"Looks like I can't intervene in that fight," Diluc muttered, watching the sky split above him. The pressure radiating from Beidou and Big Mom was suffocating. "I'll find another target."
He turned his gaze towards the mochi-man standing atop the Mirror World entrance. Charlotte Katakuri.
"Leave Big Mom to Beidou," Eula called out, her greatsword gleaming with ice. "We handle the commanders. Don't fall behind!"
She dashed towards Charlotte Smoothie.
The battle had fragmented into smaller, deadly duels.
Katakuri saw the red-haired man charging at him. His Future Sight flashed: the tower collapses.
He leaped away instantly, leading Diluc towards the west of the island. The current terrain didn't suit him.
Smoothie, seeing Eula's approach, also chose to retreat to a more favorable position, but not before barking orders. "Don't just stand there! Engage the enemy! Anyone who slack off will be juice!"
The Big Mom children snapped out of their shock and raised their weapons.
...
In the center of the chaos.
Beidou roared, her Serpent Spine shattering into countless metal shards that swirled around her like a storm. This was a technique adapted from the Fog Hill of Five Elements (Wu Shan) style—telekinetic blade control.
"Lightning Blade!"
Purple lightning condensed in her hand, forming a new sword of pure energy.
She was wild, unreasonable, and utterly terrifying.
Rosalyne and Lisa watched from the sidelines, their hands folded. They were stronger than Beidou, yes, but this was her fight. Interfering would be an insult.
If Beidou could defeat an Emperor solo, it would be her ascension.
Flash.
Beidou teleported in front of Big Mom. The lightning blade slashed down.
"Cognac!"
Big Mom met it with Napoleon.
BOOM!
The ground collapsed.
Violent fire and berserk sword-qi erupted in shockwaves.
At that moment, the shards of the Serpent Spine, controlled by Beidou's will, struck from behind.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Six explosions rocked Big Mom's back.
The Emperor staggered. Beidou didn't miss the beat. She pressed forward, her lightning blade aiming for the heart.
"GET AWAY!"
Big Mom screamed, losing her grip on Napoleon. She punched with her bare hand, coated in Haki. Prometheus swooped down, adding his flames to the strike.
CLANG!
Beidou's Tidecaller shield flared, catching the punch.
Big Mom grimaced. Hitting that shield felt like punching a wall of spikes. The scorching lightning tore through her Haki, drawing blood from her iron skin.
"Is that all?" Beidou grinned, blood trickling from her own mouth. "I'm just getting started!"
Thunder intensified. Beidou's hair floated, charged with static. The Natural Energy of Senjutsu surged within her.
"Zeus! Prometheus! Get over here!" Big Mom roared.
The thundercloud and sun homies fused with Napoleon.
"Maser Saber!"
Fire, Lightning, and Conqueror's Haki combined into a beam of annihilation.
Beidou didn't block. She dodged, weaving through the beam, and thrust her blade into Big Mom's side.
Squish.
"Gah!" Big Mom coughed blood.
But she retaliated instantly, a Haki-infused kick slamming into Beidou's chest.
Both fighters flew back.
Beidou wiped the blood from her lip. "What a monster. That actually hurt."
Her internal organs were rattled. But Big Mom was worse off. A gaping wound in her side sizzled with lingering electro energy.
...
Meanwhile, to the west.
Diluc and Katakuri were locked in a dance of death.
One used a trident (Mogura), the other a claymore (Wolf's Gravestone). Both were heavy weapons, yet they moved with impossible speed.
Katakuri's Future Sight allowed him to shift his body around Diluc's flames, turning into mochi to let the attacks pass through harmlessly.
"I can see you're holding back," Katakuri said, his voice calm. He tossed his jacket aside, revealing his scarred torso. "Show me everything. Let me see the power of your world."
Diluc paused. He looked at the man who, despite being a pirate, carried himself with a warrior's dignity.
"You are a true man, just as Su Han said," Diluc acknowledged. "Very well. Out of respect, I will use my strongest technique. Be warned: I have only just mastered it. One mistake, and you will die."
"Bring it on!" Katakuri laughed.
Diluc stabbed Wolf's Gravestone into the ground. He took a deep breath.
The Yin-Yang Five Elements Scripture: Fire Phase.
"Lihuo... Burning Heaven!"
WOOSH.
Crimson flames erupted from his pores, not consuming his clothes but transforming them. His hair turned into a mane of fire. His skin darkened to the color of cooling magma. Runes of light ignited across his body.
"This is..." Katakuri's eyes widened. "Not a Devil Fruit?"
Diluc opened his eyes. They were no longer human eyes, but two miniature suns.
"Prepare yourself, Katakuri!"
He grabbed his sword. His body became a streak of red light.
Flash.
A slash tore the earth apart.
Katakuri felt a cold sweat on his forehead evaporate instantly. Fast. If I hadn't predicted that... I would be cut in half.
"Awakening!"
The ground turned to fluid mochi.
"Flowing Mochi!"
Tendrils of white dough erupted, trying to snare Diluc.
Nine donuts appeared in the air, sprouting Haki-clad fists. Peerless Donuts.
"You cannot dodge everything!"
"I don't need to dodge," Diluc roared. "Phoenix!"
A massive firebird erupted from his blade, incinerating the mochi tendrils instantly.
He charged straight into the rain of fists.
The fiery phantom of a phoenix overlaid his body. When Katakuri's mochi fists hit the flames, they melted before impact.
"Terrifying heat..." Katakuri realized range was useless.
He inflated his arm. Block Mochi.
His arm turned square, dense with Haki, hardening to the density of steel.
"Let's settle this!"
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