As Darren stepped out of the dimly lit hall, he lit another cigar and stretched with a satisfied sigh.
The crumbling courtyard around him was shrouded in brittle ivy and littered with the rubble of a collapsed fountain. Under the cold moonlight, everything appeared bleak and still.
From the shadow of a wall, a silent figure emerged. Momonga had been standing motionless for over an hour—so still he seemed to blend into the very architecture, a statue carved of discipline and vigilance.
"You've had a long watch," Darren said with a smile. A rare warmth passed through him.
The North Blue was a dangerous place. He remembered well what it had been like when he first crossed into this world—chaos ran rampant. Mafia families waged war in broad daylight, frightened civilians cowered in alleyways, and nobles toasted wine in palaces built on the backs of the desperate.
Trust was a rare currency. Everyone plotted, flattered, and betrayed. Darren's rise to power had been paved with blood, and even now, having reached a position where he could command the whole sea, he lived each day cautiously.
In a place , having someone trustworthy like Momonga by his side was a luxury.
Momonga stepped forward with a dry smile. "You sure went hard on him. He's just a twelve-year-old kid."
"I've said it before," Darren replied, spreading his arms. "Even a young wolf can tear out a man's throat."
"He's the kind of kid who killed his own father at ten and awakened Conqueror's Haki."
His eyes drifted to the chip Darren twirled between his fingers. His expression darkened as he glanced back toward the eerie hall. "Aren't you afraid he'll stab you in the back one day?"
Darren chuckled. "He won't. No evidence. No one would believe him. And besides, I'm his godfather now."
Momonga rolled his eyes.
He knew Darren's personality well. The ambitious Commander of the North Blue was a man who craved the tightrope, the thrill of danger. He lived for moments where a single misstep meant death.
"That reminds me—has the situation been contained?"
Momonga nodded. "The perimeter was secured, and the civilians were fully evacuated. Even the Marine forces who came with us don't know what really happened. As far as they're concerned, this was a routine pirate suppression."
"Good," Darren said with a grin. "Let's keep it under wraps as long as we can."
"We should be heading back. If I'm not mistaken, we have an appointment with Vinsmoke Judge tomorrow?"
"Yes," Momonga confirmed. "Germa's first batch of tech weapons is ready. They want your personal approval before field testing."
Darren nodded and stepped forward.
The cloak bearing the word "Justice" billowed behind him in the night breeze.
"Then it begins. The North Blue Fleet project... officially starts now."
His eyes, under the moonlit sky, shone brighter than any star.
Inside the desolate manor hall, moonlight spilled through dusty glass panes, casting a silver glow over Doflamingo.
The boy sat on a worn sofa, a burnt-out cigar between his fingers. His head leaned back, gaze lost in the shadowed ceiling above.
It was some time before Trebol and the others stirred back to consciousness.
Pale and still heavily wounded, they scanned the area nervously before breathing sighs of relief.
"Doffy... how the hell did we get back here?" Trebol asked hoarsely.
"This... is the old Mignon safehouse," Diamante whispered, supporting himself against the wall.
Doflamingo didn't look at them. "I don't know. I was already here when I woke up."
"But I'm guessing Rogers Darren brought us back."
His words struck the group like lightning.
Only a handful of people knew of this secret hideout. If Darren had transported them here while they were unconscious, it meant only one thing:
He had eyes on them long before they even realized it.
The chill that followed wasn't from their injuries—it was the realization that they'd been prey under a hunter's gaze all along.
"What do we do now, boss?" Diamante asked, unease thick in his voice.
They had known triumph. But this... this was crushing defeat.
Doflamingo finally sat up, his eyes refocusing.
He looked around at the people he had left—his only family now.
So that's why you spared them, huh...? So I wouldn't have a reason to break.
In your eyes, all I've done is child's play.
"Don't worry," he finally said.
"The North Blue underworld..."
His lips curled into a dark grin.
The others looked at him in shock.
And then came the laughter.
"Heh heh... HAHAHAHA!!"
"I, Donquixote Doflamingo, now have a godfather—Rogers Darren!"
The laughter echoed off the manor walls, growing more twisted, more manic.
And far above them, in the cold moonlight, a shadow passed across the glass dome.