As Indigo rushed back excitedly to the beach with a set of clothes for Shiki, he saw Caesar with two black eyes and Shiki with a bloody nose and swollen cheeks.
Indigo's eyes widened instantly, staring at Shiki in disbelief.
"You... you... you're Shiki-sama?"
Shiki covered his swollen cheek, shot a fierce glare at Caesar, and before Indigo could notice his legs, snatched the clothes from his hands and hastily put them on.
Now, Shiki stood at a height of 6.5 meters, almost catching up to Kaido.
What puzzled Caesar was that although Shiki's blood had been replaced by his own essence, Shiki's head hadn't grown any horns.
Shiki's newly grown calves were only about a foot long.
If they were of normal length, his height would have increased significantly.
By then, he would likely be nearly as tall as Kaido, who stood at 7.2 meters.
To hide his comical legs, Shiki had no choice but to use his Float-Float Fruit ability to hover just above the ground, letting his robe drape down and conceal his lower body.
This way, he appeared to be about the same height as Caesar.
Caesar didn't need to deliberately shrink his size or anything.
"Hehe, Shiki-sama, don't worry too much about your calves. If you train diligently, they'll grow quickly in no time. These newly grown legs still need you to exercise them. If you don't want them to atrophy, you'd better walk on the ground instead of floating with your ability."
After his initial shock, Indigo spoke to Shiki with an air of seriousness.
As a mad scientist, he had encountered experiments far more bizarre than Shiki's transformation.
His earlier astonishment was solely because the subject of the change was Shiki, nothing more.
Shiki grunted in annoyance.
He had thought he'd escaped Indigo's notice, but it seemed the news had still leaked out.
For some reason, Indigo felt a chill run down his neck.
Caesar stared with two blackened panda eyes, solemnly patting Shiki's shoulder with such force that it drove him several meters downward.
Caesar said seriously, "Shiki, I went through immense hardship to restore you. Don't let mere pride cause your legs to atrophy and degenerate again, you..."
"Pfft— Wahahahaha, hahahaha, I can't take it! I'm gonna die laughing!Shiki"
"(╬￣皿￣)=, Say that again!" "Say it again, damn you!"
Bang bang bang!
Enraged, Shiki rushed forward, grabbed Caesar, and began pummeling him violently.
While being beaten, Caesar continued laughing breathlessly.
"Why don't you call me Daddy? Daddy will cut you once more and regrow two new legs for you. Maybe they won't be baby legs this time... but women's legs! Wahahaha, I'm gonna find someone to record this and send it to the World Economic Journal's newspaper!"
...
After spending another half day at Habu Port, Indigo used foul-smelling medicinal liquid to revive the unconscious pirates.
When the Flying Pirates saw the reborn Shiki, they couldn't help but erupt in exaggerated exclamations of astonishment.
At Habu Port, Shiki floated above the Pluton warship, pointing at the steel vessel beneath his feet.
"Are you sure you want me to make this float? This is one of the Ancient Weapons—Pluton! Aren't you afraid I'll take it away?"
"Nah," Caesar replied calmly.
"Why not?"
"Because you're Shiki."
"What kind of bullshit answer is that?" Shiki scoffed and slapped his hand against the Pluton warship.
Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt.
An astonishing scene unfolded.
As Shiki activated his Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit ability, the five-hundred-meter-long steel warship weighing hundreds of thousands of tons began vibrating and humming.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh.
The massive ship slowly rose, its hull lifting from the water as cascades of seawater poured down like waterfalls.
Waves churned violently in the harbor, as if the entire sea were convulsing.
The pirates who witnessed Shiki's tremendous power once again gasped in awe.
This spectacle mirrored how the Beast God Pirates felt when they saw Caesar transform into a giant bird soaring across the sky—the overwhelming might emanating from their leader that inspired shock and submission in everyone.
The stronger the captain's power, the greater the confidence among his crew.
Watching Pluton ascend into the sky, Shiki descended and approached Caesar.
"What's next? What are you planning to do?"
"I plan to..."
Buru buru buru.
Just as Caesar was about to speak, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket began ringing.
He pulled it out and answered.
The snail quickly morphed into Doflamingo's likeness, though he appeared somewhat haggard.
Caesar frowned slightly. "Doflamingo? What's wrong?"
"Boss, how are things in Wano Country?"
Doflamingo didn't get straight to the point, merely asking this first.
"Revolutionary Army members came here causing trouble. I've handled everything. If you have something to say, just say it."
Doflamingo remained silent for a few seconds before speaking gravely.
"Boss, something's happened in Totoland. Katakuri and Yamato are severely injured and unconscious."
"WHAT? How did that happen?"
Caesar's expression instantly darkened.
Shiki, standing before him, overheard the voice from the Den Den Mushi and furrowed his brow.
He had just heard Caesar mention Katakuri and Yamato's identities earlier.
"It's the World Government's 'first sequence'. They sent four experts hidden within the Germa 66 to ambush Donut Island. The four are Golden Axe, Silver Axe, Bryndy world, and Emperor Crocodile Otto."
"Golden Axe and Silver Axe?" Caesar was taken aback, but then erupted in fury.
An overwhelming aura of brutality surged within him, causing the temperature across Habu Port to drop by over ten degrees.
Pirates in the distance couldn't help but shiver.
Shiki's face also darkened as he coldly stated.
"That useless Silver Axe actually joined the World Government?
No wonder he suddenly disappeared during the great decisive battle 38 years ago.
Caesar, let's head back now, go straight to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, overthrow the World Government, and crush those bastards!"
Caesar waved his hand and continued in a low voice, "What's the current situation?"
"Among the four, Golden Axe and Emperor Crocodile Otto are already dead. Silver Axe was captured, and World escaped. According to Morgans' intel, World probably returned to Marine Headquarters."
"What? Golden Axe is dead? Who did it?"
Shiki was shocked again.
Although he looked down on the Golden and Silver Axe brothers, considering them trash compared to the Barbarossa brothers, he still had to admit that Golden Axe, who became a captain in the Rocks Pirates, had some skills.
At the very least, he was at the Admiral level.
While his younger brother Silver Axe never mastered it, Golden Axe had long since learned Conqueror's Haki infusion.
.....
Far away on Whole Cake Island, Doflamingo was quite astonished.
He hadn't expected anyone to dare interrupt Caesar while he was speaking.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Doflamingo quietly asked, "Boss, who's talking over there?"
Shiki snorted coldly, "I am the Golden Lion Shiki!"
On Whole Cake Island, a group of people gathered around Katakuri and Yamato, discussing the day's events and considering countermeasures.
Gin lay listless, drained of vitality by Smoothie, pretending to be dead on the ground.
Moria and the others didn't fare any better, all lying on the ground with tongues out, feeling dizzy and nauseous.
But Katakuri and Yamato still hadn't awakened.
Having lost too much blood, they had fallen into a deep coma.
At this moment, the Den Den Mushi that Doflamingo was holding, originally on a call—he sat cross-legged on a sofa.
"I am the Golden Lion Shiki!"
Bang!
The sofa Doflamingo was sitting on tipped backward, and he fell with a thud, his glasses flying off.
---------
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