One Piece: Saving Hancock with the Batto Batto no Mi

The latter half of the Grand Line, the New World.

The Dressrosa Kingdom stretched out as a tropical island with abundant rainfall and a soothing resort-like ambiance. The island was permeated with the intoxicating scent of flowers and was world-renowned for its delicious food. Beyond its culinary delights, soul-stirring music, and adrenaline-pumping gladiator contests, the passionate personalities of its young women and their sexy, alluring dances were also an undeniable attraction. Thus, Dressrosa was also known as the "Country of Love and Passion."

Beneath its glittering facade, a "fairy legend" also circulated in this country. If something was stolen without clear reason, it was said to be the work of fairies. People were not to pursue the stolen goods; instead, they were to consider it a strange, good luck tradition.

In truth, the origin of the "fairy legend" was merely an atonement and compensation made by the current ruling family, the Riku Family, to atone for the misdeeds of the previous ruling family, the Donquixote Family, who had enslaved the Tontatta Tribe—known as the "Dwarves"—for a bitter hundred years.

Eight hundred years ago, after the Donquixote Family left the Dressrosa Kingdom and went to Mariejois to become Celestial Dragons, the Riku Family, who took over the kingdom, made a promise: "In this land, the Tontatta Tribe no longer needs to work; all necessities of life can be taken as they wish." Therefore, the King referred to the mysterious disappearance of supplies as "the fairies' prank," hoping his people would laugh it off and forget the past suffering.

In subsequent generations, the people who gradually learned the truth about the so-called fairies, without exception, accepted the King's assent and chose to quietly protect this race that had suffered so greatly. As a result, Dressrosa's "fairy legend" slowly spread, forming a unique tradition in the country, where people not only did not pursue stolen items, but instead considered them bearers of good fortune—a sweet irony.

On the other hand, in gratitude for the Riku Family's kindness, the benevolent Tontatta Tribe also put aside past grievances and worked diligently to transform this land into one full of flowers and lush greenery, ensuring the island was always filled with the fragrance of blossoms. Gradually, these tiny "fairies" that people couldn't see became Dressrosa's special "guardians," working in the shadows for the common good.

However, due to the Riku Family's promise, the Dressrosa Kingdom lost the Tontatta Tribe, who were both hardworking and cheap labor. After the Donquixote Family left, the country became much poorer than before.

Nevertheless... the Dressrosa Kingdom was one of the World Government's member nations. To maintain its legitimate rights and status, it had to pay huge tributes to the Celestial Dragons every year, which forced the country to levy heavy taxes on its people. Therefore, the people of this country led a relatively happy life, but they were certainly not wealthy; they could only be said to maintain a standard of living above subsistence level, living in the shadow of false luxury.

The Dressrosa Kingdom was under the jurisdiction of the Marine G5 Branch, a unit notorious for its eccentric and sometimes "problematic" members. However, because this branch was specifically used by the Marines to exile and assign problematic Marine soldiers to await retirement, the personnel numbers of this branch were always far lower than other G-prefixed branches.

Consequently, the maritime security situation in this sea area was not very good, with frequent appearances of pirates plundering passing ships, causing chaos and fear. Further beyond this sea area were the territories where the main forces of the New World pirates were divided: Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, Whitebeard, Wang Zhi (now Marshall D. Teach replacing him)... and other great pirates had divided the islands and nations of the New World into their spheres of influence, creating a fragile balance of power.

Due to the special situation in the New World, most countries were ruled by pirate forces and the World Government simultaneously, a peculiar coexistence. Meanwhile, countries that were not World Government member nations were completely under the rule of pirate forces, flying their flags proudly. One important reason why pirates flocked to the Grand Line, besides the One Piece mentioned by Roger before his death, was the desire to establish their own territories, or even become kings and build nations, in this chaotic New World.

Are kings, nobles, generals, and ministers born with such status?

Perhaps this was the mindset of the New World pirates. If those nobles could become kings, why couldn't they...? Therefore, in the New World, in addition to plundering enemy forces' resources, pirates also needed to maintain the "security" of their own territories—a brutal yet effective form of governance.

Taking Whitebeard Pirates as an example, who were at that time the strongest in the seas, they would plunder islands or ships not under their dominion. However, when an island or nation that paid them tribute was invaded by other pirate forces, they had to retaliate against the invading force to uphold the prestige of their Pirate Crew and ensure the loyalty of their subordinate territories.

To some extent, these somewhat unreasonable pirate rules had caused these large Pirate Crews to move beyond the realm of pure pirates—they were political and military forces. They even held contempt for the Pirate Crews in the first half of the Grand Line, in Paradise, who only engaged in burning, killing, and looting without establishing their own territories, believing that the latter were merely playing "Pirate House."

In Sephiroth's view, although the Four Emperors Pirate Crews in the New World still belonged to the category of pirates, they had formally taken on the embryonic form of self-contained "nations." However, these "nations" were built upon the absolute strategic power of each individual Emperor, and without that leader, everything would collapse.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Gorosei, the Four Emperors Pirate Crews were at most just another form of nation, and with so many nations in the world, and so many nations that were not members of the World Government, four more nations were no big deal and would not pose a direct threat to the Celestial Dragons' rule. So, it was fine to just ignore the Four Emperors Pirate Crews and let them slowly play themselves out in the New World—they would eventually destroy each other.

A hundred years later, those Four Emperors would have turned into piles of dry bones, while the World Government still stood tall.

Compared to minor pirates or even the Four Emperors, the Revolutionary Army formed by Dragon was the World Government's primary concern. They pursued freedom and equality, wanted to overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons, and constantly spread this ideology—a far more fundamental threat.

Everyone will eventually die, but ideas can live on...

The World Government spent a full hundred years trying to erase the ideology of a certain ancient kingdom, even causing the regression of world civilization and implementing policies to keep the populace ignorant, only to make people gradually forget the ideology of pursuing freedom and equality—a massive effort to control thought.

Returning to the main topic, due to its poverty, after paying the huge Celestial Dragon tribute and joining the World Government, the Dressrosa Kingdom could no longer be an object of tribute for other pirate forces. This led to their country frequently being disturbed by other Pirate Crews, making it an easy target.

If the Riku Family had not implemented a policy of "benevolent governance," which was relatively simple, never extravagant, and never levied excessive taxes, this country would have fallen into total poverty and starvation—a bleak outlook.

This time, Zephyr led the Military School Students to provide support in suppressing the threatening pirate alliance—a crucial mission for the Marine's reputation.

The port on Dressrosa Kingdom's East Coast, lined with mushroom-shaped rocks on both sides, appeared quiet just before their arrival. A ship slowly sailed from the sea and docked by the shore, its engine softly rumbling. Led by Zephyr, a group of Military School Students quickly descended the gangplank and landed on the dock, their white uniforms contrasting with the island's vibrant colors.

Not far away, the captain of Dressrosa's forces, Kyros, standing three meters tall, arrived with ten soldiers, greeting them respectfully.

"Presumably, you are Admiral Zephyr, sir?" Kyros asked, his voice deep and firm. "I am Kyros, the captain of this country's forces, sent by King Riku to welcome everyone."

"Then I shall trouble Mr. Kyros!" A broad smile appeared on Zephyr's face as he nodded towards the other party, a rare friendly gesture from him.

Led by Kyros, everyone walked along the straight and grand King's Avenue, through the vast central plaza, and towards the Royal Palace. After walking for quite some time, they finally arrived at the great hall and met King Riku, who was sitting on the throne, in his prime, with jet-black hair.

"Admiral Zephyr, welcome!" King Riku immediately rose from his throne, took a few steps forward, and with a joyful expression, shook hands with Zephyr. Although he was the king of a nation, Zephyr was one of the three Marine Admirals, and in terms of status, he was no less than him—a meeting of two great powers.

"Hello, Your Majesty King Riku." Zephyr also smiled and nodded, a rare formality for him.

King Riku glanced at the thirty Military School Students behind Zephyr and asked hesitantly: "I wonder, how many people have you brought this time?"

"Including those still on the Marine ship, there are a total of fifty-one people this time," Zephyr replied casually.

"Ah! This..." Hearing this, King Riku's expression drastically changed, and his voice was filled with worry: "When I sent the request for aid to Marineford, I already stated that the threatening pirate alliance attempting to force Dressrosa's surrender this time numbers over three thousand... But you've only brought fifty-one people. Even with our Dressrosa Royal Army of fifteen hundred, we're still at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength!" His voice trembled with despair.

"Hahaha! Don't worry, King Riku, with this old man here, merely three thousand-plus pirates won't be able to cause trouble. What's more, the students behind this old man are all super elites from the Marine Academy, and their strength is not weak. You can rest assured! Furthermore, the G5 Branch will also send one hundred people for support in the next two days..." Zephyr burst into hearty laughter, patting his chest with a "bang! bang" sound, a strong demonstration of confidence.

"But... alright!" King Riku looked rather uneasy, his eyes implying doubt, but in the end, he could only give up helplessly. He knew he had no other choice.

Four days ago, a group of pirates invaded the Dressrosa Kingdom. They declared to King Riku that they wanted the entire kingdom to surrender to them and accept their rule from then on. Of course, King Riku couldn't agree! So, he had Kyros drive the other party away—a bold yet risky move. However, the other party threatened as they left, claiming that they were a pirate alliance consisting of seven Supernovas, numbering over three thousand. They would definitely return to attack Dressrosa, and if they still hadn't surrendered by then, they would drag the entire country into a devastating war.

After King Riku verified the other party's Pirate Crew flags and the information in their words, he immediately requested aid from Marineford, begging the Marines to send a large number of troops to support Dressrosa. In this way, he could minimize the casualties on the Royal Army's side and among civilians in this war.

It seems that for now, he can only ask Kyros to lead people to prepare defensive measures and emergency evacuation procedures as much as possible... King Riku thought bitterly, the burden of responsibility heavy on his shoulders.

After some brief pleasantries with Zephyr, King Riku sent someone to prepare rooms for the Marines in the Royal Palace, readying them for the upcoming battle.

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