At a welcoming banquet, Caesar had no idea how much alcohol he had consumed.
However, unlike in the past, when he woke up, he didn't feel the splitting headache that usually followed a hangover.
He only felt slightly dizzy, but after downing a bucket of hot porridge, he quickly returned to his best condition.
For breakfast, he devoured a whole roasted lamb, a basin of rice, and a bucket of Red Bean Rice Cake Porridge. Wiping the corner of his mouth, Caesar turned to the maid kneeling beside him with her head bowed. "Where's the bathing area?"
"Please follow me, sir."
The maid silently rose and led Caesar to a Japanese-style bathhouse downstairs, which was completely empty.
"Why is there no one here?"
The maid softly explained, "Kaidou-sama has ordered that this entire building now belongs to Caesar-sama."
"And what about you?"
Caesar looked at the maid, who was the same person who had guided him yesterday. She appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old, with a fairly striking appearance and a calm, peaceful demeanor.
"My name is Ayun. I was originally a geisha from the Land of Wano. I was fortunate to earn the favor of Black Maria-sama, who sent me to serve you."
"Good, keep up the good work."
Caesar casually handed her a gold coin. "You're dismissed, go on."
As the gold coin landed in her hand, Ayun's eyes widened slightly as she felt its solid weight.
This coin… is it pure gold?
She glanced up at Caesar's handsome face and bit her lip lightly. "Sir, would you like me to assist you with bathing and changing?"
"No need."
Caesar tossed his clothes aside, stretched his shoulders and neck, and then walked into the bathhouse.
After a quick shower and changing into fresh clothes, Caesar strolled outside.
His gaze swept across the surroundings, taking in the towering palace complex. Beyond that was a long row of Thousand Torii Gates, and in the distance, the faint light of dawn could be seen.
Judging from the direction of the torii gates, he was currently inside the massive horned skull of Oni Island. The small building Kaidou had assigned to him was adjacent to the red-light district controlled by Black Maria, located in the left brain area of the skull, close to the main building.
"Sir…"
Ayun followed closely behind Caesar. "Would you like me to show you around?"
"No, take me to King."
Caesar shook his head. Right now, he only wanted to master Haki as quickly as possible.
"Please follow me, sir. Your residence is part of the building complex extending from the main building. You can reach the main building directly through the internal corridors."
Ayun walked ahead, guiding Caesar. "Also, the main building is the territory of the executives. Aside from their direct subordinates, ordinary pirates are not allowed to enter the main building freely."
"Is the staff assigned to me just you?"
"Aside from the cleaning crew, it's just me for now."
"I see…"
Caesar suddenly stopped. "You can leave now. Go back."
"Yes."
Ayun didn't ask any questions and silently turned to leave.
Only after her footsteps faded did Caesar turn his attention to the corner ahead. "Hiding in the shadows, no wonder you haven't awakened Conqueror's Haki."
"You little brat… are you done yet?"
Who's-Who's face twitched as he stepped out from behind the corner. Seeing Caesar's nonchalant expression, his eyes beneath the bull-horned helmet were filled with gloom.
"What? Waiting here early in the morning, are you hoping to learn from me how to awaken Conqueror's Haki?"
Caesar tilted his head. "I can teach you the experience, but what about talent?"
"Arrogant brat... It seems you have no idea of your current situation."
Who's-Who sneered, "This is the Beast Pirate Crew. Here, we don't talk about reason, only fists. Killing you might cause some trouble, but if it's just smashing that foul mouth of yours, even Lord Kaidou wouldn't say much."
He took a deep breath, seemingly intoxicated, "Speaking of which, you haven't even mastered Haki yet, have you? How delightful. I can already smell the blood on you..."
"Is that so..."
Caesar nodded in understanding, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Does the yellow lens on your bullhorn helmet affect your ability to distinguish colors around you?"
Who's-Who frowned, "What?"
"I mean..."
Caesar slowly raised his hand, pointing at Who's-Who, "You might be about to die."
Squelch—
A streak of crimson suddenly burst through Who's-Who's chest. Under his incredulous gaze, it transformed into a delicate blood-red bat that flew and landed on Caesar's fingertip.
"Gah—"
Who's-Who looked down in shock at the blood spreading across his chest, seemingly wanting to say something, but due to damage to his windpipe, he could only emit strange gurgling sounds.
Suddenly, he retched violently, spewing large amounts of blood. The pain in his chest grew increasingly sharp.
With a thud, Who's-Who fell to his knees, gasping for breath. However, he despairingly realized that no matter how hard he tried to breathe, he could only exhale without inhaling, rapidly depleting the already scarce oxygen in his blood.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
The crisp sound of leather boots on wooden floors reached his ears. Severely oxygen-deprived, Who's-Who couldn't tell if the footsteps belonged to Caesar or Death himself. He could only lie helplessly on the floor, vomiting blood.
Suddenly, as a slender hand gently pressed on his head, Who's-Who felt as if something was being stripped away from him.
It was pain!
The pain was gone!
The agony in his chest completely vanished, replaced by an indescribable sense of relief. His body felt light, as if floating on clouds.
Clang...
The bullhorn helmet rolled to the ground, revealing a head full of white hair.
In his final moments, Who's-Who's mind seemed to clear. He saw his own hands, aged and withered, and the faint blood mist that filled the corridor.
That question...
Was that what it meant?
A tingling sensation began at his ears, quickly spreading throughout his body. Endless snowflakes surged from all directions, engulfing his vision.
Thud!
Kicking aside the obstructing corpse, Caesar strode towards the main building.
The blood mist gradually dissipated. Waves of Observation Haki swept over Who's-Who's body, then quietly retreated, as if nothing had happened.
"Waaah! Who's-Who!"
In the main building, Kaidou, who had been drinking heavily since early morning, suddenly burst into tears.
"You useless fool, how could you just die like that!!!"
"An eerie ability..."
King, standing by, slightly raised his eyelids, "As expected of a Mythical Zoan. Even I couldn't figure out how he did it."
Kaidou snorted angrily, nostrils flaring with the scent of alcohol, "It was blood..."
King was slightly taken aback, "He can control others' blood?"
Kaidou took a swig of alcohol and wiped his mouth. "It's the blood mist created by that brat. It seeped into Who's-Who's body through his breathing."
"Oroorororo… What a dangerous method."
Kaidou laughed heartily, his gaze shifting to the figure leisurely walking into the room. "Although it's useless against me… that blood mist actually blocked Observation Haki. I really don't know how you managed to pull that off, kid."
"The essence of the Vampire Fruit's ability isn't about sucking blood, but rather the plundering of life force."
Caesar spoke calmly and unhurriedly. "The blood I create contains, to some extent, a portion of life force. So, if my guess is correct, it's this scattered life force within the blood mist that interfered with Observation Haki's perception of living beings. To be honest, I didn't expect such an effect. It's quite an unexpected gain."
"That's right. It seems you've already gained some understanding of Haki."
Kaidou gave Caesar a surprised look, but then his expression darkened. "But it's only the second day, and you've already taken out one of my important subordinates! Who's-Who was a core force, second only to the All-Stars! Caesar! Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
Caesar shook his head. "That guy brought it upon himself. You can't blame others, Kaidou. There's no need for you to feel responsible."
Hearing this, Kaidou reached out and gripped the Eight Precepts leaning beside him. "If you don't speak properly, I'll have to communicate with you using this club…"
"What was his bounty?"
"350 million Berries. Given his strength, it would've definitely increased in the future."
King, standing nearby, spoke indifferently. "But I'd estimate it would've capped at around 500 to 600 million by the time he died. Also, Who's-Who was an Ancient Zoan user. Ancient Zoans are usually valued at around 1 billion."
Caesar raised three fingers. "I'll offer 3 billion!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, both Kaidou and King were stunned.
Kaidou's eyes burned as he stared at Caesar. "3 billion? Kid, where did you get that kind of money?"
"Ever heard of the Caesar Group in the East Blue? That's my business."
Caesar spread his hands lightly. "If you haven't heard of it, that's fine. Surely you know about Water 7?"
"That's also your business?"
"I have a stake in it. Not much, just 10%."
Kaidou's excitement was palpable. He straightened up abruptly, his gaze fixed intently on Caesar. "Then your net worth… what's your net worth?"
"Combined, it's around 100 billion. Most of it is in physical assets, and with the East Blue's stable situation, the monthly income is quite substantial."
Caesar smiled faintly. "Want it? If you do, I can give it all to you."
"100 billion? To me?"
Even Kaidou, who had seen his fair share of storms, was momentarily dazed by this. "Are you serious, kid?"
"Money is just a means, not an end. And do you know what's the most valuable thing about the Caesar Group? The assets? Don't make me laugh… It's me!"
Caesar scoffed lightly, raising his hand to gather a mass of crimson. Under the light, the blood glowed like a translucent red crystal.
"But now... I've already obtained what I wanted. Some by-products are naturally not worth managing, especially since I'm not short on money. If you're willing to take over, that would be great."
"And just a mere trillion... With such a massive violent organization like the Beasts Pirate Crew, controlling such a large territory as Wano Country, and monopolizing a scarce resource like Sea Prism Stone, you don't even have that much assets?"
"Oroorororo... Kid, how many pirates do you know who've actually gone to school?"
Kaidou's eyes gleamed with a greenish hue as he looked at Caesar, as if he had stumbled upon a rare treasure.
"In that case, I'll leave the crew's finances to you!"
"I don't want it."
Kaidou silently picked up his club, and Caesar silently raised his hands.
"However, I can transfer the industries to you at a low price. If you follow my instructions, even just living off the existing assets will be enough to support the entire crew."
Seeing Caesar being so sensible, Kaidou put down his Spiked Club with satisfaction: "In that case, I won't hold Who's-Who's matter against you. I won't take advantage of you for nothing! Feel free to make any requests!"
"Aside from getting stronger, I don't have any ideas for now."
Caesar smiled: "Just consider it as you owing me a favor. A favor from Kaidou of the Beasts is worth far more than any random thing."
"Oroorororo!"
Kaidou laughed heartily, clearly pleased with Caesar's words: "Cunning little bat! Fine! But don't even think about saying something as ridiculous as letting you leave!"
"Of course, I haven't learned Haki yet..."
Caesar glanced at King beside him: "Mr. King, can we start today's training?"
"Follow me."
King said indifferently, leading Caesar to the coast outside Oni Island.
"From what you just said, it seems you have at least a basic understanding of Haki. So, you should also have some idea about how to awaken it, right?"
"Through combat... right?"
A flicker of excitement flashed in Caesar's eyes.
"Correct."
King gestured to Caesar: "Don't use your Devil Fruit abilities. Just use pure physical techniques and attack me with all your strength! Let me see what you're capable of."
Whoosh—
As soon as the words fell, a blur of movement streaked across the coast. Caesar's figure appeared ghost-like in front of King, throwing a punch straight at his face.
"Not bad speed!"
King's eyes widened slightly, a hint of surprise in his gaze as he tilted his head to dodge the attack.
Immediately after, he clenched his right fist tightly, Armament Haki coiling around it, and delivered a heavy punch toward Caesar.
The force was immense, the speed blinding.
With a loud thud, Caesar's body was sent flying, carving a trench over ten meters long in the sand!
"So weak!!"
King exclaimed in shock, unable to hold back his criticism.
He felt that his punch hadn't been particularly fast, yet Caesar hadn't managed to dodge it!
"Hahaha, my bad! I've had some training in the past, but I've never had any proper combat experience."
Rubbing his swollen cheek, Caesar laughed as he sat up: "It didn't feel that fast, but my body just couldn't react in time..."
"Your training was..."
King suddenly recalled Caesar's movement style: "Six Powers?"
"Ah, yes. As long as you have money, those Marines are quite easy to talk to."
Caesar got back on his feet, the swelling on his cheek rapidly subsiding thanks to the vitality contributed by Who's-Who.
"Such an enviable ability."
King curled his fingers again: "However, without the support of immense power, one can only become a punching bag for the strong! Again!"
"Ora!"
Bam!
Caesar's figure was sent flying!
"Ora ora!"
Bam!
Caesar's figure was sent flying once more!
"Ora ora ora!"
Bam!
This time, Caesar finally managed to block King's fist.
But before he could rejoice at his progress, he was sent flying by a knee strike.
"Don't lose focus!"
King said coldly: "Since you can already dodge attacks at this speed, from now on, I will launch continuous assaults on you, even if you're already down."
Caesar rubbed his stomach as he got up, watching King stride towards him. He couldn't help but feel a strange illusion, as if he had graduated from kindergarten and gone straight to graduate school...
(End of Chapter)