All eyes turned to Luffy.
Doflamingo didn't dare make a move; he didn't have the nerve to kill someone in front of Straw Hat.
Luffy shifted his gaze to Sabo.
What exactly was the Revolutionary Army planning for the future?
He assumed even his father didn't know the full answer.
The ultimate goal was to overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons—but what would come after that?
"Luffy, what do you intend to do with this kingdom?" Sabo asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't know. Its future is up to the people."
Luffy shook his head lightly.
He was thinking about how to push progress forward.
He didn't need much—just a little more would be enough.
Of course, the most basic requirement was that the existence of a king had to be abolished, and both slavery and nobility needed to be ended and thrown into the trash heap of history.
As he pondered this, another commotion erupted outside, and the Straw Hat crew burst into the hall one after another.
It was Nami and the others.
"Luffy!"
Entering the room, Nami immediately noticed the strange atmosphere in the banquet hall.
Monet looked first at Doflamingo, then saw her sister Sugar unconscious on the floor.
Startled, she rushed to her side. After confirming Sugar was merely unconscious, she let out a long sigh of relief.
Along with them, another girl entered—this one with a sword and wearing revealing armor.
"Rebecca!"
Cyrus's pupils contracted. "Why did you come!? Go back!"
Seeing her injured and kneeling father, she immediately aimed her sword at Doflamingo.
Rage clouded her judgment, and she charged at him.
Doflamingo simply raised a hand, catching the blade mid-swing. He grinned. "You really are a 'brave' princess."
"What you've done is unforgivable, Doflamingo!"
Cyrus struggled to stand, trying to shield his daughter.
But he had been pierced through the chest by Doflamingo's earlier attack. He couldn't move at all—any small motion made his body feel like it was tearing apart.
He coughed up blood again.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Luffy stared in confusion. Were this father and daughter performing a play in front of him?
"Let them go, Doflamingo."
As he said this, he pulled a healing-type fruit from his adventure storage and tossed it to Cyrus.
Healing fruits were extremely rare before the [Custom Refresh].
But after the refresh, they'd become common enough to be treated like food.
"Eat it. Your wounds will close."
"Straw Hat Luffy…"
Cyrus looked at the fruit in his hand, then obeyed and took a bite.
In the next instant, the bloody wound in his chest healed as though time itself had rewound.
And that wasn't all.
He jumped to his feet; the stump of his amputated left leg felt hot and itchy—
—as if it were about to grow back entirely.
"What…!?" Doflamingo was stunned.
Everyone except the Straw Hats stared in disbelief at the sight before them.
But no one was more shocked than Cyrus himself.
Eight years ago, during the effort to protect the king, he had lost his left leg… and now it had grown back in an instant.
"Your leg…" Rebecca whispered, stunned, dropping her weapon with a loud clang.
She glanced at Luffy, sitting calmly nearby.
He didn't look surprised at all.
At that moment, another person burst into the hall.
A tall man in armor and a helmet, holding a halberd, barged in aggressively—only to freeze when he saw Cyrus.
"Cyrus…? Your leg!?"
He vividly remembered having forgotten about it because of the fruit's influence, but now everything was clear again.
Cyrus was the one who saved him from the palace that night eight years ago, losing his leg as the price.
The undefeated commander of Dressrosa's army, with a record of three thousand consecutive victories.
And his son-in-law—Cyrus!
"That voice… is that King Riku?"
Cyrus snapped back to reality immediately.
The helmeted man was shocked. When he looked back at Rebecca, he saw how much his granddaughter had grown…
He removed his helmet silently, revealing an aged face.
"Everyone has decided to show up now, huh?"
Doflamingo smirked, turning toward Luffy. "Luffy, you just said the royal status of the Riku family should be abolished, right?"
"You arrived at the perfect time, former King of Dressrosa."
Luffy propped his cheek against one hand and said casually:
"From now on, this country will be ruled by me."
I will abolish the royal family, the nobility, slavery—everything. I'll raise the flag of the Straw Hat Pirates over the palace and the port. Dressrosa will no longer be a World Government member nation. It will become a new country… New Dressrosa!
Everything he said up until now could still be understood.
"Luffy?" Sabo said blankly. "You're turning this place into a pirate nation?"
"It's just an experiment."
Luffy grinned.
A country this small wasn't something he had any interest in ruling personally.
The reason he wanted it removed from the list of member nations was simply because he didn't want the World Government interfering.
At the same time, he needed his flag to protect New Dressrosa.
Only then could the experiment proceed.
"I have no interest in ruling your country myself. That's why I'm returning the power to the people."
"What do you mean?" Cyrus asked, completely lost.
With his level of intellect, something this complex was impossible to grasp.
The former king, on the other hand, could vaguely sense Luffy's intentions.
And Doflamingo understood it almost completely.
"Interesting… letting the citizens decide the country's future themselves?" The corners of his mouth curled upward. "Am I a citizen too, Luffy?"
"Of course."
Luffy replied without hesitation. "You've committed crimes, but I'm way too lazy to deal with you myself. You should confess your crimes to the entire nation. Use your Den Den Mushi and inform everyone immediately, as the former king."
Luffy didn't hold a personal grudge against him—Law did.
And Law's grudge was for Law to settle.
"Understood!"
Once ordered, Doflamingo acted immediately.
As soon as he left, Nami approached Luffy with a baffled expression.
"Luffy, what the hell is going on? What experiment?"
"A human-observation experiment~"
Because Sugar had fainted, 150,000 toys returned to their original forms.
At that moment, Dressrosa was in total chaos.
Enraged victims surged toward the palace while members of the Donquixote Family clashed with the mob in a tense standoff.
More than half an hour passed.
Suddenly, a massive screen descended from the palace.
Then, Doflamingo's voice echoed through radios and Den Den Mushi across the nation.
"Furfurfur, citizens of Dressrosa and all those who've regained your true forms."
"Good morning, everyone. I am Donquixote Doflamingo, former King of Dressrosa!"
"I know you're furious. Under the guidance of Monkey D. Luffy, I confess!"
"And now, my report of guilt…"
As Doflamingo appeared on the giant screen,
With his voice echoing across the nation,
The commotion gradually diminished.
Those closest to the palace stands could see him smiling arrogantly on the massive display.
One by one, they clenched their teeth, wishing they could tear him apart.
Of course, besides Doflamingo, King Riku and the Straw Hats also appeared on the screen.
Even when turned into toys, they still read the news. With his recent promotion to Yonko, Straw Hat Luffy was known to all.
It really was him.
He freed all the toys?
What was he planning next?
Countless people watched, setting aside their rage momentarily, staring silently at the giant screen.
"The event eight years ago was orchestrated by me…"
"I framed King Riku then, forcing him to borrow 10 billion berries from you citizens under threat."
"He borrowed a huge amount only because of his reputation…"
He called it a confession, but it was more like a boastful recounting of his past.
Doflamingo didn't care in the slightest.
If Luffy didn't kill him, then he was safe. There was no point worrying about the crowd.
"With my ability, I controlled King Riku, made him slaughter the kind citizens who had lent him money, and annihilated his army."
"Furfurfur, he lost his honor overnight, and I… became the new king effortlessly!"
"I declare myself guilty!"
Still smiling, he stepped aside and opened the view.
"King Riku, do you have anything to add?"
What kind of confession was this?
Was this just a strategy to flaunt himself?
Was he mocking the people of Dressrosa?
"Get off the stage!!"
"You never deserved to be king!"
Their angry shouts nearly drowned out the broadcast.
Onscreen, King Riku's eyes dimmed.
"Eight hundred years ago, this country was indeed ruled by the Donquixote Family."
"It was my incompetence that caused these eight years of tragedy. People of Dressrosa—I am equally guilty!"
Thud.
He knelt before the camera and bowed deeply.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
"I am unfit to be your king—and so is Doflamingo!"
What!?
Under the palace, the tens of thousands gathered fell into stunned silence.
What are you saying, King Riku!? Obviously you should be the rightful king!
"That's right! Get rid of Doflamingo!"
"Please reclaim your throne!"
Boom!
Suddenly, a wave of Conqueror's Haki swept across the city from the palace, enveloping everything in an instant.
Luffy controlled the power precisely—just enough to intimidate, not to knock anyone unconscious.
He stepped into view of the camera and said calmly:
"This country doesn't need a king."
"Are you so helpless that you can't live without one?"
"Kings, nobles, even commoners… should a person's birthplace determine their entire future?"
"Is that reasonable?"
"To an extent, maybe. But I don't accept it."
"To all citizens of Dressrosa—"
"I am Monkey D. Luffy, and I declare that I will rule this country!"
"I am here to become the 'King' of this land!"
Everyone who heard this—including the Donquixote Family—stared speechless at the screen.
Tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on the man wearing a straw hat.
"The first thing I'll do as 'King' is abolish all inequalities—nobility, royal bloodlines, slavery, everything."
"From this moment on, if you live on this island—whether you're a soldier, a wealthy merchant, a shopkeeper, a fruit farmer, or even a newborn—you are all equal! You all have the same right to live!"
"Second, I will return the power of 'King' to the people of Dressrosa."
"All people aged sixteen and older, regardless of gender, will have equal political rights."
"Third, use those rights to choose the future of your own country. Choose a leader you believe in and let them guide Dressrosa forward."
A New Era!
"I won't interfere in your actions; I will only watch. If one day you disappoint me, I'll take the power back."
"This is an observation experiment!"
"Now come—show me what you can do, NewDressrosa!"
---
(End of Chapter)