Flower Capital, General's Mansion.
Caesar sat quietly in the tatami room, with Shadowy Night Swallow resting across his lap.
His eyes were closed beneath the blindfold, as he calmly sensed the aura emanating from the blade.
Physique, Devil Fruit, Haki, swordsmanship…
In terms of physique, he had already surpassed King.
His mastery of his Devil Fruit ability was also becoming increasingly proficient.
As for Haki, aside from the ability to see into the future, he had fully grasped all other advanced techniques. Now, it was just a matter of continuous refinement.
And swordsmanship…
He had progressed from Sword Mastery to Sword Dao Mastery.
Technique and Dao.
Though only a single character difference, the gap between them was vast.
Sword Mastery couldn't even achieve Iron Cutting; it was merely superficial moves and routines.
Sword Dao, on the other hand, was a higher level of comprehension, encompassing abilities like Iron Cutting and Flying Slash. At this level, one was typically referred to as a Great Swordsman on the high seas!
To be honest, aside from a deeper understanding of swordsmanship, this reward was only a minor improvement for Caesar, who had already mastered Haki.
With the Conqueror talent and the enhancement of Three Colors Haki, even if Caesar started from scratch, he could quickly reach this level.
But progressing further wouldn't be so easy.
As they say in this world, he still lacked that damn conviction!
As his strength grew, Caesar gradually became aware of the importance of conviction.
In simpler terms, it was the key to unlocking one's potential!
The power system in the world of pirates was somewhat idealistic. With strong conviction, even an ordinary person could unleash unimaginable strength.
But once conviction waned, even a top-tier powerhouse could be defeated by a rookie, as seen with the likes of Moria…
Caesar felt that for a transmigrator like himself, whose thoughts were often scattered, even if his physique and Haki were on par with others, he probably wouldn't be a match for the likes of Kaidou or Whitebeard.
Take Nico Robin, for example. Even someone like Spandam wouldn't be swayed by her beauty, yet every time Caesar saw Robin, his first reaction was to glance at her legs.
Not pure enough!
This was Caesar's biggest issue at the moment.
And it was precisely because of this that he always felt like a "kit car"—despite having excellent individual components, when put together, something seemed to be missing.
Knock, knock, knock…
"Sir, Kaidou is summoning you."
Ayun's voice sounded from outside the door.
"Understood."
Caesar stood up and walked to the window, leaping into the sky. In no time, he arrived at Oni Island.
In the main building, the executives of the Beasts Pirate Crew were unusually gathered together.
As soon as Caesar entered, a black shadow suddenly lunged at him. He instinctively dodged.
With a loud crash, Ulti rammed her head into the doorframe, leaving a gaping hole.
"Caesar, you bastard!"
Seeing that she had missed, Ulti turned around, steam faintly rising from her forehead as she glared at him.
"What's going on?"
Blindfolded, Caesar couldn't see Ulti's expression: "Puberty?"
"Puberty my ass!"
Ulti's face darkened: "You bastard… Spit it out! What's your relationship with the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Enough, Ulti."
Kaidou's face was stern as he growled, stopping Ulti. He then turned to Caesar: "My brother Hanafusa has fallen into the hands of that old man Whitebeard. He's the father of Ulti and Page One. Now, they're demanding I hand you over."
"Isn't that normal?"
Caesar chuckled lightly, "After all, I was the one you captured."
Ulti was furious, "So you were a spy sent by Whitebeard all along?"
"Calm down, girl."
Caesar shook his head, "I only entrusted Marco to protect me and help me find the Vampire Fruit, but I was captured by Mr. Kaido halfway."
"Huh—?"
Ulti put her hands on her hips, "Then why didn't you just hire us from the start?"
Hearing this, everyone looked at Ulti as if she were a fool.
Caesar sighed heavily, his tone melancholic, "Because of credibility!"
Everyone was furious, "Don't say things like that out loud!"
"Enough, now is not the time for this."
Kaido looked at Caesar, "Do you have any ideas, kid?"
Caesar was somewhat puzzled, "You want to resolve this peacefully?"
"I don't, but there's no other way."
Kaido's expression darkened slightly, "To be honest, apart from the All-Stars, these foolish kids are not yet strong enough to face that old man's sons. If we engage in a direct battle, our chances of winning are slim. Besides, Whitebeard himself is also a problem…"
Whitebeard in his prime wasn't terrifying.
But a Whitebeard on the brink of death, enraged, was something even Kaido didn't want to face.
Now that he was in his prime, how old was Whitebeard?
If they really fought, it wouldn't be a life-or-death struggle—it would be a pure exchange of lives! He'd be at a huge loss!
Although he didn't think Whitebeard would go that far for someone like Caesar, let's not forget that Kozuki Oden, the former commander of Whitebeard's second division, had also died at his hands.
Now that the other side was making such a direct move to engage in battle, there was no guarantee that the situation wouldn't escalate to that level.
Moreover, Whitebeard's adopted sons had almost all joined his crew after making a name for themselves, but Kaido's subordinates were all raised by him personally. In terms of numbers, age, and strength, they were relatively lacking…
"In that case, I'll go myself."
Caesar said with a laugh, "Marco's not bad, though he's a bit slow. It's been over two months now…"
"Wano Country's terrain is easy to defend and hard to attack. There's almost no possibility of a frontal breakthrough. The only way is to force us out to fight through other means. The best method is to capture our key officers."
King said indifferently, "Hanafusa, after all, is the former Drought. He's not that easy to capture."
"I see…"
Caesar nodded slightly, "If you don't plan to start a war, I'll go and explain. In a way, I owe Marco a favor."
Although his relationship with Marco was transactional, the more than a month they spent together could definitely be called a friendship.
Moreover, given the vast difference in their strength, Marco had still maintained his integrity, not taking his fruit, and even went out of his way to capture Hanafusa to force Kaido to release him. If Caesar were to dismiss such loyalty with just a word about a transaction, it would be his own reputation that would suffer.
"It's probably not as simple as you think, kid."
Kaido looked thoughtful, "Kozuki Oden, that guy, was once the commander of Whitebeard's second division. The conflict between me and Whitebeard isn't just because of this one incident."
"No problem, leave it to me."
Caesar waved his hand lightly, "Where's the meeting place?"
"Whitebeard's territory."
Kaidou tossed Caesar an Eternal Pose: "It's on a deserted island. Can you handle it alone? If you die, I won't avenge you."
"Wait a minute!"
Ulti pointed at Caesar: "Rather than worrying about him dying, shouldn't you be more concerned about him running away? After all, he's the one you captured!"