On Whole Cake Island, the current scene was one of devastation.
In the sky, Kaido had transformed into a hundred-meter-long fire dragon, coiling and spewing scorching dragon breath at will.
Below, Aokiji was giving his all, summoning an ice dragon to block the attack.
At Aokiji's feet, Zephyr lay barely breathing, struggling to sit up as he rasped.
"Don't worry about me, Kuzan! Get out of here while you can! The tide has turned. If you get the chance—no, don't even think about avenging me. The enemy is too strong. Just save yourself!"
Aokiji gritted his teeth, sweat dripping down his face.
His chest bore a massive dent, a grievous injury inflicted by Kaido's punch that had severely damaged his internal organs.
"Rising Dragon Eight Trigrams!"
Kaido roared as the crimson fire dragon plunged downward, shattering Aokiji's ice dragon with a thunderous crash before diving into the crater below.
BOOM!!
Blazing flames erupted within the pit, splitting into countless smaller fire dragons that rampaged across the island, reducing Whole Cake Island to ruins.
Buildings already frozen by Aokiji's ice now faced the terrifying heat of the flames, cracking and shattering before melting into pools of molten lava.
THUD!
Aokiji's body was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground, his entire form charred black without a single patch of unburned skin.
Trembling from the searing pain that threatened to overwhelm him, he fought to stay conscious, desperately turning his gaze towards Zephyr.
There, a domed shield of ice encased Zephyr's seated figure, reinforced with Aokiji's last remnants of Armament Haki.
CRACK.
The icy-blue shield shattered and Zephyr's face twisted in sorrow as he murmured.
"Why did you have to come back, Kuzan? You could have escaped..."
Aokiji coughed weakly, spitting out a blackened clot of blood.
"Sorry, Zephyr-sensei... This is my fault. If not for me—"
"Don't talk nonsense, Kuzan. This was my own choice. It's just... unfortunate that evil always seems to outmatch justice in this world. Decades ago, I lost my wife and child. I've clung to life all these years, yet achieved nothing of worth. What a failure I am."
Struggling to his feet, Zephyr staggered towards Aokiji, his arms twisted and broken, yet his expression remained eerily calm, as if the pain didn't bother him.
WHOOSH!
Two towering figures landed before Aokiji and Zephyr, one after the other.
Aokiji clenched his jaw, despair flashing across his face.
Zephyr, however, seemed indifferent, sitting down beside his former student.
"Caesar!" Aokiji suddenly shouted, his voice hoarse.
"I have a request!"
Caesar remained expressionless but didn't immediately attack.
Aokiji took a shaky breath. "I'll join the Beast God Pirates—on one condition. Let my teacher go. Spare him, and I'll serve under you. I'll become your blade."
"Kuzan!" Zephyr roared, his face flushing red with fury. "My life is not a bargaining chip for you to bow to evil!"
"Borororo, how can I trust the words of a former Marine Admiral? Kuzan, was it? Don't make me laugh. I know all about the obsessions of you so-called 'justice' types. You people aren't even afraid of death—how could you possibly willingly become my subordinate? I wouldn't dare wield a blade like you. Who knows, I might wake up one day to find all my weaker subordinates turned into ice sculptures overnight."
Caesar remained unmoved by Kuzan's words.
Nearby, Kaido glanced at Caesar and rumbled in his deep voice, "Caesar, did you kill that old bastard Rayleigh?"
Caesar shook his head, pointing at the shattered ice in the harbor.
"I smashed him into the sea. He's probably badly injured, but it's Rayleigh we're talking about. His Haki is still strong—he wouldn't die that easily."
"Burning your life force so recklessly—aren't there any side effects?" Kaido asked curiously.
Earlier, he had sensed Caesar's surging life energy, that terrifyingly overwhelming vitality.
Even with his own monstrous physique, he could never hope to unleash such an immense burst of life force.
Caesar scratched his head, frowning in thought.
"Probably? I have an ocean's worth of vitality in my body. Burning it does allow for explosive power—I got the idea from that old geezer Sengoku. Honestly, I wasn't just trying to boost my stamina. My stamina is already plenty strong. I wanted to recreate that aura of death and destruction Sengoku unleashed when he self-destructed."
He pointed at the blackened scar on his chest.
"See this wound? Even with my vitality, it refuses to heal. It's bizarre. There's some strange energy in it, constantly corroding my flesh. The only way to fix it is to carve out this whole chunk—otherwise, it won't go away anytime soon."
Kaido looked closely and indeed saw a narrow, two-foot-long gash on Caesar's chest, filled with a destructive energy that prevented the flesh from knitting together.
Kuzan's expression stiffened as he watched Caesar and Kaido chat casually, as if his words meant nothing.
He closed his eyes in anguish, his voice hoarse as he pleaded, "Caesar... I beg you—"
"Hey, hey, enough already. A former Marine Admiral, groveling like this? Whatever. Katakuri! Get over here."
Caesar sighed and waved at Katakuri, who was standing with Queen and Yamato in the distance.
Katakuri quickly approached and bowed.
"Father!"
Caesar pointed at Zephyr, "Toss this old man out. Give him a boat."
Katakuri paused, glancing at the furious Zephyr, but didn't question the order.
His right arm morphed into white mochi, wrapping around Zephyr and lifting him up.
"Kuzan! Kuzan!" Zephyr struggled desperately, but the mochi only swallowed him deeper until a wad of it gagged his mouth.
Still, he thrashed violently, ignoring his injuries.
Kuzan lowered his head and knocked it against the ground three times, his voice ragged.
"Farewell, Zephyr-sensei."
Then he raised his eyes to Caesar.
Caesar looked down at Kuzan and said slowly, "A Former Admiral... such top-tier combat power is rare and hard to come by. Kuzan, you'd better think carefully. If you truly wish to join Beast God Pirates, you must pledge your loyalty. Mere words won't be enough to convince me."
Kuzan remained silent, not uttering a word.
Suddenly—
Bam!
Caesar abruptly punched Kuzan's already severely injured head, instantly plunging him into darkness as his body collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Slowly withdrawing his fist, Caesar took out a Den Den Mushi from his coat in front of a stunned Kaido and made a call.
"Hey, King. Bring Pudding here."
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