Chapter 1207: The Unbearable Weight of Dressrosa

Brannew stood at the front, with various Navy Headquarters officers below him; even Marshal Akainu was listening to his report. At this moment, Brannew was the king of Navy Headquarters.

The newly refreshed Seven Warlords of the Sea were introduced once again, and the meeting focused on the impact of Doflamingo’s resignation from the Seven Warlords, as well as the consequences of Law’s actions and the hidden truths of Punk Hazard.

“I understand the situation now, Brannew.”

“Marshal Akainu?”

“We can’t let these guys run amok now. Smoker from G5 gave a very long-winded report yesterday. Let’s observe for a day. Over in Dressrosa, Fujitora has personally taken a team there. The World Government has also ordered us to cooperate with their operation in Dressrosa. We need to prepare the fleet at Headquarters. If this powder keg isn’t handled properly, it will be a disaster for the entire sea.”

The Navy meeting wouldn’t directly affect the situation on the sea, but Doflamingo’s statement would.

Since the Great Pirate Era began, wars have never ceased worldwide. Whether defending a nation or plundering resources, weapons have become an indispensable part.

Just as Doflamingo planned to hold a grand tournament, the conflicts in the New World hadn’t stopped, and many countries bought weapons from Doflamingo.

Now, with Doflamingo announcing his withdrawal and stopping all Donquixote family business, he felt he was in control, not panicking at all. But others on the sea were unaware of this.

Especially when the fight is halfway through and there’s no logistics, some military leaders ran away, causing the army to collapse.

But at this moment, their “savior” appeared.

“We are under Captain Buggy. We sell what Doflamingo sells, and we also offer mercenary services. What he won’t do, we’ll handle!”

Back then, Doflamingo took a liking to Buggy’s men and established a somewhat friendly relationship, even giving him a bit of channel.

Although Buggy Express relied on embellishing Buggy’s reputation to boost confidence, Buggy’s underlings were quite capable to keep such a large organization running smoothly.

They seized this opportunity and started expanding frantically.

By this time, Buggy had already reached the vicinity of Dressrosa, still unaware of what was happening, surrounded by his subordinates.

“Captain Buggy, was this part of your plan too? Now all of Doflamingo’s business will be ours!”

“Yeah, could it be… this was your scheme from the beginning?”

“Can you all just think normally?! Doflamingo resigning from the Seven Warlords has nothing to do with Buggy, does it?!!!!”

Mr. 3 was on the verge of collapse. He thought, over time, these people would gradually see Buggy’s true nature and eventually abandon him.

But their exaggerated perceptions hadn’t improved at all, instead becoming more severe. It was once just over-imagination, now it’s creating something out of nothing.

If there were any more anecdotes about the sea, they might start chanting that Doflamingo lost everything along with his wife.

As the only clear-minded person present, Mr. 3’s words didn’t wake them up, and Buggy began contemplating new ideas.

“That guy Doflamingo resigned from the Seven Warlords, so I should be the only warlord present. The World Government and Navy will definitely send people over. By then, I can use them…. Hahaha, everyone, full speed ahead! The super invincible great Captain Buggy’s secret operation can be upgraded!”

“Oh!!”

…

Buggy Express’s pirate ship started sailing at full speed, and by this time, many forces had already reached the vicinity of Dressrosa, including the Thousand Sunny.

After crossing a dangerous sea slope, Dressrosa’s boundary appeared in their sight.

The sea slope is also a unique condition in the New World, like a steep hill of ocean currents, with hidden reefs making it extremely dangerous. Here, they encountered a very special person, an old man with a raccoon.

When the Thousand Sunny appeared in the vicinity, they happened to see the old man’s small boat wrecked by hidden reefs. Following Luffy’s principle of rather more than less, he extended his arm and pulled the old man aboard.

“That was dangerous, old man. Why did you come to such a place alone?”

With a head full of white hair, tall and slender, with two braids hanging on his shoulders.

Wine red, blood red, purple red, various red clothing adorned him, even his eyebrows were deep red. Looking at Luffy, the old man’s lips involuntarily curled into a smile.

“You genuinely wanted to help someone irrelevant from your heart?”

“What are you talking about, old man? It’s just lending a hand, is there a problem?”

“No, my name is Red, I came here… because it seemed fun, Dressrosa has many interesting things.”

“Really? That’s great, we’re going there too. Old man, why don’t you join us. Is this raccoon… your pet?”

“Pet? No, this is my family, isn’t it, Padoom?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The raccoon-like creature on Red’s shoulder nodded in assent. No one on the ship seemed to find anything odd about the old man. But if there were any of the old era’s experts, they would understand who this man truly was.

Red was his real name, but his full name should be Patrick Redfield. Decades ago, the sea called him the solitary Red, a rare lone wolf.

Born with a special awakened Observation Haki, possessing the ability to sense others’ thoughts and read their memories. Because of this ability, people have no secrets in front of him, which ultimately led to his aloof personality.

Redfield is also one of the escapees from the sixth level of Impel Down. After escaping, his body had aged, so he set his sights on the Bat-Bat Fruit Mythical·Vampire Form Devil Fruit.

During this journey, he was no longer alone; he met Padoom.

Originally, he was supposed to encounter Luffy and his crew in Sleepy Town, but the timeline has drastically changed. Although he didn’t meet Luffy, Redfield obtained the fruit earlier.

And in his solitary travels, he met many interesting people, regained his original beliefs, and resumed his voyage.

At this point, he has also faced his physical state and did not use the fruit to restore his youth.

He came here because the Quake-Quake Fruit reminded him of Whitebeard, and he planned to take it as a collectible while reminiscing about the past.

Unexpectedly, he stumbled upon this incident, and Luffy’s honest heart also intrigued him.

“Are you… the King of Souls?!”

“Yohohoho, you’ve recognized me? Are you my fan?”

“Of course, I’ve been your fan for a long time.”

Luffy’s pirate journey is inseparable from Red Hair, while Redfield’s pirate journey is closely tied to Brook.

As a child, he once saw the Lunba Pirates resting ashore.

The Lunba Pirates aimed to spread joy, and that cheerful scene made Redfield feel comfortable. He conversed with Brook at the time and was inspired by Brook’s ideals.

After escaping, he quickly recognized Brook, but Brook didn’t yet realize that Redfield was the child who once admired him and just thought the name sounded familiar.

“Speaking of which, I met someone named Red a long time ago. I wonder how he is now… how many years ago was that….”

Law was very opposed to Luffy’s inexplicable habit of inviting strangers onto the ship, especially after inadvertently locking eyes with Redfield, which instilled a sense of fear in him.

Luckily, they were already quite close to Dressrosa, and upon landing, they planned to split up and begin their actions.

“Eh? Where did Old Man Red go? He disappeared as soon as we landed?”

“I don’t know. That old man moves so swiftly, I didn’t even notice how he vanished. Padoom is also gone, but since he’s a fan of Brook’s, he shouldn’t be a bad guy.”

Chopper observed his surroundings, applying some bizarre logic to make a judgment, just as a familiar voice came from behind Luffy.

“Luffy! You brat, long time no see!”

“Ace?! Why are you here too?”

“Of course, I came for Dad’s fruit. Didn’t you come here for that too?”

“No, I made a deal with Trala to take down Doflamingo!”

Law, who hadn’t left, nearly slipped and fell, watching as Luffy blurted out their plans in less than a minute.

“Straw Hat Captain! What did I tell you before?!!”

“To keep it secret, but he’s my brother, so it should be fine, right?”

“You…”

Law felt his heartbeat quicken, which, from a doctor’s perspective, wasn’t a good sign.

Compared to the carefree Luffy, Ace instead bowed to him.

“I’ll have to trouble you with my brother; this guy is always causing trouble for others.”

But the next moment, Ace’s expression changed.

“But if you dare deceive him, I’ll make sure you remember it.”

[Straw Hat Kid… doesn’t seem like a good ally…]

Watching Luffy already happily chatting with Ace, tossing the plan aside, and declaring to help Ace reclaim the Quake-Quake Fruit, Law lost another bit of confidence in the future, and with an attitude of “out of sight, out of mind,” began his own actions with Caesar.

Luffy’s complicated relationships, in a sense, were also advantageous to him. As long as they could take down Doflamingo, everything else didn’t matter.

The arrival of the Whitebeard Pirates’ remnants was merely a signal, with Katakuri leading the BIG MOM Pirates, Redfield discreetly departing, the one-armed Shiryu, the Eight Treasures Navy, and the fleets of other kingdoms.

Navy warships, a secret squad from the World Government, members of the Revolutionary Army, this year’s Super Rookies.

Bounty hunters, mercenaries, fighting champions, Seven Warlords of the Sea, increasingly numerous forces were appearing here, and Yamato’s Pokemon Ship also appeared at the port.

Different forces, different races, monsters from different eras were drawn here.

At this time, the residents of Dressrosa were still unaware of what was happening; they were trying to persuade Doflamingo to stay due to his simultaneous abdication announcement.

In terms of face-saving measures, Doflamingo was also very adept, and the citizens, unaware of the truth, preferred to believe in the current king…