Dressrosa is now also known as Land of Love, Passion, and Toys. With its gourmet food, vibrant flowers, dance performances, and walking toys, outsiders who don’t know the truth might naively think that the people of this country live happily.
Those walking toys have become a unique sight, but no one knows that these toys were once living beings, transformed and enslaved by the power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit.
Setting aside Doflamingo’s underhanded dealings, on the surface, his management of Dressrosa is relatively meticulous. As a result, Dressrosa has become a popular tourist destination.
This also means that the cost of living here is quite high.
Caesar, being Caesar, has little resistance to temptations. Judging by his actions in the original timeline, after returning to Punk Hazard, he would summon the “Girls Ship” to the island every night, indulging in a life of debauchery. To make it worse, he even scammed the money for this lifestyle from Big Mom.
Faced with the passionate women of Dressrosa, Caesar quickly squandered the small amount of money he had plundered from the prison ship. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and decided to approach Doflamingo directly.
“Caesar Clown?”
“Yes, I’m the genius scientist Caesar Clown. Joker, I have a tremendous opportunity to offer you!”
“You mean that thing with scamming women for cash because you were hungry, and then having to flee when you were found out?”
The “Land of Toys” exists because of Sugar’s Devil Fruit powers, while “Love and Passion” reflects the characteristics of its people. The women here tend to be relatively open-minded, but also extremely jealous.
If two people are mutually attracted, they can quickly develop a relationship. However, if a man betrays a woman, she is likely to resort to violent retaliation. It’s not uncommon for love disputes to escalate into physical altercations here.
Through his knowledge and silver tongue, Caesar managed to swindle someone. If he weren’t a Logia User, he would probably have a few extra holes in his body by now.
“Ahem, that was just a misunderstanding…”
“I’m not interested in your excuses. Just tell me what you want to do. You’d better have a convincing reason, or I’ll just hand you over for the 300 million bounty.”
Since the man addressed him as “Joker,” it was clear he knew about Doflamingo’s status as an Underworld broker. Watching Caesar’s antics for so long, Doflamingo hoped Caesar would prove to be worthy.
“Fine, let me reintroduce myself. I used to be part of the MADS research group, working alongside Vegapunk and Queen. You must be familiar with both of them. Let me make one thing clear—I am definitely more capable than Queen!”
He needs a comparison target to demonstrate his ability, and Queen is undoubtedly the most suitable choice. Even if Caesar was reluctant to accept this, it was the present reality.
“Fuffuffuffu, interesting. So, you’re saying that whatever Queen can do, you can do too?”
Hearing Caesar’s claim, Doflamingo’s interest was piqued. The Beasts Pirates had numerous patented technological products; the popular “Divine Steel” was one such example.
These patents weren’t protected by law but rather by the inability of others to replicate them. If Caesar could truly achieve this, the potential profits would be unimaginable.
“Well… there’s a bit of an issue with that guy…”
Caesar wanted to boast that he could do everything Queen could, but the truth was, he didn’t have that capability.
If he promised and then failed to deliver, it would spell big trouble for him.
“So, what exactly can you do?”
Seeing Caesar’s expression, Doflamingo started to suspect that he was just talking big. His demeanor cooled considerably.
“I specialize in weapons and Artificial Devil Fruits, and I’ve made significant breakthroughs. With just a little funding, I can create Devil Fruits!”
“Can you guarantee success?”
Devil Fruits were rare treasures of the sea. If Caesar could really create them, it would be a deal with no losses, no matter what.
Especially since they could be used to curry favor with Kaido, who liked Zoan-types.
If Caesar was telling the truth, it would greatly benefit Doflamingo’s future development.
“Yes, I can!”
Hearing Caesar’s confident assurance, Doflamingo decided to give him a chance.
“You’d better not be lying. The price of lying is more than you can afford to pay.”
Doflamingo was willing to try it. If Caesar’s claims proved effective, it would undoubtedly strengthen his business ties with the Beasts Pirates.
However, he wasn’t foolish enough to run to Kaido with the news the moment he heard about it.
If Doflamingo were to negotiate future deals with Kaido now and Caesar failed to produce satisfactory goods, the one to suffer would undoubtedly be him.
If he “deceived” Kaido, Kaido wouldn’t care about the details of what went wrong. He would simply have a very serious “chat” with the primary person responsible, which is him.
Having temporarily gained Doflamingo’s support, Caesar Clown began a new round of research.
……….
Meanwhile, within the Beasts Pirates, Queen looked at the blooming Gracidea with a satisfied smile. At last, the flowers had bloomed.
“Shaymin-chan! They’ve bloomed! Now you can help me, right?”
The Gracidea flowers Queen was cultivating across various regions were now in full bloom. He placed them in flower pots and transported them all to a single location, then called Shaymin out.
“I heard you, I heard you! Don’t rush me, geez!”
The familiar grass hedgehog emerged from Queen’s lab in Ringo. Seeing the blooming Gracidea flowers outside, the flowers on Shaymin’s own body emitted a special fragrance.
“Not bad, not bad! You really managed to make them sprout. I thought you wouldn’t succeed!”
Queen hadn’t received many Gracidea seeds, but together they now formed a small cluster of flowers. Walking amidst them, Shaymin acknowledged Queen’s achievement. Then, suddenly, she was enveloped in a golden light.
As the golden light surrounded her, Shaymin’s figure gradually transformed. She shifted from a round, hedgehog-like creature into a slender, deer-like or dog-like Pokémon. Her body turned white, while her limbs and the hair on her head became green. On either side of her head were antler-like wings.
This was Shaymin’s Sky Forme. Without pausing, she ascended into the sky. As she moved, Ringo—covered under perpetual snow—began to experience a rebirth.
The snow started to loosen, as though something beneath it was about to emerge. As time passed, tender green shoots began to peek through the snow, topped with flower buds on the verge of blooming.
For the first time, Ringo’s white landscape was replaced with a vibrant scene of blooming flowers. Seeds that had lain dormant under the snow for years finally came to life.
“So… how about it? Isn’t my power amazing?”
“Amazing! This power will definitely save my plantation!”
Overjoyed, Queen extended his arms toward Shaymin, seemingly wanting to give her a hug. However, Shaymin’s personality seemed to have changed. Instead of accepting the embrace as she might have before, she instinctively flew backward. Something seemed to be brewing atop her head…
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