Chinjao rubbed his eyes, looked down at the newspaper, then looked back up at Dimon.
He looked so much alike!
This man looked exactly like Dimon in the newspaper!
They were practically identical!
Chinjao spat. What practically identical? He was the man himself!
"You're Dimon the brewer. I've been looking for you for a long time!"
"You were looking for me?"
"That's right!"
Chinjao immediately explained, "Five years ago, Kaido held a pirate martial arts tournament on Hachinosu Island. The grand prize was a cup of wine said to grant eternal youth and immortality!"
"The Elixir of Immortality was brewed by you, wasn't it?"
So he was seeking the Elixir of Immortality.
Dimon understood, then heard Chinjao burst into laughter.
"The news spread across the seas in no time. Who knew how many people set sail in search of you, carrying dreams of immortality!"
"Do you know what pirates call your Elixir of Immortality? The Great Treasure!"
"Pirates pursue treasure, and in doing so, pursue power, wealth, and fame."
"Now, there was another dream: immortality!"
The Elixir of Immortality had become the Great Treasure?
Dimon's expression turned slightly strange. Did that count as starting the Great Pirate Era ahead of schedule?
He raised a hand to stop Chinjao from rambling and said,
"You want the Elixir of Immortality. Do you know the rules?"
"What rules?"
Chinjao froze for a moment, then dismissed it. "Just tell me how much you want. I've accumulated quite a bit of treasure over my years as a pirate."
At the mention of money, Dimon suddenly remembered something.
Chinjao had buried a vast amount of treasure beneath an iceberg. Only his own pointed head could crack open the ice.
Thinking of that, Dimon could not help but smile.
"One Devil Fruit in exchange for one cup of the Elixir of Immortality. Other than that, you must offer all your personal wealth."
Chinjao frowned. All his wealth?
Still, compared to immortality, mere wealth could be discarded at any time.
"I hid all my treasure in an absolutely secret place. I can take you there and give you all of it!"
Chinjao crossed his arms and said proudly, "I don't have a Devil Fruit, but if that treasure were converted into money, it could buy a hundred fruits!"
Dimon asked in surprise, "Just asking, roughly how much is your treasure worth?"
"Ten billion Berries!"
The moment he heard that, Dimon understood.
No wonder Chinjao had hated Garp to the bone after Garp punched his head flat, even extending that hatred to Garp's grandson, Luffy.
If it had been Dimon, he would have wanted to wipe out Garp's entire family too.
That was an enormous fortune of ten billion Berries!
Anyone who turned down ten billion delivered to their doorstep was an idiot.
At the same time, Dimon thought of Sky Island. There was so much gold there that it could be used to build a ship. He could go pick it up and bring it home when he had time.
"Not bad. Meeting me is your luck. Use all your wealth to exchange for immortality."
Chinjao smiled warmly. "Please come aboard, Dimon. I'll have the chefs prepare delicacies from the Kano Country to entertain you properly."
"Forget the hospitality for now. Where exactly did you hide your treasure?"
"In the first half of the Grand Line, on an ice island in the Sea of Paradise!"
That was far away...
Going by ship would probably take a month.
He could take Chinjao and fly there directly, but that would be too tiring. Dimon did not want to work that hard.
So, he took a folded slip of paper from his pocket and flicked it toward Chinjao.
"When you get there, call the number on it. I'll come then. Well, farewell."
After leaving his contact information behind, Dimon spread his wings and flew away in the blink of an eye.
Running into Chinjao was an unexpected delight, but Dimon had not forgotten his original purpose.
He did not rush onward. Instead, he timed his journey precisely.
By the time he flew over Holy Land Mary Geoise, it was the middle of the night.
Under the cover of the deep night, Dimon concealed his presence and silently descended upon this town known as the "Domain of the Gods"—the residence of the Celestial Dragons.
The houses here were nothing special. They were simply larger than ordinary homes.
Even in the dead of night, soldiers still patrolled the streets, guarding the safety of the Holy Land.
Dimon landed on the roof of a mansion and looked toward a castle in the distance.
That was Pangea Castle, the headquarters of the World Government and the highest center of power in the world.
The Five Elders, Imu, and the others were all inside that castle.
"It's quite far away, and I've suppressed my presence. It seems they haven't noticed me?"
Withdrawing his gaze, Dimon opened a skylight and entered the villa below.
He released a trace of Observation Haki and immediately sensed more than a dozen presences within the house. Their breathing was steady and rhythmic; they were all deeply asleep.
Among them was a married couple sleeping in the same bed.
Dimon simply pushed open the door, entered, and casually shut it behind him.
By the moonlight streaming through the window, Dimon examined the sleeping man and woman.
The man had long blond hair and a pair of golden mustaches. The woman slept on her side with her back to the window, so her face could not be seen.
Perhaps sensing the sound of the door opening earlier, the man groggily woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a ghostly figure by the window.
Before he could even scream, a blade was already pressed against his neck.
"D-Don't hurt me. I'll give you anything you want. Please spare me!"
"Shh. You wouldn't want to wake your wife, would you?"
Dimon made a shushing gesture, then asked calmly, "I ask. You answer."
The man nodded frantically.
"Where does the Donquixote Family live?"
At those words, the man stiffened all over, terror appearing on his face.
"Hm?"
Dimon moved his wrist slightly, bringing the cold blade closer to the man's skin.
The man jolted and answered with a tremble, "Which Donquixote are you asking about?"
There were only twenty Celestial Dragon surnames living here—more precisely, only nineteen.
They were the descendants of the twenty kings who had originally founded the World Government.
Eight hundred years had passed, and their families had branched out. There was indeed more than one household of Celestial Dragons bearing the Donquixote name.
"Donquixote Doflamingo. He should only be a few years old now. Where does his family live?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the man became even more frightened. He was visibly shaking uncontrollably.
"I... he's my son."
Well, wasn't that convenient?
Dimon looked him over in surprise. This man was Doflamingo's idiotic father?
He was truly naive to the extreme. He had given up being a proper Celestial Dragon and gone down to live the life of an ordinary person.
Naturally, it had ended in tragedy.
After all, Celestial Dragons were hated by so many people. Without the protection of their status, the people who wanted them dead could circle the planet several times over.
"I'm done with you. Go back to sleep."
Dimon glared, and his Conqueror's Haki knocked the man unconscious on the spot.
Then, he left the master bedroom and found the children's room where Doflamingo lived.
He opened the door, entered, and shut it.
Dimon walked to the bed again and confirmed that the child sleeping there was Doflamingo.
The little brat was even wearing sunglasses while he slept. There was seriously something wrong with him.
Dimon immediately patted his face.
"Father?"
Doflamingo... he was still young Doffy now. Young Doffy mumbled groggily, but the instant he opened his eyes, he went blank.
Dimon covered his mouth and grinned.
"Yeah, I'm your dad!"
Before you continue