Chapter 124: Koby vs. Katakuri
Chiba watched the arena intently, surprised to see that Katakuri, one of Big Mom's top commanders, had entered the tournament.
Katakuri's strength was leagues beyond many of the other fighters here; he was easily one of the most formidable opponents present. The crowd in the stands was in a frenzy, cheering loudly for Katakuri. Most of them idolized strength, and seeing someone as powerful as him only fueled their excitement.
Fujitora, observing from a distance, sighed. "The pirates in the New World are monstrous in strength. No wonder the Marine headquarters has been challenged by them repeatedly. Trying to eliminate them by force alone would be nearly impossible."
As the audience roared, Katakuri turned his gaze to Koby and said calmly, "I hope you won't let the power of the Shock Fruit go to waste."
In the stands, Vista and others cheered for Koby, shouting, "Koby, go for it! Don't lose!"
Marco, however, shook his head. "Koby hasn't had the Shock Fruit for long. He's still young and nowhere near Katakuri's level."
"Marco, don't discourage him," Vista replied. "We know Koby's strength. I believe he can hold his own against Katakuri."
Marco remained silent. From a power perspective, Koby was still far behind Katakuri. After all, Katakuri was one of Big Mom's top commanders, a veteran warrior whose reputation was on par with commanders from Whitebeard's crew. Comparing Koby to him was a tall order. Perhaps, with a year or two more of training, Koby might stand a chance.
Koby, aware of Katakuri's formidable power, held back and didn't attack recklessly. But Katakuri wasted no time, his overwhelming aura bearing down on Koby as he charged forward.
Katakuri's fist came crashing down toward Koby's head.
Koby narrowed his eyes and responded with a punch of his own, aiming at the space between them. Immediately, cracks appeared in the air, spiderwebbing outwards as Koby's Shock Fruit powers disrupted the impact of Katakuri's punch. Katakuri's fist splintered apart, shattering under the pressure.
"Nice one, Koby!" Vista shouted, shocked by Koby's display of strength. In such a short time, Koby had managed to harness the Shock Fruit's power to this degree—an impressive feat indeed.
But in the next moment, Katakuri's broken arm transformed into mochi, reforming effortlessly under his control.
"This guy's abilities are something else…" Vista muttered, watching in awe as Katakuri's arm reconstructed itself.
"Big Mom's top commander isn't someone you can deal with easily," Marco said, studying Katakuri carefully.
Katakuri looked at Koby and said with a hint of respect, "You're strong, but let's see how you handle this."
With that, Katakuri swung his leg, aiming a powerful kick at Koby.
Vista raised an eyebrow. "Is he seriously trying the same move again? Doesn't he know that Koby's Shock Fruit power will just break it?"
Koby, slightly surprised, braced himself and countered with another punch, shattering Katakuri's leg as expected. But instead of being deterred, Katakuri's leg split into dozens of thin mochi tendrils, each one lashing toward Koby with even greater speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The tendrils whipped Koby repeatedly, sending him flying backward. He barely managed to stop himself from falling out of the arena by jamming his sword into the ground.
"What kind of Devil Fruit ability is this? He can even attack like that with his kicks?" Vista said, astonished by Katakuri's versatility.
Koby frowned. Katakuri's mochi powers seemed to counter his Shock Fruit ability in unexpected ways. Every time he tried to shatter Katakuri's attacks, they simply reformed and continued coming at him.
Realizing this, Koby took a deep breath and covered his body in Armament Haki. The darkened Haki enveloped him, enhancing his defenses. Katakuri, noticing this, responded by coating himself in Armament Haki as well.
Without hesitation, Koby dashed forward, closing the gap between them in an instant. He swung his sword, Luobai, aiming for Katakuri's torso.
Katakuri blocked with his arm, but Koby's blade managed to cut into his body slightly. However, Koby quickly noticed that Katakuri's mochi body was highly elastic and sticky, trapping his sword and preventing him from cutting any deeper.
Before Koby could react, Katakuri's leg whipped around again, this time splitting into multiple tendrils just as it reached him. Caught off guard, Koby was struck by a flurry of blows, and his sword was wrenched out of his grip, landing in Katakuri's hand.
Katakuri inspected the blade and nodded in approval. "A fine sword. I think I'll keep it."
Seeing Katakuri claiming his sword, Koby's face darkened with anger. A powerful aura surged around him as his true energy began to rise.
"Oh?" Katakuri remarked, raising an eyebrow. "So, you've still got some hidden strength? Not that it'll make a difference."
Koby remained silent as a massive orb of white light formed at his fingertips, growing smaller and more intense as it condensed.
Seeing this, Vista's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh no… Koby's getting serious! We need to clear the area!"
Vista knew that, in addition to the Shock Fruit, Koby had also mastered a devastating technique known as the Small Collapse. When combined with the Shock Fruit, this technique unleashed incredible destructive power, even Marco would struggle to withstand it directly.
"Koby, didn't Chiba specifically forbid you from using the Small Collapse technique in the arena? Are you ignoring his orders?" Vista muttered, then quickly began ushering spectators away. "Everyone, if you want to live, get out of here now!"
The audience, however, didn't take Vista's warning seriously and remained rooted in their seats. Frustrated, Vista turned to Bartolomeo. "Set up a barrier! We need to shield everyone from the blast."
Reluctantly, Bartolomeo complied, raising a thick barrier to protect the audience from what was coming.
Katakuri, sensing the massive surge of energy around Koby, narrowed his eyes. With his advanced Observation Haki, he could feel the intense danger emanating from the small, concentrated light at Koby's fingertips.
[•———•——•———•]
𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧
✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟲𝟬+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.