Underworld

The Underworld is the whole system of connections, smuggling, and shady dealings which eludes the World Government's control. It is mainly set in the New World.

Organization
According to Law, the New World is divided into territories governed by the strongest pirates thanks to their brokers, similar to a huge crime syndicate. The most influential man in this world was Donquixote Doflamingo, codenamed "Joker".

Due to this nature, the underworld involves almost all of the world's main forces and strongest individuals:
 * Yonko: As the most powerful pirates of the New World, they are involved in the underworld.
 * Kaido: One of Joker's clients and main Smiles buyer.
 * Charlotte Linlin: Has shown interest in Caesar Clown's Shinokuni weapon as a customer.
 * Supernovas: As formidable New World pirates, some of them has been involved in the underworld.
 * Trafalgar Law: In order to dethrone Doflamingo and defeat Kaido, acted as Caesar Clown's affiliate. Furthermore, his actions led to the resignation of Doflamingo from the Shichibukai (later revealed as fake news).
 * Kid and Killer: Despite not being brokers, they watched Caesar Clown's presentation of Shinokuni's power.
 * Shichibukai: Some Shichibukai are or were involved in the underworld.
 * Donquixote Doflamingo: The most influential man of the Underworld under his alias of Joker.
 * Crocodile: As president of Baroque Works, he was involved in Dance Powder smuggling.
 * World Government: Due to the World Nobles' involvement, the World Government cannot take action against the institution of slavery.
 * World Nobles: They are the main group interested in the slave trade.
 * Donquixote Doflamingo was a World Noble.
 * Donquixote Rosinante: A commander in the Marines, he was a double agent in the Donquixote Pirates monitoring their black market activites and reporting them to the highest officers in the military.
 * Marines: Some former Marines got involved in the Underworld after their dismissal or resignation and while on active duty.
 * Vice Admiral Vergo: As Joker's mole, he acted to hide Caesar Clown's illegal actions.
 * Former Scientist Caesar Clown: After the chemical weapon incident on Punk Hazard four years ago, he has been involved in the illegal trafficking of weapons.
 * Former Admiral Kuzan: After resigning from the Marines, he could be involved in the underworld, as Donquixote Doflamingo and Smoker have speculated.
 * Fishman Island's bloody past is due to slavery.
 * Two peaceful countries are interested in Shinokuni.
 * A war against the Flower Country has been supported by Joker's weapons smuggling.
 * The Franky Family previously participated in St. Poplar's black market as both sellers and customers.
 * Former Roger Pirates Vice Captain Silvers Rayleigh tried to sell himself as a slave in the Sabaody Archipelago's Human Auctioning House to steal money to pay off his gambling debts.
 * The brothers Kelly Funk and Bobby Funk are renowned hitmen in the underworld.
 * Suleiman is a renowned killer of the underworld.
 * The non-canon pirate Breed is affiliated with the underworld and has been able to get a Smile.
 * Several yet unnamed brokers (at least twelve) are shown watching Caesar's broadcast.
 * Jack has affiliations with the brokers and has been notified about Caesar Clown's defeat.
 * The Vinsmoke Family is a family of assassins that Sanji hails from. Sanji's father is known to be an infamous man in the Underworld.
 * A man with a horns and a cowl on his back is also seen among the many silhouetted brokers and appears to be one of Jack's subordinates or at least a broker for the Beast Pirates since the Beast Pirates wear horns as one of their trademarks.

Smuggling
One of the main scopes where the Underworld acts is the smuggling via brokers. This involves illegal goods, rare goods, slaves, and illegal weapons.

Past
No information about the existence of the underworld before Donquixote Doflamingo's rise have been revealed so far. However, the tragic past of Fishman Island being a source country for slave trafficking is at least 24-years old.

Several years ago, Boa Hancock, Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold got sold as slaves.

In the last ten years, Donquixote Doflamingo built up his status as the most influential man in the underworld under his alias of Joker. Due to this, in the last four years, he offered Caesar Clown his protection from the World Government. Some time after gaining a powerful influence in the underworld while using the alias Joker, Doflamingo formed a three-way alliance with the rogue Marine scientist Caesar Clown and Kaido, in order to create the SAD and Zoan artificial Devil Fruit, to create an army of Zoan users within the New World.

The Franky Family often sold the valuables procured from ship dismantling on the black market.

Three years before the start of the series, Crocodile obtained the Dance Powder via smuggling.

Alabasta Arc
Crocodile's Dance Powder was the cause of Alubarna's civil war. When the World Government discovered it, they strippedCrocodile of his Shichibukai status and jailed him first in a Marine prison and later in Impel Down's Level 6.

Water 7 Arc
Franky claims to have bought the rare Adam Wood in the St. Poplar's black market.

Sabaody Archipelago Arc
Before reaching the Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hat Pirates defeated Duval's Flying Fish Riders, one of the best kidnapping groups and slave suppliers to Disco's Human Auctioning House.

During the Straw Hat Pirates' visit to Sabaody Park, the Hound Pets captured Keimi and sold her to Disco. This causes Luffy to become enraged and attack the Human Auction House, bringing about an incident with the World Nobles. Due to this, Doflamingo forsook Disco and gave him the entire establishment.

During the Timeskip
Due to Doflamingo's abandonment and the raid caused by the Straw Hat Pirates, the Human Auctioning House failed and its owner Disco became a vagrant.

Punk Hazard Arc
During Caesar Clown's broadcast for the selling of Shinokuni, the Straw Hat Pirates, Trafalgar Law and Smoker's G-5 defeat him, in order to deprive Doflamingo of his supplier of SAD, the main ingredient in the Smiles production.

The defeat and kidnapping of the scientist caused a riot in the underworld and characters such as the Yonko Charlotte Linlin and Jack were informed about it. Later, Law blackmails Doflamingo, who is forced to resign from his Shichibukai position in exchange for Caesar's return and not become a target of Kaido's fury.

Caesar Retrieval Arc
The pirate Breed attempted to kidnap Caesar from the Straw Hat Pirates in order to produce his own SMILEs and build up a Zoan army. He was defeated by a combo attack of Luffy and the Kung-Fu Dugong captain of the Sea Animal Pirates.

Dressrosa Arc
Kelly Funk, Bobby Funk, and Suleiman competed in the Corrida Colosseum in order to win the Mera Mera no Mi. All of them were defeated in their first round of battle royale.

Don Chinjao, Sai, and Boo of the Happo Navy competed in the Corrida Colosseum in order to investigate Doflamingo's weapons smuggling operation, which was supporting a nation in its war with the Flower Country.

Upon Doflamingo's defeat at Luffy's hands, all of his buyers were negatively impacted. A country without weapons is forced to surrender in a war. Pirates are angry about the money they have already paid to him and their inability to go to Dressrosa while an Admiral remains there. Brokers scream at the lack of SMILE and Devil Fruits to trade and one stabs the wanted posters of Luffy and Law in anger. Kaido's subordinates were seen informing him of the destruction of the SMILE Factory and the end of his professional agreement with the Donquixote Pirates since they were arrested. Additionally, Doflamingo's defeat and subsequent arrest left a massive power vacuum in the Underworld that caused many parties such as Buggy and the Pirate Dispatch Alliance scrambling to make a bid for power. Doflamingo himself stated that a global scale war between all the major powers in the world, among which are the Revolutionary Army, Yonko, Marines, Shichibukai, and The Worst Generation, is inevitable.

Zou Arc
While meeting up with Pekoms, the Straw Hats find out that the Vinsmoke Family is a family of assassins. As well, Sanji's father is an infamous man throughout the Underworld that was able to change Sanji's bounty poster to "Only Alive". He also helped arrange Sanji's wedding with Big Mom.

Trivia

 * Both Donquixote Doflamingo and Smoker insinuate that Kuzan may have dealings in the underworld, though Kuzan neither confirms or denies this.

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