Caesar: A Lonely Youth (story arc)

Caesar: A Lonely Youth (シーザー孤独の青春) is the tenth story arc in Battle Tendency.

It narrates Caesar's attempt at attacking the lair of the Pillar Men alone and his death at the hands of Wamuu.

Summary
After regaining the Super Aja, Joseph, Caesar, Lisa Lisa and Messina take residence in a luxury resort in Saint Moritz facing the abandoned hotel that Esidisi's package is destined for. Caesar and Messina believe they should attack the Pillar Men's lair while the sun is still up and Wamuu is away, but Joseph argues that Kars must have made countermeasures against daylight attacks and is therefore at his most dangerous during the day. Caesar strongly disagrees and an argument between the two escalates into a fight when Joseph mentions that he doesn't care what happened to their ancestors. Caesar leaves, ready to fight the Pillar Men alone. Lisa Lisa sends Messina to Caesar in order to stop him.

Lisa Lisa then tells Joseph the story of Caesar's childhood. When he was a child, Caesar's father Mario Zeppeli abandoned him and his sibling. Caesar resented his father for that and grew up as a delinquent. One day, the now young man spotted Mario in the streets of Rome. Seeking revenge, Caesar followed Mario up to the Coliseum and the Pillar Men's resting place. In here, he triggered a trap, only for Mario to jump to his rescue. Mario was dragged into the wall and digested by the sleeping Pillar Men and, failing to recognize his son, asked Caesar to go seek Lisa Lisa. Witnessing the virtue of his father, Caesar regained pride in his family name and dedicated his life to vanquishing the Pillar Men and avenge his family. Hearing this, Joseph decides to follow Caesar.

At the entrance of the hotel, Caesar spots footprints leading to the main door and sees a nearly invisible figure in the doorway who leaps at him before disappearing. Messina arrives just in time for the attack. It is Wamuu, enveloped in a coat of wind protecting him from the sun rays, who cuts off Messina's arm before dragging the Ripple master inside. Caesar can only evade the attack and analyze Wamuu's technique before the Pillar Man returns to challenge him, sensing his progress as a fighter.

A fight ensues; Caesar takes Wamuu by surprise when he reveals a new technique taken from his grandfather: the Bubble Cutter. Wamuu is forced to retreat inside the hotel, Caesar on his trail. In the main hall where lies an unconscious Messina, the fight continues. Caesar takes a decisive advantage when his Bubble Cutters act as lenses to redirect the light into Wamuu, cornering the Pillar Man; but, Caesar lunges at Wamuu to deal the final blow and momentarily blocks the sunlight. The Pillar Man uses that one opening to hit Caesar with a point-blank Holy Sandstorm, inflicting fatal injuries the young man. Caesar is mortally wounded, but as a defiant act, steals Wamuu's lip ring.

Caesar tells a shocked Wamuu that he accepts his death, but intends to die as his forebears had before him, claiming that the valor of the Zeppeli family's legacy is part of the human spirit. Caesar then uses the last of his Ripple to create a bubble from his blood to hold the lip ring and his bandana, yelling for Joseph to take his power as his own before he is then crushed by a cross-shaped slab of stone. Wamuu honors the strength of his adversary by leaving the bubble and takes his leave.

Joseph and Lisa Lisa enter the hotel moments later, finding only debris and Messina's unconscious body. Joseph spots the bubble and pops it; feeling the force of Caesar's final Ripple confirms his worst fears: that Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli is dead. Joseph tries to find Caesar's body, but Lisa Lisa coldly tells him that they must track down the Pillar Men. Joseph berates Lisa Lisa for her attitude before realizing that she also affected by this tragic loss as he tries to follow her example. It is only then that they notice blood flowing from under the slab, the two Ripple users deeply lament upon realizing how Caesar died.

Chapters

 * 044 (088). Caesar: A Lonely Youth, Part 1
 * 045 (089). Caesar: A Lonely Youth, Part 2
 * 046 (090). Caesar: A Lonely Youth, Part 3
 * 047 (091). Caesar: A Lonely Youth, Part 4
 * 048 (092). Caesar: A Lonely Youth, Part 5
 * 049 (093). Caesar: A Lonely Youth, Part 6

Volumes

 * 06 (10). The Crimson Bubble

Anime Episodes

 * 10 (19). Rushing Towards the Cliff of Death
 * 11 (20). Caesar's Lonely Youth