The setting sun bathed Upper Yard in a golden light, making it look like something out of a fairy tale.
On the outskirts of the sky island, Upper Yard—
The treemen, feeling the last warmth of sunlight settle on their bark, stretched their limbs lazily as their workday came to an end.
One by one, they emerged from the forest.
And waiting for them, already gathered at the edge, were their families.
"Papa!"
"Mama!"
"Darling!"
Figures ran forward, throwing themselves into the arms of their loved ones—those who had long since lost their original forms.
"Fufufufufu... How heartwarming. Truly touching."
Standing on a platform of clouds, Doflamingo looked down on the scene he had created, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
His gaze flicked back over his shoulder, and he asked softly:
"Doesn't this move you, Issho?"
"I don't understand," Issho replied, walking up the cloud steps with the help of his cane, sea-prism chains still weighing down his frame.
"Why did you choose to strike Flevance?"
He sat down cross-legged.
During his time on Sky Island, Issho had learned everything from Law—what had happened to the treemen, what experiments had been done, what disease had plagued them.
At first, when he heard about the experiments, he was furious.
But when he learned that the lead-poisoning had somehow been cured, his anger began to shift.
Wasn't this, in some twisted way, a road out of Flevance' dead end?
The laughter in the immigrant district wasn't fake—it was real. They were living. Thriving.
But then... what was Doflamingo's true purpose behind all this?
If he cared about people so much, why did he commit such atrocities across the world?
"Fufufufufu... Issho, you misunderstand me far too deeply."
Doflamingo suddenly felt he understood how Uchiha Madara must've felt whenever he had to deal with Tobirama Senju.
People's preconceptions... they were like mountains.
But seeing Issho's sincerity, he decided to explain.
With a slight smirk, he said:
"Flevance had nothing to do with me. No grudge. No agenda. I merely gave them another choice."
"A way to survive. And judging by the looks of things—they're doing just fine, aren't they?"
"..." Issho remained silent. It wasn't the answer he'd wanted—but somehow, it was the answer he'd expected.
Doflamingo chuckled, his Observation Haki unfurling like a net across the area as he went on:
"Issho, how big is the gap between normal humans and people like you and me?"
"Vast," Issho replied without hesitation.
To ordinary people, the likes of them were mountains themselves—unreachable, even after a lifetime of struggle.
"Then tell me—do you feel threatened by a little bird flying at the edge of the sky?"
Of course, if it were a particularly obnoxious bird, Doflamingo wouldn't mind squashing it.
But Issho shook his head. "No."
"Exactly. So why would I harbor malice toward the ordinary people of the world?"
Doflamingo pointed toward the joyful reunions playing out before them.
"Do I have to be a bloodthirsty maniac to fit your idea of me? Someone who kills for fun?"
Sure, cutting people down when he was annoyed was satisfying—but that wasn't the point.
His blunt honesty left Issho speechless again. After a pause, the admiral asked:
"Then what do you really want? And why haven't you taken my life, now that I'm defeated?"
"That answer... has always been inside your heart."
Doflamingo turned fully to face him, locking eyes with the milky white of Issho's cataracts—as if trying to etch his will into the man's soul.
"To destroy the World Government. And you, Issho—you can help me do it."
"If that's your goal," Issho said slowly, "then why flood the world with weapons? According to your logic, that doesn't help your cause."
He couldn't shake the bitterness he felt about the weapons Doflamingo had spread across the seas. They were the very tools that inflicted suffering on so many.
"Fufufufu... You're wrong. Dead wrong."
Doflamingo tilted his head back and laughed. The young Issho... was still far too naive.
"Issho, do you know why Skypiea is still peaceful today?"
He raised his right hand—the same one that had brought down Golden Lion and Zephyr. As if he were reaching for the sky itself.
"First of all, because I, Donquixote Doflamingo, am powerful enough."
"Second, because I squeeze the wealth out of royal families, nobles, and pirates across the world—not from the people themselves."
"I simply pre-taxed the citizens of the world, ahead of schedule. That's all. And what did it prove?"
"That even the tiniest fraction of tax relief... can make life better for the people."
"This world could work the same way."
Issho: "..."
To him, it felt like being asked to choose between saving five people or saving ten.
In his heart, all civilians were equally people—whether they lived under the World Government's banner or here on this sky island.
He fell into silence, but Doflamingo pressed on.
"Issho, tell me—who do you think is truly responsible for most of the suffering in this world?"
"Is it the pirates, who commit crimes without remorse?"
"The Navy, helpless in the face of chaos?"
"The nobles and royalty, who trample the people beneath their boots?"
"Or me—a man barely in his twenties?"
Doflamingo's intense gaze bore down on him, and Issho instinctively lowered his head.
Pirates, Marines, Nobles, Royalty...
They were like quadruplets—born of the same twisted lineage. For as long as the world had turned, they'd been in power, playing the same brutal game.
Clearly, the blame didn't fall solely on Doflamingo.
There was only one correct answer...
The one that green-haired girl had shouted out loud.
The World Government demands too much from its people... and gives them too little in return.
In comparison, Doflamingo's behavior almost looked... responsible.
"Hard to answer, isn't it, Issho?"
Without waiting for a reply, Doflamingo continued:
"Imagine a world where everyone is as fragile as a normal person."
"No Devil Fruits. No Haki."
"What do you think would happen?"
"Would the world be better?"
"Or worse?"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg