Immortality.
These simple words echoed wildly in Doflamingo's ears like a curse.
His pupils constricted violently, and his breathing came to a complete standstill in that instant.
As the King of the Underworld, he knew the weight of those words better than anyone.
That was the ultimate goal that power-holders and ambitious men of all generations dreamed of.
It was also the forbidden realm he had attempted to touch using the Ope-Ope no Mi.
But now, a living existence that had spanned a millennium stood before him.
Telling him that such a formula truly existed.
"Fuffuffuffu... Fuffuffuffuffuffu!"
Doflamingo suddenly lowered his head and laughed wildly, his laughter carrying a nearly pathological excitement.
His shoulders trembled violently, and the eyes behind his sunglasses were bloodshot.
It was madness born from the intertwining of extreme greed and fear.
"A thousand-year lifespan... The Foundation... The Elixir of Immortality..."
"So that's how it is. Is this what the World truly looks like?"
He snapped his head up, staring intently at Indra's cold, ice-sculpted mask.
"The so-called Celestial Dragons, the so-called 'Children of God'—in your eyes, they really are just brats playing in the mud."
Indra looked at him indifferently, his eyes showing not a single ripple of emotion.
"I do not care for your ambition, junior."
"In these long years, I have seen countless people like you."
"They knelt humbly on the ground, begging for longevity, begging for power, only to eventually turn into withered bones in a tomb."
He slowly raised his right hand, his fingertip lightly tapping the void.
Hum!
A visible ripple of ice-blue energy instantly spread out.
The temperature across the entire King's Plateau plummeted once more, and even the oxygen in the air seemed as if it were about to be frozen solid.
"The reason I chose you is simply because you are smart enough and dirty enough."
"The Foundation needs an obedient agent in this plane to handle some trivial matters."
"And you just happen to meet the criteria for a 'running dog'."
These words were extremely insulting, almost grinding Doflamingo's self-esteem underfoot.
Trebol and the other Executives trembled with rage, yet they didn't dare to utter a single word in retort.
Because the pressure coming from a higher lifeform made it extremely difficult for them even to remain standing.
Doflamingo, however, showed no signs of anger.
Instead, he smiled even more radiantly and dropped directly to one knee, performing a perfectly standard gentleman's bow.
"It is my honor to be Your Excellency's running dog."
"As long as I can see that 'real World,' I will give you as much of my dignity as you desire."
He was an extreme egoist.
In the face of an opportunity capable of overturning the World, the so-called arrogance of a Shichibukai was worthless.
Indra let out an ambiguous snort.
"Very well."
"Since you have made your choice, I shall give you a little taste of the benefits."
With that, he gave a casual wave of his hand.
A streak of light flew out from his sleeve, heading straight for Doflamingo.
Doflamingo instinctively wanted to dodge, but the streak of light was incredibly fast, instantly sinking into the space between his eyebrows.
"Ugh!"
Doflamingo groaned and froze in place.
He felt a cool and ancient aura instantly flow through all the meridians in his body.
"This... this is?"
Doflamingo's eyes widened in disbelief.
He felt the hidden injuries accumulated over many years within his body actually healing at a rapid pace.
He even felt his vision become clearer than ever before.
Even the tiny dust particles floating in the air were visible with total clarity.
"Fuffuffuffu... Fuffuffuffuffuffu!"
Doflamingo lowered his head, letting out bursts of low laughter from deep within his throat.
The laughter grew louder and louder, eventually turning into hysterical, wild laughter.
"Is this... the power of a 'God'?"
He snapped his head up and looked at Indra.
His eyes were filled with an unprecedented fanaticism.
It was the thirst for immortality and greed for power from a higher dimension.
Indra stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes behind the ice mask still as cold as ice.
"Wipe that ignorant, stupid look off your face, junior."
"That was nothing more than a 'Sacred Heart Seed' that I condensed at will."
"It can help you cleanse your marrow and refine your bones, extend your life by a hundred years, and bestow upon you a trace of my 'Sacred Heart True Qi'."
Indra's voice was full of disdain.
It was as if what he had bestowed was not a 'miracle' capable of changing the World, but a bone he had casually tossed away.
Doflamingo took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the agitation in his heart.
He knelt on one knee, his posture humble to the extreme.
"Thank you for the gift, My Lord."
"I wonder, how does this 'Sacred Heart True Qi' differ from the Haki I know?"
Indra let out a sneer.
He slowly raised his hand and lightly tapped his finger toward the nearby private swimming pool.
Hum!
There was no explosion of aura.
Nor were there any violent fluctuations.
But in that instant, the entire massive swimming pool unexpectedly turned into a giant, crystal-clear block of ice.
Even the water droplets splashing in mid-air maintained their shape at that moment, frozen into Eternity.
"Haki?"
"That crude energy obtained by squeezing the potential of the physical body—how can it even be compared to 'True Qi'?"
Indra's words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Doflamingo's heart.
"Haki is destruction; it is defense."
"But 'Sacred Heart True Qi' is life, it is creation, it is... Law."
"It can not only freeze the flesh, but also freeze the soul, and freeze time and space."
"The seed within your body will grow stronger along with your cultivation."
"Fuffuffuffu..."
Doflamingo lowered his head, looking at his hands.
His knuckles, which had become somewhat stiff from years of manipulating the String-String Fruit, were now as flexible as if he were playing a piano.
He tried to clench his fist.
Crack!
A crisp sonic boom actually echoed in the air.
A blast of ghastly white cold air overflowed uncontrollably from between his fingers.
Instantly, the marble tiles on the ground were covered with a thin layer of frost.
"How does it feel?"
Indra stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his voice still indifferent, betraying no emotion.
Doflamingo snapped his head up.
The eyes behind his sunglasses were already bloodshot with something called 'ambition'.
He took a deep breath.
Then he knelt on one knee on the ground.
"Thank you, My Lord, for granting me new life!"
In this moment.
Whatever dignity he held as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Whatever pride he held as Joker of the Underworld.
Everything was cast to the back of his mind.
In the face of absolute power and lifespan,
Dignity?
What was that even worth?
If anyone had told him before today that being someone's dog would grant him hundreds of years of life and this kind of miraculous power,
he, Doflamingo, would definitely be the first to rush forward and fasten the chain around his own neck!