Kiting?

Although Borsalino could use Observation Haki to foresee his lasers in advance and deform his elementalized body to open holes, avoiding injury.

People were not machines and would always make mistakes. Katakuri's Observation Haki had not yet reached the higher level where he could accurately foresee the future. If he kept taking hits without being able to strike back, he would make a mistake sooner or later.

Moreover, Katakuri had to use Geppo to fly through the air, consuming far more stamina than Borsalino. Given enough time, even if he was not hit, he would be exhausted to death.

Borsalino even deliberately shortened the distance afterward. On one hand, he gave Katakuri a sliver of hope that did not actually exist, luring him into continuing the pursuit. On the other, it made it easier for him to aim and caused Katakuri's Observation Haki to deplete faster.

The battle thus tilted ever further in favor of this future Marine Admiral.

The more hot-tempered Charlotte Oven watched, the more anxious he became. With a kick of his feet, he was about to leap into the sky and join the fight.

Fortunately, Third Sister Amande grabbed him. "You haven't learned Observation Haki, and you aren't skilled with Geppo either. Aren't you just going there to die? You'll even distract Brother Katakuri. If the enemy takes advantage of that, we'll all die here!"

"Then what do you suggest? Are we supposed to just stand here and watch, watching Katakuri get beaten without being able to fight back?" Charlotte Oven angrily shook off his sister's hand.

Oven was usually quite good to his sisters, but concern had thrown him into disarray, making his attitude unusually rude and overbearing.

Charlotte Amande immediately grabbed her brother's hand again. "If anyone goes, it should be me. My Geppo is more refined than yours, and I know Observation Haki."

"You can't either. You can't keep up with Kizaru's speed; no matter how many people go, it won't help. Besides, if you go, you'll only alert him. Second Brother may be on the defensive now, but he hasn't suffered a loss yet. But if Kizaru turns his attention toward us, then things will truly become terrible." At that moment, Amande discovered someone tugging on her pant leg.

Then she heard Mousse's calm voice. "Our strength varies too greatly, and none of us have mastered advanced Armament Haki to defend everyone from a distance. Any casual attack from Kizaru could cause casualties. Given Brother Katakuri's concern for us, he likely won't be able to stay calm then. His Observation Haki will inevitably fail, and no matter how strong he is, he'll only be at their mercy."

Eighth Sister Charlotte Brulee opened her mouth as if she had something to say, but Mousse cut her off before she could speak. "Sister Brulee, you want to say we should hide in the Mirror World, right? But what about Brother Katakuri? And have you forgotten why the Marines came to this country? There aren't any other countries nearby. As long as they smash all the large mirrors in this country, we'll be trapped in the Mirror World and never get out!"

Sixth Sister Charlotte Kastard, who seemed eternally young in the original story, understood Mousse better than any of the sisters. Seeing that he spoke of something terrifying while remaining calm, she knew this boy, whose head was full of ideas, must have a plan. She immediately smiled.

Castard crouched down and rubbed Mousse's little head, asking in a somewhat doting tone, "Little Mousse, did you think of something?"

"I can't say I'm certain, but it has more hope than your ideas." As Mousse spoke, he gestured with his lips in a certain direction, and everyone noticed Zeus, who was hiding in a corner and pretending to be dead.

Charlotte Oven was impatient by nature and immediately raised an objection. "If this guy goes all out, his attack is stronger than any of ours, and it has long range and high speed. But he doesn't know Armament Haki, so he can't hurt that Flash Person, can he?"

Then Charlotte Mousse grinned. "Have you ever heard of 'Fog Against Lasers'?"

Although that idea had been treated as a joke, its principle actually made sense.

Besides, there were no other options now. Mousse could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive and place his hopes on Zeus.

He did not need Zeus to hurt Kizaru. As long as Zeus could interfere with his elementalization and prevent him from kiting, they had a chance to turn this battle around!

As Charlotte Linlin's favorite son, Mousse had received his mother's Life Card when he was four years old, allowing him to command most of Totto Land's Homies.

However, the three great Homies had been made using Charlotte Linlin's own soul. A Life Card alone could not make them obedient.

And Zeus was not as rational as Prometheus. Reasoning with him was useless.

Fortunately, idiots had their advantages too: their minds were simple, and they were easy to fool.

"What? The Marines are coming to capture me? They're going to lock me up for research? They're going to slice me up?" Zeus, whose mind was as simple as a child's, was both furious and terrified after Mousse's string of nonsense.

Before their eyes, Zeus's body, previously as white as the finest cotton, turned pitch-black. The crackling of electricity rang out without end.

In terms of absolute speed, Zeus certainly could not catch up to Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino, who was said to move at the speed of light. But Borsalino was currently kiting Second Brother behind him, so his actual movement was no different from Katakuri's.

Thus, Zeus caught up without much effort. In an instant, he spread out into an enormous cumulonimbus cloud more than ten miles across, enveloping both combatants at once!

The thundercloud spread far faster than the limits of human reaction. Even a powerhouse like Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino had no time to react.

After suddenly finding himself inside the clouds and mist, Borsalino merely frowned at first. But he immediately discovered a serious problem. "I'm falling? My elementalization has been canceled? Not good!"

Though he immediately stomped Geppo several times—an ability he had become rather rusty with—to steady himself and avoid falling into the sea, Katakuri, who had previously been unable to reach him, seized the chance to rapidly close in.

Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino desperately used Geppo to widen the distance, but failed. Instead, because he focused only on fleeing, he took a hit. Injured and panicked, his steps became even less nimble.

Borsalino's usual carefree demeanor had vanished who knew where. His face showed only unprecedented anxiety and beads of sweat the size of soybeans. "Damn it, I haven't used Geppo since eating the Glint Glint Fruit. I've actually become this rusty?"

With no other choice, Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino could only grit his teeth and clash head-on with Katakuri again, only to discover that he was at an even greater disadvantage than before.

Although the latter had consumed more stamina, both sides were now trapped within the clouds and unable to see. They could only observe their enemy through Observation Haki, making Katakuri's advantage in that regard even more pronounced.

Perhaps because he had been kited and beaten one-sidedly before, while the immense pressure of not being allowed to make any mistakes weighed on him, Katakuri's Observation Haki had improved rapidly. His advantage was now even greater than when the battle had first begun!