Early the next morning.
A red sun had just risen from the horizon, its pale golden light sprinkling across the sparkling sea.
After a day of rest and finishing the matters regarding Dressrosa joining the New World Alliance, Allen and his crew arrived at the port.
Besides the Riku Royal Family of Dressrosa, Allen had them connect with the Tontatta Tribe and the neighboring Elizabeth Royal Family.
By now, a third of the countries in the New World had joined the New World Alliance.
Allen had already given up on the small fraction in the first half that firmly resisted, but there was still a large portion of countries in the second half that they hadn't contacted yet.
Many islands there flew the flags of the Animal Kingdom Pirates and the New Whitebeard Pirates. Converting them would inevitably lead to conflicts with those two pirate crews.
On the other hand, the territories under Red Hair's banner joined with almost no resistance, and Red Hair never let out any word of causing trouble over it.
It was as if he tacitly approved of their actions.
Thinking about it carefully, Red Hair had never directly shown them goodwill, but in their occasional indirect contacts, the details clearly showed support for their various actions.
Sometimes Allen even wondered if his surname was also Monkey D.
Before long, a massive, dark red battleship with a ferocious lion head figurehead appeared in Dressrosa's waters, slowly cutting through the waves toward the port.
From hundreds of meters away, Allen and the others could see Gin and a group of subordinates standing on the bow deck.
Nami couldn't help but think about their upcoming itinerary. She asked Allen, "Where are we heading next? Also, what are you going to do with Doffy's group?"
"I don't want to be on the same ship as them. Just looking at them makes me uncomfortable. How about we form a new fleet for them to lead?"
"I agree with Nami-san's proposal. I don't have much of an opinion on Kid, but let's pass on Doffy. If we stay with them, I'm afraid I'll be turned into a toy in the middle of the night," Sanji said with a tone of disgust.
Behind the group, Doflamingo and several of his heavily bandaged subordinates gritted their teeth upon hearing this.
Allen glanced over expressionlessly, and they immediately restrained their expressions and averted their gazes.
"Fufufufu~ Don't make our relationship so stiff. We still have to continue cooperating in the future, otherwise you wouldn't have made a special trip here. Am I right?" Doflamingo said with a playful smile.
Even though he had just experienced a massive defeat and lost almost all the resources he had spent years building, his mindset was still remarkably resilient, and he remained as arrogant as ever.
"Of course, you will cooperate with me properly as an ally. This is a permanent contract. I even found a better country to serve as your base of operations," Allen said with a fake smile.
The only reason he let Doflamingo live was so the man could be of use to him for the rest of his life. Otherwise, his life would have ended right here.
"A better country?" Doflamingo looked over with an interested gaze.
Hearing that Allen was going to settle Doflamingo somewhere, Nami and the others also cast curious glances.
The corners of Allen's mouth curled up. "It's exactly where we're heading next."
"You've been acting as a middleman helping Kaido sell weapons manufactured in Wano Country, so you must have accumulated a lot of experience."
"Wano's shogun, Kurozumi Orochi, also trades Seastone with the World Government. It just so happens you've dealt with the World Government quite a bit too. I plan to hand Wano Country over to you to manage."
"From now on, you'll replace Kaido and take over all the business there. How about it? Starting to feel excited?" Allen smiled coldly, his burning gaze fixed on Doflamingo.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed.
"You mean we're going to war with the Animal Kingdom Pirates?" Nami looked surprised. "Wait a minute, Allen, is the timing right? I remember this step was supposed to..."
"I think it's enough." Allen interrupted her, his tone firm. "Now is the best time. There won't be any problems."
He had already defeated Big Mom and ascended to the position of an Emperor a year ago. There were very few people in the entire New World who could cross blows with him now.
But he hadn't continued to challenge Kaido, Red Hair, or engage in large-scale friction with the Marines because the benefits were minimal.
The massive territories he had originally conquered hadn't even been stabilized yet. If he conquered more territory, he wouldn't have the manpower to develop it.
So he chose to steadily develop his subordinate forces and wait for the right moment to take the next strategic step.
And the goal of this step was to sweep across the entire New World and establish the only pirate force capable of standing toe-to-toe with the World Government!
Going to war with Kaido was only the first step. After that would be the New Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates.
One New World didn't need four Emperors!
"The ship is here. Let's go," Allen chuckled, turning and walking toward the Freewill docked at the port.
"The Animal Kingdom Pirates, huh? Looks like another massive war is upon us." Sanji bit his cigarette, a faint smirk on his lips. "If we defeat Kaido, the achievement of dethroning two Emperors should be enough to crown Allen as the King of the New World, right?"
"If only it were that simple. Kaido of the Beasts is known as the strongest creature on land, sea, and air. This battle definitely won't be easy," Nami said with some concern, as the group quickly followed in Allen's footsteps.
In the back, Doflamingo remained thoughtfully silent.
Back then, he had invited Allen to cooperate and take down Kaido together. But before long, Allen had left him far behind.
Due to their intertwined interests, he and Allen still maintained a great deal of cooperation. However, they had gone from nominal allies to him essentially working for Allen, which wasn't much different from his relationship with Kaido.
Now Allen was really taking him to fight Kaido, but he felt as if he had no real part to play in it from start to finish. Regardless of who won or lost, he would just continue working for the winner.
"..."
"Let's go. If Kaido wins, he'll probably let me return to Dressrosa. If he wins, we'll get Wano Country. Either way, it won't be worse than it is now," Doflamingo grinned, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking forward with an arrogant stride.
"The era is going to be turned upside down. No one can truly remain neutral. Choosing the right side is quite an art, fufufufu~"
The members of the Donquixote Family quickly followed.
Soon, the Freewill didn't linger for long. After a simple resupply at the port, it left the coast and slowly sailed out of Dressrosa's waters.
"If we take the conventional route, it will take over a week to reach Wano Country. But Doffy has an Eternal Pose for Wano. If we sail straight the whole way, it will only take five days."
On the balcony outside the captain's cabin on the third floor, Nami held a nautical chart and looked to the side. She glanced up at Allen beside her.
"After sailing continuously for five days, I'm afraid everyone's condition upon landing won't be great. Going straight into battle has too many drawbacks. I suggest we find a place near Wano Country to rest and regroup."
Allen leaned over to glance at the map and asked, "I'll listen to you. What islands are around Wano Country?"
"Let me see." Nami looked down at the map and read aloud:
"To the east is the uninhabited Victory Island. To the northeast is Egghead. Elbaf to the north is too far. To the southwest, there's Hachinosu, the Lulusia Kingdom, and an unnamed island where the Marine G-13 Base is stationed..."