One Piece: The World King Who Emerged from the White Town

We've finally taken this step; it wasn't easy.

However, what Abel didn't expect was that Doflamingo would take such a big step all at once.

Every year from March to May, approximately 170 member states of the World Government pay 'Celestial Gold' to the Celestial Dragons.

This "heavenly gold" can be seen as an additional tax, or as protection money paid to the Celestial Dragons.

Only by paying this money and becoming a member state of the World Government will one receive naval protection.

Otherwise, even if a country is destroyed by pirates, the World Government will not send a single soldier, or even bother to look at it.

But what exactly is the amount of this "heavenly gold"?

It is one-tenth of the annual income of all residents in each member state of the World Government!

A typical small country has an annual income of around 20 billion Berries, so handing over one-tenth of that would amount to 200 billion Berries.

And it cannot be lower than this number!

Large countries typically pay 100 billion Berries in "heavenly gold" annually.

So how much 'heavenly gold' do the 170 member states of the World Government pay each year?

This figure is between 5000 billion and 6000 billion Berries!

In other words, even if these high-ranking Celestial Dragons did nothing all year, they would still have a net income of nearly 6000 billion Berries.

And normally, Celestial Dragons don't need to spend money to buy things...

If I see something I like, I just take it.

Anyone who dares to resist will be arrested and enslaved.

The Celestial Dragons rarely spend money, usually on buying slaves at auctions or on rarer items like Devil Fruits.

But in reality, the true owners behind these auction houses are often the Celestial Dragons.

This is essentially like transferring wealth from one hand to the other, amassing countless riches.

If that were all, it wouldn't be enough to make life unbearable for the lower classes.

What's even more tragic is the layers of extortion.

Although the amount stipulated in the 'Celestial Gold' is one-tenth of the income, the Celestial Dragons will not deal with these ants. Every year, the 170 member states will prepare the 'Celestial Gold' and hand it over to the World Government and the Navy's escort ships, which will then be transported to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

What situation did this lead to?

The "gold from heaven" handed over by the common people had to pass through the hands of these nobles and royalty first!

Is it possible to expect wolves to not eat meat and dogs to not eat excrement?

Those with a conscience would only charge an extra one or two percentage points to give the poor a way to survive.

Those greedy nobles and royalty even dared to secretly increase the amount of 'heavenly gold' to 15%, 20%, or even more!

This is what it truly means to leave people with no way to survive.

Every year, countless riots and rebellions are caused by the "Heavenly Gold".

If these Celestial Dragons are the source of evil, then these increasingly powerful nobles and royalty are complete accomplices, bloodsuckers!

This is why in some countries, while the people are starving, the nobles and royalty are still rolling in money.

Even when the rebels emerged, a large number of naval forces came to help them suppress the rebellion.

Through his extravagant spending last year, Doflamingo finally managed to obtain a portion of the shipping routes for the 'Heavenly Gold' escort ships from a certain naval officer.

He was fed up with the daily struggles against the cranes, the constant hiding and running.

He wants to achieve his goal in one fell swoop and make the world focus on him!

So when Doflamingo finally revealed his true plan, all the executives present were shocked by his madness.

"Steal the 'Heavenly Gold'? Those Celestial Dragons won't let us get away with this!"

Jorah was so frightened that his makeup was ruined. This was far more dangerous than killing a few marines or destroying a few naval bases.

One wrong move and you're doomed.

Among the executives present, only a few of the highest-ranking officers knew that Doflamingo had also been a Celestial Dragon. They vaguely understood that Doflamingo seemed to have some secret weapon that could perfectly clean up the mess, which was why he dared to covet the "Celestial Gold".

But since no one else knew, they naturally felt uncertain.

"My rough plan is to lay in ambush in this sea area in advance based on the route map I obtained, and then when the escort ships appear, I will immediately approach them at the fastest speed, catch them off guard through boarding combat, and seize all the 'Heavenly Gold'."

"There's a high probability that the highest-ranking naval officers in charge of transporting the 'Gold from the Sky' will be three vice admirals from the Navy Headquarters. The fact that no admirals are involved in the transport mission is our opportunity!"

If it's just three vice admirals from the Navy Headquarters, then there is indeed a chance.

but……

"I'd like to know what our reason is for robbing 'Heavenly Gold'? The family shouldn't need that much money for its current development, right?"

Gladius then gave a questioning look.

Doflamingo immediately laughed, "Fufufufufu, our real purpose in robbing the 'Celestial Gold' is only one thing, and that is to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"

"Shichibukai?"

"That's right, I want to use the opportunity of seizing the 'Celestial Gold' to negotiate with the World Government and the Navy. The 'Celestial Gold' is not our goal. My goal is to secure a place among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, obtain legal privateering rights, and openly expand my family's business and territory!"

These words shocked all the officials present.

Although the Seven Warlords of the Sea are seen by many as mere lackeys of the World Government, Doflamingo's plan was to use their special status and position to legitimize all the crimes he had committed.

That's a truly imaginative idea!

"So now there's only one problem: how do we ensure that the world government won't retaliate later?"

"After all, that's the Celestial Dragons' 'heavenly gold'! With just one word from the Celestial Dragons, the title of Shichibukai can be stripped immediately. We can't gamble everything on the Celestial Dragons' 'magnanimity'."

Doflamingo smiled confidently again, "Since I'm confident I can get the World Government to agree to my conditions, I naturally won't give them a chance to settle scores later."

"Do you have any other questions?"

Everyone shook their heads, clearly their opinions could no longer influence Young Master Dover's decision.

Moreover, it seems that Young Master Dover did not make this decision on a whim, but rather after careful consideration and taking all the consequences into account.

What else can they say?

Of course, I support it unconditionally!

Even Abel remained silent, because he knew that Doflamingo would do this sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Chapter 289 The Art of Paradise!

For Doflamingo, who had been preparing for a year, all the preliminary work was done.

All we have to do now is wait for the right opportunity and win this battle!

This is the most critical!

If we cannot defeat the guards of 'Heavenly Gold', then everything that follows will be nothing but empty talk.

……

On the warship, Onigumo, who had recently been promoted to Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, did not let his guard down just because the sea was calm.

As the 'arrow,' his duty is to be the first to detect any danger and nip it in the bud.

On the two warships flanking the giant ship carrying the 'Heavenly Gold' were Vice Admiral Kashoyama and Momonga, respectively.

Finally, two warships, each staffed by a rear admiral from the Navy Headquarters, stood guard at the rear.

Five warships, like stars surrounding the moon, protected the giant ship in the middle carrying nearly 600 billion Berries.

The course was clear and steady, heading toward the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

"Commander Onigumo, an unidentified object has been spotted ahead. It appears to be ship wreckage. Should we initiate a rescue operation?"

Upon hearing this, Onigumo immediately picked up his binoculars, then frowned.

Because there was a very abstract shipwreck drifting ahead of their course.

"Pass on my order: turn the cannons around and completely destroy the unidentified object ahead."

"Destroy it? But..."

"Execute the order, soldier."

"Yes, sir!"

For Ghost Spider, any risk must be nipped in the bud.

The appearance of such ship wreckage on the return route is already very strange, and bombarding it with artillery is the safest method.

Even if he guessed wrong, there are still innocent people living inside, so let's just consider them unlucky.

As a hawkish figure in the Navy, Onigumo is not only ruthless, but he also doesn't care if he harms his own subordinates when carrying out missions, let alone strangers.

Soon, after the other warships were notified, a barrage of artillery fire from this side instantly sank the rather abstract shipwreck.

However, something unknown was stored inside, and after being blown up, it quickly released thick smoke, which, with the perfect wind direction, swallowed the entire fleet in the blink of an eye.

"All units on alert! Enemy attack!"

Onigumo quickly issued an order, sounding the alarm. All the warships stopped and did not advance rashly.

If what happened earlier could have been a coincidence, then the thick smoke now being used to obscure the view is definitely something someone deliberately placed there for them to shoot at.

"How dare they covet 'Heavenly Gold'? They must be some kind of fools who don't know what's good for them."

Onigumo drew his weapon, his eyes filled with mockery.

Over the years, virtually no one has dared to covet the 'Celestial Gold', because that would mean offending the Celestial Dragons, and what awaits them is endless pursuit by the Navy.

Navy admirals and fleet admirals will personally take action!

Therefore, even the most arrogant pirates wouldn't dare to do that.

Of course, there will occasionally be some ignorant newcomers or fools.

Now, Onigumo believes this is the case.