Kuzan's Resolve

There was something that Ma Qiao had always been curious about.

That is, after being turned into a toy by Sugar, will the original Devil Fruit power disappear?

It seems unlikely now.

Because the Golden Lion's Floating Sky Island was still floating perfectly fine above Dressrosa, showing no signs of crashing down.

However, it would be impossible for anyone not to panic if they saw such a huge island floating overhead.

Therefore, there is no doubt that serious chaos occurred in Dressrosa.

People frantically packed their belongings, shouting and yelling, trying to escape Dressrosa.

The Golden Lion's Floating Sky Island is just one of his archipelago, and its area is far smaller than Dressrosa.

But this thing is the same asteroid that destroyed the non-avian dinosaurs.

Although it was not large in size, the series of natural disasters it brought after falling from a great height wiped out more than 70% of the life in the Mesozoic Era.

The Golden Lion's Floating Sky Island was certainly not high enough to cause such damage.

However, if the landfall triggers a major earthquake in Dressrosa, it's not impossible that a tsunami could submerge the entire island.

Therefore, Doflamingo wisely did not kill the Golden Lion shattered his heart, but instead kept him as a pet.

To be precise, they put a teddy bear shaped like a lion dog into a cage.

Having just finished all this, Doflamingo dared not breathe a sigh of relief.

Because there are several other forces in the open sea whose allegiance is unclear.

I don't know why the Marineford rescue operation was so slow.

Just as Doflamingo was making a phone call to urge them on, another subordinate suddenly rushed in, looking like he was about to wet himself.

He shouted, "Something terrible has happened! The Whitebeard Pirates have invaded!"

Whitebeard!

These three words were like a heavy hammer blow to Doflamingo's heart, which had just been stitched up, almost making him vomit blood.

Although Golden Lion and Whitebeard were equally famous pirates, Golden Lion had disappeared for many years and seemed to have no power. Doflamingo still had the idea of having a showdown with this old guy.

If it were Whitebeard, Doflamingo wouldn't even have the will to resist.

"Is this old man trying to declare war on the World Government?"

"We are World Government Member States, and Doflamingo, you are Shichibukai appointed by the World Government!"

Few members of the entire Donquixote Family would address Doflamingo so intimately as "Doflamingo."

And the worried woman in front of me is one of them.

Viola, dressed in a sexy dancer's outfit, is an assassin in the Trebol Army of the Donquixote Family.

But she is also a princess, the daughter of King Riku.

Driven by national and personal vendettas, Viola must have felt an intense hatred for Doflamingo, wishing she could tear him apart.

However, she perfectly fits the overall Dressrosa setting, passionately and unrestrainedly falling in love with Doflamingo.

Perhaps she's a fan of beady eyes.

In short, if faced with the hero who saves Dressrosa, she might stand against Doflamingo.

However, when faced with the Whitebeard Pirates, who were also pirates and invaders, Viola firmly stood on Doflamingo's side.

At least the Donquixote Family had gotten what they wanted from this country.

If a different group of pirates were to take over, who knows what might happen...

Doflamingo hesitated for a long time. After all, he was a ruthless man who killed his father at the age of 10 and his brother at the age of 24, and a man who possessed Conqueror's Haki. He made up his mind and took a few high-ranking officers with him to meet the Whitebeard Pirates.

Gangplank's men were certainly not a Civilization army.

A pirate is a pirate.

However, under Ma Qiao's constraints and influenced by the culture of the Whitebeard Pirates, these guys were still considered benevolent.

At least no major human tragedy occurred.

However, a large number of Dressrosa gentry who held power at the grassroots level were brutally captured by the pirates and stuffed into oak barrels.

"These are all Gangplank's slaves, so be careful!"

Miss Fortune, with her Fire Pistol strapped to her shoulder, loudly directed the pirate henchmen.

Just then, a black sphere was thrown towards the pirates.

Then, the sphere exploded instantly.

The pirates and the captured gentry were blown away together.

A strange-looking man with a light blue afro, wearing blue goggles and a white mask, walked out with a sinister grin.

Gladius, a high-ranking officer of the Spade Pica Corps and a Devil Fruit User the Jinx Fruit, was about to say a few arrogant words when Miss Fortune raised her hand and fired a shot.

In the world of One Piece, anyone who uses Fire Pistol is either a true master or a nobody.

Gladius let out a cold laugh.

This woman's aura doesn't seem like that of a super strong person.

Moreover, the Fire Pistol she was holding looked rather ordinary, like a short-barreled smoothbore gun.

That bullet is way too weak!

He grabbed one of the henchmen next to him and used him as a shield in front of himself.

"Hmph, the Whitebeard Pirates are nothing special... Ah!"

Gladius let out a scream.

Miss Fortune's bullet hit the henchman squarely, but after ricocheting, it unleashed even greater destructive power, striking his heart at a tricky angle.

Good luck doesn't favor fools!

Miss Fortune blew out the white smoke from the gun barrel and coldly uttered a single sentence.

The Whitebeard Pirates's eyes turned into hearts as they cheered, "As expected of Miss Fortune, she's so cool!"

Battles like this occurred throughout Dressrosa.

Gangplank, Pyke, Gin, and others each encountered their own adversaries.

Aside from Gin being soundly beaten and nearly killed by Machvise, the Devil Fruit User the Ton-Ton Fruit, the 17th Division of the Whitebeard Pirates gained the upper hand in their battle against the Donquixote Family.

Overall, the Donquixote Family and Ma Qiao's former Baroque Works, are highly mirror-like in that many of their Devil Fruit abilities are very similar.

Gangplank's current hero level has reached 13.

Generally speaking, a level 6 hero with normal equipment is like East Blue Arlong, and a level 11 hero is like Sabaody Supernovas.

A level 13 hero is roughly equivalent to Supernovas two years later, or a lower-middle level Shichibukai.

Gangplank's equipment was not as good as Ma Qiao's and his bodyguards, including Tahm Kench, so in a real life-or-death battle, he was no match for Doflamingo.

However, given the intimidating power of the Whitebeard banner, Doflamingo was only prepared to stall for time and wait for Marineford to intervene, and had no intention of engaging in a full-scale war with the Whitebeard Pirates.

Furthermore, he has discovered from subtle clues that this operation does not seem to have been authorized by Whitebeard himself, but rather was carried out by the 17th Division alone.

Therefore, Doflamingo did not want to escalate the situation.

Currently, rescue forces from Marineford and G-5 Branch Vergo are on their way at full speed. As long as we can hold them off, everything will be alright.

Unfortunately...

Marineford.

It was still in the office of the Sengoku.

Perhaps influenced by the five handsome men of Mary Geoise, Sengoku, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the Three Admirals were still posing and discussing the emergency situation in Dressrosa, showing no intention of personally taking action.

"Is Vergo still disobeying orders?"

"That's right, he has rejected your thirteen orders and is determined to go to Dressrosa to wipe out the Golden Lion's forces."

"What kind of irreconcilable hatred does that kid have with the Golden Lion that makes him so persistent?"

"It seems she was his uncle's cousin's aunt, and she was defiled by the Golden Lion back then."

"Pah!"

Sengoku couldn't help but swear.

He knew Golden Lion well.

After all, it was he who personally threw the Golden Lion into Impel Down then.

Sengoku knew very well that this guy only had Roger in his heart, so how could he possibly be interested in women?

Vergo definitely has his own agenda.

However, although Sengoku had such an idea, he did not expect that Vergo was a spy planted in the navy by the Donquixote Family.

He's already Vice Admiral, why would he risk his life for a Shichibukai?

You've eaten shit!

What annoyed Sengoku wasn't Vergo's solo trip; after all, nothing was surprising given the madman from the G-5 Branch would do.

The real reason for the Sengoku's rebellion was Mary Geoise's actions.

In theory, Donquixote Doflamingo no longer has the title "Saint".

He is no longer Celestial Dragons.

However, Doflamingo still enjoys many of the privileges afforded to the Celestial Dragons.

For example, Doflamingo could rob the Heavenly Tribute without being punished by the World Government, and he could also freely use the credibility of the World Government and the Navy to create fake news about his withdrawal from the Shichibukai.

This is something that no ordinary Shichibukai could do.

This time, it is said that the Donquixote Family Head, who resides in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, used his power to issue an order from Mary Geoise to deploy the newly established Navy Special Rapid Response Unit to Dressrosa to rescue Doflamingo.

The Navy Special Rapid Response Unit, or Special Reaction Force for short, was a proposal put forward by Prince Ma Qiao, Goa Kingdom, at the previous Reverie.

Of course, Sengoku believed that Ma Qiao was absolutely innocent, absolutely kind, and had good intentions.

He's only just started getting involved in international affairs; he's too naive.

However, his naiveté was exploited by the Celestial Dragons who were already dissatisfied with the navy's role.

Although the naval special operations forces are nominally under the dual leadership of Marineford and Mary Geoise.

In reality, a large portion of the special operations force's funding came directly from Mary Geoise, and the force's commander was Darius, a young naval captain who is now Rear Admiral.

This guy had long since betrayed the Navy's beliefs, become a vicious dog of the Celestial Dragons, and earned the reputation of being the Hand of Mary Geoise.

Sengoku disliked Akainu because Akainu's attitude towards pirates was too extreme.

The Hand of Mary Geoise is even more extreme.

If he takes over the affairs of Dressrosa, it will surely be a bloody storm.

"A guy like Doflamingo should have been thrown into Impel Down long ago."

Vice Admiral Tsuru gazed at the battle map and murmured, "Letting him join the Shichibukai was a huge mistake!"

"Ah Tsuru, I understand how you feel. After all, you spent nearly ten years capturing that guy, only for him to easily become Shichibukai by using his former status as Celestial Dragons."

Sengoku shook his head. "But that happened ten years ago. Now it's all a fait accompli. Doflamingo has become an important force in maintaining peace and stability in Dressrosa and the entire New World. We must protect him no matter what."

As he spoke, Sengoku's eyes intentionally or unintentionally drifted toward Kizaru, who was idly playing a card game on his Police Communicator.

Kizaru is the fastest of the Three Admirals.

Although Dressrosa is not far from Marineford, Kizaru is the most suitable person to get there as quickly as possible.

He immediately shook his head vigorously.

"I already ran errands for Whole Cake Island, so there's no way I should be involved this time... Besides, didn't Darius already head over there?"

Darius? Is that guy even considered one of our navy's men?

Speaking of this, Akainu was furious.

At one point, he even considered Darius as his successor and wanted to groom him for the future.

Who knew that the Celestial Dragons would just beckon, and this kid would eagerly surrender? He's utterly shameless.

"Then Kasasuki, go and make the trip!" Sengoku instructed.

Surprisingly, even the usually energetic Akainu shook his head this time, saying, "The Hiyoko Borsalino captured is still in Impel Down. Everything that happened in Dressrosa is very likely a diversionary tactic orchestrated by Golden Lion Whitebeard. I must stay here to guard Marineford and Impel Down to prevent any unforeseen events."

As he spoke, Akainu subconsciously touched the three Shanks- like scratches on his eyes.

"Marshall D. Teach, the guy with the name 'D,' is the biggest disruptor of the world order. I don't know what he's plotting, but in any case, the fact that he could leave a scar on me when he had zero bounty back then is terrifying."

Sengoku nodded.

As Strategist, he had also considered this risk.

Sengoku was even slightly surprised that Akainu was aware of this.

It seems that, without anyone noticing, some changes were quietly taking place in this man.

Just as Sengoku was becoming curious, something even more astonishing happened.

Kuzan had been pretending to sleep with his eyes covered by an eye mask, suddenly stood up, turned around, walked to the corner, and picked up his bicycle.

"Since none of you want to go, I'll go instead. It'll be good exercise."

With that, he shouldered his bicycle, opened the office door, and strode out.

"Hey, those are executives from the Golden Lion and other factions! Your attitude is way too casual!"

Sengoku hurriedly reminded him loudly.

Kuzan stopped, his shoulders, which were carrying the bicycle, trembled slightly, as if he were sobbing.

Of course, neither Sengoku, Akainu, nor Kizaru would believe that someone like Kuzan would cry.

Whether they like Kuzan or not, there's no denying that in their hearts, Kuzan is a True Grit who wouldn't flinch in the face of death...

Well...

Speaking of which Kuzan seems to be using increasingly... perfumes lately.

It seems like she's also taking care of her skin?

Just as everyone was lost in thought, Kuzan coldly said, "Golden Lion? Don't worry, I'll definitely beat all those old men to a pulp!"

With that, he strode away without looking back.