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

Beautiful women dancing everywhere on the streets, as well as strange and magical toys that can walk and talk.

This peace was shattered just as night fell.

In the palace, King Liku, who had been busy all day, returned to his room to rest.

But suddenly, the window was opened.

An uninvited guest sat on the windowsill.

The pink feathered coat and the wicked laughter made King Riku extremely wary.

"Who are you? Get out of here right now, or you won't be able to leave when the soldiers come."

"As expected of King Riku, he remains so calm and composed even at a time like this."

Doflamingo shifted to a more comfortable position and continued, "In that case, please allow me to introduce myself."

"My name is Donquixote Doflamingo, and I am a vicious and lawless pirate."

King Riku's pupils contracted slightly, clearly indicating that he had also recognized the other party.

"Donquixote Doflamingo, as a Shichibukai, what exactly do you want by visiting in this way late at night?"

"Shh! Don't rush, the real show has just begun. Listen, it sounds like someone has stormed the palace."

Doflamingo's smile grew increasingly sinister.

Just minutes earlier, Monet, with the help of an outsider, had successfully opened the palace gates and let in the Don Quixote family.

Then they engaged in a fierce battle with the arriving Kingdom army.

Finding the right opportunity, Monet successfully escaped and returned to Princess Violet's side.

"Monet, what's going on outside? Why are there shouts of battle everywhere? Who are those people? How could the palace gates have been breached so easily?"

Faced with a bellyful of questions from the princess, Monet replied, "Those outside are all members of the Don Quixote family, a very terrifying group of pirates."

"Their goal is to occupy this country."

"What?! Occupy this country? Wait, how do you know so much?"

"Didn't Your Highness just ask me how the palace gates were breached? Well, of course, I opened the palace gates myself."

"Monet, you!"

Under Violet's incredulous gaze, Monet revealed a malicious smile.

Then it started snowing heavily in the room...

Chapter 540 A ransom of 10 billion Berries!

Abel, wielding the Baby-5... transformed into a silver pistol, occasionally sniped at soldiers who were a little higher in rank than ordinary henchmen.

In fact, with the Don Quixote family's strength, it would be incredibly easy for them to overthrow the country by force.

But this kind of thing is absolutely forbidden by the World Government and the Navy!

If news of the Seven Warlords of the Sea stealing a country were to spread, the Seven Warlords system, which the World Government spent so much time and effort to develop, would immediately become a laughing stock and be despised.

While things aren't much better now, at least they still meet some people's bottom line.

Furthermore, what Doflamingo wanted was for King Riku to voluntarily hand over the country to him, a perfect transition.

This requires staging a grand spectacle.

What they have to do is set up this stage.

So these soldiers can be killed, but not all of them, and they must be killed in a way that would make King Riku feel sorry for them.

Did King Riku feel sorry for him at this moment?

This question is almost unnecessary to ask.

King Riku was now filled with rage, and under Doflamingo's psychological manipulation, he could only watch helplessly as his kingdom's army was unilaterally slaughtered by the Donquixote Family.

He was no match for his opponent and couldn't escape even if he wanted to.

All the soldiers who came to report to him were brutally killed by the enemy.

"Look, it will be so easy for my men to breach this palace."

"Doflamingo, what exactly do you want?"

King Riku asked in fury.

Upon hearing this, Doflamingo's lips immediately curled into a slight smile. "100 billion!"

"Before dawn, I demand a ransom of 100 billion Berries from you, or I'll lead my men to conquer this country and turn it into a pirate paradise, fufufufufu!"

ransom?

Of course, it's about holding the entire country hostage for ransom!

A mere 100 billion Berries was not Doflamingo's true objective.

If he had revealed his true intentions from the beginning, King Riku would never have followed the script he had designed.

But if King Riku's 'weakness' is exploited, then the opponent will become a puppet in his hands.

"100 billion Berries?! Impossible! Even if we emptied the entire national treasury, we couldn't come up with that much money."

King Riku said firmly.

Doflamingo knew, of course, that the other party couldn't produce it, because he had deliberately chosen this particular time after the Celestial Gold had been paid!

"There are still 6 hours until dawn. In 6 hours, countless pirates will arrive here."

"Can you imagine what it would be like then? This country would be completely looted, men would be slaughtered, women would be wantonly violated, and even children would not be spared..."

"Doflamingo! You're not even human!"

King Riku's eyes were blazing with fury.

"There are less than 6 hours left. If I were you, I would hurry up and find a way to raise 100 billion Berries. At least by dawn, you can save your country and your people."

"Oh, right. Remember to keep it a secret. After all, the privileges of being a Shichibukai are quite useful, you should understand what I mean."

King Riku suddenly calmed down, and then said, word by word, "Doflamingo, you will definitely go to hell after you die!"

"Now, tell your men to stop immediately, and I will bring back 100 billion Berries before dawn."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the palace.

This time, Doflamingo didn't stop him, but instead burst into unrestrained laughter.

Upon receiving the instructions, Abel and his men immediately ceased their attack and turned to retreat without hesitation.

King Riku quickly reorganized his army and then came outside the palace.

"Immediately dismantle the loudspeaker equipment used for commentary in the bullring and move it to the square."

This was the first order issued by King Riku.

"Listen up, everyone else, I am now asking you to do something on behalf of the king..."

After King Riku finished uttering this second 'command,' he couldn't help but look bewildered.

Although the soldiers were puzzled, they had no choice but to do as they were told.

Because King Riku has never let them down since he took office.

So they immediately dispersed in twos and threes and went to different places.

Soon after, King Riku, who had come to the square alone, began the speech he regretted most in his life.

"...I desperately need your help to lend me money, please!"

King Riku knelt on the ground, pressed his head to the earth, and pleaded with every citizen with the utmost sincerity.

Because he couldn't reveal the real reason, he could only rely on his identity and reputation to take a gamble.

As long as he can overcome the current difficulties, he will definitely find a way to return the 100 billion Berries to every citizen as quickly as possible.

His urgent and sincere pleas roused the unsuspecting citizens from their sleep, though some remained silent and indifferent.

But most people still chose to trust King Riku and generously donated money.

Seeing that so many people were willing to believe him, and even take out their savings to help him through the crisis just because of his words.

Honestly, King Riku was so moved that he choked up.

All I could do was thank them again and again, while vowing in my heart to protect Dressrosa from being harmed by pirates.

But what he didn't know was that his actions played right into the enemy's trap!

The better he does based on his reputation, the harder he will fall later.

"Please help His Majesty the King."

"No need to say anything more. Please take this money and pass it on to King Riku. Although we don't know what happened, it must be because there was no other way that King Riku so earnestly asked everyone to lend a helping hand."

"Thank you for your understanding. Please sign this IOU. Once we get through this difficult time, Lord Riku will repay every penny."

Conversations like these suddenly began happening in front of every household on every street and alley.

Anyone willing to lend money doesn't need to go anywhere; kingdom soldiers will soon collect the money and transport it to the palace.

Then, one by one, IOUs with numbers written on them and stamped with the king's seal were distributed to each lender.

This is tantamount to using the king's reputation as collateral.

This strong guarantee has finally convinced many who were still undecided to make up their minds.

This led to more and more money being concentrated in the royal palace.

At this rate, raising 100 billion Berries before dawn is entirely a possible miracle!

Will Doflamingo just stand by and watch this miracle happen?

"Ah! Murder! These soldiers are killing and robbing!"

Suddenly, a scream opened the curtain on this tragedy.