Whoosh!
Bai Yu raised his sword, Sakuragi, manipulating it with his will.
With a soft snort, a light-blue and white flame—an embodiment of pure sword intent—erupted along the blade's edge.
"Blue Dragon Slash!"
As the flames condensed and burned fiercely around Sakuragi, Bai Yu swung the sword in a powerful downward arc.
Boom!
A massive, half-moon-shaped slash made of blue-white flame surged forward, tearing through the air from the tip of Sakuragi.
Ka ka ka ka—!
The flaming crescent carved deep into the earth as it advanced, gouging a long, glowing scar into the frozen ground.
Then—collision.
The crescent-shaped flame collided head-on with Caesar Clown's gas-powered laser cannon.
For a moment, all was still.
Chi chi chi chi—!
Caesar's laser cannon crackled violently, releasing waves of searing heat. His goal: to melt Bai Yu's slash into nothing.
But the crescent slash didn't waver.
Although it burned with flame, it emanated a biting cold. Like winter's wrath in blade form, it repelled the laser's heat and pushed back with freezing intensity.
Even more, the razor-sharp edge of the sword energy began to slice into the beam itself.
Click—!
A sharp crack rang out.
A visible gap formed where the slash had pierced Caesar's attack.
In the next instant, the flame-imbued slash forcefully cut deeper—sundering the laser cannon's beam down the middle.
Boom!
The cannon's energy split, and both halves ignited with Bai Yu's sword flame—exploding into a violent burst of blue-white fire.
A deafening shockwave followed.
Though projected like a laser, Caesar's attack had a gaseous core.
Once the slash divided it and the sword intent flames touched the gas—detonation.
A towering mushroom cloud of fire and smoke erupted on the battlefield.
The resulting blast flattened everything nearby—trees, ice, debris—obliterated in one breath of destructive force.
The explosion subsided swiftly.
As the smoke dispersed—
Whoosh!
Bai Yu's silhouette emerged from the haze, approaching Caesar with his blade still in hand.
Seeing Bai Yu advance, Caesar let out a low, sinister laugh.
"Shururururu… You really think I'm that easy to beat?"
Whoosh!
Bai Yu closed the distance in a heartbeat.
"Now!"
"No-Empty World!"
Caesar shot upward, suspending himself midair with his gas powers. He spread his arms wide and activated his technique.
Hum—!
Instantly, the air in a wide radius vanished.
A vacuum spread out, centered on Caesar—draining all oxygen from the space around Bai Yu.
"Heh-heh-heh! Let's see you breathe now!"
Caesar laughed madly, looking down.
Without oxygen, any ordinary person would quickly lose consciousness—or suffocate outright.
But what Caesar saw next froze his smile.
Bai Yu stood unfazed, eyes fixed on Caesar, a slight smirk on his face.
"W-What… How?!"
Panic flashed across Caesar's face.
He'd assumed Bai Yu would collapse without air.
Instead, Bai Yu hadn't flinched. He was breathing just fine—or rather, not at all.
Boom!
Before Caesar could react, Bai Yu sprang from the ground, launching himself skyward with a burst of strength.
He appeared in front of Caesar in a flash.
"Blue Dragon—Supreme—Jade Slash!"
Bai Yu's voice echoed in his mind as he moved.
He slashed with Sakuragi—now glowing not with flame, but shimmering with jade-like ice crystals.
The sword intent had crystallized into razor-sharp, translucent ice.
Pfft!
Caught completely off guard, Caesar couldn't dodge.
The blade tore through his defenses, cleaving from left shoulder to right waist in a diagonal arc.
A spray of blood erupted as the light of the sword flashed past.
Plop!
Caesar's body crashed hard onto the snow, fresh blood staining the ground around him.
His elemental form flickered, then faded.
He reverted back to his original human state—defeated.
Bai Yu descended moments later, silently landing near the fallen Caesar.
With a quick flick, the icy sword aura vanished. He sheathed Sakuragi calmly.
Huff…
Only then did Bai Yu exhale slowly.
Caesar had miscalculated.
Bai Yu didn't "ignore" the vacuum—he anticipated it. Before closing in, he had taken a deep breath, holding it through the attack.
Whoosh!
From the other side of the battlefield, Smoker dashed over, eyes wide in disbelief.
He stared at the bloodied Caesar lying motionless in the snow.
"That's… it?"
Smoker muttered, stunned.
The fight had ended far quicker than expected.
He'd braced for a drawn-out battle—maybe even an intervention.
But Caesar had been completely overpowered.
"What did you expect?"
Bai Yu cast him a sidelong glance.
"Caesar's entire strength relies on his Devil Fruit. Against someone with proper haki… he's nothing."
Bai Yu stepped closer to Caesar, who hadn't moved since falling.
"Stop playing dead."
He gave Caesar a sharp kick in the back.
"Agh! Stop—stop hitting me!"
Caesar winced in pain, groaning weakly as he rolled over.
He was still conscious—just playing possum.
Of course, Bai Yu had deliberately held back. If he hadn't, Caesar would've been dead a dozen times over.
"You… You can't kill me!"
Caesar gasped, clutching his wound.
"Doflamingo won't forgive you! And the Four Emperors… I have dealings with Kaido! If you kill me, Kaido will come for your head!"
He paused, then offered a desperate bargain.
"Let me go—I'll pretend this never happened!"
"Shut it."
Bai Yu's cold voice sliced through Caesar's words.
Caesar's body jolted. He immediately shut up, realizing threats were useless now.
Grimacing, he pressed a cloth to his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
Click! Click!
Just then, Smoker stepped forward and snapped sea prism stone cuffs around Caesar's wrists, sealing his Devil Fruit power.
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