"I see…"
"It seems they've kept a lot of things from me, this 'outsider'…"
Doflamingo's eyes swept over the room. He pondered for a moment, then spoke coldly, void of emotion:
"It seems I'm no longer considered one of their kind…"
A low, sinister chuckle escaped him before he continued sharing his intelligence:
"The rest of the story is quite interesting. Don't be too shocked, alright?!"
"All this information… I got it from the previous generation's Apostle, now one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks!!!"
"Wh… what!?"
"You mean… that Red-Haired… he's also a Celestial Dragon!?"
Doflamingo dropped yet another shocking revelation, throwing the room into chaos.
Even Luffy hadn't expected that Shanks—who traveled the world alongside Roger—would turn out to be a Celestial Dragon!
A pirate who became one of the top-tier Celestial Dragons of the seas!
Seeing the reactions, Doflamingo barely flinched, pressing a hand to the tattooed totem on his wrist as he continued:
"And the information about Shanks… was entrusted to him by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!"
"Information about the end of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale!"
"Ra… Laugh Tale!?"
Within seconds, Doflamingo unleashed one bombshell after another, shaking the hearts of those present.
He smirked, clearly enjoying the chaos he had caused.
"Everyone here should be familiar with the concept of the Historical Text, right?!"
The group, still reeling from the previous revelations, simply nodded, acknowledging him without a word.
Every eye was focused, anticipating Doflamingo's next revelation.
Gossip is humanity's fourth instinct.
"At Laugh Tale lies a Historical Text that contains vital information!"
"From my guess, that Historical Text was likely created by the diary's original owner—or under their orders!!"
"The Celestial Dragons, the twenty royal families, each representing a divine nature!"
"Every bloodline carries its own unique divinity."
"Divinity can be guided, but never extinguished!"
"And the Donquixote family's divinity… is an inherent goodness embedded in the bones!"
Noticing the disbelief in others' eyes, Doflamingo smiled darkly, explaining:
"Don't doubt it…"
"Because I am special!"
He continued:
"The Five Elders, serving unknown forces, likely sought to prevent the divine nature within Celestial Dragon bloodlines from awakening, feeding them only anti-divine knowledge and behaviors."
"This… created the malformed Celestial Dragons of today!"
"Thirty years ago…"
His voice sank, and the atmosphere of the room followed, heavy and quiet.
"My parents, guided by the inherent goodness in their blood, managed to break free from that illusory world."
"They realized the falsehood of the Celestial Dragons and sought to see the real world."
"Unfortunately, I only learned much later…"
"At that time, my father's awakening was too conspicuous, drawing the eyes of all of Mary Geoise."
"To hide and protect us, the already-awakened Celestial Dragons offered no help to my family!"
"So!!!"
Doflamingo's expression twisted in anger, his Haki radiating a dense, malevolent energy into the hall!!!
"I hate all Celestial Dragons!!!"
BOOM!
A violent surge of Haki erupted from him, like the Empress's earlier attack, flooding the room with raw power.
This time, Luffy did nothing to stop it, letting the evil aura fill the space.
He understood that losing one's parents could twist anyone's soul.
After some time, the swirling feathers around Doflamingo slowly settled.
He rested an elbow on the table, covering his eyes beneath his glasses, and sighed softly:
"Sorry… I lost control."
After a brief pause, he continued:
"To live a normal life, my father led our family out of Mary Geoise."
"But…"
"Peace didn't last long. Somehow, our Celestial Dragon identity was revealed!"
"A large group of people, once oppressed by the Celestial Dragons, came after us…"
"Two years later, my mother, living in the slums, passed away from illness…"
Silent tears ran down Doflamingo's face.
Even the hardest men have weaknesses, and his mother had always been his soft spot.
Everyone silently listened, expressions neutral, as if witnessing nothing unusual.
Finally, Doflamingo pulled himself from memory and continued:
"I then founded the Donquixote pirate."
"Soon after, a man in a black cloak approached me!"
"He was Red-Haired Shanks!"
"At that time, he was just a slightly older youth, not yet a pirate."
"He explained he had his mission, I had mine, briefly outlined the situation of the Celestial Dragons, left this crossed pattern on my wrist, and left."
"That parting… lasted decades."
"Until the day Roger was executed, we met again."
"That was when he told me everything he knew."
"He said that in Laugh Tale's Historical Text, there exists a method… perhaps the key to breaking it all!"
"Before the final battle, a subordinate of the Ancient War God, a Devil Fruit user, foresaw their defeat and aftermath."
"So this Devil Fruit user, at the cost of their life, left the world a final prophetic turning point!"
"[Time passes, freedom arises!]"
"[The chosen one becomes the new king of the seas, at the cost of life, sowing the seeds of hope.]"
"[The anti-blood of freedom opens the final era, disturbing all worldly order under the guise of darkness!]"
"[The world's spotlighted child unleashes unprecedented power!]"
"[The sprouts of growth unify the new generation, forming the main force to break the barriers!]"
"[All… for the dawn!]"
"This… is everything left by that prophetic Devil Fruit user."
"Sadly, the prophecy never revealed the outcome of the war."
"At the same time, the Celestial Dragons' strongest war god knew their defeat was inevitable."
"So he left behind the [seed of hope] in the prophecy!"
"He tasked a subordinate, using the Time-Time Fruit, to send the best young members of the twenty royal families twenty years into the future, evading the catastrophic war that would've wiped the world clean!"
"These young ones were forbidden from sharing any enemy-related information, no need for vengeance!"
"Finally, a Memo-Memo Fruit erased all war-related memories from their minds."
"The forgotten Celestial Dragons, guided subconsciously, dispersed worldwide, living among common folk, preserving the last hope of the Dragon God race!"
"To avoid suspicion, they even changed their proud family names and personal names."
"The only remaining mark… the symbol of breaking the darkness: dawn [d]!!!"
...
Having revealed everything he knew, Doflamingo turned his gaze toward Luffy.
Naturally, he left out personal details, like patricide and fratricide.
Years ago, he had surmised, from the Donquixote family's goodness, that the anti-blood of freedom represented the opposite of the family's divine nature.
Just as he, bearing the Donquixote name, became one of the most evil men despite its meaning, the anti-blood of freedom signified oppression against liberty.
The "new king of the seas" referred to Roger, whose sacrifice sparked the Great Pirate Era.
So, upon learning of Luffy gathering heroes, Doflamingo assumed Luffy's path toward domination had begun.
But he felt no desire for conquest in Luffy.
That was why he left, disappointed, that day.
But it no longer mattered.
The prophecy… seemed to have been broken.
Though some events still aligned with it, even a single error invalidated all that followed.
From the second sentence onward, the prophecy had lost its relevance.
The room fell silent again. Each person wore a different expression.
Only Luffy remained pensive.
The second line clearly referenced Blackbeard, the breaker of Whitebeard's rule.
The remaining lines likely referred to the "original timeline" Luffy.
After all, he's the protagonist!
But now, everything is different.
Luffy's eyes suddenly brightened with a glint of amusement.
He liked interesting things.
Seeing Luffy's confident expression, Doflamingo's lips curved into a sly smile.
It was Luffy's unique spirit that had made Doflamingo reveal everything.
Prideful as ever, he could never follow someone else's predetermined path.
Without hope, he might hesitate.
But seeing Luffy open the Great Universe Era…
A whole new world!
A more fascinating world!!!
With a faint smile, Luffy spoke:
"Everything… was expected."
With his outsider perspective, he had already plotted multiple courses for this history.
Though not identical, the truth didn't interfere with his plans.
He placed his hands on the table and addressed the still-shocked group:
"Now that the story's told…"
"Next…"
"We talk about business!"
"What!?"
Hancock, still reeling from the revelations, blinked in confusion.
But the other Warlords had clearly anticipated this, standing and stepping back to the open space behind the table.
Hancock hesitated, then followed.
Luffy rose from his chair, looking at the seasoned sea fighters opposite him, eyes deep with a subtle smile:
"Like I said before, the world is vast!"
"The future… is unpredictable!"
"To prevent things I don't want from happening, I'll expand the Starry Sky Pirates' influence, grow our power!"
"But not just anyone can join Starry Sky."
"I need people with extraordinary potential, people worth nurturing!"
"You've all been formidable forces at sea for years. I need your strength!"
"How do you feel about that!?"
Before anyone could respond, Moriah, as if prepared, dropped to one knee, lowering his massive frame, and declared:
"The Moriah Pirates will serve you, Luffy-sama!!!"
No hesitation—he knew Luffy's potential was immense.
Crocodile followed immediately, kneeling without pause:
"I, Crocodile, will serve the Starry Sky Pirates!"
As a high-ranking member of the Hero Academy, his loyalty was already decided.
Doflamingo let out a dark, sinister laugh and mimicked them, kneeling:
"This feeling… of being at the center of an era… is intoxicating!"
"The Donquixote family pledges itself to Starry Sky!"
"Luffy-sama, don't disappoint me…"
"Let's see what you do!"
Luffy nodded firmly, then turned his gaze to Boa Hancock, the Empress who had captivated every man at sea:
"Boa Hancock, we're old friends. I know you're different from the rest…"
"So for this matter, you may choose as you see fit!"
"My choice…"
Hancock pursed her lips, lifting her head with regal grace, eyes both solemn and seductive, and asked Luffy:
"I want to know… if you truly breach that barrier, what will you do to the Celestial Dragons!?"
….
Completed version available on [P]atreon.[c]om/Veltoria [remove brackets]