Inside the royal palace on King's Plateau, Dressrosa.
King Riku, the current king of Dressrosa, was deeply troubled. The day before, Dressrosa had been attacked by the notorious Ghost Mask Pirates of the New World. Although his son-in-law Kyros had led the defense and repelled an attack by one of their officers, the officer had vowed to return with a much larger force tomorrow night.
And this time, with Dressrosa's military strength weakened for years, there was no way they could withstand the Ghost Mask Pirates' attack. After all, their captain, Yiwen, was a notorious pirate of the New World with a bounty of 200 million Beli! They had been forced to commit nearly all of the kingdom's elite just to drive off the vanguard led by one of his senior officers.
Just as King Riku was at his wits' end, Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the New World's newly risen Shichibukai known as the Heavenly Yaksha, approached him. He offered to protect the kingdom, but demanded 10 billion Beli in return.
For Dressrosa's royal family, 10 billion Beli was an unbearable price to pay. But if they couldn't come up with the money, Dressrosa would be consumed by war. Given the Ghost Mask Pirates' past brutality, the consequences would be unthinkable! King Riku sighed deeply and summoned his second daughter, Viola.
Nineteen-year-old Viola was a Paramecia Devil Fruit user who had eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit. She could see through objects and read people's hearts, and even use her tears as weapons. The king had always trusted her deeply.
Looking at his graceful second daughter, King Riku smiled kindly, then solemnly urged her, "Viola, Army Commander Taigu will escort you to the nearest Marine G-5 Branch. You will represent the Riku Royal Family and ask the Marines for help. Tell them to send troops to drive off the Ghost Mask Pirates, as quickly as possible. If Dressrosa falls before you can secure reinforcements, don't come back. Run as far away as you can!"
Viola replied excitedly, "Father, didn't the Shichibukai, the Heavenly Yaksha, promise to help our royal family? The Shichibukai are on the World Government's side, too! With his strength, he should be able to hold off the Ghost Mask Pirates."
Viola was still an innocent princess, not yet the exiled princess who would later spend years struggling to survive in the Donquixote Family, burdened by the hatred of her lost country and family. Her thoughts were still rather simple.
"Viola! Don't forget that the Shichibukai are pirates, too. And the Donquixote Family were the rulers of Dressrosa 800 years ago. I fear they haven't come here with good intentions! This is no time for you to be stubborn!"
After speaking, King Riku had a maid escort Viola away. Of course, he had no idea that after the green-haired maid left, she had quietly dialed a Den Den Mushi.
"Puru puru puru~" Once the call connected, the Den Den Mushi's appearance changed to that of someone wearing flamboyant sunglasses and a pink feathered coat.
"Monet, what's the news from the palace?"
"Young Master, King Riku secretly sent his second daughter, Viola, to the G-5 Base to ask the Marines for help!"
The maid who had infiltrated King Riku's palace was none other than Monet, an officer of the Donquixote Family and a Logia user who had eaten the Snow-Snow Fruit!
"Fuffuffuffuffu! The G-5 Base, huh? That old fool is walking right into a trap~" An arrogant laugh came from the Den Den Mushi. "Let him go. I'll give him hope, then plunge him into despair! Keep watching him. He should be starting to raise the money soon."
"Yes, Young Master!"
Meanwhile, the Reincarnators in Dressrosa had also begun to act.
Orochimaru and Kisame were working together. Disguised as a fat and a skinny gambler, they swaggered into a Donquixote Family casino.
In the casino office, Buffalo, an officer of the Donquixote Family who was in charge of the establishment, was asleep when his subordinates woke him.
"What? Someone's causing trouble on our turf?" Still groggy and irritable, Buffalo set off to grab the troublemakers and teach them a lesson.
"Bang!" Someone kicked the office door open from the outside.
"No need to trouble yourself. We've come to you."
With that brazen voice, Orochimaru and Kisame, disguised with transformation techniques, strolled into the office as if they owned the place.
Buffalo sneered. "You must have a death wish, causing trouble on the Donquixote Family's turf."
Orochimaru, who was leading the way, ran the tip of his long tongue over his lips. "How convenient. The Donquixote Family is exactly who we're looking for." He signaled to Kisame, and they attacked at the same time.
"Hell Viewing Technique!" Orochimaru's genjutsu and Kisame's kunai attack struck Buffalo simultaneously.
Although Buffalo was a Paramecia user who had eaten the Spin-Spin Fruit, his Haki was weak, and he ranked near the bottom among the Donquixote Family's officers. His strength was around the middle of the second tier. Against Orochimaru, an early third-tier fighter, and Kisame, who was close to the third tier, he stood no chance. He was knocked unconscious in a single exchange.
Orochimaru transformed into Buffalo and said, "I'll leave him to you. I trust the skills of Kirigakure's Anbu."
"It's an honor to have the trust of Lord Orochimaru, one of the Sannin." Kisame Hoshigaki forced a smile, then dragged Buffalo into the shadows.
A few hours later, in a meeting room inside the casino,
the two groups, which had split up, reunited and began discussing their plan.
"The leader of the Donquixote Family is Donquixote Doflamingo. He's the strongest in the family and commands four major divisions..."
Kisame gave everyone a detailed account of the intelligence he'd gotten from Buffalo. On the other side, Pakura also shared what they had learned while infiltrating the royal palace.
Once they had exchanged information, Orochimaru spoke with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"It seems the Donquixote Family intends to use an outside threat to force the king to submit. Whether King Riku can pay the 10 billion Beli or not, Doflamingo won't let him live. He only needs an excuse to take over the kingdom and make it look legitimate."
Orochimaru might not have liked politics, but that didn't mean he didn't understand it. He simply didn't care for it.
"King Riku is giving a public speech tonight. Supposedly, he's trying to raise money from the people. If Doflamingo intends to make his move, this is the perfect opportunity," Raikage A said gravely.
"However, we should be careful. This world has a remarkable thing called Devil Fruits. Those who eat one gain special abilities. We don't know yet how much they can enhance an ordinary person's combat strength."
Kisame added, "Buffalo, the man we captured, is a Paramecia user who ate the Spin-Spin Fruit. His special ability lets him turn any part of his body into a propeller, giving him the ability to fly. I'd estimate his strength to be somewhere between a skilled and elite jōnin. According to his information, Doflamingo is a Paramecia user who ate the String-String Fruit. He can produce strings from his body, then freely control them to attack or manipulate his enemies."
Hearing this, Raikage A couldn't help looking down on them. "Those abilities sound useless. If all goes well tonight, let's just kill the Donquixote Family and get out of this hellhole."
"Devil Fruits are fascinating," Orochimaru said, interest gleaming in his eyes.
After discussing their plans, everyone went their separate ways to rest and prepare for nightfall.
That night, a huge crowd gathered in Dressrosa's central square.
King Riku was delivering an impassioned speech. "My people, our kingdom has been attacked by the Ghost Mask Pirates. Although our brave soldiers drove the pirates back, they have not retreated. They have vowed to return tomorrow night with their entire force and attack us. Fortunately, one of the Shichibukai under the World Government, Lord Doflamingo, has offered to help us."
Beside him, Doflamingo watched with a group of family officers and gave the king a sinister smile.
"But there is no such thing as a free lunch. We must pay 10 billion Beli in compensation. I have taken every treasure from the royal treasury, and it still isn't enough. So I, your incompetent king, beg you to lend your treasures to the royal family. Once we weather this crisis together, the royal family will repay every last bit, with interest." King Riku bowed deeply to the people.
"King, we stand with the royal family!"
"I'm willing to lend money to the royal family!"
"Count me in!"
The Riku Royal Family had always governed diligently and cared for its people, earning a measure of public support. Now, the citizens opened their hearts and their purses. Seeing so many people supporting him, King Riku was moved to tears.
"Thank you! Thank you, everyone!"
The people placed their money into the collection boxes that had been set out in advance. As the boxes filled, King Riku and the people from the palace were deeply moved.
Doflamingo sneered and told the family officer beside him, "Tell Yiwen he can make his move."
King Riku was still thanking the people when he suddenly realized he couldn't control his body. As though someone else were manipulating him, he snatched the sword from a nearby guard and stabbed a woman who was making a donation right in front of him.
"Oh my God! King Riku!"
"The king!"
Everyone nearby was stunned by the sudden turn of events. For a moment, the square fell into complete silence. King Riku's face was streaked with tears, and his expression twisted as he tried to speak, but no words came out. All he could do was watch helplessly as someone else controlled his body and forced him to slaughter his own people!
"King Riku's gone mad!"
"You demon!"
"The king tricked us out of our treasures and is killing us to cover it up!"
The crowd erupted into chaos.
Doflamingo watched his scheme unfold with satisfaction. Just as he was about to step forward, "stop King Riku," and become the hero who saved the country, someone familiar appeared beside the king before he could.
The man wore a pink feathered coat and heart-shaped sunglasses. With short blond hair and a swaggering, strutting gait, he kicked King Riku away.
"Fuffuffuffuffu! Despair, you insects! I, Doflamingo, did all of this! I will be the king of this country! The 10 billion in compensation, driving off the pirates—it's all a lie!"
"Donquixote Doflamingo" spread his arms and laughed wildly.
The people around him were stunned. They could hardly believe that the Shichibukai, who had seemed like their savior moments ago, had now revealed himself as a demon! When they recovered, they screamed and scattered, fleeing even more frantically.
[Main Quest 1: "Snipe the Heavenly Yaksha" complete! Main Quest 2: "Survive" activated. Quest Objective: Escape the Donquixote Family's pursuit! Quest Reward: 2,000 points Quest Failure Penalty: None]
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