Capture

A Cheerful Narrative Tune!

Amande drew her slender sword, White Fish. A pale white sword slash seven or eight meters long swept through the air, vanishing in a flash as it slashed toward the hull of the Great Sun Fusang at astonishing speed, carrying a sharp aura.

Nangong Yan frowned aboard the ship. He had not even attacked first, yet they dared to attack him proactively. Having no fame—no, no real fame—really was rather troublesome.

With a light tap on the deck, Nangong Yan soared into the air. Eastern Emperor left its sheath, and he casually swung out a silver-white sword slash, easily shattering the incoming pale slash. Stepping on the air, he charged toward Katakuri and the other two like a phantom.

"Brother Katakuri, the owner of that ship is quite strong, and his temper doesn't seem very good." Amande immediately put away her contempt, her expression turning grave. Anyone who could casually break apart her sword slash was definitely no ordinary opponent.

"I know. That man is already about to reach us. Prepare for battle!" Katakuri flicked his right arm, and white mochi rolled up the trident beside a deck chair as he readied himself.

Before Nangong Yan arrived, his voice did!

"I was just thinking about how to cause trouble for Big Mom, and you people came right to my door. Since you're here, perfect. Let me see what her children are made of!"

Sunset Soul Extinguishing!

Nangong Yan's left arm transformed into a Golden Crow claw and rose high into the sky. Terrifying Solar True Flame gathered into a sun roughly twenty meters in diameter. Pale golden flames blazed fiercely, radiating dazzling golden light.

With a swing of his left hand, the sun descended with a howling wind, warping the air and boiling the seawater. Before it even landed, its terrifying heat had already turned the ship's sails into blazing fireballs.

Before the fire arrived, the ship was already burning!

"This is bad. It seems we provoked an incredible enemy!" A bad feeling welled up in Katakuri's heart, and his expression changed drastically. A vast amount of mochi surged into the air, forming an enormous white shield that protected the entire pirate ship beneath it.

Galette's expression was also terribly grim. What she hated most were fire-type ability users. Her butter was nearly useless against them and would instead only bolster the enemy's might.

Amande swung White Fish, sending sword slash after sword slash toward the rapidly approaching Nangong Yan, but they were either easily blocked or dodged.

The sun crashed into the mochi. Terrifying flames and immense impact erupted. Katakuri, standing on the pirate ship's deck, flushed red and instantly spat out a mouthful of blood. The huge impact made the entire pirate ship sink deeper into the water. Cracks spread across the deck from beneath Katakuri's feet, and wooden planks burst apart.

A scent of scorched rice paste drifted through the air. The pale golden Solar True Flame charred and melted the mochi shield, dripping down toward the deck.

Galette did not dare deal with those clearly extraordinary flames, afraid that she would only make things worse. She could only leave it to Amande, Katakuri, and the chess soldiers.

Enraged, Galette flung out both hands, sending a massive lump of pale yellow liquid flying toward Nangong Yan, who was about to reach the deck. The liquid shifted and twisted unnaturally, seemingly trying to trap him.

His left hand returned to normal as black Armament Haki covered his fist. He punched forward, and before the air could disperse, it condensed into an air cannon that blasted the butter away. With little of its force diminished, it engulfed Katakuri and the other two.

Katakuri, Amande, and Galette wore grave expressions. One covered his right arm in Armament Haki and threw a punch; one slashed out with all her strength; and one fired a high-pressure butter jet with a punch.

Katakuri had not yet reached his peak. At his peak, he would have found it somewhat difficult to take on Nangong Yan, who possessed Admiral-level strength, but he would not have been so miserable.

The three attacks collided, and a terrifying shockwave spread outward. The mast snapped, deck planks shattered, splinters filled the air, the pirate ship rocked violently, and waves surged across the sea.

One against three, the three of them held on for three breaths before Nangong Yan suddenly increased his strength, fully unleashing his powerful physique.

The three were sent flying and crashed onto the uneven, wrecked deck in a miserable state. Several mouthfuls of blood splattered across the boards.

Because of his age, Katakuri currently possessed roughly Vice Admiral-level strength. Even ordinary Vice Admirals were no match for him.

Unfortunately, Nangong Yan had already transformed. A year and a half ago, Katakuri might still have made Nangong Yan take him seriously.

As the three adults fell onto the deck, the chess soldiers and pirates aboard the ship desperately rushed out and surrounded Nangong Yan. Muskets, blades, and short cannons all fired at him at once.

Nangong Yan gave a savage grin. Scarlet Sharingan appeared in his eyes as he unleashed the first form of Susanoo. A golden skeleton blocked every attack, while its massive skeletal arms swept out to both sides with intense heat. Everyone struck suffered broken bones, while the chess soldiers were smashed into fragments.

It was not as if Nangong Yan had no other way to evade their siege. Whether through speed or Armament Haki covering his entire body, he could have done so. But he did not choose either. Against this rabble, he no longer needed to maneuver around them. Covering his entire body in Armament Haki consumed too much energy, and more importantly, it did not look impressive enough. He did not want to use it.

A technique like Susanoo, which combined offense and defense while also looking domineering and handsome, was naturally the best choice.

Perhaps because he had transmigrated, or because of the Devil Fruit, or because of his powerful physique, Nangong Yan felt that his eyesight had always been excellent, and his eyes never hurt.

Katakuri and the other two rose from the deck, wiped the blood from the corners of their mouths, and stared gravely at Nangong Yan. Yet there was no fear on their faces.

The longer they stared, the more familiar he seemed. They felt as if they had seen him somewhere before.

In the end, Katakuri, the most perceptive among them, reacted first. Somewhat astonished, he said, "Aren't you Nangong Yan, the man with a one-billion bounty from the World Government who recently disappeared without a trace?"

"Hahaha... that's right, it's me. I was just figuring out how to take Fragrant Rice Island, and you people gave me the simplest solution." Nangong Yan laughed. With a thought, Susanoo's arm abruptly stretched out and grabbed at the three of them.

Although it only had two arms, they were large enough. If they caught them firmly, they would be more than enough to capture all three.

The three nimbly darted aside and avoided the attack. Though shocked by Nangong Yan's methods, they assumed it was simply his Devil Fruit ability and did not make too much of it.

"Hmph, where do you think you can run?" Nangong Yan snorted coldly. His body paused, and he placed his left hand on the ground. Solar True Flame surged toward the three like a tide, igniting the entire deck in the blink of an eye and instantly engulfing the whole ship in flames.

Katakuri immediately created a large amount of mochi paste to shield the three of them, sealing the flames outside. However, the soaring temperature quickly dried, hardened, and blackened the mochi paste.

"You're quite strong, but how long can you endure beneath my Solar True Flame? Give up. I have no intention of killing you. I merely want to use you as hostages to easily take Fragrant Rice Island." Nangong Yan smiled, but his attacks showed no mercy.

He gripped Eastern Emperor in his right hand and slashed out. A sharp silver-white sword slash flew toward Katakuri and the other two, forcing Katakuri to create even more sticky mochi to defend against Nangong Yan's assault.

"Still refusing to see reason!" Nangong Yan said impatiently. He withdrew Susanoo, sheathed Eastern Emperor, and flashed to the front of the mochi shell protecting the three.

He raised his right arm high, muscles tensing as black Armament Haki coated his fist. Blazing flames gathered around it like young swallows returning to their nest, enveloping his fist. His gleaming golden fist smashed into the mochi shell.

Sun Fist!

Fierce fist force accompanied by terrifying heat slammed into the mochi shell, instantly shattering it. The powerful force pierced through the shell in an instant and struck a fist. With a crack, the hand bone broke.

Katakuri's body instantly smashed through the railing. He sprayed blood from his mouth and fell from the air.

At that moment, the mochi split open, and a black longsword and a high-pressure butter stream shot through the opening toward Nangong Yan's chest.

Nangong Yan wore a disdainful smile. With Observation Haki and the Sharingan, if he could still fall for such a sneak attack, he might as well jump into the sea. What would he even be doing out here?

The golden skeleton emerged again, blocking the famous blade White Fish and the butter stream. Both arms moved at once. One, wrapped in Armament Haki, seized Katakuri in its hand; the other swept the two women out of the mochi shell and slammed them into the not-yet-completely-burned ship. Taking advantage of their severe injuries as they vomited blood, he captured them both.