Not far away, Bullett's movements froze.
He knew Caesar was strong!
But he never expected this man, who had appeared out of nowhere, to be this powerful!
Although he looked down on Tesoro, a man obsessed with money, he had to admit that even if Tesoro was slightly weaker than him, he was still no pushover.
After all, Tesoro had awakened the power of the Gold-Gold Fruit and possessed the kingly potential found in only one in a million!
Although the three types of Haki weren't at their peak, they were by no means weak.
'Even when I had come to the Golden Ship some days ago, it had taken me considerable time to defeat this guy.'
'But Caesar before me had only thrown a single punch!'
'The power unleashed in that instant was compressed to its absolute limit, crushing Tesoro's Armament Haki with overwhelming force and sending him flying like a dead dog in the blink of an eye.'
At this moment, Bullett knew that the current him might truly be no match for this towering man before him.
"Hahaha, hahahaha! This feeling... yes, this feeling of looking up at an insurmountable peak! Just like when I faced Roger back then—that sense of powerlessness, that anticipation and excitement!"
Bullett strode forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet with each step.
He walked up to Caesar and looked up at this new strongest creature.
"Caesar! Seeing you reminds me of Roger from back then! No, I have a feeling you might have even surpassed him completely! This shows me the path to becoming stronger! I, Douglas Bullett, acknowledge you! After I defeat the Golden Lion, I'll come challenge you!"
Seeing the blazing light in Bullett's eyes, Caesar revealed a bold smile.
"Borororo, I'm looking forward to it! But... I'm not optimistic about your chances tough, borroro."
On this day, the entire Misty Sea was in turmoil!
The fog within hundreds of miles churned violently as the massive storm stirred up by the ten-kilometer-long Golden Ship blew away the mist that had been concealing this colossal vessel, causing it to surge in all directions.
Between heaven and earth, it was as if a supreme, majestic existence was breathing.
The roaring wind howled and surged as the enormous Golden Ship completely lifted off from the sea surface, rumbling as it ascended ten thousand meters into the sky!
On the Golden Ship, panicked figures scrambled out of teetering buildings, staring in horror at the increasingly close sky.
They watched as thick clouds descended, then settled beneath their feet, turning into pools of water.
"What in the world... is happening?"
"The ground! The ground is rising! The Golden Ship is ascending into the endless heights!"
At the same time, in the most luxurious and decadent area of the Golden Ship—a place hailed as an earthly paradise.
The ground spanning several thousand meters was completely paved with jade and gold.
Within this massive estate stood exquisitely crafted sculptures, rockeries, pavilions, and fountains.
Beautiful women surrounded two ugly figures wearing spherical oxygen helmets, attending to them with smiling faces.
Saint Roswald's aged face wore an expression of contentment as he lay back in the pool, enjoying the services of a mermaid beauty.
His beloved son, Saint Charlos, wore a lecherous expression, drooling and emitting obscene chuckles while blindfolded with sheer fabric, playfully chasing after giggling beauties.
"Hehehe, my little beauties, come right into my arms..."
Suddenly!
The ground shook violently, trembling up and down.
Caught completely off guard, Saint Roswald's head snapped backward, hitting the edge of the pool with a sharp crack.
He let out a piercing scream, his eyes nearly popping out from the impact.
Simultaneously, the bath pool beneath him shook violently.
Crack!
Suddenly, Saint Roswald emitted an even more agonized shriek.
Then the pool water beneath him began turning crimson over a large area.
His wrinkled face instantly contorted beyond recognition as he struggled to climb out of the pool onto the edge.
"Ahhh!!"
Bright red blood gushed from beneath Saint Roswald, streaming down his thighs and staining the ground.
Meanwhile, the piggish Saint Charlos—who had been blindly chasing after beauties—slipped and fell flat on his back while barefoot.
As luck would have it, a slender pipe protruded twenty centimeters from the ground right behind him.
This pipe, crafted from gold as per tradition, appeared exquisite and luxurious.
Squelch!
He fell backward at an extremely awkward angle, as if aiming precisely for the spot...
Saint Charlos' eyes bulged, his mouth agape, yet he couldn't make a sound!
Outside the manor, masked CP0 agents acting as security had rushed toward the estate the moment the ground began shaking.
When it came to the professionalism of lackeys, if CP0 claimed second place in this world, no one dared claim first.
But just as they stepped into the manor, they heard the agonized screams of the two Celestial Dragons.
The screams were so intense, rising and falling as if competing in volume.
The CP0 agents rushed forward and were immediately terrified out of their wits.
The father stood trembling violently by the pool, covered in blood.
The son lay on the ground, seemingly unharmed but unable to move, as if restrained by something...
"Saint Roswald! Saint Charlos!!"
Several CP0 agents swiftly shoved aside the panicked, sobbing young women surrounding the Celestial Dragons and hurriedly examined Saint Roswald's injuries.
Two masked agents ran to Charlos' side and reached out to help him up, only to hear him suddenly extend a hand and mumble incoherently from his throat.
"Don't move... I'm... stuck..."
The two CP0 agents froze instantly...
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Damn it! That bastard Tesoro! Quickly contact the World Government and have them send an Admiral! I'll kill that scum Tesoro! Slaughter everyone on this ship!"
Saint Roswald's eyes were bloodshot, his bearded face twisted in agony as he let out hysterical screams.
"Sir! Please allow me to administer emergency treatment first!"
A female CP0 agent urgently rushed to Saint Roswald's feet.
Slap!
Saint Roswald struck her across the face, sending her mask flying and knocking her into the nearby pool.
"Get lost! Why haven't you called for an Admiral yet? Do you all want to die?"
Hearing their master's frenzied roars, the remaining CP0 agents had no choice but to pull out their Den Den Mushi.
"Akainu, this is CP0. Saint Roswald and Saint Charlos have been attacked in the Misty Sea. We request the assistance of a Marine Admiral. Please send someone immediately!"