After using my subordinate Doflamingo to dispel the cage, I returned to the Dress Rose. The island greeted me with chaos: destroyed streets, collapsed buildings, and the screams of people trying to find the missing or help the injured. The city was in ruins, and the death toll was a grim reminder of the power this island faced.
People acted instinctively, joining together in groups. Someone was pulling the wounded out from under the rubble, others were clearing the rubble, freeing the passages. The elderly women comforted the children, and the men built temporary shelters. Aid stations were hastily set up near the destroyed hospitals, where volunteers bandaged wounds and distributed water.
After reviewing the situation, I decided to hide all my puppets in a hidden dimension. The reason was obvious: in the chaos caused by the destruction, it became clear who was behind all these disasters. Residents not only saw their house collapse, but also learned about the horrors of the Doflamingo. Especially many testimonies came from those whom he turned into toys.
Now these people, who had returned to their human form, were sharing scary memories with others. Their stories about how Doflamingo deprived them of their bodies and voices became the foundations for the cult of the former king. I didn't want my puppets to complicate this perception, so I kept them out of sight.
Despite my desire to join the general assistance, I realized that my work was not yet completed. Quickly heading to the ruined castle, I found the last person I hadn't turned into a puppet, Violetta.
She was conscious, but she was submerged in slime to avoid accidental injury among the debris. After carefully releasing her, I made sure that she was fine, and decided not to put the royal family and citizens in an uncomfortable position by asking for digestion.
When I returned to the city, I changed the appearance of the Peak. I temporarily became part of the rescue team. Using the power and abilities of the Pike, I removed large rubble, paved safe paths through the ruins and created temporary shelters from raised stone walls.
My participation in the restoration was not atonement, but it allowed me to feel that I had at least somewhat balanced the destruction that I had become a part of.
Three days have passed since the fall of Doflamingo, and the city, albeit slowly, began to come back to life. Ruins were replaced by new buildings, temporary camps were transformed into busy spots where residents made plans for the future. King Riku Dold ascended to the throne again. Respecting their restored rule, I decided to visit him.
Although this could be an ideal opportunity for manipulation, I limited myself to asking for access to books and records about the history of the Dress Rose. The king and his entourage recognized my contribution to the battle, although, of course, they did not know that I was the one who became Doflamingo's opponent. This unsaid fact turned out to be beneficial: the Marine was looking for the culprit and one of the sides of the battle, not finding him, he assumed most of the responsibility for the restoration and provided support to the island.
Initially, at the request of the King of the Dress Rose, the Marines agreed to take me back to the Old World. However, when I noticed the vice admirals on the ship, I immediately declined their services. The reason was obvious: my hidden puppets would have gone with me. Those with the Will to Observe could easily detect their presence, or even determine the threat level.
The best solution was to keep a low profile so as not to attract too much attention from the Marines.
The decision to return to the Old World was prompted by my new goal: Blackbeard. I decided to intercept him without waiting for the events of Marinfor. In addition, I have conceived another strategic operation — the capture of Enel. His thunder god abilities would fit perfectly into my arsenal, making up for some of my shortcomings.
The battle with Doflamingo helped me realize a key problem. Puppets, even the strongest ones, are unable to use the Will of the King, the Will of Observation, or the Will of Armament. This meant that I would have to rely on the physical strength and unique abilities of their Devil Fruits.
Thus, targets like Shanks or Garp, despite their legendary status, would be useless to my cause. However, my goal was never to fight against the strongest — the most important thing was to reach the Raftel and uncover the secrets of the world.
It's been three months since I left the Dress Rose, and two and a half months since the start of my little theater on Jaya. This island, steeped in pirate spirit and chaos, turned out to be the perfect stage for my performances. Here I could arrange bloody performances with impunity, using the pirates themselves as victims.
During this time, the atmosphere of Jaya has changed noticeably. The noisy showdowns and riots have almost stopped. The city, which used to be dominated by brutality and lawlessness, has become a surprisingly quiet place. The pirates were still coming ashore, but they preferred to be quieter. Perhaps they didn't want to be part of the "performance."
Sitting in the shade of one of the dilapidated buildings, I enjoyed a cup of strong coffee, observing the situation. My plan was well underway, but time was running out. Opening the panel, I scrolled through the status tasks.
Additional tasks:
1. Achieve Divinity for the first time (2nd sequence of any path)Reward: 5 meta points
2. Turning Point (Save Whitebeard and Ace) Reward: 1 meta point
3. There are 5 yonko and 7 Shichibukai at sea (Becoming a Yonko before the canonical events begin) Reward: 2 meta points (Failed)
Status
Current name: Kuro Miyago
Paths: The Fool(4 sequences, The Bizarre Sorcerer (99%))
Ritual: Be separated from reality for at least three hundred years and advance only after it becomes history and does not belong to the current era.
The goal: To swim to the island of One Piece, before the main character. ( Canonical events have begun ) Reward: 1 meta point
The main change that caught my eye was the failure of the quest to become a Yonko. A month and a half has passed since the beginning of the canonical events. Unfortunately, time was running out, but as planned, I got to the final stage of digesting the potion. I intended to finish the remaining one percent in a couple of days.
Immersed in thinking about what kind of performance to put on this time, I automatically flipped through the latest newspaper. My eyes fell on a small poster: a reward of 30 million belli for a certain Monkey D. Luffy.
– I wonder how much would you rate me? A thought flashed through his mind, followed by a grin.
Nevertheless, time was pressing. Luffy has started his journey, and if you follow his situation, you can understand at what stage Blackbeard's plans are now. Which means that Teach, whom I still intended to make my puppet, will soon come to Jaya.
Ace was demanding attention, too. It was possible to find both of them through fortune-telling, but tedious. It was easier to just wait here and not rush anywhere.
I frowned, finishing my coffee, and made a decision: today Jaya is waiting for a new act of the play.