Chapter 67: Ascending the High Tower

"What is that!!!"

In the distance, the onlookers were all struck with awe. Ulti and Page One, the siblings, were so shocked that their jaws dropped, their eyes bulged, and their noses involuntarily ran.

Kuma also watched the scene with a grave expression, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Kaidou's strength far exceeded anything he could have imagined. Indeed, the title of the strongest creature on land, sea, and air was not given in vain.

Boom—

With a casual swipe of his hundreds-of-meters-long dragon tail, the Ogre Horns of the giant skeleton were sliced through as if they were butter under a hot knife, instantly severed by the intense heat before crashing down!

Kaidou, with flames flowing over his body, sat high in the sky, looking down at Caesar with a commanding presence.

"Over a decade ago, the hero of this country was burned to death!"

"Well... I suppose you already know the reasons behind it. After that, this country fell into a reign of violence, becoming a lawless land."

"Until your arrival, Caesar. You are indeed clever... You managed to satisfy my interests while ensuring the people of Wano Country had enough to eat."

"But... kid!"

Kaidou's voice suddenly rose sharply: "There are those who sit atop the high towers built by power, letting food rot rather than giving it to the people below to fill their stomachs! They even continuously plunder the living space of the lower classes to flaunt their superiority and take pleasure in it!"

"I've heard... you want to become the King of the World? You've indeed restrained me, but have you thought about how you'll restrain this vast sea? Not everyone... is as easy to talk to as I am!"

Caesar looked at Kaidou with amusement: "Are you saying this to me, or to yourself?"

"Oroorororo... Who knows?"

Kaidou's voice echoed far and wide, rumbling through the clouds: "I have always believed in my own strength, but it is precisely because of this that I deeply understand... this world cannot be changed by the power of an individual alone!"

"That's why... those lowly people who don't even know what resistance is, are also not worthy of redemption! The strong should rule the weak with violence, unless you can become an even stronger being who stands above all, rewriting this order with even greater power!"

"But in essence, this is still the domination of the strong over the weak! The survival of the fittest... this is the iron law of the world, and the truth I believe in!"

"Sounds like a cliché story of a dragon-slaying hero eventually becoming the dragon himself..."

Caesar smirked: "So, has the harsh reality of this world wounded your delicate little heart?"

Kaidou fell silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, unrestrained and deafening.

"Oroorororororo! Just like you said earlier, a true warrior dares to face the bloodshed and the bleak reality? So isn't this fitting? The hero and the dragon!!"

"If you die, I will once again rule Wano Country with violence. Of course, learning from past lessons, I'll make sure those folks have enough to eat!"

"After I'm gone... who cares if the world burns? Threatening me with something like that is meaningless."

Caesar sheathed his sword, adopting a drawing stance, slightly lowering his body.

Whoosh—

It was as if a river surged within him, and scorching heat waves radiated outward. Between Caesar's wings, a blazing flame suddenly erupted!

"Eh?! What's that...?!"

From a distance, Queen's eyes bulged as his gaze darted back and forth between Caesar and King.

King's face was also filled with disbelief. "That guy... can actually absorb bloodlines?"

Kaidou was momentarily stunned. "Lunarian Flames?"

"It's more than that..."

Caesar chuckled softly. At this moment, within his body, alongside the bloodlines of the Lunarians and the Oni Race, another bloodline was sprouting and growing in his boiling blood!

The Buckingham Bloodline had awakened!

At the same time, Caesar's black hair suddenly grew longer, and his skin became even paler.

Then, a crimson red suddenly spread out from beneath his feet, rapidly surging in all directions. Within moments, the surrounding hundreds of meters turned into a Sea of Blood!

Thick Blood Mist filled the air, converging into a crimson ribbon that wrapped around Caesar's neck from under his ribs.

"Awakening of the Devil Fruit?"

Kaidou stared down at Caesar, a trace of doubt flickering in his eyes.

The awakening of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit often came with the risk of being overtaken by the fruit's will.

Whether Caesar lived or died didn't concern him, but a man who could fight him to this extent—if he fell at the hurdle of awakening, it would be a true pity...

Finally, the figure below slowly raised his head. Beneath the disheveled strands of hair, crimson eyes like a blood-red moon shimmered with an eerie light.

At this moment, Caesar's demeanor seemed slightly more delicate, but the sense of threat he exuded was undeniably real.

"Handsome, isn't he?"

"Orohohoho... Looks like there's no problem!"

Hearing that infuriating tone that made one want to sew his mouth shut, Kaidou's eyes instantly burst with wild joy. His dragon head reared up, soaring into the sky, the flames on his body piercing through the clouds!

"Rising Dragon!!"

Endless flames instantly spread out, transforming into a sea of fire that surged toward Caesar.

"Don't embarrass yourself with such tricks!"

The flames behind Caesar suddenly exploded, turning into several fire dragons that shot into the sky, colliding heavily with the sea of fire!

Boom—

The surging sea of fire obscured the sky, briefly isolating the two.

At the same time, two overwhelmingly powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted.

Black and red lightning crackled as Caesar's Haki rapidly compressed and rubbed together, converging onto the blade in his hand.

Until the fire dragons and the sea of fire in the sky were extinguished...

"Flame Trigram!!!"

The massive dragon head descended from the sky, and a huge crater suddenly formed in the Sea of Blood beneath Caesar. The crimson waves violently exploded!

With a deafening roar, the small black figure traced a straight line, appearing in front of Kaidou in the blink of an eye!

Boom—

The blade and the dragon head clashed in mid-air. The intensely grinding Haki was like a chainsaw cutting into a tree trunk, slowly slicing through Kaidou's Haki. Meanwhile, the high temperature and Haki emanating from Kaidou's body relentlessly scorched Caesar's body.

Creak...

Caesar gritted his teeth. Although Kaidou in his Azure Dragon Form was clumsy in movement, his strength was incomparable to his Beast Form.

Moreover, Caesar was striking upward against this attack, so the force he had to endure was multiplied!

"Hmph, what a sharp blade! If it weren't for the fact that your Haki control and reserves are still lacking, this strike would have been enough to take me down!"

Kaidou's massive eyes fixed on Caesar. "Unfortunately... you won't get that chance!"

"That remains to be seen..."

Caesar grunted, and beneath the blade, another surge of Armament Haki suddenly erupted. The two layers of Armament Haki clamped the Conqueror's Haki between them like millstones, spinning and grinding against each other with wild intensity!

In the next moment, under the stunned gazes of the distant onlookers, the two figures locked in a stalemate in the sky suddenly crossed paths!

It was like a silent painting…

The dragon's head tilted high, and above it, Caesar spread his massive wings, slowly sheathing his blade.

"One-Sword Style… Ascend the High Tower!"

In the midst of the silence, under the wide-eyed stares of the distant crowd, the dragon's body rapidly shrank, the flames on its body gradually burned out, and a deep, bone-exposing wound ran across the dragon's head, showering the sky with blood!

Boom—

The dragon crashed to the ground, its mouth wide open, staring directly at the figure in the sky.

Slowly reverting to his human form, Kaidou now bore a wound that ran from his right brow bone across his left cheek. Fortunately, due to the dragon's massive head, the blade had primarily struck the bridge of his nose, sparing his eyes.

"Orohohohoho! You've really got something, kid…"

Using Armament Haki to adjust Conqueror's Haki, thereby creating more variations…

It sounds simple, but Haki requires willpower to control. In practice, it's even more absurd than practicing calligraphy with both hands and a foot simultaneously!

The black figure descended from the sky, and Caesar, too, felt drained. He glanced down at the fallen Kaidou. The surrounding Sea of Blood reverted to soil, the red Flame Clouds slowly dissipated, and his hair and skin tone returned to normal. Then, he plopped down onto the ground.

"Mr. Kaidou!"

King swiftly rushed to Kaidou's side, his face filled with concern. Queen and the others quickly followed.

Wiping the blood from his face, Kaidou pushed himself up: "Sorry, King… I accidentally lost this round. Disappointed?"

"Not at all."

King smiled slightly, glancing in Caesar's direction: "Even a freak like that has to grow from failure. Losing occasionally isn't a big deal."

Caesar's face darkened: "If you're comforting someone, why drag me into it?"

"Orohohoho… A freak, huh?"

Kaidou sized up Caesar: "Pretty accurate. You can absorb the blood of those rare races, can't you? Even more exaggerated than that woman Linlin. No wonder you've grown so quickly!"

"A Vampire's Lineage Factor is part of the blood system. Isn't that reasonable?"

As Caesar spoke, a surge of vitality erupted, and his wounds rapidly healed. In the blink of an eye, he was back in peak condition: "Shall we continue?"

Kaidou: "…"

Do I look like some kind of fool to you?

But from the looks of it, this kid was also on the verge of his limit, forced to rely on his Devil Fruit ability to recover.

At this point, Kaidou had nothing more to say.

Although his Haki was still abundant, although that blade strike was still quite crude, and although Caesar's Haki had been nearly drained by that outrageous strike, making it unlikely he'd be a match without relying on his Devil Fruit to recover…

But since the other party had clearly intended to stake everything on that final move, the moment his attack was broken, he had already lost.

"You win, kid!"

Kaidou's lips twitched: "But only this round!"

Caesar raised an eyebrow slightly: "So, father-in-law, does this mean you agree to be my deputy?"

"Dream on..."

Kaidou snorted coldly. He had only lost one move, not his life!

"At most, an alliance!"

"Fine, then I'll leave Wano Country in your care, father-in-law."

Caesar patted his butt and stood up: "Political affairs will be temporarily managed by Black Maria. If there are any issues, just give me a call."

"You little brat..."

Hearing this, Kaidou glared at him: "You're leaving, but still trying to scheme over Wano Country?"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean by that?"

Caesar spread his hands, wearing an expression of utter reasonableness: "Yamato is the General of Wano Country. We're just legally setting sail! And even if it's an alliance, Yamato is your daughter—that's undeniable. We're all family, aren't we?"

"Oroororo... What a shameless brat! So this is your plan, huh?"

"You slept with my daughter, swallowed my territory, and now you want me to guard your home! Who do you think I am, you bastard!"

Kaidou was so angry he laughed, raising his Spiked Club to continue the fight. Black Maria, who was tending to his wounds, quickly pulled him back, her face full of helplessness.

"This is no different from before, isn't it?"

Caesar leaned on his sword, calmly watching Kaidou: "So, are you going to take the military funds or not?Kaidou's furious voice paused: "That's still no reason for you to swallow my territory!""

"Then how about we both take a step back?"

Caesar proposed a compromise: "You take care of Wano Country for now, but the management rights stay with me. When Yamato gets pregnant, we'll pass the General position to our child. How's that?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air fell dead silent.

Kaidou's eyes widened in shock, his body trembling slightly as he stared at Caesar.

"How... how can a human be so shameless?!"

"Come on, we're family!"

Caesar wore an expression of helplessness: "Then I'll take another step back—two children! One inherits Wano Country, the other inherits the Beasts Pirates. How's that?"

"Get out!!"

Kaidou suddenly stood up, his Spiked Club whirling through the air: "Get out! Get as far away as you can! Don't let me see you again, you bastard!"

You're clearly happy about it, aren't you?

King's mouth twitched subtly. He felt that Kaidou had undergone some change, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Alright, it's settled then! I've got urgent matters to attend to, so goodbye, everyone! See you in a while!"

Caesar chuckled, his wings flapping as he soared into the sky.

Beside him, Kuma spread his arms, and with a loud boom, he shot into the sky like Iron Man.

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