After waiting several tense seconds and observing Doflamingo remain completely silent, Kai pressed further with obvious impatience: "Is there more to this story?"
What he wanted wasn't this kind of common street-level intelligence that anyone could eventually discover.
Doflamingo spread his hands and feigned dejection with practiced ease: "That's absolutely everything I know. You must understand, I left the Holy Land when I was only eight years old. What important classified intelligence could I possibly possess?"
"Mm, theoretically that makes perfect sense."
Kai nodded with apparent understanding and acceptance.
Before Doflamingo could breathe even a single sigh of relief, Kai crossed his legs casually and held up two fingers with a distinctly playful tone: "But you possess at least two pieces of crucial intelligence you can share with me."
Doflamingo's gaze sharpened instantly, suddenly experiencing an ominous premonition of approaching danger.
"All of you get out immediately!"
Instead of continuing his interrogation, Kai drove away the few people who had been listening intently to their conversation.
Jack and Speed said nothing and turned to leave the room without hesitation or question.
"Young Master?" Trebol inquired softly with obvious concern.
Doflamingo waved his hand dismissively, signaling for him to depart as well.
After successfully clearing the room of all witnesses, Kai looked at Doflamingo with leisurely confidence, genuinely curious to see what elaborate lies he might still fabricate.
"Lord Kai, I've already told you absolutely everything I know about these matters. What will it take for you to believe my honesty?"
Doflamingo gritted his teeth and decided to hold out stubbornly to the very end.
That particular secret was far too significant for casual revelation. It represented his ultimate trump card for survival. He absolutely couldn't reveal it unless the situation became completely desperate!
"Sigh... What have I possibly done to make you disrespect me so thoroughly, Doflamingo?"
Kai sighed with obvious disappointment: "The Celestial Dragons' national treasure and the immortality surgery. Do I need to continue this conversation?"
Doflamingo jumped up like a startled cat whose tail had been violently stepped on, the panic spreading across his face not even concealed by his medical bandages.
Absolutely impossible!
How could Kai possibly know about those secrets?
"Who exactly are you!" Doflamingo demanded with horrified disbelief: "This absolutely isn't intelligence the Beast Pirates could learn through conventional means."
No matter how excellent the Beast Pirates' intelligence capabilities might be, they couldn't have high-ranking Celestial Dragons defecting to provide such classified information.
It would require Five Elders-level officials to possess such knowledge.
Completely impossible!
Doflamingo wouldn't believe such a scenario even if beaten to death.
Finally done with your pretending?
Kai's lips curved into a supremely confident smile: "This certainly isn't the Beast Pirates' intelligence network. If it were, it wouldn't be me sitting here having a pleasant conversation with you today."
"Fufufufufu..."
Doflamingo laughed dryly with obvious nervousness: "Lord Kai, this concerns the Celestial Dragons' highest classified secrets. Your knowledge of such matters probably isn't beneficial for your health. Don't forget about the God's Knights organization. Once they learn you also possess this secret knowledge, they'll absolutely chase you across all the seas to eliminate you. The Beast Pirates alone absolutely cannot stop their pursuit!"
Doflamingo desperately emphasized the God's Knights' terrifying reputation, trying to discourage Kai from pressing this dangerous topic further.
Using the intelligence you just provided against me now?
You've really got tremendous nerve, Doffy.
Kai waved his hand dismissively: "That's my personal business to handle. Besides, before they chase me across the world, they'll definitely have to eliminate you first. We're grasshoppers tied to the same rope now, aren't we? I trust you'll keep my dangerous secret."
Force me to reveal my ultimate trump card and still expect me to keep your secret?!
Doflamingo's eye twitched violently as he pulled out his final defensive strategy: "Not necessarily true. The Five Elders also know that I possess knowledge of that secret, yet I'm living just fine, aren't I? Don't forget that I'm still a Celestial Dragon."
"Remember to add 'former' to that title," Kai corrected with cold precision. "Although I don't know exactly why the Five Elders are currently protecting you, I can be absolutely certain of one thing: once this secret becomes known to outside parties, you'll have completely lost your protective value."
You know this perfectly well and still pressure me anyway!
Doflamingo nearly ground his teeth to powder with frustration, but his cracked skull reminded him painfully that he possessed no viable way out.
If he refused to speak, he would die right now. If he revealed the secret, he might still retain some chance at survival.
As Kai had stated, two people sharing this dangerous secret would become grasshoppers on the same rope. Neither would want to risk leaking such information.
Doflamingo's eyes shifted back and forth rapidly before finally becoming resolute with grim determination.
"It seems you've made up your mind? Then speak clearly." Kai gestured encouragingly with his hands.
"Regarding the Celestial Dragons' national treasure, I honestly don't know very much either."
As if genuinely afraid Kai wouldn't believe his limitations, Doflamingo specifically emphasized: "Truly not extensive knowledge. You must understand that secrets of this level aren't something just anyone can know completely."
Kai nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging Doflamingo's reasonable statement.
Doflamingo continued with obvious reluctance: "I only know it's some kind of weapon. A weapon capable of destroying an entire island with a single strike!"
"That weapon's origins seem incredibly ancient, because it's a secret passed down through my family's ancestral lines."
One of Doflamingo's ancestors had worked secretly for the Five Elders for an extremely long time, only being released after death so his body could be returned to his family for burial.
For unknown reasons, that particular Donquixote still retained his last breath and managed to share his discoveries while desperately hanging on to life.
All those years, he had worked in a highly classified laboratory. Because he understood mechanical manufacturing principles, he was appointed by the Five Elders as the laboratory's administrator, responsible for controlling work progress and, most importantly, supervising those brilliant scientists!
"That weapon couldn't be used due to complete lack of energy. Those scientists were working desperately to research this very issue, trying to find alternative energy sources."
Doflamingo sneered coldly with bitter knowledge: "But they never knew until their deaths what fate actually awaited them!"
"They were all eliminated? But the new energy source probably wasn't successfully developed." Kai asked with growing interest.
At this point, he already knew exactly what the so-called Celestial Dragons' national treasure represented.
Nothing more than that mysterious ancient weapon that had completely obliterated the Lulusia Kingdom.
Those scientists naturally hadn't achieved meaningful results.
Because it wasn't until Vegapunk created the Mother Flame that the weapon regained full functionality.
"Exactly correct. Those scientists spent their entire lives accomplishing absolutely nothing meaningful. They claimed that weapon's advancement exceeded current technology by at least three hundred years!"
Doflamingo revealed the story's tragic ending. Knowing the situation was hopeless, the Five Elders completely shut down the laboratory.
To preserve the secret, the decision to permanently silence the scientists was naturally made without hesitation or remorse.
Doflamingo's ancestor tried to dissuade them, as years of working in the laboratory had forged genuine friendships with those dedicated scientists.
But the outcome was clearly predetermined.
How could the Five Elders possibly reverse their decision for a mere laboratory administrator, even one who was a Celestial Dragon?
The Five Elders even placed the Donquixote's ancestor under house arrest to prevent any information leaks.
After the incident ended, having watched so many good friends die, Doflamingo's ancestor fell into severe depression and soon succumbed to illness.
The subsequent developments returned to the beginning of this tragic cycle.
"What about the immortality surgery?" Kai asked with renewed focus.
"I've heard an interesting rumor that once you undergo the immortality surgery, you can somehow control the Celestial Dragons' national treasure and rule the entire world!"
Doflamingo confessed with obvious uncertainty: "But it's just hearsay from questionable sources. Believe it or not."
Kai considered this information and felt this rumor wasn't entirely unfounded.
At least Imu was very likely a beneficiary of the immortality surgery.
Perhaps that ancient weapon possessed certain limitations beyond just energy requirements.
However...
Kai looked at Doflamingo with obvious disdain and disappointment.
How do you, a former Celestial Dragon, know even less than me about these matters?
After this entire lengthy conversation, he felt like he had learned something valuable, yet also like he had gained no genuinely new intelligence whatsoever.
The only somewhat useful intelligence concerned the immortality surgery.
And Doflamingo only possessed half-knowledge about even that topic.
Absolutely useless!