Diarmuid and Doflamingo found a corner to sit down. As they did, a faint, dark aura emanated around them—it wasn't particularly thick, but it felt eerie. This aura effectively veiled their conversation; to outside observers, their lips moved, but the details were blurred and the sound completely muffled.
Besides, seeing two such formidable figures sitting in a corner with such an obvious "Do Not Disturb" posture made most guests think twice. Who would be foolish enough to risk a beating from Admiral Diarmuid just to eavesdrop?
While seeing a Marine Admiral cavorting with Doflamingo was surprising at first glance, people quickly rationalized it. Doflamingo was a Warlord of the Sea, technically on the same side as the Marines, and this was a Neutral Zone. If the Admiral could share a word with the leader of the Revolutionary Army earlier, this was practically mundane.
In truth, Diarmuid was being intentionally conspicuous. Since Fleet Admiral Sengoku was acting so boldly, Diarmuid felt he had to play his part.
Oblivious to the public eye, Doflamingo leaned in to discuss serious business. "Vergo told me before that there might be a move during this Reverie?"
Diarmuid nodded. "Since I promised not to keep you in the dark, I'll tell you straight: the Navy is ready. We're just waiting for the right opportunity."
Doflamingo knew exactly what that "opportunity" meant; it was why he had brought up the leverage he held over Mariejois. He understood that the Navy wasn't like him... well, they were similar in some ways, but the Navy cared about appearances. Even a man like Doflamingo, who walked the line between light and shadow, preferred to have a "just cause" before acting. Whether you called it hypocrisy or strategy, it was a necessity.
He knew what Diarmuid meant by "opportunity." Following the flow of the conversation, he continued, "I know quite a bit about the dirt on Mariejois. I promised you, Admiral, that I would tell you the secrets I know when the time was right. And now..."
Doflamingo glanced around. Honestly, it wasn't a great environment. People were everywhere. But on second thought, it was actually perfect. Better to do it now than wait for a "someday" that might never come, especially since everyone would be busy once the Reverie started.
"Don't worry," Diarmuid said with a smile. "Not a single word will leave this circle."
He had that much confidence in his abilities.
Doflamingo didn't hesitate further. "Mariejois hides many secrets and much filth. If we're talking about scandals..."
"Don't bother with the slavery stuff," Diarmuid interrupted. "That's an 'open secret.' Mariejois has no shame regarding that; no one can touch them for it."
"Fair enough..." Doflamingo nodded and began recounting various sordid affairs within the Holy Land.
After listening for a while, Diarmuid shook his head. Doflamingo looked somewhat disappointed as well. The stories were indeed disgusting, and they would certainly damage Mariejois's reputation, but none of them provided the "Great Righteousness" the Navy needed to seize the moral high ground. Most were just shameful acts by individual Celestial Dragon families—depravity, corruption, and petty historical scandals.
A few old secrets were decent, but Diarmuid couldn't be sure if the Navy had been complicit in them at the time. He hadn't been in Marineford back then. Plus, those scandals had an expiration date; using them now might lack the necessary impact. They could only serve as backups.
As for the general degeneracy of the Celestial Dragons, Diarmuid wasn't even surprised. The world already knew these people were trash. Adding more filth to a pile of manure didn't change the fact that it was manure.
"Not enough," Diarmuid said. "I need something more explosive. Something that grants us Absolute Justice."
In that moment, he almost missed that bastard Dragon. Given the Revolutionary Army's ideology, they likely had a better grasp of "righteousness" and might possess truly useful intel, but Diarmuid didn't want to get too entangled with them. It was a dilemma.
"Something more explosive..." Doflamingo went silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "This touches upon the core secrets I intended to save for later. But it doesn't matter now. On the surface, the Gorosei are the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons. But in reality... they have someone above them."
Diarmuid, who was about to take a drink, nearly froze. It wasn't the information itself that shocked him—it was the fact that Doflamingo knew!
Diarmuid had tested the waters with the Fleet Admiral and the Commander-in-Chief before. Sengoku and Kong knew very little, treating it as nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor.
Diarmuid had expected Doflamingo to have some heavy secrets, but he never expected him to know about Imu!
Logically, Doflamingo was barely eight years old when he left Mariejois and lost his status. Even if he was a born Conqueror with early-maturing wisdom and a photographic memory, how much top-secret intel could an eight-year-old possibly access?
And yet, he had just dropped the biggest secret of them all.
Seeing Diarmuid's shocked expression, Doflamingo spoke with absolute gravity. "It's true. The Gorosei are the 'highest' only in name. They wield the power of Mariejois and the World Government, but they are merely puppets. To call them watchdogs would be more accurate."
Diarmuid only had a superficial understanding of Imu; he knew the name existed but little else. He didn't interrupt or reveal his own knowledge, preferring to let Doflamingo talk. He simply asked, "Who? What do you mean?"
"They refer to this person as 'Imu-sama,'" Doflamingo whispered.
"Imu... is that a surname or a given name of your Celestial Dragon clans?" Diarmuid asked.
Doflamingo shook his head. "No. Neither the twenty kings nor their descendants bear that name. 'Imu-sama' is effectively a title from a lost era."
He paused before continuing. "In Pangea Castle in Mariejois, there is an Empty Throne. You've seen it, Admiral?"
Diarmuid nodded. Though he didn't visit Mariejois often, he had attended one Reverie and seen the throne.
"That throne represents the 'pursuit of justice' by the World Government. It symbolizes that all member nations are equal in status and power, and that no one individual may rule over the entire world. But in truth... that 'Empty Throne,' where no one is supposedly allowed to sit, is the personal seat of Imu-sama. He is the 'King of the World.'"
Doflamingo's eyes betrayed a hint of excitement. Truthfully, he had given up on that dream now, but as a child, he had idolized Imu. He felt he should have been the King of the World. Even his obsession with the Ope Ope no Mi had been... inspired by Imu.
"Go on," Diarmuid said, genuinely intrigued.
"Go on with what?" Doflamingo blinked.
Diarmuid: "???"
Weren't you just telling me the story of Imu-sama?
Seeing Diarmuid's bewildered face, Doflamingo asked in surprise, "Is that not explosive enough?"
"What's explosive about it? You're not suggesting I just go tell people this story, are you? Be realistic," Diarmuid replied.
Doflamingo gathered his thoughts. "No, I mean... he sits on the Empty Throne!"
"And?" Diarmuid started, then paused as the realization hit. "I see. That is a powerful piece of leverage. If we can prove that Mariejois is controlled from the shadows by Imu, and that the Gorosei are just puppets and watchdogs, then for the sake of 'Justice and Honor,' the Navy can justify a clean break from Mariejois. We could even raise the banner of 'Anti-Imu' and launch a full-scale assault without any legal or moral issues!"
It was the ultimate moral high ground! Imu was "cheating," after all. This revelation would fundamentally shake the authority and legitimacy of the World Government and Mariejois.
The member nations operated under the nominal banner of equality—everything decided through the Reverie. If Mariejois had a secret King of the World, who could accept that?
Doflamingo nodded seriously. "Exactly. That's my point."
"So here's the problem: how do we prove Imu-sama exists? You don't expect him to just come out and admit it, do you?" Diarmuid asked. There was absolutely no evidence.
Doflamingo seemed to have spent a long time researching this, driven by his vendetta against Mariejois. "As far as I know, Imu-sama occasionally appears in Pangea Castle during the Reverie to sit on that throne, and the Gorosei go to have an audience with him. This Reverie involves the royalty of a hundred nations, the largest scale in a century and the first since the reconstruction of Mariejois. Given the current global tension, I suspect Imu-sama will appear. If we can capture proof of these secrets... then we can make our move!"
Diarmuid imagined the scene. When the Gorosei met Imu, they had to kneel and kowtow...
If they could capture that on film, an actual photo, it would be an irrefutable "smoking gun." If you just showed someone sitting on the throne, Mariejois could spin it; they'd say it was poor security, or blame a trespasser like Dragon. You can argue against a person on a chair.
But if the five highest authorities of the World Government are caught kowtowing on their knees...
How do you spin that? You can't.
Though the plan sounded almost childishly simple in its execution, it could be refined. And in terms of moral leverage, it was the most significant plan Diarmuid had ever heard.
Acknowledging the brilliance of this "old schemer's" idea, Diarmuid asked curiously, "By the way, how do you know these secrets?"