"Brother Katakuri has made his move too?"
On the main battlefield, Cracker's expression looked rather grim as he controlled his army of Biscuit Soldiers. He even seemed a little dejected.
At this moment, his entire body was drenched in sweat. Creating large numbers of Devil Fruit constructs did not come without a cost.
To put it simply, the price of producing Biscuit Soldiers was his stamina.
And because of that, a limitation appeared. He could not continuously create Devil Fruit constructs beyond the limits of his physical strength.
Even with Oven joining the battlefield and rapidly killing those elite individual enemies, the Biscuit Soldiers, who were at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, still could not seize the advantage on the battlefield.
So, in Cracker's eyes, Katakuri had chosen to personally step in because Cracker's side had failed to break through the stalemate for too long.
Perhaps to avoid hurting his younger brother's pride, Katakuri had acted hastily and without saying a word.
For the proud and arrogant Cracker, this counted as a kind of denial of his ability.
But precisely because of that, Cracker also let out a faint breath of relief inwardly.
He truly could not hold on much longer. If this continued, his own Devil Fruit power would drain his stamina dry.
Yet the situation really had not opened up at all. At most, it had shifted from a disadvantage into a stalemate.
Since Brother Katakuri had taken action, that meant the war would be resolved at an extremely fast pace.
As a member of the family, he knew very well just how strong Katakuri, who ranked first on the "most beloved brother in the family" list, truly was.
He was an expert extremely close to Mama's level. It was even said that he had mastered the terrifying Observation Haki ability known as Future Sight.
'Barring any accidents, the enemies will all be defeated by Brother Katakuri.'
Cracker relaxed slightly inside, and the speed at which he produced Biscuit Soldiers also slowed.
If they achieved a complete victory, but he was the only one among the siblings who collapsed from exhaustion afterward, that would be far too embarrassing. It would also disgrace his status as a Sweet Commander.
Meanwhile, on Katakuri's side, the one on whom such great hopes had been placed—
The confrontation had only just begun.
"...Isn't someone who attacks from behind even more despicable?!"
Katakuri clenched his trident tightly, his expression carrying a trace of anger.
Just now, he had sensed Sister Amande's aura rapidly weakening. Most likely, something had happened to her.
In order to save his family member, he had chosen to abandon his position of command and observation and make a direct move. Yet here, he had encountered an "attack from the future."
Because he had to concentrate on activating his Observation Haki, using Future Sight to confirm Sister Amande's situation, he had not expected that, in the vision shown by his Observation Haki, he would be ambushed from behind in this very place.
And the result... In any case, he had suffered a heavy injury.
Although the enemy's attack had not yet happened and he had avoided it in advance through prediction, the opponent now stood in his way and refused to let him go to Sister Amande's location.
Together with the fact that, in his Observation Haki, Sister Amande's aura was still rapidly declining, Katakuri—who looked aloof and cold on the outside, yet cared deeply for his family and subordinates—became somewhat anxious and furious.
He could not help but demand angrily, "Where is Amande?!"
"You mean that female swordsman? I didn't attack her. She was probably defeated by the enemy you're about to face next.
"Judging from that irritable yet suppressed look on your face, it seems her condition isn't very good."
Ren spread his hands frankly, but his words carried a sharp scent of gunpowder.
"..."
What did that mean?
Sister Amande had not lost to this man?
Then who had she run into?
Was there anyone else in the Demon Pirates worth paying attention to?
There was no answer.
Katakuri took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said coldly, "Do you and your people know what you're doing?"
"I know. We're fighting a Yonko force."
Ren shrugged. "Or rather, since we've already started fighting you, how could we not know?"
"If you had not attacked first, the situation might have taken a different course."
Katakuri's expression was icy as he spoke in a rigid, formulaic tone. "We bear no hostility. This time, we came only to invite you back to Totto Land as a guest.
"As for those winged creatures, Mama has some ideas she wishes to discuss with you."
"I know. But I don't like your methods. It's basically the same as an invitation to a tea party, isn't it?
"If you refuse, someone close to you suffers misfortune. What a bloody and brutal pirate method.
"This time, it should be even more violent. If I don't agree to hand over what you want, you'll flatten this place and take me back as a prisoner.
"But I happen to think you don't have that ability, so I skipped straight ahead to the part where we verify it through battle."
Ren smiled faintly. "Katakuri, let's forget this boring exchange. Isn't it better to use strength to decide who is right?"
"...You're right. That is what I was thinking too."
If not for Perospero's instructions to conduct one round of proper negotiations first and bring back what Mama wanted intact, he would have attacked directly just now.
For him, the safety of his family was what mattered most.
Katakuri's expression became even colder. He tightened his grip on the trident in his hand, and the ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
Or rather, it transformed into a soft, mochi-like substance.
Paramecia-Type Devil Fruit Awakening—environmental assimilation.
His Observation Haki unfolded, locking onto the enemy, and entered its strongest state—
Future Sight!
So-called Future Sight was the ultimate ability born from developing a series of Observation Haki skills—sensing the enemy's movements, seeing through the enemy's actions, and predicting the enemy's movements—to the very extreme.
Its effect was singular: to foresee what would happen within the next few seconds!
No matter what plans, intentions, or actions the enemy had, none of them could deceive the image of the "future."
It was one of the rarest and most difficult abilities to cultivate among all powers born from Observation Haki.
Once mastered, it could be said that one would stand almost undefeated in a duel.
In other words, he had already gone all out.
Launch an attack, seize the initiative through Future Sight, defeat the enemy in one strike, and then go help Sister Amande!
A plan instantly formed in Katakuri's mind.
And at that very moment—
Ren reached out and grabbed, holding Heavenly Might in his palm.
"Are you planning to rely on Future Sight to finish me as quickly as possible?
"I don't mind being looked down on, but... have you really seen a future where you win?"
There was no answer.
Katakuri, who had activated Future Sight, suddenly fell silent. Beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, then flowed down his cheeks and chin.
That was not ordinary perspiration. It looked more like the reaction of someone who had been frightened.
The image he had received through Future Sight still lingered in his mind.
It was a blazing slash as scorching as the sun.
"You look rather nervous."
Mockery glimmered in Ren's crimson eyes. "Looks like you gained quite a lot of useful information from the future you saw."
"..."
Katakuri remained silent, because he could not answer.
No matter how he looked, how he tried, or how he countered, making the future in his eyes change thousands upon thousands of times—
The result was one and only one.
Death!
In the future he foresaw, He used Flowing Mochi while in his Awakened state, assimilating the entire ground into a flowing mochi fluid, covering it with Armament Haki and wrapping it around his opponent.
Then Ren drew one slash.
That seemingly ordinary sheathed long blade erupted with dazzling light the instant it was unsheathed.
Like the blazing sun, it formed a crescent-shaped slash. Everything along its path silently turned to ash.
That included the assimilated mochi ground.
And it also included him.
In the future he foresaw, He used Peerless Donuts while in his Awakened state, turning the surrounding ground and forest into formed and hardened mochi.
This time, he covered his attack with a massive amount of Armament Haki.
Yet it was still that unavoidable slash.
The brilliant radiance was like the sun directly before his face, and everything vanished within the light.
In the future he foresaw, He did not hesitate to use Peerless Donuts, then extended enormous arms enhanced by Strength Mochi from the base of Peerless Donuts.
This time, he covered them with nearly all of his Armament Haki, forming the attack Buzz Cut Mochi.
And yet...
It was still that slash!
The incomparably scorching light swallowed everything, crushing both him and his attack without the slightest pause.
But... why?
Why was this happening?!
Large beads of sweat appeared on Katakuri's forehead, back, and even across his entire body.
He refused to give up and kept trying, but what he received in return was failure after failure in Future Sight.
In a short span of time, the shadow of death piled up over and over again, bringing with it suffocating pressure.
He could not win. He did not even have the ability to block.
All effort vanished within the light.
The problem was, that person should not be this strong. Why was he this strong?!
Even Mama could not give him this kind of pressure, where he would die without even having room to struggle!
He could not understand it. He could not imagine it. Nor did he have any way to solve it.
His brain felt as if needles were stabbing into it. More and more sweat poured from him, making him look as though he had just been fished out of the water.
Silence continued between the two of them.
At this moment, Cracker, who was remotely controlling the Biscuit Soldiers, also noticed the situation.
Or rather, the moment the target, Ren, appeared, he had already been paying attention to this side.
As long as Brother Katakuri dealt with this Ren, the main battlefield could end for him in a respectable manner.
However, Cracker, who had been constantly glancing over, still did not see Brother Katakuri make a move.
Instead, Katakuri was drenched in sweat, and his expression looked terrible, as if he had been locked in battle with the enemy for three days.
It was extremely wrong!
'A Devil Fruit ability?!'
Cracker seemed to realize something. His expression changed as he shouted, "Brother Oven! Go help Brother Katakuri!"
Before his words had even fallen, he sped up his clapping and created a large number of Biscuit Soldiers, sending them rushing toward Katakuri's location.
Hearing the voice, Oven stopped on the battlefield. In his hand, he was gripping a Four-Winged Angel that had been melted into molten iron.
He frowned and looked back at Cracker, wanting very much to say that Katakuri did not like others interfering in his fights.
However, when he saw Cracker's anxious face, Oven immediately turned around. As his gaze swept over, he also noticed the abnormality on Katakuri's side.
With just one glance, he made the same judgment as Cracker.
The reason was simple. Katakuri clearly had not fought, yet he showed the fatigue and sweat of someone who had been fighting for a long time.
Combined with Katakuri's usual style, as well as the opponent's reputation as a Multiple Devil Fruit User, it was possible to arrive at a rough but most likely correct answer.
'He's being affected by a Devil Fruit ability? A mental-type Devil Fruit ability? Damn it. Don't think you can defeat us like this!'
Oven's expression tightened, and then he charged forward at an extremely fast speed.
Flames rose from his entire body, and terrifying heat accumulated around him, transforming into the shape of a war chariot.
"Heat Den!"
(End of Chapter)