The perspective shifts back over 800 years ago.
After establishing the World Government and elevating the Twenty Kings to become the so-called "Celestial Dragons," Lily effectively held absolute power.
But with the loss of the three restraining influences—Michael, Imu, and Toki—Lily's inherently extreme personality quickly began to show its flaws.
She gradually elevated the status of the Celestial Dragons, raising them to the level of "gods."
Just like...
The Lunarian Race of old.
And one night, Joy Boy arrived at Lily's bedchamber.
But Lily sat upright, as if she had already foreseen Joy Boy's arrival.
"You... were waiting for me?"
"Tch, so it's just you who came? Joy Boy?" Lily frowned. "I thought... after all the outrageous things I've done, Michael would surely come to stop me."
"You... have truly gone mad."
"I went mad long ago... on the day the Nefertari family was slaughtered!" Lily revealed a grin so deranged it was eerie.
"If not for Michael's existence forcing me to maintain some semblance of sanity, I would have dragged the entire world into the flames of war long ago!"
"Lily..." Joy Boy still clung to hope. "Michael wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Then let him come stop me! Let that man come stop me!"
From Lily's throat erupted an inhuman shriek.
Instantly, countless dark substances flowed from her body, completely enveloping her.
Writhing and twisting, they formed...
A shape resembling a demon.
"Is this... also a Devil Fruit?" Joy Boy's expression changed drastically. "This power is strong yet filled with malice..."
"Of course... the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Demon... As long as it absorbs negative emotions, it can grow infinitely stronger... For me, this is simply the most suitable fruit!"
"An angel... a demon... Your fates are truly twisted," Joy Boy said with a bitter smile. "I'm sorry, Lily. I will fulfill my original duty... If you abandon all your rights and come with me now, everything can return to how it was..."
"What kind of joke are you making, Joy Boy? No, no, no... my dear Sun God Nika."
Hearing Lily's words, Joy Boy's expression gradually turned serious.
He knew...
Lily was determined to stand against him now.
But he still wanted to make one last effort.
"Lily, Michael merely returned home. This era was never his to begin with..."
"Home? You mean... traveling to the future?" Lily chuckled. "I already thought of that. So I brought back the user of the Op-Op Fruit and had him perform the ultimate technique on me... the Perennial Youth Surgery."
"You...! Using the Perennial Youth Surgery means the user will die!"
"So what? That was his duty as a loyal subject to his queen!"
"Ah... Now I truly understand, Lily... You've gone completely mad."
...
For the next year, the World Government and Joy Boy's followers engaged in a prolonged and devastating war.
At first, Joy Boy still managed to suppress the World Government.
But during the final battle, facing the girl he had watched grow up, Joy Boy ultimately hesitated.
That hesitation cost him his life—pierced through the heart by darkness.
"Lily... This will truly... disappoint Michael."
"Joy Boy, you know nothing... You have no idea what I truly want."
With Joy Boy's death, the war came to an end.
After the war, the Twenty Kings, now Celestial Dragons, gathered once more at the conference table.
But now, they were no longer equals.
"Lily..."
"Hmm?"
"...Lady Imu." Doflamingo sighed before continuing. "Regarding Joy Boy... how should we record him in history? After all, he was... once our leader."
"Rewrite this history—erase it entirely!" Lily replied with a careless smile. "Don't forget, he was also the king of the Ancient Kingdom..."
"This..." The Twenty Kings exchanged uneasy glances.
Though they wanted to defend Joy Boy, Lily now held absolute authority over them.
Silence was their only option.
"Oh! Do you remember that term Rocks once mentioned... 'pirate'?"
"Thieves of the sea—what a fitting title for Joy Boy! Hahahaha!"
"Sun God Nika? I'll make sure your name is remembered as the most despicable in history!"
"By my command, all history before today shall be erased... and Joy Boy will be recorded as..."
"The first pirate!"
Everything, at this moment, truly aligned completely with the original course of history.
...
Present day.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you seriously just going to cling to me like this!?"
"I don't care! You're the one who took me away! You'd better take responsibility!"
"Tch, Imu, don't push your luck!"
High in the air, Michael held Imu in a princess carry against his chest.
After being teleported by Toki, they had been dumped in a deSorate, uninhabited place.
Michael couldn't even confirm what time period they were in now.
On top of that, he had to take care of Imu, so until now, he hadn't spotted any island with traces of human life.
"What are you looking for?"
"Obviously, people! I need to know exactly what time it is… Huh? There! There it is!"
Finally, an inhabited island came into view…
Except this island…
Seemed to be under attack by pirates.
Michael frowned.
How… unfortunate.
With a powerful beat of his six wings, he shot toward the island at high speed.
But when he arrived above it, he realized the situation wasn't as bad as he'd imagined.
Though remote, the island's town had surprisingly tall outer walls—clearly built with ample experience in defending against enemies.
And inside the walls, a man's loud shout caught his attention.
"Brothers! Push harder! I'm a special envoy of the Angel Alliance! If we can hold out until reinforcements arrive, we'll be safe! All elderly, women, and children—get into the pre-dug tunnels! The able-bodied men, help barricade the gates!"
'Angel Alliance?'
Eight hundred years later, the only thing related to angels… would be himself, right?
So it seemed Toki's teleportation hadn't been too far off!
And then, the next moment…
An angel descended.
Amidst the radiant Holy light flooding the sky, Michael instantly slaughtered all hundred or so pirates outside the walls.
The man who had just called himself a "special envoy of the Angel Alliance" stared at the Holy light in the sky, instinctively clutching the angel brooch on his chest…
"My God!"
"That man…"
"He has returned!"
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