Setting Sail for the Sea

Although Homing was somewhat dissatisfied with Doflamingo using his Illusion Fruit ability to trick them into eating Devil Fruits, and did not believe the sea outside was as dangerous as Doflamingo claimed, since the Devil Fruits had already been eaten, he naturally stopped dwelling on it.

Doflamingo nodded to himself as well. With Devil Fruit abilities, at the very least, the Donquixote family would no longer suffer humiliation from ordinary civilians. As for Pirate Crews with some real strength, they would not deliberately humiliate the Donquixote family like those ignorant civilians did.

What a joke. Specifically bullying Celestial Dragons was entirely different from ordinary civilians resisting Celestial Dragons out of anger. The latter was a spectacle other Celestial Dragons wanted to see; the former meant, did you have some grievance against the Celestial Dragons?

"Doing this can be considered repaying Homing's kindness. Once I leave Holy Land Mary Geoise, it will be time for me to part ways with them."

This newly reborn Doflamingo knew very clearly what he needed to do, and the Donquixote family could not help him with any of it. On the contrary, they would be dragged into real danger because of him. Keeping his distance from them would be good for both sides.

Over the next few days, Doflamingo did not train again. Instead, he often relied on the Illusion Fruit ability to sneak out of Holy Land Mary Geoise and bury some of his precious collections.

These were treasures he had gathered over five years. Once he left, he would no longer have the conveniences that came with being a Celestial Dragon.

Half a month later, Homing finally made up his mind and led his family away from Mary Geoise.

Sitting aboard the enormous ship, Doflamingo looked back at the distant Holy Land Mary Geoise, a cold smile faintly crossing his face.

"Just wait. When I return next time, I'll definitely turn this place upside down."

"Brother, you still haven't finished telling me the story of the Land of Lilliputians!" Rosinante said from behind Doflamingo, following him around like a little shadow.

After successfully taking over the body, Doflamingo would occasionally use his Illusion Fruit ability to perform for the Celestial Dragons. On one hand, he collected some treasures from them. On the other, he built relationships with younger Celestial Dragons so he could use them in the future.

During this time, the Celestial Dragons had become fascinated by the Gulliver's Travels stories Doflamingo told, especially his younger brother, who thought about the Land of Lilliputians all day.

That was because the country once ruled by the Donquixote family truly had creatures like the Tontatta Tribe.

After hearing his adopted little brother, Doflamingo waved a hand, and a strange illusion unfolded. Tiny people the size of toes came vividly to life, while exquisitely crafted sailboats no larger than toys began performing Gulliver's Travels within that small space.

Rosinante immediately watched with delight. He was only a carefree ten-year-old child now, and he did not really understand what leaving Mary Geoise meant.

A few days later, the Donquixote family settled down on an island. Relying on the savings they had brought from Mary Geoise, they continued living relatively prosperous lives.

A week passed like this before Doflamingo silently left that small island and set out on his own path.

Blue seas and clear skies stretched overhead as several merchant ships slowly sailed across the ocean.

The weather on the Grand Line was unpredictable. Though it was not as terrifying as the New World, its climatic shifts still far surpassed those of the Four Seas.

Merchant ships able to sail here were naturally no ordinary fleet. Not only were their vessels large and sturdy, but they were also thoroughly familiar with all kinds of currents. Most importantly, anyone who dared go to sea, even ordinary sailors, had some skill.

This fleet had departed from the Sabaody Archipelago. It passed the island where Doflamingo's family lived along the way, and its destination was the Alabasta Kingdom. It had effectively traveled from one end of the first half of the Grand Line to the other.

And Doflamingo was currently hidden within this fleet.

"The status of a Celestial Dragon gives me both advantages and restraints. If I merely wanted to live like the original Doflamingo, thriving among all sides and earning respect from both the underworld and the authorities, it would actually be easy."

"But if I want to overthrow the Celestial Dragons on Mary Geoise, then I cannot recruit under the identity of a fallen Celestial Dragon."

"After all, those who would join me because of that identity either inherently held enough reverence for world nobles like the Celestial Dragons, or they were simply opportunists seeking to exploit that identity."

In the current Doflamingo's view, several of the original Doflamingo's subordinates could be called outright opportunists.

They had joined the still-young Doflamingo. While Mingo's potential for Conqueror's Haki was certainly one reason, the greater reason was that, as a fallen Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo possessed incomparable connections and an identity capable of making the World Government wary.

"And in this world, the force with the greatest hope of overthrowing the World Government is actually the Navy!"

Anyone who opened a history book could see that in the vast majority of dynastic transitions, once external threats were excluded, internal forces were almost always the ones that laughed last. Those who could truly build a new dynasty from nothing were exceedingly rare.

The Pirate World was a supernatural world where the powers of individual strongmen were pushed to their limits. Yet even so, the strongest forces were still major organizations like the Navy and the World Government. Clearly, the same rule applied here.

"Then it seems I should infiltrate the Navy for a while," Doflamingo thought to himself as he sat in the cabin, gnawing on a piece of fruit.

"No, rather than infiltration, it would be better to say I should guide the Navy a little. I wonder whether Garp's son, Dragon, has also joined the Navy?"

The future Revolutionary Army leader, Monkey D. Dragon, and the Revolutionary Army he led were the World Government's greatest true threat. He could be said to be Doflamingo's natural ally.

"Many people have speculated that Monkey D. Dragon may have once been a Navy member before defecting and establishing the Revolutionary Army. Thinking about it carefully, that is indeed very possible."

However, in this era, the truly famous figures on the seas were still the older generation of Navy officers and pirates. At best, Monkey D. Dragon was only a Navy Vice Admiral, not yet powerful enough to shake the seas. Therefore, Doflamingo did not know whether there really was such a person in the Navy.

"I hope I can meet him." He casually tossed away the fruit pit in his hand, and it happened to strike a sailor bustling about with work on the head.

The sailor raised his head in confusion. Doflamingo could not help sticking out his tongue as he increased the power of his Illusion Fruit ability.

In the sailor's eyes, the fruit pit immediately became a lump of bird droppings. He flung it away and walked off cursing.

Though Doflamingo was only as strong as a Navy Headquarters officer with the rank of colonel if relying solely on the Navy Six Styles and swordsmanship, once his long-awakened and ever-improving Illusion Fruit ability was included, anyone whose Observation Haki was even slightly inferior had no ability to fight back before him.