"Ah?"
Held in Caesar's embrace, her face slightly flushed with shyness, Hiyori was momentarily stunned by his words, unable to react immediately.
"That's right, hehe. I can clearly sense it—a small embryo growing in your belly, carrying our shared bloodline."
Caesar supported Hiyori's rounded ass with his left hand, holding her lightweight body close, while his right hand reached out and gently stroked her lower abdomen a few times.
"Mm…"
Hiyori instantly felt her cheeks burn, burying her small face in Caesar's chest.
Caesar's large hand radiated warmth, making her abdomen feel comfortably heated.
'Am I pregnant? With Caesar's child… But Caesar is the brother of Kaido, the man who killed my father.'
A complex, indescribable emotion surged in Hiyori's heart, but in the end, all these tangled feelings transformed into sweetness and happiness.
Because she was going to be a mother.
This made Hiyori involuntarily think of her own mother—the beautiful woman said to have traveled through time from eight hundred years ago.
Tap, tap.
Footsteps sounded again from the distance.
Hiyori lifted her head from Caesar's embrace and saw Ulti, Page One, and Black Maria hurrying over from afar.
"Ulti! Page One, Maria, they're all safe!"
Hiyori's face lit up with joy, and she tried to jump down from Caesar's arms.
But soon, a captivating blush rose on her cheeks, and she buried her face in her chest.
"Hus… husband…"
Caesar's large hand was like an iron band, holding her firmly in place.
His powerful body exuded an overwhelmingly dominant masculine aura, making Hiyori feel weak and limp all over.
"You seem a bit weak. Have you not eaten for a long time?" Caesar continued to gaze intently at her abdomen, as if watching the tiny life growing inside.
"Mm… Since yesterday noon, because of those people's arrival…" Hiyori whispered.
Caesar nodded, then extended the index finger of his right hand.
A drop of blood appeared at his fingertip, which he brought to Hiyori's mouth.
"You're pregnant; you can't go hungry. Even if you have no appetite, you must eat for my child. Open your mouth!"
Caesar's tone was domineering, but Hiyori felt warmth in her heart.
She pursed her lips slightly, parting her red lips.
On her pink lower lip was a small wound from where she had bitten it.
Hiyori's face flushed crimson as she felt a drop of cool liquid drip from Caesar's fingertip, flowing down her throat and into her belly.
Soon, she felt a surge of heat flowing through her abdomen, spreading throughout her body, instantly revitalizing her and filling her with energy.
The wound on her pink, plump lower lip also healed rapidly at a visible rate.
"How miraculous, my husband!" Hiyori opened her beautiful eyes and exclaimed joyfully.
Caesar withdrew his finger, glanced at the glistening saliva on his fingertip, curled his lips slightly, and subtly wiped it on Hiyori's clothes.
"Caesar-sama!"
Page One and the others finally arrived, panting heavily, but they immediately paid their respects to Caesar with deference.
Ulti, at this moment, had become much more restrained, clearly frightened by the earth-shattering battle between Caesar and Dragon moments ago.
Black Maria held Koala in one hand and Betty in the other, looking at Caesar with excitement.
"Oh? Isn't this the logistics chief of my Beast God Pirates? Why do you look like a bullied little wife? Tell me, who bullied you? I'll help you vent your anger."
Caesar chuckled, extending his large hand to pat Ulti's small head.
Slap.
Ulti swatted Caesar's hand away, her cheeks puffed up in anger as she glared fiercely at him.
"Don't touch me! You promised Wano Country would be safe, that as long as I took care of Hiyori and managed the weapon factory here, you'd give me a god-tier position. Hmph! Look around—where is this place safe? I almost got roasted by that fire guy! I'm telling you, I quit!"
"Nee-san!" Page One felt his scalp tingle as he watched Ulti angrily scold Caesar.
"Bororororo! Is that all? Precisely because I knew you weren't a coward that I assigned you to stay here. Look, that spineless Queen wanted this cushy job back then, but I rejected him without hesitation. Ulti, you have the potential to reach god-tier, you know? Keep working hard, give it your all!"
Caesar raised his fist encouragingly toward Ulti.
Ulti pouted.
"Hmph! At least you have good taste! So, since I protected your little darling wife this time, how are you going to reward me?"
"Hehe, don't worry. This time, I'll take you all to Totoland for some fun to relax," Caesar said with a laugh.
Ulti's eyes lit up in surprise. "Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Then, she eyed him suspiciously.
"Since when are you so kind? You're not planning to assign me some other task, are you?"
Caesar shook his head with a wry smile, suddenly reaching out to pinch Ulti's still-puffed cheek and giving it a twist.
"I never lie."
Ulti rolled her eyes, swatted his hand away, and looked toward Ivankov and the others approaching from a distance.
"Barbarossa Caesar..."
Ivankov took a deep breath and stepped forward, glancing at Koala and Betty held by Black Maria, his expression turning grim.
Fortunately, Caesar had now shrunk to a height of two meters, no longer exuding the overwhelming, suffocating aura.
Ivankov looked at Caesar with a complex gaze and said solemnly.
"Caesar, I am Ivankov of the Revolutionary Army. Could you please tell me where our leader, Dragon, is now?"
"Ivankov?" Caesar looked Ivankov up and down, taking in his rugged masculine appearance paired with black fishnets, pink hot pants, and a bare muscular torso.
His face was heavily made up with thick red lipstick and eye shadow, creating a rather jarring sight.
He suddenly thought of Ryokugyu and blurted out in surprise.
"You're the Hormone-Hormone Fruit user? You're the one who turned Ryokugyu into a woman? Since he changed from male to female, can she bear children?"
Ivankov was taken aback that Caesar hadn't answered his question but instead asked such a peculiar one.
However, Ivankov didn't dare offend Caesar lightly now and could only reply.
"Yes, after being transformed by my Female Hormone, she becomes a genuine woman who can indeed bear children."
"Hiss... what a chaotic ability. Bororororo, it seems I really need to find time to capture Ryokugyu and have her bear a child for Ganzui. That would definitely be interesting."
As Caesar was speaking, he noticed a faint breeze emerging from the dark crevice beside him, slowly coalescing into a figure on the ground.
"Dragon!"