"You underestimate me, and you will be smashed to pieces!"
Hancock's face was cold as she kicked Daifuku in the chest, shattering the petrified statue.
Her opponent was strong, but not stronger than her.
Before entering that place, perhaps he truly would have been extremely troublesome.
However… after Ren's forceful "instruction," she had awakened her Devil Fruit.
The Awakening of the Paramecia-Type Sweet-Sweet Fruit was the same as other Paramecia Awakenings, in that it could affect the outside world.
The difference was that Hancock did not need to make any gestures. A mere meeting of eyes was enough for her to impose the effects of her ability.
Since the genie did not have a true physical vital point, then she simply had to petrify him together with the smoke and the Devil Fruit user himself!
'Speaking of which, can my ability work on that man…?'
Hancock drew back her long, full leg, but what filled her mind was the man she had always wanted to get revenge on.
If her petrification could affect Ren…
In her mind, she suddenly pictured Ren with his entire body petrified, only his head still able to move, pleading with her to undo her Devil Fruit ability.
Her fiery red lips subconsciously curled upward, until—
"You seem to be thinking about something very rude."
Ren appeared through Combat Dispatch, placing his hand directly on Hancock's fragrant shoulder.
His arm felt the beauty's body stiffen. His long fingers rested above the towering curve of her chest, pressing a small hollow into it.
"N-No…"
Hancock froze for a moment, even her speech becoming uneven.
It was not because she was unused to this kind of contact by now, but because she was afraid her thoughts had been seen through by the "prophet."
If that was the case, she had no idea what kind of "work" Ren would assign her next.
In that golden domain, she had spent a very long time with Ren in the truest sense.
Because of the resentment in her heart, her desire to get revenge, and all sorts of other thoughts, and because the things Ren could do inside that golden domain were simply too outrageous…
She had already experienced a whole series of "jobs," including "leg pounding," "foot washing," "massaging," "lap pillow," "face pillow," and so on.
They had grown increasingly excessive and increasingly beyond her bottom line, but after thinking them over again and again at the time, she had still accepted them.
For example, right now, this was the "hand relaxation" job she had been forced to accept after losing a bet because she did not believe Ren could recreate a Celestial Dragon.
The one being relaxed was Ren's hand. As for the "tool" used for relaxation…
At this moment, Hancock silently endured the fingers moving downward, her elegant brows faintly furrowed as she forced herself not to pay attention to the sensation caused by that rounded shape deforming.
Now that things had reached this point, if there were any further "jobs"…
It might end up being something like serving him in bed… and she was not very willing to accept that kind of work.
The dignity of the Kuja Emperor… Forget it. It seemed she no longer had any.
"I see."
Ren did not leave. He rested his chin on Hancock's shoulder, and at the same time, his gaze pierced through space and fell upon another battlefield.
The battle between Zoro and Katakuri was still ongoing, but it was visibly entering its second half.
Crisscrossing sword energy clashed against mochi that had been assimilated, coated in Haki, and hardened to an extreme degree.
The battlefield beneath them was already covered in scars. Huge craters, cracks, and abysses spread everywhere.
For powerful fighters, Kuja Island was simply too small as a battlefield.
If Zoro had not been consciously controlling himself, and if Katakuri himself had not been the type to cause large-scale destruction…
And if Katakuri had not been consciously limiting the battle's range to a fixed area in order to indirectly increase the density of his attacks and secure victory as quickly as possible…
Then at least a quarter of Kuja Island would have been ruined by the aftermath alone.
With the fierce battle having reached this point, Katakuri had completely gained the upper hand through Future Sight.
However, he still had not finished his opponent off, because his opponent… had been growing stronger all along.
Every time he felt he could crush the enemy, the other party's strength would suddenly leap upward by another level.
It was as if all his accumulated growth just happened to burst forth at precisely the right moment.
But no matter what, it still had not surpassed the advantage brought by Future Sight.
At this moment, Zoro's entire body was covered in wounds. His blood-soaked appearance was enough to make one shudder.
Thousands of giant fists bombarded him, each strike more terrifying than a cannonball. Even a casual graze could smash apart a small mountain.
And because of Future Sight, all of those attacks were gathered onto him within a small area and a short span of time.
Even with Haki protecting his body, Zoro still could not truly withstand them.
Boom—!
Continuous explosions roared. Jet-black giant fists fell like meteors, bombarding the crater and tearing the earth open into a massive sunken fissure.
Zoro, who was within it, swung out a Flying Slash. After blocking the momentum of the fists, he changed sword techniques and cut apart the Peerless Donuts surrounding him.
Yet Katakuri, using Future Sight, once again seized the opening. He plunged his Mogura spear into the ground and raised a mochi drill that slammed directly into Zoro's body.
Even with Haki protecting him, Zoro was still smashed underground like a mole.
Stifling.
Too stifling.
If the opponent did not have Future Sight, he was confident he could end the battle within half an hour.
However, that hypothetical condition did not exist, and he would not allow himself to hold such a laughable thought.
No matter how exquisite the swordsmanship he used, Katakuri would definitely foresee it and counter it.
The attacks that could injure his opponent only landed because Katakuri judged that they were attacks he could endure, accepting injury in exchange for inflicting even greater damage on him.
This was an opponent Zoro had never encountered before.
At this moment, he truly understood why Ren had said that only by crossing over Katakuri could he reach the place behind him.
This was not an opponent who could be defeated by hot-blooded courage, nor the type one could beat through a war of attrition, nor a problem swordsmanship alone could solve.
If he wanted to defeat, or even slay him, he had to possess power that exceeded the advantage of Future Sight.
That kind of overwhelming power!
Speed alone was not enough.
Blood dripped. Injuries piled up.
Even though he had only just emerged from seclusion, he had already encountered a heavenly chasm he could almost never cross.
Even though he understood that his opponent's stamina consumption was also enormous, and perhaps there would still be a turning point afterward…
Zoro would not allow himself to harbor such a cowardly thought.
'Cut him down.'
'Answer Ren's command.'
'Then do that.'
His thoughts grew firm amid the clash of blade and spear. His desire for victory, his pursuit of power…
All of it made Zoro clearly remember the power he had felt when he crossed blades with Ren.
The power named Conqueror's Haki. The technique named Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
Three swords returned to their sheaths. One sword was drawn.
A slash wave like a raging hurricane dragon erupted from underground, forcing Katakuri to stop in advance.
In that fleeting gap, in that rare chance to breathe…
Zoro gripped Wado Ichimonji and closed his eyes, reaching inward to explore.
Conqueror's Haki was the power of those with kingly ambition. That was what he had once believed.
But Ren had said that, as long as one possessed the aptitude, one could actually awaken this power by having the spirit and thoughts to overturn the rules.
And he happened to have both!
Conqueror's Haki aptitude was Ren's judgment.
The spirit and thoughts to overturn the rules were things he had possessed from the moment he chose to follow in Ren's footsteps.
Ren's crew acknowledged one another, just as Ren believed that he would surely defeat Mihawk.
He also acknowledged Ren's ideal of overturning this world, and he would offer his own strength for it.
Thus, what he lacked was only that single step taken after reaching the limit.
And at this moment, the direction, the enemy, the pressure, and his desire had all gathered here.
"Cross that boundary and become… the king of swords!"
It seemed like a burst of inspiration, and also like something accumulated over a long period finally erupting.
Under the pressure Katakuri placed on him, Zoro, who had spent so much time in seclusion, digested everything he had gained in the past at an astonishing speed, then took another step forward in the midst of adversity.
Azure flames ignited on Wado Ichimonji. Along with them rose black-red lightning.
A suffocating pressure swept like wind across the ground that had become a sinkhole.
Katakuri, who had leapt up to avoid that slash and was preparing to seize the chance to deal more damage, felt his pupils constrict. An expression of disbelief appeared on his face.
"Conqueror's Haki Awakening!?"
"No. A stronger realm!"
Zoro opened his eyes. The Conqueror's Haki radiating from his body coiled around Shusui's blade as though it were alive.
Just like in the golden domain, where Ren had artificially created "Conqueror's Haki" and helped him familiarize himself with it ahead of time through that instruction.
Even though, compared to that time, the quantity and quality of the Conqueror's Haki he had just awakened were too little and too weak, it was still enough—
Enough to cross that boundary!
"No matter what it is, you will fall by my hand today!"
Katakuri gave him no chance. Gripping Mogura, he spun his entire body into a drill and shot down from the sky.
It seemed wide open and forceful, but in reality, the moment Zoro made any response, he would immediately foresee it and counter it.
Just as he had done before, constantly using his advantage to inflict damage on his enemy.
"It's time to end this."
Zoro's beastlike eyes stared at the enemy descending from the sky.
Then his five fingers clenched tightly around the sword hilt, yet he returned the blade to its sheath. The scattered azure pressure poured into the scabbard, and at last, he took an iai stance.
"One-Sword Style Iai: Death Lion's Song!"
A dazzling sword light erupted in an instant, unable, as always, to escape Future Sight's prediction.
Yet at this moment, Katakuri felt no trace of joy. Instead, a horrifying chill surged through his entire body.
He withdrew from his prediction, and what entered his eyes was the exact same scene as the one he had seen through Future Sight.
—The sword light had already arrived!
Boom—!
The racing azure sword light flashed past, cutting across the sky, and also cutting across Katakuri.
Immediately afterward, the atmosphere trembled. Amid the explosive roar, the raging winds that scattered outward tore through the earth like blades.
Half of a long spear fell from the sky, stabbing into the scarred and battered ground, and also into the ground before Zoro, who stood there with his sword in hand.
"It's over."
He murmured in a low voice.
Along with his words came a thud.
Katakuri fell from the sky and crashed into the sinkhole. A hideous wound pierced through his chest and heart, completely extinguishing his vitality!
The leader of the Sweet Commanders, the second-in-command of the Big Mom Pirates, Charlotte Katakuri, the man who possessed the most terrifying ability within Observation Haki—Future Sight—Had died completely beneath that single slash!
Indeed, Katakuri possessed the terrifying ability of Future Sight, but that did not mean there was no way to deal with it.
The answer was speed.
Absolute, overwhelming—
Speed!
An iai technique was his fastest slash. He had possessed it from the very beginning, but he had not been able to kill with a single strike.
That was why Zoro had never used it.
Not until he awakened and mastered Conqueror's Haki.
Only then did he reveal this trump card meant to kill in a single blow!
Clap—clap—clap.
The sound of applause rang out. Ren appeared, clapping his hands, his expression somewhat strange.
(End of Chapter)