However, Wilder was just talking. In reality, Katakuri's disadvantage was already quite obvious.
After all, he was facing a Marine Admiral, one of the top combatants in the world.
Kizaru, wielding his Ama no Murakumo Sword, effortlessly tore through the incoming mochi. When he couldn't dodge, he could simply turn into light, his body quickly re-forming on the other side, from where he would casually fire a laser beam at Katakuri.
Katakuri, on the other hand, had combined his Devil Fruit ability and his Observation Haki to a degree that was arguably unparalleled. He used his Paramecia-type fruit with the feel of a Logia, able to predict attacks in advance and transform his body into hollow shapes to evade them.
But despite all this, Katakuri was still losing ground.
SHING! A golden light flashed across the entire battlefield. Kizaru once again closed the distance to Katakuri. Katakuri's pupils shrank; a longsword glowing with golden light was already swinging toward him!
Blood sprayed. Although Katakuri's speed was already incredible, and he had the foresight of his Observation Haki, allowing him to retreat rapidly, he was still grazed by the slash. A deep, gruesome wound, charred black at the edges and revealing the bone beneath, was carved into his arm.
"Master Katakuri!" The surrounding pirates grew anxious at the sight. A pirate who looked particularly formidable vanished with a flicker, his body seeming to cross space as he rapidly rushed toward Kizaru's back. Before he even arrived, a ferocious expression had already climbed onto his face, and he viciously raised the longsword in his hand!
Kizaru was currently pressing his attack on Katakuri with the Ama no Murakumo Sword, who had just regained his footing. For a moment, he couldn't turn to deal with the attack from behind. The longsword was already falling!
CLANG! BAM! First came the sound of metal clashing, followed by the sound of an object hitting the ground at high speed. The attacker was sent flying back even faster than he had come, crashing into the distance and sliding backward. He plowed a channel through containers and other objects along the way, finally stopping after nearly a hundred meters, leaving a trail of dust and smoke.
"Don't interrupt them. Can't you just watch the fight properly?" Wilder said with a smile as he walked out of the dust cloud. A sharp spike vanished from his palm, flying at high speed toward the messy pile of containers.
BOOM! An enraged figure burst out from the pile of rubble, holding the very spike that had just been shot from Wilder's hand. He let out a beastly roar, and his figure began to swell in an instant, finally transforming into a ten-meter-tall brown bear. The ground shook violently, cracking beneath the giant bear's feet. He had already vanished, and when he reappeared, he was stepping through the air, his face filled with a ferocious, murderous rage as he charged straight for Wilder!
"A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, Brown Bear model. 'Giant Bear' Chris, with a bounty of 560 million Beri. You… instead of working for Kaido, you're sucking up to Big Mom. You're really… in the wrong line of work." Although Wilder's tone was flippant, he had already become vigilant internally, a hint of gravity on his face.
No one with a bounty over 500 million was simple. A lion uses its full strength even to catch a rabbit. Carelessness could easily lead to disaster. Besides, the creature before him was no rabbit; it was a giant brown bear that could kill a man with a single slap. The claws on its paws were no joke.
As the giant bear drew closer, Wilder shifted his body slightly, clenched his fist, and pulled it back, his eyes fixed on the massive body rapidly approaching, ready to strike.
"Great Serpent!"
Finally, the giant bear reached Wilder in an instant, bringing with it a fierce wind that made Wilder's cape flutter loudly behind him.
The moment the enraged bear arrived, a giant paw, its sharp claws glinting with a cold light, was already raised high, descending upon Wilder's head.
And at that moment, Wilder moved. The fist he had been charging finally shot out with incredible speed. With a deep shout from Wilder, a massive, translucent white fist-imprint, trailing a long, pipe-like tail, shot out from his own fist!
BOOM…!
A fierce gust of wind exploded between the two vastly different-sized figures. Swamp gas, sand, and dust filled the air, and thick smoke billowed. The muffled, massive sound traveled far. The white fist-imprint passed straight through the giant bear's abdomen and out its back, continuing on with undiminished force to crash into a group of containers in the distance. They exploded with a roar, the heavy containers shattering and flying apart. Some were even thrown high into the air and sent flying far away. When the smoke cleared from that area, a terrifyingly deep crater was left behind, shaped exactly like a fist.
"Is… is this for real?"
The pirates and Marines who witnessed this were all stunned.
Even Kizaru, who was fighting Katakuri in the distance, couldn't help but glance back, a look of surprise on his face. "Ooh… how terrifying. It seems Wilder-kun has unleashed some incredible physical technique. Did he create it himself? How extraordinary."
Wilder, however, did not relax. On the contrary, his expression became even graver than before. He frowned at the area now shrouded in smoke. If one looked closely, a massive figure could still be seen standing within. It was, without a doubt, the giant bear.
The exchange just now was not as simple as it looked. If Wilder hadn't moved away quickly, or rather, if he hadn't struck first with that punch and immediately retreated, he would likely have been injured.
Wilder stared at the thick smoke, subconsciously raising a hand to touch his right cheek. There was a tiny, unexpected wound there, small like a scratch.
Just the wind from his claws has the power to injure. There's no way he'd die that easily, right? Even as he said this, Wilder was basically certain in his heart. He didn't think he could kill a man with a bounty over 500 million with a single blow. Even a Four Emperor-level figure probably couldn't do that; at most, they could just incapacitate him.
As expected, a deafening roar came from within the smoke. The next second, the massive body inside moved, stirring up the dust in the area into a chaotic swirl.
"Such speed!"
Wilder's pupils shrank slightly. As the loud roar sounded, he looked again, but the giant bear's massive figure was no longer in the thick smoke.
Suddenly, a hurricane-like wind came from behind. The hair on Wilder's body stood on end. He alertly stepped on the ground and moved away!
BOOM! The next second, a massive body descended from the sky, its sharp claws landing on the spot where Wilder had just been standing.
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Wilder's face. "As expected, I can't underestimate him. None of these guys are simple. A moment of carelessness and I could die at the hands of someone like this."
But what shocked Wilder even more was the creature's terrifying defensive power. "That punch just now didn't seem to do any damage to him at all. He completely ignored the Great Serpent Fist, a shockwave that can bypass the skin and damage internal organs. Is this guy a monster?"
Wilder thought of Vice. Ever since that guy ate his Devil Fruit, his combat power had been soaring. The last time Wilder had used a weakened version of the Great Serpent Fist on him, he hadn't felt a thing.
Wilder was a little envious of Zoan-types at this moment. "Developed to a deeper level, even Zoan-types can make a comeback. Or is it that all Zoan-types have such terrifying potential?"
But Wilder didn't have time to think deeply, because the giant bear's attack had already arrived. With a perverted speed that didn't match his size, he swiped his claws down fiercely!
"Shave!" With a shing, Wilder's body disappeared from under the claws. When it came to speed, he was no slouch either.
When he had first learned the Six Powers' Shave, he had put a lot of effort into it, even nearly dying because of it.
The principle of Shave was to continuously step on the ground ten times in one second. Wilder, however, had managed to do it twenty-five times in one second. During his four years in Impel Down, he had spent more than half his time on physical techniques.
Therefore, his physical fitness and combat skills were also much stronger than others. And in every battle, he deliberately trained his physical techniques, avoiding using his ability if he could. This was because he was wary of one person. If he were to fight that person, losing his ability would mean losing his combat power, which would be a dead end.
So Wilder had never stopped training and developing his physical techniques. By now, his physical fitness might not be at the very top, but his technique could be considered among the best. In a fight of pure physical skill, he had never lost, just like how he had dominated Sherilmo with only his body and physical techniques last time.
Wilder stopped and looked at the giant bear charging toward him again, a grin suddenly spreading across his face.
He kind of missed the days of fighting purely with the Six Powers. That was when he was still an officer in Impel Down. To avoid exposing his identity, he could only hide his Swamp-Swamp Fruit ability. So at that time, he had earned the title of Demon Head Warden relying solely on his mastery of the Six Powers.
Of course, he didn't know all six, but the ones he did know, he was extremely proficient in. That was enough.
"Shave!" As the giant bear attacked again, Wilder's expression calmed. With a whoosh, his body had already disappeared from its spot. The bear's claws missed again, striking the hard ground and creating several deep claw marks.
The giant bear let out an angry roar. His Observation Haki sensed where Wilder had reappeared, and he turned to look for him.
"Phew." Wilder landed on a half-crumbled wall. A light step from him dislodged a loose stone. It was clear that this wall, after years of erosion, was on the verge of collapse.
Taking a deep breath, Wilder adjusted to the unfamiliar feeling in his body. Apart from Moon Walk, he rarely used the other techniques of the Six Powers. Just now, after using Shave twice, Wilder could feel the rustiness. Simply put, he hadn't used it in too long and was out of practice.
Wilder now needed to use Life Return to help him get that feeling back.
His Observation Haki already sensed that the stupid bear was coming again. Wilder opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. He twisted his body, one foot slightly back, the other already bent.
The moment the giant bear entered his range, he shot out!
"Tempest Kick!"
A straight, line-like beam of red light shot out from his foot, slicing straight toward the giant bear!
SHING!
A few strands of bear fur were cut and fell through the air. The giant bear was thoroughly enraged. It let out a deep roar and charged madly at Wilder. That kick had only managed to cut off a few of his hairs…
"Tsk… a monster. A true monster." When an initial move fails, a good way to diffuse the awkwardness is to push the blame onto the enemy, elevating them to a sufficiently high level. That's what Wilder was doing now.
It's not that I'm weak, it's that the opponent is too strong and unreasonable.
"Moon Walk."
Since one move had failed, Wilder naturally wouldn't wait for the opponent to come to him. He tapped his foot and leaped into the sky.
Of the Six Powers, Wilder knew Moon Walk, Shave, Iron Body, Tempest Kick, and Paper Drawing. He didn't know Finger Gun.
He had already used Tempest Kick, Moon Walk, and Shave. Tempest Kick was an attack, but it had just been proven to only be able to cut a few of the opponent's hairs. So now, the only ones left were Iron Body and Paper Drawing. Paper Drawing was for dodging, and Wilder had no shortage of dodging skills right now. So, the only choice left was Iron Body.
"Tsk, it seems the idea of defeating him with just the Six Powers is completely unworkable." Wilder had seen the essence of this giant bear. Its physique was too resistant; it was simply ineffective. It made sense. This guy had taken a Great Serpent Fist at close range and was fine. One could imagine how perversely strong his physical defense was.
If it were someone else, someone not fast enough, they would really just be killed by this guy. Not to mention, you hit him and he's fine, you dodge, but he's faster than you. That was enough.
"Speed, strength, defense, explosive power, attack power… this guy is a true beast."
"It seems I can only use you as a sacrificial offering for that move." Wilder immediately decided to abandon the unrealistic idea of defeating this guy with the Six Powers. In his mind, a move he had developed not long ago surfaced.
He had never used that move before, not even experimented with it. Therefore, Wilder didn't know if it would go smoothly. If it didn't, it didn't matter. The other applications of his ability weren't just for show.
What Wilder intended to do now was to use that move for the first time. If it succeeded, all would be well. He would have truly confirmed a new, highly destructive move. If it failed, he would go back and perfect it.
It was that simple.
Thinking of this, Wilder shouted at the giant bear, who was about to roar again, "Hey! Big guy, stop running. Let's have a proper fight."
Hearing this, the giant bear felt completely bewildered. Anger? Grievance? In any case, it was just unbelievable.
How can there be such a person in this world?
When did I run? Weren't you the one who was running around just now?
No! I will not be slandered for nothing!
The giant bear let out a roar and charged rapidly toward Wilder, roaring, "You have the guts to not run!"
Heh…
An evil smile suddenly spread across Wilder's lowered face.
Perfect timing.