Chapter 44 — Docking at Dressrosa Requires a Parking Fee!
In just half a day, a "stone palace" ten times more luxurious than the former royal castle had risen magnificently from the ground.
The moment the villa was completed, Viola immediately brought her niece Rebecca to "report."
"L-Lord Ak… Akira."
Rebecca, who once carried both beauty and resolve, now stood trembling with fear and anxiety.
She clung tightly to Viola's hand, her body quivering.
She looked at the man standing before her—the one exuding a terrifying aura—and then glanced at her aunt, who seemed so obedient that she didn't even dare look him in the eye.
Rebecca truly couldn't understand what had happened.
Akira didn't want to waste a single second talking.
He only gave Rebecca a brief glance.
"The fundamentals of a gladiator… not bad."
His cold gaze felt like it could pierce straight through her.
"One more sparring partner."
"Weak, but once reinforced she should be usable."
In Akira's heart, not a single ripple of emotion stirred.
Right now, all he wanted was to maximize the efficiency of his "training."
"System."
Akira called out inwardly.
"Give me one more set of AOW!"
[Ding!]
[1 Billion Berry deducted.]
He didn't feel the slightest regret about spending that billion.
After all, he had already figured out how to make money.
Compared to his own potential growth…
One billion was nothing.
With a single thought, a brand-new set of Armor of Will materialized before him, and he tossed it toward Rebecca.
"Put it on."
"Eh?"
Rebecca flinched, unsure what to do.
"Rebecca!"
Viola tightened her grip on her niece's hand, her gaze complicated yet filled with undeniable firmness.
"Wear it!"
"Lord Akira is doing this for your own good!"
Akira didn't bother giving them a touching "family moment."
He issued the next order immediately.
"All of you, get ready. Put on the armor. We're beginning Layer Accumulation training."
...
A short while later.
Akira looked at Yamato and the other two, who were filled with intense excitement…
And at Rebecca, slightly embarrassed but still adorably earnest.
He muttered inwardly:
"Training Layer Accumulation with all of them…"
"Every ten seconds I can stack four layers of 'Will Core'!"
"That's quadruple efficiency!"
"In just one night, over two thousand layers!"
"Armor of Will—training begins!!"
...
The next morning.
Rebecca was the first to awaken from that terrifying "battlefield," her entire body aching with exhaustion.
The moment she opened her eyes—
"!!"
Her beautiful eyes widened.
She felt something inside her body…
Like a raging, powerful river—
A strength she had never known before.
"This… this is…"
"What is this power?!"
Her heart surged wildly!
"I… I fought with my life on the line in the arena for years…"
"I lived brushing against death every single day…"
"And yet the growth I achieved all that time…"
"Isn't even comparable… to one night of 'training'?!"
Her heart—dulled over the years by despair and the constant presence of death—suddenly beat with overwhelming vitality and excitement.
Finally, she understood!
Finally, she realized why Viola had told her this was a blessing.
So this was what she meant!
Rebecca's gaze toward Akira…
Changed completely in that instant.
From fear—
Into a mixture of awe, shock, and even…
A whisper of admiration bordering on something dangerously obsessive.
...
At the same time.
Inside the villa's living room—
"Bang!"
Peach Rabbit slammed her teacup down onto the table.
Tea splashed everywhere.
Her beautiful face was adorned with two thick dark circles.
Her mental state was on the verge of collapse.
Another whole day and night!
For another day and night, she had been forced to hear everything happening beyond the living room walls—the endless "training" noises!
And yesterday's number was…
"Four people…"
Peach Rabbit screamed internally, nearly losing her mind.
"He trained with four of them at once last night?!"
"That monster…"
Her phoenix eyes, bloodshot and trembling, glared at the tightly shut main bedroom door.
"Does he not need sleep?!"
She felt as though her sanity was slipping away.
— — —
Finally.
The third day arrived.
Today…
Was the day Akira had scheduled for gathering all the major powers of the New World.
"New City" Dressrosa—thanks to Pica working like a tireless machine—had already taken form.
One after another, towering building frames rose skyward.
The entire island now had a visual style unlike anything in this world.
At the Dressrosa harbor—
Across the calm surface of the sea…
A colossal shadow eclipsed the sunlight!
The Moby Dick!
Whitebeard's massive whale ship had arrived!
Behind it—
Marco the Phoenix, Diamond Jozu, Flower Sword Vista…
Over ten division commander ships followed like stars orbiting a moon.
"Dad…"
Marco stood on the bow, staring at the forest of steel-like building frames.
Even his pineapple-shaped hair seemed to droop.
He was stunned.
"Did we… take the wrong route?"
"This is…"
Diamond Jozu, with his massive body, leaned toward the edge of the ship.
"This is Dressrosa?"
"Why… does it not look the same anymore?"
"Gurararara…"
Whitebeard sat upon his great chair, taking a huge gulp of sake.
His eagle-like, sharp gaze narrowed.
"Joker, that brat…"
"When did he renovate this place into this?"
"The visual design is… suspicious."
Boom!
Whitebeard was the first to leap off the Moby Dick.
His massive frame landed on the dock with a thundering impact that shook the ground.
The division commanders quickly followed.
The moment their feet touched the ground—
Whoosh!
A pink silhouette plummeted down using Moonwalk, shuddering violently.
With a loud thud, he fell to his knees before Whitebeard.
It was Doflamingo.
"Gurarara…"
Whitebeard stared at him.
"Joker. Long time no see."
"Fufufu…"
Doflamingo forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
"Whi… Whitebeard… old man."
"Wel… welcome to… the 'New' Dressrosa."
"Hmm?"
Whitebeard, with decades of experience and instinct, immediately knew something was wrong.
He narrowed his eyes.
"You."
"Why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?"
"Is there something you want to say?"
"..."
Doflamingo's entire body stiffened!
Instinctively, he glanced toward the tallest steel frame in the distance.
He knew...
Akira…
That monster…
Was watching him.
"Damn it, that lunatic!!"
Doflamingo screamed inside.
"He seriously intends to extort Whitebeard?!"
"He's dead! He's absolutely dead!!!"
"And he's dragging me with him!!!"
"JOKER!"
Whitebeard's voice boomed.
Cough—
Doflamingo flinched. He knew he couldn't escape.
He clenched his teeth and forced himself to speak.
"Cough… Whitebeard."
"The situation is… like this."
"Dressrosa… has changed ownership."
"..."
Whitebeard and Marco exchanged stunned looks.
"Lord Akira said—"
Doflamingo pulled out the "script" he had been forced to memorize.
"To maintain order and security at the port…"
"All ships entering Dressrosa must pay…"
"A parking fee."
"Huh?"
Marco scratched his ear.
He thought he misheard.
A parking fee?
In the New World?
Charged to the Whitebeard Pirates?!
Resigned to his fate, Doflamingo read the script aloud:
"According to regulations—"
"Your flagship, the 'Moby Dick,' as the main ship of a Yonko—"
"Entry fee: 10 million Berry!"
"Parking fee afterward: 100,000 Berry per hour!"
He glanced at the ships behind them.
"For the other smaller ships—"
"Entry fee: 1 million Berry."
"Subsequent parking fee remains the same."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The usually noisy sea breeze at the harbor…
At that moment…
Went completely silent.
Whitebeard: ???
Marco: ???
Ace: ???
...
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