Shortly after, Diarmuid stepped out from within Uranus.
Sengoku and the others breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him emerge. Although they felt a certain level of professional trust toward a powerhouse like Imu, they still harbored a lingering worry that she might have a sudden lapse in sanity and flee the world with Diarmuid in tow.
Now that Diarmuid was out, everyone's mind was at ease.
"How was it? Are you alright?" Gion asked hurriedly.
"Where is Imu?" Sengoku added.
Kuzan, being characteristically blunt, asked directly: "What was with all that rhythmic shaking coming from Uranus just now?"
Diarmuid: "???" Was the commotion really that loud?
"Cough, cough... It's nothing. Nothing is missing; see? I'm perfectly intact," Diarmuid said, his face remaining steady and his heart untroubled. "As for Imu, she's preparing to leave. Uranus will be charging for three days, and after that, she will depart this world. Everything went smoothly. As for the shaking? How should I know? It was probably some feedback from the scan I underwent."
I can't exactly explain that I lost my ground up there, can I?
"Departing in three days?" Sengoku nodded understandingly. The other details weren't worth dwelling on.
"Do we need to keep eyes on her?" Borsalino asked.
The moment he spoke, Tsuru shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary. Keeping watch is pointless. Though we haven't interacted much, I have a certain level of trust in Imu. Since she said she is leaving, she likely won't cause any more trouble. Continuing to monitor her would just make us look narrow-minded."
"Just tell everyone to stay clear of this area. Leave it empty and check back in three days," Sengoku decided. Diarmuid nodded in agreement; he didn't believe Imu would pull any more stunts.
"Alright, let's not forget there are still many Celestial Dragons here besides Imu. Track down their locations. I'll contact those outside to coordinate our next move," Sengoku continued.
Soon, Diarmuid and the others resumed their search of the Domain of the Gods. Hina and the rest of the Marines received new orders from Sengoku to move in. Aside from the area surrounding Imu and Uranus, they were to search every inch of the grounds, leaving no stone unturned to eliminate all potential threats.
During the search, the Marines recovered two "Mini-Plutons" and a cache of bizarre weapons.
"This should be the refuge for the Celestial Dragons, right?" Diarmuid and the others stood before a small fortress.
The structure above ground wasn't large, but Doflamingo's hand-drawn map indicated a massive underground space, much like a fallout shelter. After searching the Domain of the Gods for so long without seeing a single Celestial Dragon, it was safe to assume they were all hiding here.
Before anyone could speak, the fortified doors slid open. Diarmuid blinked as Doflamingo walked out.
Doflamingo seemed surprised to see the group. "Weren't you going to deal with Imu?"
"It's settled," Diarmuid nodded. He noticed that Doflamingo was covered in blood, looking as though he had just emerged from a "bloody battle." However, he didn't seem exhausted or disheveled. On the contrary, he appeared lighter, as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Are... the Celestial Dragons inside?" Diarmuid asked.
Doflamingo nodded. "Yes. The Sacred Haven, the final refuge within the Domain of the Gods."
"Did you kill them all?" Diarmuid inquired. Their prior agreement was that the Celestial Dragons would be left to Doflamingo, so he didn't find it problematic, just curious.
Doflamingo nodded, then shook his head. "Not all of them. I only realized after I arrived... this place is actually the blood sacrifice site for Uranus. How ironic. These Celestial Dragons thought they were finding sanctuary, only for it to be their graveyard. Fuffuffuffuffu..."
After a short pause, Doflamingo continued, "By the time I got here, ninety percent of them were already dead. Someone got to them first, likely Imu. I simply finished off the remaining scum... Is that a problem?"
"No. It was our promise to you," Diarmuid replied.
Sengoku and the others nodded as well. It didn't matter. They had already taken out the Gorosei; why would they care about the rest of the Celestial Dragons? These people were remnants of the old era, the most disgusting kind of dregs, and no one wanted them around.
Doflamingo smiled, but as he prepared to speak, his gaze fell upon the Chief of Staff. His expression turned hesitant. "This..."
Because of his background, Doflamingo had been under special Marine surveillance since he first started as a thug in the North Blue. The Marine officer in charge of him back then was Tsuru. He was intimately familiar with her, and with his information network, he had easily obtained photos of her in her youth.
Seeing the young Tsuru left him completely bewildered. What is going on?
He looked closer. Wait. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked much younger. Although the hairstyle, build, and beard were the same, his face was glowing with vitality, making him look roughly thirty years younger.
While Doflamingo was reeling, he observed Diarmuid. Nothing? Then again, Admiral Diarmuid hadn't aged a day in years; he always looked like he was in his twenties despite being forty. But Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and even Gion, they all looked significantly younger.
"What happened to you all?" Doflamingo asked, incredulous.
"Ah?" Diarmuid blanked for a second before waving it off. "It's nothing. I'll tell you later. Just assume we were hit by a Devil Fruit power."
"A Devil Fruit power?" Doflamingo muttered, a flash of understanding crossing his eyes. Right, doesn't the Navy have someone with the Return-Return Fruit? Vergo had mentioned a standout student in the Marine Academy, a contemporary of Diarmuid's junior, Ace.
Doflamingo didn't even consider the possibility of eternal life or a Fountain of Youth. After all, they had been fighting at the Birdcage not long ago. They went to fight Imu, not to a beauty parlor. Logically, he could never have guessed that they shook hands with the enemy and made a "P.Y. trade" [1] for twenty portions of the Fountain of Youth.
It was too ridiculous to even contemplate. Thus, he accepted the "ability" explanation. Diarmuid and the others certainly weren't going to elaborate; the Fountain of Youth was a secret of the highest order. They could use Ain's ability as a cover story later to provide a public explanation.
Diarmuid hadn't decided whether to give any to Doflamingo yet, certainly not a decision for today. Honestly, Diarmuid was more interested in finding "Pure Gold." That stuff could be manufactured. If he could find and save that little girl and her alchemist father, he would essentially hold the technology for mass-producing immortals.
Of course, that was high-risk. No matter how he looked at it, he had to control the number of immortals.
Wait... Diarmuid suddenly had a thought.
Twenty portions of the Fountain of Youth?
If exactly twenty people gained immortality, wouldn't that mirror the twenty founding kings from eight hundred years ago? Was Imu hinting at something, or perhaps being ironic?
A cycle of the era? Do the dragon slayers eventually become the dragons? The new Twenty Kings?
"Now that is..." Diarmuid murmured to himself, then pushed the thought aside. It was a headache for another day.
Doflamingo had intended to find the group to report the situation, but that was no longer necessary. Under his lead, they entered the small fortress.
On the deepest underground floor, the scent of blood was overwhelming. Celestial Dragon corpses were piled everywhere in a chaotic mess, at least several hundred, if not a thousand.
On the floor, there appeared to be some sort of conduction device or highly porous stone. A massive amount of blood seemed to have seeped into the ground. This underground area was likely where the "key" to Uranus was activated. In other words, these Celestial Dragons had been dead for a while.
"There were a few left alive, likely spares. I finished them off," Doflamingo said coldly.
Diarmuid didn't comment on the revenge. Instead, his sharp eyes caught a body in a corner, or rather, a group of bodies. They were identical clones; only one was clothed, while the rest were bare.
Nefertari Cobra.
It looked like he had been cloned. But how had they grown mature clones in such a short time? In the North Blue, the Germa Kingdom's advanced technology still required five years to mature a clone. This was likely either Dr. Vegapunk's new Lineage Factor technology or some "black tech" belonging to Imu.
Reflecting on Imu's behavior, it seemed Uranus wasn't strictly controlled by the Celestial Dragon race. This blood wasn't to "power" Uranus, but perhaps to break a seal. It wouldn't make sense for Imu to slaughter a batch of Celestial Dragons every time she wanted to do a system check. It was more likely that their blood served as a literal "key"—without it, Uranus couldn't leave Mariejois. That made much more sense.
"Sigh..." Diarmuid sighed, stepping forward to close Cobra's eyes.
Sengoku looked somber. He had some history with Cobra; they weren't exactly friends, but they were certainly acquaintances. Seeing him dead and drained of blood here was a tragedy.
"Let's take King Cobra's body out. It's time to settle the unrest. We must recognize Nefertari Vivi's rule over Alabasta and help her stabilize the situation to gain their support," Sengoku said.
Before, their hands were tied. Now that Mariejois had been upended, those shackles were gone. No matter how chaotic Alabasta was, its influence was undeniable. Once stabilized, it would be a massive asset.
Diarmuid used his gravity powers to lift King Cobra's body. "Let's go. I really don't want to stay in this place a moment longer."