"Thousand Needles!"
Nid raised both hands, and countless fine needles shot from his fingertips, forming a silver ribbon in the air.
Clang, clang, clang...
King skillfully swung his blade to block them. Though the needles were numerous, they lacked power, and King easily deflected them.
"Flame Slash!"
Coating his blade with the flames on his back, King twisted his wrist and carved out a fiery vortex, shredding all the remaining needles. Without losing momentum, he then slashed horizontally at Nid.
"Needle Thorns!"
Seeing how ferocious the attack was, Nid stopped testing him and crossed his hands.
Several enormous spikes burst from his body, each as thick as an arm, their tips coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.
The thick needles crisscrossed and directly caught King's slash, keeping the sharp blade and scorching flames several steps away.
"It's not over yet!"
Even as they held back the blade, several more long needles suddenly sprouted from the previously smooth spikes, like branches growing from a tree.
The sharp needles kept branching, then branching again... In the blink of an eye, King's figure was swallowed by a thorn forest of steel needles.
"Hehe! You stupid brat, you shouldn't have come near me so easily."
"You can get skewered into grilled chicken in this forest of Needle Thorns."
Seeing that his move had worked, Nid could not help taunting King.
Elsewhere.
"Rice Cake Fist!"
"Ton Press Fist!"
There were no flashy techniques. Two fists covered in Armament Haki collided fiercely, and the gusts of wind unleashed by the blow sent nearby pirates flying.
"Hehe~ Not bad, but you're still too young, brat!"
"Hah!"
The fist of Heavy Punch Hammer suddenly erupted with terrifying strength once more. Katakuri was forced back, and the mochi wrapped around his arm was blown apart.
"Those soft, flimsy fists of yours can't hurt me!"
Having gained the upper hand with a single blow, Heavy Punch Hammer did not press his advantage. Instead, he stood where he was and let Katakuri regain his stance.
"Show me what you're really capable of. Let me see how strong that monster woman's son is!"
"[Heavy Punch Hammer]. Sure enough, there are only wrong names, never wrong nicknames."
Katakuri was not angered by the other man's contempt. Instead, he acknowledged his strength.
"Hahaha, of course! I had already beaten a mighty reputation out of this sea with these fists before you were even born."
With that, Heavy Punch Hammer raised his fists again, each one larger than the other man's head.
Though Katakuri was only sixteen, as BIG MOM's son, he was already nearly three meters tall—more than half a head taller than Oshi and Obe stacked together.
"Mountain Splitting Fist!"
The enormous fist came crashing toward Katakuri's chest again with overwhelming force, visibly far more powerful than before.
Yet this time, Katakuri seemed frozen in fright and did not move at all. He neither dodged nor defended, simply allowing Heavy Punch Hammer's massive fist to punch straight through his body.
Pfft!!!!
The fist clad in a black bracer emerged from Katakuri's back...
"W-What?!"
"Lord Katakuri!"
"Brother Katakuri!"
"Katakuri!"
The members of the BIG MOM Pirates, including BIG MOM's other children, stared at the sight in shock. Some even rushed over without regard for their own safety.
"Don't come over. I alone am enough to deal with this guy."
Katakuri stopped those who wanted to step forward. Though his chest should have been pierced through, he looked perfectly fine, his voice beneath the scarf as strong as ever.
"Damn it! You brat, what the hell is this?!"
Heavy Punch Hammer had sensed something wrong the moment he struck Katakuri. His fist had not felt any flesh or muscle at all, only a sticky, gooey sensation.
Sensing danger, he tried to pull his fist free from Katakuri's body, only to find that he could not. It was as though his fist had been caught by a vortex, impossible to escape!
"Don't forget, I'm a Mochi Mochi Fruit user. Mochi is very sticky."
"Bastard!"
Heavy Punch Hammer raised his other fist to smash it down, but the instant he lifted his arm, Katakuri's hands turned to mochi and wrapped around his entire body.
"D-Damn it! This soft, mushy ability..."
The mochi coiled around Heavy Punch Hammer's arm connected to his body, making it difficult for him to exert any strength.
"Sorry, but I can't keep my brothers waiting too long."
Katakuri stepped back and pulled Heavy Punch Hammer's fist out of his body.
At that moment, the other man's upper arm was stuck to his body. Though he still possessed enough strength to move mountains, he could no longer throw a punch.
"Slash: Cut Mochi!"
Without giving him any chance, Katakuri, now free from Heavy Punch Hammer's fist, leaped into the air and used his ability to spin at high speed, transforming into a donut.
Then his body plummeted. As he released the donut form, he swung down his mochi-transformed right arm with all his strength. The rapidly descending arm was covered in spikes and coated with his strongest Armament Haki.
Boom!!!
Heavy Punch Hammer, still struggling against the mochi, took the blow directly to the head. The tremendous impact instantly scattered his consciousness and cracked the surrounding ground.
"Such... such a hard fist."
Those were Heavy Punch Hammer's final words before he fell.
"Oh!" n
"Brother Katakuri won!"
"Nicely done! As expected of Lord Katakuri!"
"I knew Brother Katakuri was the strongest!"
Seeing Katakuri defeat one of the enemy officers so cleanly and decisively, the surrounding BIG MOM Pirates burst into cheers.
At that moment, Perospero, the eldest son, came to Katakuri's side and asked with concern, "Are you all right, Katakuri? Perorin~"
"Phew~ I'm fine."
Katakuri answered, slightly out of breath.
"It looks like Kaido's people are in trouble. Should we go help them? Perorin~"
"No. We may be allies, but we're not close enough to help each other, and they don't need our help either."
Katakuri glanced in King's direction, tightened his scarf, and then turned his gaze elsewhere.
"Where's Mama?"
"I don't know. From the beginning, Mama and Kaido led Silver Axe and Ochoku somewhere."
"I see... Brother Perospero, go tell everyone in the Pirate Crew not to get too caught up in fighting. Their main objective should be searching for treasure."
With BIG MOM absent, Katakuri, as her son and an officer, took over temporary command of the Pirate Crew.
Perospero, the so-called eldest brother, was somewhat bothered by this, but since Katakuri had just taken down an enemy officer, he could not say anything at this moment.
"Alright, I'll go inform them. Perorin~"
Before you continue