On Sweet Island, in the vast plaza, the pirates who had just returned from Karai Bari Island were stunned by the terrifying aura surging from the hall, their eyes instinctively drawn towards its source.
There stood the towering figure of Caesar, his face twisted with rage as he stormed out.
Doflamingo raised an eyebrow, wondering who the fool was that had provoked this demon.
"Father, you called for me?"
Feeling Caesar's overwhelming presence, Katakuri, who had been speaking with Perospero and Daifuku, hurried over.
"Katakuri, how many Marine bases are there in the New World, and where are they? Get me the charts and find me someone who knows the way—I'm heading there myself!"
Katakuri was shocked. "Father, are you declaring war on the Marines? Should we prepare for battle?"
Caesar waved his hand dismissively, his booming voice unrestrained as he roared.
"That damn Fleet Admiral actually dared to hang up on me! I gave him an inch and he took a mile! Last time, out of respect for him I let them off easy. But now these bastards have the nerve to seize Germa's warships! Do they not know those are mine?! I'm going to wipe out a few Marine bases and show him what happens when you hang up on Caesar!"
Doflamingo and the others were dumbfounded.
'Damn… Destroying Marine bases just because he got hung up on? Seriously…?'
Doflamingo had always thought he was the epitome of arrogance.
Back in the day, when Sengoku summoned the Seven Warlords of the Sea to Marineford for a meeting, he had been the most flamboyant and unruly one there.
Right in front of Sengoku, he had even used his powers to manipulate two high-ranking Marine officers into fighting each other in the meeting room, completely disregarding the Fleet Admiral's authority.
But today, he finally witnessed what true arrogance looked like!
Doflamingo's heart burned with excitement.
Arrogance? He loved it!
Those damn Marines had locked him up in Impel Down for so long that his body had developed some weird habits.
Sometimes, in the dead of night, he'd reflexively assume the strange posture he'd been forced into when chained up in prison.
If anyone accidentally saw him like that, they'd probably think the Heavenly Yaksha had developed some… peculiar tastes during his imprisonment.
Without waiting for Katakuri to respond, Doflamingo, never one to miss out on stirring chaos, immediately stepped forward.
"Fufufufu, Caesar-sama, I know there's a Marine base not too far from here. I'm quite familiar with the place. How about I take you there?"
"Oh? That's perfect! Let's go, let's go! That bastard Akainu has pissed me off. I'm gonna teach him a lesson!"
Caesar was overjoyed.
Ignoring Katakuri's dark expression, he grabbed Doflamingo's arm and stomped on the ground.
With a thunderous boom, the earth shattered!
Caesar's body shot into the sky, and as soon as he reached midair, his form began to expand wildly.
A hundred meters.
A thousand meters.
Ten thousand meters.
Twenty thousand meters!..
A colossal golden-winged bird with a wingspan of twenty thousand meters unfurled its world-covering wings.
In an instant, all of Sweet Island was plunged into darkness, completely overshadowed by Caesar's terrifying form.
"Ah... my... my god, is this Caesar-sama's ability? This... this is just too massive!"
Judge's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared in utter shock at the scene before him.
Queen followed him out of the hall, also craning his neck to look upward.
"Don't be scared, Judge. Even after seeing this several times, I'm still endlessly awestruck. Now you understand why we all place such unconditional trust in our captain?"
Though Reiju, Ichiji, and the other two were cyborgs who should theoretically remain calm in any situation, they couldn't suppress their trembling when witnessing Caesar's transformation.
They felt an overwhelming pressure from a higher life form.
It was as if they were facing the Demon God Lineage Factor their father had mentioned—no, something even more advanced!
"Ca-Caesar-sama... this is the captain of the Beast God Pirates, Beast God Caesar!" Diamante and other officers of the Donquixote Family stood petrified, their vacant eyes fixed on the golden bird that blotted out the sky.
Pica was a man who worshipped strength.
Though often mocked for his voice, he was the most diligent trainer in the Donquixote Family.
To overcome the handicap of his voice, he relentlessly honed his body, trained his Armament Haki, and mastered his Fruit abilities.
Just when he thought he'd achieved formidable power, he was ruthlessly defeated by a swordsman.
Even the young master he deeply admired was beaten by Straw Hat Luffy.
The once-glorious Donquixote Family, built through decades of effort, crumbled overnight.
"If... if we had this kind of power, our Donquixote Family would never be defeated! Caesar-sama will become our greatest pillar of support!"
*****
High above, gale-force winds howled as Doflamingo stood in the palm of a mountain-sized claw, staring incredulously at the boundless giant bird overhead.
'So this is the legendary Devil Fruit? The Mythical Zoan Fish-Fish Fruit, Kunpeng —with infinite Life Force and continuous evolution! Fufufufu, what magnificent, overwhelming power is this?"
Amidst the awe-inspiring spectacle, Caesar flapped his sky-covering wings, causing entire stretches of ocean to boil.
Waves churned violently, threatening to form catastrophic tsunamis.
As Caesar gradually gained altitude, the crisis that had engulfed Totto Land's waters slowly dissipated.
"All hands, prepare for war! If Father truly destroys a Marine base, it may trigger undesirable consequences. Immediately assume your positions and establish Totto Land's defensive perimeter. Any suspicious vessels can be seized or destroyed without prior authorization!"
Katakuri barked stern orders with a grave expression.
"Yes!" The crowd in the plaza responded in unison before rushing toward the port.
On the plaza, Aokiji wore an expression of deep anxiety, torn between urgency and fury.
'Damn that Sakazuki! What the hell did he do to provoke this monster? Is this how a Fleet Admiral behaves? Damn it!'
Cursing Akainu internally, Aokiji slipped alone into the nearby woods.
Katakuri subtly watched Aokiji walk away before suddenly speaking to a woman beside him.
"Brulee, there should be mirror fragments in that forest too, right? Use the Mirror World to listen in on who Kuzan is contacting. Remember, don't look at him directly—be careful not to get caught."
"Understood, Brother Katakuri."
Brulee responded, taking a mirror from her bosom and handing it to Katakuri.
Miraculously, her figure seamlessly slipped into the mirror.
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