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New World, Dressrosa.
After a day of recovery from Doflamingo's reign of terror and his "Birdcage," the people resumed peaceful lives under the leadership of the returning King Riku, slowly beginning to heal their wounds.
The Straw Hat crew that saved the country was naturally hailed as heroes by many residents. Despite their status as pirates wanted by the World Government, the Straw Hat team was welcomed to the royal plateau after their victory.
At this moment, all the highest officials of the island had gathered together on the royal plateau.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done for Dressrosa!" King Riku exclaimed, seated at the head of the dining table. The royal family, including Kyros, Viola, Rebecca, and others, all expressed their gratitude to Luffy and his crew.
"It's again..." Usopp, Chopper and the others looked at King Riku and complained, having received enough thanks in just one day to feel somewhat numb.
Luffy, who was busy eating, also felt a little annoyed looking at the scene before him.
"I've said it already, we did this for our own purposes, not to save you... Besides, we're not heroes, but pirates!" Luffy had repeated this sentence countless times and was growing tired of it. Though he wasn't quite a hero, looking at the abundant food before him, he chose not to press the point.
"No matter what your status is, we will always remember this kindness in our hearts," said King Riku, his hair already gray.
Perhaps because of Doflamingo, he didn't trust pirates in general, but for the Straw Hats, he felt both trust and gratitude.
Not only had they cleared his name and rescued his granddaughter and Kyros, but more importantly, they had saved Dressrosa itself.
Of course, apart from the various emotional problems caused by the toy curse after people learned the truth, if Dressrosa was previously a country of love, passion, and toys, it might now be a country where three different factions coexisted.
But these adjustments would come gradually. King Riku and the others had come not only to thank the Straw Hats, but also to discuss another very important matter.
"Actually, besides thanking you, there's some important information I want to share," King Riku said.
After he finished speaking, Viola stood up. Having worked within the Donquixote Family for so long, she had a clear understanding of what they did and whom they served.
"You've probably heard about the people behind Doflamingo from those guys," she said.
The Straw Hats nodded silently. They had been shocked when they learned about it, but Luffy, completely enraged at the time, had ignored this information. Moreover, Doflamingo had shown no intention of letting them escape.
If anything, they didn't want to go to the Sky Kingdom because of this connection.
Although their alliance with Kin'emon and the others meant they were enemies with the Sky Kingdom, this was still a secret relationship. Now, because of Doflamingo, they might have been targeted by the Sky Kingdom, potentially raising the difficulty of their future actions to an entirely different level.
"In that case, I won't explain too much about the background of that faction. After all, everyone in the New World understands it," Viola said, looking at the Straw Hats and the samurai. After a pause, she continued, "But what I'm going to say next, I think you need to know so you can be as...prepared as possible."
Seeing the hesitation in Viola's words, Sanji spoke up. "You mean to say that Doflamingo has an unusual relationship with that faction."
Viola nodded solemnly. "That's right, and the relationship may be far beyond your imagination. In fact, one of the reasons why Doflamingo rose so quickly in the New World is because he's a key executor in the production chain of the Sky Kingdom."
Hearing this, Enel suddenly recalled something. "Speaking of which, I seem to have heard that the Mera-Mera Fruit was a hot commodity specifically designed for a certain product."
"That product is called 'SMILE'... Of course, it has another name: Artificial Devil Fruit," Viola explained. "It's supplied to Kaido."
"Artificial Devil Fruit?!!"
Immediately, except for King Riku and Viola who already knew this information, everyone's eyes widened in shock.
"Hey, is this true?!"
"They can actually make artificial Devil Fruits!"
"Doesn't that mean the Sky Kingdom can produce an army of ability users?!"
Kin'emon and the Straw Hats all exclaimed at the news.
Perhaps expecting this reaction, Viola remained calm despite everyone's astonishment. "Maybe, but these fruits also have serious side effects, and they don't guarantee 100% success in granting abilities. People who fail to gain powers lose all facial expressions except for a smile, which is why they're called 'SMILE.'"
"But what I want to emphasize is not just this. This trading chain has existed for more than ten years. Through the artificial Devil Fruits, Doflamingo's network extends not only to the Sky Kingdom but also to many underground forces and even the World Government..."
Afterward, Viola didn't elaborate further, but she had clearly expressed how much trouble the Straw Hats would face for defeating Doflamingo.
King Riku then spoke up. "You are the heroes who saved our country, but we feel both ashamed and helpless that we've caused such big trouble for you. Both as a token of our gratitude and as compensation, if there's anything within our power that we can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."