Chapter 42 — Seizing All of Dressrosa's Land!
Before long, Doflamingo and his executives finally arrived at the ruins of King Plateau.
Akira was already there, waiting.
He sat casually on the stone steps of the villa—the only building still standing after the island-wide destruction.
Vice Admiral Gion (Peach Rabbit) stood behind him, cold as ice.
She wanted to see what this outrageous man—who had turned Dressrosa upside down in a matter of days—was planning now.
Doflamingo forced down the fear rising in his chest and stepped forward in a respectful bow.
"L–Lord Akira… y-you summoned us…"
Akira rose to his feet, brushing the dust off his pants.
He didn't answer Doflamingo.
Instead, his eyes shifted toward the giant figure standing behind him, the one with the sharp, squeaky voice.
Pica.
"You."
Akira pointed at him.
"Lie down."
"Eh?!"
Pica's shrill voice tore through the plateau like a dagger.
"L-Lord A-Akira… wh-what did you say?"
"I said—lie down."
Akira repeated calmly.
"We're holding a meeting. We need a table."
"..."
"..."
Pica's stone face flushed bright red—like fresh pig liver.
He was one of the top executives of the Donquixote Family…
And this man was ordering him to become a table?!
"You—"
"Hm?"
Akira's gaze cooled by just a few degrees.
BOOM!
A terrifying wave of Haoshoku Haki slammed into Pica's body like a giant iron hammer.
"Ggh—!!"
Pica's massive stone form trembled violently.
He nearly dropped to his knees on the spot.
"Pica."
Doflamingo's cold voice came from the side.
His sunglasses reflected a sharp, icy glint.
"Do as Lord Akira commands."
"..."
Pica finally surrendered.
His enormous stone body—large enough to be compared to a fortress—
Lowered itself awkwardly, painfully, humiliatingly.
THUD… THUUUUD…
The rocks shifted as Pica lay flat.
His wide, flat back reshaped itself…
Transforming into a vast stone table stretching dozens of meters long—smooth, sturdy, perfectly even.
"Tch."
Akira looked dissatisfied.
"And the chairs."
"..."
Pica's face—buried somewhere within the stone—twisted in silent rage.
But he couldn't disobey.
BOOM… BOOOM…
Around the edge of the "table," large stone chairs emerged, shaped from Pica's own body.
"Good."
Akira nodded, pleased.
With relaxed steps, he walked to the largest stone chair—the chair of the "master of the table"—and sat.
Doflamingo's expression was inscrutable, but he forced himself to sit lower on the stone table, swallowing the last of his pride.
"What is he planning now?"
"He destroyed the palace… now he wants a meeting here?"
Doflamingo's heart twisted with unease and countless unanswered questions.
When Akira finally spoke, he tapped his fingers lightly on Pica's stone surface.
"Alright. Everyone is here."
The meeting—
the kind that could change the fate of Dressrosa forever—
was about to begin.
"Doffy."
"Yes, Lord Akira!!"
Doflamingo straightened his back at once.
"Congratulations."
Akira flashed a small grin.
"From this day forward, you and the entire Donquixote Family…"
"…are officially the Development and Property Design Team of Dressrosa."
"Since you're the user of the Ito Ito no Mi—String-String Fruit—it's perfect. You draw the lines, Pica builds the structures. Add Trebol and Diamante…"
"Together, you make an ideal construction unit."
"You'll surely lead Dressrosa's construction industry to its golden age."
"Huh?"
Doflamingo froze.
I'm the Heavenly Yaksha… the King of the Underworld… everyone in the New World knows the name Donquixote Doflamingo…
How did I suddenly become a construction worker?!
"Good."
Akira continued explaining his blueprint for the "new city."
"This island is now completely empty. It's the best moment to rebuild."
"We'll use Pica's ability to construct a mega city."
Akira rose and spread his arms wide.
"First!"
"Everything must be high-rise buildings! Minimum land usage!"
"The old flat houses and slums… hah!"
He laughed dismissively.
"All of them wasted land!"
"Low tax yield, enormous area consumption—"
"It was all a ridiculous waste!"
"..."
High-rise buildings?
A mega city?
Doflamingo's eyes sparkled instantly.
For the first time since his defeat, his inner "merchant Joker" instinct outweighed his fear.
High-rises?!
Property?!
Don't tell me Akira is planning to sell land?!
This… this is a monstrous business opportunity!!
"Fufufufufufu!!"
What a fool! He doesn't realize he's giving me a path to rise again!!
With money… he could rebuild his empire in no time.
"I've already decided on the pricing."
Akira said calmly, but every word was world-shaking.
"Zone A—where we're standing now, the former King Plateau. First-class sea view, panoramic landscape."
"One square meter: 100,000 Berry."
"Zone D—future worker housing and factories."
"One square meter: 10,000 Berry."
"..."
"Fu—?!"
Doflamingo's laughter died instantly.
His sunglasses nearly fell off.
"T–ten… thousand Berry?!"
"Per square meter?!"
He shot to his feet, breath trembling.
"Lord Akira!!"
Doflamingo cried in panic.
"The… the commoners of Dressrosa…"
"They'll NEVER be able to afford that!!!"
Such crushing prices—such impossible living expenses—had never existed before.
"Can't afford it?"
Akira looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Who said they have to pay in cash?"
"..."
"We're going to make them…"
Akira's lips curled into a devil's smile.
"…buy on credit."
"Credit?"
Doflamingo blinked.
That word didn't exist in his entire dictionary of evil.
Akira explained with the patience of a financial deity teaching a child.
"Simple."
"They pay 10% as down payment."
"And the rest, I'll lend them."
"They will pay the remainder over… fifty years."
Akira paused, then added casually:
"With a small interest rate, of course."
"..."
"..."
Fifty years.
Doflamingo stood still as stone.
A cold shiver crawled from the soles of his feet up to his skull.
Fifty years…
He wants to turn the entire population of this island…
Generation after generation… into slaves to housing debt!!!
This man…
This man was ten thousand times more ruthless than Donquixote Doflamingo ever was!
And the worst part—
Why had he never thought of such a method?
Why had he turned them into toys—creatures who couldn't even work to generate wealth?!
I'm… I'm an idiot!
"A–and… then…"
Doflamingo asked, voice shaking.
"If… if they take the loan… and can't repay it… what happens?"
"What happens?"
Akira smiled.
A smile darker than any abyss.
"They work, of course."
"Why do you think I summoned all the Yonko to renegotiate contracts?"
"Let me give you a preview. Zone D will be full of factories."
"Weapons factories, textile mills, shipyards…"
Akira lightly licked his lips.
"Oh, and we'll capture all of Big Mom's pastry chefs."
"Build dessert factories. Sell to the entire world."
"In the end…"
"Let them enter the factories."
"And use every bit of their lifetime wages… to pay off fifty years of debt."
"..."
Doflamingo could no longer speak.
Cold sweat drenched his fluffy pink coat.
"Lord Akira…"
He trembled as he asked one final question.
"I–If you press them this hard…"
"If…"
"They refuse…"
"And try to rebel… w-what then?"
"Rebel?"
Akira let out a soft laugh.
He didn't even bother answering directly.
Instead, he looked past Doflamingo—
At the small girl trembling behind him, clutching a bag of snacks.
Sugar.
"..."
Doflamingo understood instantly.
"You can remind them."
Akira's voice was icy enough to freeze bone.
"They must remember… how they returned from being 'toys.'"
"If they wish to experience that 'curse' again—"
"To become forgotten by the entire world—"
"They're welcome to try."
"..."
A suffocating silence swallowed the entire stone platform.
Peach Rabbit stood beside him, utterly frozen.
Every hair on her body stood on end.
Her beautiful face lost all color.
This man…
Is he building a country?
No.
He was constructing an eternal prison—more terrifying than Impel Down.
"Doffy."
Akira exhaled, relaxed and pleased with his own plan.
"Think farther ahead."
"That's how you guarantee uninterrupted revenue."
"We will transform Dressrosa…"
"…into the safest, wealthiest, most desirable land in the entire New World."
"A new 'Holy Land.'"
"And later—"
Akira's eyes gleamed with pure, unfiltered greed.
"The nobles and the wealthy from every nation will fight each other to come here… crying and begging to give me their money."
"Hah…"
A cold voice cut through the air.
Peach Rabbit.
She had finally reached her limit.
"What a naïve tyrant you are."
Peach Rabbit glared at Akira with disgust.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Once you squeeze Dressrosa dry like this…"
"They'll run."
She stabbed straight at the heart of the plan.
"They can migrate to another country."
"To another island!!"
"This world doesn't consist only of Dressrosa!!"
"Oh?"
Akira smiled.
"Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit."
"Your question…"
"…is excellent."
Slowly, he turned his head.
His gaze landed on Pica—still serving as a living conference table.
"Pica."
"E-eh?! Yes!!"
His squeaky voice answered from beneath the stone.
"Your ability."
Akira asked.
"You can merge with all stone and bedrock, correct?"
"Y-Yes!!"
Pica didn't understand why Akira was asking, but he answered quickly.
"As long as it's rock or earth, I can merge with it!"
"Good."
Akira smiled again.
He looked back at Peach Rabbit's confused face.
This time, the smile on his lips was pale, cold… almost innocent.
"You said…"
"If we take all islands in the sea…"
"Both inhabited and uninhabited… and pull them up from the ocean floor."
"Including the Red Line…"
"..."
"Then."
"We let Pica merge it all… into Dressrosa."
"Until the entire New World becomes ONE single landmass."
Akira spread his arms wide, expression calm as if describing the weather.
"So, Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit…"
"Tell me."
"Where exactly could they run?"
"...!!"
"...!!"
Peach Rabbit.
Doflamingo.
Both froze like shattered statues.
Their pupils shrank to points of absolute terror.
"You…"
"You're insane!!!"
Peach Rabbit slammed her hand on the stone table and shot to her feet!
The chair beneath her cracked and crumbled into dust.
"That's a CRIME!!!"
She pointed at Akira, trembling with rage.
"You want to destroy the geographical balance of the entire WORLD?!"
"Calm down, Peach Rabbit."
Akira casually dug at his ear.
His relaxed attitude only deepened her fury.
"Think about it."
"If all islands vanish… and only the 'Supercontinent Dressrosa' remains…"
"Where will pirates hide?"
"What shipping routes could they use?"
Akira gave a friendly smile that was far more terrifying than hostility.
"Doesn't that mean I'm helping the Marines end the 'Pirate Era'?"
"..."
Peach Rabbit could no longer speak.
"Without pirates."
Akira's voice echoed across the barren plateau.
"Ordinary people will finally feel safe."
"And they will work with all their strength…"
"…to earn money for me."
"Only then…"
"…can I grow endlessly stronger."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
🎉 NEW YEAR SPECIAL! 🎉
🔥20% OFF first month – Limited Time Only!🔥
Join my Patreon here:
🔗 patreon.com/FaaanzKun
👉 Use code: NEWYEAR26
✅ 20+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ 2 new chapters every day (Monday–Saturday), exclusive on Patreon
🌙 Note: Sunday is a rest day, so there will be no updates tomorrow. Regular uploads resume as usual on Monday.
Thank you all so much for your amazing support 💖
Your encouragement keeps this story alive and growing stronger every single day! 🌟
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —