The King of the Celestial Dragons?!
Doflamingo, still forced to remain in a kneeling posture, froze upon hearing those words.
"Fufufufufu~~"
Even in such a terrifying situation, Doflamingo still managed a forced chuckle. But his pale face and the cold sweat trickling down his forehead made him look utterly wretched.
"So, King... of the Celestial Dragons—you, no, Your Majesty, what business do you have with me? I stopped being a Celestial Dragon a long time ago!"
The pressure on his body suddenly lessened, and he was finally able to speak somewhat normally again, though his breath still came in rough, broken gasps.
"The moment you knelt... your Celestial Dragon status was restored," the figure above replied lightly.
Doflamingo mulled over that statement.
It seemed to imply that only a Celestial Dragon had the right to kneel before this person—so by kneeling, he had regained his identity as one?
Unbelievable arrogance!
That was his second impression of the speaker. The first had been their overwhelming power.
"Donquixote Doflamingo. I grant you the honor of being one of the Ōka Shichibukai, under my direct command."
Another supremely arrogant statement, brimming with authority that left no room for refusal.
Ōka Shichibukai?
Doflamingo voiced his confusion. But this time, no reply came. The silence stretched long enough that he began to grow uneasy. After what felt like ten minutes, he cautiously tried to lift his head.
Immediately, he saw that everything had returned to normal, and there was no one on the Empty Throne.
When did he leave?
Doflamingo stood up, his expression grim. Everything he'd just experienced felt far too surreal.
And just like that, he'd regained his Celestial Dragon status?!
What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do now? Was he just meant to walk out like this?
While Doflamingo was still caught in this tangle of conflicting thoughts, the grand doors behind him slowly opened once again. This time, he immediately turned around.
Just as he was about to brace himself, he saw five middle-aged men in white robes appear before him.
"Relax, kid."
"We're the Five Elders you wanted to meet."
Doflamingo nearly scoffed—Weren't you the ones who summoned me here? Since when am I the one who wanted to see you? Still, he felt a bit of relief. At least now, he had someone he could speak to like a normal human being.
"Come on, let's go have a seat. We'll explain everything to you."
"Fufufufu~. If that's the case, then why did all five of you have to come in person? Wouldn't it have been enough to send someone to guide me?" Doflamingo sneered.
"In Pangaea Castle, anything concerning Lord Imu is handled by us personally."
Nusjuro said this expressionlessly. Then, without another word, the five of them turned and walked out of the hall in unison.
Seeing this, Doflamingo had no choice but to follow, still filled with questions.
Before long, he followed the Five Elders into a spacious and lavishly decorated room. The centerpiece was a particularly eye-catching set of sofas.
The five elders returned to their usual seats. The one seated at the center—Warcury—pointed to the empty sofa in front of them.
"Sit there."
Doflamingo didn't object. He swaggered over with his usual arrogant gait and flopped down casually.
"Come to think of it," one of the elders remarked, "you're the first non-Elder to ever sit on one of these sofas in the Room of Authority."
"Well, I'm honored then~" Doflamingo grinned, crossing his legs.
"No need to feel honored," Ju Peter said with a faint smile. "You are now Lord Imu's emissary, a member of the Ōka Shichibukai, and have regained your Celestial Dragon status. You are fully qualified to sit with us."
"Then can someone tell me—who exactly is this Lord Imu? And what are the Ōka Shichibukai?"
Doflamingo, still young, couldn't hold back and blurted out the question somewhat anxiously. After all, his mind was still reeling from the shock—he couldn't calm himself down.
"Heh, no need to rush. We'll explain everything one by one."
Warcury said in a calm and authoritative voice, with a subtle sense of pressure.
"Lord Imu is our master, and the ruler of all Celestial Dragons. He is the founder of the World Government—its true sovereign!"
"He is the supreme being of the past, present, and future. If there must be a god in this world, then He is the one true god across the long river of history!"
His tone was filled with fanatical reverence, and his expression as he spoke resembled that of a devout zealot struggling to contain his excitement.
The other four didn't say a word, but their eyes gleamed with the same intensity.
But as the saying goes—ignorance breeds fearlessness. Although Doflamingo had just experienced Imu's terrifying power firsthand, he hadn't grown up in Mary Geoise, nor had he been exposed to the most hidden parts of history. So his feelings toward Imu were more fear and dread than reverence.
Still, within that explanation, one particular point stood out to him right away—founder of the World Government!
Did that mean the man seated on the Empty Throne might have lived for over eight hundred years?!
That thought alone made Doflamingo's heart grow heavier.
"What about the Ōka Shichibukai then?"
"As I mentioned, the Ōka Shichibukai are Lord Imu's emissaries. Not only are they qualified to meet with us directly, but they can also receive orders straight from him."
"However, you must keep this identity secret—as well as the fact that you've regained your Celestial Dragon status."
Upon hearing this, Doflamingo understood and grinned. "Fufufufufu~ So you want me to do your dirty work."
"Everyone has their value, don't they?"
"Alright, alright," Doflamingo said, reclining into the soft sofa behind him. "Then tell me—what do you want me to do?"
"You are to maintain your public identity, infiltrate the inner circles of the underworld, and provide us with the intelligence we require. Naturally, we will also offer you the necessary support during this time," Warcury said directly.
Doflamingo laughed at that. Wasn't that exactly what he had been planning to do?
Becoming a major figure in the underworld had always been his goal. Now, all he had to do was feed intel to the World Government—and he'd even receive the Five Elders' secret backing.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a good deal!
"Alright, I'm in!"
"Good. Take this. From now on, all communication will go through it."
Warcury handed him a golden Den-Den Mushi, its shell marked with a black concentric ring pattern.
Doflamingo took it and turned it over in his palm, examining it briefly—when suddenly, the elder spoke a sentence that made his heart skip a beat.
"Oh, right. Your younger brother, Donquixote Rosinante—he's currently in Marineford."
"You've captured him?!"
Doflamingo's relaxed expression instantly darkened. He lowered his voice, his tone now openly hostile.
"If that were the case," muttered Mars from the side, "he'd be in the Holy Land's prison or Impel Down by now."
"Don't worry," he continued, "that kid's been extremely lucky. He encountered Sengoku back then—and was taken in as his foster son. But his personality is completely different from yours. Despite having gone through the same experiences, he turned out to be a kind-hearted boy. It truly is a strange thing."
Doflamingo pursed his lips and remained silent for a moment. Then he stood up, face sullen.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
...
Since Doflamingo's departure from Mary Geoise, the golden river of time had flowed for two full months. It was now mid-April.
"Your Majesty," said the Left Minister, a catfish fish-man, his face lined with worry. "Since February of this year, there's been a surge in human pirates breaking in and attempting to abduct mermaids. This month, the situation has worsened—four incidents in just two weeks. Fortunately, the Neptune Army was able to respond in time and rescue the victims, but more than a hundred of our soldiers were injured. If this continues, the situation will only get worse."
In the lavish great hall of Ryugu Palace, the Left Minister looked anxiously at King Neptune seated upon the throne.
"It's all because of that rumor about the Pirate King's treasure…"
King Neptune pressed his hand to his forehead in frustration. The rumor had become so widespread that even someone like him—living 10,000 meters beneath the sea—had heard of it.
"But what can we do? It's true that the average fish-man is ten times stronger than a human, but the pirates who've made it through the first half of the Grand Line to get here—they're no ordinary people."
"In the end, it all comes down to us not having a true powerhouse among us."
The Left Minister fell silent at the king's words. The soldiers of the Neptune Army were far from weak—but merely being 'not weak' wasn't enough. Compared to the monsters of the New World, or even just the Paradise region, they couldn't be considered strong by any meaningful standard.
"Your Majesty, I humbly report!"
Just then, the Right Minister—a seahorse fish-man—rushed into the hall and announced, "A ship from the World Government and a Marine warship are waiting at the main gate for entry."
"Quick, let them in!"
King Neptune's eyes lit up, a wave of excitement rising in his heart. He had a hunch that the troubles Fish-Man Island faced might soon be resolved.