Dinas

It is said that in Dinas, everything is connected. Its islands. Its wealth. Its people. Everything. Perhaps it is because of the grand number of bridges and canals. Perhaps it is because of the vast amount of trade and activity that flows into the city. Or perhaps it is because of the all-seeing tower that looms over the conglomerate of islands that is home to the Kobushi Corporation.

Dinas has been around ever since the Grand Line was first traveled. It’s exact origins are unknown but the stories say that one Hiraku Kobushi established Dinas many years ago to act as a trading hub, a place where people exchange goods, get supplies and rest before wandering deeper into the Grand Line. People soon flooded to the meager offering that Dinas’ earliest years provided and the small hub slowly but greatly expanded. Over the years, Dinas expanded to encompass the surrounding rock formations, crafting man-made islands to house the increasing number of inhabitants. What was once one island suddenly grew into five. Bridges and canals connected all the islands together, allowing for easy movement between the poorer outside islands and the wealthy core.

Soon, the expansion was halted, as the pioneers of ancient Dinas had no other islands to terraform. So they built up. Larger buildings swallowed up the insignificant. Walls and other barriers separated the impoverished from the dignified, as more and more wealth and pride entered the core island and spread out. Dinas became ever changing, a wholly dynamic island as the expansion of travel in the Grand Line and the New World made Dinas ever more important. It emerged as the trading capital of the world where anybody who was anybody would have some outpost on one of the islands of Dinas. Smaller, independent business kept themselves on the outer rim islands, yet the largest and most powerful business did their business on the core, original Island.

The rise of Morris D. Rallo marked the first radical shift Dinas ever made. Dinas became a major base for the World Government and the Marines. Due to the constant stream of people, the Marines used Dinas as a means to an end. Pirates were often captured by the constant vigilance of the Marines and any other outfits that were willing to ally with the Marines. Rumors would often spread like wildfire, allowing them to stop entire operations before they began. It’s prime location at the heart of the Grand Line allowed for easy traveling to all other locations in the vast ocean. In exchange for the help of various corporations, the World Government would offer protection and assistance in establishing new ventures. The deals seemed fair. At least for a time.

For there is always one constant in Dinas: The Kobushi Corporation. Established in the center of everything, holed up in ominous tower that watches over all of Dinas (and some say the world itself) is the center of operations for the largest corporation in the world. Currently lead by Kasumi Kobushi, the corporation has aggressively expanded since the dawn of Morris D. Rallo’s reign as the King of Pirates, becoming even more influential since his defeat (and subsequent death) at the hands of Fleet Admiral Kanaru. It is said that the Kobushi Corporation has its hands in every business dealing on the four blues, the Grand Line and even the New World. No one knows its true intentions or how the operation is ran. All anyone knows is that Kasumi is in charge.