When Indigo rushed over with more than ten large ships filled with thousands of pirates, all carrying various firearms and landing fiercely near Udon, he witnessed a scene that left him dumbfounded.
There was Caesar, who had shrunk his body to just over three meters, walking arm-in-arm with Shiki, swaying as they moved.
They were chatting about old, trivial matters, occasionally bursting into loud laughter.
Though sometimes, they would sigh deeply, letting out long, mournful breaths.
"Ah, I never expected that last parting with Newgate would be our final meeting. To think he'd die at Marine Headquarters because of something like that. Damn World Government, always scheming with their dirty tricks. Hmph! First it was Roger, and now Newgate followed the same path. This time I'm going down there, I'm definitely going to fight those bastards!"
Shiki sighed, his expression somewhat desolate
.He couldn't help but recall the time right after his prison break, when he specifically sought out Whitebeard's ship.
There, he drank heartily with this longtime friend who was both rival and companion, sharing many words.
Little did he expect that parting would become an eternal farewell.
Caesar was also in low spirits.
"Those bastards at Marine Headquarters—the Admirals from our era—at least had some honorable methods. But in this age, they only know how to play dirty tricks. Compared to that kind of death, I'd rather Newgate had died by the hands of us brothers!"
Shiki nodded heavily, deeply agreeing.
Shiki continued: "Speaking of our era, Garp, Zephyr, Sengoku, and Kong should still be around, right? They're about my age, possibly even younger."
Caesar smirked and scratched his head: "Seems like Kong is the only one left alive..."
Shiki was shocked: "No way? That guy Garp was always so full of energy. He actually kicked the bucket before me? I never would've expected that."
Caesar shrugged and said: "To be honest, their deaths are all connected to me..."
"How so?" Shiki asked curiously.
Caesar then recounted his grievances with Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr one by one.
Shiki listened with animated expressions, alternating between shock and excitement.
After Caesar finished, Shiki remained silent for a long time before saying solemnly.
"See? This is what I meant earlier—rather die than yield, charging forward courageously! That's the spirit of the old era! These old fellows are still worth remembering."
As they walked and talked, Caesar briefly explained what he'd experienced since awakening to Shiki.
Shiki acted every bit the seasoned big shot, completely dismissive of things like Supernovas, Yonko, or new Marine Admirals!
Supernovas?
What are those? Can they withstand an island dropping on them?
Yonko?
Who? Newgate, Linlin, Kaido—which one hasn't been beaten up by me?
Admirals?
I fought two at once back in the day! Took on Garp and Sengoku and wrecked Marineford!
However, Shiki showed great interest in the Pirate Council Caesar founded.
"Jihahaha! You've built quite the empire now, kid! I'm definitely going to enjoy myself at your place this time! Hey, do you think I could be some damn Vice Speaker or something?"
Shiki looked up just as over a dozen large ships came drifting down.
Caesar laughed heartily, throwing an arm around his neck.
"Who would dare object? You're the famous captain of the Flying Pirates, commander of the great pirate fleet, the rooster-headed Shiki of today!"
"Piss off!"
The moment the dozen large ships landed with loud crashes, a massive crowd of people swarmed down from them.
Indigo led the charge, wearing his tacky shoes and shrieking as he rushed forward.
He held up a handful of green glass test tubes, the sloshing unknown liquid inside clearly indicating it was nothing good.
"Ahhh! Let go of Boss Shiki! Huh?"
Indigo's yelling cut off abruptly as he stared dumbfounded at the two men with their arms around each other.
Kitajima, leader of the Fish-Man warriors, stood frozen with his katana raised.
Behind them were others like Dog brandishing his cane and the little girl Sphinx holding a cannon.
Caesar released his arm from around Shiki and scanned the crowd of dark figures closing in around them.
He looked them over for a while, then pinched his chin, smacked his lips, and shook his head.
"Tsk tsk, not good, Shiki. Your crew is just too pathetic—nothing but the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Aside from you, the captain, they're all useless!"
Shiki gave an awkward laugh but said nothing.
Caesar wasn't wrong, though Shiki didn't want to admit it.
But Shiki wasn't a fool; he knew perfectly well that the strongest member of his crew right now was actually a gorilla.
Aside from that, Indigo, who worked in research, along with his bizarre chemical concoctions, could be considered a slightly bigger small fry.
Still, Shiki had no reason to complain.
Even if these people weren't strong, at least they were the ones who had chosen to follow him during his decline and retreat to live in seclusion ten thousand meters above the sea.
In terms of loyalty, they far surpassed some of the captains from his former grand fleet.
Though Shiki wasn't angry, his several thousand subordinates weren't quite as magnanimous.
They were all huffing and puffing with rage, but...
not a single one dared to step forward and rebuke Caesar.
The pirates were very much in tune with their hearts.
Come on, sure we're angry, but there's no need to throw our lives away, right?
This guy's words were harsh, and if it were anyone else, they would have opened fire long ago.
But Caesar's combat prowess was undeniable—he had transformed into a sky-blotting bird and even punched their boss Shiki out of the sky and down to the ground.
Even if all of them attacked together, they probably couldn't even scratch a single hair on his body.
Seeing that no one had stepped forward to refute him despite his prolonged insults, Caesar abandoned his plan to establish his authority.
Originally, he had considered using Conqueror's Haki to intimidate these so-called subbordinates.
But now, it turned out they were all just a bunch of cowards!
"My lord!"
Suddenly, the crowd parted, and a few people walked through—Hiyori and the others.
They looked nervous as they passed by the pirates who were eyeing them and approached Caesar.
Hiyori asked anxiously, "Husband, who are these people?"
Caesar laughed heartily, patting Shiki's shoulder beside him.
"They're family! Don't be nervous. Come and meet your brother—this is the legendary great pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!"
Hiyori quickly curtsied and greeted Shiki with a smile.
"I am Kozuki Hiyori. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shiki-san."
Shiki immediately became flustered, scratching his head and rubbing his nose.
He had never encountered such a situation before and was at a loss.
"Uh, you... hello, please rise. Since you call me brother, I really ought to give you a gift."
Shiki chuckled dryly a few times, then pointed at the sky islands above and said to Hiyori.
"I don't have anything particularly impressive on hand, so... how about you pick a few islands?"
Hiyori stared blankly at the massive floating islands in the sky.
This brother was just a bit too extravagant...
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