Dawn's sunlight shone on the wrecked Gild Tesoro. After the battle the day before, this golden city had completely lost its former prosperity.
The members of Fairy Tail had been busy all night looting the spoils.
According to the setup, this ship should contain twenty percent of the Beli circulating in this world, but Drake couldn't find the treasury where the money was hidden.
Instead, he uncovered Tesoro's Golden Prison, where he stored gold. Compared to the Beli that could only be used in this world, gold was still more valuable.
He didn't know what kind of twisted hobby Tesoro had—locking up those who lost to him in a place that contained nothing but gold.
The gamblers blinded by money, ending up waiting to die miserably in a place filled only with gold—such a story is quite educational and would make a good propaganda piece for anti-gambling campaigns.
In the following days, Drake was busy melting down the gold from the Golden Prison into bars to take away.
He even had Vinnie help him with magic to melt the gold, and he made a bunch of rings for storage.
Of course, Drake didn't agree with Tesoro's money-centric philosophy, but he didn't see money as worthless either.
In most worlds, money can solve many problems—like the guild's finances, which had been tight. Helping Lord Makaroft lighten his burden was a good thing!
And after fighting Tesoro for days, it would be too much of a loss if he didn't get anything out of it.
After several days of work, Drake finally cleared out all the gold from the Golden Prison.
He initially thought that the city of Gild Tesoro would be quite chaotic during this time, but surprisingly, it remained quite peaceful.
Even the rebuilding work was proceeding smoothly and systematically.
The people doing this were those who had broken free from Tesoro's control. Many of them were thugs and pirates who had done terrible things.
It had to be said—although many on the sea are greedy and vile, they still show a certain sense of righteousness in some respects.
Perhaps that's what's called the "pure land in the hearts of the wicked."
After Naz and the others cleared out Tesoro's subordinates and those who took advantage of the chaos, the remaining people managed to restore order on Gild Tesoro.
Everyone agreed that Fairy Tail had already taken over Gild Tesoro. This place was now considered Fairy Tail's territory.
Drake was confused when he heard this. When did he say he wanted to take over the Golden City? All his looting of gold was just to leave!
He had no interest in domination or conquest—running this place was complicated enough, and managing Gild Tesoro was a headache.
Tesoro was able to do so easily because he collaborated with Morgans and Donquixote Doflamingo in the underground world, and he used vast amounts of money to control the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
Plus, his industries spread across the sea, and he oppressed those who were deceived on his ships. Add to that his ability to control the entire city of Gild Tesoro with his Devil Fruit power, and that's how the city kept running.
Drake couldn't do any of that, nor was he willing to. Running such a complex operation would be very difficult.
But inside Gild Tesoro, these guys refused to listen to anyone. Despite Drake telling them he wouldn't be the owner here, they kept coming to report whenever something happened.
It was so annoying that Drake didn't know what to say. That day, someone came to find him again, just as he was packing to leave.
"Mr. Drake, someone's here to see you. They're waiting in the reception room!"
Drake sighed. "I told you not to bother me unless it's urgent! Who is it?"
He was genuinely curious. Although he knew quite a few people in this world, only a few in the New World. And if they wanted to see him, they wouldn't need to go through others.
Frowning with curiosity, Drake arrived at the newly rebuilt Golden King Hotel, pushed open the door of the reception room, and saw who was inside.
Two people sat on the sofa. One was a man in a suit, and Drake confirmed he was not a character he recognized from his memories.
But he recognized the tall man sitting on the other side.
The man was dressed like a tribal native, wearing a large fur hat, a bright red cloak draped behind him, and two stripes on his face.
It was a high-ranking officer from the Donquixote family—Doflamingo's family—named Diamante. It looked like he was here specifically to find Drake.
The man in the suit, with a flattering smile, approached Drake and said, "This is Lord Drake, right? Sorry for the intrusion, but we have important matters to discuss with you."
Drake ignored him and sat directly across from the main figure, asking, "I can still tell who the real boss is. What's your purpose in coming to see me?"
Diamante sat upright and said, "I actually don't mind your straightforward attitude. I'll just say it—I'm here representing the underground world's Joker to negotiate with you.
You probably don't know, but Tesoro and Joker are partners. Killing him has caused us significant losses.
Of course, Joker doesn't hold any grudge against you for Tesoro's incompetence. And he's also fine with changing partners if needed.
So, how about teaming up with us? Then the underground world won't have any rivals."
Drake sighed. "What exactly made you think I have that kind of ambition?"
Diamante's expression changed, and the smile on his face disappeared.
As he said, Doflamingo sent him here to facilitate cooperation between the two sides.
Tesoro was once an ally of Doflamingo, but in the underground world, there are no truly reliable allies.
Moreover, Tesoro's relationship with Doflamingo was complicated.
Tesoro's Gold-Gold Fruit was stolen from Doflamingo's auction house, but Doflamingo had no intention of selling that fruit.
Later, Tesoro's industries grew, and he became strong enough to rival Doflamingo. Plus, the Gold-Gold Fruit had already been eaten, so pursuing it further was pointless.
That's why Doflamingo shifted from an alliance to cooperation with Tesoro.
But cooperation means that if the opportunity arises, neither would hesitate to stab the other in the back. And if Tesoro is defeated, someone like Doflamingo wouldn't bother avenging him—they'd just look to carve up more profits from the corpse.
During this period, most of Doflamingo's industries across the sea had been swallowed by his family.
Doflamingo also saw the potential to cooperate with people like Drake.
Although he was badly beaten by Drake during the Marineford War, Doflamingo wouldn't give up on his ambitions. He would seize any opportunity to use others.
Diamante then asked, "So, are you rejecting Joker's goodwill?"
Drake extended a finger and shook his head. "First, I'm not interested in your underground world affairs. Second, I'm not interested in cooperating with you.
As for rejecting you—what's the problem?"
Suddenly, the room's temperature rose sharply, and sweat streamed down Diamante's face.
He finally remembered— the person he was talking to was someone who could tie with Big Mom in a fight and even deal with Tesoro's monster.
Ultimately, strength decides everything on the sea, and the Donquixote family didn't seem to have the power to threaten him.
Drake retracted his aura and said, "That's my answer. Tell Joker that."
Diamante suppressed his arrogance and stiffly stood up, casually grabbing the suited middle-aged man who had been lying on the ground, then left the room.
Drake leaned back on the sofa, rubbing his forehead. This place was truly a headache—better to leave quickly.
But just as he was about to leave, someone arrived again in the afternoon.
In the same reception room, sitting in Diamante's place was a young man in a fedora and a blonde wig, with a chief's mask on his face, followed by another person in a striped mask with the same attire.
Their outfits were very distinctive, and Drake immediately recognized who they were.
Seated confidently in the same spot as this morning, Drake said casually, "The World Government's dogs come to visit again? I don't remember being on such good terms with you to sit and have tea together."
The visitor was a CP0 agent from the World Government's secret agency, and judging by his appearance, he was one of the most mysterious CP0 agents.
The man with the chief's mask coldly said, "Show some respect. I'm here representing the World Government."
Drake raised an eyebrow and replied, "The World Government… so what?"
The man behind the striped mask, also a CP0 agent, glared and said, "Impudent! You…!"
Before he could finish, Drake slightly raised the finger resting on the armrest. The air seemed to freeze, and the enormous amount of his magic pressure forced the striped mask's words back.
"Enough, we're not here to fight!"
The man with the mask quickly spoke, and Drake lowered his finger, retracting his magic.
The man with the mask continued, "Gild Tesoro is allowed to operate as a neutral zone because he offers a large amount of gold to the sky every year.
I brought a message from the Five Elders: you can rule Gild Tesoro, and it can continue to be a neutral zone. However, the gold contribution must increase by 20%."
Drake was amused and said, "You're quite something—your boss must be a fool to be living so hard, huh?"
The man with the mask emitted a cold aura, and though his face was hidden behind the mask, his expression afterward must have been very unpleasant.
"You're too arrogant, insulting those elders like that!"
Drake ignored the cold aura and said dismissively, "If a dog only shows its teeth but dares not bite, then don't go around barking!
I'll say it plainly—don't dream about the sky-high gold or the pig-like group of Celestial Dragons. If you want trouble, I'll continue, but send a Marine Admiral or the five old men themselves. Sending a dog is useless!"
In the next moment, Drake vanished from the sofa and appeared in front of two CP0 agents as if teleporting.
He kicked the striped mask agent into the air, then grabbed the neck of the man with the chief's mask and slammed him onto the sofa, smashing him into the ground.
"Also, dogs just barking in front of people are really annoying!"
Ignoring the CP0 agent's vomiting blood, Drake lifted him and kicked him away.
The man with the mask flew backward, crashing into the striped mask agent, and together they smashed through the wall and flew out.
After a long while, neither returned, indicating that as secret agents, they remained professional—no personal emotions affected their mission. They had already fled with Drake's reply.
The intruders had escaped, but Drake stood still, slowly speaking, "Now that there's no one to interfere, aren't you coming out?"
"You can't fool me; I thought you were hiding well!"
A light, airy sound of something landing on the ground echoed. Drake turned his head and looked at the young man in a fedora and gold hair.
When he entered the room, Drake sensed someone was hiding in the ceiling of the reception room. But he didn't expect it was this person.
Among the trio of the ASL—Ace and Luffy's sworn brother Sabo—Sabo was now the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army.
Among those Drake had rescued from the Golden Prison was a man named Reiz Musk, once called an undefeated gambling star and a well-known figure on the sea.
However, his gambling skills clearly couldn't compare to the cheating ability of the Luck-Luck Fruit, and he ended up as a prisoner of Tesoro.
But he also had another identity—he was a member of the Revolutionary Army.
It was probably he who contacted the Revolutionaries, which is why Sabo appeared here. And after discovering CP0's presence, he hid in the reception room to gather intelligence.
Sabo tidied his clothes, then bowed very solemnly.
"First, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Your Excellency. Thank you for helping my brothers and for letting them survive that war!"
Drake said, "It seems your memory has been restored!"
Sabo straightened up and grinned brightly. "Yes! Although I arrived at Marineford near the end of the war, seeing those two still made me remember everything."
In the original story, the Revolutionary Army didn't get involved in the Marineford War. Sabo only learned about it afterward through the newspapers.
But this time, to bring Ivankov back, Sabo went to Marineford's Marine Headquarters, and that's when his memory was restored.
Drake said, "So, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army coming here isn't just to thank me, right?"
Sabo looked serious. "Of course not. Mr. Dragon sent me here to ask you… what are your thoughts on us, the Revolutionary Army?"
Drake was aware of his own position now—he had become a "big shot" that no one could ignore.
He wasn't a pirate, but he helped Whitebeard's pirates win the Marineford War. Sabo had also seen Drake's hostile attitude toward the World Government.
So, it seemed the Revolutionary Army was curious about Drake's stance as well.
Drake thought for a moment and replied, "The Revolutionary Army… I do have some understanding of you. I admire your efforts to help the weak."
Sabo eagerly stepped forward. "Then, Mr. Drake, would you like to join us?"
Drake raised a hand. "Sorry, I decline. We won't stay here forever. And I'll be blunt—if I don't understand what kind of world you want to create and how to create it, I really can't fight alongside you."
Thinking about it, he had refused many people today, but that was indeed his honest answer.
The core idea of the Revolutionary Army was to overthrow the Celestial Dragons, not the World Government. They didn't understand what a true revolution was.
They didn't even know who their real enemies were, nor did they understand that an incomplete revolution was just a failed revolution. It was hopeless. Drake wouldn't get involved and cause himself trouble.
Sabo had forgotten to ask what Drake's answer was, as he kept repeating his two questions.
Just as Drake was about to leave and give him some space to think, Sabo finally spoke.
"Oh, I also met Ace when I arrived. He asked me to deliver a message—you have something to discuss with you."
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