Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

This is a tropical island with a resort atmosphere, filled with the fragrance of flowers.

On an ordinary day, the sentries who were constantly monitoring the sea and guarding against pirate attacks were patrolling back and forth.

"Huh? What's that, a praying mantis?" The sentry looked at the outline on the horizon and couldn't help but ask in confusion, then picked up his monoculars and looked over.

The next moment, as the sentry saw the pirate flag on the ship that resembled a mantis, his pupils constricted and he screamed.

"The...the great pirate crew, the Donquixote Pirates!"

"The Hueco Mundo Organization has arrived!!!"

Immediately, the civilians on the coast of the Kingdom of Dressrosa were stunned, then panicked and scattered in all directions, screaming.

Even in the "New World," where pirates with bounties of hundreds of millions of Berries are commonplace, Corazon, with a bounty of 1.08 billion Berries, is still a true great pirate.

Pirates of this caliber are capable of destroying a country with a single moment of displeasure.

Not to mention Corazon, a great pirate who dared to attack the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and was labeled by the World Government as extremely evil and extremely dangerous.

Chaos quickly spread throughout the entire Kingdom of Dressrosa, and every household knew that the terrifying Don Quixote Pirates were heading towards the Kingdom of Dressrosa.

Meanwhile, in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Dressrosa, King Riku clenched his fists tightly, realizing that his worst fears had come true.

The Don Quixote family... is back!

When the World Government raised Corazon's bounty to 1.08 billion Berries, King Riku's heart was already clouded when he saw the bounty poster. He vaguely guessed that the Kingdom of Dressrosa might be about to face a terrible enemy.

Because... the Donquixote family were the earliest rulers of the Kingdom of Dressrosa.

However, eight hundred years ago, the Donquixote Family abandoned the Kingdom of Dressrosa and went to the Holy Land Mary Geoise to become the Celestial Dragons.

After a series of upheavals, the Riku family became the new kings of Dressrosa and have remained so ever since.

"Gurgle!"

"I will not easily hand Dressrosa back over to tyrants like the Don Quixote family!"

King Riku muttered something to himself, and then began to proceed according to the established plan.

Contact the World Government for help; arrange for the princess to go to a refuge; tell the people to stay at home and not go out; request assistance from allied neighboring countries; and finally, gather the strength of the whole country to fight against the Donquixote Pirates to buy time.

As the Donquixote Pirates' three ships docked, Corazon looked around and saw that the entire Dressrosa Kingdom was in a state of complete silence. There was no one walking on the streets, except for an army of several thousand men lined up neatly in front, ready to meet the enemy.

"Hehehe, young master, is this our future base camp?"

"It doesn't look like much; it looks really poor."

"They're not very good, and the soldiers' equipment is quite rudimentary, but their morale is not bad. They could be considered elite soldiers in the 'New World'."

"Are they planning to wage war against our Don Quixote family with this attitude? Interesting."

……

Amidst the unrestrained discussions of the Don Quixote family executives, led by Corazon, the Don Quixote family members disembarked from the ship.

Soon, King Riku's originally solemn expression turned to one of horror.

So many people!

From those three pirate ships, pirates kept coming down from behind Corazon, one after another, as if there was no end in sight.

Three thousand?

It seems the number is far more than three thousand!

The number of pirates is actually more than the number of soldiers under his command?

Instantly, the faint hope that King Riku had held in his heart turned into complete despair.

Absolutely, absolutely no chance of winning!

Corazon, accompanied by his officers and a large group of pirate henchmen, mostly slaves, approached King Riku.

Just as King Riku, his face pale, stared at Corazon's young face so close to his, trembling as he stammered, unable to say anything.

Corazon extended his palm toward King Riku and spoke gently.

"The Kingdom of Dressrosa has benefited from the care of the Riku clan for hundreds of years."

Corazon's calm attitude completely surprised King Riku. After hesitating for a moment, King Riku put away the sword he was holding, dismounted, grasped Corazon's hand, and asked.

"Descendant of the Don Quixote family, what are your plans for returning to the Kingdom of Dressrosa?"

"If I were to say that I wish for the Don Quixote family to regain control of the Kingdom of Dressrosa, would the Riku family agree?" Corazon asked.

"Absolutely impossible!"

When it came to this bottom-line issue, Liku Wangming knew he was at a significant disadvantage, but he still spoke with unwavering conviction.

"I cannot hand my people back into the hands of a former tyrant!"

Corazon laughed loudly.

"Hahaha, King Riku, although I have already renounced my identity as a Celestial Dragon, don't forget that the Donquixote Family is still a Celestial Dragon clan. Your words constitute treason in a sense."

In an instant, King Riku's face turned pale, realizing that in his excitement he had blurted out things he shouldn't have said.

"but……"

Immediately, Corazon changed his tone and said.

"Actually, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. The Donquixote family back then could indeed be called tyrants, and after obtaining the status of Celestial Dragons, they abandoned the Kingdom of Dressrosa without hesitation. This is not the behavior of a qualified king."

King Riku frowned deeply, somewhat confused about what Corazon was trying to say.

"However, King Riku, the strong will always reign supreme on this sea."

"After the Kingdom of Dressrosa lost the power of the Donquixote Family, it has lived in poverty and hardship for the past eight hundred years. Unable to resist the invasion of pirates, it can only avoid being coveted by pirates in this way."

"Such a weak and powerless king will only bring tragedy to the people of Dressrosa."

Corazon's words hit the nail on the head, leaving King Riku feeling frustrated and angry, yet powerless to refute them.

If the Kingdom of Dressrosa were located in the Four Seas, or even in the first half of the Grand Line, it could be considered a powerful nation, and it could try to defeat the pirate invasion with the strength of its soldiers.

However... this is the "New World," a sea teeming with powerful individuals and teeming with great pirates.

Without truly top-tier power, one will only be a lamb to the slaughter.

[Chapter 188: Constitutional Monarchy]

"So, Donquixote Rosinante, what exactly do you want to do? Are you going to take over the Kingdom of Dressrosa by force, using pirate tactics?" King Riku asked.

Corazon smiled, but instead of directly answering King Riku's question, he continued.

"Dressrosa needs sufficient military force to ensure the safety of its territory, and what you are worried about is that after the Kingdom of Dressrosa returns to the rule of the Don Quixote family, it will suffer the same tyranny as it did 800 years ago, right?"

King Riku took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"That's right. The Riku family doesn't covet the so-called throne, but they will never allow the throne to be handed over to the Donquixote family, who once deeply hurt them and ultimately abandoned the entire kingdom."

"I had actually thought about this problem before I came here, so I consulted a friend..."

After a pause, Corazon continued, "Have you heard of a constitutional monarchy?"

"A constitutional monarchy?" King Riku was somewhat bewildered.

"The so-called constitutional monarchy is about limiting the power of the king..."

Corazon quietly unleashed the power of the "Silence-Silence Fruit," enveloping King Riku within it, and then began to explain the concept of a "constitutional monarchy."

King Riku's eyes slowly widened, as if he were seeing a new world!

The friend Corazon was referring to was naturally Yern. When Corazon confided his troubles to Yern, Yern suggested a constitutional monarchy.

Of course, Yann was not very clear about the specific system of constitutional monarchy, but Yann only put forward such a concept, which was already a groundbreaking idea for this sea!

If the idea is correct, then a system that conforms to the actual situation can naturally be formed.

A moment later, as Corazon withdrew the power of the "Silence-Silence Fruit," King Riku did not hesitate to kneel down on one knee, unfasten the sword from his waist, raise it above his head with both hands, and said.

"The Riku family is willing to acknowledge that the Donquixote family will be the royal family of Dressrosa."

With a solemn expression, Corazon took the sword raised high from King Riku's hand and replied, "Prince Riku, you will be serving as Prime Minister from now on. The Kingdom of Dressrosa will continue to rely on you."

Soon, at King Riku's signal, the three thousand royal soldiers who had been standing guard behind him all knelt down before Corazon.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

……

Mary Geoise, between powers.

"Snapped!"

The blond Five Elders slammed the two intelligence reports onto the table and said.

"Members of Hueco Mundo, Fisher Tiger and Corazon, have already surfaced on the high seas. Take a look."

After the intelligence had been circulated among the Five Elders, the long-bearded Five Elders spoke first.

"This is troublesome. The fishman Tiger has formed the 'Sun Pirates,' and almost everyone on board is a fishman. They are clearly heading towards the four seas, making it extremely difficult to surround and capture them."

The Five Elders with the Eight-Character Beard did a simple calculation and said...

"Based on the combat strength shown by Fishman Tiger, and considering the situation of the rest of the Fishman race, we either need to send Admiral Aokiji and Admiral Kizaru at the same time, along with five warships to surround them; or we need to lure the Sun Pirates ashore and send an Admiral and three Vice Admirals to ambush them. Otherwise, we basically cannot trap the Sun Pirates."

Upon hearing the results of this calculation, the other five elders realized that things were going to be difficult.

The Sun Pirates' all-fishman composition gives them an unparalleled advantage on this sea. If they sense something is wrong, they can all dive into the sea and escape, making them extremely difficult to capture.

What? You mean what about the pirate ship? A group of fishmen could simply pull the ship and take all their belongings with them and dive into the sea—it wouldn't be a problem at all.

However, naval admirals are not like cabbages on the street; each one is a specific position.

Each admiral has their own responsibilities. Removing admirals from Marine Headquarters for extended periods could actually lead to attacks by mad pirates or other important Marine branches.

The blond Five Elders then spoke.

"Fishman Tiger isn't the most troublesome one. Corazon, who went to the New World, is even more troublesome. He dared to attack the World Government member state—the Kingdom of Dressrosa. He must be severely punished, otherwise the other World Government member states will definitely protest."

"However, that Don Quixote Rosinante who changed his name to Corazon possesses the power to briefly confront Commander-in-Chief Cyborg. A single Marine Admiral might not be able to capture him, and given the environment of the New World..."

The blond elder remained silent, but the other five elders understood his concerns.

The situation in the New World is becoming increasingly violent. The great pirates who are unable to find their way to the "final island - Laugh Tale" in the short term have begun to fight each other, constantly vying for the title of "Emperor of the Sea".

Under these circumstances, it would be extremely dangerous for the Navy to openly send two or more admirals into the waters of the "New World".