As all eyes on the surrounding islands focused on the emperor-level battle between Zyhark and Big Mom, an earth-shattering explosion echoed through the air. A massive electromagnetic beam erupted, its power so immense that it split Cake Island in half, and even the sea was briefly divided into two.
The pirates, with terror in their eyes, watched as the ground collapsed and a massive rift filled with molten lava formed in the center of the island.
Swoosh!
Seawater continuously poured into the rift, instantly vaporizing from the intense heat, turning into vast clouds of scalding steam.
"Retreat! Stay away from Cake Island!" Streusen screamed in panic.
The battle had gone far beyond what he had anticipated. Initially, with Zyhark being held off by Big Mom, Streusen believed their side could capitalize on their numerical advantage to quickly end the fight. But now, the situation was far worse than he imagined.
"Such a terrifying attack—was it the power of that man, the one called the Emperor's Engine?"
Though the deafening noise had subsided, Streusen still trembled with fear. His mind flashed back to the bounty poster of King, radiating with an overpowering aura.
When the news first broke about the immense destructive power of every member of Zyhark's crew, Streusen, like many other factions, assumed the reports had been exaggerated for attention.
After all, if they truly possessed multiple combatants on par with Yonko commanders, why would they cooperate with the World Government instead of dominating the seas themselves?
But now, after witnessing firsthand the attack that had cleaved Cake Island in two, Streusen's expression turned grave, his calm eyes shaken to the core.
The strength hidden within Zyhark's crew might indeed surpass that of the Sea Emperors!
As the pirates hastily retreated, back on the divided Cake Island, Katakuri stood on the left half, staring at the massive rift. Even the always calm and composed Katakuri couldn't help but gasp for breath.
"Who is that little girl? She casually unleashed a beam with such devastating power..."
Reflecting on the life-threatening moment just now, Katakuri's heart still raced.
If not for his future-sight Observation Haki allowing him to foresee the danger and warn his allies to take immediate evasive action, they would have been wiped out by that one strike.
Despite his warnings, many of their comrades who couldn't react fast enough had fallen, sinking to the bottom of the sea.
"Damn it, the intel only mentioned that she had repelled Sakazuki, the admiral candidate. No one told us she was this strong!"
Cracker, his twin pigtails sparking with electricity, stared in shock at Kanna, who stood on the cliff, breathing heavily. Just grazing the aftermath of her electromagnetic blast had shattered his once-impenetrable biscuit armor, forcing him to reveal his true body.
"Katakuri, what do we do now? Should we take down that dangerous brat first? She looks pretty weak right now," Smoothie asked, her spiraling sword in hand, eyes locked on the exhausted Kanna, who was bent over, hands on her knees, panting heavily.
Her towering, impossibly long legs stood out even among the crowd.
As the ivory counterpart to the Beasts Pirates' Jack the Drought, those legs alone were worth 900 million berries!
"Don't act rashly. We still don't know enough about the remaining crew's abilities," Katakuri said, his chest heaving under his scarf as he tried to maintain his composure. He knew this was a critical moment for the survival of the Big Mom Pirates.
Even the seemingly harmless child possessed such devastating power—this enemy was far more dangerous than anything they'd ever faced.
"Leave that mysterious little girl to me. You all handle the others," said Perospero, the eldest son, holding his candy cane staff. He glanced at the crackling lightning above before turning his sinister gaze toward Kanna.
"Hehehe, don't worry. As with all our previous battles, we will emerge victorious. Mama will never lose," he sneered.
"After all, she is the one who will become the Pirate King!"
Hearing Perospero's unwavering resolve, Katakuri hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. Though the risk was high, this was their best option. Only the most powerful of their officers stood a chance against these monsters.
"Let me assist you, Perospero," said Daifuku, the minister of beans, his genie swirling at his navel as he stepped forward.
"You're going to gang up on a little kid? If word of this gets out, the New World pirates will laugh at us for years," Perospero chuckled, but he didn't reject Daifuku's offer.
The main reason, of course, was the overwhelming strength Kanna had already displayed. Even though she appeared to be in a weakened state, they couldn't take any chances.
Just as the Big Mom Pirates finalized their strategy, a massive shadow loomed over them.
Boom!!
A golden battle axe slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater. Shirtless and carrying Rita on his shoulder, Escanor had walked right into the middle of their group.
"Enough meaningless chatter, pirates."
His muscular, steaming body radiated heat as he stood there arrogantly, glaring at everyone.
The sheer force of his presence forced Katakuri and the others to retreat.
As they withdrew, Katakuri placed a hand on the ground, activating his awakened Mochi Mochi no Mi powers. The once-solid earth seemed to come alive, and towering pillars of mochi surged toward Escanor from every direction.
"Rainfall Mochi!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The mochi rained down on Escanor, creating a storm of impacts as it encased him, momentarily restraining his movements.
"Attack now!" Katakuri shouted.
Understanding his signal immediately, the other Big Mom officers redirected their focus, charging toward their respective opponents.
"Surrender the treasure and give up this futile resistance!" Aqua taunted from the back, taking on the role of a villain with gusto.
When it came to pirates, who lived by plundering and killing, the foolish goddess had no moral qualms about fighting them.
After all, Big Mom had attacked first, wanting to claim Zyhark and the Poneglyphs for herself.
"Those belong to me, the great goddess! How dare you try to take them from me!"
Seeing that the pirates ignored her, Aqua yelled, "King! Go give them a good beating!"
She pushed King in front of her as a human shield.
The ever-honest King muttered, "..."
Though he was terrified by this sudden display of trust, King now had the Mark II suit.
Facing these vicious pirates, he finally had the strength to fight back.
No longer wanting to hide behind his comrades' protection, King's mechanical eyes scanned the pirates with newfound resolve.
His engines roared to life, spewing flames, as King launched himself toward the enemy, determined to prove his worth.
Boom!
The first to meet his charge were Cracker's biscuit soldiers.
These soldiers, capable of withstanding the force of Luffy's Gear Fourth, were no easy foes.
Especially with Cracker himself, wielding his powerful Haki, joining in the attack.
In the brief moment of contact, King, piloting the Mark II, was surrounded and swallowed up by the sea of biscuit soldiers.
Luckily, the Mark II was highly agile and durable, and with King's skilled piloting, he managed to avoid falling into a significant disadvantage.
But even with this, it became clear that stopping Smoothie, Oven, and the others would be nearly impossible.
"Meowth, I've buffed you! Now go!"
Aqua nonchalantly cast a full attribute buff on Meowth, thinking she wouldn't have to lift a finger. But to her surprise, Meowth picked up Kanna and immediately retreated further away.
It was clear for all to see that Kanna had a peculiar charging device strapped to her back, with a tail-like cable plugged in.
Knowing Kanna's stamina limitations, Zyhark had already prepared measures to recharge her energy.
However, restoring her to full strength would take some time.
In the meantime, Meowth, with his mastery of the Rokushiki and incredible speed, took on the role of bodyguard.
"Kanna-chan is in my care. Aqua, you handle the rest of them!" Meowth shouted as he darted away, leaving Aqua standing there, dumbfounded.
"Eh? Eh?!"
Before she could react, a massive slash split the ground in front of her.
Smoothie, having absorbed the essence of her defeated subordinates, now stood as tall as a giant, her every strike carrying enormous power.
Despite her initial laziness, Aqua's instincts kicked in. Her eyes flashed red with Haki as she narrowly dodged the incoming attack.
A lock of her blue hair was sliced off.
"You sneaky coward! How dare you!"
Aqua's temper flared. She immediately retaliated with a blast of holy water aimed at the giant Smoothie.
Smoothie effortlessly sliced through the water with a clean strike.
As the water droplets scattered, Oven, his body ablaze, charged forward.
Raising his fiery fist, he leapt into the air and brought it down with full force, shattering the ground beneath Aqua's feet.
"Let's see if your water powers can extinguish my heat!" Oven said, his burning eyes locked onto Aqua, who barely managed to dodge his punch.
Still bitter about being blasted away by a water stream earlier, Oven was determined to prove himself in battle.
He was as stubborn as ever, just like when he had tried to stop Bege's pirate ship with his bare hands.
This Netsu Netsu no Mi user had always been hardheaded to the core.
"You're just a defeated lackey, still dreaming of victory," Aqua scoffed, gripping her staff tightly as divine blue light radiated from her body. Her goddess cloak fluttered gently in the rising stream of water.
Realizing that she couldn't slack off any longer, the foolish goddess finally got serious.
Meanwhile, in the rear battlefield, Perospero and Daifuku stood atop their rapidly moving candy slime, relentlessly chasing after Meowth.
The constant barrage of candy bullets and Haki-infused slashes was a headache for Meowth, significantly slowing his pace.
If this kept up, it was only a matter of time before they caught up.
"Meowth, put me down! I can still fight!" Kanna said stubbornly from his back.
She struggled to get up, but her exhausted body refused to cooperate.
"Don't worry, Kanna. You've already taken down so many pirates. Leave the rest to me, meow," Meowth reassured her as he dodged incoming attacks, looking for the optimal route to the coastline.
As long as he could lure the pirates toward another crewmate, even if Kanna wasn't fully recharged, he was confident they could win!
Shifting back to the main battlefield—
Explosions echoed continuously as the battle between Katakuri and Escanor intensified.
"Mochi Power!"
"Escanor's Fist!"
Their heavy fists collided in mid-air, sending out shockwaves that tore through the ground.
After a brief clash, they both leapt back.
"As expected of the second-in-command of a Yonko crew—you've got some skill," Escanor said, glancing at his clenched fist, savoring the thrill of their confrontation.
Though it was no longer the peak of noon, Escanor's power still remained formidable.
And as a result, he had high hopes for this first real fight against a powerhouse of the pirate world.
'To overpower my Mochi Power with nothing but raw physical strength…'
Katakuri's eyes darkened as he felt the sting of their clash still lingering in his arm.
This man was a monster, just like Big Mom!
Having never tasted defeat since setting out to sea, Katakuri's expression grew increasingly serious.
Now that he had gauged his opponent's strength, Katakuri was done holding back. He activated the awakened powers of his Devil Fruit.
"Peerless Donuts: Nine Mochi!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Nine massive rings of mochi materialized behind Katakuri, each containing a giant fist enhanced by advanced Armament Haki.
The added weight of his awakened fruit ability made Katakuri even more imposing and domineering.
"So this is the power of your Devil Fruit? Fascinating. If we were at a banquet, I imagine this would steal the spotlight from Miss Aqua," Escanor mused, more amused than intimidated.
With his back to the sun and his Divine Axe in hand, he was utterly fearless!
"You arrogant fool. Let's see how long you can keep that smug look on your face," Katakuri growled, his voice low.
It was the first time an enemy had compared his technique to something as trivial as a party trick!
This was outright mockery!
For a man with kingly ambitions, such disrespect was intolerable!
"If you think you can, then by all means, try," Escanor replied, stroking his mustache.
He raised his finger slowly, and at its tip, a miniature sun began to form.
"Mochi Cluster!"
"Cruel Sun!"
(End of Chapter)
====
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]