Even Imu, the Five Elders, and Isaac only had a vague understanding of the power known as the Primordial Source.
Yet even with their limited grasp, they had already drawn immense strength and benefits from it.
Through the Source's energy, Imu had cultivated two mysterious substances within his body — one derived from the Ope Ope no Mi's ultimate technique, the Immortality Substance, and another born from his own Mythical Zoan awakening, the Undying Essence.
With these powers, he granted his five most loyal servants — the Five Elders — bodies that were neither aging nor perishable, ensuring his absolute dominion over the world.
The so-called Perennial Youth Operation of the Ope Ope no Mi could only bestow eternal youth and endless lifespan; it could not prevent true death by destruction or erasure.
Imu's Mythical Zoan awakening, however, granted regeneration so powerful it bordered on immortality — yet he still aged, inching toward death.
It was only after receiving the Perennial Youth Operation that Imu became a truly eternal being — undying and unaging.
For eight centuries, he had sent agents to hunt down the wielders of the Ope Ope no Mi and the Nika Fruit, determined to reclaim those cursed powers.
No one else was permitted to wield immortality.
Even those who succeeded in performing the Immortality Operation were eventually hunted down and eliminated.
He alone was to stand as the immortal god of this world.
The Five Elders were nothing more than his obedient slaves.
In truth, Isaac was a man blessed by luck — much like the scientist who accidentally created Pure Gold long ago.
After being exiled to the Prison Island, he endured countless experiments. By chance, he discovered traces of the same mysterious Primordial Substance — and managed to harness a small portion of it.
He channeled this power into his research, strengthening bloodlines and lineage factors, pushing the limits of life itself.
Step by step, he grew stronger, rising from an obscure researcher into a figure of terrifying power.
Even the Five Elders had no idea how far his experiments had gone, or how much of the Primordial Substance he had actually accumulated.
The power of the Source Formula was far rarer than even Conqueror's Haki, and infinitely harder to master.
Isaac extracted what fragments he could by experimenting on the countless powerful prisoners of the island, accumulating the Source within his own body until he became something far beyond human.
He theorized that the King of the World, Imu, had obtained his own Source power by draining the divine essence of beings like Sun God Nika, Sea King Poseidon, and other legendary figures throughout history.
But cultivating the Source through one's own effort was nearly impossible — as though the world itself rejected such power.
Just as seawater and seastone curse those who bear Devil Fruits, the world seemed to forbid the excessive existence of the Primordial Source.
And yet, this power existed everywhere — in all matter and in all living things.
The stronger one's Haki, the rarer their Devil Fruit, or the more refined their bloodline, the greater the chance to extract the Source from within — and the more powerful the result.
That was why the World Government had spent centuries exterminating rare races, capturing pirates with strong Haki, and imprisoning Devil Fruit users.
All of them were raw materials — subjects for their secret experiments.
To Isaac, however, Imu and the Five Elders were nothing but decaying relics — selfish, paranoid, hoarding forbidden knowledge for themselves.
Of the six immortals, only Saint Saturn possessed any scientific background, and even he was unimpressive, his research into the Source perpetually stalled.
When Isaac first uncovered a piece of the truth, Saturn had immediately expelled him from the central research division — a typical case of "better to destroy than to share."
Even Vegapunk, the world's foremost scientist, was barred from studying this level of power.
But perhaps it was to be expected — these men were relics of a bygone era, centuries old, trapped by their own arrogance.
What Saturn never imagined was that in just a few decades, the very man he cast out — Isaac — had secretly cracked part of the Source mystery.
By the time Saturn noticed the signs, Isaac had already become their equal — a top-tier powerhouse unbound by the sea's curse, capable of diving into the depths to escape pursuit at any time.
Faced with this, the Five Elders had no choice but to reinstate him, despite their fear.
Otherwise, they would have eliminated him, stolen his research, and turned his very body into another experiment.
Now, with Souta Kiryuu's sudden rise shaking the world, the Five Elders saw an opportunity.
They decided to use Isaac once more — inviting him to Mary Geoise under the guise of joint research.
By keeping him close, they could both monitor him and steal any breakthroughs in Source manipulation.
If Isaac truly succeeded in perfecting immortality, they wouldn't hesitate to grant him the highest Celestial Dragon title.
After all, acquiring or cultivating the Primordial Source was unimaginably difficult.
These long-lived rulers were far too busy — and far too indulgent — to pursue ascetic training. Imu himself had grown comfortable after centuries of dominance.
They preferred the easy route — to seize the final product or find shortcuts to ultimate power.
Meanwhile, as Isaac raced toward Dressrosa, the battle there had reached a fever pitch.
The chaos had spread through every corner of the kingdom, the situation now burning at its climax.
Beneath the city, the underground factory was a war zone.
When Souta Kiryuu and his companions emerged from the Void Gate, chaos reigned.
Gecko Moria was chasing Trebol, hammering him mercilessly.
Sugar, the little girl with the Toy-Toy Fruit, was so terrified she burst into tears.
In a storm of blinding lightning, Enel was battling Donquixote Doflamingo, whose awakened String-String Fruit powers turned the battlefield into a nightmare web of death.
Even so, Doflamingo's heart was elsewhere.
With the massive presence of Bartholomew Kuma looming nearby, he had no desire to fight.
If Douglas Bullet or Souta Kiryuu were to appear now, it would be his end.
And as fate would have it — his worst fear came true.
Before he could shake off Enel's pursuit, Souta Kiryuu descended upon the underground factory.
The exit to the harbor was blocked by Kuma, and with Pica, the Stone-Stone Fruit user, gone, Doflamingo had no means of escape.
But Souta didn't even glance at him.
Instead, he walked straight past, leading Monet toward a small figure trembling in the corner — Sugar.
"Sugar… I'm here to take you with me," Monet said softly.
White wings of frost unfurled from her back as she soared toward the girl in the red hood.
"Sister…"
Sugar's eyes lit up in surprise, but the joy quickly turned into confusion and anger.
Her Young Master and the other executives had told her that Monet had betrayed the family and joined Souta's crew.
For the past two years, the proud but fragile Sugar had lived in constant anxiety — even eating far fewer grapes than before — fearing that Doflamingo and the others might vent their fury on her for Monet's betrayal.
"I'm sorry, Sugar," Monet whispered, embracing her tightly. "I should never have left you behind. But now I'm here to take you away — you'll never have to suffer again."
Monet's voice trembled with emotion.
Sugar had spent every day in this dark factory, turning rebels and civilians into toys — work no child should ever bear.
She deserved sunlight, laughter, and a real childhood — not this cursed existence.
"Sugar! Are you betraying Doflamingo too?!"
Trebol's desperate shout echoed through the factory.
If Sugar released all her contracts, the countless pirates, marines, and bounty hunters turned into toys would regain their true forms — and Dressrosa itself would be obliterated in the ensuing chaos.