“F-Fire?” Yamato looked at Caesar in surprise.
“Awesome!
Caesar, what was that just now?” “My Vampire Fruit allows me to utilize Lineage Factors to evolve corresponding racial abilities.” Caesar was in a great mood and explained with a smile, “I quietly drained some of King’s blood earlier today and evolved the abilities of the Lunarian race.
Of course, keep both my ability and King’s race a secret, okay?” The Lunarian race—a legendary race of gods.
Exterminated because of their overwhelming power, their extinction made them prized targets with fixed bounties set by the World Government.
Merely providing a clue yielded a reward of one hundred million Berries, proving just how desperately the World Government craved their abilities.
However, the bounty also made it clear that survivors with this bloodline must still be out there, hiding in some corner of the world.
It would be a waste for such a powerful race to vanish entirely.
Building an army of Lunarians to march at the vanguard would be immensely imposing.
Speaking of which, should I find King a girlfriend?
Given King’s looks, height, and strength, it might be a bit tough…
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Caesar, and a familiar figure crossed his mind.
If he recalled correctly, BIG MOM’s daughter, Charlotte Smoothie, also had white hair and dark skin, and she was roughly around King’s age.
Plus, she was from the Longleg tribe.
If a child were born with Lunarian blood and BIG MOM’s bloodline, maybe they’d even inherit BIG MOM’s Iron Balloon trait?
“Don’t worry, Caesar, I won’t tell anyone!” Yamato was very obedient to Caesar’s words.
“Wait, so King’s flames aren’t a Devil Fruit power?” Though she was Kaidou’s daughter, she had aspired to become Kozuki Oden from a young age and didn’t care much about the crew’s affairs.
Besides, King never spoke about his race in front of anyone other than Kaidou.
“Yeah.
King belongs to the Lunarian race, a tribe wiped out by the World Government because of their powerful racial traits.
King is a survivor.” Caesar briefly explained to Yamato, “These flames are the hallmark of the Lunarian race.
When the fire burns on their back, their body gains absurd defense.
When the fire goes out, their speed increases drastically.
On top of that, they have wings to fly.
Combining defense, speed, and flight allows them to survive in any harsh environment.” Yamato looked curiously at Caesar’s back.
“Then why don’t you have wings, Caesar?” “Because I’m not a natural-born Lunarian.
Evolution is adaptive, not a complete copy.” Caesar pointed to himself.
“For example, Lunarians have dark skin and white hair, but those physical traits don’t give me any combat or survival advantages.
So the Lineage Factors controlling my appearance didn’t change.” Yamato instantly understood.
“In other words, Caesar, you only gained the flame ability, right?” “Pretty much.
A Lunarian’s flame normally burns continuously and goes out when their stamina drops, reducing energy consumption while boosting speed significantly to ensure survival.” Caesar carefully felt his body’s condition as the flame behind him ignited and vanished.
“I thought this burning state was an uncontrollable passive trait, but it turns out I can actively control it.
Makes sense—if it were uncontrollable, even sleeping would be a problem.” Hearing this, Yamato became even more intrigued.
“Then if you drink my blood, Caesar, will you grow Oni horns?” “It feels like everything I just said went in one ear and out the other.” Caesar chuckled and shook his head, reaching out to rub her white hair.
“The trait of the Oni race is probably a boost to physical stature and raw power.” In theory, Devil Fruits also modified Lineage Factors, but according to the system’s description, obtaining that power required special means…
Caesar thought of the Green Blood that Vegapunk would later use on the Seraphim; that substance might work on him.
For now, bloodline evolution took about half a day, though it was hard to say whether his earlier battle with Kaidou had affected the progress.
Using that as a baseline, he should be able to trigger the portion of the Oni race bloodline taken from Yamato by tomorrow morning.
Thinking this, Caesar lightly threw a punch.
Thanks to Return of Life, Caesar could clearly sense the changes in his condition.
As the Lunarian bloodline activated, he felt his body grow significantly lighter without any drop in defense.
It seemed the defensive strength when the flame was extinguished was actually the baseline Lunarian physique, while the boosted defense in the flame state was an active buff.
“Looks like I need to readapt to my physical state,” Caesar said, delight in his voice.
The subtle, intimate atmosphere in the room vanished completely.
Like two children with a shiny new toy, Caesar kept switching forms under Yamato’s enthusiastic urging.
First into his vampire form with red eyes and black wings, then into his Lunarian form, and finally into a stacked combination of both.
Among these forms, the vampire form offered the highest speed, while the Lunarian form granted the strongest defense.
The most well-rounded and powerful was undoubtedly the stacked form, granting the vampire form’s all-around stat boosts alongside the Lunarian form’s defensive enhancement—though its speed was relatively slower.
Of course, that was only compared to the flame-extinguished state.
Between his massive black wings, a scorching flame burned fiercely.
Caesar extended a hand, and the flames obediently surged along his arm, gathering into a fireball in his palm.
Staring at the bright, warm ball of fire, Caesar suddenly chuckled.
“The Flame-Flame Fruit?
Even dogs wouldn’t eat that garbage!” “Huh?
Why?” Yamato asked in confusion.
“Just a joke.
Logia Devil Fruits are still extremely valuable.” Caesar dispersed the fire and affectionately stroked her head.
Feeling the warmth of Caesar’s palm, the corners of Yamato’s mouth curled up uncontrollably, and she comfortably nuzzled against his hand.
*Buru buru buru…* Just as the two were enjoying the quiet moment, the Den Den Mushi in Caesar’s breast pocket suddenly rang.
Caesar picked up the call.
“Hello, who is this?” “It’s me, Maria.
I didn’t interrupt you and Young Lady in your world for two, did I?” Black Maria’s teasing voice came from the other end.
“Any later and you might have,” Caesar chuckled.
“The trade with Joker didn’t go through?” Black Maria sounded somewhat helpless.
“Indeed.
If everything had gone smoothly, I wouldn’t be calling you at this hour.” Caesar’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly snorted.
“Let me guess.
Did he claim he’s just a broker and doesn’t care who gets the Sea Prism Stone?
Did he even offer to put you in touch with the Revolutionary Army if needed?” Black Maria was surprised.
“Huh?
How did you know?
Is this some common price-cutting tactic you businessmen use?” “Hard to say.
But one thing is certain: he isn’t a mouthpiece for the World Government.
If anything, they’re just business partners.” Caesar sneered.
“In situations like this, it comes down to who has more patience.
Since he said that, tell him to go ahead and contact the Revolutionary Army for us.” “And if he still refuses to budge?” “Then we deal directly with the Revolutionary Army.
Those guys might be short on cash, but they shouldn’t be short on resources.
Though if I had to guess, we won’t end up dealing with them.
Joker is far too clever; he won’t give up the Sea Prism Stone trade, nor will he sacrifice his own profits.” “The moment we trade with the Revolutionary Army, the World Government will panic.
They’ll naturally yield part of the profit.
After all, in their eyes, it’s just trivial food and supplies.” “If Joker still tries to play hard to get after that, he’d be throwing away a golden opportunity.
But I don’t think he’s that stupid.” Doflamingo could manipulate the World Government to a certain extent, but only to a point.
Playing both sides to protect his interests was fair enough; nobody could fault him for that since he had the strength to act as middleman and deserved a cut.
But if he pushed it too far, he would offend both the World Government and Kaidou—a consequence Doflamingo couldn’t afford.
The Five Elders might hesitate, wary of collateral damage, but Kaidou wouldn’t waste words—he would just throw a Thunder Bagua.
And as expected, Caesar’s guess proved right.
The next morning, Black Maria delivered the news to Caesar: the deal had been successfully finalized.
Caesar couldn’t care less about the deal; he only cared about his own strength.
Just as he expected, the moment he woke up, his Oni race bloodline awakened, accompanied by a ridiculously massive increase in his appetite.
As for physical power, it had increased by roughly twenty percent.
And this was only the beginning!
“You bastard…
you got stronger out of nowhere again!” A week later, during another daily clash with King, King noticed something was wrong the moment their blows collided.
When Caesar’s fist smashed against his blade, the sheer weight of the overwhelming impact made it difficult for him to hold his ground.
This caused his gaze toward Caesar to turn somewhat horrified.
Yes, not shocked—horrified!
Too fast!
It had only been a little over two months since Caesar arrived in Wano, yet the kid could already completely suppress him.
Even his Haki intensity had improved noticeably!
He was only eighteen years old!
Over the years, King had seen his share of geniuses.
People who transformed from rookies into powerhouses capable of trading blows with him after a year or two of training weren’t unheard of.
But normally, once someone reached his current level, their growth rate would slow down, leaving the remaining progress to be accumulated over time.
They would reach their peak in their thirties or forties, and with enough luck, perhaps reach the level of the Four Emperors.
King had assumed Caesar would be the same.
So while he marveled at how fast the kid grew, it had still been within acceptable bounds.
But during today’s clash, he suddenly realized that the kid had just undergone an all-around massive power-up!
Faster speed, greater strength, stronger physique!
Aside from Haki training, Caesar had surpassed him in every single aspect!
*Swoosh—* A dark shadow suddenly flashed before his eyes as a fist the size of a sandbag rushed straight for his face.
King jerked his sword up to block the strike, sliding backward and carving two deep trenches in the ground beneath his feet.
Caesar raised an eyebrow.
“Future sight?” “Half a second.
Observation Haki isn’t my specialty.” King’s expression grew solemn.
“This rate of growth…
you truly are a terrifying monster.
Before I even realized it, I’m forced to go all out against you.” Caesar’s lips twitched into a smirk.
“Regretting that you didn’t kill me earlier?” “Wouldn’t that have been a waste?” A flash of fervor ignited in King’s eyes.
“Since you’ve pushed yourself this far, it’s time we settle this once and for all.
Come on!” “Isn’t it a bit too early?” Caesar chuckled.
“I haven’t even learned future sight yet.” “And I can’t coat my attacks with Conqueror’s Haki either,” King grunted with a sneer.
Having been knocked out by one of Caesar’s punches earlier, he had been obsessing over how to reclaim his honor for the past two days.
Who would have thought this guy would get stronger again without saying a word?
And it wasn’t just a minor improvement; it was a massive leap forward with no signs of slowing down.
Or perhaps…
this growth would only taper off once he reached the tier of the Four Emperors?
*You really picked up an incredible monster, Master Kaidou…* *BOOM—* Conqueror’s Haki rampaged as two shadows rapidly crossed blows.
They fought from the ground into the sky, then crashed down into the mountains.
Flying sword slashes crisscrossed, and shadows of fists rained down!
“Imperial Deep Pride Stake!” Sent flying into the high sky by one of Caesar’s punches, King took advantage of the momentum to transform into his Pteranodon form.
He pulled back his head with his right hand and snapped it forward, blasting an invisible shockwave straight toward Caesar’s chest.
“Armament: Iron Body!” Realizing he couldn’t dodge, Caesar flexed his muscles, coating both arms in Armament Haki and crossing them before his chest.
*Clang—* The instant impact rang out like a grand bell.
Caesar grunted, pushed back two steps, but remained uninjured.
In the next instant, several flying slashes sliced through the air, cutting off all of Caesar’s escape routes, while a massive slash barreled toward his waist.
Seeing this, Caesar didn’t bother dodging.
Armament Haki swirled around his fist, compressed and refined, before he unleashed a devastating punch that shattered the massive slash to pieces!
“Future sight is such a pain!
And this fighting style is practically identical to Kaidou’s…” Seeing King pull back his head again, Caesar frowned slightly and fired several blood bullets, which King effortlessly dodged.
Caesar hadn’t expected that even with his superior raw strength and speed, King could still press him using future sight—and that was with a window of only half a second.
Realizing he would be at a disadvantage in close-quarters combat, King maintained his distance the entire time, kiting Caesar with slashes and shockwaves.
No matter where Caesar moved, King foresaw his path, forcing him to take the attacks head-on.
It was…
bloody annoying!
“This is the beauty of Observation Haki, kid.” Seeing Caesar at a total loss, King spoke with a hint of smug triumph.
But as soon as he registered his own pride, an unspeakable sense of shame washed over him.
He hadn’t expected that he would actually have to rely on an edge in Observation Haki just to keep Caesar suppressed.
He had originally intended to go all out as agreed, engaging in a true duel between men.
But looking at Caesar now, if he actually fought like that, he might end up dead here today…
Caesar’s Armament Haki wasn’t enough to pierce his defenses, but the kid could infuse Conqueror’s Haki into his strikes.
*I was the one who proposed this duel, and yet I ended up fighting like this…* At that thought, King’s embarrassment deepened.
With a cold grunt, he descended back to the ground.
“I’m done!
We’ll fight another day!” “My thoughts exactly!” Caesar nodded.
He was thoroughly frustrated himself, sick and tired of King’s future sight.
The two exchanged a look and nodded, an uncharacteristically resolute gleam in their eyes.