Mousse's Scheme (Part 1)

Combined with his earlier deep development of his Devil Fruit ability, Katakuri would soon surpass even his peak strength from the original story, even if his Observation Haki had not yet reached the ultimate realm of directly foreseeing the future.

Put it this way: if Katakuri of this era fought himself more than twenty years later from the original story, the gap in their Observation Haki would likely leave him unable to touch his opponent even once for hours.

But with his clearly superior Armament Haki and the extreme hardness of Brick Mochi, the current Katakuri was already obviously above the latter in both attack and defense.

Even if that Great Pirate from the original story, worth over a billion, picked up a weapon, he would find it difficult to inflict fatal injuries on Katakuri of this era. Meanwhile, the latter only needed to land one hit to severely wound him. Who was stronger was obvious.

Compared to the Katakuri of the original Whole Cake Island arc, who could only be considered a first-rate powerhouse—the so-called "First Mate" tier—the current Katakuri already had one foot raised, ready to step across the threshold into the super first-rate. And he was only twenty-three!

Still, Mousse felt some regret. "If we only talk about Body Techniques and Haki, Second Brother is no weaker than the current Three Admirals. Once he consolidates the gains from this battle, even Akainu, the strongest among them, might not surpass him. But his Devil Fruit ability is at too much of a disadvantage. Even if he develops it better than in the original story, it still can't compare to top-tier Devil Fruits. He can't catch Kizaru, and Akainu's ability severely counters his. He can't win at all. Good thing we still have Brother Oven."

Thinking of Charlotte Oven, Mousse's confidence immediately recovered quite a bit. The main reason he dared to consider snatching food from the World Government's jaws was Charlotte Oven's unexpectedly dramatic transformation.

According to Katakuri, Fourth Brother Charlotte Oven had not only made rapid progress in Armament Haki over the past two days, but had finally awakened the Observation Haki he had never managed to grasp before. During battle, he had "heard" some stray noises, though he had not paid attention at the time. Only after the battle did he notice them and realize he had made another major breakthrough. The reason might have been that his accelerated metabolism had sharpened his senses as well.

Especially since this was unlike an increase in strength that could make his body unable to endure it. His senses could be enhanced as many times as possible, and after increasing by dozens of times, it would have been hard for his Observation Haki not to awaken!

On top of that, his accelerated metabolism could speed up his physical development. Charlotte Oven's physique would likely reach its peak within a year.

By then, with his ultimate move, Overheat, active, Charlotte Oven's Combat Power might even surpass that of his Second Brother Katakuri, whom he had only ever been able to look up to since childhood!

Moreover, according to Katakuri, although Charlotte Oven's Heat-Heat Fruit could only raise temperatures to a few hundred degrees when he used its ability to heat things, his self-protection was even stronger. Even scorching molten iron could not burn his body.

This was undoubtedly another unexpected delight. If molten iron could not hurt him, then magma would be even less of a concern. Charlotte Oven truly had a chance of becoming Akainu's nemesis now.

When Mousse had seen people on forums claim that "Oven is Akainu's nemesis" back then, he had only regarded it as a joke. Charlotte Oven in the original story lagged far too far behind the Three Admirals in both Body Techniques and Haki. Even if he really was immune to magma, he would not have had the slightest chance of winning.

But now, Charlotte Oven had a chance of growing to at least the so-called "First Mate" tier. The joke was no longer a joke.

More importantly, inspired by this, Mousse racked his brains and found some new possibilities. Charlotte Oven's ultimate move, Overheat, likely still had room to be developed further.

"Oven's ultimate move is limited by what his body can endure, so it is far from reaching its full potential. But as his body grows stronger—men do not reach their physical peak until after twenty-five—and adapts, and as he trains hard to increase the strength of his muscles and bones, the maximum boost to explosive power his body can withstand can still be raised a little further. And I have an idea that might help Brother Oven break through this damn shackle. At that point, he'll truly become godlike. Even Garp's Iron Fist might not compare to him." Hearing Mousse reach this point, Katakuri could not help but feel intense anticipation.

If Oven truly became that powerful, the Charlotte Family's strength would really rise to a whole new level!

And Katakuri himself would have a chance to free himself from the burden of carrying the entire family—at least partially.

"There are some extremely powerful techniques in this world that can give the weak a chance to defeat opponents far stronger than themselves. The most famous of them is the 'Elbaf Spear' Mother talks about all day." As Mousse spoke, a faintly mocking expression unconsciously appeared on his face.

Charlotte Linlin did not know the true secret behind this series of ultimate moves. Her Elbaf Spear - Ikoku, and Elbaf Spear - Hakoku, which required two people to perform, were both superficial imitations she had figured out through sheer guesswork. Their power was far inferior to the original Elbaf Spear - Hakoku (Note 1). Mousse would never count them as part of this series.

"The power of these techniques far exceeds the users' own abilities, so the burden on the body must be immense. Yet it is rare to hear of anyone being seriously injured because of them. So I think there must be some trick to reducing the burden on the body. If Brother Oven can learn it, he may be able to further increase the boost to his explosive power. Besides, the family currently has no similar techniques. If we can get one, it will itself greatly improve our overall strength." Katakuri's eyes immediately lit up after hearing this.

As for Mousse refusing to acknowledge Ikoku as an Elbaf Spear, he selectively ignored it.

In truth, Katakuri himself did not think Ikoku counted as an Elbaf Spear either. It was clear from his next words. "But Mother's relationship with the Elbaf Giants is terrible. Even if your strategy succeeds, it can't possibly take effect that quickly. I'm afraid it will still be difficult to learn the 'Elbaf Spear' in the short term, won't it?"

Note 1: At one point, some people claimed that Ikoku and Hakoku were actually the same name, and that translation issues had turned them into two different techniques. But someone later posted raw Japanese images proving that this was a rumor.

As for Ikoku being a technique created by Big Mom herself, although there was no conclusive proof, the Elbaf Giants could defeat enemies above their level with the Elbaf Spear. Yet the Hakoku Big Mom and Kaido unleashed together failed to kill even one Zoro. Zoro even had enough strength left to unleash another burst after being injured before collapsing. The contrast was far too great; there was no way to believe they were the same type of technique.

Furthermore, judging from the fact that Big Mom and Kaido continued exerting force while Zoro blocked Hakoku, its mechanism was also different from the Hakoku used by the two giants on Little Garden. The latter was more like an instantaneous burst that unleashed everything at once. The difference in power might lie precisely there.