One Piece: Rising to Power as a Warlord of the Sea

The battle between Natsu and Katakuri continued to move farther and farther, from the coastline to the interior of the island. Natsu had been fighting with all his strength, relying solely on his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki). As for using big moves, that hadn't been considered yet.

This was a pure battle of Haki.

"Faster! Faster!" Natsu's black eyes kept moving rapidly, a crazy look appeared on his face as he excitedly swung his fists. Under Katakuri's intense training, his Observation Haki had remarkably improved. As long as he kept pushing, he was sure it could grow even stronger.

"Observation Kill?!" Natsu thought of Red-Haired Shanks' terrifying Observation Haki, and his heart couldn't help but stir. The thought of such overwhelming power, surpassing all, was so thrilling.

On the other side, Katakuri's frown deepened the more they fought. What was going on with this guy? These were just simple attacks, though his fists were fast, they didn't cause much real damage.

"Bang!"

The two attacks collided again, and fists infused with Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) created terrifying shockwaves, with rapid, lightning-fast figures constantly moving around Katakuri, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Mochi Mochi!" Katakuri yelled, finally losing patience. Was this all? He was just dodging around, dragging things out!

With Kenbunshoku Haki pushed to its extreme, Katakuri focused on Natsu and didn't notice anything particularly special. For a long time after, their battle didn't result in any clear outcome, as they simply kept clashing without even causing any major injuries.

Katakuri used his Mochi Mochi no Mi (Mochi Mochi Fruit) ability to turn his hands into rods of mochi, combining them with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki). In an instant, he shot countless hardened mochi rods in all directions, launching them at Natsu with terrifying speed and accuracy.

"Huh, getting desperate?" Natsu said, seeing the countless mochi attacks coming at him. He slowly calmed down, focusing as his Kenbunshoku Haki covered the entire battlefield. He carefully adjusted his position and dodged all of Katakuri's attacks.

"Normal Punch: Multi-Hit!" Natsu continued to move rapidly, getting closer to Katakuri, looking for an opening, and then throwing a punch based on his predictions.

"Hmph!" Katakuri sneered, easily dodging Natsu's predicted attack, revealing that it hadn't had much effect.

"Seems like it's still not enough," Natsu thought, glancing at the progress bar of his Kenbunshoku Haki in his mind. It was at 91%, almost reaching the advanced stage of Kenbunshoku.

"Bird Mochi!"

Katakuri, seemingly noticing Natsu's intentions, waved his hand. Numerous mochi shapes turned into ropes and flew toward Natsu, attempting to entangle him.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Natsu quickly retreated with Soru (Moon Step), creating more distance between them. They stared at each other, and this action nearly drove Katakuri mad.

"Hey, Monkey D. Natsu, are you going to fight or not?" Katakuri's angry voice rang out, his dark eyes flashing with dangerous light. He was ready to take advantage of any opening to make sure Natsu wouldn't get away unharmed.

It was a rare show of anger for Katakuri. Was this guy just playing with him?

"Boom! Crash!"

Suddenly, a terrifying thunderous roar pulled Katakuri's attention back. On the coast, the sky turned dark, with black lightning flashing across it. A massive bolt of lightning, dozens of meters in diameter, struck down from the sky as if it aimed to destroy everything. The power of such an attack made Katakuri's heart skip a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

As one of the strongest members of the Big Mom Pirates, second only to Big Mom herself, Katakuri knew the strength of his brothers and sisters. However, he also knew that fighting against a Logia-type Devil Fruit user was a different challenge.

Before arriving, Katakuri had specifically checked the information on the Smile Pirates from Mondor using the Shiro Shiro no Mi (Book Book Fruit), including details of their battles with Admirals and one of the Beast Pirates' Tobi Roppo, Enn (Fire Calamity). After evaluating all this, Katakuri realized Natsu wasn't someone to be underestimated.

Though a newcomer who had been at sea for just over a year, Natsu's strength was undoubtedly not simple. Underestimating him could lead to a big mistake.

Meanwhile, on the other side, compared to Katakuri's frustration, the mood of the Big Mom Pirates, led by Perospero, was grim. The more they fought, the more nervous they became. Were these people even human?

They looked at the creatures standing before them – a bear, a monkey, and a tiger – and couldn't help but complain inwardly.

"Is this it? Is this all?" Kumo sarcastically remarked, seeing the Big Mom Pirates huffing and puffing. Compared to the beasts they were, ordinary humans certainly didn't have such stamina. Also, Perospero and the others weren't Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, so they didn't have the incredible regenerative abilities that animals had.

"Damn it!" Perospero's face turned pale. After being zapped by Enel's electric therapy several times, his entire body was now blackened. Though he didn't pass out, the terrifying lightning left him covered in burns. Seeing the dark thunderclouds overhead reminded him of Big Mom, a terror that had haunted him since childhood.

Without the sheer power of Busoshoku Haki, it was impossible to defend against Enel's attacks. This was the terrifying nature of Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities.

"Tch, why don't you just follow my captain's advice, go back, and live as neighbors?" Kumo said, looking exasperated. As their leader said, they were very strong now. If they worked hard, they might even have a strong person rivaling the Four Emperors, able to dominate the latter half of the New World.

Once that happened, they'd visit every island and find themselves a beautiful bear... or maybe three.

At that moment, Perospero couldn't help but feel a shift in his thoughts. It seemed that the Big Mom Pirates hadn't completely overwhelmed the Smile Pirates. The person he had high hopes for, Katakuri, was still in battle.

"Just take a step back and wait for Big Mom to come. These kids will know what real power is."

"So annoying, Fatty Kumo. Just finish them off already!" Enel couldn't stand it anymore. Taking a bite of his apple, he launched an attack. The only person who made him feel threatened was Katakuri; the rest weren't worth worrying about.

"Thunder Welcome!"

Enel appeared next to Perospero and kicked him with a bolt of lightning, sending him flying, blood spraying through the air.

The battle had intensified once more!

To be continued…

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