Wilder's swamp fist quickly disintegrated, scattering backward layer by layer, while Katakuri's mochi fist broke through like a hot knife through butter, charging straight for Wilder himself.
BAM!
With a dull thud, the mochi fist stopped less than a meter in front of Wilder. A wall of swamp, its surface faintly rippling, had appeared to block it. No matter how much force the mochi fist possessed, the wall remained unmoved, completely intact.
"This is…" Katakuri's eyes shifted slightly. The others also narrowed their eyes.
What is that? How could it block Master Katakuri's heavy mochi punch without taking any damage?
The surrounding pirates were astonished. They knew full well how powerful their Master Katakuri's mochi was when coated in Armament Haki. How could it not even break through a wall made of swamp? No, in fact, after causing a slight ripple upon impact, the wall had immediately become smooth again.
Even though the wall was thick, this shouldn't be possible.
No matter how they racked their brains, they could never conceive of something like a non-Newtonian fluid swamp!
Only Katakuri frowned, a thoughtful look on his face.
But Wilder wasn't going to waste any more time. After blocking that blow, it was his turn to attack.
"Compared to Luffy, who was completely imitated and suppressed, I still have quite an advantage, don't I?" The wall fell away, and Wilder walked out from behind it, his expressionless face hiding a resolute confidence.
I can't…
…drag this out any longer!
BOOM! Wilder moved. A boundless wave of swamp rose from behind him, crashing down directly on Katakuri!
"The second son of the Yonko Big Mom, Katakuri! Today… please, give me your best!" BOOM! Another roar. An imposing aura erupted from Wilder's body, the shockwave spreading out in all directions, sending many of the lower-ranking soldiers flying. His eyes, at some unknown point, had turned blood-red—violent, cold, and ferocious, giving him the dangerous air of a coiled serpent.
Many of the people around them didn't even have time to react. Their pupils dilated, the whites of their eyes showing as they collapsed for no apparent reason.
"This is…"
"Conqueror's Haki!"
Katakuri and Kizaru both wore grave expressions at this moment.
By now, the pirate who had been holding Kizaru had already fallen into a pool of blood, several holes in his body smoking. Kizaru, however, didn't make a move for a moment. He wanted to see first what kind of duel would unfold between the two.
Thud! Thud! Thud! As Wilder took step after step toward Katakuri, the giant wave of swamp above his head moved forward with him.
"Is that so?" Katakuri glanced at Kizaru, who was not far away, his expression graver than ever before. But he had no choice now. "In that case, let's fight!"
BOOM! With his powerful and unique Observation Haki, Katakuri could effectively imitate his enemy's moves. And so, with a loud roar, a white wave rose high behind him, facing the giant swamp wave on the other side.
Wilder stopped his steps, lowered his body slightly, and touched one hand to the ground. Then, the ground began to ripple, the earth visibly and rapidly softening.
Unfortunately for him, Katakuri's Devil Fruit had already awakened. He… could do the same. And so, the ground beneath his feet also began to heave and surge, in an instant turning into a field of white mochi.
Head to head, ground to ground, both sides moved at once!
The two giant waves shot out without warning, instantly crashing into each other and unleashing a terrifying shockwave. Mochi and swamp scattered in all directions.
And the ground became like two competing domains, pushing forward and being forced back, neither side allowing their territory to be turned into the other's.
The surrounding people quickly retreated, watching from a distance in horror at the terrifying, disaster-like scene. This was not a battle they could participate in; a single careless moment could mean death from one side's attack.
Wilder vanished from his spot. At the same time, Katakuri also disappeared. The two reappeared beneath the two clashing waves, each raising a fist, their entire arms coated in black Armament Haki, and smashed them toward each other!
BAM! A chaotic airflow erupted from between their two fists, with crackling electricity coiling and spinning within it. The two quickly retreated, then charged at each other at high speed again. BAM! Their fists collided heavily once more!
"Hell's Thrust!" The moment they landed again, with less than ten meters between them, Wilder suddenly flashed an excited smile and whispered the words.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Spikes suddenly erupted from the ground, their sharp points aimed directly at Katakuri, who was already within their range!
BANG! BANG! BANG! Katakuri reacted quickly, and his body moved even faster! He coated his entire body in Armament Haki and shattered a spike that suddenly shot up from under his feet with a single punch.
"A move like this is enough to use once," Katakuri said calmly, his eyes cold as he released a large amount of mochi, completely filling the area that was bristling with the spikes of Hell's Thrust.
Then, he stomped his foot, his body shooting out like a bullet. He appeared in front of Wilder, his mochi arm, coated in Armament Haki, stretching out to strike him.
"You have a point. Deadwood Fang!" Wilder didn't dodge or evade, his expression cold. A giant, tree-trunk-like spike emerged from his palm, its tip sharp and also coated with a sliver of Armament Haki. It collided directly with the long mochi fist.
During this time, swamp began to appear on Wilder's body. The moment it appeared, it began to compress and harden. Soon, a suit of armor enveloped Wilder completely.
"A good move. I'll take it." Katakuri shattered the giant spike with a punch. Suddenly, a large amount of mochi also surged from his body, forming a suit of armor that encased him.
"Heh… what a headache," Wilder said, closing the distance and slashing at Katakuri with a double-edged sword hardened from swamp!
SHING! Naturally, Katakuri responded with the same move. Two swords, one black and one white, clashed. With a series of cracking sounds, the sword in Wilder's hand shattered inch by inch, until only the hilt remained.
Wilder narrowed his eyes slightly. As expected… the hardness of his hardened swamp couldn't compare to Katakuri's mochi.
Wilder had already realized this from their previous clashes. Katakuri's mochi was very hard! Harder even than the biscuits of that pervert Cracker, whom he had killed not long ago.
He had no idea where the Big Mom pirates found so many strange food-based abilities.
"It seems I can't keep using moves that can be imitated. I need to attack from an angle that his ability doesn't possess." As Wilder was thinking this, he suddenly heard a cry of pain.
What's going on?
Wilder froze. He saw Kizaru's smarmy figure had appeared between the two at some unknown point. A longsword made of condensed light had pierced through Katakuri's abdomen, pinning him to the ground.
And that bastard was still pursing his lips with a placid expression, saying in his leisurely tone, "That's enough. We… don't have time to keep wasting on you, pirate… Katakuri."
A… a sneak attack?
The pirates and Marines were all stunned!
Did Mr. Kizaru just launch a sneak attack?
Some of the rookie marines covered their mouths in disbelief, as if their faith was crumbling.
The pirates, on the other hand, all looked ashen-faced, staring with wide eyes, unable to believe what was happening before them.
Master Katakuri was defeated just like that?
Defeated in such a humiliating way?
But… he still had so much stamina…
But… there was still the all-out, decisive battle to be fought…
None of that happened. He was defeated just like that?
Regardless of what the pirates were thinking, once Katakuri was put in Seastone handcuffs, the battle turned into a one-sided slaughter.
To save time, Kizaru and Wilder unleashed a barrage of light and a wide-ranging swamp attack that struck simultaneously from the ground to the air and the air to the ground.
Instantly, the field fell silent.
"Cuff them all," Kizaru leisurely ordered his second-in-command.
Then, Kizaru and Wilder exchanged a look and nodded. "I'll leave this place to you," Kizaru said to his subordinate.
"Rest assured, Admiral Kizaru."
Kizaru then turned to Wilder. "Can you keep up, Wilder-kun?"
Kizaru's meaning was clear: the two of them would rush back at top speed. However, even though Wilder's heart was heavy, he couldn't help but feel a few veins pop on his forehead at the question. "No one can keep up with that speed of yours, can they?" he said irritably.
"So?" Kizaru asked with a look of surprise, not the least bit embarrassed.
"So, Mr. Kizaru should go back at top speed first. Don't worry about me. The sooner you arrive, the sooner you can stop the Big Mom Pirates. I don't think you'd dare to delay, would you? After all, compared to my Kingdom of Morass, Big Mom also holds a grudge against the new Marine fortress. Besides, the fortress is in front of Morass."
Wilder was speaking the truth. If Big Mom were to attack Morass, she would definitely not spare the Marine fortress. Not for any other reason than it was in her way.
Therefore, hearing Wilder's words, Kizaru finally snapped out of his dementia-like state. Without a word, his body began to glow, and then with a whoosh, he turned into a beam of golden light and sped away.
"What… an enviable ability," Wilder said, watching Kizaru depart. He immediately followed, moving as well. Of course, he didn't have the stamina for such a long journey across the sea. So, he first found a small, single-person boat on the island and a large amount of food, stored them inside his body, and then used Moon Walk to rush back in the direction he had come from at top speed.
"Claire, what's the situation? Have the Big Mom Pirates done anything?" On the way, Wilder, while pounding the air with his steps, called Claire on the Den Den Mushi.
"I've already contacted the people at the Marine fortress. And to stop them sooner, we've gathered our forces here at the fortress. They've arrived," Claire's heavy voice came from the other side of the Den Den Mushi.
Wilder's eyes turned cold. As expected…
"Who is guarding Morass now?"
"Franpetar, Bacon, Sherilmo, and over fifty cadres."
"I understand." Wilder hung up the call with a blank expression, then dialed Franpetar's number.
"Boss." The call was answered immediately.
Wilder wasted no words. "Franpetar, prepare the defenses. Bring out all the Mark II cannons and deploy them on the coast. Remember, you must not let them land! At the very least, you can't let the enemy land before I get back. Hold them off at sea from a distance." Wilder knew that with just Franpetar and the others, they would have no power to counterattack once the enemy landed. So, the best strategy was to hold the enemy at sea, using their technological advantage to suppress them.
"Don't worry, Boss. A large number of Mark I cannons have already been gathered at the Marine fortress. Our plan and the fortress's are the same. All the Mark II cannons are defending our country. Also, the head of the Munitions Department in charge of the biochemical warfare unit has developed a type of poison gas shell that can be equipped on the cannons. It has not only powerful physical damage but also poison gas damage."
"Excellent. Remember, you must hold the line!"
"Yes, sir!"
Wilder hung up the call, stored the Den Den Mushi inside his body, and traveled at full speed!
Half a day passed, and the distance grew shorter and shorter. Wilder didn't know if Kizaru had arrived, or when he had arrived, but he could already feel his stamina severely depleted. He was forced to lower his altitude and release the small boat from his body.
SPLASH! The small boat crashed into the sea, creating a white splash. It rocked violently a few times before gradually calming down. Wilder landed on the boat and released a large amount of food from his body, instantly filling the inside of the boat and piling it into a small mountain.
RIP!
Wilder sat down without a word, tore open a package, revealing the fragrant compressed dried meat inside, and began to gnaw on it.
Large chunks of meat were torn off and swallowed by Wilder. The small mountain of food visibly diminished.
And Wilder's stomach quickly expanded. Not just his stomach, but even his face, his whole person took on the appearance of a fat man.
"Hiccup~!"
After a burp, Wilder clapped his hands together! His eyes flew open, and a shockwave of energy erupted from his body.
"Life Return!"
"Digest!" Wilder's body visibly slimmed down, in the blink of an eye becoming like a withered old man.
"Absorb!" In another blink, Wilder's body began to swell again, but this time it stopped when it returned to its normal state.
Wilder stored the small boat and set off again with a step of Moon Walk!
BAM! BAM! BAM!
In the waters surrounding Morass, the dull sound of drumming echoed through the air. Then, a small black dot appeared in the distance and steadily approached the coast of Morass.
Franpetar, who had been keeping a close watch on the sea, immediately became vigilant. She raised her hand. "All hands, attention!"
As her words fell, a neat, uniform rustling sound was heard. The members of Morass hidden in the trenches all raised their guns.
"Wait." But soon, Franpetar let out a sigh of relief, a smile of relief spreading across her face. "It's His Majesty the King."
Wilder had deliberately taken another route, using the Calm Belt to bypass the fortress. Since it wasn't a ship, he could avoid detection. Although the journey wouldn't be shorter this way, if something had happened, Wilder could have caught the enemy off guard. Fortunately, it seemed the flames of war had not yet spread to Morass.
However, it seemed the situation was already very grim.