Katakuri breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Oven get carried to safety, and at the same time he turned his full attention toward Fire Fist Ace. This opponent was truly powerful, someone who had already made a name for himself at a young age, reaching remarkable strength early on. That reality made Katakuri regard him with a bit more respect.
"You truly live up to being a descendant of the Pirate King, your strength is truly formidable," Katakuri said, eyes narrowed. "If you had more time, maybe you could really contend with me, but not now. At this moment, you are definitely not my opponent."
Ace continued unleashing Fire Guns, each blazing bullet piercing through Katakuri's body.
Watching the way Katakuri's body seemed to take on an almost elemental quality, but was actually mochi, Ace grinned and said, "It really does feel like a Logia type Devil Fruit User! Your body can elementalize — well no, it's more like mochi-fying. But this must be an Observation Haki effect. Marco already told me about your abilities. I'm sorry, but from now on I am your opponent, and I'll be watching you closely."
Katakuri's expression hardened. His ability did not fear brute force or slashes, but he naturally had a weakness against high heat like fire.
"What? Fire Fist, you weren't killed by the Marines during the Marineford War, and now you're so eager to be killed by me?" Katakuri asked coldly.
Ace merely smiled confidently and replied firmly, "I will not be killed by you. During Marineford, I thought for sure I was going to die, but I survived. I'll live my life well and I absolutely will not be killed by you."
"Flame Realm," Ace declared, releasing a wide ring of intense flame that instantly formed around them, trapping both him and Katakuri within the fire's embrace.
Katakuri's eyes narrowed as he watched the fiery display.
Ace said with confidence, "Your ability is mochi, isn't it? And I am fire. To me, your ability is just another ingredient. Watch as I char you directly, Mirror Fire Flame…"
Seeing such a wide-area attack right from the start, Katakuri did not hesitate and roared, "Mochi Wall!"
Boom. The flames crashed against the mochi wall that had already been reinforced with Armament Haki. Even with Haki covering it, the mochi showed signs of scorching.
Katakuri's eyes turned cold. His hands reshaped into Gatling guns, hardened with Armament Haki, and he aimed them squarely at Ace.
"Peerless Mochi Blade Bullets."
Bang, bang, bang. Countless hardened mochi bullets shot toward Ace.
"Flame Realm." Ace instantly summoned a wall of fire to block, but these mochi bullets hardened with Armament Haki were not burned away. Instead they pierced right through the wall of flame and continued toward Ace.
Bang, bang, bang. Many mochi bullets struck Ace's body.
Even though his body was able to partially withstand elemental attacks, Ace was wounded by the hardened mochi, and his expression grew more serious. Facing the unrelenting barrage of Armament-Haki-hardened mochi bullets, Ace did not underestimate them.
He roared, "Fire Pillars!" Columns of flame shot up defensively, charring and melting many incoming mochi bullets, but some still made it through, forcing Ace to dodge violently.
"Heh, it seems it's not just your Observation Haki that's strong. I didn't expect your Armament Haki to also be this powerful," Ace said, eyes serious as he stared at Katakuri.
At first he had thought Katakuri's Observation Haki was the biggest threat, but he had underestimated the absolute force of his Armament Haki as well.
I really need to strengthen my Haki training, otherwise even with a Devil Fruit advantage I won't fare well, Ace silently vowed. During the Marineford War, his own Armament Haki had not been strong enough, and he had lost the use of an arm after facing Admiral Aokiji. Since arriving in the New World he had been training, but after just over a month, progress had been limited. Compared to Katakuri, his Haki still had room to grow.
Katakuri stared at Ace with cold eyes and said, "Your Devil Fruit is indeed strong. After all, Logia types are widely recognized as the strongest among Devil Fruits, and they are also the rarest. In the Four Seas and the Grand Line, relying on a Logia could make someone nearly invincible, but this is the New World. If you think you're unbeatable just because of your Devil Fruit, you will definitely pay a heavy price."
Ace listened, a slight curve on his lips, and replied, "Thank you for the advice. I already knew that. Yes, my Haki training isn't perfect yet, but it's the same phrase I always say: I won't let you leave my sight, I'll be watching you."
Katakuri heard this. He had intended to break Ace psychologically with his words, a tactic born from years of mastering Observation Haki and fighting strong opponents, but he had not expected Ace to remain unaffected.
Fire Fist Ace, he's not that easy to deal with, Katakuri thought.
At that moment, Katakuri also took in the wider battle. Smoothie was engaged with Phoenix Pirates Fifteenth Division Commander Fossa, Cracker was occupied with Eighth Division Commander Namur, and as for Marco…
Seeing Marco fight snack, one of the Sweet Commanders, gave Katakuri a disturbing premonition. Although he saw through Marco's tactics and those of his companions, there was nothing he could do but try to quickly finish his own battle.
On Marco's side, he looked at snack and smiled, eyes steady.
"It seems you've decided to fight me. Quite confident, aren't you!"
snack snorted coldly. He did not back down. As a Sweet Commander, a flag officer of the Big Mom Pirates, now with his allies occupied, he was left to confront Marco alone.
"Come on, Marco, I will absolutely not lose to you!" snack declared as he charged forward.
A translucent mass of hot oil wrapped around his greatsword and he yelled, "Fried Pan Slash!"
Marco watched the attack and stood his ground. Blue flames erupted around him and Armament Haki condensed on his fist as he punched snack's greatsword. The high-temperature hot oil splattered everywhere, some of it striking Marco's body and sending waves of burning pain through him.
snack smiled at the sight, but in the next moment Marco reached out and grasped snack's blade.
He sneered, "In this world, the most terrifying enemies are those who are not afraid to die, and I happen to be that kind of person."
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