Running without stopping, Doflamingo finally arrived at that place, as strange as it was familiar.
It was a place by the sea, permeated by the smell of trash – the same place where, one day, he and his brother were beaten for rummaging through the trash in search of food. Before that humble house, he didn't hesitate, pushing open the door.
There, he found the Donquixote family, who were once the closest: Trebol, Pica, Diamante, and Vergo.
"Nee, nee, what? You said everyone fainted?" Trebol asked, surprised. Doflamingo nodded.
"That's Haki! And it's Conqueror's Haki! It's proof that one has the qualification to become a king! Doflamingo, you are the man chosen by the heavens!"
Doflamingo, already aware of what would happen, didn't say much. Trebol, then, took a pistol and a Devil Fruit, hitting them with a heavy Duang on the table.
"Since you're a man, try it yourself! Is there someone you want to kill? Do you want me to give you the power to avenge yourself?"
Upon hearing this, Doflamingo smiled.
"Fufufufu, someone I want to kill? It's people without end, like a mountain of people."
Doflamingo knew Trebol was testing his audacity. Without hesitation, he picked up the pistol from the table and approached his father and brother.
"My foolish father, you took away your own power with your own hands, and you can't even protect your family. When you die, I will take your head back to the Holy Land."
Homing Saint, embracing Rosinante, said softly: "Doflamingo, Rosinante, I'm sorry for having a father like me."
Doflamingo hesitated for a moment. After all, it was his biological father, and in his previous life he had been a peaceful and law-abiding person. There was still a thread of pity and emotion in his heart, and he took time to act. His hand gripped the gun tightly, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Doflamingo, what are you hesitating for? You are a born king!"
Suddenly, Trebol and his three subordinates appeared, shouting: "Go ahead! Finish your weakness with your own hands! Do you still want to go back to the life before? Nee, nee, go ahead!"
Upon hearing this, Doflamingo discarded the last remnant of hesitation in his body. Thinking of all he had suffered before, thinking of this gloomy world, weakness was the most useless thing that existed.
He raised his hand, without any emotion, and pointed at his father. Finally, he fired.
"I cut with my own hands the weakness I inherited from you. I'm sorry, father, but you... you were in my way. Weakness does not lead to great deeds. Thank you for everything you gave me. I will live well, I will live very well. I will become a king and I will make this world tremble because of me!"
Doflamingo shouted these words aloud, and his Conqueror's Haki manifested spontaneously. The invisible pressure made Trebol and the others open radiant smiles. Beside them, Rosinante, who observed everything, cried and fainted, overwhelmed.
"Nee, nee, very good, Doffy! You are a born king! Come, eat this Devil Fruit and you will have a power that surpasses anyone's!"
Trebol, impatient, took out the String-String Fruit (Ito Ito no Mi) and handed it to Doflamingo, looking at him with great expectation.
"Devil Fruit, huh? It's the Paramecia-type String-String Fruit, right?" Doflamingo said in a serious tone.
"Exactly! Just eat it and you'll have the power granted by the devil!" Trebol replied promptly.
Doflamingo shook his head and said: "I'm not interested in this fruit. If I am a king, I must have the abilities a king deserves. It is not worthy of me."
Doflamingo's answer caught Trebol and the others by surprise for a while. After a long silence, Diamante finally asked: "So, so, Doffy, what fruit do you want? Devil Fruits are already difficult to get, and we got this one with great difficulty."
"My ambition is not limited to just that."
Doflamingo did not answer their question, but continued: "I don't just want to be a king, I want to be a god, the god who dominates humanity, the lord of this sea. Are you willing to help me sustain my ambition?"
Then, the aura of Conqueror's Haki swept over Trebol and the others again.
Feeling the Conqueror's Haki, which was much stronger than the last time, Trebol and the others felt overwhelmed. While surprised by the talent and audacity, a sense of courage was born in their hearts.
"Nee, nee, excellent, Doffy! You are truly a born king! I, Trebol, am willing to help you and die for your ambition! From today on, you are our Young Master!"
Without waiting for Diamante and the others to react, Trebol immediately knelt before Doflamingo, while, deep down, he secretly congratulated himself for having bet on the right horse.
Upon seeing Trebol kneel, Diamante and the others did not hesitate. They knelt also, one by one, and respectfully shouted: "Diamante, I am willing to die for the Young Master's ambition!"
"Pica, I am willing to die for the Young Master's ambition!"
"Vergo, I am willing to die for the Young Master's ambition!"
"Fufufufu!"
With the loyalty of Diamante, Trebol and the others, Doflamingo laughed even more wildly, and his Conqueror's Haki intensified, becoming more overwhelming.
Trebol and the others remained kneeling. After a good while, the laughter ceased. Everything seemed as if nothing had happened, a return to quietness and calm.
"In the future, you will feel honored by today's decision. From today on, you are my family. Fufufufu!"
Trebol and the others looked at each other, their eyes full of determination. In their hearts, they thought: "The Young Master will certainly become a king."
"Family, huh? Doffy, from today on, we are a family!" Pica said, content.
Diamante murmured: "Family? Very good, indeed."
Only Vergo remained silent, but with a firm expression.
"Fufufufu! Exactly! From today on, we are the Donquixote Family! We will turn this world upside down together!" Doflamingo shouted with an imposing air.
From today, a family that would make the sea tremble was born. Its name was the Donquixote Family.