Time reached the middle of September.
A headline in the Newspaper caught global attention.
The news was about the king of a member country abdicating, with his nineteen-year-old daughter inheriting the throne and becoming the queen.
In this world where strength is key, there's no preference for male rulers. As long as someone is strong and capable, even a woman can become a ruler.
A prime example is the pirate queen "BIG-MOM" Charlotte Linlin, who rules the "Totto Land Kingdom" made up of 35 islands. She is recognized as the strongest woman in the world and one of the major powers in the New World.
Besides this Pirate Queen, there's also the Pirate Empress who rules Amazon Lily.
There are many countries where women rule, with more than ten among the 170 member countries. Including non-member countries, the number is even higher.
Thus, the news of a daughter inheriting the throne in a member country isn't groundbreaking.
However, if the country were Alabasta, one of the fifty powerful nations that never miss a World Summit and one of the few superpowers, it would be big news if Vivi succeeded Cobra's throne. Alabasta, with its tens of millions of people, would raise questions about whether a young queen without combat strength could govern such a superpower.
But the country mentioned in the news isn't a superpower like Alabasta and isn't even eligible to participate in the World Summit. It's a small, lesser-known country.
What drew global attention was that this country is Dressrosa, and the new queen is a stunning beauty.
Because she ate the Paramecia Love Love Fruit, her beauty rivals that of the Pirate Empress.
People may find Dressrosa both unfamiliar and familiar as if they've heard it somewhere. But various factions know this name well.
Dressrosa, a minor country among the 170 member nations, was lucky enough to be chosen by Cross Kahn, who entered the New World as the "Cross Family." It's his temporary base, and he has a long-term cooperation with this country, employing its citizens to mine and work while protecting it.
Previously, factions were puzzled by Cross Kahn's favouritism toward this country. Today's news revealed that the queen, the former eldest princess, is a stunning beauty, explaining Kahn's actions.
It turns out that the weakness of this "walking natural disaster" is beautiful women. For her, he protected a country for three years without using violence, investing significant time and money. This is extraordinary patience!
Now, the various factions, who had spies or undercover agents in Dressrosa, realized what was happening. Many began recalling their agents to send new ones.
Among these factions is the World Government. Specifically, one of the three major organizations under the World Government is responsible for the CP organization that monitors the "Children of the Devil."
Just as all the factions began to move, Kahn's side also took action.
The Cross Family had been settled for three years. After the three Boa sisters returned to Amazon Lily, Kahn felt it was time for the world to truly recognize the "Cross Family."
Although the world had heard of the "Cross Family," Kahn believed their impact wasn't strong enough.
After giving the Paramecia Love Love Fruit to Scarlett and helping her develop techniques similar to Hancock's, Kahn transformed into a 150-meter-long dragon and flew away from Amazon Lily, searching for suitable characters in the New World.
While searching for a small uninhabited island, Scarlett explained everything to King Riku. Upon learning that Kahn had given his eldest daughter the valuable Paramecia Love Love Fruit, King Riku understood that Kahn valued both his daughters, Scarlett and Viola. He decided to abdicate, allowing Scarlett to become the Queen of Dressrosa.
King Riku agreed to support Kahn's decisions as long as they did not harm the national treasury, whether it meant withdrawing Dressrosa from the World Government or reforming the country. Kahn discovered this after reading the news and was impressed by King Riku's decisiveness.
By late September, Kahn had flown over much of the New World, causing a stir among many islands and factions, and finally found a small, uninhabited island with no volcanoes but primitive jungles and lakes. Using his telekinetic power, he lifted the small island and spent a few more days returning to Amazon Lily.
He placed the small island on the west side of Amazon Lily, creating a cross-shaped archipelago in the sea. This archipelago included Amazon Lily, Dressrosa, the Isle of Morlaix with its superstar mine and arms production base, the uninhabited island with a primitive jungle, and a northern island with a medicinal garden.
This new archipelago was poised to become a significant presence in the New World and beyond. Once Kahn became the sea's overlord, map-making companies might call this area the "Cross Sea Area," similar to the Totto Land Kingdom.
After placing the small uninhabited island, Kahn returned to Amazon Lily's palace, took a shower with the help of Hancock's maids, and enjoyed a meal prepared by the palace chef. He then began transforming the island.
First, he unleashed Conqueror's Haki, stunning all animals on the island. Then, he used his mental power to uproot all the trees in the primaeval forest.
He instructed Amazon Lily's soldiers and guards to clean up the animals on the island, bringing back edible ones, raising those that could be domesticated, and eliminating the rest.
While the soldiers were working, Kahn made several phone calls, striking deals with companies in the Dark World specializing in paper and wood sales. Kahn was the seller, and the other parties were the buyers. After negotiating prices, he hired Umit's transport ships to carry all the trees off the island.
By mid-October 1506 in the Sea Circle Calendar, the island had become a barren desert. During this time, Kahn also hired a top-level design team, used his Observation Haki to read their memories and learn painting skills, and then sketched his ideas for the island's transformation. The designers turned their concepts into detailed plans.
With the design complete, Kahn was ready to transform the deserted island into the world's No. 1 entertainment city. Construction was about to begin.
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