The Miserable Monkey

Although the Mochi Mochi Fruit did not directly increase attack power by much (Note 1), it allowed Katakuri to attack multiple targets at once without reducing his destructive power.

Thus, while it was far less useful than the Rubber-Rubber Fruit—which could greatly boost offense, defense, and speed—when challenging powerful opponents, its efficiency when crushing weaker enemies was terrifyingly high.

Realizing this, Mousse's eyes immediately lit up with a new idea. "In that case, Brother Katakuri, you should be specifically responsible for clearing out enemies below the level of Elite Navy Vice Admiral. It might harm your reputation somewhat, but for the overall victory, it would undoubtedly be the wiser approach."

"But if we do that, Sengoku, Garp, and those four Logia-type powerhouses will be left for Mother and Oven alone to handle. How could they possibly win?" Katakuri frowned as soon as he heard it. Mousse's idea had too many flaws. It really did not seem like something he would come up with.

Mousse laughed instead, immediately getting to the heart of the matter. "Of course we can't win if they all come. But the question is, can the Navy really send out all its Admirals and Admiral Candidates? Are they abandoning all their bases? Will they stop hunting Roger's remnants? Will they ignore the Whitebeard Pirates? Will they let all the other pirate crews run free? And do the Celestial Dragons and government dignitaries no longer need protection?"

"The Navy is indeed stronger. Not only us—even the Whitebeard Pirates cannot compare with them. But they have a much broader spread to cover and far too many places to defend. The forces they can actually send on an expedition are nowhere near as frightening as their strength looks on paper. It is entirely possible for us to hold the advantage in a local battlefield." Mousse paused here.

Seeing that Katakuri still seemed somewhat worried, Mousse smiled and shrugged, then pointed out their real trump card. "Of course, if the Navy gets ruthless, they can still go all in. But then we simply won't fight. The initiative is on our side. Why do you think I had that king prepare those large mirrors?"

"You mean using Brulee's ability?" Katakuri's eyes immediately brightened. That truly was an extremely advantageous condition. Maybe they really had a chance?

"With the Mirror World connecting Totto Land and Pharaohs, we are naturally invincible. If Sengoku, Garp, and the four Admiral Candidates only send one or two people, we destroy them in Pharaohs. But if the Navy's main force comes out to attack Pharaohs, then we simply abandon the Faros Kingdom. It may affect our credibility a little, but we can always find an excuse. On the other hand, if the Navy empties its strength and finds nothing, the losses they suffer elsewhere will be impossible to make up for." Mousse revealed a malicious smile. "And we can rescue that king into the Mirror World. By then, his nation will be destroyed and his home lost, leaving him no choice but to wholeheartedly serve us. The family will gain another capable officer."

Katakuri nodded as well. "Glenn is indeed very strong. Other than me and Oven, even Cracker probably would not be certain of defeating him. Even Big Mom might not be. And he is only twenty. The Elephant Elephant Fruit he ate is neither a Mythical Zoan nor an Ancient Zoan, but it still ranks near the top among ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruits. It suits his traits very well, too, and he still has considerable room to grow."

"The very Elephant Elephant Fruit that Spandam squandered? Could it be that in the original story, it reincarnated after this king of Faros died in battle, then later ended up in the World Government's hands?" Mousse was immediately delighted upon hearing this.

Saving good Devil Fruits that had been wasted in the original story was an important goal for any transmigrator who came to the world of One Piece!

Katakuri held James Glenn in high regard, believing that he possessed both strength and potential, along with a decent temperament and character.

Mousse also had a very favorable impression of him. After learning that Mousse liked reading, James Glenn had opened the Royal Library—one of the few places fortunate enough not to have been destroyed in the war—to him without even waiting for Mousse to ask.

Meanwhile, the badly wounded Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino, who had escaped back to Marine Headquarters, had undergone multiple surgeries at the Marine General Hospital in Marineford. He had finally escaped the danger of death, but Fleet Admiral "Steel Bone" Kong still could not smile after hearing the military doctor's report.

The injury to his heart had been far too severe, while his right lung was almost completely gone. Borsalino could only undergo organ transplantation. Since organ traffickers existed, organ transplant technology clearly existed as well, even without considering the Op-Op Fruit. But how could transplanted organs compare to one's own?

Moreover, at Borsalino's level of strength, every part of his body had been tempered countless times, including his internal organs. Even Marine Headquarters could not possibly find organs capable of replacing his perfectly on such short notice. Naturally, his losses would be much greater than those of an ordinary person receiving an organ transplant.

Therefore, even if Borsalino's surgery succeeded and he eventually recovered, he would never be able to return completely to his pre-injury condition. At the very least, his stamina would definitely decline significantly. In severe cases, he might even become unable to use Haki at all, much like Whitebeard after being stabbed by his filial son at Marineford.

For the same reason, recovery itself would be a relatively lengthy process. During that period, the Navy's shortage of high-end combat power would inevitably become even more pressing.

In particular, Borsalino had always been used as the emergency responder because of his speed. Losing him would have an even greater impact than losing the stronger Sakazuki.

Thinking of all this, Fleet Admiral "Steel Bone" Kong felt his temples throbbing even harder.

"Just who was it that could wound Borsalino to such an extent?" The Fleet Admiral had been dwelling on this question for the past two days. The moment Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino woke up, he had immediately come to visit him and inquire about the matter.

Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino was, after all, a monster close to the very peak of this world's combat strength. Though it would still take quite some time for his body to fully recover, his mind had already regained clarity, and answering a few questions would not affect his recovery.

"The BIG Pirates? You ran into Charlotte Linlin?" Steel Bone Kong immediately became furious, because he assumed Borsalino had been injured after stubbornly insisting on fighting Charlotte Linlin.

Even though Borsalino still needed rest and could not endure agitation, the Fleet Admiral could not stop himself from cursing "idiot" several times. "How could you possibly defeat that natural-born monster as you are now? Forget you—even Sengoku and Garp might not necessarily win if they fought her head-on! Monkey, you've always been cautious. How could you be so reckless this time?"

Note 1: Using a method similar to Luffy's Gear Three could increase strength, but it would also enlarge the striking surface and make it easier for the force to dissipate, greatly reducing the actual increase in destructive power.

Katakuri was especially large to begin with. Enlarging himself further would inevitably make it difficult for him to exert his strength fully, like using an anti-aircraft cannon to shoot mosquitoes. Unless the enemy was enormous or stubbornly chose to take the attack head-on, such as Lucci at Enies Lobby, even if he landed the blow, he would be unable to inflict sufficient damage.