A deserted island.
Doflamingo slowly woke from his deep coma, his fingers trembling slightly. He struggled to open his eyes and immediately snapped awake.
Instinctively, he reached up and touched his face, then let out a breath of relief.
Luckily, his sunglasses were still there.
"You're awake?"
A low, amused voice came from beside him.
Forcing himself to ignore the burning pain all over his body, Doflamingo gritted his teeth and sat up with great difficulty, cold sweat pouring down his face.
Only then did he notice that the horrific wounds inflicted by Gaban had been roughly treated and had stopped bleeding.
"Godfather..."
Doflamingo turned his head toward the man sitting casually on a boulder nearby, a cigar between his fingers, his expression unreadable.
The Vice Admiral was bare-chested, revealing crisscrossed old and new scars. Under the sunlight, his powerful, chiseled muscles exuded a wild intensity.
Blood still stained his body, and even though his wounds had stopped bleeding, the deep gashes—some exposing bone—made Doflamingo's eyelids twitch.
His injuries were clearly even worse than Doflamingo's, yet he sat there as if nothing was wrong... He was a true monster.
"Where are we?"
Doflamingo looked around.
They were on the coastline of an island, with golden beaches, a blue sea, warm sunlight, and a refreshing sea breeze that made the place feel almost idyllic.
"It doesn't matter."
Daren smiled faintly and turned his eyes toward his battered godson.
"How do you feel?"
How do I feel?
Doflamingo instinctively clenched his fists and answered,
"I'm badly hurt, but not fatally. With half a month of rest, I should recover."
"No, I meant..."
Daren stared at him deeply, a trace of interest flashing in his eyes.
"How did it feel to fight Scopper Gaban?"
Doflamingo froze.
Seeing Daren's meaningful smile, he forced himself to calm down and focused carefully on his own condition.
A few seconds later, his sunglasses-covered eyes widened slightly, his pupils shrinking.
"My control over Haki and my Devil Fruit... it feels stronger..."
He muttered in disbelief.
Daren's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"Now you get it, right?"
Doflamingo felt as if he had been struck by lightning, staring at the Vice Admiral in shock.
Could it be... he hadn't thrown him into a fight with Gaban to have him killed, but to make him stronger?
This man... was he really that kind?
"Don't look at me like that, Doffy."
Daren smiled as he shook his head, exhaling a dragon-like puff of smoke.
"As your godfather, I have high expectations for you."
He cast a casual glance at Doflamingo.
"But you, brat, are always on guard, wary of me."
"But I can understand it—and I even approve."
"Living on this vast ocean, staying vigilant is a good habit. No one wins all the time, but as long as you stay cautious and careful, you won't keep losing either."
"You can hate me. You can even want to kill me. I don't care. In fact, I look forward to it."
Doflamingo pressed his dry lips together, his fists clenching tightly.
"I don't dare," he gritted out.
But what Daren said next made him freeze.
"No, you must dare."
Daren laughed freely.
"Hatred may not be the best emotion, but it's definitely one of the greatest motivators for growth."
"Your hatred for the Celestial Dragons, your hatred for the World Government—none of it is as direct or as powerful as your hatred for me."
He slowly stood up, his tall, blood-stained figure towering before the young, still-green Celestial Dragon.
The sunlight cascaded down like brilliant gold, making the Vice Admiral's frame seem even more grand, magnificent, and unshakable.
Under Doflamingo's horrified gaze, the gruesome, mottled wounds across Daren's body began to visibly stop bleeding, slowly closing and scabbing over before his eyes.
"Keep fighting, keep getting stronger, Doffy."
Daren smiled gently at the blond boy, whose expression was frozen in shock.
"Carry the ambition to kill me. Let that drive you to grow stronger."
"Remember this: you are a king by birth. No one—except your godfather—should make you feel fear, nor should they deserve it."
"Scopper Gaban, Dark King Rayleigh, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, even Kaidou of the Beasts... no one has the right to make you submit."
Under the sunlight, beside the roaring sea, the Vice Admiral crouched down until his gaze met the boy's, ruffled Doflamingo's golden hair with a bright, almost gentle smile.
"Do you understand?"
...
The New World.
On a certain sea route, a slave trading ship was slowly sailing toward Mary Geoise.
On the deck, rows of bloodstained, foul-smelling iron cages were piled haphazardly. Occasionally, the air was split by the crack of whips and the muffled groans of slaves in pain.
"Hahahaha, this batch of slaves is pretty good. There are even three Fishmen among them."
A fat-faced slave trader grinned greedily as he looked at the blood-soaked figures locked in the cages, locking eyes with their hateful, burning stares.
"Hey, don't hit them so hard! If they die, we lose money."
"These toys were hard enough to catch for the noble lords."
Rubbing the jeweled rings on his fingers, the slave trader chuckled darkly.
Thinking about who he would be trading with this time, he couldn't help but tremble with excitement.
After all, he was dealing with gods—the Celestial Dragons, who controlled everything in the world.
As long as he served the Celestial Dragons well, he could have anything he wanted!
But just as he was lost in these pleasant fantasies, a violent crash suddenly shook the merchant ship beneath his feet.
Bang!
The deck rocked fiercely. Crew members and guards staggered and fell, and the cages clattered against each other with sharp, grating sounds.
"What's happening!?"
"Is it a Sea King!?"
"No, I don't see anything!"
"Wait... what is that!?"
Panicked cries echoed all across the deck. The slave trader stumbled toward the rail, gripping it tightly as he stared down at a crimson blur slicing through the water at terrifying speed.
His eyes widened in horror.
Before he could even react—
Whoosh!!
A surge of water exploded upward from the sea like a bursting arrow... piercing straight through his throat.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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