After returning to the royal palace in Dressrosa, Sanders found the territory still under the occupation of the Thunder God Pirates.
Nami, along with her crew, was busy tallying the spoils from this journey.
Doflamingo, who had dealings in both legitimate and underworld circles, had amassed a staggering amount of wealth over the years, all of which was hidden within the royal palace in Dressrosa.
"Sanders, I've already discussed this with King Riku," Issho (Fujitora) said as he approached Sanders.
"The majority of Doflamingo's treasure hoard will belong to the Thunder God Pirates. A small portion will be left to fund post-battle reconstruction efforts."
"Do as you see fit," Sanders nodded.
He had little personal interest in treasure. Moreover, the coastline had been destroyed during his battle with Kaido, requiring reconstruction. The collateral damage caused by Issho's fight with Doflamingo also necessitated repairs. Leaving some funds for rebuilding was entirely reasonable.
"By the way, where are Doflamingo's subordinates being held?" Sanders inquired.
"They're all locked in the palace dungeon, restrained with Seastone shackles," Issho replied.
"Request a small area from King Riku to serve as our Thunder God Pirates' base here."
"I've already discussed that with King Riku," Issho said with a slight nod. "The location has been chosen. We're just waiting to start building."
Knowing they might stay in Dressrosa for an extended period, Issho had planned the base setup well in advance.
"Good. Let's move everyone there as soon as possible. We should vacate the palace and return it to King Riku," Sanders said.
Soon after, the Thunder God Pirates relocated to their designated base in Dressrosa.
The site was nothing more than an empty plot of land by the sea, but Sanders didn't mind. The Thunder God, their ship, provided ample living space for the time being.
The next day, King Riku ordered the construction of the pirates' base, and reconstruction efforts across Dressrosa began in full swing.
Meanwhile, Sanders extended an invitation to Princess Viola to join the Thunder God Pirates. Her Glare-Glare Fruit abilities were incredibly useful. He tasked Robin and Viola with forming the intelligence department for the crew.
King Riku wholeheartedly supported his daughter joining the pirates. Having someone close to him within the Thunder God Pirates was beneficial for Dressrosa, as it strengthened the bond between the island and the crew.
This news spread among Dressrosa's citizens, reducing their apprehension toward the Thunder God Pirates. After all, their own princess was now a crew member—essentially making the pirates part of the family.
The Thunder God Pirates were clearly distinct from Doflamingo's Donquixote Family.
One had toppled Dressrosa's oppressive regime, while the other only requested a small territory without imposing further demands—and even offered protection against pirate attacks.
The people of Dressrosa could tell the difference.
Joining alongside Viola was Princess Mansherry of the Tontatta Kingdom. Her Heal-Heal Fruit was an ability Sanders deemed invaluable. She joined Law's team as the crew's doctor.
With the power of her fruit, the crew could train harder, knowing injuries could be quickly healed.
One day, Viola visited the Thunder God Pirates' now-completed base, bringing with her a stack of documents and some freshly issued bounty posters.
The base itself wasn't large—since the crew's numbers were relatively small, only a few buildings were needed.
When Viola arrived, Sanders was lounging in a small courtyard, basking in the sun.
"The Marines are so shameless!" Nami exclaimed, her face filled with indignation as she read the newspaper.
"We were the ones who defeated Doflamingo. Why does the paper claim that the Marines uncovered his schemes and thwarted them?"
The newspaper headline declared that the Marines had uncovered and stopped Doflamingo's conspiracy to usurp the throne of Dressrosa. It also announced that the World Government had removed Doflamingo from the Warlords of the Sea and imprisoned him in Impel Down.
"It's not a big deal—it was expected," Sanders replied lazily, sipping a glass of juice as he lay on a recliner.
Covering up the truth and distorting facts was a common practice for the World Government and the Marines.
The World Government and Marines claimed to prioritize the "greater good," but in reality, most of the public still trusted them more than pirates.
The newspapers went so far as to label the Thunder God Pirates as an "evil group" occupying Dressrosa. They even claimed the Marines would soon dispatch elite forces to drive the pirates out.
In truth, not a single Marine had shown up.
"Purchase more newspapers and distribute them to the residents of Dressrosa," Sanders instructed Viola.
"My father has already begun doing that. Dressrosa will not forget who its true saviors are," Viola replied with a smile.
She, too, harbored disdain for the World Government and the Marines. When Dressrosa was suffering under Doflamingo's rule, neither had stepped in. But now that the hard work was done, they were quick to claim credit.
Since the Thunder God Pirates were temporarily stationed in Dressrosa, King Riku took every opportunity to strengthen his ties with them. Upon seeing the newspaper, he immediately ordered his subordinates to distribute the true story to the populace.
King Riku's sense of timing and awareness of the situation was commendable.
In light of this, Sanders even lent the Kingdom of Dressrosa a sum of money—interest-free—to aid in reconstruction efforts.
"Oh, by the way, Captain, here are the new bounty posters for you and the first mate," Viola said, handing Sanders two wanted posters.
After the battle with Kaido, Sanders' bounty had skyrocketed to 3,013,000,000 Berries.
The rest of the crew's bounties remained unchanged.
"Captain, there's something I'd like to discuss with you," Viola hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Go ahead."
"Could I have Doflamingo's subordinate, Diamante, to deal with personally?" she asked.
"He killed my sister. My father and brother-in-law want to avenge her."
In truth, many of Doflamingo's subordinates had blood on their hands from the Riku family. King Riku had initially hesitated to act against them, thinking the Thunder God Pirates might find them useful.
"Oh, that?" Sanders chuckled.
"Do as you like. You could execute all of Doflamingo's officers for all I care. I have no use for them."
His interest in Doflamingo's officers lay solely in their Devil Fruit abilities. As for their lives? Sanders had no intention of sparing them.
They were too loyal to Doflamingo to be worth recruiting. Why bother trying to reform them when he could instead cultivate promising individuals like Shachi and Penguin or his future "Divine Guard"?
"Thank you, Captain."
"No need to thank me."
With Sanders' approval, Viola left, filled with vengeful determination.
Not long after, King Riku personally executed Diamante.
Using his projection ability, Sanders located and retrieved the Devil Fruits that reappeared following the deaths of Doflamingo's subordinates:
Diamante's Flag-Flag Fruit
Monet's Snow-Snow Fruit
Sugar's Hobby-Hobby Fruit
Trebol's Sticky-Sticky Fruit
Pica's Stone-Stone Fruit
Senor Pink's Swim-Swim Fruit
Among Doflamingo's officers, Baby-5 and Senor Pink were spared.
Baby-5 had an earnest personality that made her relatively easy to recruit.
Senor Pink, known for his loyalty and unique character, was also shown mercy, as he had a wife to care for.
Having collected a large number of Devil Fruits, Sanders decided it was time to focus on strengthening his crew.
He presented the fruits to the crew and announced:
"From now on, whoever trains the hardest and improves the fastest will be rewarded with a Devil Fruit."
This announcement ignited a fierce wave of training among the crew. Everyone pushed themselves harder than ever, eager to prove their worth in the next battle.
After a sparring session with Issho, Sanders also claimed the powers of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit. He then replaced his current ability, opting for Mansherry's Heal-Heal Fruit as his projected Devil Fruit for further Deriving.
The Thunder God Pirates' strength was steadily growing, preparing for the challenges ahead.
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T/N:
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