647 Doffy
Since the Red Hair Pirates became emperor and the structure of one emperor and four emperors was established, the situation in the new world suddenly stabilized. Except for the conflicting Evil Spirit Pirates and Moonlight Pirates, there were no other large-scale war conflicts.
The New World remains a chaotic sea, but to top powers like Dark Night and Beasts, this chaos is nothing more than minor skirmishes.
The characteristics of evil spirits and moonlight mean that they have difficulty expanding outwards and can mostly only retreat to their own territory.
However, within their own territory, their internal forces are extremely powerful, and their defensive capabilities are terrifyingly strong, making them a force that even top-tier pirate crews dare not underestimate.
The New World is not lacking in ambitious individuals. Overlord-level forces can hardly continue to rise. The gap in strength and power means that the throne is not something they can covet.
Many people are aware that their current status is their limit, so they are content to develop their own territory.
In contrast, the competition among pirates below the level of overlords is extremely fierce, involving constant wars, expansion, or challenges to existing overlords in order to replace them as the new overlords.
These overlords face considerable challenges, with the weaker ones experiencing even greater impacts. It is quite common for them to be defeated by alliances of multiple pirate crews on the high seas.
Over the years, some of these overlords have been dethroned; at least Erik, the "Acid King" who had dealings with Teach, frequently faced attacks from pirates.
As a regional overlord and Logia Devil Fruit User, his growth over the years, while not making him a top-tier overlord, has placed him firmly in the middle tier.
The vast eastern part of the Night Sea Domain has naturally attracted the attention of many ambitious pirates. The so-called stability is merely that the general power structure has not changed much.
In this world where strength reigns supreme, especially in the New World, those who are stronger are the ones who can divide up resources. Even within the territories of the various top powers, competition is still fierce.
The Whitebeard Pirates were in a better position.
In Big Mom and Kaido's territories, changes in power won't affect their interests at all, as long as the commotion isn't too great.
Sixteen years have passed since the Great Pirate Era began, and more than four years have passed since the Dark Emperor ascended to the top, marking the beginning of the alliance between the Night Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
The underground forces in the New World have been largely consolidated, and the influence of the Night Pirates to every corner of the dark world, with over 80% of the forces connected to them.
Over the years, Doflamingo's forces have developed very smoothly without any setbacks. With the name of the Night Pirates and his own formidable strength, he has faced virtually no obstacles.
Unlike other pirate factions, he did not think about expanding his territory. Apart from Dressrosa and the surrounding islands, he did not continue to expand outwards.
Expanding his territory meant nothing to him; his power had continued to grow over the years as a middleman in the underworld, controlling all sorts of transactions.
"Baboon! How foolish, World Government." Doflamingo threw the intelligence report aside and burst into laughter.
Nowadays, his focus is mainly on the Grand Line, because that is the base of the Navy and the World Government.
The New World is dominated by various powerful figures, while the Four Seas Alliance has a certain relationship with it, resulting in the loss of benefits. In particular, the North Sea still wields extraordinary influence.
Doflamingo no longer values money. Many people can see the changes in the world, and what he wants most is to bring those Celestial Dragons down from their pedestals.
Therefore, he hoped something would happen to the World Government.
With the opening of trade routes between kingdoms, the profits among Affiliated Nation are increasing, which has led Affiliated Nation to soften their demands for more Heavenly Gold from the World Government.
If the World Government becomes stronger and the navy becomes stronger, their security will certainly increase.
In their eyes, the navy is tied to the World Government and is a subordinate agency of the World Government.
However, it is unavoidable that the World Government becomes too powerful, to the point of arbitrarily interfering in the Affiliated Nation, but an appropriate increase in Heavenly Gold is still necessary.
However, Doflamingo did not want to see this happen, and in the shadows, he had been guiding the Grand Line into even greater chaos.
Doflamingo has intervened in everything from the expansion of the black market industry chain and the increase in the scale of the slave trade to the strengthening of pirate forces.
The most important factor was the coup d'état in the Affiliated Nation, which triggered conflicts between the kingdoms. All sorts of tactics made it incredibly easy for Doflamingo.
As a result, the few dozen Affiliated Nation of the World Government began to become unstable.
The vast trade routes were also affected to some extent.
In this situation, the World Government should persuade these Affiliated Nation to cease hostilities and make peace, in order to ensure the stability of their core territory.
However, the World Government did not do this. Instead, it secretly fueled the flames and exacerbated the conflict, attempting to weaken the power of the Affiliated Nation, secretly control these kingdoms, and allow the World Government to regain dominance in the Reverie in order to gain more benefits.
According to Doflamingo's intelligence, a force is supplying these Affiliated Nation with weapons; it's no surprise that it's the World Government, using this method to gain more benefits from the war.
This is what Doflamingo did; he did the same thing, but on a smaller scale than the World Government, and the World Government took away a certain share of his business.
Doflamingo viewed the World Government's actions as extremely foolish, concerned only with its own short-term interests rather than the long-term interests of the entire Grand Line.
They may have gained considerable economic benefits, but this has affected the stability of their core business.
Doflamingo was very happy to see this happen, and he didn't lose anything.
The second thing was that the World Government took the initiative to contact him, taking a liking to his current power and influence, and demanding that he return to the Holy Land and hand over his power to the World Government.
The World Government also realized that it needed to strengthen itself, as its development was too slow, so it set its sights on Doflamingo.
Doflamingo wields immense power, operating across both the legal and illegal worlds, and possesses vast economic interests.
If the World Government could acquire Doflamingo's power, their invasion of the New World would certainly be able to advance further, allowing them to directly access the secrets of many forces within the New World, and their development would be much faster.
Moreover, Doflamingo's strength is not bad either; he possesses top-tier combat power. Although he cannot compare with world gold medalists, he can still firmly stand at the silver medal level.
If the World Government could gain Doflamingo's support, it would definitely be able to recover some of its losses. Add to that the currently booming Pleasure Island and its numerous Pleasure Street, and the profits would be enormous.
The World Government had a very clever plan, but unfortunately, how could Doflamingo possibly agree to it?
In this world, power and influence are fundamental. Doflamingo wouldn't hand it over so easily. This is the power he painstakingly built; how could he let the World Government take away his hard-earned achievements?
If he had grown up earlier, he would have definitely accepted the World Government's invitation; he knew perfectly well just how terrifying the Celestial Dragons' power was.
Becoming Celestial Dragons means you have everything you want to do, and the World Government will cooperate with you.
Unfortunately, the World Government is no longer the same as it is today, and the Celestial Dragons' status is not as high as it is now.
In Doflamingo's eyes, the decline of the World Government was inevitable.
However, he did not directly refuse. For him, cooperation was still possible, by leveraging the World Government's power on the Grand Line.
Most importantly, Doflamingo harbors a deep fear of the Night Pirates, unable to believe what his ultimate fate would be if he joined the World Government or harbored any sympathies towards it.
They will most likely be dealt with; nobody knows the extent of the Night Pirates' intelligence control over the New World.
Besides, having done so much and for so long, how could I give up so easily?
His relationship with the World Government is merely one of mutual exploitation. He avoids being controlled by the World Government also gaining access to its internal intelligence.
Since the World Government wants to gain his power, it naturally needs to give him some incentives, such as some of the Celestial Dragons' authority, which he can use to further his own development.
Regardless, this indicates that the World Government has weakened to a certain extent and is becoming somewhat anxious, or rather, it is facing a crisis that is too great.
After a moment's thought, Doflamingo was also concerned about another matter: the Shichibukai plan, as the Shichibukai were still not at full strength.
Including him, Crocodile, Dracule Mihawk, Empress Boa Hancock, Kuma, and the newly invited Shichibukai "The Blighted One," whose bounty exceeds 200 million Beli, his strength is considerable.
It is said that the final Shichibukai is being selected, with Knight of the Sea Jinbe, being the initial choice.
Concerned about the situation on Fish-Man Island, Jinbe left the Sun Pirates and returned to Fish-Man Island.
If Jinbe could become Shichibukai, it would somewhat ease tensions with the World Government.
This was also a decision made by the Mermaid King's Palace, concerning the interests of Fish-Man Island ensuring its stability. The Night Pirates didn't care about this, as the World Government couldn't give Fish-Man Island what it truly wanted.
This was merely a measure to seek protection. Even with the flags of the Night Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates on Fish-Man Island, some evil deeds could not be avoided.
Fish-Man Island needed a strong leader, so Jinbe returned, left the Sun Pirates, and formed the Fish-Man Pirates.
It's almost laughable that the Seven Warlords of the Sea system has only just been established for so many years and has only just managed to fill all seven positions.
However, we must also consider what impact full capacity will have.
It is said that the Navy and the World Government will hold a full meeting of the Shichibukai.
It must be admitted that the overall strength of the Shichibukai is extremely powerful. Whether it is him or Dracule Mihawk, they all possess top-tier combat power. Tyrant Bear and Crocodile are equally terrifying in strength. However, it is uncertain whether Doflamingo is top-tier. Even if he does not have top-tier combat power, he is not much weaker.
The Withered One is a slacker, Devil Fruit User, whose power is terrifying and whose strength is not weak.
The Empress is not weak either, not to mention she has enormous potential.
With the Knight of the Sea Jinbe, the Shichibukai are undoubtedly powerful. Together, they form a formidable force, possessing a strength that commands respect and deters any other power from provokering them.
Such power is barely enough to achieve the balance desired by the World Government.
But what's the point of such a balance? It's too fragile. The Shichibukai can't possibly unite, and their only effect on the Navy and the World Government is to deter some small-time pirates and reduce the pressure on the Navy.
After all, the Shichibukai also have mission targets: to help the Navy eliminate pirates.
Its existence also has its significance. Currently, the World Government and the Navy need the existence of the Shichibukai. In particular, the World Government, by uniting with seven Great Pirate, has reduced seven powerful enemies, so so far there seems to be no downside.
Dracule Mihawk is focused on swordsmanship.
Crocodile also roams the New World.
Jinbe did this to protect his people.
The Empress did this to protect the Amazon.
Each has its own purpose. Apart from Doflamingo and Kuma, whose purpose is unknown, the Tyrant Bear is most obedient to the World Government is basically indifferent and has little impact on the Navy.
"I'll go then, baboon baboon!" Doflamingo said, sounding excited and curious about what would happen.
In his view, those who become Shichibukai are all very smart people living on the sea. They have a legitimate identity, their bounties have been revoked, and they can commit crimes legally without worrying about being hunted down by the Navy.
It's important to understand that the World Government and the Navy have a selective process for choosing the Shichibukai. They've invited many people over the years, but most of them have declined.
It's sure to be interesting to see this group of people together.
Since they are pirates, if they can stick together and support each other, even if they only have a little consensus and don't become enemies, then the Navy and the World Government have nothing to fear.
The development of his power is unlikely to stir his emotions, because it has already reached a peak, and further development will not lead to any significant breakthroughs. It is better to accumulate strength, both his own and that of his subordinates.
Then, through the vast network woven by the hidden forces, they secretly weakened the power of the World Government.
Doflamingo is an extremely shrewd person, a fact universally acknowledged throughout the underworld and among top-tier powers.
He would certainly agree to the World Government's demands, but only on the surface. If they wanted to interfere in his internal affairs, he wouldn't stand idly by.
The Sugar under the shelter is always ready, able to easily make them "disappear" from this world and be forgotten by everyone.
Today, Dressrosa has begun to earn the title of "Land of Love, Passion, and Toys," with the island filled with the fragrance of flowers and world-renowned for its exquisite cuisine.
The island's diverse array of toys is also very appealing; these toys are said to possess a life of their own and can serve as fighting force or even as labor.
The kingdom's inhabitants were already accustomed to the existence of toys. With Big Mom's Homie and the mechanical creatures of the Night Pirates preceding them, the existence of toys was not surprising.
But few people know that these toys are actually made up of real people or animals.
There are also hostile pirates, gangsters, spies and secret agents from various factions, and certain people who know the secrets of Dressrosa.
These people, transformed into toys, ceaselessly toil as a tireless workforce.
Once the number of people reaches a certain level, a batch will be cleared out to avoid excessive numbers and potential problems if things were to resume unexpectedly.
Doflamingo was very careful about this. Sugar herself was the biggest weakness; Sugar's combat power was very weak if she couldn't grow.