June, the blazing summer.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Wooow~~ I am your beloved host, commentator, and referee, Diamante-san!!!" Dressed in a flashy, vibrant red, Diamante stood on the central platform of the vast, ancient-style circular coliseum, screaming at the top of his lungs: "Welcome to the first season, first quarter championship battle of the New World Central Fighting Tournament V3 Heavyweight Division! And a warm welcome to everyone watching via Visual Den Den Mushi and listening to the live broadcast via Broadcast Den Den Mushi!"
"Ohh! Ohh! Ohh!"
"Diamante-saaaan!"
"Burgess! Burgess! Burgess!"
"I can't wait!"
"..."
The twenty-three thousand spectators in the arena responded hysterically to Diamante, their faces flushed, their expressions twisted. No matter their profession, they had cast aside their composure and elegance, unleashing the beasts within. The same could be said for people across the world watching and listening to the Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments.
Doflamingo sat in his private box, observing everything with a cold gaze, muttering to himself, "Interesting."
The long-planned Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments had been ongoing for three months, performing well, and their development speed was geometrically accelerating. Preliminary estimates suggested that the audience following the tournaments numbered a staggering three hundred million.
Doflamingo calculated that in two or three more quarters, his substantial investment would break even, even without launching the ranking prediction game for the swordsmen and fighters.
The popularity of the Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments was thanks to Peclo's tireless promotion through global media moguls. Those shrewd individuals not only didn't require any advertising fees from Peclo but were even willing to pay him, solely to monopolize the live broadcast and retransmission rights, thereby promoting the products of the businesses they subsequently contacted—a point Doflamingo approved without hesitation.
Promotion and packaging were one aspect; operations were another. Doflamingo aimed to create celebrity swordsmen and fighters to boost popularity. That's why Burgess was thrown into the V3 Heavyweight Fighting Tournament, the largest one. His cheerful and eccentric personality was indeed endearing, and his strength was superhuman, making him the undisputed champion in people's minds.
But more importantly, as Doflamingo himself had said, "Humans are such contemptible, inferior creatures. No matter how docile their nature, a cruel and bloodthirsty savagery always slumbers within them. Blood and death are the best entertainment."
The turmoil and warfare before and after the Great Pirate Era had accumulated resentment and hatred, leaving people suppressed. They desperately needed an outlet.
"Young Master," Gladius respectfully offered a Den Den Mushi, saying, "Someone is looking for you."
Doflamingo casually took the Den Den Mushi receiver, his gaze fixed on the fighters being summoned to the duel platform. "This is Doflamingo."
"You bastard, Doflamingo!" The voice on the other end immediately cursed, filled with exasperation.
Doflamingo showed no anger or annoyance, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Fufufufu~ Did you eat gunpowder for breakfast, Gorosei? Cool down, be careful your aging bodies can't handle it."
"Don't play dumb! Look at the mess you've made!" the Gorosei roared.
Doflamingo clicked his tongue, feigning ignorance. "Tsk~ The mess I've made? I've done a lot of good deeds. Which one are you referring to? Fufufufu~ Is it the recent boost I gave to the world's economy?" He pretended to be humble and joked, "No need to specifically thank me, it's what I should do. I am a law-abiding citizen of the World Government, Fufufufufu~~"
The booming popularity of the Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments genuinely boosted the world's economy, but it wasn't as light and breezy as Doflamingo made it sound.
The network of various businesses centered around the Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments saw a sudden surge in profits, and Doflamingo maliciously hindered the circulation of those vast profits, causing a certain shortage of currency.
The World Government was caught off guard, and the established economic system was severely impacted, almost collapsing outright. How could the Gorosei remain calm?
"Ridiculous," another voice on the Den Den Mushi said. "Doflamingo, if you don't give us a proper explanation, we will fully suppress your businesses."
Doflamingo, having created the trouble to provoke the Gorosei into seeking contact, naturally had a countermeasure ready. He chuckled, "It's simple, isn't it? I'll give you twenty percent of the profits from the Swordsman and Fighting Tournaments every year. Wouldn't that be great? Fufufufu~ But why should I give it to you for free? It's for helping you stabilize economic fluctuations, build fortress bases, and strengthen military forces, and so on."
"Conditions," the other party said concisely.
Doflamingo habitually twitched his fingers. "Soon I'll launch a... guessing game. I want to create a similar business where you provide the funds and manpower, and I provide the ideas. We'll cooperate, a six-four split."
"We understand you're a business genius, but we still need to assess the results. You'll need to come to Mariejois to discuss the details," the Gorosei mused.
Doflamingo sneered, "Fufufufu, no problem. I haven't been back to Mariejois in a long time; I miss it quite a bit."
"What is Shiki doing? We've lost track of him," the Gorosei abruptly changed the topic.
Doflamingo leaned back in his chair. "He's transporting islands from the first half of the Grand Line to his territory in the New World. You didn't notice when he passed over Mariejois? Ah, that's a serious problem. Why didn't he drop the islands? That would have been a sight to see!"
The Gorosei fell silent, clearly horrified and full of lingering fear at this news.
"Shiki's doing scientific research, fufufufu~ His dream is to become a scientist," Doflamingo said vaguely.
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