The whole world was caught off guard by this sudden development.
For ordinary people, it was no big deal. Whether Sea Emperors or Shichibukai, they were far too distant from their lives.
They were merely enjoying the spectacle.
As for the powerhouses of the seas—they were enjoying the spectacle even more.
"Zehahahaha!!"
In the perpetually mist-shrouded Mysterious Triangle Zone, aboard a massive ship as large as an island, within a somewhat dilapidated ancient castle.
"Doflamingo really has guts! Was he forced by Charlotte Linlin, or did he simply want to secure the Charlotte Family's power?"
"Zehahahaha! Either way, I've got to say I admire him!!"
He and Doflamingo were not complete strangers. They had met long ago in Loguetown.
That was why he admired the man's courage.
In another nation in the first half of the Grand Line, Alabasta, a cigar-smoking man sneered as he held a newspaper in a luxurious casino.
"Gahahaha, that idiot probably can't even cry now, can he? What a pity—I can't see that fool's miserable, tearless face for myself."
In the latter half of the Grand Line, the New World, a whale-like ship crushed through wave after wave.
"Pops, Charlotte Linlin is getting married again!"
Thatch, commander of the Fourth Division, waved the newspaper in his hand and burst into laughter.
"What's so strange about that? Having children is the only hobby Linlin has had her entire life."
Whitebeard laughed heartily.
Charlotte Linlin had given birth to her first child at only eighteen. Ever since then, she had produced offspring almost every year.
It could be said that her obsession with the title of Pirate King was nowhere near as strong as her obsession with having children.
"But her husband is Doflamingo, that Shichibukai. What an unlucky bastard."
Thatch laughed gleefully at someone else's misfortune.