The Flame Emperor Renowned Throughout the Four Seas

Julian had been sailing on the sea for five days, and it was now March. Alice's belly had begun to show slightly, and it had been over half a month since they started this journey. Every day, Julian would massage Alice, knead her legs, and rub her back. Julian was very much looking forward to the birth of this child, but he knew he couldn't raise the child using the methods common in this pirate world. If the kid ended up becoming a "filial son" who betrayed his own father, Julian wouldn't even have tears left to cry.

In the world of pirates, there are quite a few characters who are notorious "filial sons," with three appearing in quick succession. First, there is Blackbeard, Whitebeard's foster son, who orchestrated the Summit War. In the final stages of the war, after Whitebeard knocked Akainu into a pit, Blackbeard jumped out, intending to kill Whitebeard and steal the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. He hadn't expected Akainu to be so resilient; although the old man Whitebeard had two holes in his chest and a chunk of his head missing, his combat power remained formidable. Akainu himself had his kidneys ruptured by Whitebeard and was sent flying into that pit. If there hadn't been a rock ledge halfway down to catch him, Akainu would have ended up at the bottom of the sea drinking seawater.

Blackbeard jumped out, ready to reap the Devil Fruit ability, but he was nearly killed by Whitebeard. It was only after he called Whitebeard "Old Man" that Whitebeard hesitated, and in the end, Blackbeard was killed by the combined fire of the Blackbeard Pirates.

Second is Kaido's daughter, Yamato. After the age of six, she started calling Kaido by his name and even claimed to be Kozuki Oden. She joined an alliance with other pirate crews to fight her own father. After Luffy and Kaido both collapsed, Yamato ran over to catch Luffy and cheered him on, saying he did a great job. Yamato even exclaimed that it was excellent that Kaido fell into the magma, and she voluntarily became the guardian of that little idiot Momonosuke, working for that animal.

Third is Big Mom's daughter, Chiffon, who helped her husband Bege and Luffy try to kill Big Mom, even though Big Mom was her own biological mother.

The fourth "filial grandson" is Luffy, who gave his grandfather Garp a bloody nose with a single punch. Julian couldn't help but exclaim that their "filial piety" was truly powerful—it reached the heavens.

After finishing breakfast, Julian continued his daily training. On the open-air deck of the fourth level, he began practicing his Body Techniques and developing his Devil Fruit abilities. The first one he worked on was his Earth-Earth Fruit. A wave of red Gravity Mud covered over two hundred meters, forming a sphere that acted like a barrier—a Gravity Barrier.

Inside this two-hundred-meter gravity sphere, the gravity was five times stronger than outside. And two hundred meters wasn't even Julian's maximum output. The Fire Dragon Fruit granted Julian powerful stamina recovery and a sturdy physique.

Julian could now proudly say that he could fight for five days and five nights. This barrier could also rotate and contract, constantly repairing itself, much like Doflamingo's Birdcage. If anyone touched it, it would act like a swamp with adhesive properties, immediately pinning them to the mud wall, trapping them inside forever.

Julian could also activate the Earth-Earth Fruit to make the ground itself sticky, sapping the opponent's stamina and making their arms feel too heavy to lift. It was a classic ambush tactic.

Julian's Gravity Mud was made of incredibly troublesome red earth; once entangled, there was no escaping. Even an Admiral would find such a move difficult to deal with.

Julian could also instantly turn that mud into magma. This was a technique developed by combining the fire abilities of the Fire Dragon Fruit with the Earth-Earth Fruit, possessing immense destructive power. Under Julian's control, the molten lava would transform into magma dragons. Julian himself was not afraid of fire or magma; the Flame Dragon was, after all, one of the top-tier creatures.

Now, Julian was developing both fruits simultaneously while keeping up with his Body Techniques: Flame Dragon Exploding Fist, Ten Times Flame Dragon Exploding Fist, Fire Dragon Lightning Fist, and Flame Dragon Lightning Fist. These were martial arts he had cultivated in his Beastman Form.

With his hands wrapped in two massive magma dragon heads, Julian was now experiencing the joy of being Akainu. Those magma dragon heads flew off his wrists, mimicking Akainu's Great Eruption and Hell Hound. Anything Akainu could do, Julian could do too, and his name sounded even more imposing. He even had abilities Akainu didn't possess—how frustrating must that be for him?

Julian unleashed another Flame Dragon Exploding Fist toward the sea. His right hand thrust forward, and a massive magma fire dragon flew toward the ocean, followed by a tremendous explosion. The shockwaves of the blast rippled across two kilometers of the sea surface.

Julian remarked, "Flame Dragon Nuclear Fist," combined with the offensive and defensive versatility of the Kun Fist. Julian could confidently say that no one could defeat him on his home turf. He continued practicing the Flame Dragon Exploding Fist, with every strike sending out a magma fire dragon—a divine skill for fishing. Julian then released his Flame Dragon - Earth Burst Heavenly Star. As he spoke, spheres of fire and earth flew from his hands toward the sky, slowly converging into a massive magma sphere. It kept expanding: twenty meters, forty meters, eighty meters, two hundred meters. That scorching magma sphere hung high in the sky at eight hundred meters. Below, all the crew members were cheering: "The Captain is mighty! The Captain is invincible!" Some of the female nurses were looking at Julian with stars in their eyes. And this wasn't even Julian's maximum power for the Earth Burst Heavenly Star; he could push it to four hundred or even eight hundred meters.

At this moment, a group of News Birds was frantically snapping photos of Julian. The pictures captured his Fire Dragon Form using the Flame Dragon Exploding Fist, his Beastman Form using the Flame Dragon Roar, and now, the Earth Burst Heavenly Star in his Beastman Form. His Hybrid Form was an ability he had only just developed.

In this form, his speed increased significantly. His size shifted from the hundred-meter-tall giant dragon of his Fire Dragon Beastman Form to a twenty-eight-meter-tall Beastman Form. While the Flame Giant Dragon Form walked on two dragon claws, the Beastman Form allowed for greater speed and more agile techniques.

This form possessed the power of the Flame Dragon combined with human agility and technique. His fighting style leaned toward human combat, whereas the Fire Dragon Form leaned toward the beastly; both preferred melee combat, much like a wild Flame Dragon, though his human intelligence would diminish in the beast form.

The Beastman Form could also control fire, and his appearance was similar to the Flame Giant Dragon Form. Moreover, as Julian developed both fruit abilities, he could multitask, seamlessly chaining techniques from both. Julian estimated that his power had reached the level of an elite Vice Admiral. If he could also cultivate Armament Haki, he would basically be able to walk sideways across the Grand Line.

Julian controlled that two-hundred-meter magma sphere to descend rapidly, crashing into the sea like a meteor. A massive explosion followed, instantly creating huge waves that rose two hundred meters high. Julian quickly ducked into the cabin to avoid the seawater raining down from the sky. He could feel his body rapidly recovering its stamina, though the consequence of such high-intensity training was, of course, hunger.

By noon, Julian was starving. He went to eat, activating his Beastman Form to admire himself. His entire body was wrapped in red flames, his skin was red, and he was covered in layers of red scales. He had two massive front claws, bone spurs on his elbows, and his muscles were fully defined. His face had three sharp spikes, his head bore a pair of dragon horns, and his back featured bat-like wings and barbs. His feet were clawed, and his belly had a ring of yellow skin, much like a Charizard, right around the navel.

The Fire Dragon Beastman Form looked incredibly cool, and the flames seemed to accelerate his stamina recovery. It was hard to imagine the terrifying power of Teacher Kaido's four elements; his own Flame Body couldn't compare to Kaido's Azure Dragon Body.

Julian mused, "Kaido's Thunder Bagua really does seem to trigger Devil Fruit awakening in others. After Luffy took a hit and was near death, his Nika Fruit awakened. To awaken a Zoan Devil Fruit, the prerequisite is an unwavering will and a lack of fear of death."

Julian's own Dao heart was extremely firm, so there was no issue there. Kaido's Devil Fruit was likely in a semi-awakened state. One could look at Luffy's Gear Five or Lucci's Leopard Form, which had Flame Clouds swirling behind them—that was true style. Teacher Kaido likely failed because he wasn't Joy Boy; he couldn't change the world, which led to self-doubt. How could the soul of the Azure Dragon Fruit acknowledge him? In his flashbacks, Kaido often asked King, "King, am I really the one who can change this world?" Furthermore, Kaido often cried and tried to commit suicide. Someone with a stable Dao heart should be like Luffy, not someone who constantly cries and doubts themselves.

Kaido's physical body, Haki, and strength are all world-class; he is only missing that final step. His Drunken Dragon Bagua form, Immovable Wisdom King Bagua form, and Five Great Wisdom King forms are all boundlessly powerful.

There is another possibility, just as Kaido said: the strongest powerhouses on the Sea all focus on cultivating Haki, which is why he didn't put much effort into developing his Devil Fruit. Kaido has always wanted to become a powerhouse like Roger. Furthermore, Kaido personally stated that Roger became one of the strongest people on the Sea relying on Haki without ever eating a Devil Fruit, and he also claimed that Haki transcends Devil Fruit abilities.

If the issue lies in his Dao heart, Julian said: just get a sound system—isn't that the Drum of Liberation? Throw in a Slave Song, and who would dare say you aren't Joy Boy? Once that helps Kaido awaken the Azure Dragon Fruit, getting him to draw some blood definitely wouldn't be a problem. By then, it might even be an awakened Artificial Devil Fruit. Julian also hopes to avoid these pitfalls himself so he can awaken his own Devil Fruit.

Julian also wants to use Kaido's Lineage Factor to replicate a few more awakened Devil Fruits in the Azure Dragon Form. Julian said: if there is still Kaido's Lineage Factor at Punk Hazard, there would be no need to go find Kaido to draw blood. However, that Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Form Artificial Devil Fruit must be eaten by an adult.

If a child eats it and grows up, they will turn into Kaido's likeness because that is Kaido's Lineage Factor. The little idiot Momonosuke was artificially aged; after reaching twenty-eight, his appearance became very close to Kaido's, no longer looking like that big idiot bird Kozuki Oden.

Many people think the Fish-Fish Fruit Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Form means a fish awakened and became a dragon. Fish-Fish is just the category, while Azure Dragon is its form. The Dragon-Dragon Fruits are all Ancient Zoans of the dinosaur type, not Mythical Zoans like the Divine Dragon.

Gion has already started working a part-time job at a tavern. Marine Headquarters Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong held the news about Flame Dragon Julian in his hand, along with a photo of Julian controlling a Flame Dragon to punch the Sea; the scene was incredibly spectacular. At the very end was the Chibaku Tensei Julian unleashed using magma. Due to the camera angle, this magma fireball looked over five hundred meters wide. The magma sphere flying through the sky carried an incredibly domineering sense of oppression.

Julian was already quite famous, being the first dual Devil Fruit user on the Sea. The News Bird delivered the photos of Julian to Morgans, and the pictures taken in the morning were in the news by the afternoon. Morgans even wrote the headline for Julian's news as: The Strongest Flame Creature, Flame Emperor Julian.

Kaido of Onigashima in Wano Country saw this newspaper report and said: "Flame Dragon Julian, I've decided that the next time I see him, I'll teach him a lesson. What do you mean by 'strongest creature'? I am the strongest creature in this world, the Beast King Kaido!" Beside him, Scourge Queen said very happily: "Boss Kaido is the strongest creature on land, sea, and air."

Big Mom of Whole Cake Island also took out the newspaper and shouted: "Mamamama! Another strong man has appeared on the Sea. I really want to obtain his bloodline! That would surely allow me to give birth to more powerful descendants! Ma-ma-ma!" Beside her, twenty-five-year-old Katakuri looked embarrassed and said: "Mother's illness is acting up again. Whenever she sees someone strong or impressive, she thinks about procreating." Katakuri looked at his younger brothers and sisters: the half-fishman, the Three-Eye Tribe, the Long-Hand Tribe—the fifth brother, Opera, didn't look much like a human anymore. The third sister, Brulee, was Katakuri's favorite sister; although her appearance was hard to describe, she was gentle and kind at heart. He then looked at the fourteenth sister, Smoothie, a Paramecia Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit user, nicknamed the "Juicer."

Katakuri looked at his other sisters, the eighteenth sister Galette. At fourteen years old, Galette already had a very curvaceous figure and was quite beautiful. She was a Butter-Butter Fruit user. Katakuri shook his head helplessly. Big Mom having thirty-nine daughters and forty-six sons was indeed impressive. Other people's crews relied on recruitment, but her crew consisted of her own children. However, facts proved that among the children she bore, only Chiffon had a rebellious streak, supporting her husband Bege in trying to kill Big Mom. Still, the blood connection did make things a bit more stable than with others.

Yamato declared, "I am Kozuki Oden." After Whitebeard saw the newspaper about Flame Dragon Julian, he laughed, "Ahahahahaha! Another little monster has popped up on the Sea." Beside him, Little Marco called out: "Pops, when are we going to explore for secret treasures?" Whitebeard laughed: "Having you sons is enough for me. Who needs that boring stuff?"

At this time, Little Marco was still a young man in his twenties with the same pineapple hair. His Phoenix fruit had not yet been developed by Marco into a medical fruit, and Whitebeard still had a full head of golden hair. Marco said with great emotion: "Pops, shall we have a banquet tonight?" Whitebeard replied: "Get the banquet started!"