"Hahaha!"
Looking down at Doflamingo kneeling before him, Gern Reginald Sigmar suddenly burst into laughter and waved his hand casually.
"Oh, come on now," he said lightly. "I was only making a joke—trying to lighten the tense atmosphere a little."
"What are you doing kneeling like that?"
Hearing those words, the iron tension wrapped around Doflamingo's nerves loosened slightly.
Deep in his heart, a flicker of hope ignited.
Maybe… maybe I can bluff my way through this.
His knee instinctively began to rise from the ground.
But then Gern's next sentence landed—
And instantly nailed his body back in place.
"Or what?" Gern continued with the same smiling tone.
"Do you think if you stood up right now… I would kill you?"
The words were spoken almost playfully.
Yet Doflamingo did not doubt their sincerity for even a moment.
His body stiffened again, the brief relaxation gone in an instant.
Not only did he remain kneeling—he adjusted his posture even more rigidly than before.
More respectful.
More submissive.
Even lowering his head slightly, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary movement.
Watching the once-dominant pirate bend so easily for the sake of survival, Gern clicked his tongue softly.
He looked… vaguely bored.
"Anyway," Gern said casually, as if chatting about trivial matters, "you really did give up your position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, huh?"
"Yes! He did!"
Before Doflamingo could answer, Law immediately cut in, his voice urgent.
"He relinquished the title!"
He had to lock that fact in place.
Only if Doflamingo had truly abandoned the Warlord position would the Marines have legitimate grounds to intervene.
However—
Though Doflamingo remained kneeling on the ground, his attitude changed instantly when facing Law.
The humility vanished.
In its place returned his familiar arrogance and mockery.
He lifted his head slightly.
Though his line of sight still remained below Gern's, he turned toward Law with a vicious grin.
"Fufufufu… Law," he drawled slowly, savoring the moment.
"You're still far too naïve."
"Sorry to disappoint you."
"I never gave up my Warlord position."
"That headline from the World Economy News Paper…"
His grin widened maliciously.
"…was nothing more than fake news that idiot Morgans fabricated to grab attention."
"You—!!!"
Law's pupils shrank violently.
In that instant, he realized something terrifying—
The most crucial step of his carefully crafted plan…
Using the Marines as the blade to destroy Doflamingo—
Had been built entirely on false intelligence from the very beginning.
But at the same time, another thought struck him as deeply unsettling.
How could the World Government allow Doflamingo to treat the title of Warlord so frivolously?
If this inconsistency was real—
Then the conclusions he had drawn during his long investigation into Doflamingo's identity were almost certainly correct.
Naturally, Doflamingo could see from Law's expression that the man had already figured it out.
But instead of concern, he inhaled slowly and spoke with a tone of lofty superiority.
"Eight hundred years ago…"
"Twenty kings who ruled their respective nations joined together to create the World Government."
"They moved to the Holy Land of Mariejois, becoming the supreme 'World Nobles.'"
"Only the Nefertari Family of Alabasta refused that honor."
"As for the other nineteen royal families…"
His voice gradually rose, filled with arrogant pride.
"Including the family that originally founded Dressrosa—"
"The Donquixote Family."
"And I…"
"I am—"
Just as Doflamingo was about to speak the words Celestial Dragon—
"You're what?"
Gern cut him off suddenly.
His tone remained calm.
Tilting his head slightly, he looked down at the kneeling pirate whose expression had abruptly frozen.
"You think that being a so-called Celestial Dragon…"
"…means anything to me?"
The muscles on Doflamingo's face twitched.
He forced out an extremely ugly smile.
He said nothing further.
Every ounce of resentment and fear was swallowed back down into his stomach.
Meanwhile, Gern acted as though he had just completed some insignificant task.
His gaze drifted lazily across the shoreline.
The badly wounded Law.
The still-shaken Straw Hat crew.
And Doflamingo, kneeling on the ground.
He smacked his lips lightly and spoke in a flat tone.
"Pirates."
The word carried no emotion.
Yet it made both Law and the Straw Hats' hearts tighten again.
After all—
In front of the Marines, their very identities were crimes.
However—
Amid the tense atmosphere, someone else had been watching Gern closely the entire time.
Momonosuke.
But unlike the others, a very different calculation was forming inside his mind.
Especially after confirming that Gern was indeed a Marine—
And possessed terrifying power rivaling, perhaps even surpassing Kaido.
A thought began to grow within him like poisonous vines.
Because Momonosuke was not someone as straightforward as Luffy.
This boy possessed his own peculiar brand of what he considered "wisdom."
Back when his father Kozuki Oden had failed in his attempt to defeat Kaido and Momonosuke himself had been captured—
He had burst into loud, pitiful sobs.
Displaying such extreme cowardice that Kaido—who only killed warriors but had no interest in weaklings—simply ignored him.
Thus, Momonosuke survived.
Later, when his mother used the power of the Toki Toki no Mi to send them twenty years into the future, Momonosuke quickly recognized reality.
In this unfamiliar era, survival meant relying on the protection of the strong.
So he immediately began calling Kin'emon his "father."
With a single word, he secured the man's unwavering loyalty and protection.
From that point on, he relied on others completely.
Later, when they encountered Luffy at Punk Hazard, Momonosuke quickly realized that this group of pirates had a strong tendency to meddle in others' affairs.
So instead of asking directly himself—
He pushed Kin'emon and the others to beg the Straw Hat crew for help.
He knew perfectly well that as the legitimate heir of the Kozuki Clan, his identity alone was enough to make these so-called righteous individuals throw aside pride and rush to aid him.
And the results were obvious.
When Kin'emon knelt and begged for help, Luffy agreed immediately.
As a result, Law's original plan—which had only involved destroying the factory—
Suddenly gained an entirely new objective:
Rescue the samurai.
Later, when Luffy suggested that Momonosuke transform into a dragon and carry people through the sky—
Momonosuke instantly refused.
Claiming he was afraid of heights.
But in truth, he knew very well—
He was destined to become the future Shogun of Wano.
A figure of supreme dignity.
He could never allow himself to be ridden like a mount by a group of pirates.
When the group eventually split up to carry out different tasks, Momonosuke wisely chose to remain aboard the relatively safe Thousand Sunny.
And during the time he stayed there—
Once only the relatively easygoing trio and Sanji, who obediently listened to Nami, remained—
Momonosuke immediately began acting like the future shogun he believed himself to be.
Ordering Chopper to serve him tea.
Commanding Nami to massage his shoulders and legs.
Demanding Brook play music and sing for him.
In short—
Though Momonosuke appeared cowardly on the surface, he was exceptionally skilled at exploiting the kindness, responsibility, and respect for status that others possessed.
So now—
When he saw that the man before him—"Skyquake" Gern—possessed strength so unfathomable that even Doflamingo knelt in fear…
And that he also seemed to share some sort of familial connection with Nami—
Momonosuke's little mind began spinning rapidly.
Because Gern…
Was a far more perfect protector than the Straw Hat Pirates.
If he could gain this "Uncle Gern's" protection through Nami—
Then what were Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi?
They would crumble with a flick of a finger.
And reclaiming Wano, ascending the throne as Shogun—
Would become effortless.
Thinking this, Momonosuke suppressed the fear in his heart.
He straightened his clothes carefully.
Then forced his face into what he believed was the most innocent and pitiful expression possible.
Taking small steps forward, he approached Gern and Nami.
Preparing to perform the act he was best at.
"Um… h-hello, Uncle Gern…"
"I'm not a pirate."
"My name is Momonosuke."
"You can call me… Momo."