The underground auction hall had become unrecognizable.
Collapsed pillars littered the battlefield.
Massive craters scarred the floor.
Entire sections of the ceiling had caved inward from the repeated shockwaves tearing through the structure.
And at the center of that devastation
Two monsters continued clashing.
Norwell D. Giovanni.
And Charlotte Katakuri.
BOOOOM!!
A blackened fist slammed into Giovanni's crossed blade.
The impact detonated across the chamber.
The surrounding walls cracked instantly.
Giovanni was launched backward like a cannonball.
KRAAAASH!!
He smashed through a collapsed pillar and skidded violently across the ruined floor before flipping back onto his feet.
His boots dragged through debris.
Breathing heavier now.
Sweat rolled down his face.
Across from him
Katakuri stood completely still.
Calm.
Unshaken.
His scarf fluttered lightly in the underground wind.
"You still haven't figured it out."
Giovanni grinned despite the pain shooting through his arms.
"Yeah?"
Katakuri's gaze sharpened.
"You cannot hit me."
The moment those words fell
Katakuri vanished.
BOOM!!
The floor exploded beneath where he had stood.
Giovanni's Observation Haki screamed.
He twisted instantly.
WHAM!!
Katakuri's kick still clipped his shoulder hard enough to send him spinning through the air.
Giovanni planted one hand against the ground.
Flipped.
Then accelerated forward again immediately.
His sword became a silver blur.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Dozens of slashes erupted simultaneously.
Fast.
Precise.
Deadly.
Katakuri flowed around every single one.
Not through speed alone
But anticipation.
He already knew where every attack would land.
Giovanni slashed low.
Katakuri stepped back before the strike even came.
A thrust aimed for the throat
Katakuri tilted sideways effortlessly.
A reverse upward slash
Already avoided.
It was like fighting someone reading the future.
Because he was.
Giovanni clicked his tongue internally.
'This is bullshit.'
Katakuri's fist suddenly stretched outward.
Armament Haki hardened across the giant mochi limb.
BOOOOM!!
Giovanni crossed his sword barely in time.
The impact still launched him through three rows of collapsed seats.
The underground structure trembled violently.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Before Giovanni could fully recover—
Another Mochi fist descended.
Giovanni slashed through the first instantly.
SHRAAAK!!
But another wrapped around his ankle.
Katakuri appeared directly in front of him.
Already waiting.
A blackened fist pulled backward.
Giovanni's eyes widened.
'Damn it—'
BOOOOOOM!!
The punch crashed into his stomach.
Blood exploded from Giovanni's mouth.
The force launched him through the underground chamber entirely.
KRAAAAAASH!!
He burst through a stone wall and rolled violently into another corridor beneath Dressrosa.
The ceiling above cracked from the impact.
Stone rained downward.
For several seconds
Silence.
Then—
"…Ow."
Giovanni slowly pushed himself upward.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Still smiling.
Footsteps echoed ahead.
Katakuri emerged through the dust cloud calmly.
Untouched.
His eyes remained cold.
Like a veteran predator dismantling prey.
Giovanni exhaled slowly.
Then suddenly—
Dark red lightning exploded outward.
BOOOOOOM!!
Conqueror's Haki burst from Giovanni violently.
The corridor cracked apart instantly.
Loose debris exploded outward.
Katakuri's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then his own Conqueror's Haki erupted.
The two invisible forces collided head-on.
BLACK LIGHTNING exploded throughout the underground chamber.
The walls screamed.
Entire sections of the corridor collapsed beneath the pressure.
Nearby unconscious pirates were thrown across the floor from the force alone.
The clash lasted only seconds.
But the sheer pressure made the air feel impossible to breathe.
Giovanni grinned wildly through it.
"There you are."
Katakuri's scarf shifted slightly.
For the first time
Excitement flickered in his eyes.
BOOM!!
Both men disappeared simultaneously.
Their clash erupted throughout the underground tunnels like natural disasters colliding.
Giovanni attacked relentlessly now.
His swordsmanship became sharper.
Faster.
More aggressive.
He kicked off walls.
Used Sky Walk through collapsing corridors.
Ricocheted through the environment like a golden meteor.
SHING!
A slash cut apart an entire stone pillar.
Katakuri dodged before the blade even moved.
WHAM!!
His knee slammed into Giovanni's ribs.
Giovanni retaliated instantly.
A spinning slash tore upward toward Katakuri's jaw.
Dodged again.
Katakuri's future sight remained overwhelming.
Every attack.
Every feint.
Every movement.
Seen before it happened.
Giovanni flipped backward through the air.
Landed atop a collapsing beam.
Breathing harder now.
His body screamed from accumulated damage.
Katakuri stood below calmly.
"You rely too much on instinct."
Giovanni smirked.
"And you rely too much on cheating."
Katakuri ignored the comment.
Then suddenly—
His entire arm expanded.
Mochi spiraled around itself repeatedly.
Compressed.
Hardened.
Armament Haki coated it jet black.
"Buzz Cut Mochi."
The gigantic spinning fist launched forward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The corridor vanished.
Giovanni barely escaped using Sky Walk.
The spinning attack tore through multiple underground levels behind him like a drill of destruction.
Giovanni's eyes widened slightly.
'Okay.'
'That would've killed me.'
Katakuri appeared above him instantly.
Future Sight already guiding the exchange.
A downward kick crashed into Giovanni's guard.
BOOOM!!
Giovanni was driven straight back into the underground floor.
The impact created a massive crater.
Dust erupted everywhere.
For several moments
Nothing moved.
Then slowly
Giovanni rose again from the rubble.
Blood dripped from his lip.
His arms trembled slightly now.
But his grin remained.
Even wider than before.
Katakuri stared at him silently.
"…You still intend to continue?"
Giovanni rested his sword against his shoulder.
His eyes burned with excitement.
"Obviously."
He spat blood onto the floor.
"I'm starting to understand it now."
Katakuri's eyes narrowed.
---
Shockwaves thundered through the underground labyrinth with every collision.
And still
Norwell D. Giovanni kept getting back up.
BOOOOM!!
Katakuri's fist smashed through another stone wall as Giovanni narrowly twisted aside.
The attack missed his head by centimeters.
The resulting shockwave still blasted him across the corridor.
KRAAAASH!!
Giovanni rolled through debris before sliding back onto his feet.
His breathing had grown noticeably rougher now.
Sweat dripped down his face.
Bruises covered his body.
His arms trembled slightly from repeatedly blocking Katakuri's monstrous attacks.
Meanwhile
Charlotte Katakuri remained almost pristine.
His scarf fluttered calmly.
His gaze never wavered.
Like an immovable wall standing before Giovanni no matter how desperately he struggled.
"You're slowing down."
Giovanni wiped blood from his mouth.
"Nah."
He grinned.
"It's just your imagination."
Katakuri vanished.
BOOM!!
Giovanni's instincts screamed.
He didn't move immediately this time.
Instead
He focused.
Observation Haki expanded outward desperately.
The sounds around him dulled.
Dust drifting through the air slowed slightly.
Katakuri's presence sharpened.
Giovanni's pupils narrowed.
'Left.'
He turned instantly
WHAM!!
Katakuri's kick still slammed directly into his ribs.
Blood sprayed from Giovanni's mouth as he was launched across the chamber again.
KRAAAAAASH!!
He smashed through a collapsed pillar violently.
Katakuri lowered his leg slowly.
His eyes narrowed.
"…You tried to predict it."
Giovanni coughed hard while forcing himself upright.
'Too slow.'
'I sensed it…'
'But my body reacted after the attack already happened.'
Katakuri's gaze sharpened further.
For the first time since the battle began
Something resembling surprise flickered across his expression.
Giovanni charged again.
This time his movements had changed subtly.
Less reckless.
Sharper.
More focused.
His Observation Haki remained stretched to its absolute limit.
Katakuri saw it immediately.
'He's adapting.'
The Sweet Commander attacked first.
A barrage of mochi fists erupted toward Giovanni from every direction.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The underground corridor exploded repeatedly.
Giovanni moved between the attacks desperately.
Twisting.
Sliding.
Sky Walking off collapsing walls.
A fist shot toward his blind spot.
Giovanni froze for half a second.
'Behind—'
He tilted sideways instinctively.
The punch barely grazed his shoulder instead of crushing his skull.
Katakuri's eyes narrowed slightly.
Giovanni noticed it too.
'I saw it.'
Only for a moment.
Only barely.
But he had seen it.
Excitement surged through him instantly.
Then Katakuri's knee slammed into his stomach.
WHAM!!
Giovanni folded in half and crashed into the ceiling.
Stone exploded downward around him.
"You're distracted."
Katakuri appeared beside him instantly.
A blackened elbow descended.
Giovanni crossed his saber.
CLANG!!
The impact shattered the weakened blade partially.
Cracks spread through the steel.
Giovanni's eyes widened.
'Shit.'
Katakuri kicked him downward again.
BOOOOOOM!!
Giovanni crashed into the underground floor hard enough to create another crater.
Dust flooded the chamber.
Katakuri landed calmly nearby.
His gaze remained unreadable.
But inwardly
He was genuinely shocked.
'He's learning Future Sight.'
Not perfectly.
But piece by piece
Giovanni was beginning to glimpse moments ahead.
And he was doing it during combat against Katakuri himself.
That alone was absurd.
Giovanni rose slowly from the rubble.
His body ached everywhere now.
The saber in his hand was cracked heavily.
A cheap blade.
A sword inherited from his father.
Reliable.
Familiar.
But completely outclassed here.
Katakuri watched him quietly.
"A sword won't bridge the gap between us."
Giovanni smirked tiredly.
"Yeah?"
"Still gonna try."
BOOM!!
They collided again.
The underground exploded into motion.
Giovanni's swordsmanship became increasingly wild and beautiful simultaneously.
He attacked from impossible angles.
Kicked off walls.
Used collapsing debris as footholds.
His blade flashed like silver lightning throughout the underground chambers.
And slowly
Very slowly
Katakuri stopped landing completely clean hits every single time.
A punch grazed instead of connected fully.
A slash came closer than before.
A kick was partially blocked.
Tiny improvements.
But improvements nonetheless.
Katakuri's calm expression hardened.
Because Giovanni wasn't supposed to improve this quickly.
BOOM!!
Another clash of Conqueror's Haki erupted.
Black lightning exploded around them.
The underground structure groaned violently.
Giovanni swung upward.
Katakuri dodged
But Giovanni's slash still nicked his scarf.
The fabric tore slightly.
Silence.
Both men froze briefly.
Giovanni blinked.
"…Wait."
"I actually hit you."
Katakuri slowly touched the torn scarf.
His eyes sharpened dangerously.
The atmosphere darkened instantly.
"You're growing too quickly."
Giovanni grinned widely despite looking half dead.
"That's usually what happens in battle."
Then suddenly
A familiar voice echoed through the ruined chamber.
"Yo."
Both fighters turned.
At the entrance of the destroyed corridor stood Shanks.
Completely relaxed.
Roger's black cutlass rested casually over his shoulder.
Giovanni blinked.
"Shanks?"
Shanks smiled.
"You look terrible."
"Thanks."
Without another word
Shanks tossed the blade.
Giovanni instinctively caught it.
The moment his hand wrapped around the hilt
His eyes widened slightly.
The sword felt completely different.
Heavy.
Perfectly balanced.
Alive.
Like it carried overwhelming history within its steel.
Giovanni stared at it.
"…Wait."
He looked toward Shanks.
"Are you sure?"
Shanks grinned.
"Yeah."
He tapped Gryphon resting at his waist.
"I've already got my sword."
His expression softened slightly.
"And if there's anyone I'd want using my captain's blade…"
His grin widened.
"…it's my best friend."
For one brief moment
Giovanni simply stared at the weapon.
Then slowly
A smile spread across his face.
Katakuri watched the scene silently.
Then calmly spoke.
"A stronger sword changes nothing."
His Observation Haki sharpened once more.
"You still cannot close the gap."
Giovanni rested Roger's cutlass against his shoulder.
The grin on his face became almost feral.
"Guess we'll find out."
---
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