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Chapter 300 - 299 Fearless Lord Jack

Perfect results like this are rare.

Most people turned into toys by Sugar never return to their original lives, even if they regain their human form.

Eight years have passed, and times have changed. In those years, they vanished from their loved ones' memories. 

Many parents passed away from old age, fiancées remarried, and children grew up without their fathers during the most crucial years of their lives.

Not just fiancées—most married individuals remarried as well. With no memory of their spouses, they never knew they had a husband or wife to begin with.

Megumi, an ordinary teacher in Dressrosa, was once a young girl. In eight years, she matured into a young woman. 

When her husband was turned into a toy, she lost all memory of him and soon married another man.

But when Sugar fell into a coma, everything changed. While cleaning her house, Megumi suddenly trembled, covering her mouth in shock.

"I... I actually have a husband!?"

"How can this be!?"

"Then what are these extra memories in my mind!?"

When Megumi's first husband, Bourbon, finally returned home full of hope, he was met with an unexpected sight—his wife now had two five-year-old children.

In that moment, Bourbon felt as if his world had shattered.

Then, a man stepped out of the room and wrapped his arms around Megumi.

"Honey, who is that man?" he asked.

Bourbon's heart sank even further.

Years of suffering, hard work, and the dream of returning home had led to this—his wife had moved on and remarried. The weight of it all made him want to collapse.

"H-He should be my husband too…" Megumi stammered, her voice trembling.

The room fell silent. The air was heavy.

In Dressrosa, countless families suffered the same fate.

Tens of thousands of lives were torn apart, all because of Sugar.

If someone like her were thrown into a just nation, her prison sentence would be measured in hundreds of millions of years.

...

The soldier with the broken leg suddenly glowed with white light, transforming before everyone's eyes. 

When the light faded, he was no longer a toy but a strong man—still with a broken leg.

At that moment, King Riku, Rebecca, and Violet's lost memories of Cyrus came rushing back.

"Father! You're my father!" Rebecca cried as she threw herself into Cyrus's arms.

With the toys' identities restored, Doflamingo's conspiracy was fully exposed.

The Riku royal family, backed by Lynch, stepped forward to explain everything. 

As the truth spread, the people of Dressrosa saw Doflamingo's real nature.

"Bah! I used to admire him so much, but I never expected him to be such a monster!"

"Damn it! My older brother was turned into a toy, and we never even realized it. We were all fooled!"

"How could we ever call him a hero? He's a demon!"

"We were wrong about the Riku family. They were never the villains!"

"I once threw a rock at King Riku… Now, I feel so ashamed."

Just yesterday, these same people worshipped Doflamingo and wanted to get rid of the Riku family. In a single day, their hearts had completely changed.

Now, they wished they could tear Doflamingo apart, but at the same time, guilt weighed heavily on them.

This is the tragedy of ordinary people.

They have no judgment of their own, swayed by whatever they hear.

If the wind blows, they follow the wind. If the rain falls, they follow the rain.

As long as those in power control the flow of information and use a few tricks, the public can be easily manipulated and brainwashed.

And they will believe it completely.

The Riku family's kindness over the years was plain for all to see. Yet, with just a few words from Doflamingo, the citizens forgot everything and turned against them.

Not everyone has the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

Humans are easily swayed by words and their surroundings.

But now, the misunderstanding was resolved.

Doflamingo was overthrown, and the Riku family reclaimed the throne.

What followed was a grand celebration.

To mark Dressrosa's return to peace, the entire kingdom held a day-long festival.

The next morning, a large ship flying the Beasts Pirates' flag arrived at Dressrosa's port.

"Huh? Something feels different here..." 

Jack muttered as he stepped off the ship, touching his prized tusk, worth 900 million.

That's right. Years ago, Lynch took his tusks. But over time, they grew back.

After that humiliating incident, Jack learned to treasure them.

Now, he takes special care of his ivory, regularly applying high-quality oil to keep it polished—making sure it gleams under the sun.

"No matter what, we just need to find Doflamingo and get the artificial Devil Fruits from him. Then we can go back."

With that, Jack decisively stopped thinking.

After all, thinking was never his strong suit.

"Boss Jack, something feels off about Dressrosa," one of his men whispered.

Jack snorted. "Who cares? That's none of our business."

"But Boss Jack, why didn't Doflamingo send anyone to greet us this time?"

"Hmph, maybe he forgot."

"Boss Jack, what about those huge craters over there?" A pirate pointed toward the battlefield where Lynch had fought.

Jack glanced over and shrugged. "Probably just Doflamingo messing around at night. Maybe he needed some exercise."

"But... but—"

Before the pirate could finish, Jack shot him a fierce glare. "What? You think I'm stupid, huh?!"

"N-No! I wouldn't dare!" The pirate frantically shook his head. 

"Everyone knows Boss Jack is the smartest guy in the Beasts Pirates!"

"Hmph, that's more like it." Jack nodded in satisfaction and walked forward.

After circling around twice and finding no trace of Doflamingo, Jack realized that even Doflamingo's former residence had been destroyed.

So, he went with the simplest, most straightforward approach—he roared at the top of his lungs:

"Doflamingo! Get out here, damn it!"

"Don't think you can just hide and keep those Devil Fruits from me!"

The pirates following Jack exchanged worried glances.

Something was obviously wrong… wasn't it?

But none of them dared to speak up. It was frustrating, but in the Beasts Pirates, strength was everything.

Brains? Who needed those?

Jack was the kind of warrior who charged headfirst into battle against a Marine Fleet Admiral, an Admiral, and four Vice Admirals without hesitation.

At that moment, Cyrus arrived, having been alerted by the commotion.

"My lord, are you looking for Doflamingo?" 

Jack turned to him.

"Unfortunately," Cyrus continued, 

"Doflamingo was defeated and captured by the King of West Blue."

Of course, this was exactly what Lynch had instructed him to say.

No matter who came looking for trouble, just blame it all on that mysterious king.

Otherwise, Dressrosa finally freed might be thrown into chaos once again.

"What? Lynch captured Doflamingo?!" 

Jack instinctively touched his ivory, feeling a sharp pain as he gasped.

His first thought wasn't about Doflamingo's fate.

Instead, panic came in. With Doflamingo gone, 

Which meant no artificial Devil Fruits.

Which meant Boss Kaido might actually kill him.

Then, remembering his past grudge with Lynch, Jack made up his mind he had to rescue Doflamingo.

.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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