One Piece : Winged Dragons of the Beast Pirates

Life in the Beasts Pirates wasn't as terrifying as one might imagine.

That was what Viola thought.

Although Onigashima was filled with a chaotic mix of pirates, to be honest, the pirates here were surprisingly straightforward.

As long as you were strong enough, they would genuinely respect you from the depths of their hearts. However, if you were weak, they wouldn't hesitate to stomp you into the mud.

Fortunately, as a Devil Fruit user, Viola was much stronger than the average grunt pirate. Her abilities weren't something that ordinary low-level pirates could contend with.

Thus, her life on Onigashima was quite decent.

Not to mention, she was often seen with Ian and the others. Onigashima's pirates all knew that Ian and Yamato were the future successors of the Beasts Pirates. 

They, along with the younger generation around them, were considered the pillars that would lead the Beasts Pirates forward.

Viola was also seen as one of those pillars.

The daily routine on Onigashima mainly revolved around training with everyone else. At first, Viola struggled to keep up with the group's pace, but over time, she adapted.

Outside of training, it was all about having fun.

Viola had grown close to Black Maria and Boa Hancock's two younger sisters. They were all girls of a similar age who often spent time together, leaving little reason not to become friends.

The group of girls practically gathered daily to play. Sometimes, when they found Onigashima too boring, they would venture into the mainland of Wano for entertainment.

This kind of life was nothing like the pirate lifestyle Viola had originally imagined.

In her mind, becoming a pirate meant drifting endlessly on the sea, occasionally landing on an island to indulge in bloodshed and plundering, venting the malice within.

That vision of life had filled her with fear. Yet, fearing Ian might harm her family, Viola had reluctantly agreed to his coercion and joined the Beasts Pirates.

However, since joining the crew, she hadn't even heard of, let alone participated in, any raids or pillaging.

Once, out of curiosity, she asked about it. Black Maria responded with a sly smile, saying, "Because there's no need for it."

It was then that Viola truly understood the nature of the pirate crew she had joined.

The annual protection fees from the islands under their control alone were astronomical. On top of that, the Beasts Pirates' arms trade had reached every corner of the world, funneling an endless stream of wealth into Wano.

Even though Viola was still young, she understood that the scale of this pirate crew seemed ridiculously excessive.

This wasn't a pirate crew at all—it was more like the size of a warlord's army, or even a massive nation governed by pirates.

However, this realization brought Viola some relief.

At least she wouldn't have to commit atrocities like pillaging and burning villages against her conscience.

Living like this and just getting by wasn't so bad.

That was what Viola thought.

One day, she read in the newspaper that a new Warlord of the Sea had been appointed—a man named Donquixote Doflamingo.

"Donquixote?"

Viola's expression showed surprise as she remembered something. "Isn't that the surname of the family that ruled Dressrosa 800 years ago?"

As a member of the current royal family of Dressrosa, Viola had some knowledge of this part of history.

"Oh, Doflamingo? He's a friend of Ian. He went to the North Blue back then to discuss a collaboration with him."

While slowly applying nail polish, Black Maria spoke in astonishment, "Looks like he's achieved his goal. Becoming a Warlord of the Sea was Ian's idea, you know. I think he suggested robbing the Heavenly Tribute or something like that?"

"Heavenly Tribute?"

As a princess of a World Government member nation, Viola knew exactly what the Heavenly Tribute was. She was utterly stunned. "No way! Is he insane? That's outright declaring war on the Celestial Dragons!"

Was Doflamingo crazy, or was the entire world insane?

Not only did he rob the Heavenly Tribute and survive, but he also became a Warlord of the Sea?

The moment Hancock's two younger sisters heard the term "Celestial Dragons," they immediately turned their heads. "Celestial Dragons?"

"Celestial Dragons?"

Black Maria blinked her exaggeratedly large eyes. "Doflamingo himself is a Celestial Dragon, you know."

"Eh?!"

Not just Viola, even Hancock's two sisters were dumbfounded.

"Oh, it's the former Celestial Dragon. I heard he used to be one, but now he isn't anymore," Black Maria added, then seemed to remember something. She suddenly looked at Viola with concern.

"Viola, I just recalled something—Doflamingo seems to be planning to make Dressrosa his new base of operations."

"What?"

Viola was stunned.

Dressrosa? 

She was so shocked that she jumped up.

"No! I need to find Ian!"

In her view, Ian was the only one who could resolve this matter.

Of course, her instinct wasn't wrong.

Viola found Ian fishing on the shores of Onigashima.

At that moment, Ian was loudly complaining, "Hey! How many times do I have to tell you guys not to hook fish onto my line while I'm fishing?"

Below him, in the sea, a few beautiful mermaids laughed cheekily and replied, "Because Lord Ian never catches anything!"

These were the merfolk who had migrated to Wano Country and were now settled in the seabed near Onigashima.

Here, nothing restricted them anymore. Both mermaids and fishmen could freely move between the surface and the underwater world.

Ian's face turned red with frustration as he muttered incomprehensible things like, "A pirate's air force doesn't count as an air force," and "It's just a matter of fate."

The mermaids burst into laughter, some even jokingly pretending they wanted to hook themselves onto his line for Ian to catch.

On a normal day, Viola might have found this scene amusing.

Ian was always friendly, chatting casually with anyone, showing none of the arrogance you'd expect from the Beast Pirates' second-in-command or the king of Wano Country.

Viola had only recently learned that he was a king.

But now was clearly not the time for such thoughts.

"Ian!"

Viola almost screamed, "Maria said Doflamingo is targeting Dressrosa?"

Ian paused for a moment. Instead of replying immediately, he waved his hand impatiently at the mermaids below.

"Go play by yourselves. Yamato will be here soon."

"Ah! Lord Ian always says such scary things!"

Laughing, the beautiful mermaid girls giggled and swam into the sea to play on their own.

Among the immigrants in Fish-Man Island, there is a common belief that the beautiful mermaids should never get too close to Lord Ian, as it would summon the white-haired demon's divine punishment.

When the mermaids left, Ian finally sighed in relief, leisurely lifting the large fish hooked on the line. "Don't misunderstand, this fish is about to bite the hook, it's just that they acted unnecessarily."

"Anything would be fine with that!"

Viola screamed urgently. "Ian, is Doflamingo going to attack Dressrosa?"

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