Chapter 98

Katakuri's thoughts lingered on my words as he contemplated his next actions. He's holding back... That was him holding back? The realization hit him like a freight train. We need to be prepared. This is just the beginning.

Just as Katakuri found himself in a fix, my observation haki picked up the crucial information: the fishmen had successfully rescued the mermaids. Though there were several underground goons guarding the prisoners, none of them were superior fighters.

Most of the Big Mom Pirates had split up to deal with my brother and me, leaving only weaklings behind. The fishmen cut through these guards like a hot knife through butter, venting their anger on the captors who had held their family hostage.

Katakuri's Haoshoku haki surged once again, trying to clash with my own black and golden intangible lightning, which pulsed and grew stronger with each passing second. I carefully weighed my options, considering whether to eliminate such a powerful member as Katakuri. Doing so would be as good as declaring a full-blown war with the Big Mom Pirates, and I knew my brother wasn't holding back on the other side like I was here.

"Katakuri, you have potential," I called out, my voice cutting through the tension in the air. "If you are truly nurtured to your absolute best, you can become one of the apex powerhouses of the future. So tell me, would you like to join my family?"

Katakuri, who had been preparing for another clash, paused, his eyes widening in surprise. He knew he was completely outmatched, but as a Haoshoku user himself, he understood that backing down in front of his adversaries would only weaken his resolve and his conqueror's haki. It would eventually become a stumbling block for his growth.

The moment I declared my intention to recruit Katakuri, the entire auction hall fell silent. Even Katakuri was taken aback by the sudden offer. He had been thinking of how to get my brother and me to join the Big Mom Pirates, but now I was offering him a place in my family. Leaving the Big Mom Pirates was not something he had even remotely considered. He couldn't do so because he had to protect his siblings, sometimes even from Big Mom herself.

Katakuri's mind raced. He was loyal to his family, and his siblings depended on him. The offer presented was not even something he would consider, but what Katakuri didn't know was that I was only making the offer so as to plant a seed of doubt in Bigmom's heart. Joining my family meant a betrayal of the family he had always known.

"You... you truly are a maniac," Katakuri panted, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"But why would you want me in your family? What makes you think I would ever leave mine?"

I chuckled, a low, ominous sound that echoed through the damaged auction house. "Because, Katakuri, I see in you a potential that surpasses mere loyalty to a tyrant like Big Mom. You have the makings of a leader, a protector. Join me, and together we can reshape this world, free from the shackles of those who would use us for their gain."

Katakuri's eyes burned with a mixture of anger and confusion. "You speak as if you understand the bonds of family, the weight of responsibility. How can I trust you?"

"You can't, not yet," I admitted. "But think about your siblings. Think about the future you want for them. A future where they are not pawns in someone else's game. Join me, and I promise you a future where you can protect them as you've always wanted."

Katakuri answered my offer with actions, not words. He immediately imbued himself with armament haki and launched himself forward. However, my observation haki detected that a few goons had already decided to share the news of Katakuri being offered a position in someone else's crew with Big Mom. This was exactly what I wanted for now—a seed of mistrust within their ranks. If Big Mom's character was as I envisioned, these seeds of doubt would eventually push Katakuri away, or at least I hoped so.

"Nagare Mochi!" Katakuri roared, reinitiating the fight. He chose to go all out, unleashing his awakened devil fruit powers. As Katakuri rushed forward, the entire surroundings started morphing into mochi. Only the areas within the range of my Haoshoku haki were spared from this transformation.

This made me realize that conqueror's haki was not as straightforward as it seemed; it could even counter the awakened powers of a paramecia-type fruit. I needed to test my theory further against some of the special paramecia fruits, like the Hobi Hobi no Mi. I was sure the World Government had some special paramecia fruits collected over the centuries.

"I hope you are ready for what's to come, Katakuri!" I shouted, rushing forward to meet the incoming attack head-on. My entire form morphed into a black dragon, tearing through the mochi world that threatened to engulf me.

"Wrath of Thunder!!!" I roared, as a black dragon manifested entirely out of black lightning, following the trajectory of my blade. The dragon's scales crackled with energy, each one a conduit for the raw power of my lightning. The air around us sizzled and popped, the very atmosphere charged with the tension of our impending clash.

Katakuri's eyes widened in determination, his Haoshoku haki flaring once more as he summoned every ounce of his strength. The mochi around him twisted and writhed, forming a massive wave that he directed at me. It was a desperate, all-out attack, meant to overwhelm and crush me.

But I was ready. With a single, fluid motion, I unsheathed my blade, the black dragon following its arc. The moment my blade cut through the air, the dragon surged forward, its roar echoing through the auction house. The two forces collided with a deafening boom, the shockwave tearing through the building. The walls crumbled, and the ground cracked under the sheer force of our attacks.

Katakuri gritted his teeth, pushing back with all his might, but the power of my lightning dragon was too much. His mochi wave began to falter, and with a final, powerful slash, I cut through his attack, sending him flying backwards. He crashed into the far wall, the impact creating a massive crater.

As the dust settled, I could see Katakuri struggling to stand, his body battered and bruised. Despite his injuries, there was a fire in his eyes, a determination that refused to be extinguished.

********************

The little port at Grove 27 was up in flames, blue flames licking almost the entirety of the port, with a single galleon as the exception.

"Raging Phoenix!!!" A massive blue phoenix bird slammed into the enormous genie holding a halbred that was half-burnt on one side, shielding the two officers of the Big Mom Pirates, Daifuku and Oven. This genie was something that was manifested from Daifuku's Hoya Hoya no Mi, a parmecia type devil fruit that allows him to summon a halberd-wielding genie from his body by rubbing his belly.

"Boom!!" With a deafening explosion, the flaming bird pushed away the massive genie that towered over the entire port.

"Hahahaha,to think you're the top cadre of the Big Mom Pirates? And you thought you could take me captive with such mediocre strength?" Doffy bellowed, panting as the last attack consumed quite a bit of his stamina.

"You bastard! Don't think I will let you go after what you did to my brother!" Daifuku roared in anger. He was battered and bruised, and almost all the subordinates they had brought with them had been burned to cinders by the young man in front of them. Even Oven seemed on his last legs as he was caught off guard at the start and had lost a limb against the monster they were facing.

Originally, they had thought it would be easy to capture the Donquixote brothers. As someone yet to establish themselves in the New World, they thought the Donquixote brothers would be easy prey. But only after confronting the other party did they realize how wrong they were.

The Big Mom Pirates only had a rough estimate of the brothers' strength before they vanished a year and a half ago. But the guy standing in front of them was a completely different monster altogether. Even the blue flames he wielded were bizarre; they caused not only physical pain but seemed to harm Daifuku's very soul.

The flames of Doffy's Raging Phoenix attack left the port in a surreal, nightmarish state. The azure fire, unlike ordinary flames, did not just burn. They danced with a malevolent life of their own, incinerating everything they touched with a scorching intensity that seemed to sear both flesh and spirit. The air was thick with the acrid stench of burning wood and the screams of Daifuku's and Oven's subordinates, now reduced to ash.

Daifuku and Oven, usually so confident in their strength, were now locked in a desperate struggle for survival. The genie, their ace in the hole, was faltering under the relentless assault. Daifuku could feel the weight of Doffy's haki pressing down on him, a suffocating force that threatened to crush his resolve.

"Is this all you've got?" Doffy taunted, his voice a mixture of amusement and disdain. "You thought you could come to my own ship and capture me? Pathetic."

Oven, panting heavily, tried to muster a counterattack. "Don't underestimate us!" he shouted, his fist igniting with the intense heat of his own powers. But even as he charged, he could see the cold, calculating look in Doffy's eyes. It had the look of a predator toying with its prey.

Doffy's control over his blue flames was masterful. He waved a hand, and a wall of fire surged up, blocking Oven's advance and forcing him to retreat. The flames twisted and writhed, forming shapes that seemed almost sentient, mocking the Big Mom Pirates' every move.

"Your blue flames... What kind of devil fruit power is this?" Daifuku demanded, trying to mask the fear in his voice.

Doffy grinned, the firelight reflecting off his teeth. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he replied. "Let's just say I've had a lot of time to train and perfect my abilities, especially with a devil like instructor. You picked the wrong fight, Daifuku."

As the battle raged on, it became clear that the Donquixote Doflamingo was not the easy prey the Big Mom Pirates had assumed. Doffy's strength and mastery over his unique abilities were overwhelming, and the sheer force of his attacks was breaking down his opponents both physically and mentally.

Oven, seeing the devastation and the futility of their situation, began to doubt their mission. "Daifuku, we need to retreat," he urged, the desperation clear in his voice. "This guy... he's on a different level."

But Daifuku's pride wouldn't let him back down so easily. "No! We can't retreat! We must capture him for Big Mom!"

Doffy laughed again, a cold, chilling sound. "Capture me? You should be worrying about surviving." With that, he launched another wave of his blue flames, the intense heat causing the very air to shimmer.

Just then, heavy footsteps rushed in the direction of the port, momentarily pausing the battle. Doffy's smirk widened as he realized his brother had succeeded in rescuing the mermaids. More than a dozen fishmen navigated through the searing flames, each carrying a mermaid on their back.

On the other side, the looks on Daifuku and Oven's faces were etched with shock and disbelief. Their internal thoughts mirrored each other: "How could this be? Brother Katakuri is guarding the prisoners back at the auction house. There's no way these fishmen could have rescued the mermaids while he stood there."

The thought of Katakuri being defeated didn't even cross their minds. To them, Katakuri was someone who had never known defeat. During the recent years of massive expansion, their brother Katakuri had clashed with countless pirates and always managed to come out on top.

"Hahaha, wondering why the mermaids are here? Don't worry, my brother should have taken good care of your elder brother," Doffy snickered while manipulating the blue flames to create a safe path for the Fish-Men towards the galleon.

Iceburg and the Fish-Men on the ship gestured for the rushing Fish-Men to board, though it was obvious that the galleon was the only ship not burning.

"What do you mean? There is no way your little brother could have bested big brother, Katakuri. He has never known defeat in his life!" Oven roared, sending a haki-powered punch in an attempt to push Doffy back.

"You think I'm a monster? Wait until you meet my little brother. He is the true monster. I really pity your elder brother for having to face little Ross alone," Doffy chuckled.

"Blazing Fist!!!"

"Boom!!" Two flaming fists collided, one searing with hot orange flames and the other with soul-scorching blue flames. The clash sent a shockwave through the port. Oven gritted his teeth and tried to push forward, but Doffy simply unleashed his armament haki, sending Oven hurtling through the air.

Just then, a massive halberd descended, attempting to cleave Doffy in two. But two massive arms made of flames caught the halberd's blade mid-air. The scorching heat turned the blade red-hot. The genie tried to pull the halberd back, but a blue fist slammed squarely into its face, sending it crashing onto a burning ship, dragging Daifuku along with it.

The port was a chaotic inferno, with blue flames dancing and consuming everything in sight. The sky above was painted with the eerie glow of the flames, and the air was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of burning wood and flesh. The Fish-Men, despite the chaotic surroundings, moved with purpose, their determination to rescue their kin driving them forward.

Daifuku, struggling to his feet, looked around in disbelief. The once formidable genie was now a smoldering wreck, and the realization of their dire situation began to sink in. "How could this happen? Katakuri should have stopped them," he muttered, his voice tinged with desperation.

Oven, battered and bruised, staggered to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury. "This isn't over," he growled, summoning another surge of his flames. "We will not be defeated by the likes of you!"

Doffy, standing tall amidst the chaos, his blue flames casting an almost otherworldly glow around him, chuckled. "You still don't get it, do you? This is just the beginning. My brother and I are not just pirates. We are the future."

As Doffy's words hung in the air, the Fish-Men successfully boarded the galleon with the mermaids. Iceburg, seeing the last of the Fish-Men make it onto the ship, shouted orders to set sail. The ship's engines roared to life, and the galleon began to move away from the burning port.

Doffy, seeing their mission nearly complete, turned his full attention back to Daifuku and Oven. "It's time to end this," he declared, his voice a mix of finality and triumph. The blue flames around him intensified; their heat was nearly unbearable.

Daifuku and Oven, realizing they were outmatched, exchanged a desperate glance. They had underestimated the Donquixote brothers and were now paying the price.