The pinnacle of pirates! Beginning as a trainee in Roger's crew

The moment Ozz's call came through, the Five Elders felt another collective headache coming on.

"If I'm not mistaken, Doflamingo is older than you, isn't he, Ozz?"

"So what? He's just my adoptive father, that's all."

Just as the Five Elders had finally returned to the Room of Authority to deal with affairs of state, the Den Den Mushi rang. It was Ozz. And right off the bat, he threw out a wild hypothetical.

If he were to adopt Donquixote Doflamingo as his son, then with Ozz's own pure-blooded Celestial Dragon lineage, could Doflamingo be granted a special exemption to rejoin the Celestial Dragon ranks?

The crux of the issue, of course, was Doflamingo's status. That had been a carefully decided matter back then an agreement between the Five Elders and the Holy Knights.

It was meant to serve as a warning to the rest of the coddled, idle Celestial Dragons: Mary Geoise isn't a revolving door where you can come and go as you please.

Bringing Doflamingo back now would be tantamount to eating their own words a slap to their own faces.

With heavy sighs, they muttered:

"If you insist…"

"No need to be so dramatic. If you're willing to bend the rules, then clearly it's not that big of a deal."

Surprisingly, Ozz didn't push the issue. He didn't pressure the World Government to do him a favor like he usually might.

"I was just asking. Doffy's current value doesn't quite justify me going that far. Let's just call it a long-term carrot."

He had already rewarded Doflamingo's loyalty with literal pure gold.

From Ozz's perspective, he'd given far more than Doflamingo had earned so far. A wolf shouldn't be overfed.

Otherwise, it really will turn into a dog.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ozz hung up. Not long after, Doflamingo approached him, his face full of nervous anticipation.

"Ozz-sama…"

"I asked about your situation. The Five Elders said it's complicated."

Ozz looked regretful, giving a shrug.

It was clear from the way Doflamingo's expression fell that this hit hard. He'd assumed that with Ozz backing him, it would be a done deal.

"But…"

Ozz took a sip of orange juice, swallowed slowly, then said under Doflamingo's expectant gaze:

"They didn't say no outright. Keep working hard, Doffy. The more weight your name carries on the world stage, the more the Celestial Dragons will regret not welcoming you back. You'll have your chance."

"...Understood, Ozz-sama."

It was obvious now the identity of a Celestial Dragon had become Doflamingo's personal obsession. His very demon.

Fine, then. If it's about out-competing others, he'd just go to the absolute extreme.

Surely, if he became someone the world couldn't ignore, Ozz-sama and the Five Elders would have to cave!

And if Ozz could see a loyalty meter floating above Doflamingo's head right now, he'd watch that number shoot up like fireworks.

The World Government's Reverie for its member nations was, frankly, dull.

In theory, kings from around the world were gathered to discuss matters of global importance. But everyone knew the truth the World Government already had a master. They weren't going to let a bunch of monarchs decide the course of history.

So while old King Kik sat at the round table, eyes gleaming with excitement at playing "important person," Ozz wandered around Pangaea Castle, clearly uninterested.

Trailing behind him was a strange figure in a black suit and a mask.

A CP0 agent, assigned to Ozz directly by the Five Elders.

Normally, a Celestial Dragon might have CP1 through CP8 under their command. But CP9 and CP0? Those were for special cases. They usually weren't the bodyguard types they were sent to execute high-level missions out in the sea.

"Hey, Lip. Anything interesting to do in Mary Geoise?"

"Hm…"

The CP0 agent, Lip, took a moment to think before responding respectfully:

"Well, Ozz-sama, the places most frequently visited by other Celestial Dragons would be the slave pens or the gladiator arenas."

"Ugh. Lame."

Those were just places to pick out slaves or watch them kill each other. Boring.

If Ozz wanted slaves, he could mobilize the entire underworld of the Grand Line. He could even get specific about the appearance.

If today he wanted a loli with a scruffy beard, a horse face, skinny arms, and thunder thighs, his people would probably be able to find or create exactly that.

The underground world was good at filling demands, no matter how absurd.

"Oh right. Next year, keep an eye out. If three sisters are brought into Mary Geoise as slaves, I want you to flag them."

"Forgive my boldness, Ozz-sama… but may I ask why?"

"Don't worry about it. Let everything proceed as usual, just make sure those three don't get taken by other Celestial Dragons."

"If anyone pressures you, tell them it's on the authority of the Five Elders my authority."

That was all Lip needed to hear.

He'd initially assumed this was some kind of personal matter a friend of Ozz's who got mistakenly enslaved, perhaps.

But with this particular instruction, it was now clear this was… a preference.

A taste.

Sisters, no less. Three of them.

He didn't show it, of course. CP0 agents were trained for this. No matter how depraved a Celestial Dragon's desires, he'd seen worse.

When the time came, he'd instruct the handlers to modify the girls into Ozz-sama's "type," and everything would be fine.

Ozz, of course, didn't have any form of mind-reading Observation Haki, so he had no idea that CP0 now thought he had a very particular kink.

Truthfully, he'd just said it on a whim.

But that offhand remark would one day plant the seed of a nightmare in the hearts of the Boa Sisters. The name "Ozz-sama" would become a source of absolute fear a name that crushed their will to resist no matter what he said.

"Waaah! Daddy, I want that one as my slave!"

A childish voice broke Ozz from his thoughts.

He turned and saw a little girl.

"A new face, huh? Charlie, he's a Celestial Dragon too. You can't make him your slave."

A fat Celestial Dragon clearly Rozwald walked over with his daughter and a full entourage of guards and CP agents.

From the way Rozwald glanced at Ozz's CP escort, he could tell that Ozz had Celestial Dragon status too.

Still, even Rozwald had to admit by Celestial Dragon standards, Ozz was absurdly handsome.

Considering the usual male average was… well, pig-like.

Ozz had no interest in mingling with the common Celestial Dragon crowd, even if some of them were familiar from the original timeline.

He merely flashed a polite smile at Charlie and walked away.

But that single charming smile made young Charlie clutch her cheeks, eyes full of sparkles.

She wouldn't forget it for the next twenty years.

So handsome!!!