One piece: Establishing a Pirate Family

Chapter 494: Demon Dragon Caesar

The only reason no one had caught them before…

Was because Esdeath had been busy fighting Katakuri and hadn't had time to patrol this area.

That led to rampant smuggling in this sea zone.

So Charlotte sent Caesar to patrol it.

And now—just his luck—he ran into Caesar's patrol unit.

"Heh! Got guts, huh? Just ignoring me?"

Caesar chuckled coldly. He'd seen arrogance before—but this was on another level.

Ever since being recognized as one of the Three Emperors,

Very few pirates dared to defy the Rockefeller Pirates.

Caesar actually had to admire the Moria Pirates for this level of boldness.

"I want to see just how strong you really are."

He cracked his neck, then rolled his wrists.

"You guys wait here—I'll be right back."

He looked at his subordinates—already armed and eager for battle—and grinned.

Then with a tap of his toes, he shot into the sky.

Watching their captain disappear into the clouds, the crew gave a bitter laugh.

Being part of Caesar's unit—was it a blessing or a curse?

Other pirate captains always sent their grunts in first while they stood behind barking orders or waving flags.

Not their captain.

The moment he saw an enemy, he'd charge in first—leaving them no glory at all.

Meanwhile, on the smuggling ship flying Moria's flag...

Rog blinked in confusion as a black speck rose into the sky.

"C-C-Captain! Look up there!"

A low-level pirate trembled as he pointed upward.

A shadow blanketed the sea, and an overwhelming pressure choked the air.

Rog's forehead broke into sweat.

With stiff motions, he slowly raised his head…

Hovering above them was a gigantic dragon.

"A D-D-Dragon! That's Demon Dragon Caesar!"

Anyone who'd survived in the New World for even three years would instantly recognize this beast.

He was the dreaded dragon who dominated the New World skies.

"What's he doing here?!"

Rog's blood ran cold.

But he didn't even get time to think—

A massive fireball erupted from the sky.

The temperature in the entire area spiked.

Everyone stared in horror at the flames blazing overhead.

"Heat Breath."

With a deafening roar, the fireball descended—

And engulfed all three smuggling ships in an instant.

Boom!!

Under the blaze, nothing survived.

Even the ocean surface boiled and split open, with steam hissing upward into the clouds.

"Fwooh…"

Caesar, in his thousand-meter-long dragon form, gently closed his mouth.

A thin stream of black smoke drifted from his jaws.

"They really couldn't take a hit."

Looking at the now-empty ocean where three ships once floated,

Only a swirling vortex remained—trying to fill the gaping hole in the sea.

"ROARRR!!!"

Caesar raised his head and let out a thunderous cry.

The sea itself responded, rising into massive waves under his bellow.

"I'm heading off first. You lot catch up when you can."

He lowered his massive dragon head toward his fleet, then

Dove into the clouds, shooting toward the distant sea.

Ahead, a fleet of merchant ships was sailing peacefully—

Each one loaded with goods heading toward various destinations.

Caesar's sudden appearance caused immediate panic across the smuggler fleet.

"Hehehe… Smuggling, are we?"

"My old man says tax evasion is the lowest of the low.

So you all can go to hell."

Caesar's demonic voice rolled across the sea like thunder.

He immediately locked onto ships not flying the Rockefeller flag.

Then he opened his jaws—

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Giant fireballs rained down with terrifying precision.

The smuggler ships exploded one by one.

Men, cargo, and ships all sank beneath the waves, lost forever.

Caesar looked like a child playing with new toys,

Mouth opening and closing as he "called names" and burned them all.

The merchant ships flying flags shook in fear.

They silently thanked the gods that they'd paid that 1 million Berries for protection.

Caesar's rampage left a permanent scar on every merchant's memory.

The name Demon Dragon Caesar now echoed louder than ever through the New World.

"Fwooo~!"

Caesar let out a long breath and extinguished the flame in his mouth.

His massive dragon eyes scanned the sea carefully.

He checked for any surviving smugglers.

But after one full sweep—

Every ship he saw flew a flag. Not one dared to move.

(Merchant ship: "Do you dare us to move?")

"Lame!"

Caesar sighed in boredom and spun upward into the clouds.

Then he lay down among the clouds and took a nap.

His job was to hunt down smugglers.

Now that they were all gone, his mission was complete.

Time for some well-earned rest.

---

Meanwhile, aboard one of the surviving merchant ships…

A group of cloaked figures stared up silently at the massive dragon in the clouds.

"The Rockefeller Pirates aren't simple."

The hooded leader said softly, watching the sky.

"That's Demon Dragon Caesar, commander of the second division and Charlotte's eldest son.

I met him eight years ago. He was cute back then."

The massive man beside him, wearing a spotted hat and holding a Bible, replied flatly.

"Dragon… are we really going to work with the Rockefeller Pirates?"

A flamboyantly dressed figure—not quite male or female—

Glanced at the smoldering wreckage around them and asked nervously.

That hooded man was none other than Monkey D. Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army.

Dragon remained silent for a moment.

"The South Blue is no longer viable for our base.

The Marines and World Government control it too tightly—we're under constant surveillance."

"We need to find a new home in the New World.

And the only force here that might work with us is the Rockefeller Pirates."

"I've looked into Charlotte's past…

He and I… aren't so different."

"I believe we have common ground."

He raised his head again, staring at the dragon circling in the clouds.

"Hmm… I don't know," the flamboyant figure—Emporio Ivankov—sighed.

"He's a Yonko. Why would someone like him bother with small fry like us?"

Dragon smirked.

"If we don't try, how will we ever know?"

"Our comrades in the South Blue are counting on us."

Though his smile looked gentle, paired with his facial tattoo, it was downright menacing.

"Let's try. Charlotte once invited me to join him—but I declined.

We've got a history."

The towering man holding the Bible—

Was none other than Bartholomew Kuma.

"Wait—what?! Kuma, you know Charlotte Rockefeller?

Why didn't you ever tell me? I'm your best buddy!"

Ivankov shouted, shocked.

---

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