On the vast ocean, two massive fleets faced each other across the churning waves, neither willing to yield even an inch of ground.
The leading ship on the eastern side was particularly extraordinary. It was a huge candy-themed warship, its sides adorned with decorative frosting, candy canes standing proudly on both sides of the deck, and a magnificent double-layered cake positioned at the ship's stern.
The vessel looked absolutely delicious enough to eat.
But what truly caught everyone's attention wasn't its whimsical design but the remarkable fact that this ship was genuinely alive.
The bow featured a gingerbread smiley face that was currently humming a cheerful melody.
This was the Queen Mama Chanter, the legendary flagship of the Big Mom Pirates. Charlotte Linlin herself had commanded this vessel during countless campaigns across many conquered lands.
However, standing at the bow now wasn't the fearsome Big Mom, but a tall man with a distinctive scarf covering half of his face.
The man was none other than Charlotte Katakuri, the Charlotte Family's greatest masterpiece and most formidable warrior.
"Katakuri-nii, Cracker-nii's Totto Land forces will arrive within an hour. We still have an hour and a half until the agreed battle time. That's more than enough," spoke a brown-skinned woman wearing a pink striped bodysuit with a long sword secured at her waist.
She was Charlotte Smoothie, one of the Sweet Four Commanders and Juice Minister of Totto Land. Her long-leg tribe bloodline blessed her with exceptionally long legs that comprised two-thirds of her impressive height.
While Katakuri patiently waited for reinforcements, King was also maintaining his vigil on the opposite side.
"When will Kai finally get here? I can barely contain my excitement anymore!" Yamato lay listlessly against the ship's rail, releasing an exaggerated moan of impatience.
To prepare for this momentous war, the Beast Pirates had deployed almost their complete strength. Even Yamato, who had been diligently working in Wano Country, was summoned to join the battle.
"Soon enough," King stated firmly, his intense gaze never wavering from the enemy fleet ahead.
He harbored no concerns about whether Kai could arrive in time. With Kai's incredible speed, even if the ship encountered delays, he could definitely reach the battlefield personally.
Time passed with agonizing slowness in the mounting tension.
Soon, the previously agreed battle time between the Beast Pirates and Big Mom Pirates quietly arrived like an approaching storm.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Almost the precise instant time expired, both fleets simultaneously began their devastating bombardment.
Countless cannonballs rained down like an apocalyptic storm onto the opposing ships. Due to the extreme density of projectiles, many cannonballs collided and exploded spectacularly in midair.
The thunderous explosions served as the official command to charge.
At Bread Island's contested shore, Beast Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, who had long been sharpening their weapons, poured forth like a burst dam, roaring with bloodthirsty enthusiasm as they wielded their weapons and charged ferociously toward each other!
Although these pirates possessed overwhelming momentum, the scales of ultimate victory weren't determined by their hands alone.
King beat his massive wings and shot upward with explosive force. The flames behind his head erupted with a brilliant "whoosh," transforming him into a blazing meteor that tore across the darkening sky!
Simultaneously, intense flames instantly wrapped around the enormous katana gripped in King's powerful hands.
King locked his predatory gaze on Katakuri below and swung with devastating force.
"Fire Dragon Emperor!"
A tremendously thick torrent of blazing flames roared forth, suddenly splitting and twisting through mid-air into over ten lifelike, ferociously roaring flame dragons.
The flowing flames moved as viscous and scorching as molten lava.
"Truly worthy of the fearsome name Wildfire."
Smoothie looked upward with deeply furrowed brows, her expression tense with concern.
Just the terrifying heat waves emanating from the flame dragons made her acutely feel the moisture within her body rapidly evaporating.
From a strategic perspective, King represented a natural counter to her Wring-Wring Fruit abilities. Her power could extract moisture from objects and utilize it for herself, but it proved significantly less effective against flame-based attacks.
"Leave him to me," Katakuri's voice remained perfectly steady despite the chaos.
He raised his left hand and pressed it forcefully toward the solid ground beneath his feet.
An extraordinary scene unfolded before everyone's eyes!
The solid earth rippled and softened like a disturbed water surface, instantly transforming into a surging, viscous white mochi ocean! "Flowing Mochi."
Following his arm's precise movement, the viscous mochi flowed upward against gravity's pull, condensing within an instant. A massive mochi wall dozens of meters wide suddenly materialized, spanning protectively overhead.
This defensive display wasn't finished yet.
A streak of pure black extended from Katakuri's outstretched hand. Armament Haki like flowing ink quickly covered the entire mochi wall with protective coating.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Over ten flame dragons crashed violently into the black mochi wall, erupting in absolutely deafening roars that shook the battlefield.
The mochi covered with top-tier Armament Haki proved incredibly tough and resilient, but under King's terrifying flames' continuous burning assault, the giant wall's surface still oscillated dramatically between melting and solidifying.
With Katakuri's unfathomable stamina reserves and masterful Haki control, maintaining this defensive stalemate for days wouldn't prove difficult, but passively sitting and waiting wasn't his preferred fighting style.
"Hah!"
Katakuri released a low, focused shout.
His right arm instantly transformed into flowing mochi, wrapping securely around his legendary trident Mogura's handle as black Armament Haki, like a living entity, quickly coiled around the razor-sharp spearhead.
With a slight mental command, the mochi wall's top instantly cracked open a precise hole.
Katakuri shot out like lightning, his entire right arm beginning to spin at incredible high speed.
"Mochi Thrust!"
The trident spun madly like a devastating drill bit, carrying a piercing shriek as it stabbed directly toward King suspended in midair.
Facing this strike capable of piercing through solid mountains, King's eyes showed absolutely no fear but instead blazed with fervent fighting spirit.
His body moved with fluid grace, instantly entering his pteranodon hybrid form. The horns on his head lengthened dramatically, and his arms merged seamlessly with the wings on his back, becoming massive pteranodon wings.
King reached behind his head as if drawing an invisible giant bow, stretching himself to the absolute limit, then released!
"Imperial Flaming Wings!"
Terrifying explosive power generated speed so fast it was beyond the eye's capability to track.
King transformed into a black meteor, carrying destructive kinetic energy as he boldly met Katakuri's devastating Mochi Thrust head-on.
BANG!
Countless streaks of black Haki lightning suddenly exploded across the sky like fireworks.
Visible ring-shaped shockwaves swept downward like a tsunami, blowing the weaker pirates below in all directions like scattered leaves.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The fierce battle raging on the shore below proved equally intense and spectacular.
"Hey there! Biscuit man! You're my designated opponent!"
Yamato's eyes lit up with genuine excitement as she pointed her massive kanabo directly at a tall, bearded middle-aged warrior wearing distinctive biscuit-style armor.
"You insolent brat! Don't give me random ridiculous nicknames!"
Charlotte Cracker flew into an explosive rage, his palms clapping repeatedly like keeping precise musical time.
Following his rhythmic palm claps, countless biscuit crumbs scattered outward, forming identical biscuit soldiers that perfectly resembled himself.
The biscuit soldiers held sturdy shields in one hand and sharp swords in the other, marching in perfect unison toward Yamato's position.
"Oh! Bring it on, all of you!"
Yamato laughed with pure excitement and fearlessly swung her kanabo, actively charging toward the approaching biscuit army.
"Thunder Bagua!"
The kanabo instantly wrapped in black Armament Haki, emitting heart-stopping "zzt zzt" electrical sounds.
With the devastating force of thunder itself, the kanabo crashed down hard toward the biscuit soldier positioned directly in front.
"Thunder Bagua? Isn't that..."
Cracker had no time to process his panic and hastily commanded the biscuit soldier to raise its shield in desperate defense.
The next second, the kanabo struck the biscuit giant shield with precision.
CRACK!
The biscuit shield shattered like an actual crispy cracker breaking apart.
The kanabo's momentum didn't decrease as it devastatingly smashed the soldier's head to complete pieces.