"Fufufufu! Change? Of course, there will be change!"
Doflamingo laughed wildly:
"Now tell me—who truly rules the seas?!"
"The so-called Sea Emperors, the 'Four Emperors'… Oh wait—now it's the 'Three Emperors'!"
"Is it the so-called 'Warlords of the Sea'—the 'Seven Warlords'? Or perhaps the 'Supernovas,' the so-called 'Worst Generation,' who stir up chaos every year?!"
"No... none of them…"
"The force that truly dominates the sea now... is the Navy!"
"Fleet Admiral Wright—yeah, that bastard—I have to admit it, he really did it. He brought the New World to its knees under the heel of the Marines!"
"And opposite them, the Revolutionary Army—representing the will of the people—harbors terrifying power too!"
"Then there's the Clan of D, hidden deep in history... 'God's natural enemy.' When and where will they next appear?!"
"Who will be an ally to whom? And who will stab whom in the back?!"
"Fufufufu… I see it now. I see it all!"
Doflamingo suddenly straightened up, grinning maniacally as he stared at the three high-ranking Marines in front of him.
"Wright! And my beloved little brother—Rosinante! And the rest of you!"
"The Marines won't be content just being the World Government's guard dogs!"
"Wright's dream—his ridiculous, childlike ideal of 'world peace'—he's serious about it!"
"That so-called Fleet Admiral defeated the Pirate King's final rival, Whitebeard! Of the Seven Warlords, I'm the only one who ever clashed with him—several of the others were even on good terms with the guy!"
"Fufufufu… And do you know what 'world peace' really means? First—it means no more pirates! And second!!"
"Go tell those Celestial Dragons in Mariejois—They're getting yanked off their thrones!!"
"Once the pirates are crushed under the ever-growing might of the Navy, the next target…"
"The next target will be the rotting root of this world! The Celestial Dragons! Fufufufu… Hahahaha!!"
"Bitten by the very dog they raised! Those self-proclaimed gods will one day taste tortures more exquisite than even I ever dreamed of! Fufufufu!"
"..."
Sengoku, Tsuru, Fujitora, and Rosinante remained silent. After a pause, Rosinante stepped forward.
"Doffy…"
"Fufufufu… My dear little brother, you've finally decided to look at your big brother again?"
The feral grin on Doflamingo's face faded as he studied Rosinante from head to toe.
"A Vice Admiral, huh… Not bad. That suits you, Corazon…"
"I failed. I wanted to become the ultimate evil, to destroy the world, to annihilate the Celestial Dragons—but it seems my path ends here."
"But what I never expected, Cora—hmph—Rosinante, was that someone as kind-hearted as you, who walked a different path, would still end up at the same destination as me!"
Doflamingo leaned back with a chuckle, his voice echoing from inside the prison walls.
"Fufufufu… In a way, I'm almost grateful Wright managed to save you back on Minion Island…"
"And Law, that kid… carrying on your will. I bet he shares the same ideals as you, doesn't he?"
"Joining the Warlords… What a clever choice. Seems I've still got an eye for talent! Fufufufu!"
"..."
Rosinante stood silent, staring at the man who had murdered their father—his own brother—lost in a silence too heavy for words.
"Let's go, you two."
Tsuru smiled faintly, stood up, and cast a sharp glance at the two men sitting beside her, then turned and walked out of the prison corridor.
"Give the younger generation a bit of space. And you two—if you're eating noodles, at least eat them properly, will you?"
Sengoku scrambled to balance his bowl and followed her out with Fujitora in tow.
"I was just worried, that's all…"
Their voices faded as they passed through the soundproof barrier. Only then did Rosinante finally speak.
"Doffy… You became what you are now mostly because of Trebol and the others. That's why, back at Minion Island, Wright didn't hesitate—he had to kill Vergo right away."
"And before that, Trebol and Pica—eliminating them was also necessary. Without them, maybe you would've been extreme, but not like… this."
"Fufufufu… That Wright guy really is something else…"
Doflamingo spoke quietly now, without the usual arrogance or contempt in his voice.
"Ever since we were kids, ever since I dragged you through garbage heaps looking for scraps, failing to save Mother even with everything I tried… we haven't had a real conversation, have we…?"
"Rosi…"
"I don't regret meeting Trebol and the others. They gave me the strength to get revenge… and I treated them like family."
"When I carried Father's head to the Celestial Dragons, begging to be allowed back into Mariejois—and was rejected—I realized then… my purpose, my mission, was to destroy them!"
"I don't know what happened after we got separated—how you ended up in the Navy, and why you'd come back trying to stop me… Hah!"
"Did you know? I used to see Law as a reflection of you when we were kids. Watching him grow, teaching him… it felt like reliving the years I lost without you."
"..."
Rosinante silently pulled up a chair, lit a cigarette, and took a long drag.
"I trusted you completely, even after you vanished for years. You, with your half-assed combat skills—I made you an Executive Officer!"
"When I found out—even before I did, the rest of the family already knew—you were a Marine mole, I wanted nothing more than to kill you with my own hands… but I held back."
"I even prepared something special for you… a 'Get Out of Death Free' card."
Rosinante snapped his head up, eyes wide.
"You… You don't mean—?!"
"That's right… Fufufufu. You hid it well. I had no idea you'd already become a Devil Fruit user. According to my plan, you were supposed to eat the Ope Ope no Mi—the Op-Op Fruit. Not only would Law be cured, but you'd become the only hope for the Perpetual Youth Surgery… and I'd have no reason left to kill you!"
"Even if you betrayed the family! Even if you broke every ironclad law I'd ever written!"
Doflamingo burst out laughing again, louder, more unhinged:
"Rosi! I know the Op-Op Fruit's ultimate ability can't be used without vast talent—without profound medical knowledge!"
"And as long as you didn't perform the surgery, you'd always be my Corazon!"
"But you, you damn fool, you gave the fruit to Law!"
"You forced my hand! You made me kill you in front of the officers—to execute my last true family, just as I did our father!"
His hysterical laughter echoed wildly down the corridor.
"Stupid little brother!"
"If you'd really died that day—!"
"If it hadn't been for that bastard Wright—!"
"If only—!!!"
"..."
Doflamingo suddenly fell silent. Rosinante clutched the seastone bars with both hands, paying no mind to the way they sapped his strength.
"Aniki…"
"..."
"So, I'm headed to Impel Down, huh?"
"When the time comes, make sure someone brings me the newspaper every day."
"That way, I won't be bored… Oh, and throw in a soundproof spell while you're at it…"
"I'll be watching… to see just how far you can take this."
"Fufufufu…"
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