Screeech!!"
Seeing the Mirror Mochi surging toward it, the Vermilion Bird–form Little Sparrow let out a disdainful screech.
Then, with a powerful flap of its wings, it soared even higher into the sky.
Although it had eaten the Mythical Zoan Bird-Bird Fruit: Vermilion Bird Model, Little Sparrow's eternal pursuit had always been slacking off.
No flame, no matter how fierce, could deter Little Sparrow's commitment to doing the bare minimum.
Like right now, there was no way it was going to face off against Katakuri head-on.
Anyway, if the Vermilion Bird wanted to dodge, Katakuri simply couldn't touch it.
If a hundred meters wasn't high enough, it would just fly a thousand meters up.
"Screeech!!"
From a thousand meters up, the arrogant Little Sparrow even took the time to mock Katakuri loudly.
Katakuri felt humiliated.
And yet, there was nothing he could do against the bird up in the sky.
So, he set his sights on Selo.
Standing just tens of meters from Katakuri, Selo suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
"Katakuri has activated his awakened Mochi-Mochi Fruit powers… If you've got any trump cards, like spitting fire or something, you better use them now, Sabo!"
Selo instinctively assumed this was the post, time, skip Sabo, who had eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Only after blurting it out did he remember that Ace was still the current user of that fruit, and he was locked up in Impel Down.
Then he thought of the 30-day Flame-Flame Fruit trial card sitting in his pocket.
He took it out.
At first, Selo was tempted to use it himself.
Being "Fire Fist Selo" for thirty days sounded kind of awesome.
But then he looked up at Little Sparrow still slacking off in the sky, and suddenly, the card lost its appeal.
So, Selo simply tossed the 30-day Flame-Flame Fruit trial card over to Sabo nearby.
Sabo caught it in confusion.
"Use it!" Selo shouted, not bothering to explain.
Everything would make sense soon enough.
The card in Sabo's hand instantly turned into a streak of fire and merged into his body.
"Wh-What is this…? H-Huh? Why am I breathing fire?! Oh my god!"
As soon as Sabo opened his mouth to ask, a stream of fire burst out uncontrollably.
He was completely stunned.
"Just think of yourself as a Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit user from now on!" Selo yelled.
"Me? A Logia-type Flame-Flame user?!"
Sabo wasn't doubting; it was more like he thought Selo was trolling him.
He'd never eaten a Devil Fruit, but even he knew Devil Fruits were fruits, not cards.
Still, he quickly realized he really could turn into fire.
"We'll handle Katakuri first. Sabo, you stay over there and get used to the Flame-Flame powers. Be quick!"
Even for a genius like Sabo, adapting to a new Devil Fruit took time.
Selo, who had never eaten a fruit himself, had no idea how to guide Sabo, so he let him figure it out solo.
"Water Breathing: Ninth Form! Splashing Water Flow!!"
Total Concentration.
Selo steadied his breathing and unleashed a move he hadn't had a chance to use the day before.
His katana surged with flowing water as he stepped onto the torrent beneath him and launched toward Katakuri, blade poised.
"You're a Devil Fruit user too? Or… is your katana a Devil Fruit user?!"
Katakuri, confused by the bizarre spectacle, couldn't figure out what was happening.
Still, he didn't forget to counterattack.
"Clapping Mochi!!"
With a command, the mochi on the ground surged up and formed two enormous hands, each dozens of meters tall, closing in from both sides to squash Selo like a mosquito.
Both hands were coated in Armament Haki.
Behind him, Hancock screamed, "Selo!!!"
But Selo, dashing atop the water, was lightning fast; he flipped mid-air and narrowly dodged the crushing clap.
Then, right in front of Katakuri's stunned face, he slashed down with Splashing Water Flow.
To his surprise, it hit.
Not only did it slice Katakuri in the head, but his whole body was cut clean in two by the blade.
…Unfortunately, it was just a mochi clone.
The real Katakuri was about ten meters behind Selo.
"Sticky Syrup Mochi!!"
With Selo exactly where Katakuri had anticipated, he went in for the kill.
The mochi surged skyward, forming countless sharp mochi spikes, all coated in Armament Haki.
In the next instant, they rained down on Selo like a deadly downpour.
"Water Breathing: Tenth Form! Constant Flux!!"
Total Concentration.
Selo looked up at the incoming barrage of Haki-coated mochi spikes, then locked eyes with the real Katakuri.
With a deep breath, he launched himself forward again atop the raging water.
The next second, the mochi spikes closed in, within 10 centimeters of Selo.
But they were all cleanly sliced apart by his water-surging katana.
A massive roaring water dragon followed his blade and slammed into the off-guard Katakuri.
Or more precisely, the overconfident Katakuri.
He had never imagined someone could instantly slice through his Haki-enhanced Sticky Syrup Mochi.
Not even Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, would likely manage that.
Yet this guy with the flowing water katana did it, and landed a devastating hit.
"Selo, you're amazing!!"
At some point, Hancock had become his cheerleader.
Seeing Selo knock Katakuri down with one strike, she shouted with excitement like a crazed fangirl.
And truth be told, Selo loved it.
He might start slicing Katakuri more often just for this kind of praise.
Still, Katakuri was only badly injured, not defeated.
"Whew! Good thing! I thought I wouldn't get a chance to use this newly adapted Flame-Flame power in real combat!"
Seeing Katakuri still able to fight, Sabo jumped in excitedly to face him.
But his enthusiasm infuriated Katakuri.
"You think I'm what? A whetstone? Damn it!!"
As someone who had never been defeated, Katakuri was extremely proud.
He couldn't tolerate being knocked down, let alone by someone treating him as training fodder.
Even though his overconfidence got him hit, he hadn't fallen; he wasn't beaten.
"Power Mochi!!"
Katakuri in rage mode was even scarier than rage-mode Hancock.
His Conqueror's Haki surged like a storm, forcing Sabo back several steps.
Then, within hundreds of meters around him, all the flowing mochi gathered behind Katakuri.
In an instant, it formed a gigantic arm hundreds of meters long, entirely wrapped in Armament Haki.
A punch from that arm would flatten even a giant.
"Why is it max difficulty when it's my turn?!" Sabo wanted to cry.
But after being so cocky earlier, there was no way he could back down now.
After all, he was the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army!
"Let there be fire!!!"
Grimacing, Sabo summoned all the Flame-Flame energy he had just adapted to.
Before he could fully unleash it, Katakuri had already launched his massive attack.
That Haki-coated arm, hundreds of meters long, punched toward Sabo with unstoppable force.
"Sabo, look out!!!"
Koala, who had been standing where Sabo told her to, screamed in worry.
Sabo himself wasn't that afraid, just a little frantic.
He hadn't built up enough flame yet.
But the Flame-Flame power within him gave him unshakable confidence.
He gathered all his fire,
"Fire Fist!!!"
A colossal fire fist over a hundred meters wide blasted from his hand.
It collided directly with Katakuri's gigantic Haki punch in mid-air.
The shockwave was so intense that it sent tidal waves crashing across the nearby seas.
Buildings on the island crumbled.
Pirates dropped into the sea like dumplings in soup.
But in the end, the massive fire fist was no match for the enormous Haki-powered punch.
After a few seconds, the fire burned out, and the punch roared onward, straight at Sabo.
With no time to dodge, he raised his arms, now coated in Armament Haki, to guard his head.
"Giant Spiral Rasengan!!!"