The Fleet's Arrival, the Battle Rages On

After landing on the shores of Whole Cake Island, the Eustass Pirates and Crocodile's fleet, led by the New Giant Warrior Pirates, immediately engaged with the reinforcements of Big Mom Pirates, sparking another large battle.

Big Mom's officers—Charlotte Amande, Compote, Custard, Mondeé, Mont-d'Or, and Cinnamon—clashed with Hajrudin, Stansen, Road, Goldberg, and Gerd.

Waves of zombies charged forward, attacking anyone who doesn't stand beside the Eustass Pirates and their allies. Among the zombies is the previous Warlords Weevil and Moria as well as a few recognized pirates among them is Silver Axe and Byrnndi World.

Kureha was standing on the back, observing the battle as it unfolds. A bottle of Umeshu, her favorite liquor in her hand "*Gulp*-*Gulp*…Sigh…Pirates, giants, zombies there sure is gonna be a lot of casualties this time around…What a mess, I just hope those stupid brats don't get any serious injuries"

"Digagagaga!! These little people dare to stand against us! Let's show them the strength of the proud warriors of Elbaf!" Hajrudin roared with laughter before a silver liquid dripped from his arm. Utilizing his Silver-Silver Fruit, he shaped a giant spear made of silver and hurled it at his enemies.

"Oden's Wrath!!"

"A giant with a Devil Fruit?!! I've never seen anything like this!" Compote exclaimed in shock. She and her siblings quickly leaped sideways, warning their troops to move out of the way.

VWOOOSH!! BOOOOOM!! The soldiers caught in the spear's path were blasted away upon impact with the ground.

"Tsk, your size alone isn't enough to intimidate us!" Custard said, drawing the massive sword on her back and leaping into the air, targeting Hajrudin. However, Road swiftly unsheathed his extremely long katana, surprising Custard with a high-speed horizontal slash.

Custard's eyes widened as she was struck in the torso, sending her flying back a great distance with injuries from the attack.

"Don't worry, boss, we've got your back!" Road said, standing beside Hajrudin.

"Thanks!"

"H-He sent Custard-sama flying with one attack."

"As expected from the giants. Their strength is as the rumors say," Compote remarked before hardening her arms with Armament Haki and charging at Hajrudin, who stood his ground confidently. As she got close, she leaped into the air and threw a powerful Haki-coated punch at his head.

Hajrudin raised an eyebrow before stepping back and gathering power into his fist, delivering an uppercut with tremendous force.

"Gungnir!!!"

BAAAAAM!!! Their fists collided, sending shockwaves outward. They pushed against each other until Hajrudin forced Compote to back away.

Hajrudin roared loudly, addressing Big Mom's pirates, "I will not let you interfere with Kai's battle against Big Mom!!"

…

Near the Whole Cake Chateau gate, Crocodile faced off against Big Mom's eldest child, Perospero.

"What the hell is with that floating island? I don't recall anyone from the Eustass Pirates or your crew with an ability like that. Is it one of your allies as well-perorin?" Perospero asked Crocodile, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. "It seems that the earlier attack targeted Mama's battlefield…Crocodile, this stupid stunt you pulled with the Eustass brothers is gonna cost your lives."

Crocodile gazed at Perospero calmly, unfazed by his threats or the unknown island above them. "Puff…If you're planning to fight, then shut up and fight. Those pathetic threats of yours aren't gonna work against me."

"Don't rush your death-perorin!" Perospero exclaimed, licking the candy cane he held before pointing it at Crocodile with a menacing look. Crocodile turned into sand, vanishing into thin air.

Crocodile then approached Perospero from the side at high speed as he reformed himself back, swinging his golden hook at his direction. When Perospero noticed him, he swiftly sidestepped avoiding the hook by a few inches as he thrusted his Haki-coated candy cane at Crocodile while releasing candy from it in attempt to coat Crocodile's body with it and suffocate him to death.

Crocodile dodged immediately, creating distance before forming his right hand into a loose blade of fast-moving sand. He stabbed it into the ground, extending it like a torpedo, splitting everything in its path, including the ground.

"Desert Spada!!"

"Hmph, you're quite good at running around, and that's an interesting ability, but don't think a bunch of sand is enough to break my defense, Crocodile," Perospero said. Crocodile smirked before Perospero raised his candy cane, creating a large, sturdy wall of candy that easily blocked the sand blade.

Crocodile narrowed his eyes. "Dealing with you is gonna be annoying."

"You better give it your all-perorin!"

..

Nearby, another heated battlefield raged. Capone 'Gang' Bege, a member of the Worst Generation, fought alongside his crewmembers Vito and several henchmen against Crocodile and hiss right-hand man Daz Bonez as well as Galdino, Alvida, and Desire.

Bege was astounded by the meticulous planning of the raid. Even the timing was perfect. "I didn't think these guys had any chance against Big Mom, but looking around, they're giving that monster and her monstrous children a hard time," Bege thought as he scanned the battlefield. "Maybe they have a chance after all. If so, it could be the perfect opportunity for me to turn on Big Mom."

Bege had never been loyal to Big Mom. He had been biding his time, planning to betray and assassinate her. Now, with the Eustass Pirates declaring war against her, he was considering abandoning his plans and switching sides.

"But there's still one thing bothering me," Bege mused, raising his gaze to the sky. He stared at the colossal island floating above them. "Who in the world can make an entire island fly?"

"Daydreaming in the middle of a fight? Are you underestimating us?!" Daz shouted, transforming the undersides of his fingers into blades and slashing at Bege.

"Father! Watch out!" Vito warned. Bege quickly drew a flintlock pistol and shot at Daz.

Clang! Clang! Daz deflected the bullets with his finger blades and approached Bege.

Seeing this, Bege acted swiftly. Using his Devil Fruit power, small holes appeared on his torso, opening like drawbridges. Small cannons stationed at these openings aimed at Daz and Galdino before firing several cannonballs that enlarged to full size as they left Bege's body.

KA-BOOM! BOOM! Daz and Galdino were forced to dodge the explosions and back away.

"What a weird ability," Daz remarked.

"How do I always end up in these messes?! I was just chilling with Buggy in Karai Bari, and now I'm fighting in a war against an Emperor's crew!" Galdino exclaimed in frustration, lamenting his situation.

"Stop whining and do something useful, Galdino!" Daz shouted, glaring at him and successfully intimidating him.

"I hate myself!" Galdino cried, covering himself in wax and creating a massive battle suit that resembled a large robotic boxer. "Candle Champion!"

Bege smirked. "You're challenging me, huh?" He raised his pinky and middle fingers, transforming his entire body into a gigantic, heavily armed, and fortified fortress-like golem with cannons firing from various points.

.

"Full-Scale Rook... The Big Father!"

.

"Let's see how long that little toy of yours stands against me."

…

[Atop the Whole Cake Chateaux]

Big Mom's castle was in chaos after the sudden attack by the Eustass Pirates. All the guests invited to the Tea Party had been evacuated, leaving only the Big Mom Pirates and the Eustass Pirates behind.

'Did he sense what I was trying to do? Was it instinct, or maybe a special ability?' Killer pondered as he slowly got back on his feet. "Huff... Huff... this is going to be harder than I expected."

"Give it up, you're just wasting your time. You stand no chance against me, just like your captain stands no chance against Mama. It's impressive what you've achieved so far, but your tale ends here today," Katakuri said calmly, majestically walking toward Killer. His eyes flashed red, and a menacing aura enveloped him.

The five-meter-tall pirate towered over Killer, the size difference ridiculous. Katakuri tightened his grip on his weapon and suddenly charged at high speed. He twisted his mochi arm tightly before untwisting it, thrusting his trident forward to create a powerful drilling stab.

<Mochi Thrust>

FWOOOSH! Killer took advantage of his high speed to dodge Katakuri's attack and counterattacked. Transforming his body into electricity, he turned himself into a lightning bolt, increasing his speed and attack power many times while using Soru on top of that.

<Lightning Body>

'He's fast; it must be one of his Lightning Fruit's advantages. Dealing with him might be a little annoying,' Katakuri thought as he stood calmly. He used his Future Vision ability to see five seconds into the future, predicting Killer's moves.

"SCREECH!!... Attacking from the left…" Katakuri muttered to himself as he swiftly tilted his body back, avoiding Killer's lightning-infused Punishers.

"He dodged?!" Killer was surprised but continued his attack, charging his foot with lightning, spinning mid-air, and kicking Katakuri's face with his left heel.

Katakuri raised his Haki-coated right arm and blocked Killer's leg. He then grabbed his leg, spun Killer around, and threw him away. Killer was sent flying, crashing into tables and chairs. He rolled backward and used his blades to stop his momentum.

"Again, this guy seems to predict my attacks as if he could see the futu--…wait," Killer suddenly recalled something Kai said during their training about advanced uses of Haki. "Don't tell me this guy is literally seeing the future… training your Observation Haki to the point of seeing a short period into the future. I knew Big Mom's crew must contain monsters, but this…" Killer got up and assumed a fighting stance, his grin widening behind his mask. "…this makes defeating you even better."

"I can't say if you're brave or stupid, but I applaud your effort."

"Thunderbird Funeral!!" Killer slashed his Punishers at the air in front of him, causing multiple giant, eagle-shaped masses of electricity to appear and fly toward Katakuri.

With powerful swings from his trident, Katakuri managed to disperse the lightning eagles before closing in on Killer. The two clashed blades.

Clang! Clang! BAAAM!! Killer tried to surprise Katakuri with a swift kick to the stomach, but his leg passed through Katakuri's body without touching him, even though he was using Armament Haki. Killer was confused until it clicked. He finally understood why his attacks kept passing through Katakuri despite using Haki.

Katakuri responded by turning his right arm and hand into mochi, compressing it into a square shape. He hardened it with Armament Haki and punched Killer. The compact, tight square-shape of his fist resulted in a much stronger attack than a regular Haki-enhanced punch, pushing Killer back as he yelped in pain.

"UGHH!!—Aghh… Huff… Huff… I think I get it now. It's not that Haki doesn't work on Logia users; it's that you can foresee my attacks and quickly change the shape of your body to avoid contact," Killer stated.

"How does knowing that help you? It's not like you're strong enough to do anything about it," Katakuri calmly responded.

"We'll see about that."