Half an hour later, Shiryu and his team escorted Jack, who was bound by seastone chains, to the new palace of Kings Plateau.
As for Jack's subordinates, Adrian had already given orders before the war: as long as the pirates weren't dead, regardless of their status, they were to be sent to Sugar to be turned into dolls and then put to work in the underground port.
Now, in the palace, he was meeting a very special group of people.
"Thank you for saving me, His Majesty Adrian."
A small human female with a pointed nose and long golden hair said gratefully to Adrian. Her name was Manshirley, the princess of the Tontatta Kingdom, a race of little people who inhabited Green Bit, an isolated island north of Dressrosa. Along with 500 other members of her tribe, she had been captured by the Donquixote Family and forced to work in the SMILE factory, processing artificial Devil Fruits.
"Yes, Majesty, you not only saved Princess Manshirley, but you also drove away that big villain Doflamingo..."
"Yes, the Donquixote Family are the most evil rulers."
"His Majesty Adrian, you are truly the great hero of legend who came here specifically to save our little people!"
The other members of the little people cheered with admiration.
"It's just a small effort."
Adrian waved his hands in a friendly manner, then changed the topic. He asked knowingly, "But I heard that your Tontatta clan has always lived underground in Green Bit?"
"That's right, our ancestors were driven underground by the Celestial Dragons around 900 years ago," Gancho, the patriarch of the Tontatta clan, said with emotion. "Even when those demons later went to the Holy Land of Mariejois, for the sake of safety, our ancestors still chose to live underground."
"So that's how it is."
Adrian actually had a certain understanding of this period of history. As late as 900 years ago, before the Donquixote Family became Celestial Dragons, they had treated the little people as slaves and had become extremely wealthy by forcing them to work. Later, when the Riku family became the new royalty of Dressrosa, they liberated the little people from slavery and used the "fairy legend" to make sure humans no longer bother them. However, after losing their strange labor force and the help of the little people who could grow various plants, Dressrosa soon became poor. This was the fundamental reason why Doflamingo had demanded 10 billion berries from King Riku III—because the country genuinely had no money.
However, for Adrian, who adhered to the principle of making the best use of everything, it was impossible to waste the unique human resources of the Tontatta race.
"The hardworking and kind-hearted Tontatta family should not be treated so unequally."
With a look of extreme indignation on his face, Adrian said righteously, "Now, that this country is being ruled by me. You little people will no longer have to live in the dark, underground world."
"From today onwards, Green Bit will be your exclusive settlement, and you can live freely in that area. Also, the little people will enjoy the same rights as humans and can walk freely on the streets. Anyone who discriminates against the little people will be punished by law."
"His Majesty, do you mean... our little human race can also be considered official citizens of Dressrosa?"
The members of the little people were all stunned by Adrian's powerful words. Even the Riku clan, who had abolished their slavery back then, had never given the little people the same status and rights as humans. Instead, they had used the "fairy legend" to cover up their existence, after all, it was still discrimination. But the new monarch, Adrian, was completely different. He not only allowed them to live openly in the sun but also granted them the power and identity of full citizens. What courage and gift this was.
"That's right, from now on, the Tontatta family will be official citizens of my Dressrosa," Adrian said in an extremely firm tone, while an imperceptible arc curled at the corners of his mouth.
"Long live His Majesty Adrian!"
The little people immediately cheered and jumped up. Tonta-Chief Gancho fell to his knees with tears in his eyes and said gratefully, "His Majesty's kindness to the little people will never be forgotten. We will definitely work harder. If there is any dirty work, please leave it to us."
"That's right, our strength is immense."
"If His Majesty has any plants you want to grow, you can give them to us. There is no plant in this world that our Tontatta family can't grow..."
The innocent and kind little people, at this moment, were almost ready to give their hearts to Adrian.
This scene reminded Adrian of a very famous saying from his previous life: "Orcs will never be slaves unless they are provided with food and shelter."
"The artificial Devil Fruits from the SMILE factory are now up to you."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, we will do our best to cultivate more artificial Devil Fruits for you," Patriarch Gancho assured with a solemn expression.
"Your Majesty Adrian, please allow me to join your guard," a little human warrior with a crown-shaped green hat on his head and two sewing needles on his waist suddenly stepped forward and said.
Adrian glanced sideways. It was Leo, the captain who had joined the Straw Hat Fleet in the original story. He was the user of the Paramecia-type "Stich-Stich Fruit." Although his strength wasn't on the same level as the Empress or Shiryu, it was much higher than figures like the three princes of the Ryugu Kingdom.
However, just as Adrian was about to nod in agreement, Princess Manshirley suddenly stood up.
"And me, Your Majesty."
Princess Manshirley said devoutly, "Although I don't know how to fight, I can help you treat the wounded."
Adrian frowned slightly. This time, things had truly become serious. Princess Manshirley's "Heal-Heal Fruit" ability was far superior to Law's medical skills. Once she activated her ability, she could heal all the wounds of living creatures. Even her tears had therapeutic effects. It could be said that her entire body was a treasure. In the original work, when Law was seriously injured and unable to move, Princess Manshirley had attached his severed arm with her ability. And the most awesome thing was that when the ability user activated the "Heal-Heal Fruit" at the cost of using their lifespan, it had the bug-level ability to restore everything (both organic and inorganic) to its intact state. Doflamingo regarded Manshirley's ability as the ultimate guarantee for "rebuilding" the SMILE factory.
Adrian immediately got up and said with sincere eyes, "Then I will trouble everyone to work with me to build a truly equal and free country!"
Then, among the little people, nearly 200 more warriors stepped forward to join Adrian's guard. There were even a few rare Zoan-type like "Bug-Bug Fruit" users among them.
In front of this positive scene, Violet on the side looked dumbfounded. Not to mention that her father, King Riku, was no match for Adrian; even the sinister Doflamingo was not comparable to the man on the throne in terms of his methods. The Donquixote Family had to use shameless coercion to get the little people to work, but when it came to Adrian, the situation was completely reversed. It became the Tontatta race volunteering, begging Adrian to let them repay his kindness. This method of playing with people in the palm of his hand was simply... horrifying.
After Adrian finished dealing with the matter of the Tontatta clan, he signaled for Shiryu to bring Jack forward.
"You bastard, give me back my tusks! Let's go one-on-one if you have the guts..."
Jack, who had lost his ivory tusks, still hadn't changed his arrogance, struggling and shouting non-stop.
BOOM!
Shiryu's face darkened, and he hit Jack's face heavily with the scabbard of his sword, Raiu.
"Dare to be so presumptuous in front of my King, or I will really kill you."
"Don't mess around, my boss is Kaido."
Although Jack was reckless and brainless, he was still some distance from being a complete fool. The strong murderous aura emanating from Shiryu immediately made him a lot more honest.
"Jack, if you want to leave Dressrosa alive..." Adrian said calmly, "Then have Kaido talk to me personally."