Changes in the World

Luffy walked out of the restaurant in a daze. From the restaurant owner's words, he realized that he no longer seemed to recognize this seemingly familiar but actually strange world.

"Swiping a card, scanning a code, transferring money, what the hell is all this?" Luffy was completely bewildered, his worldview shattered, and he was utterly devastated.

"But is that Dream Online he mentioned real? You can get stronger by constantly fighting, and you can even use your sleep time. If I could do that too..." Luffy couldn't help but feel itchy as he thought about what the restaurant owner had mentioned.

"But... dreams are that man's domain after all. Is that why Hancock and Uncle Rayleigh didn't tell me these things?"

Before long, Luffy put those thoughts out of his mind, thinking, "Forget it, let's find Zoro and the others first before making any plans!"

In the Holy Land Mary Geoise, in the Hall of Power, at the rebuilt Pangaea Castle on the ruins.

"We failed. No matter how we try to control it, the number of people entering the Dream Domain continues to increase."

"Indeed, the way to enter the Dream Domain is too simple and difficult to investigate, making it hard for us to find out who has violated the ban."

"In fact, even within the 'government' and the navy, too many people have begun to exploit the Dream Domain."

"Ah, for those who are physically disabled or old and decaying, to obtain a healthy, complete, and vibrant body in the Dream Domain is something they dream of, nothing less than a second life. To achieve this, no matter how great the price, it is worth it in their eyes."

"Not only that, news has also come from the Navy that everyone who enters the Dream Domain is constantly getting stronger, while the 'Government' and the Navy's strength is still stagnant. If this continues, let alone comparing with Nightmare, even those annoying bugs of the Revolutionary Army will gradually catch up with us."

"In addition, the Dream Domain is also the area where information converges most frequently and intricately. If we cannot join it as soon as possible, we may fall far behind in terms of intelligence."

"Ha, they really are ubiquitous!"

"No wonder Nightmare is so fearless and doesn't care about our actions at all. It seems he knew all along that no matter how much we resist, the Dream Domain will eventually infiltrate our territory, and even we ourselves will not be able to resist this temptation."

"After two years, not only are the lowly people at the bottom of society filled with resentment, but the 'government' and the navy also have a lot of complaints. If this continues, even without Nightmare's intervention, the 'government' will begin to split from within, and then it will be truly irreversible."

"It seems we have no choice but to lift the restrictions."

"Damn it, don't those idiots understand that Nightmare can't possibly have good intentions by loosening the restrictions of the Dream Domain? The greater the influence of the Dream Domain, the deeper Nightmare's schemes are."

"Indeed, although it is still unclear what Nightmare's purpose is in lifting the restrictions on the Dream Domain, how could someone like him do something that harms himself for the benefit of others? There must be some unknown secret hidden within this."

"According to intelligence, Nightmare has rarely appeared in the eyes of the world since the great battle two years ago, and has fallen into silence just like five years ago."

"It seems that after each major battle, he would remain silent for a long time. I guess this is the price he has to pay to unleash his full power."

"It's not impossible. During the last Marineford War, he killed Whitebeard, Garp, Sengoku, Kizaru and other top-tier fighters in succession. It would be hard to believe if he didn't pay a huge price."

"Perhaps their relentless promotion of Dream Online is aimed at helping Nightmare heal and awaken him from his slumber. So, even if the 'government' or the Revolutionary Army can also benefit from Dream Online, they don't care about that."

"In that case, perhaps we can take some action to test the Nightmare's reaction..."

In the Dreamland Kingdom, within the Royal Palace.

"Captain, the number of concurrent online users in Dream Online has exceeded 30 million," Robin said softly, dressed in a seductive secretary uniform.

"In that case, it must be that the World Government' finally couldn't withstand the pressure from all sides and had no choice but to lift the restrictions on the Dream Domain."

"That's natural. After all, even within the World Government, more than half of the people secretly enter the Dream Domain behind the Five Elders' backs. As for the Marine Headquarters and other subordinate agencies, the number of those entering the Dream Domain is countless. Unless the Five Elders want to turn their backs on this world and become its enemy, making such a choice is inevitable," Reiju replied from the side.

What's the situation like in Dream Online?

"Too many people treat it as a second world, even spending all twenty-four hours a day in the dream world, but even so, no one can reach the level cap. Those monsters are just too..." Robin shook his head, not knowing how to describe it, and then said with a strange expression, "There's another thing. I don't know when it started, but Dream Online has become a meeting place for some secret organizations. They are secretly plotting revolutions and scheming to start wars. That's one thing, but recently some people have started to target us."

"You mean... they were plotting how to deal with me in their dreams?" Roy said speechlessly.

"... That's how it is."

"Interesting. Let's strengthen surveillance on those people first. By the way, has anything major changed at sea in the last two years?"

Robin pondered for a moment before quickly replying, "A year ago, the Marine Headquarters World Military Draft to replenish its forces and discovered a monster with terrifying strength. They promoted him to Admiral, codenamed 'Ryokugyu,' finally filling the last vacancy among the Three Admirals."

"Six months ago, the Revolutionary Army established four major bases in the Four Seas, making its strength public. Although this move quickly encountered a fierce attack from the World Government, the World Government's available forces were already far less than before, and it also had to guard against our attacks, which allowed the Revolutionary Army to stabilize amidst wave after wave of attacks."

"Although the Revolutionary Army suffered heavy casualties in that war, it successfully gained a foothold, making everyone realize that besides us and the World Government, there was a third force in this ocean that was powerful enough to shake the foundations of the world. Many people were attracted by the bright future described by the Revolutionary Army and threw themselves into their so-called revolutionary wave without hesitation, which only made the Revolutionary Army's power grow stronger."

"Recently, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates have been dormant for a long time, have started to make new moves. It seems that they want to join forces with some new pirates who have risen in the last two years to launch an attack on our rule."

"Meanwhile, the Marine Headquarters is also making moves, rebuilding the power of the Shichibukai. The addition of a pirate who calls himself Whitebeard Jr.. has led to the departure of former Marine Admiral Black Arm Zephyr, who then established the Neo Marines."

"In addition, Zephyr also seized Dyna Stone from the Navy, a mysterious stone that is said to be able to contend with Ancient Weapon. That guy claims that he will use Dyna Stone to destroy the end point of the New World in order to destroy the sea of New World."

"Although we don't know if it's true or not, just to be on the safe side, Lord Enel and Katakuri have already set off to stop Zephyr's crazy behavior."

"Haha, as expected, this sea is as magnificent as ever. Robin, did you find what I asked you to find last time?"

"Of course, with the power we have now, obtaining that thing is not too difficult."

"That's good. Then let's add another spark to this wonderful world."