Because his opponent was truly strong.
His mastery of Armament Haki was probably even greater than Katakuri's own.
Within the Big Mom Pirates, Katakuri's Armament Haki mastery was surpassed only by Mama's.
As for Observation Haki, he even surpassed Mama by a step.
Yet this opponent before him had Armament Haki that exceeded his own. It felt as though he had already reached Mama's level.
His Observation Haki was slightly weaker, but that was only because he had not awakened the advantage brought by Future Sight.
Unbelievable.
To think he had reached such a level at this age.
Katakuri stared at that face, one clearly much younger than his own, and for once, he felt pressure.
If he remembered correctly, there were rumors that the Demon Pirates were all people of extraordinary talent. That was why they had repeatedly done things that shocked the world.
Originally, that news had been rather obscure. Those who heard it simply scoffed and dismissed it.
Katakuri himself had only happened to hear of it.
He had never expected that… the rumor seemed to be true.
However.
No matter how much of a genius he was, he could not defeat him.
The power of Future Sight was not something that could be overcome by a moment of hot-blooded bravery.
Katakuri was extremely confident in this. He stared at Zoro, who was slowly rising to his feet.
What he was thinking about was this: if he captured him as a bargaining chip, could he preserve the lives of their group from Ren?
Among those who had come this time, he was the strongest.
However, in the Future Sight triggered when he faced that man named Ren, no matter how he struggled, he could not survive.
The most terrifying thing was… his opponent had only used a single slash.
Completing the mission was definitely impossible now. As their elder brother and the leader of this operation, he had to consider the lives of his brothers and sisters.
Including Amande, whose fate was still unknown.
The location he sensed was nearby, but her presence had already weakened to the point that he could no longer perceive it.
Either she was dead, or she had been captured.
Whichever it was, it meant this operation had far exceeded Mama's expectations.
"You seem to be thinking something rather offensive."
Zoro brushed the dust from his body and looked coldly at the opponent before him.
"If you surrender, it will make things much easier for me."
Katakuri pointed his spear at his enemy, his eyes cold. "I imagine your captain cares about your life."
"Hahahaha, how interesting. If you can do it, then come."
With that single disagreement, a new battle erupted.
The dense forest became their battlefield. This time, however, Katakuri was serious in the truest sense.
It was not that he had not gone all out before. Rather, he had changed his fighting style.
Previously, he had dodged every attack and counterattacked.
Now, he was willing to take some attacks if it meant he could heavily wound his opponent.
As a result, the scene became even more intense, even bloody.
"Your combat instincts and ability to read the situation are both quite good."
Ren stood with both hands in his pockets, right inside the encirclement formed by the Biscuit Soldiers. "As expected of the vice-captain-level figure of the Big Mom Pirates, I suppose?"
There was no answer.
Not far from Ren, sweat streamed down Cracker's forehead. A bone-piercing killing intent pricked at every inch of his skin like needles.
It felt as though if he dared to use the Den Den Mushi in his hand to call Mama, he would be smashed to pieces in the very next second.
In truth, he did not think this was a false sensation. He had seen very clearly how Oven died.
One slash.
A slash like light itself.
With Oven's strength and Haki defense, he had still been unable to block it in the slightest.
Even if Cracker entered the field himself, there would be no difference.
"You bastard…"
Cracker forced a few words out from between clenched teeth, only to see his opponent raise an index finger before his lips.
"Don't disturb me. You are not my target. Continue doing what you should be doing.
"This army battle is still a war test, and I need you to keep supplying test subjects.
"As long as you don't act recklessly, you won't die for now."
Those indifferent words were so cold.
Cracker could not help clenching his fist. Flames of fury crashed around inside his chest.
As one of the Sweet Commanders, when had he ever been looked down upon like this? It was as though he were no more than an ant on the roadside.
But did he dare make a move?
There was no answer. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, Pretzel, at his waist, yet he could not bring himself to exert force.
Whoosh, whoosh—
A wind suddenly blew. Yellow sand abruptly swept across the earth, and the Biscuit Soldiers surrounding Ren instantly began to make cracking sounds.
Their moisture was drawn away by the yellow sand. The overly dried biscuits turned into dust and scattered.
"If we're fighting, then your opponent is me."
Vivi walked out from within the yellow sand, her eyes fixed on her opponent.
Countless grains of sand condensed out of thin air and danced in the air, transforming into a violent sandstorm that trapped this place within it.
Cracker's eyes darkened. His gaze swept around, but he could no longer see Ren anywhere.
The latter had already left and was now observing the overall situation.
Premonition Perception and Crimson Eyes activated, bringing several distant battlefields into view.
Zoro versus Katakuri was one part of the commander-versus-commander arrangement. Naturally, the other fronts were the same.
Nojiko versus Smoothie. Hancock versus Daifuku. Cracker versus Vivi.
At this moment…
A forest somewhere on Kuja Island had already turned into a sea of flames.
The scorching heat evaporated all moisture, almost turning this place into a high-temperature hell.
Ordinary people would have their lungs burned simply by breathing here.
Naturally, there was no moisture left either.
For a Paramecia-Type Wring-Wring Fruit user, this was undoubtedly an extremely unfavorable environment.
Because there was no way to wring moisture from the air and use it to unleash the Juice Giant.
"Was I seen through?"
Smoothie stood at the center of the sea of flames, panting heavily, gripping her greatsword with one hand as she remained vigilant.
Not far ahead of her, the pink dragon-woman stretched her arms amid the flames.
Although the scales beneath the flames were covered in bloody sword wounds, she still maintained fairly powerful combat ability.
Those wounds had been left behind during the previous exchange.
"You're being countered."
Nojiko stretched out a hand and spread her five fingers, her gaze cold and emotionless. "If you want to activate your Devil Fruit ability on me, you first have to withstand the Burning Star Fire on my body.
"Even if you cover yourself in Armament Haki, with your ability, it should still be difficult to endure temperatures hot enough to melt steel, right?"
Melt?
What melting? That was clearly vaporization!
A wary look flashed through Smoothie's eyes. Her free hand was still faintly aching.
It was not that she had never tried to directly deal with her opponent's body.
But the layer of flame on her enemy was far too terrifying. On the surface, it seemed like ordinary fire, but only when one truly touched it would one feel its dreadful temperature.
Even the surrounding ring of fire had extended from her opponent's body.
If this continued…
"One final gamble!"
Smoothie did not continue thinking. After taking a deep breath, her entire body withered considerably, followed immediately by her figure swelling.
She once again transformed into a Juice Giant. Ignoring her injuries, she raised her greatsword with both hands and unleashed an enormously powerful flying slash.
"It's useless!"
Nojiko opened her mouth and gathered a Blast Breath. A second later, it became a violent torrent of crimson flame that pierced through the sea of fire.
It struck the flying slash head-on and swept it into a massive explosion.
Firelight burst apart. Smoothie's enormous figure charged out, raising her greatsword and thrusting forward like a war chariot.
She was unstoppable, like a wild boar attacking with its tusks.
Starfire: Meteor Shower!
Flames at the level of the Crimson Flame King—8,000 degrees Celsius—shot up from Nojiko's ten fingers. Then she clenched her fists and, without hesitation, unleashed a continuous barrage of punches.
Violent power wrapped in extreme heat made the air erupt with explosive booms.
And at that moment…
Smoothie abruptly hurled out her greatsword. The tip of the fine-quality blade collided with the continuous shadows of fists, and in only a moment, the front half melted into molten iron.
Using the sacrifice of her beloved sword to win an opening, she suddenly stretched out both hands, covering them completely in Armament Haki.
As long as she could grab her!
As long as she could grab the enemy, then with the power of the Wring-Wring Fruit, she could wring all the blood from her opponent's body in an instant!
This was her final and most decisive desperate gamble.
However… having seen through this strike, Nojiko advanced instead of retreating. Her red lips parted, revealing the golden-red light deep in her throat.
Miniaturized: Blast Breath!
A miniature Blast Breath, far faster than the previous uses, erupted like a flash of light.
Boom—!
The violent pillar of flame pierced through the sea of fire, raising a savage hurricane that tore apart the ground for hundreds of meters around them.
The rapidly climbing flames were still burning, sweeping the headless corpse within the fire into them as well.
Covered in blood, Nojiko swayed twice, then dropped to one knee and panted.
"So hard to deal with… Sweet Commanders…"
Yes.
She had won.
Her battle with Smoothie had not been easy. Even though she clearly knew her opponent's background and intelligence, and even though she was in a state that countered the opponent's Devil Fruit ability.
The opponent was still, after all, a Sweet Commander. A battle-hardened powerhouse.
Her Haki mastery was far above Nojiko's, her physical qualities were incredibly powerful, and her swordsmanship had reached the realm of a Great Swordsman.
However, Nojiko, who dared to face her, was not weak either.
She had long since learned how to fuse the Qi taught by Ren with Haki, and had focused her training entirely on Armament Haki.
In her pink dragon form, she gave up lightning and storms, choosing only fire. This formed a beneficial cycle with the Evil God Lighter she possessed.
Starfire…
Or rather, Burning Star Fire, was the result of that mutually reinforcing cycle.
It could be said that she had already forged a path of her own.
As a true powerhouse, she had killed Smoothie head-on in a clash of strength. The price she paid was being heavily wounded by the opponent's Devil Fruit ability.
After all, Smoothie's Armament Haki mastery was very high. She was still able to withstand Nojiko's Starfire-enhanced Flame Dragon Torch for a brief moment.
However, with that kind of life-risking approach, there was no way she could withstand Nojiko's miniature Blast Breath at close range.
She had deliberately used the activation speed of her Blast Breath to mislead Smoothie, then claimed victory with the faster-activating miniature Blast Breath.
Whoosh, whoosh—!
Amid the strange sound, the surrounding flames gathered together as though they had lives of their own.
In the end, they formed a fireball that hovered above the battlefield. Immediately afterward, it went out and vanished with the sound of a finger snap.
"After all, this is Kuja Island's territory. Burning everything down isn't exactly good manners."
Ren's voice rang out after that. Having flashed over to this place, he walked up to the battered Nojiko and reached out, rubbing her blue hair after the flames dispersed.
"You did well."
"I worked hard."
Nojiko narrowed her eyes and rubbed against his hand twice, then said, "You should still pay more attention to everyone else. This war isn't over yet."
"No, it's more or less over."
Ren turned his head, his gaze crossing a vast distance before landing on a stone-petrified world.
The sword-wielding genie, including the smoke that had birthed it, had turned into a vast expanse of stone along with the battlefield itself.
And Daifuku, the source of that Devil Fruit creation, had frozen in a pose with one hand reaching forward, hearts emerging from his eyes.
He, too, had become a petrified statue!
(End of Chapter)