The battle on the field had already reached a fever pitch. The Marines had suffered many casualties, but the pirates had lost even more. It couldn't be helped. While fighting Katakuri, Kizaru could still occasionally find the time to take out some nearby small fry. For those lower-ranking soldiers, his powerful attacks were basically an instant kill. A single laser beam could set off a powerful explosion in an area. Kizaru's light had never been a single-point attack; it also caused massive shockwaves, explosions, and intense heat, capable of melting steel. It combined both physical and elemental damage, making it utterly terrifying.
Katakuri, on the other hand, was now in a state of barely holding on. Under Kizaru's relentless assault, he had gone from a balanced offense and defense to a contracted defense, fighting with great difficulty.
PSSH!
Another beam of light shot from Kizaru's finger. Katakuri couldn't dodge in time, and a pained expression instantly appeared on his face. A hole had been pierced through his right arm, wisps of white smoke rising from it.
"Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?" Kizaru suddenly appeared at Katakuri's side, sweeping his leg out!
BAM! Katakuri only had time to raise his arms in front of him. The next instant, his body was sent flying backward like a cannonball, crashing to the ground with a roar. The ground cracked, collapsing into a deep pit surrounded by a spiderweb of fissures.
"Master Katakuri!" The giant bear, who was about to launch another attack on Wilder, witnessed this and grew anxious. Gritting his teeth, he was about to charge toward Kizaru.
Just then, Katakuri climbed out of the pit. Mochi substance surged from his body, forming a giant fist wrapped in black Armament Haki, which he swung fiercely at Kizaru!
Caught in a pincer attack, even Kizaru couldn't help but frown.
"Hey, hey, you big lug, I told you… you're not allowed to go over there." Wilder's voice came just in time. Kizaru smiled, his body flashing as a beam of golden light descended from the sky!
BOOM! The light exploded, and the mochi substance disintegrated. The giant bear was sent stumbling backward by a punch from Wilder, who had suddenly appeared in front of him.
"In a fight, don't be so distracted, big guy," Wilder said, annoyed. Couldn't this guy just stick to the plan and fight me? The trap I just set up was wasted just like that.
"But… whatever, it doesn't matter. If he won't jump into the pit himself, then I'll just go to him." Wilder's mouth twisted into a wicked grin, and his gaze toward the giant bear turned malevolent.
"Grr! Wilder…!" The giant bear went berserk, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Wilder. His massive body charged forward, his feet causing dull tremors as they pounded the ground.
"Die!" As he neared Wilder, the giant bear made an unexpected move. He suddenly leaped high into the air, reaching a height of over a hundred meters in a single bound, and descended rapidly and heavily toward Wilder's head!
"This guy's fighting style is unusually ferocious," Wilder remarked. Naturally, he wouldn't just stand there like a fool. He stared with a grave expression at the massive body falling at high speed, and with a move of his feet, his body was already retreating rapidly.
But just then, Wilder suddenly found that he couldn't move his body.
"Heheheh…" A sinister voice sounded from behind Wilder. His eyes flickered slightly. He tried to move his body but found he couldn't even blink.
"I've been watching you for a long time, Wilder. Finally… I've got my chance." His body felt as if it were being forcibly controlled by something. Wilder's eyes wavered for a moment, then returned to calm. He quietly watched the figure that had suddenly materialized out of thin air in front of him.
At this moment, the giant bear was about to land. If nothing unexpected happened, Wilder would be crushed flat in this controlled state.
"'Air Ghost,' with a bounty of 320 million Beri. The user of the Paramecia-type Air-Air Fruit, an air man who can manipulate air currents and make himself invisible in the air. What a terrifying opponent."
"Heheheh… I didn't expect the famous King of Morass and Warlord of the Sea to recognize me. It's truly an honor. But, I'm sorry, you're about to die, Mr. Wilder, heheheh." A withered, skinny man with a sinister appearance materialized from the air, baring his sharp teeth in a grim smile.
WHOOSH! The sound of rushing air came from above. Wilder knew that the giant bear would crash down in less than two seconds. So, without replying to Air Ghost, Wilder's entire body suddenly softened, turning into a puddle of gooey swamp.
Air Ghost's expression changed. "No! Damn it!"
It could only be said that when a person becomes too fixated on something, they become oblivious, ignoring the most fundamental and obvious fact. Wilder was a Logia-type user; how could he be bound so easily?
BAM! The giant bear finally landed. The whole process seemed slow, but it happened in a flash. The moment the giant bear crashed down, the swamp had already sunk beneath the surface, reappearing in another location and re-forming into a human shape.
A massive roar echoed through the area. Many of the pirates and Marines who were fighting were sent flying by the shockwave, coughing up blood.
The giant bear stood up, his blood-red eyes once again locking onto Wilder. He let out an angry roar. "You damn rat! Stop running if you have the guts!"
"Then I won't run," Wilder said with a sudden smile, placing one hand on the ground.
What is he doing? Could it be that move again?
Seeing this familiar gesture, the surrounding people felt a jolt in their hearts.
"Everyone, run!"
Air Ghost stared at Wilder with a gloomy expression for a long time before his body slowly turned transparent and faded into the air.
"Putting on a show!" The giant bear snorted, swiping his massive claws at Wilder.
Watching the giant claw get closer and closer, the wind from it already whipping against his face, Wilder's expression became calm and cold. He continuously poured his powerful control into the ground, his Observation Haki sensing everything around him, including the figure hidden in the air that was steadily approaching.
In this tense moment, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. Time seemed to slow down infinitely. Wilder lifted the hand he had pressed to the ground and slammed it down hard!
"Swamp—Earth's Mouth!"
BOOM!
And in that instant, time broke free. Sound returned to the world. With a deep, muffled roar, the onlookers witnessed the most incredible event of their lives.
What does it feel like when a piece of the flat ground suddenly goes missing?
A square block of land, as if it had been dug out of thin air. The giant bear's body vanished completely. With no foothold and no time to react, he fell straight into the giant hole that had been created by the removal of that piece of land.
A few wisps of dust drifted away. Where the giant bear had disappeared, a massive, pitch-black, bottomless hole had abruptly appeared. Its four edges were smooth and neat, with no slope, descending vertically into the abyss. If one looked closely, some swamp-like substance could be seen on the four walls of the hole.
"What… is this…?"
At this moment, the surroundings fell into a dead silence again. Everyone stared at the hole, their minds shaken to the core, in utter disbelief. They had words in their hearts but didn't know how to express them.
"Holy… shit!" After a long while, someone finally managed to spit out the words, and those two words seemed to trigger an echo.
"Holy shit!"
"Holy shit!"
Cries of "holy shit" rose from all around.
Wilder stood up. Swamp mud poured madly from his arm into the giant hole. In less than ten breaths, the hole was filled to the brim.
"Harden!" Wilder made a grasping motion with his hand, his eyes incomparably cold as he uttered the word. A series of cracking sounds was heard as the swamp hardened at a visible rate.
The surrounding Marines watched this scene, the hair on their bodies standing on end.
So ruthless!
They made a mental note to themselves a thousand times over never to provoke this ruthless man.
After doing all this, Wilder's face had also turned a little pale. Unleashing big moves consecutively was satisfying, but his body was also taking a toll. Fortunately, this move was well worth it. What the crowd didn't know was that not only had the giant bear died under this move, but another person had also perished with him.
That person was Air Ghost.
"Well done, Wilder-kun." Just then, Kizaru, who had turned his head from afar, saw the result of the battle here. He too was shaken by Wilder's move, but then he smiled his smarmy smile. This greatly reduced the pressure on the Marines and could also reduce their casualties, which was, of course, a good thing for Kizaru.
At this point, Katakuri was already seriously injured. Under Kizaru's relentless assault, he looked utterly wretched.
"Hah… hah…" Panting heavily, Katakuri glanced toward Wilder, his face extremely ugly, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
"Wi…l…der…!"
"Mr. Katakuri, you should pray for yourself first," Kizaru said with concern as he slashed with his sword.
Katakuri flipped and turned, wretchedly dodging the attack. Mochi substance poured madly from his body and shot toward Kizaru.
SHING! Kizaru had no intention of backing down. Instead, he charged straight forward, delivering a simple slash along the way.
With a sizzle, the mochi, giving off a few wisps of green smoke, was cut in two right down the middle. The cut edges glowed red-hot, having been literally melted through.
"Yo, Mr. Kizaru, this fight is really dragging on. Oh, isn't this Mr. Katakuri? My apologies, I seem to have accidentally killed your subordinate just now." At this moment, Wilder walked over with his hands behind his head and a jaunty spring in his step, his tone and expression making one want to beat him up on the spot.
As expected, Kizaru was fine, just giving Wilder a slight glance. But Katakuri's face completely darkened upon hearing this.
So infuriating.
Was Wilder doing this on purpose?
Of course, he was.
He just wanted to piss Katakuri off. As for the reason, he hadn't yet vented the anger he had suffered at Big Mom's hands. Now that he finally had the chance, of course, he had to get some of it back from her good son first.
"Wilder-kun, I'm afraid things are not looking good," Kizaru, after firing a beam of light, suddenly stopped and said, standing beside Wilder without turning his head.
"Hmm?" Wilder frowned at his words.
"Big Mom's side…" Before Kizaru could finish, he turned into a flash of golden light and shot out again, re-engaging with Katakuri.
Wilder froze on the spot, his pupils trembling violently. A chill rose from the bottom of his heart. Kizaru's words had made him think of a terrible possibility.
Big Mom…
Wilder's entire body began to tremble. With a whoosh, he disappeared from his spot and reappeared between Kizaru and Katakuri. A fist wrapped in thick Armament Haki smashed heavily into the face of the still-stunned Katakuri!
A direct hit!
Katakuri was sent flying backward. Kizaru seized the opportunity and shot a beam of light, which hit the dust-filled area. A pained grunt from Katakuri was heard from within the smoke.
Wilder's expression was grave. He turned his back to Kizaru and shouted, "Mr. Kizaru, I must trouble you to rush back at your fastest speed. Please protect Morass. Leave this place to me."
"It seems you and I are thinking the same thing. However, don't you think it would be better for the two of us to team up and take down Katakuri faster, Wilder-kun?" Kizaru said with a blank expression, standing a little behind him.
Wilder was silent for a moment, then made a retreating motion. "Then, Mr. Kizaru, don't give him any time to breathe. I'll inform Morass first."
"As you wish, Wilder-kun." Kizaru also knew the situation was not good, so he didn't waste any time. He turned into a flash of golden light and rose high into the air, re-forming into his human shape. He struck a strange pose with his hands, a shadow now covering the lenses of his glasses.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
This time, Kizaru held nothing back. The light particles he released directly bombarded the area below! Countless pirates screamed as they were turned to ash. Katakuri also suffered considerable injuries from this attack, a thumb-sized hole pierced through his abdomen, the wound charred black.
But the next moment, just as Kizaru landed, he suddenly felt his body being tightly gripped by a pair of giant arms.
Wilder had just put down the Den Den Mushi when someone suddenly charged at him. Wilder couldn't react in time and was sent flying by a punch, his face quickly swelling up.
Katakuri, exuding a terrifying killing intent, quickly pursued him, his voice cold and deep. "In that case, I'll finish you off first."
As he spoke, mochi substance poured madly from his arms, forming two giant fists. Wrapped in Armament Haki, they shot toward the spot where Wilder had landed!
Wilder pushed away the broken wooden planks on top of him with a blank expression and stood up. The swamp on his hands was also spreading wildly. Facing the giant white fists, Wilder charged out!
Two pairs of black and white giant fists, both made of viscous material and armed, collided heavily!
BOOM! A shockwave erupted, sweeping across the surroundings. The initial clash between Wilder and Katakuri sent a chill through the hearts of the surrounding pirates and Marines, shaking them to their core.
Unlike the fight with Kizaru, this was a true clash of hard against hard, soft against soft.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on that spot.
The result came out quickly.