Over the next few days, Diarmuid continued to scout the conditions of Mariejois alongside various Marine officers. During this period, royalty from all over the world arrived in succession. Only a few were still missing, but they were all en route; the Reverie was set to begin as scheduled.
Consequently, Diarmuid encountered Neptune, the King of Ryugu Kingdom, and was soon to meet the King of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo.
Neptune was a straightforward case; he had no idea the Marines were planning an "incident" in Mariejois. He had come purely for the formalities. Fish-Man Island had been part of the World Government for over two hundred years, enduring centuries of tribute and discrimination. It was only by "clinging to the thigh" of the Marines that their lives had improved slightly in recent years. Because of this improvement, despite his lingering distrust of the surface world, Neptune chose to attend this special summit.
With a hundred kings attending for the first time in eight years, he felt it was time for Fish-Man Island to make an appearance, lest the world forget they were a member nation. He harbored no other hidden agendas. Since he suspected nothing, Diarmuid and the other Marine officers naturally kept him in the dark.
In contrast, Doflamingo's arrival in Mariejois was treated with high importance. The man himself was as flamboyant as ever. "Legendary" felt like an understatement when describing his life.
In his youth, he was a high-and-mighty Celestial Dragon, a "God" looking down upon the mortal realm. Then, his father dragged him into the gutter, where he was permanently stained by darkness. He fell from Celestial Dragon to commoner, then transformed from commoner to a leader of the underworld, the top thug of the North Blue. When the Great Pirate Era began, Doflamingo decisively rode the waves of the era, transitioning from a gang leader to a Great Pirate and expanding his North Blue business across the globe.
That alone would have been a legendary biography. But Doflamingo possessed a heart that refused to be lonely. Unlike other pirates who opposed the Marines, he took the opposite path. Leveraging his dominance in the underworld, his bloodline, his vast interpersonal network, and his intelligence resources regarding Mariejois, he managed to establish multi-faceted cooperation with the Marines despite his pirate status.
Through years of effort, Doflamingo had firmly secured his alliance with the Marines, earning the appreciation and trust of Admiral Diarmuid. He never betrayed that trust, and using it as a foundation, he became the final member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. From that peak, he ascended the throne of Dressrosa.
Was this life not legendary enough? At this point, his personal experiences could be adapted into movies or biographies. Yet, his footsteps never stopped. This time, he would conspire with the Marines to fulfill the ultimate wish of his first half of life... Revenge!
It was foreseeable that Doflamingo was about to reach the true zenith of his life: a "King's Return."
You threw me out of Mariejois back then. Now, I, Doflamingo, am coming back. I will drag you high-and-mighty "Gods" down into the dirt and watch you struggle, suffer, and regret!
Taking the bubble elevator up to Mariejois once more, Doflamingo looked at the Holy Land. It felt both unfamiliar after the reconstruction and hauntingly familiar. His gaze was incredibly complex. Seeing Doflamingo standing still, his expression flickering between shadow and light and his aura fluctuating, his loyal subordinate Gladius whispered, "Young Master?"
That call pulled Doflamingo back from the illusions of memory. He took a deep breath, his expression smoothing out. A wicked grin spread across his face. "It's nothing. I was just remembering things. Time really flies... It's been over twenty years in a flash."
In truth, it had been nearly thirty years since he left Mariejois. During those decades, he had visited Mariejois a few times, but this was the first time he had come as an invited guest—upright, legitimate, and bold. It was this realization that made his blood boil.
Although Doflamingo cared for his subordinates and viewed them as family, he was a dark hero who rarely shared his "true thoughts" with them. For a long time, many around him believed his goal was to become the Pirate King. Gladius was no exception. Out of trust and respect, they all believed Doflamingo was a man fit to be King. In the original timeline, Monet died firmly believing their Young Master would eventually become the Pirate King.
But in reality, Doflamingo had little interest in such hollow titles. Standing in Mariejois today, he felt an urge to speak,a sentiment he had to vent or feel suffocated.
Doflamingo patted Gladius on the shoulder and said softly, "It's here. Right here, Gladius... the ground beneath my feet."
Gladius looked confusedly at the ground, then toward the distance.
"Don't look too far. Right here under my feet, within this single meter..." Doflamingo said suddenly. Gladius watched Doflamingo's feet in silence.
Doflamingo continued to himself, "Twenty-seven years ago, in the year 1489, I was eight years old. That was the year I killed my father with my own hands. I carried his head and came to Mariejois, to this Holy Land, in tears. It was right here, seven steps southeast of the bubble elevator, exactly where I'm standing. I knelt before those Celestial Dragons with my father's head in my hands, begging for mercy, wanting them to let me come back. Back where?"
Without waiting for Gladius to answer, Doflamingo pointed toward the massive Domain of the Gods behind Pangea Castle, his voice turning cold. "Back there... the Domain of the Gods."
"That year, eight-year-old me thought that if I just went back, all my problems, troubles, and suffering would end. That was where someone born noble like me belonged..." Doflamingo said with a hint of lament.
His expression shifted again to one of pure hatred. "But I couldn't go back! Those damned bastards! We share the same noble blood, yet they rejected me, they rejected someone even more noble than themselves!"
The hateful expression vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a mask of coldness. "So, under their rejection, I crawled back to the mortal world like a pathetic fool. But from that moment twenty-seven years ago, when I stood here with my father's head and was turned away, I swore I would return. I would return with dignity and crush their pride. Not for 'nobility of blood' or 'divine birth'. Over the years, I've realized those are all lies! Only power and the winner are truth! Only they are noble! I've returned for one thing: revenge! I will use overwhelming power to crush those lowly, despicable pigs! I will show them that I am the winner!!"
His cold, indifferent tone paused for a moment, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. "Back then, I knelt here crying and begging them. Soon, I will make them kneel here crying and begging me!!"
"And then?" Gladius asked at the appropriate moment.
Doflamingo gave a cruel smile. "Then, I will grant them my final 'kindness'... I'll take their heads!"
Yes, the final "kindness." To Doflamingo, for a Celestial Dragon to be forcibly plunged into the filth of the mortal world was a fate worse than dying right here in Mariejois. As someone who had lived it, he was the ultimate authority on the subject.
"When that time comes, I will be the Young Master's blade and take their heads!" Gladius said loyally.
"Fuffuffuffuffuffu, I never doubted that for a second," Doflamingo laughed wickedly.
He had finally said the things he needed to say. Having vented, he felt a wave of relief wash over him, as if a weight that had pressed on his chest for decades had finally lightened. But it wasn't enough. Not yet. Only when those bastards were executed could he truly let go of twenty-seven years of hatred.
Composing himself, Doflamingo shoved his hands into his pockets, adjusted his flamingo-feather mantle, and walked into the Holy Land with his signature arrogant, bow-legged stride and a "devilish" smirk.
"Let's go. Since we're here, we should pay our respects to the Admiral," Doflamingo said with a chuckle.
As one of the instigators of the Mariejois incident, Doflamingo intended to participate personally. His individual strength was negligible compared to the Marine powerhouses—there were plenty of people stronger than him in the Marines. He had already provided all the intelligence he could. Theoretically, there was no need for him to stay.
However, he possessed a unique and advantageous power: the Birdcage created by his String-String Fruit. His primary responsibility in this incident was to lock down all information coming out of Mariejois. Before the Marines and CP could settle everything, not a single piece of news could escape. Doflamingo would cooperate with the Marines to deploy the Birdcage, turning the Holy Land into an isolated island! No one would escape!
Doflamingo approached the Marines in his capacity as the King of Dressrosa. When he found Diarmuid, the Admiral was in a courtyard researching the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit. Borsalino's earlier suggestion had given Diarmuid an idea.
As Doflamingo entered, he saw a dark abyss on the lawn. Having been a witness to the events in Alabasta, he knew exactly what was happening. However, just as he thought the Admiral was about to throw something into the darkness...
He saw Diarmuid jump straight into the black void, his body slowly being swallowed by the darkness.
Doflamingo: "???"
Did I just stumble upon the suicide of a Marine Admiral!?
"Admiral! Don't do it! Think of your future!!!" Doflamingo cried out in shock.