Early morning, on the top floor of the luxury hotel in Carnival City.
Finn was still asleep when he suddenly sensed danger. His eyes snapped open to see Hina, wearing only a white shirt, falling toward his abdomen.
THUD! A muffled impact.
Hina landed directly on Finn's stomach. The violent collision nearly made him vomit blood.
"Agh..." Finn choked.
"Admiral, Admiral, look! Big news!" Hina sat on top of him, holding a newspaper in one hand and shaking his arm with the other.
"Are you trying to kill me? Bastard!" Finn cursed.
Finn didn't bother removing Hina from his stomach. He took the newspaper she thrust at him and began reading. The headline was quite eye-catching: "Pirates Usurp the Throne, or the Fall of the Riku Clan?"
Finn perked up and started reading in earnest.
As expected, it was Doflamingo causing trouble in the New World and seizing Dressrosa.
However, judging from the newspaper's description, Doflamingo had obviously paid Morgans, or Morgans had been genuinely deceived by Doflamingo's methods.
Six days ago, Riku Dold III, in the name of the Riku royal family, had launched a fundraising campaign in Dressrosa for 10 billion berries.
To be honest, this wasn't a major incident. Ten billion berries couldn't even make a splash in the entire world.
But what happened afterward was extremely bizarre.
Riku Dold III, who'd enjoyed an excellent reputation and credibility worldwide, after raising ten billion berries in cash, had apparently succumbed to greed and launched a bloody massacre in Dressrosa.
Royal soldiers, and even King Riku Dold III himself, had personally taken to the battlefield, slaughtering many of the Dressrosa citizens who'd lent him money.
As a result, the entire nation had fallen into riots. A large-scale rebellion had erupted.
The country had been plunged into civil war.
But this civil war had ended in just one night.
Because it just so happened that during Riku Dold III's brutal suppression of Dressrosa's people, the Donquixote Family had "coincidentally" passed through this country.
Seven Warlords of the Sea member, Heavenly Yaksha Donquixote Doflamingo, as one of the Warlords, had quickly suppressed the rampaging Riku clan.
Then, through a series of political maneuvers, the final result was that Riku Dold III had been unanimously deposed from the throne by all citizens because of his "atrocities."
Donquixote Doflamingo, who'd helped the citizens of Dressrosa survive a night of suffering, had been officially elected as the new king of Dressrosa!
That's right. Doflamingo had been quite meticulous.
Through elections and referendums, King Riku Dold III had been quickly and legally removed from the throne.
Then Doflamingo had ascended the throne of Dressrosa through another vote in a completely formal and legal manner.
At least from a legal perspective, there was no problem whatsoever with Doflamingo becoming the new king of Dressrosa.
Many intelligent people could see this was clearly a conspiracy, a complete pirate usurpation of the throne. How could King Riku have suddenly gone mad and demanded a loan of 10 billion berries? And how could he kill all the citizens who'd lent him money over just 10 billion berries?
Wasn't that clearly insane?
But victors wrote history. Doflamingo had become the king of Dressrosa, and Riku Dold III had been sentenced to death. It was too late to say anything now, so no smart people jumped out to vindicate King Riku.
Because that would not only be meaningless but would also offend Doflamingo, a ruthless man.
Perhaps through donations, or perhaps through connections in Mary Geoise, either way, the Five Elders and other Mary Geoise senior officials hadn't expressed any opinions on this matter.
It seemed they'd tacitly agreed to Doflamingo becoming king of Dressrosa.
Careful observers, such as Morgans, had discovered that Dressrosa appeared on the list of Mary Geoise allied countries just announced two days ago.
There was no doubt that even though Dressrosa had a new king, due to timely delivery of Heavenly Tribute, this country hadn't been removed from Mary Geoise and remained one of the legitimate member states.
This tacit attitude made many royal families of member states feel uneasy.
The dangers of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system had finally revealed its true fangs.
"Interesting..." Finn smacked his lips.
As a righteous Admiral, Finn should have stood on King Riku's side. But from an interests perspective, Riku Dold III couldn't help the Marines at all.
On the contrary, Doflamingo was rooted in the New World and was willing to contribute fifty percent of Dressrosa and the Donquixote Family's net profits to the Marines as a token of allegiance and partnership. There was no doubt this would benefit the Marines far more.
In reality, apart from the casualties caused by this conspiracy, the real victims were only the Riku royal family.
Since Doflamingo had decided to reform and join the Marines, he could no longer continue using dark methods to rule Dressrosa.
Therefore, the tragedies Dressrosa was supposed to encounter were unlikely to happen again.
On the contrary, Doflamingo's ability as a king was definitely far superior to Riku Dold III's.
Finn believed that under Doflamingo's leadership, Dressrosa's economic and livelihood problems would be quickly resolved, and the living standards of the entire nation would rise.
Don't doubt it. Doflamingo was fully capable of this. The huge dividends from the Donquixote Family's underworld business and comprehensive cooperation with the Amway Group could fully develop all of Dressrosa.
This was a matter of mutual benefit and win-win.
So looking at it from another perspective, without considering Doflamingo's identity as a pirate, this whole affair was actually a very ordinary change of royal power.
This happened every year throughout the world.
A new king replacing an old king.
Just like Goa Kingdom in the East Blue, where the Outlook family had become the new royalty. There was no difference.
"There's no doubt this is a conspiracy, right? But Doflamingo did it very cleanly. There's no fault to be found at all. He seized the throne of Dressrosa completely within the rules, with reasonable and legal means!" Hina said with some emotion.
Finn nodded without speaking.
Hina then asked, "Admiral, what will he do after becoming king of Dressrosa?"
Finn grinned. "First of all, you have to understand what Doflamingo wants. Is it the throne?"
"No..." Hina shook her head.
"That's right. He doesn't want the throne. What he seeks is revenge against his fellow Celestial Dragons. But due to his own strength limitations, Doflamingo can't accomplish this alone. Therefore, he has to choose someone who can bring him hope of revenge, as an investment target, or as backing..." Finn explained.
In the original timeline, Doflamingo had likely chosen Kaido as his backer.
"He chose our Marines, right?" Hina's eyes shone with understanding.
"Exactly. He chose the Marines as his backing. Therefore, his purpose in Dressrosa is very clear: to increase his importance. Dressrosa has an advantageous geographical location in the New World. Logically, it shouldn't be so poor. Most routes in the New World intersect with Dressrosa. This country is naturally positioned to be a trade center. Doflamingo knows what our Marines lack isn't combat effectiveness, but economic capability. Therefore, as long as he earns enough berries, he can quickly increase the weight of his chips on the Marines' side. So, what do you think he'll do next?" Finn asked with a smile.
"Strengthen Dressrosa's economic development, earn more berries, and invest in our Marines?" Hina thought for a moment.
"Precisely!" Finn confirmed.
"Then isn't he basically working for us? Dressrosa was essentially captured by our Marines?" Hina asked with surprise.
"It's just a matter of each taking what they need. But if you insist on saying so, there's no problem with that interpretation." Finn said with a smile.
As if he didn't want to continue this discussion with Hina, Finn glanced at her white shirt. "If you don't get up now, don't even think about leaving!"
Hina's eyes flashed. She leaned her head against Finn's forehead and whispered, "Then I won't get up..."
"Prepare to die!" Finn became furious.
Meanwhile, in the desert kingdom of Alabasta.
Rainland was a newly emerging city in Alabasta in recent years. While its permanent population wasn't large, its floating population was enormous. Currently, Rainland was the most prosperous city in all of Alabasta, second only to the royal capital, Alubarna.
Because the fief of Seven Warlords member Sir Crocodile was located within Rainland, although Alabasta's internal situation was turbulent, the entire region around Rainland remained very peaceful.
Therefore, many great nobles of Alabasta often came to Rainland for refuge.
Sir Crocodile had built the most luxurious casino in the first half of the Grand Line in Rainland. The entire city had been constructed following an entertainment district model.
This prosperous city provided sufficient financial support for Crocodile's operations.
Crocodile's office was located on the third underground floor of the luxurious casino "Rain Dinners."
It was very spacious with minimal unnecessary decoration. It seemed Crocodile wasn't someone who pursued a luxurious lifestyle.
But the entire underground office was wrapped in glass, like an underground aquarium.
The creatures kept in this aquarium were quite formidable.
They were called Bananawani. Very ferocious by nature and living in groups, they even hunted Sea Kings in the Grand Line.
These were Crocodile's favorite pets.
In Alabasta, those who disobeyed him would mostly end up becoming Bananawani snacks.
At this moment in his office, Crocodile sat in his chair with a cigar in his mouth, looking at documents with a gloomy expression.
Recently, the situation in Alabasta had been strange. It seemed some inexplicable force had joined the power struggle in Alabasta and was secretly interfering with his plans.
This annoyed Crocodile greatly.
At that moment, the door to his office opened. A young woman walked in who seemed to have been tanned in this desert country. Her skin was slightly dark, but she was very beautiful and charming with an excellent temperament.
"Oh? It seems you're not in a good mood, boss. Then perhaps today's news can make you happier." The woman looked at Crocodile with a smile.
She didn't seem in awe of Crocodile. There was even a hint of mockery in her tone.
Crocodile raised his eyes to look at the woman. "I've told you many times, Nico Robin. Don't irritate me at times like this..."
"I already told you I bring good news that will make you happy." Robin shrugged nonchalantly.
At the same time, she raised her hand and tossed a newspaper onto Crocodile's desk.
"Look. Pirates usurp the country..."