Royal Capital – Nakor, Palace Entertainment City.
The original palace, completely destroyed during the shelling, warfare, and Aeridar's battle with Saxon, has been rebuilt on its former site.
It retains its square shape with four gates—east, south, west, and north—and the buildings grow taller closer to the center. At the very heart of the palace, which is also the true center of Nakor City, stands a towering twenty-one-story building over sixty meters tall. Its exterior walls are painted in a striking gold and black, exuding both grandeur and elegance.
Most notably, atop this building is a massive Golden Bell, forged entirely from gold. Its chimes are profound and beautiful, ringing out at noon every day and resonating throughout the entire city.
The people of Nakor City call it the "Bell from Heaven." This Golden Bell is actually the "Light of Shandora" that Aeridar's crew plundered from Skypiea, specially placed here by Aeridar.
Due to the events three years prior, many nobles in the city perished, leaving significant empty spaces in the aristocratic district. Coupled with Aeridar's plans for an entertainment city, Nakor City underwent reconstruction.
First, the aristocratic district was expanded, and walls were built to separate it from the high-end commercial district and the commoner district. Members of the Chris Pirates were then moved in.
Although many nobles had died, a considerable number remained. They also resided in the aristocratic district, and Aeridar only required each family to pay a million Berries.
After all, for such a large country, truly letting a group of pirates manage it would cause utter chaos. Thus, the remaining nobles were allowed to help govern the country, and Aeridar did not drive them away.
Next, the outer city walls were demolished, and the commoner district and ordinary commercial district were divided into eight sectors and eight streets, allowing for infinite expansion of the city's scope.
Of course, the most important part was the palace itself. Aeridar didn't need concubines or a sprawling royal harem, so such a vast palace was useless to him; a large enough place for sleeping and training would suffice.
Therefore, the rebuilt palace was designed entirely as an entertainment complex, built with extreme luxury, exuding grandeur and opulence at every turn. It offered a full range of services including casinos, baths, golf, and gourmet dining.
Crucially, since Nakor City and the Palace Entertainment City were still a day's journey by land from the coast, Aeridar undertook a massive project: he directly dug two grand canals, extending from Micity Port and Unzan Port all the way to the Palace Entertainment City within Nakor City.
The two canals average ninety-six meters in width, with beautiful scenery along their banks. Even a Marine Admiral's specialized battleship could enter a port and follow the canal to Nakor City's high-end commercial district, then take a smaller boat to the Palace Entertainment City or disembark at the commercial district for shopping.
To excavate these two colossal canals, Aeridar and his executives personally participated, taking turns to open the waterways.
For instance, Oliver's single slash could extend for hundreds of meters, deeply cutting into the ground. Then, Arlan used his Bomb-Bomb Fruit ability to blast open these fissures, forming long trenches, which workers meticulously excavated to create the river channels.
As for Aeridar, it was even easier: a single Impact Wave or Impact Cannon fired close to the ground effortlessly created a semi-circular small channel. Just a few more times, and a section of the canal would be complete.
To construct this entertainment city and the two canals, Aeridar even spent a fortune to borrow Pica from Doflamingo. Utilizing Pica's Stone-Stone Fruit ability, the construction of the entertainment city and canals was completed in a mere two years.
However, including the costs of building the nation itself, Aeridar spent an astronomical sum of money, virtually depleting all the gold plundered from Skypiea.
Nevertheless, the wealth left by the Clifford Kingdom was incredibly abundant. Aside from the treasures in the royal vault, the various mineral deposits, timber, and special products on Brady Island alone allowed Aeridar to gain immense riches through trade with Doflamingo, Fish-Man Island, and Crocodile.
The Seven Warlords Alliance had also become even tighter due to shared interests. Even if Aeridar were to suggest disbanding the Seven Warlords Alliance now, he would likely be jointly eliminated by the other three.
...
On the twentieth floor of the Central Tower in the Royal City, in a spacious and luxurious room.
"The Marine forces in the New World have been fully restocked with personnel and warships and may soon resume their original operational range."
"Additionally, Crocodile has requested to purchase double the amount of SS (Super Soldier) agents, and both Abel and Backan have reported an increasing number of troublesome rookie pirates."
"The World Government is holding a Warlord of the Sea meeting in Marineford, requesting your attendance."
Aeridar sat on a red leather sofa, holding orange juice, listening to Mina across from him report on various matters.
The current Mina was much more mature than before, not just in her appearance and figure, but also in her personality.
Serving as Aeridar's secretary, she wore a red women's suit with red high heels, and her waist-length hair looked mature, beautiful, and full of charm.
"Don't worry about the Marines. Achoo!"
After sneezing, Aeridar rubbed his nose, annoyed. "Does that sand crocodile think SS agents are as common as cabbage? He wants to double his purchase? Tell him no. As for those rookie pirates, execute them all and hang their bodies in the port as a warning to others."
"Regarding the Warlord of the Sea meeting, I suspect they want us to cooperate with the Marines to eliminate pirates within our respective territories. I won't go."
"Understood."
Mina nodded, calmly continuing, "Finally, Switch Dalt has requested to strengthen the defenses of Alvis Island. The reason is that this morning, a Supernova pirate crew, the Sado Pirates, with a 217,000,000 Berry bounty, accidentally entered Alvis Island and attacked the town. Although Otto's Fifth Squad (Scientific Defense Unit) completely annihilated them, they suffered over half casualties themselves."
"A troublesome bunch of bastards." Aeridar's brow furrowed as he said irritably, "Have them replenish their missing personnel locally. Also, inform Enrod to have his White Mane Pirates stationed there for a while."
Pere pere pere... Pere pere pere...
Suddenly, a small gray Den Den Mushi on the coffee table began to ring. The sound of the Den Den Mushi made Aeridar's eyebrow twitch, but he immediately reached out and answered the call. "Hello? This is Aeridar."
"Fufufufufu~ Aeridar, it's me." Immediately after, a strange laugh came from the Den Den Mushi —Doflamingo's voice.
Hearing Doflamingo's voice, Mina closed the documents in her hand and remained silent.
"Doffy, how's business? Why do you have time to call me?" Aeridar held the Den Den Mushi, lounging leisurely on the sofa with his legs crossed.
"Fufufufufu~ Recently, Tesoro contacted me. He wants to meet you to discuss a collaboration." From the Den Den Mushi, Doflamingo's voice echoed from Dressrosa.
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