Inside an opulent room that seemed to be made entirely of gold—from the pillars and beams to the furniture, floors, stairs, walls, doors, and windows—a man with gray-green hair slicked back into a pompadour sat on a golden throne, reading a newspaper. He was dressed extravagantly, with gold covering him from head to toe. Gold necklaces and earrings were nothing special; he even had gold-trimmed hats and boots.
The newspaper was reporting on the Kingdom of Dressrosa, under the Warlord of the Sea Donquixote Doflamingo, joining the Bratty Kids Pirates as a whole and breaking away from the World Government, as well as Impel Down warden Magellan's rebellion.
"..."
"Strange..."
"Is that brat really so strong and charismatic that so many people are willing to join her and pledge their loyalty to a little kid?"
After staring at the paper for a while, the green-haired, slicked-back man sitting on his golden throne like some nouveau riche tycoon thought it over, then tossed the newspaper aside. He rested both hands on the heavy solid-gold desk—which also seemed to be made of gold—and fell into thought.
Like everyone else in the world, he had been keeping an eye on that brat, Annie Hastur. He had to, after all. At some point, most of the news in the papers had become about her.
So he had followed her exploits from the beginning: causing a commotion in the Sabaody Archipelago, beating up a Celestial Dragon and Admiral Kizaru, storming Impel Down, turning the tide of the battle at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, and defeating a Marine fleet single-handedly; then dominating Fish-Man Island, and now peacefully bringing the Kingdom of Dressrosa under her banner. He had kept a close eye on it all, and been shaken by the thought that she had managed all that at