Caesar was utterly shocked.
Back when he received Rocks' invitation to join the Rocks Pirates, one of the reasons was his fascination with the mysterious and terrifying destructive force within Rocks.
The nature of that power differed from any Devil Fruit ability, physical combat Haki, or racial ability Caesar had ever witnessed.
It was a mysterious and mighty force that surpassed all others in terms of level.
It was precisely by relying on that devastating destructive capability that Rocks managed to subdue one unruly individual with kingly potential after another, bringing them under his command.
Caesar followed Rocks for over a decade and fought him many times during that period, but unfortunately, he never managed to obtain the training method for that mysterious power.
Rocks told him that this power was either innate or achieved by pushing one's own inherent power to the extreme, breaking through certain limitations to reach a new realm.
There were no special training techniques for it.
After Rocks disappeared, Caesar's desire to pursue the Destructive Power gradually faded.
It wasn't until he awoke recently and encountered Sengoku's self-destruction, which unexpectedly generated a trace of that destructive force, that Caesar's interest in seeking it out was rekindled.
What Caesar never expected was that Dragon right before him actually possessed this power!
"Is this your trump card, Dragon? Come on! Let me experience its wonders once again!"
In an instant, Caesar felt his blood boiling, as if time had reversed, taking him back over forty years to when he witnessed the domineering and arrogant Rocks.
"As you wish!"
Dragon's tone was cold.
After releasing this mysterious power, it seemed even his own personality was affected, turning cold and emotionless.
He transformed into a cold-blooded Asura, his hair standing on end, his hands forming into claws with strands of pitch-black, ink-like energy swirling between his fingers—yet it wasn't Armament Haki!
Whoosh!
Dragon's body abruptly dissipated into a raging gust of wind, but Caesar remained fully focused, the power within him surging.
His largely restored Armament Haki materialized into an invisible armor covering his burly frame.
"Annihilation!"
A cold voice sounded from behind Caesar, making the hairs on his body stand on end.
He spun around abruptly and threw a powerful punch!
On the other side, Dragon extended a massive Dragon claw shrouded in a sinister and eerie black energy!
Sslash!
Caesar's eyebrows twitched as his punch sent Dragon's body flying back hundreds of meters, trailing a long arc of blood.
However, when Caesar raised his right hand, he saw five deep, bone-revealing claw marks clearly etched into the surface of his fist by Dragon's dragon claw!
"It really is Rocks' Destructive Power—a force that even Armament Haki armor cannot defend against!"
Caesar looked up at the flying Dragon, the excitement in his eyes intensifying.
With a thunderous boom, Caesar stomped on the air, creating a massive sonic boom.
His enormous body closed in on Dragon, disregarding the clearly visible claw marks on his fist that showed no signs of healing anytime soon, and he threw another punch at Dragon's body!
"Borororo, Dragon! Tell me, how did you manage this? Don't tell me Rocks possessed you after he disappeared? He wasn't a Jacket-Jacket Fruit user either!"
"Shattering Sky Dragon Claw!"
Dragon gritted his teeth, blood seeping through the gaps.
An invisible hurricane howled, enveloping his right arm and swelling it to immense proportions, wreathed in black energy like a sky-rending claw tearing toward Caesar!
Boom!!
Caesar grunted, thick jets of blood spurting from his broad chest as four pitch-black fissures appeared, corroding the vital blood that rushed to heal the wounds and causing them to widen further!
Across from him, Dragon fared even worse—his entire right arm twisted like a frayed rope, countless streams of blood spraying out as he plummeted like a meteor, crashing deep into the earth!
"Borororo, this is it! This corrosive power! Why can't I obtain this kind of strength?! Huh?! Tell me, Dragon!"
Mid-air, Caesar seemed to spiral into madness.
The black scars on his body expanded, covering most of his chest, making him look as if he had been splattered with ink, slowly turning black.
"Life force, burn for me!"
Suspended upside down, Caesar ignited the boundless vital blood within him.
Crimson flames surged from every pore, the torrential life energy washing over his body again and again, clashing with the Destructive Power Dragon had unleashed.
He bent his legs, the dragon- and python-like tendons in his pillar-like legs tightening, stomping a massive depression into the void!
Boom!
Caesar kicked off violently, shaking the very sky as enormous cracks spread like a spiderweb, the void fracturing like a shattered barrier.
He shot toward the collapsing earth below, his massive body like a meteor, causing the ground to ripple like waves.
Not just Udon—at that moment, the entire Wano Country, built upon the colossal skull, trembled violently!
Caesar's body pierced through the earth, homing in on Dragon's aura.
His right arm, torn open to reveal stark white bone, barred the way as he slammed toward Dragon's curled form.
"Cough... Caesar, why... why won't you just die?! This is the Power of Destruction—the Power of Rules that brings unbearable agony with just a touch! This is the power hidden deep within the bloodline of our clan. Eight hundred years ago, Joy Boy used this power to resist the Celestial Dragons! How can you still endure it?!"
Dragon coughed up blood repeatedly, as if using this sinister power placed an unbearable strain on his body.
"Annihilation Dragon Claw!!"
Sensing Caesar's meteor-like charge, Dragon gritted his teeth.
The web-like patterns that had reappeared on his body faded once more as the terrifying, frigid Destructive Power surged forth again, accompanied by sharp wind blades slicing toward Caesar's head!
"Haki Infusion!! Secret Art: Crimson Lotus!!"
Caesar roared furiously, his right arm blazing with blood-red flames, carrying an overwhelmingly violent force to clash head-on with Dragon's Destructive Power!
Boom!!!
The earth in Udon descended into utter chaos, as if struck by a magnitude-12 earthquake.
The rock layers within a kilometer radius were shattered by the boundless power, exploding violently as if a festering boil on Wano Country's land had burst!
"Gah!" Dragon was struck as if hit by a speeding sea train, the bones in his front snapping one after another.
Like a ragged sack, he lost consciousness and plummeted into the dark, abyssal depths.
And above, Caesar wasn't faring much better either.
Threads of black dragon-like Destructive Power enveloped his entire body, continuously corroding his abundant life essence blood, severing the vitality within, and hindering the body's natural healing.
Simultaneously, these highly potent destructive energies relentlessly ravaged Caesar's form, causing his muscles to dissolve away, exposing thick, pale bones!
"Power of Rules, Destructive Power! I understand now, I understand! BORORORO!"
Ignoring the tearing agony coursing through his body, Caesar instead erupted into hearty laughter deep within the pitch-black underground.