Marco let out a cold sneer.
"Don't speak as if victory is already yours. You brought this many people to Fish-Man Island—do you really expect me to believe you weren't planning to take it by force from the start? We're pirates. If I surrender without even fighting back, how am I supposed to survive on the seas from now on?"
He rose from his seat, his gaze sharp and unwavering.
"You've been a pirate for decades, Katakuri. You know exactly what it means when a pirate crew's flag is burned. This is the royal palace, so I won't start a fight here. Let's take this outside—have a proper battle."
Marco's voice grew colder.
"If you win, Fish-Man Island is yours. But if you lose, I want you to kneel and apologize."
Cracker's eyes flared with hostility.
"Fish-Man Island already belongs to us. And if you lose, it won't end there. One island won't be enough—we want the rest of your territory too. Of course, you can refuse… but then we'll simply take them by force."
Marco didn't rise to the provocation. His expression remained calm, almost indifferent.
"Then let's see whether you actually have the strength to do that."
From the side, King Neptune listened in silence, his heart growing heavier by the second. The fate of Fish-Man Island was being discussed as if it were nothing more than a prize to be seized. Anger welled within him, but powerlessness held him in place.
Clearing his throat, he spoke quickly, "Marco, Katakuri… if you intend to fight, please move to the plaza. We've already cleared the area—it's spacious enough for a full battle."
Marco and Katakuri both nodded.
From their perspective, Fish-Man Island was already something to be claimed. Destroying it unnecessarily would only mean wasting resources on repairs later. Since Neptune had provided a suitable battlefield, there was no reason to refuse.
Before long, both pirate crews arrived at the plaza, their forces spreading out as the air grew tense with killing intent.
The Big Mom Pirates' numbers were overwhelming—more than ten thousand pirates, backed by several thousand Chess Homies. The Phoenix Pirates, even with their main crew and ten affiliated pirate crews combined, numbered only a little over six thousand.
They were clearly outnumbered.
Katakuri surveyed the battlefield with confidence. With the Homies included, they had nearly twenty thousand combatants—a crushing three-to-one advantage. During the Marineford War, even a two-to-one advantage had been enough for the Marines to inflict devastating losses on the Whitebeard Pirates. Numbers weren't everything, but they were never meaningless.
Before the fighting began, Katakuri issued one final warning.
"Marco, we haven't started yet. You should still reconsider. Look at the forces we've brought. You cannot possibly win this."
Marco scoffed, his eyes filled with disdain.
"Tch. We're already standing here, and you're still spouting this boring nonsense? Compared to the elites at Marineford, your forces are nothing more than a slightly better-organized mob."
The Phoenix Pirates and their affiliated crews showed no trace of fear, even in the face of the enemy's overwhelming numbers.
Not long ago, they had survived the hell that was the Marineford War—standing against Admirals, Vice Admirals, Pacifista, the Shichibukai, and a hundred thousand elite Marines. That battle had carved a truth deep into their bones: they had seen, firsthand, the true gulf between Marineford and the Four Emperors.
Even as the strongest Yonko crew, the Whitebeard Pirates had still suffered catastrophic losses at Marineford.
No matter how terrifying the Big Mom Pirates were, they could never surpass the combined might of those Marine elites. And this time, Big Mom herself wasn't even present—only her Sweet Commanders stood on the battlefield.
Marco's body erupted in blue flames as he instantly transformed into his Human–Beast Form. His voice thundered across the plaza.
"Brothers—into battle! Let the Big Mom Pirates witness the might of our Phoenix Pirates!"
"Ohhhhhhh!!"
A deafening roar answered him.
"Charge!"
"Crush the Big Mom Pirates!"
"Make them pay for stealing our territory!"
Across the field, Katakuri calmly drew his trident, Mogura, and leveled it forward.
"…To battle."
From opposing ends of the plaza, the two pirate forces surged forward, closing the distance in an instant before crashing together in a violent, chaotic melee.
"Fire Fist!"
Ace was the first to strike.
Flames erupted from his arm as a massive Fire Fist—nearly twenty meters wide—tore through the ranks of the Big Mom Pirates, blasting a blazing path straight toward Katakuri.
But before it could reach him, a towering figure stepped into its path.
A colossal sword glowed crimson as Charlotte Smoothie raised it high, her voice cold and commanding.
"Squeeze Sword: Drought River!"
Boom!
The blade cleaved straight through Ace's Fire Fist. Flames exploded outward, roaring to both sides as the attack split apart. A deep scar gouged into the plaza where the sword passed, the ground cracking and whitening as if every drop of moisture had been violently drained away.
Ace halted, eyes lighting up with interest as a grin spread across his face.
"So you're Smoothie, huh? One of the Sweet Commanders."
He'd seen her bounty—932 million Berries, even higher than his own. Impressive.
But she wasn't his target.
Ace's gaze slid past her, locking onto Katakuri standing behind her.
"Brothers!" Ace shouted over his shoulder. "Charge with me!"
His crew surged forward at once, pressing the attack.
Katakuri, however, barely spared Ace a glance.
His eyes were fixed on Marco.
Years ago, the two of them had clashed—a battle that ended in a draw. Marco's terrifying regeneration had allowed him to fight endlessly, while Katakuri's future-sight Observation Haki let him stay one step ahead of every attack.
They had fought for an entire day and night, neither gaining the upper hand, until both sides withdrew.
But Katakuri remembered that fight clearly.
As time passed, the strain of constant future sight had steadily drained his mental strength, while Marco—backed by the stamina of a Zoan—only grew more relentless.
If that battle had continued any longer…
Katakuri knew the one who would have broken first might have been him.
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