When Zephyr was about 250 meters from the entrance gate of the Royal Plateau, King Riku, who was wearing pajamas, a cloak, and had just appeared on the projection, suddenly charged into the town on horseback, his head lowered so his expression was obscured.
"Was that just..."
Zephyr naturally recognized King Riku, but unlike the common people, he saw more: the invisible threads wrapped around the King's body, which could only be detected with Observation Haki.
"The power of the String-String Fruit?"
The threads perceived by his Observation Haki reminded Zephyr of the Seven Warlords of the Sea files he had viewed before his suspension.
The Marines still retained this level of authorization. "It's King Riku!"
"His Majesty King Riku!"
The citizens who had gathered their household cash cheered, raising their hands when they saw King Riku appear. But as the King arrived before them on horseback, he suddenly drew the sword from his waist and slashed down.
Clash!
A flash of blood. King Riku's powerful strike injured one man, catching everyone completely off guard. Kyros took a step forward, his eyes wide. "Your Majesty King Riku, what are you doing?"
However, immediately after asking the question, Kyros's body stiffened. He drew the sword from his back and began to slash at the surrounding citizens. Tank and the other soldiers of the Royal Army did the same, drawing their swords and attacking people.
"W-what's wrong?" Kyros was still resisting, barely managing to control his body and avoid harming the people around him, but after a few seconds of struggle, he succumbed to the power of the String-String Fruit and swung his blade at the citizens.
"Ahhh!"
"What's going on?"
"Why, why are you doing this?"
"We already gave you the money!"
In less than half a minute, dozens of people were killed. The surrounding residents fell into a panic, staring in disbelief at King Riku, who was wildly slashing from horseback, and the soldiers who were aiding the atrocity.
Captain Kyros, Vice-Captain Tank... what has gotten into everyone?
Zephyr gritted his teeth. He wasn't an idiot. Doflamingo's blatant trick immediately made Zephyr realize the pirate's sinister motive.
But it's truly brilliant. I have to admit the cleverness of this move.
King Riku is innocent. The best way to save him is to knock him unconscious, Zephyr thought.
Even at this moment, he still didn't want to reveal his identity. He picked up a thumb-sized stone from the ground, aimed carefully, and threw it at King Riku, who was madly slashing from his horse.
Puff!
The stone struck King Riku's back of the neck, hitting him with the force of a powerful hand- chop.
The other citizens were busy fleeing for their lives, and no one noticed Zephyr's action. Zephyr's gaze remained fixed on King Riku, and he could clearly see the King's head loll, confirming his success.
But the next second, reality slapped Zephyr in the face. King Riku's head was indeed tilted, and his eyes were closed—all signs that he had passed out—but his movements did not slow down one bit.
"You can control an unconscious person, or even a corpse, Sea Scourge..." Zephyr clenched his fists and turned his gaze toward the palace on the Royal Plateau in front of him.
Even if he rushed in to stop the immediate attack, it would likely only make the situation messier. To minimize the casualties, he had to quickly find Doflamingo, the hidden manipulator.
While Zephyr's Observation Haki was strong, he couldn't track an entire city. The King just rode out of the palace... so the greatest likelihood is that Doflamingo is still inside.
With that thought, Zephyr swiftly infiltrated the palace, attempting to halt the massacre.
Meanwhile, high up in a clock tower on the Royal Palace, the three top officers of the Donquixote Pirates—Pica, Diamante, and Trebol—were gathered. Doflamingo squatted slightly ahead of them, his left hand extended, moving his fingers as if controlling a string puppet.
Suddenly, Doflamingo's expression subtly changed. Trebol, noticing the anomaly behind him, immediately asked, "Nye, nye~ Doffy, what's wrong?"
Doflamingo's brow twitched. "There's been a fluctuation in King Riku's strings. He might have been attacked by someone."
"Eh? Are there citizens brave enough to resist the King?" Trebol asked curiously, though he didn't take the matter seriously.
"Well, he's still under my control, so it's not a threat."
Doflamingo also paid little mind to the insignificant change, continuing to manipulate King Riku and the soldiers into a frantic massacre of the citizens.
"Once the entire nation is surrounded by shock and fear, once they hate King Riku, the true hero will make his entrance!" Doflamingo laughed, sticking out his tongue.
Inside the palace, Monet, wearing thick, round, milk-bottle-bottom lenses, opened the palace gates, allowing the Donquixote Pirates' officers to enter. The Royal Army frantically tried to stop them, but with the King and the Army Captain acting erratically, their morale was shattered. Combined with the difference in strength, they were no match for Gladius, Lao G, and the others, and were quickly beaten half to death.
"Don't kill them! Young Master specified that these people will be useful subordinates in the future."
Just as Gladius was about to make a soldier in his grasp instantly explode, Señor Pink stopped him, and Gladius put the soldier down.
They fought their way to the monitoring room, just in time to see the live projection of King Riku and the Royal Army madly slashing at the residents of Dressrosa.
"That should be enough, right?"
Señor Pink sucked on his pacifier, stroking his double chin.
"Yes. Now we just have to wait for the Young Master to make his move."
Monet pushed her glasses up onto her forehead, her tone expressing deep admiration, showcasing her exquisitely beautiful face. During her time undercover in the palace, no one had ever suspected she was a beautiful woman due to her spectacles.
"Could I ask where Doflamingo is right now?" A voice suddenly came from behind, causing the Donquixote officers to instantly turn around.
They saw Zephyr standing there, his hands clasped together, pressing his knuckles to produce two cracking sounds. If any Marine had witnessed this, they would have thought Garp had arrived.
But right now, Zephyr was even more terrifying than Garp.