"Fufufufufu~ Trebol, tell me something amusing, will you? Brighten my day," Doflamingo said with a toothy grin.
"I'll say it, I'll say it, Doffy—those 'Crimson Man-Eating Flower' folks? They got completely wiped out near the waters of Alabasta," came the nasal voice from the Den Den Mushi, belonging to none other than Trebol, the top executive of the Donquixote Family's Trebol Army and wielder of the Sticky-Sticky Fruit—yes, that snot-dripping slob.
"Fufufufufu~ Wiped out near Alabasta? Could it have been Crocodile's doing?" Doflamingo mused.
"Nyeh~nyehh, Doffy, rumor has it it was some other pirates. But nobody's pinned down who," Trebol replied, sniffling through his nose.
"Other pirates... Could it be him?" A name flashed through Doflamingo's mind, and his grin widened.
"Fufufufufu~ Trebol, forget about this. Whoever did it might just be someone interesting."
Trebol, puzzled, asked, "I'll say, I'll say, Doffy, do you know who it was?"
"A very interesting person," Doflamingo answered cryptically, baring his teeth as he hung up the Den Den Mushi. Then, with a flick of his coat, he accelerated in flight toward Dressrosa.
Two days later, the seas remained in turmoil. The Navy and pirates clashed endlessly in the New World, while the Four Emperors continued stabbing each other in the back.
One day, Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin—destroyed an entire pirate alliance just to claim more islands for sweets. The next day, Kaido, the Beast, tried to off himself again—this time charging solo into Whitebeard's territory, challenging them all on his own.
Taking the opportunity, Red-Haired Shanks gave Kaido a good stab in the back and seized a few islands under the Beast Pirates' control.
The Navy, eager to join the fray, ended up caught between Kaido and Whitebeard's crew—and got absolutely thrashed for their trouble, retreating bruised and bloodied.
This was the chaos of the New World. And now, in Paradise that was the first half of the Grand Line, the total annihilation of the Crimson Man-Eating Flower syndicate had sparked another frenzy.
Various human trafficking rings, pirate crews, crime syndicates, and gangs began fighting to claim the power, territory, and resources left behind.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Dragons and wealthy nobles who had backed the Crimson Man-Eating Flower waved their money around in desperation, spreading word and searching high and low for the pirates responsible for the annihilation.
Bounties soared across the black market. With prices high, bounty hunters were foaming at the mouth, scouring the seas like rabid dogs.
Even pirates couldn't resist the lure. Some went rogue in pursuit, causing the Navy to scramble across islands and cities trying to hunt them down.
In short, the seas were stormy above and roiling below—chaos both seen and unseen. The Navy could barely keep up.
On this day, a massive warship cut across the sea. Over a hundred meters long, it radiated raw menace. The black flag it flew made nearby vessels steer clear, unwilling to risk getting close.
In the distance, a black line stretched across the horizon—long and wide. It was an island. A massive one.
"Heh~ Looks like we've arrived. The desert kingdom—Alabasta."
At the center of the deck, Aeridar, Gilbert Arlan, and other officers sat around a finely carved round table, sipping afternoon tea. The one who had just spoken was Oliver.
"A desert kingdom. Nothing but sand. Not exactly scenic," Millie muttered with boredom.
"'Alabasta' refers to the nation on the island. It's a member of the World Government and has considerable military might. The island itself is called Saintin Island—one of the largest in the Grand Line. But most of it is desert. The Warlord Crocodile, the 'Desert King', is based here. He even built a city," said Dimitri, crossing his legs with a self-satisfied smirk.
Not to be outdone, Aeridar chimed in immediately, "That city is called Rainbase. It's Crocodile's headquarters. And Crocodile is hailed as a national hero in Alabasta."
Aeridar sneered inwardly. Outsiders might not know Crocodile's true intentions, but Aeridar—who knew the plot—was well aware of the Warlord's schemes. Of course, he had no intention of exposing them.
He paused, took a sip of juice, then continued, "The ruling family of the Alabasta Kingdom is the Nefertari lineage. They were one of the twenty royal families who founded the World Government 800 years ago. But unlike the others, they chose not to move to Mary Geoise."
"Huh? So... they're Celestial Dragons too?" Arlan asked in surprise.
The rest were equally stunned—especially Dimitri, who hadn't known. Back when Celestial Dragons visited the East Blue, only then had Oliver and Arlan learned there were people in the world who were untouchable.
"They technically aren't," Aeridar said after careful thought. "But the Nefertari family holds an extremely high position in the World Government. If you cross them, they might very well have the power to summon a Marine Admiral."
Although the Nefertari clan didn't live in the Holy Land, their influence was comparable to that of Celestial Dragons—nobles among mortals.
In the main storyline, Crocodile spent years building his heroic image while simultaneously smearing King Nefertari Cobra. When Cobra finally uncovered Crocodile's conspiracy, he had no evidence to prove it. To the public, Crocodile was still the savior of the nation. No one believed the royal family.
With no evidence, Cobra couldn't convince the World Government or the Navy to intervene. Despite his high standing, without proof, even he couldn't sway them to take down a Warlord of the Sea. It would destabilize the balance of power.
After all, not even the Celestial Dragons could push the World Government to make such an unreasonable move without consequences.
A pirate overthrowing a kingdom was absolutely forbidden. Doflamingo's case had been an exception—he was a Celestial Dragon by birth, the Donquixote family were former monarchs of Dressrosa, and he had covered his tracks.
And had Crocodile not feared the Nefertari family's clout within the World Government, he wouldn't have spent years orchestrating his plan so carefully—only for Luffy to ruin it all in the end.
"Celestial Dragons among mortals, huh..." Arlan muttered, frowning.
"Exactly. But we're only here to make contact with Crocodile. We don't need to concern ourselves too much with the Alabasta Kingdom," Aeridar said coolly, raising his juice glass again.
"Relax. The Captain's right. The Nefertari family never moved into the Holy Land, so technically, they're not real Celestial Dragons. And we're not here to mess with the kingdom anyway," Oliver added, waving his hand dismissively and cracking open one of his ever-drowsy eyes.
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