Declaration of Humanity

A nightmare wrenches Doflamingo awake: in it, an enraged mob dangles his entire family off a building, each person eager to repay the suffering the World Nobles had inflicted on them. They taunt the Donquixotes about the taxes that ruined them and ask whether the family even understands real pain. The ringing of a Den Den Mushi finally drags him from the dream, shaking and soaked in sweat, and he steadies himself with a drink before answering. The recollection then reaches back thirty-three years to Mary Geoise, where his father Homing announces he will surrender his celestial title, declaring himself nothing more than a human, and moves the family to the northern reaches of a non-member nation.

Young Doflamingo, oblivious to what his father has done, demands slaves and is bewildered when commoners refuse to bow. His loud complaints expose the family's heritage, and the townsfolk torch their mansion. Homing telephones the other Nobles to plead for his wife and children's return, only to be told that discarded things are never taken back. Beaten by thugs and reduced to scavenging leftovers, the family endures human hardship; when his mother succumbs, Doflamingo lays the blame for everything squarely on his father. In the present, Law is dragged before Doflamingo bracing for punishment over the stabbing, but the warlord instead welcomes him into the family's ranks, vowing to mold him into his right hand and to track down a Devil Fruit that could cure his illness within three years. Law learns that Corazon shielded him by lying that an enemy struck the blow. Across the following two years Law studies the sword under Diamante, gunfire under Gladius, and martial arts under Lao G, until he carelessly lets slip to Buffalo and Baby 5 the name he had guarded, Trafalgar D. Water Law in full. Corazon then spirits him off to a remote place and, speaking aloud for the first time, tells the boy he must put as much distance as he can between himself and Doflamingo.

Doflamingo's parents and early life are shown here, with his father identified as Donquixote Homing and Corazon's real name revealed as Rosinante. Readers glimpse the warlord's eye and his weeping for the very first time. Law's complete name is disclosed, including the secret D. and his true name Water. The Japanese title alludes to the 1946 Humanity Declaration, in which Emperor Showa renounced the idea of being a living god. The chapter belongs to the Dressrosa Arc, and its cover continues Jinbe's solo journey.