Whoosh!
As Doflamingo uttered these words, the entire square erupted in chaos.
The pirates were stunned, their eyes fixed on Doflamingo atop the platform, as if doubting his words.
Some shrewd pirate captains discreetly glanced at the front row where Caesar and other big shots stood, only to find them completely unfazed, as if they had already known this fact.
"Celestial Dragon, Celestial Dragon!"
Some pirates' faces twisted with rage, their eyes burning with murderous intent directed at Doflamingo.
"Zehahaha! A noble Celestial Dragon stooping low to mingle with scum like us? Joker, you must be joking!"
Teach burst into laughter, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Unfazed by the anger, hostility, and disbelief in the square, Doflamingo continued:
"At last night's banquet, did everyone remember what Caesar said?"
"Among the twenty kings who founded the World Government, their descendants—the World Nobles—are the most revered Celestial Dragon families in the Holy Land Mariejois, each representing their respective factions. And I am the descendant of one of those families: the Donquixote Family."
A descendant of the kings!
The pirates were even more shocked.
Even Rayleigh and Gaban in the front row stared at Doflamingo in disbelief, never imagining he held such a noble status.
Below the platform, Shanks rubbed his nose.
One pirate swallowed hard and asked timidly, "If you're a Celestial Dragon, why become a pirate? To the lofty rulers, pirates are nothing but scum they can easily dispatch an admiral to eliminate."
"Fufufufu, that's exactly the story I want to share with you today."
Doflamingo, tall and slender in his crisp suit, truly looked like an elegant and noble young master.
"When I was very young, one day, my father had a sudden bout of compassion. He decided to abandon his status as a Celestial Dragon and leave the Holy Land Mariejois, wanting to live among commoners and befriend ordinary people. Fufufufu."
"He naively believed that by lowering himself and using his kindness to help others, he could earn their respect and live a peaceful, leisurely, and happy life in the town."
"Yet, the cruelty of reality always shatters a person's illusions swiftly."
"In this world, the strong survive while the weak perish. This simple truth was something I understood by the age of three. But my foolish father, even at forty, remained as naive as an imbecile."
"When our family lost our privileges—no longer standing above others, no longer protected by powerful guards, no longer with endless wealth or the protection of Navy Admirals—the money my father brought from the Holy Land was instantly looted by the refugees. Our family plummeted from heaven into hell. The former luxuries vanished, and I was reduced to scavenging for food in the garbage—disgusting, filthy scraps!"
Doflamingo spoke through gritted teeth.
"And it was spoiled, moldy, and crawling with maggots!"
The square fell silent as the pirates were immersed in the story Doflamingo was telling.
A Celestial Dragon becoming a pirate—a tale of a god descending into mortality—was something they had never heard before.
"My father soon regretted it, fufufufu. He wanted to return to the Holy Land, to reclaim his pristine noble status, to restore his former glory, to regain that supreme privilege!"
"For a god to become mortal is simple—just fall from heaven."
"But for a mortal to become a god, fufufufu, unless he can overthrow the old gods and become a new one!"
"The outcome was obvious. My father failed. He could never go back. His unrealistic fantasies turned to dust. Later, my mother fell ill. I abandoned my former dignity and begged those frenzied refugees—for just a bit of clean food, a little clean water, for them to save my poor mother!"
A surge of violent killing intent rose from Doflamingo, his Conqueror's Haki erupting and radiating outward, causing weaker pirates to stagger and nearly collapse.
"My pleas, my kneeling and kowtowing, my wails—what they gave me in return wasn't food, wasn't water, wasn't understanding."
"It was fists, knives, guns, and faces twisted in cruel laughter!"
"My mother—a gentle, kind, beautiful, and virtuous woman—died just like that. Killed by a mere cold."
As Doflamingo spoke, tears streamed down from behind his glasses.
But not a single pirate in the crowd dared to laugh.
"When you face something terrible, you must prepare for something even worse."
"The townspeople strung us up, piling a mountain of firewood beneath us, just to burn us alive. The flames roared, and all I could hear were their jeers, curses, and scorn."
"And at that moment, my ridiculous father was still begging the refugees—pleading for them to spare him, spare me, spare my brother."
"Had his naivety still not been shattered by the brutal reality? I was utterly disappointed in him."
By now, the aura around Doflamingo was as cold as ice.
His face twisted into a ferocious expression as he spoke in a chilling tone.
"At that moment, I awakened."
"A naive child died, and the Heavenly Demon was reborn."
"After gaining power, the first one I killed wasn't those refugees, nor those rioters—it was my own father!"
"After killing my father, I slaughtered every single person in that town."
Doflamingo's imposing aura gradually faded, yet his voice grew increasingly impassioned and fervent!
Spreading his arms in a wild gesture, he declared loudly.
"I'm not here to lament or emphasize my own treachery. I just want to tell everyone present—in this world, no matter who you are, what your stance is—Celestial Dragon? Revolutionary Army? Pirate? Commoner?"
"It doesn't matter!"
"What matters most is possessing power!"
"If your strength is overwhelming, you can have everything!"
"If you lose your power, even as a Celestial Dragon, you're nothing but worthless scum!"
"With enough power—power so immense—you can even become a new god, ruling over this rotten world!"
"Fufufufu! Justice? Evil? Morality? All of it is nonsense!"
"Now, listen well, everyone! Today, the Beast God Pirates convene this assembly to show you what true pirate power is!"
"Let the show begin!!"
-----------------------------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator