Of course, Wilder was just toying with him. Now was not the time to force Katakuri into a corner. If he made such a demand, the most likely response would be for Katakuri to agree and then use the opportunity to strike. No matter how he thought about it, it was a losing proposition.
So, it was better to continue as he was...
Wilder turned his head slightly to look at Smoothie, a chilling smile on his face. "I'll just finish you off first."
As his words fell, the swamp secreted from the arm holding Smoothie's wrist and quickly began to crawl up her body.
The gurgling sound of the moving swamp filled the air. Everyone who saw this had their expressions change drastically, especially Katakuri. A furious rage erupted from him, and with a single step, he shot forward.
Smoothie tilted her head back slightly, her face deathly pale. She could feel the swamp enveloping her body and understood the danger she was in. She wanted to escape, but for a moment, she couldn't summon enough strength. The series of heavy blows from Wilder had left her body in shock. The abdomen was one of the body's most critical weak points, and after taking multiple heavy hits, it was a miracle she was still conscious.
Damn it! Smoothie gritted her teeth, her mind racing for a way to escape.
Her wrist was held in a death grip by Wilder; she couldn't break free. She wanted to turn and kill him, but with her wrist restrained, she couldn't turn her body. More importantly, she didn't have the strength to kill the man beside her.
Realizing this, Smoothie's panic intensified. As she felt the swamp crawl from her arm up her back, a deep chill rose in her heart. At the same time, she felt her back begin to heat up, a stinging, burning pain spreading across it. Smoothie could no longer remain calm. A cold sweat dripped from her forehead as she let out a scream of pure agony. "Aaargh!"
The scream made the faces of those watching from a distance change. Looking at the smile on Wilder's face, a chill rose from the bottom of their hearts.
At that moment, Katakuri finally reached Wilder.
"WILDER!" Katakuri roared. Mochi erupted from his body, instantly coalescing on his right arm into a sharp, heavy spear, thick with Armament Haki, which he thrust at Wilder.
As the strongest of the three Sweet Commanders, this strike was ferocious. It carried a fierce wind and a sharp, piercing sound, and as it cut through the air, it created a long, shrill, metallic screech. The power behind it was immense, and before it even arrived, a shockwave blasted outwards, whipping Wilder's clothes about him.
CLANG! A sharp, metallic clang rang out, long and clear. At the same time, another shockwave of air erupted.
A heavy, black wall had appeared without warning in front of the spear. The two collided with a deafening roar, and a wave of air and dust rolled outwards.
On the other side of the wall, the fierce wind buffeted Wilder, but his expression was impassive. He didn't even turn his head, his body standing tall and proud, his eyes calm.
But on the other side, Katakuri's expression had changed drastically. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the wall in front of him in utter disbelief.
"How is this possible?!" He couldn't believe that his attack had failed to break through. He had anticipated the wall's appearance, but he hadn't thought it could stop him, so he had continued his attack without a second thought.
But now, looking at the tip of his spear pressed against the wall, sparks and arcs of lightning flashing at the point of impact, the wall as unmovable as a mountain while his spear couldn't penetrate a single inch, Katakuri simply couldn't believe it.
Crack! Crack! As sparks flew, the force of Katakuri's attack finally dissipated. His feet landed on the ground, his face incredibly ugly.
BANG!
Just then, Wilder's expression changed slightly. He turned his head to his left. Smoothie's face was flushed red, and with a sudden roar, her body moved.
Crack! Crack...!
The sound of a wrist bone breaking reached Wilder's ears. In that moment, he felt the thing he was holding slip away. Smoothie leaped back, and it wasn't until she was a safe distance from Wilder that she let out a pained grunt. She fell to her knees, her bloodshot eyes staring at her left hand, which was now twisted into an unrecognizable shape.
A cold sweat ran down her pale face. It was clear how much pain she had just endured.
Wilder was stunned for a moment, then he recovered. In that instant, he felt a certain admiration for this woman.
For his prey to escape in such a manner was completely unexpected. To be honest, he had taken every precaution to prevent any surprises. The heavy blows at the beginning were to drain her strength. He had even held her wrist at a specific angle to prevent her from struggling or turning to attack him once she recovered her strength.
Only after all that had he prepared to deliver the final blow. He had never expected that on the brink of death, Smoothie would resort to such a measure, choosing to break her own arm.
"Should I call it lucky? To not even lose your arm in a situation like that, just a broken bone."
Wilder knew very well how much force he had been using to hold her wrist. After gaining the corrosion ability, all aspects of his body had been enhanced. Yet, even so, Smoothie had managed to escape from his grasp and even keep her arm. It was a testament to the strength of her body.
"Or should I say... as expected of Big Mom's daughter? Such a powerful body is truly something to be envied."
Wilder wasn't flustered by this turn of events. Instead, he smiled faintly. And beneath that smile, a cold, sharp light glinted. Without any warning, Wilder's right hand shot out, instantly piercing through the defensive wall he had just created. The wall, which had been so sturdy, was like tofu before him, a large hole torn through it. Wilder's hand was formed into a claw, his five fingers black with the light of Armament Haki as they shot through the wall.
What?!
Katakuri, standing behind the wall, saw the five claws suddenly appear before his eyes. His pupils shrank, and he quickly released a wave of mochi to form a thick, sturdy shield in front of him.
CRACK!
The five claws slammed into the shield. Katakuri heard a faint sound, and his expression changed dramatically.
BOOM!
The next moment, the shield exploded, shattering into pieces. The five black claws continued their assault.
Fortunately, Katakuri had been prepared from the moment he heard that faint sound. As the five claws reached for his face, he leaped backwards, moving out of the way. The claws stopped less than five centimeters from his face, and then the distance rapidly increased. If Katakuri had been even a fraction of a second slower, the situation would have been very different.
Katakuri came to a stop, his eyes grave as he stared at Wilder. He gritted his teeth and appeared at Smoothie's side, helping her up.
"Are you alright, Smoothie?"
Smoothie's face was still pale. She shook her head at Katakuri's words but didn't speak. For her, even speaking was a drain on her stamina. She was already injured, and now her left arm was useless. In her current state, she could feel her strength fading with every second.
More importantly, she felt a stinging, burning pain, like fire ants crawling over her entire left arm and half of her back, and she could feel her condition continuing to worsen.
Seeing Smoothie's state, Katakuri knew how bad it was. This isn't good, he thought. If this continues, things will get dangerous.
Katakuri looked at Wilder, his eyes filled with nothing but gravity. The battle had been going on for some time, and their plan seemed to be deviating more and more. Not only had they failed to kill Wilder, but they had been put at a disadvantage, suffering one major setback after another. It was a feeling Katakuri was not used to, an experience he had never had before.
This combat experience... was absolutely terrible.
The more he thought about it, the uglier Katakuri's expression became. He turned to look at Smoothie. She looked back at him, and before he could speak, she seemed to understand what he was thinking.
Without a word, Smoothie looked away and took a step forward, her eyes fixed on Wilder.
A flash of pain crossed Katakuri's eyes, but he also took a step forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Smoothie, his gaze also on Wilder.
He had wanted to ask Smoothie how much longer she could hold on. He had wanted to tell her that the longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for them. The unspoken meaning was, we have to go now! The two of us together are the only chance we have of defeating him! So, no matter what your condition is, you have to fight.
...But Katakuri obviously couldn't bring himself to say those words. He was a man who cared deeply for his family, his brothers and sisters. So, all he could do was ask, "Are you alright?"
If the answer had been no, then Katakuri had been prepared to face Wilder alone. But there was always that sliver of unwillingness in his heart, the unwillingness to let this guy live after suffering such a huge loss.
Yes, after the previous exchanges, Katakuri already knew that his chances of winning alone were slim. So, even if he fought to the very end, if he couldn't kill him, it seemed... there would be no point.
Smoothie knew his dilemma, so she had stepped forward. And Katakuri seemed to see that Smoothie had seen through him.
But... none of that mattered anymore.
As long as they worked together, as long as they gave it their all, then they had a chance to kill Wilder.
BOOM!
Both of them erupted with the greatest speed they had shown since the battle began, pushing themselves beyond their limits. In the instant they vanished, they shot towards Wilder from the left and right in a pincer attack.
The veins on Smoothie's legs bulged, her feet under immense pressure. The slightest misstep could tear her muscles and rupture her blood vessels. But none of that mattered now. What mattered was...
"Kill this man!" Smoothie looked up, her eyes filled with a mad, unwavering determination.
She could only use her right hand now. How much her combat power had been reduced by the loss of one hand, even she didn't know. But she wasn't afraid. From the very beginning of this fight, she had rarely used both hands at the same time, and even when she had, it hadn't yielded the desired results. She relied on her greatsword. From the start, she had planned to use her greatsword as her primary means of attack.
Because Smoothie knew that Wilder was different from other opponents. She had understood this from their brief clash in the passage earlier. Her close-quarters combat, her idea of trying to touch him with her ability, wouldn't work. Or rather, it was highly unlikely to work, unless Wilder was completely caught off guard. Otherwise, her hand would never be able to touch his body.
In that case, it was better to use this method from the beginning. The probability of hitting him with a large-scale sword wave was much higher than trying to touch him with her hand. And it was also less dangerous for her.
"But now..." As she ran at top speed, Smoothie's grip on her sword tightened. I can't afford to be so one-dimensional anymore.
With a plan in mind, a determined light shone in Smoothie's eyes.
On the other side, Katakuri was also rushing towards Wilder. Both of them were moving incredibly fast, almost exceeding their physical limits.
Two afterimages shot towards Wilder from the left and right. Just as they were about to reach him, Smoothie made the first move.
She leaped into the air, her longsword raised above her head, and brought it down on Wilder below.
VMMMM!
The air distorted. A piercing shriek echoed as a brilliant light seemed to run through the heavens. A massive pinkish-purple sword wave descended.
Then came Katakuri. He also made his move. In the middle of his charge, he suddenly leaped up, his right hand clenched into a fist, and slammed it downwards.
As his right fist moved, a giant fist appeared in mid-air, almost completely blocking out the sun in that area. It was made of mochi, formed into hardened rice cake, completely black, and coated in a thick layer of Armament Haki. The sheer force of its descent was terrifying.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH...!
A fierce wind and airflow spread out from the ground. The giant mochi fist blotted out the sky, and the air was sucked up through the gaps between its fingers. Before the fist even landed, a huge circular ring of air had formed on the ground below, created by the compressed air and wind being pushed outwards.
The two attacks had not yet landed, but their immense power had already attracted the attention of everyone on the distant battlefields. They all stared, their eyes wide.
One was like a rainbow piercing the sun, straight and sharp. The other blotted out the sky, heavy and oppressive. They descended from the heavens...
Finally, the man on the ground moved. He looked up, his gaze calm as he watched the two terrifying attacks fall towards him. He slowly raised his right hand.