*Rumble—* A violent clash of Conqueror’s Haki shook the air.
In the vast wilderness, a giant dragon bathed in thunder soared into the sky.
Opening its jaws, it unleashed countless wind blades that whipped toward Caesar!
“Demolition Gust!” “Rankyaku!” Seeing the storm of wind blades, Caesar violently kicked out, launching over a dozen slashes of compressed air.
However, the incoming wind blades were too swift and dense, like a torrential downpour, drowning out Caesar’s kicks in an instant.
Noticing this, the huge wings on Caesar’s back spread wide, and his body spun abruptly.
The wings sliced through the air, launching a brilliant, massive arc of energy.
The giant blade of force collided with the wind blades, canceling each other out in a violent shockwave.
Without giving Caesar a single second to catch his breath, a dazzling beam of white light shattered the barrier of wind, rushing at him at terrifying supersonic speed!
“Vajra Arrow!” “Another flying club strike…” Caesar’s eyelids twitched as he threw a punch to block it head-on.
*Arrow…* Yamato’s Narikabura must have been adapted from this move, right?
*BOOM—* Shattering the flying force with his punch, Caesar flew backward to bleed off the kinetic energy.
Kaidou was right: battle truly was the best catalyst for growth.
Caesar could clearly feel his Armament Haki growing purer with every urgent punch, like steel being tempered in a forge.
Or rather, it wasn’t that his Haki itself was changing, but that his application of it was becoming smoother and more natural.
To put it in the terms of chakra control from the neighboring village, it was like learning to climb trees and walk on water: utilizing a smaller amount of Haki to deliver even more devastating attacks.
It was only polite to return the favor.
Briefly pulling back to create distance, Caesar raised his hand in a gun gesture.
Crimson blood condensed instantly.
Several blood bullets wrapped in Haki shot out, tearing through the air with sharp shrieks, only to be smashed apart by Kaidou’s club.
“Tricky brat!
If a shot like that hit me clean, even I’d feel the sting!” Kaidou laughed boisterously.
Though calling him tricky, he genuinely admired Caesar’s fighting style.
Strength was his ultimate measure of a person’s worth!
Caesar was panting slightly.
Fighting at this high intensity for over two hours had nearly drained his Haki, yet Kaidou remained full of vigor, showing no sign of exhaustion.
This was Kaidou’s most troublesome trait—his stamina!
In the original timeline, Kaidou had fought the Nine Red Scabbards, joined forces with Big Mom against the Supernovas, gone one-on-one with Luffy, fought Yamato…
Then fought Luffy and Yamato together, defeated Luffy single-handedly once more, and was only finally taken down by Gear 5 Luffy.
All while continuously keeping Onigashima airborne with his Flame Clouds!
He was a literal, unwearying stamina monster!
People said everyone in the pirate world was a stamina monster who could easily fight for days and nights, but that was without factoring in heavy Haki usage.
Without relying on Haki, Caesar could fight for days too.
From the original plot, it was obvious that even a monster like Kaidou could only sustain high-intensity Haki combat for a single night at most.
His current state was far from his limit!
In fact, besides transforming into his full Beast form a few times, he hadn’t even revealed his strongest Hybrid form, remaining in Human form most of the fight!
“The gap is pretty big…” Caesar forced a slight smile.
“Worororo…
Of course it is!” Kaidou chuckled.
“You’ve done exceptionally well.
Few in this world are qualified to fight me to this extent.
If you hadn’t failed to see the future and if your Haki weren’t still a bit green, you’d be even more troublesome than King.” “There are no ‘ifs’ in real combat.” Licking his dry lips, Caesar smirked.
“How do you stack up against the other Four Emperors?” “Without a doubt, I’m the strongest!” Kaidou grinned fiercely.
“Old man Whitebeard was the only one who could threaten my life, but he’s old and frail now—he can’t sustain a prolonged battle.
That woman Linlin has the most terrifying talent I’ve ever seen, but unfortunately, she doesn’t treasure it, and her power is far below her prime.” “As for that Red-Haired kid…
His Haki and swordsmanship are impressive.
He’s still a bit green, but in two years, he might become the thorniest of the bunch.
Still, the outcome will be the same!” “You sure are confident…” Caesar chuckled, getting a clear picture of the distance between them.
According to Kaidou, while the Four Emperors belonged to the same general tier of power, each had their own specialties.
It wasn’t like fans arguing endlessly over whether Emperors or Admirals were stronger, demanding a rigid ranking.
Purely comparing raw strength was meaningless; real-world factors had to be considered.
For instance, when Garp beat up Aokiji and the Blackbeard Pirates on Hachinosu, his fans went wild.
Then Shiryu stabbed him, and the Blackbeard Pirates captured him, making his detractors gloat.
Did that mean Garp wasn’t strong?
He was terrifyingly strong!
His opening move, Galaxy Impact, achieved a scope of destruction comparable to Luffy’s Gear Four finisher, King Kong Gun.
But as Master Ip said, every master has their strengths and weaknesses.
Powerhouses like Garp, Shanks, and Mihawk clearly didn’t rely on sheer physical durability alone.
Kaidou couldn’t match Kizaru’s speed, nor could he rival Whitebeard or Akainu in wide-area destruction.
But in terms of physical body and durability, among these top-tier powerhouses, he was easily in the top two!
“Looks like you’re about at your limit…” Kaidou charged forward violently.
“Come on, one last hit!
Don’t go dying on me, kid!” His kanabo swept horizontally, wrapped in Conqueror’s Haki.
Caesar gritted his teeth and threw another punch!
“Death Destroyer Thunder Bagua!!” *BOOM!* Fist and kanabo collided across open air without touching.
Caesar felt an irresistible, overwhelming force hit him.
His whole body flew sideways out of control, smashing through dozens of towering trees before becoming deeply embedded in a massive boulder.
“Pfft…” His organs rattled, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from Caesar’s throat.
His bones fractured briefly, only to rapidly regenerate under the power of his vitality, becoming even harder and tougher!
“Hmm?” Kaidou looked at Caesar in surprise.
“What tenacious vitality.
As expected of a vampire.” “No more!” Caesar stood up from the crater, pulled out a small white flag, waved it, and turned to wobbly fly back toward the Flower Capital.
During the fight, with his adrenaline surging, he hadn’t felt much and had even been thrilled.
However, that last strike had shaken his internal organs.
Pain radiated from his back up to his cerebral cortex, instantly sobering him up.
Kaidou didn’t stop him.
He had fought to his heart’s content today.
Caesar’s Haki was depleted; continuing would just be one-sided bullying, which held no interest for him.
He transformed into a divine dragon and soared away into the sky.
Unlike Roger or Whitebeard, Kaidou was a results-oriented warlord figure.
Just like his fight with Oden: Kurozumi Higurashi had played a dirty trick that caused Oden’s defeat.
It was an unhonorable win for Kaidou, but he hadn’t let it stop him at the time—after all, besides being a warrior, he was also the leader of the Beast Pirates.
Out of respect for his opponent, however, he had executed Kurozumi Higurashi, bandaged Oden’s wounds, and allowed Oden’s wife to visit him in prison.
The message was clear: *I didn’t win fairly, so I’m giving you a chance to try again!* *But Kozuki Oden, if you were stupid enough to let yourself be tricked by Orochi and jumped into the boiling oil to seek death, you can’t blame me!* *As a warrior, I regret not being able to fight you fairly to the end; but as a leader, I won’t put on airs and miss out on victory!* Of course, if he could fight an opponent with everything on the line in a fair match to the end, that would be ideal.
Ever since Kozuki Oden died, in all these years, only Caesar had reawakened this long-extinct anticipation within him.
And he wouldn’t have to wait too long for that fight.
At most…
six months!
That was Kaidou’s expected timeline after this battle.
*** “Three months!” In the Shogun’s palace within the Flower Capital, Caesar sat before a mountain of food, devouring it like a whirlwind!
The lineage within his body was evolving, and his Haki was completely drained, leaving him ravenous.
“In three more months, we can leave!” Caesar said to Yamato beside him while eating.
“Really?” Yamato looked delighted, but then felt a bit worried.
“Isn’t that too rushed?
If you lose, you could really get killed!” “Are you kidding?
Who said I’m going to fight him to the death?” Caesar snorted softly.
“From the beginning, all I wanted was enough power to contend with a Four Emperor.
I have no interest in fighting him to the death—as long as he can’t do anything to me, that’s enough.” “Defeating him brings no benefits, and losing might get me killed.
I’d have to be crazy to risk my life against him, and even if I do, it definitely won’t be right now.” Yamato looked expectant.
“Then when?” “When we set sail, start from the beginning of the Grand Line, cross the Red Line, and return to Wano once more!” Caesar smiled.
“Kaidou is a stamina monster.
Three to five months won’t be enough for me to completely surpass him.
To be safe, I think a year should be about right, but I don’t plan to wait that long.” There were still three years before Luffy set sail.
Compared to Kozuki Oden, Luffy was the true number one charm monster of the pirate world.
Caesar had to gather forces under his command and build a solid foundation before Luffy set sail.
For example, Skypiea…
That was almost every transmigrator’s choice of base.
There was no helping it, though.
Skypiea was located ten thousand meters in the sky, making it even harder to invade than Wano, and it held massive reserves of gold—unquestionably the best place for a base.
In addition, there was Nami, the top-tier navigator, whom Caesar also intended to recruit early.
Who cared about the main protagonist crew?
Caesar didn’t care at all.
There was no reason he should yield just because Luffy was the main character.
And the Empress…
Seduce her!
Screw whatever rules.
Caesar wasn’t interested in Amazon Lily per se, but to be honest, he was very interested in the Empress herself—he was a normal man, after all.
Strength, beauty, plus a nation where everyone knew Haki…
Although the Haki of those girls was somewhat basic—mostly simple armament coating and hardening—a nation of full-population Haki users held immense value.
While eating, Caesar pondered his plans for after leaving.
Yamato rested her chin on her hands, quietly watching him eat.
Compared to before, Yamato’s aura now had a touch more gentleness.
The progress in their relationship made her more dependent on Caesar, but her spirited toughness hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
Once in battle, she was still a female warrior stronger than most men.
Nurtured by love, she hadn’t turned weak; rather, she had become increasingly resolute and powerful!
Noticing Yamato’s cute expression, Caesar smiled warmly.
His gaze fell on Yamato’s horns, and Caesar suddenly slapped his forehead.
“Ah, right!
I need your help with something!” “Hmm?” Yamato quickly sat up straight, looking like an obedient big puppy.
“What is it?” “I need your blood.” Caesar gently pulled Yamato close and lightly kissed her tender white earlobe.
“You might feel a little anemic afterward.” “It’s fine!
Go ahead!” A pink blush washed over Yamato’s cheeks, but she was still eager, actively snuggling closer into Caesar’s arms.
Caesar didn’t waste time.
He gently pulled down Yamato’s collar and let his fangs lightly pierce her fair neck.
Yamato felt a numbness in her shoulder, accompanied by a tingling itch that brought a flurry of stray thoughts to her mind, causing her to let out a low moan involuntarily.
Finally, after drinking around 500 cc, Caesar stopped.
500 cc of blood was nothing to Yamato, who belonged to the physically robust Oni race, and was hardly anything even for a normal human.
Unlike King, who was seven or eight meters tall with plenty of blood—and whom Caesar drank over 2000 cc from because he didn’t know if he’d ever get another chance—Caesar couldn’t bear to let this silly girl suffer.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I drank your blood?” Caesar held Yamato, lightly licked the blood off his lips, and asked with a smile.
“You must have your reasons for doing it!” Yamato said with pure simplicity.
“Is that enough?” Caesar nodded.
“Pretty much.
If it’s not enough, I’ll just take a bit more later.” What he wanted was her Lineage Factor.
In his past life, standard genetic testing took at most a few dozen milliliters; 500 milliliters should be plenty.
Yamato looked at Caesar with flushed cheeks.
“Then…
do you want to consume anything else?” “Hmm?” Caesar narrowed his eyes and lightly slapped her perkiness.
“You’ve gone bad, Yamato!” “Maria said you’d definitely like it, Caesar…” “Why do you always listen to her?” “Because you really do like it, Caesar.” “Is it that obvious?” Caesar gave a dry chuckle, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Having his lustful thoughts pointed out by such a pure lily like Yamato was indeed a bit awkward.
His long fingers caressed her long, shapely legs, and a surge of heat flared in Caesar’s chest.
Both were young and full of vigor, and naturally, having tasted sweetness, they craved more.
However, just as Caesar was about to deepen their intimate interaction, a sudden wave of intense heat surged through his body.
His blood churned like molten lava, and in an instant, Caesar’s skin turned fiery red.
“Huh?” Yamato touched Caesar’s face.
“Caesar, are you blushing?” “No…” Caesar sat up straight, staring in surprise at his reddened skin.
Suddenly, a burst of fire ignited.
A cluster of blazing flames burst forth from Caesar’s back!
The Lineage Factor of the Lunarian race had been activated!
Feeling the temperature change behind him, Caesar felt a surge of joy.
His skin was tightening, and his muscles were growing stronger.
Caesar clearly felt every single one of these changes!
Then in the next instant, with a single thought…
*Whoosh!* The flames vanished without a trace…