Dressrosa, the Royal Plateau.
Upon the luxurious throne, Donquixote Doflamingo sat with his legs crossed, a newspaper capable of shaking the world clutched between his fingers.
He let out his signature, sharp, and maniacal laughter.
"Fuffuffuffuffu! Fuffuffuffuffuffuffu!"
The laughter clashed and echoed within the empty palace, openly revealing his extreme excitement.
Before him, the family's top executives stood respectfully, their faces etched with shock.
Sugar ate grapes expressionlessly, as if the matter did not concern her.
Trebol's snot nearly reached the floor, his sticky body trembling slightly with excitement.
Diamante and Pica remained silent, but their tightly clenched fists betrayed the inner turmoil they were experiencing.
"This truly is... a perfect piece of art!"
Doflamingo spread his arms wide, his pink feather coat fluttering wildly; he wasn't embracing the air, but the impending chaos itself.
"A man who can casually create a 'moon'?"
"A 'god' who has descended upon the East Blue?"
He tapped the photo of the massive "artificial moon" on the newspaper with his finger, his eyes behind the sunglasses flashing with greed and fanaticism.
"Fuffuffuffu... This world is finally going to descend into utter chaos!"
Trebol oozed forward obsequiously: "Na, na, Doffy, this is unprecedented news! That old guy Golden Lion was actually crumpled up like trash into a ball!"
"That was Golden Lion! A legend who contended with Roger and Whitebeard!" Diamante's voice was dry. "How... should we respond?"
"Respond?"
Doflamingo's laughter stopped abruptly.
He slowly lowered his head, his gaze behind the sunglasses sweeping over everyone present, cold enough to freeze the air.
"Don't you understand yet?"
He threw the newspaper onto the floor and ground it fiercely under his heel.
"Whitebeard, Kaido, BIG MOM... those monsters entrenched in the New World, calling themselves 'Emperors,' definitely can't sit still now."
"And those five old men in Mary Geoise! They must be having a headache so bad they want to die, right? Fuffuffuffu!"
Doflamingo spread his arms once more, his expression manic and excited.
"Come on! All of you, come!"
"Go to the East Blue! Go fight for that power! Go worship that 'god'!"
"The tide of the new era is unstoppable! The old order is collapsing, and chaos is the ultimate feast!"
He lifted his foot, kicked the newspaper away, and strode to the edge of the Royal Plateau's balcony, looking down upon the kingdom he ruled.
"That man, White Night... he is not a conqueror."
Doflamingo's voice became deep and magnetic, filled with the wisdom of someone who sees everything.
"If he wanted to, he could easily destroy everything."
"The newspaper says that Garp, Kizaru, and even Dragon 'knelt in worship' before him."
"What does that prove?"
He turned around, staring sharply at his executives.
"It proves he is a merchant."
"A merchant selling 'miracles'!"
"He displayed his power not to intimidate, but to advertise! An advertisement aimed at the world's most powerful individuals!"
"Fuffuffuffuffu! It truly makes one... tremble with excitement!"
In Doflamingo's eyes, an extremely cold calculation flickered.
"If he is a merchant, then he can be negotiated with."
"We only need to prepare... a 'price' he cannot refuse."
"Doffy, what do you need?" Trebol immediately asked. "Gold? Treasure? We have plenty!"
"Vulgar."
Doflamingo curled his lip in disdain.
"To a 'god' who can create miracles at will, what is the difference between gold and jewels and stones on the roadside?"
His gaze deepened.
"I need to prepare a genuine 'meeting gift'."
He looked at Trebol and gave his order.
"Go to my deepest vault and prepare that 'grand gift' I have secretly stored."
Trebol paused, then suddenly realized something, and his sticky body began to tremble violently.
"Na, na, Doffy! Could it be... that thing?"
Doflamingo's lips curved into a wicked smile.
"That's right, that's the one."
He didn't explicitly say it, but the executives present understood that it was one of Doflamingo's biggest trump cards.
It was something he had originally kept, intending to give it as a "surprise" to the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise at the most crucial moment.
A secret Poneglyph rubbing... recording a forbidden scandal involving the Celestial Dragons!
This item is poison to the World Government.
But for an outsider, a "god" with the power to overturn the world, it might just be the most interesting plaything.
"As for Vergo, have him continue his infiltration, closely monitoring all movements of Marineford and that 'god'."
"The rest of the family will stabilize the rule of Dressrosa; while I am gone, I do not wish to hear any bad news."
Doflamingo calmly arranged everything; beneath the madness lay cold calculation and caution.
He intended to go to the East Blue personally.
He wanted to meet that "god" with his own eyes.
He wanted to see what price was marked on that so-called "miracle"!
The wind howled across the Royal Plateau.
Doflamingo walked to the edge of the balcony again, looking toward the distant East Blue, his pink feather coat flapping loudly in the strong wind.
"Let me see with my own eyes... what kind of 'price' your created 'miracle' demands, 'God' Sir."
His flagship, the "Numancia Flamingo," slowly raised its massive sails in the harbor, setting course for the weakest sea where the "divine miracle" was born... Along the New World sea route, a massive fleet was cutting through the endless waves.
The flagship was a monstrous, terrifying giant ship, its figurehead carved into a roaring dragon's head.
On the deck, the executives of the Beasts Pirates stood solemnly; their usual clamor and wildness were gone, leaving only suffocating tension.
Upon the throne, Kaido held the massive spiked club "Hassaikai," his eyes burning with pure destructive desire and overwhelming battle intent.
He stared in the direction of the East Blue, as if he could already see the man who dared to call himself a "god."
"The Conflagration" King stood beside him, reporting in a deep voice.
"Mr. Kaido, the Whitebeard Pirates' 'Moby Dick' has also changed course; their target is also the East Blue."
"The BIG MOM Pirates' fleet has also departed. Charlotte Linlin seems determined to obtain that man..."
"Wororororo..."
Kaido's laughter was low and dangerous.
"So those two old geezers can't sit still either? Good! It saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one!"
His gaze swept over the boundless ocean.
"Increase the speed!"
"I can't wait to blast that fake moon hanging in the sky, along with that so-called 'god,' into smithereens!"
...Meanwhile, in a certain area of the Grand Line.
The huge red dragon figurehead was quietly anchored in the bay of an uninhabited island.
On the deck of the Red Force, the atmosphere was completely different.
Red Hair Shanks leaned against the ship's railing, also holding that newspaper.
The smile had vanished from his face, and his eyes were frighteningly serious.
"Hey, Beckman."
He spoke suddenly, his voice a little hoarse.
The Vice Captain Benn Beckman, smoking a cigarette, took the newspaper from his hand, glanced at it once, and then casually set it aside.
"We've got big trouble, Captain."