargo.
At the same time, Doflamingo deliberately leaked the information about the pirate to the city defense army controlled by Cyrus, causing the two forces to "meet unexpectedly" at sea.
A fierce battle broke out between the two sides. After paying the price of hundreds of his subordinates, Cyrus finally killed the pirate group of that big pirate.
Doflamingo, who watched the battle from a distance, had a preliminary understanding of the strength of Cyrus and his city defense forces. After roughly figuring out the strength of his opponent, Doflamingo finally extended his claws to King Riku's family.
At night, the window of King Liku III's bedroom suddenly opened, and a soft sound came into the room.
"clatter!"
In the moonlight, a tall and slender figure landed in front of the windowsill.
Doflamingo sat on the windowsill, briefly surveyed the furnishings in King Riku's room, a smile on his face.
King Riku III, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, was born a warrior and had a very sharp intuition. Not long after Doflamingo appeared, he suddenly woke up from his sleep. When he raised his eyes, he saw Doflamingo sitting in front of the window.
“Who is it?”
King Riku suddenly woke up, jumped out of bed, grabbed the sword hanging on the wall, drew out the sharp blade, and looked at Doflamingo coldly.
"Furfurfural."
"My name is Don Quixote Doflamingo!"
"We came here just to reclaim our family's ancestral land."
Upon hearing this, King Liku's eyes widened slightly, revealing a hint of confusion. He murmured in surprise, "Don Quixote?"
He quickly recovered from his surprise, looked at Doflamingo carefully, recognized him, and then frowned and said:
Doflamingo
"You are one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea that the World Government mentioned some time ago."
"Ancestral land. Hundreds of years ago, this country was indeed controlled by the Don Quixote family."
"But after the Don Quixote clan became Celestial Dragons, they abandoned this country."
"It was us who brought the people of this country together again and built this country with our hearts."
"Hundreds of years later, Don Quixote's people want to take back their ancestral land?"
"That's too ridiculous."
"Besides, you're a pirate!"
After hearing what King Riku said, Doflamingo just smiled and didn't refute anything.
"I am the legal owner of this country."
"Pretty soon, you just realize it."
“Fufufufu——”
As he spoke, Doflamingo jumped lightly and disappeared in front of the window sill.
"boom!!!"
King Riku rushed to the window and was about to check where Doflamingo had gone when he heard a loud noise suddenly coming from a town not far away.
After the loud bang, blazing flames instantly illuminated the night. Even though King Riku was far away from the explosion point, he could still see the strange phenomenon suddenly appearing in the distance.
“Here, here.”
"Is it an attack?!"
King Liku was startled and quickly picked up his sword, put on his light helmet, and hurriedly left the bedroom.
The sudden changes in the city have attracted the attention of the guards in the palace. King Liku ordered people to blow the assembly horn. Not long after, King Liku rode on horseback and led a group of guards towards the direction of the explosion.
(End of this chapter)
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