On Sunshine Island,
Big Mom had considered the people she sent to Clear Rain Island as expendable, but she wouldn't adopt the same approach for Initial Sunshine Island. After all, her children were valuable assets.
So, currently on Sunshine Island, they were led by Katakuri, the top combatants of Charlotte Family. This group included Perospero and Smoothie. Although Smoothie was only in her twenties, she had already acquired tremendous strength.
Their mission on Sunshine Island was primarily to keep one of the Guardians at bay, preventing them from assisting the rest of Vongola Family.
In Big Mom's opinion, the Guardian defending Sunshine Island, Knuckle, was easier to deal with than Ugetsu Asari. She instructed Katakuri and his siblings to keep him occupied and made sure that there wouldn't be any casualties among them. Moreover, she had previously informed Katakuri to send Shiki's mutated beasts as the vanguard. Their primary objective was to keep Knuckle at bay and held him there as much as possible.
Once she was finished with her battle on Secon Island concluded, Big Mom would naturally join them to deal with that Sun Guardian.
"Katakuri, those beasts don't seem to be able to hold him back for much longer. He can easily dispose of one with a single punch, and there are just a hundred remains," Smoothie said with a frown as she observed Knuckle, who grew increasingly stronger with each passing second. She instinctively tightened her grip on her sword. Smoothie hadn't participated in the previous battles with Vongola Family, but she had heard of the Sun Guardian's reputation. It was only now that she truly understood why her older brothers feared him.
Taking down those beasts would be extremely challenging even for her. Based on her self-assessment, dealing with a dozen or so of those A-Class Beasts would be her limit. But now, Knuckle was effortlessly disposing dozens of A-Class Beasts with one punch. And despite that, he showed no signs of exhaustion anytime soon.
He kept punching and dodging attacks without running out of breath...
At this moment, Knuckle seemed like a highly precise killing machine. Each of his punches and movements was perfectly timed, and each punch had just the right amount of power to kill a beast without wasting any energy.
"Stay focused, Smoothie. We already knew from the beginning that those beasts wouldn't stand a chance against him. We didn't expect much from the Shiki's toys, to be honest. It was more than surprising that those beasts can hold up for this long, considering that this Guardian could go toe-to-toe with Mama a few years ago."
Katakuri remained calmer than anyone else. He had honed his Color of Observation Haki to an extraordinary level over the years, allowing him to predict five seconds into the future. This was the source of his confidence to take on Knuckle, even if it were just buying some time.
"Are you ready for the ultimate showdown, Charlotte Family fledglings? There are 83 beasts left, and I can finish them off soon. Then it'll be your turn. I hope you'll prove to be tougher than these beasts."
Knuckle still had the luxury of speaking while annihilating the beasts with his punches, showing no signs of taking these mutated creatures seriously.
Indeed, why should he bother with creatures that couldn't even withstand a single punch from him?
"I don't want to fight you, as I know there's no chance of winning. But I need to keep you here on this island, or else you might interfere with what's happening outside."
Katakuri spoke directly, readying himself for battle. If he let his guard down even slightly against Vongola Family's Guardians, it could cost him his life.
"Hmm? So that's your plan! Well, let me tell you something. I don't need to leave Sunshine Island. Primo only ordered me to protect this island, so you can rest assured that I won't leave the island."
Knuckle first appeared puzzled, then smiled. "So, let's enjoy this ultimate battle soon. Although I don't have Hyper Intuition like Primo, my intuition tells me that you should be a decent opponent!"
Upon hearing this, Katakuri and his siblings felt exasperated. If they had known Knuckle wouldn't leave the island, they might not have come here in the first place!
Why delay the inevitable? They were ready to face him, but it would be torturous to fight a monster like him!
However, they wondered why Vongola Primo didn't ask Knuckle to support the others. Did that man truly think that he could handle both his Mama and Shiki at the same time?
"Enjoy the ultimate battle? Since you put it that way, it seems we won't be able to leave this island until this fight is over. But that's fine..."
Katakuri clutched his trident and activated his Color of Supreme King Haki to its fullest extent, creating a gust around him. "Let me see for myself how far I am from someone a Vongola Family Guardian!"
"Color of Supreme King Haki, huh? Haha, that kind of aura won't intimidate anyone. I've seen Primo's Color of Supreme King Haki, and it's much more powerful. However, I won't deny that you're a decent opponent. Oh and the gap between us doesn't matter. After all, fighting is about giving it our all!"
Powerful aura immediately came from Knuckle. Unlike Color of Supreme King Haki, what he released was pure fighting spirit, but it was so powerful that it set off a storm!
"What a monster! This much just from fighting spirit? Why do I feel that Color of Supreme King Haki seems insignificant after seeing this guy?"
Perospero was shocked at this moment. He had never seen anyone with a fighting spirit this intense!