"The leader of the Celestial Dragons?"
"The master of the Empty Throne?"
"An immortal being?"
"The king of the World Government, Imu?"
BOOM!
The entire Whole Cake Island erupted in an uproar, the shocked voices of pirates reverberating in all directions.
No one had expected that the lofty Celestial Dragons, who claimed to be the supreme rulers of the world, could actually be subjects of someone else!
At this moment, titles like Pirate King or Four Emperors paled in comparison to the mysterious Imu.
"What Pirate King? What a joke! Compared to this Imu, they're just country bumpkins!"
A pirate captain laughed bitterly, almost hysterically.
"If what Caesar-sama says is true—"
"Shut up! What do you mean 'if'? If Caesar-sama says it, it must be true!"
"Damn the World Government and their grand claims about the Empty Throne being a symbol of power, with twenty kings all equal—bullshit! Not only is there a highest, but there's also a leader!"
"How has this Imu lived for eight hundred years?"
The pirates were drawn to this question, discussing it fervently.
"Borororo! It's the Op-Op Fruit!" Caesar roared with laughter, his voice drowning out all others and echoing across the square.
"The reason the Op-Op Fruit is worth billions of berries is because of one of its powerful abilities—it can consume the user's lifespan to perform an immortality surgery on someone, granting them eternal life! Note that—it's eternal life, not invincibility. They'll have an endless lifespan, but as long as they're human, they can still be killed!"
Caesar grinned savagely, his mouth stretching wide.
The pirates fell silent, their eyes widening as they stared at Caesar, as if trying to grasp the meaning behind his words.
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it became!
"The Op-Op Fruit... seems to be in Trafalgar Law's possession," a voice suddenly piped up from the crowd.
Some pirates' faces twisted with greed.
"If... if we could capture Trafalgar Law and force him to perform this immortality surgery on us, wouldn't we become immortal? If we could live forever, who cares about the One Piece?"
Instantly, waves of greed radiated from the pirates, as if they were ready to set sail immediately to hunt down Law.
"It's not that simple! If it were that easy, the World Government would probably be crawling with immortals by now, Borororo."
Caesar laughed loudly. "The immortality surgery has extremely high requirements for both the user and the recipient. Not just anyone can perform it—Law right now isn't even capable of it yet. And if the recipient isn't strong enough, they won't be able to withstand the power of the surgery. The result? Boom! Borororo!"
The pirates collectively gasped.
But upon reflection, it made sense.
An ability this overpowering couldn't possibly have no conditions.
Who knows? Maybe the surgery even leaves some fatal flaw behind.
Like how Devil Fruit users become weak to seawater and Sea Stone.
"Who knows? Maybe the recipient turns into a hideous monster, hehe," Pudding whispered playfully into Sanji's ear from the corner.
Sanji smiled gently, slicing a piece of steak and placing the tenderest portion into Pudding's bowl.
Pudding parted her rosy lips and exhaled a delicate, orchid-scented breath, cooing in a sugary voice.
"I want you to feed me, Sanji~ ah~ [max-level cutesy voice]~"
Sanji shuddered at the sound of Pudding's delicate, high-pitched tone, feeling excitement coursing through his entire body.
"Ah~~~" Pudding leaned closer, revealing her little fangs.
Sanji swallowed hard, his hand trembling as he forked a piece of steak and brought it to Pudding's lips.
A mischievous glint flashed in Pudding's eyes as she pouted and said, "Sanji, I want you... I want you to feed me with your fingers~"
"Ahem!"
Sanji guiltily glanced around, relieved to find no one paying attention, before using his trembling fingers to gently pick up the piece of beef and slowly bring it to Pudding's crimson lips.
Sanji's gaze fixated on Pudding cherry-like mouth, his mind drifting to the blissful days they had spent together.
But just then, an untimely snort abruptly cut through the air!
"Flirting in broad daylight—how bold of you!"
Sanji's hand jerked, dropping the steak, and he quickly straightened his posture.
Pudding's face flushed deep red, as if she had drunk wine, and she buried her head in her chest.
Sanji cautiously turned toward the source of the voice—only to freeze in surprise.
"Yamato?"
Indeed, at a nearby table, Yamato sat alone, drinking by herself.
Bottle after bottle, while the dishes on the table remained untouched.
"What are you staring at? Hmph!" Yamato snorted, her breasts trembling slightly, making Sanji cough awkwardly and rub his nose.
"Sa... Sanji, should we go back? I'm full." Pudding gently tugged at Sanji's sleeve under the table.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, I'm full too," Sanji stammered.
The two immediately stood up and bolted toward the harbor like fugitives, heading back to Sweet Island.
"Hmph, shameless couple."
A cold smirk played on Yamato's lips as she downed her drink, grabbed another bottle and stood up, following Sanji and Pudding from a distance.
At the large round table, Doflamingo wore a strange expression, repeatedly glancing at Caesar.
'Fufufufu, how does Caesar know these secrets? Even I don't have such thorough knowledge. And... I get the feeling he knows even deeper secrets. Caesar is becoming more and more mysterious.'
Meanwhile, Shanks looked grim, struggling to speak.
"Caesar, you... have you considered the terrible consequences of revealing this so openly?"
Caesar burst into wild laughter. "Borororo! Consequences? Hmph, Shanks, this truth will come out sooner or later. That bastard Imu has been hiding for 800 years—he's practically given himself social anxiety! I'm just helping him open up a little, so he doesn't stay cooped up in that Flower Room, wallowing in melodrama!"
Shanks coughed violently, his finger shaking as he pointed at Caesar.
"Flower Room? What is that place?" Doflamingo's eyes gleamed as he stared intently at Caesar.
"Fufufufu, seems like I've stumbled upon another incredible piece of information!"
Nearby, Blackbeard had lost his appetite, listening closely to Caesar's words while observing the reactions of those present.
Rayleigh and the others remained unfazed.
Shanks and Doflamingo looked extremely tense.
Even the usually well-behaved Crocodile occasionally seemed distracted, though not particularly shocked.
Teach felt extremely uncomfortable inside.
What the hell was going on?
Why did it seem like everyone else knew so many secrets?
Was he the only one left in the dark?
The Op-Op Fruit, the Immortal Surgery—damn it, if he could undergo that surgery, wouldn't he skyrocket to the top?
Caesar, was it?
Fine, he couldn't beat him now, but in ten, twenty, thirty years, he'd come back and thrash an aged Caesar!
Or he could just outlive him, wait until all the powerful figures were gone from the seas, and then conquer the New World to become the Pirate King!
'Zehahaha, I've got to find Trafalgar Law! That Surgery—no matter what, I must get my hands on it!'
Watching Caesar command the scene with effortless authority, Blackbeard couldn't help but imagine: What if Caesar underwent the Immortal Surgery?
"Tch… Teach, you bastard, what the hell are you thinking? Stop making a fool of yourself!"
Then, everyone present turned their strange gazes towards Blackbeard, who had suddenly slapped himself out of nowhere.