A whole cartload of food was devoured by Caesar and his two companions in the span of a single meal.
"Mmm, satisfying! Now that's what I call enjoying a feast, Borororo! Too bad there wasn't enough booze" Caesar said contentedly, patting his belly and licking his lips.
Kaido scoffed "What kind of feast is this? Just a bunch of haphazardly thrown-together dishes. In the past, I wouldn't have touched such cheap stuff. Wait till we get to the Flower Capital—I'll show you what real Wano cuisine tastes like!"
"Bororororo, deal! Once we finish off those brats, I'm getting wasted!"
Caesar suddenly stood up and waved his hand grandly.
"Let's rest tonight, get a good night sleep and handle business tomorrow!"
As he rose, Linlin swayed her graceful figure and quietly followed.
Their silhouettes gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Kaido curled his lip and muttered "Hmph, shameless bastards."
In the darkness inside an abandoned temple, Caesar sprawled out casually, his arm wrapped around Linlin supple waist as they rested in the main hall.
"Caesar-oniisama, I heard you were asleep for many years. Why?" Linlin lay on Caesar chest, tracing circles on his firm torso with her slender, powerful finger.
Her breath carried a mature, intoxicating fragrance that made Caesar blood boil.
Caesar coughed. "Ahem. Well, Linlin, here's the thing. Back then, after I left Hachinosu with Kaido, we wandered around the New World. A lot happened and because our ideals clashed about thirty years ago, Kaido and I fought."
"And then? Did you lose?"
Caesar snorted. "How could I? Lose to that brat Kaido? Heh, truth is, I won. But somehow, that hotheaded kid grand talk got to me. Plus, with the whole Rocks fiasco, I was feeling pretty down. So when Kaido provoked me, I agreed to go into an eternal slumber beneath Onigashima."
Rustling sounds came from the darkness, but Caesar remained composed, forcing himself to stay calm.
"You know how it is with us Oni, Linlin. Once we enter a dormant state, no matter how long we sleep, we can maintain our peak condition. It's our racial trait, just like how the Lunarians can naturally control fire."
A pair of soft, smooth arms slid around Caesar neck as Linlin sat up, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"Hmph, Caesar-oniisama, you're so cruel. You only thought of yourself, never sparing a thought for me. Do I really mean nothing to you?"
"Cough, what are you saying? Of course not, heh. Linlin, you know me—I'm just a reckless idiot."
Linlin pouted and covered Caesar mouth, giggling.
"Don't say that about yourself. But as punishment for running away for thirty years, I'm going to make you pay tonight."
"Uh, how... how are you going to punish me?" Caesar throat felt dry as his large hands began to wander.
Linlin leaned down, her breath warm against his ear as she whispered a few words.
"Huh?"
Caesar eyes widened, his chest heaving with excitement as he suddenly flipped her over.
****
The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Caesar walked out of the room with his arm around Linlin slender waist.
On the street, Kaido, Queen and King were already waiting.
"Linlin, use your ability to make a bottle for me" Caesar said with a smile to the increasingly radiant Linlin.
Linlin gave a charming smile, reached up to grab a roof tile beside her and with a glowing fingertip, tapped it lightly.
A miraculous sight unfolded—the tile sprouted a chubby little face, gradually transforming into a round-bellied bottle.
"La la la~ Bottle, bottle, I'm a little bottle, Mama~" the tile sang cheerfully, its bottle body swaying unsteadily.
Caesar took the peculiar bottle, whose tiny eyes now filled with fear as it trembled in his grasp.
He drew a knife across his palm and filled half the bottle with his own blood.
"King, Queen" Caesar called.
King and Queen hurried over and Caesar handed the blood-filled bottle to King.
"What's this?" King asked, puzzled.
"Later, we'll head to the Flower Capital. Linlin, Kaido and I will fight the Straw Hat crew. You two take the chance to rescue Kaido and Linlin subordinates. Remember, there isn't much blood, so prioritize saving the officers."
King face lit up with joy and he nodded solemnly before carefully tucking the bottle inside his shirt.
The night before, he had rummaged through several houses in Hakumai Village, finding sumo wrestler outfits for himself and Queen, as their original clothes were in tatters.
"Let's move out!"
Caesar crouched, his muscular legs exploding with power as the ground beneath him shattered. His body shot into the sky like a cannonball.
"Second Form—Golden-Winged Great Peng!"
Caesar stretched his body—his legs morphing into talons, his arms into golden wings, his head reshaping into that of a great peng.
His form rapidly expanded, soon blotting out the sky over Hakumai Village, plunging it into darkness.
"Ahh! Look! It's the divine bird Garuda!"
The villagers of Hakumai rushed out of their homes, gaping in awe at Caesar transformation into a colossal avian.
"The divine bird has descended! Bless our village!"
Some elders fervently dropped to their knees, kowtowing toward Caesar.
"Screeeech!"
The Golden-Winged Great Peng threw back its head in a piercing cry that tore through the skies, its voice carrying for miles.
"Caesar-oniisama form is truly astonishing! Let's go, Kaido!"
Linlin leaped into the air, flames erupting beneath her feet to propel her upward.
"Hmph! Time to find that Straw Hat brat for a rematch!"
Kaido body elongated, his skin sprouting thick azure dragon scales as his hands twisted into claws.
Grabbing Queen and King, he swelled into a hundred-meter-long azure dragon.
A kimono-clad woman stumbled into the street, her face pale as she watched the sky-obscuring bird vanish into the distance amid gale-force winds, her worry deepening.
High above, the Golden-Winged Great Peng beat its wings. Linlin, Kaido and the others sat securely on Caesar vast back, unfazed by the roaring winds.
"What kind of Devil Fruit power is this?! This... this size is unbelievable! Even Onigashima isn't this big!"
Queen scurried about Caesar back like a flea on the great peng.
With wings spanning over nearly ten thousand meters—its scale rivaled Marineford plaza at the Marine former headquarters.
Caesar back was covered in incredibly thick feathered scales.
Walking on them now felt like stepping on clouds—soft and fluffy, as if one might sink in at any moment.
But in battle, these soft feathered scales would become harder than iron.
With just his massive body alone, he could shatter an entire mountain.
[A/N : The great peng form is a massive bird in chinese myth, while the great kun form is a massive fish/whale and the kunpeng form is combination of both]