Chapter 168 Adrian vs. Katakuri

"Your long-awaited good brother…"

Adrian blocked the incoming trident, then slightly shook his wrist, flicking the blood droplets off the sleeve of his Shuxue. His tone remained indifferent.

"…is here."

Adrian then looked at the incoming figure and said. "Who have you come for, the sister who was gutted, or the brother who was beheaded?"

What?!

Katakuri's pupils shrank to the extreme as he caught the trident flying back at him. His mochi body heavily landed on the ground, raising dust, and as he surveyed his surroundings. He realized that Cracker had already lost all signs of life.

"Cracker!! Damn it!"

Katakuri's eyes were filled with rage, his face turned ashen. He then looked at Amande lying on the ground, her breath as faint as a candle in the wind, and a surge of uncontrollable anger rose in his heart.

"Amande! Say something!"

But how could the Demon Lady say anything to him now?

Katakuri's eyes, red with fury, glared at Adrian and he roared, "How dare you kill my most precious family! Unforgivable!!"

"Even if Mother scolds me later, I will never let you go!! Die, White Ghost!!"

With a furious shout, Katakuri bent his legs slightly, unleashing an immense force, and his figure leaped into the air.

At the same time, his right arm suddenly transformed into a flowing white mochi mass, twisting and swelling violently. The trident he held tightly in his hand also rotated along with the twisting mochi, creating a whistling sound.

Katakuri, with his gaze filled with a fire that could burn everything, fiercely thrust his right hand towards Adrian.

"Mochi Thrust!" {モチ突, Mochi Tsuki}

Facing Katakuri's attack in his furious state, Adrian didn't dare be careless.

He gripped the hilt of Shuxue with both his hands, and his eyes focused. The armament Haki imbued with two special traits instantly coating the blade, while his 'Breath of All Things' continually sensed the ebb and flow of Katakuri's powerful strikes.

In the next moment, a red light flashed in Adrian's eyes as he raised Shuxue high and then brought it down in a simple yet powerful strike, directly colliding with Katakuri's Mochi Thrust!

The air where the two collided twisted visibly, and the terrifying shockwave instantly shattered the buildings of the surrounding town into pieces, with stones flying and the ground shaking!

Wave after wave, the battle continued.

The deaths of Amande and Cracker drove Katakuri mad like a demon.

He gripped the trident in his hand and launched a series of ferocious attacks at Adrian, each one with full force and heavy momentum!

Adrian was not a bit weaker, with his Observation Haki that could predict the future activated, he engaged in a life-and-death struggle with Katakuri.

Their weapons collided in an instant, separated the next, creating a trail of bright, dazzling sparks.

In just a few seconds, they exchanged dozens of moves, with the large cleaver and trident clashing together, emitting a sharp metallic sound.

Clang——!!

Another Mochi Thrust was fiercely struck by Shuxue, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Adrian held his sword with both hands, blocking the trident, a cold smile on his lips.

"Charlotte Katakuri, I've seen through all your attacks! All your movements are useless in the face of these eyes that can see the future!"

What is comfort?

To show off using the enemy's abilities in front of them, that's comfort!

Katakuri, enraged and flushed, couldn't be bothered to respond. He gripped the trident with his left hand, and his right hand transformed into a flowing strip of mochi, covered in black Armament Haki, and struck rapidly at Adrian.

"Willow Mochi!" {柳モチ, Yanagi Mochi}

Adrian narrowed his eyes. If he used swordsmanship, with the support of "Breath of All Things" and "Three Thousand Worlds," along with the Armament Haki, he could fight Katakuri impressively.

But if he had to rely solely on physical skills, he would have no way to compete with Katakuri head-on.

Faced with Katakuri's fierce Willow Mochi, Adrian entered a ghostly state, retreating several meters, then swung Shuxue, blocking the violently launched Willow Mochi.

Seeing the distance created, Katakuri's right arm immediately transformed into a heavy machine gun form, covered in thick, ink-like Armament Haki. The muzzle spun rapidly, roaring out countless mochi dumpling bullets enhanced by Armament Haki.

"Peerless Mochi Blade Bullet!" {無双モチ刃弾, Musō Mochi Hadan}

"Mini Ghost – Star Fire!"

With a thought, points of white light appeared around Adrian, instantly transforming into hundreds of tiny ghosts. A series of impacts erupted, the resulting explosions and smoke clouding the sky.

At this moment, Charlotte Perospero, the Candy Minister, who was traveling with Katakuri to Mystoria Island, finally arrived on the battlefield.

Katakuri cried out joyfully, "Brother Perospero! Quick, use your Candy Man (キャンディマン, Kyandi Man) ability to save Amande! She's barely hanging on!"

Perospero, the Candy Minister, was a Lick-Lick Fruit (ペロペロの実) user who could infinitely produce control candy. One weakness was instantly melting at high temperatures.

The Candy Man was one of Perospero's special techniques. Normally, it trapped the target in candy, with invasive candy molecules depleting their physical abilities until they became actual candy people within 3 minutes.

However, the devil fruit wasn't limited to just destructive uses. If Perospero willed it, the Candy Man could also "stabilize" an ally's deteriorating condition instead of trapping them.

"What? Amande!"

Perospero's expression changed, not bothering to ask Katakuri for more details. He activated Kenbunshoku Haki to locate the wounded Amande.

Then, a huge writhing mochi slowly floated over, opening to reveal Amande on her last breaths inside.

Perospero instantly waved his candy staff, a deep purple candy liquid gushing out and enveloping Amande, instantly transforming her into a lifelike candy statue.

"That's not going to work, Katakuri. She was quite a handful to deal with!"

Adrian took a deep breath. He hadn't finished off Amande before because he was certain the severely wounded Demon Lady couldn't possibly survive.

Then Katakuri arrived, forcing Adrian to focus entirely on fending off his fierce attacks, naturally ignoring Amande's fate since she was as good as dead to him.

However, Adrian hadn't anticipated that Perospero's powers could actually be used to save people!

"A slight miscalculation!" Adrian exhaled.