According to the unwritten rules of the sea, whether it's a reunion between old friends or a meeting between bitter rivals, a fight is always inevitable.
What's more, Katakuri, who had been aiming to surpass Roa, had been looking forward to this battle for a full twenty-five years!
This was going to be the climax of his life!
Of course, neither of them were the children they were on Hachinosu Island thirty years ago. Roa was already one of the world's top pirates twenty years ago, and today's Katakuri is likewise a superb powerhouse known as a Pirate Emperor.
Therefore, they couldn't just start fighting directly on Whole Cake Island.
Fortunately, the Totto Land territory is not lacking in islands; the nation is composed of thirty-five islands, including Whole Cake Island, and not all of them are inhabited.
Katakuri immediately led Roa to an island dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables.
Joining them were Perospero, Bonney, Kuma, and other cadres of the Charlotte Family.
Although many of them didn't know Roa, it didn't stop them from looking forward to the battle. Even more people were gathering toward the island.
"Is that really Roa? That guy is actually alive!"
Charlotte Smoothie, a woman with impossibly long legs, stood behind Perospero, marveling at the two figures facing off in the center of the island.
Although she was only a few years old when Roa was active across the seas, she had heard many stories about him from her mother and elder brothers.
Has that mad monster really returned?
"He looks exactly the same as back then? He's completely a boy of sixteen or seventeen."
The flat-topped Charlotte Daifuku scrutinized Roa. "With the ability to traverse time, did this guy really jump directly from twenty-five years ago?"
"Hahahaha! Where is Roa! I knew this guy would come back!" The rugged, tall man, Cracker, quickly approached. "Come and fight me!"
"You should just sit this one out, Brother Cracker." Bonney turned back, wrinkling her nose in disdain. "You can't even beat me. That guy named Roa is terrifyingly strong. I couldn't even block one attack from him."
Cracker's face immediately froze.
"Let's just look forward to Katakuri!"
The family's eldest daughter, the slightly plump Charlotte Compote, said with a smiling face, "No matter how strong Roa is, he missed twenty-five years of time! The current Katakuri is no less powerful than Mama!"
"But, twenty-five years..." Perospero's long tongue flicked in the air. "Is that really enough for Katakuri to catch up to Roa?"
Twenty-five years ago, Roa already possessed the sea's top-tier power, didn't he?
"What's going on?" Charlotte Oven, the man with flame-like hair, hurried over. "Didn't we just talk about rescuing Bonney? I just finished dealing with that group of pirates, and now everyone is saying Roa is back!"
He was clearly less informed.
Regardless, amidst the fervent discussion of the Charlotte Family cadres, Roa and Katakuri stood opposite each other in the center of the island.
"How long ago was our last encounter?" Katakuri asked, raising his trident, clearly intrigued.
"Hmm—" Roa thought back. "For you, it was twenty-eight years ago, when I first came to Whole Cake Island."
"Has it been that long?" Katakuri grinned, revealing his mouth full of sharp teeth. "I remember that time, I was completely unable to fight back."
"Did you think," Roa smiled, "that this time would be any different?"
"Then let's try it! Here I come, Roa!"
The ground beneath Katakuri's feet instantly shattered. He shot forward like a gust of wind, appearing before Roa in a flash.
His sharp trident, wreathed in black lightning, transformed into a sky-ripping thunderclap, smashing down towards Roa.
Roa did not underestimate him. His beloved sword, Tiger Soul, instantly left its sheath. The crimson blade, patterned with black flames, carved a dark-red trajectory in the air, instantly colliding with the descending trident.
BOOM!!
The ground beneath their feet instantly pulverized. The entire island trembled continuously.
Wave after wave of air blasts spread out, even directly blowing away some of the less powerful Charlotte Family cadres watching the battle.
And, of course, the obligatory: the clouds in the sky were torn apart.
"One hand?" Bonney, who had been staring with wide eyes, couldn't help but exclaim. "He blocked Brother Katakuri's attack with just one hand!"
Roa was indeed relaxed and casual, easily stopping Katakuri's heavy strike with a single swing. He even had the leisure to comment:
"The mastery of Conqueror's Haki Coating is very high. It feels like, purely in terms of technique, you might even be stronger than me."
"You, you brat, you're as annoying as ever!"
Following Katakuri's low roar, the entire island suddenly shuddered violently.
Aside from the area where the Charlotte Family cadres were gathered, the entire island instantly transformed into white Mochi.
Then, the Mochi surged upward, forming a giant white tsunami that overwhelmingly crushed down toward Roa.
"Whoa! No wonder they call you the White Tyrant!" Roa looked around with interest. "Your Devil Fruit ability has been developed to this extent?"
While the Mochi-Mochi Fruit definitely held Katakuri back, the current spectacle was certainly shocking.
"It's not over yet!" Katakuri's mouth curved high.
He knew his Devil Fruit ability was slightly inferior to those of other top-tier monsters.
So, for all these years, he had focused more on honing his Haki.
And so.
VROOM!
Amidst a sharp buzzing sound, the white Mochi instantly turned pitch black!
The surging tidal wave was coated in black Haki, rushing forward like a writhing abyss!
"Are you Bullet? Such a lavish use!" Roa chuckled softly. "Then I'll have to get a little serious too."
WHOOSH!
A fierce wind suddenly erupted!
Black!
A black wind abruptly stretched across the sky!
In an instant, it collided with the Mochi tsunami, cutting the entire wave into shreds with a sharpness that shouldn't belong to the wind.
"Agh! What is that!!" Charlotte Daifuku let out a scream. Even a powerhouse like him was nearly blown away.
"Everyone, back up!!" Perospero quickly shouted. "Those two are truly monsters!"
Only Bonney remained standing still.
"Summoning a natural disaster without using your ability! I've always wanted to say that your power is too strange! Mochi Spear!"
Even the gale was pierced through in that instant. Dark-red lightning surged, and an all-penetrating thrust came straight at him.
Roa simply blocked horizontally with his sword.
Sizzle!
Sizzling sparks flew. The point of collision between the two weapons felt like the birth of a miniature sun, releasing intense light and heat.
Both fighters retreated backward simultaneously.
But then, numerous giant Mochi tentacles, their tips coated in Haki, surged forward like spears, stabbing toward Roa.
At the same time, the ground beneath his feet was also churning, trying to restrain him.
"Paramecia Awakening. It may not necessarily be strong, but it's certainly troublesome," Roa complained. "Tiger Bite!"
Dark-red energy instantly surged from the blade in his hand. The next moment, a colossal, dark-red tiger, several hundred meters long, instantly formed. The tiger roared and swung its claws, easily tearing apart all the Mochi tentacles swirling toward it.
It then let out a roar toward Katakuri.
A deep, dark-red beam of light surged forth, and the air shrieked under the unbearable pressure.
However.
Katakuri was faster!
The moment the light beam shot out, he had already become a black shadow, darting away. The next second, he sprang up, his trident smashing heavily into the gigantic tiger's jaw.
The Haki honed for over twenty years was indeed terrifying; a huge hole was instantly blasted into the tiger's head.
Unfortunately, this tiger was not a true living creature, so it naturally had no weaknesses. Even with its head blasted apart, the massive claws still swung toward Katakuri.
"Too slow!"
The air continuously boomed. Red light flashed in Katakuri's eyes. He effortlessly stepped onto the tiger's approaching claw, running up the vast dark-red limb, and then leaped up in the next instant.
"Elbaf Spear: Hakoku!"
A massive Haki shockwave crushed down.
"You can do that too?" Roa, standing on the tiger's head, looked up, still smilingly commenting, "Not bad. You know to use such a move to compensate for the weakness of ranged attacks."
"In that case, Hakoku!"
Roa also swung his sword.
Unlike the almost transparent Haki shockwave that Katakuri smashed down, the sword wave Roa released was a dark-red torrent!
BOOM!
The two forces collided passionately. The sky seemed to have been completely shattered.
The next moment, Katakuri slammed down onto the tiger's back, but his figure suddenly became blurred. A sharp trajectory appeared in the air, and the trident, tearing through the sky, split down directly towards Roa.
Just as Roa was about to swing his sword to block, the trident suddenly transformed into Mochi. With a twist and distortion, it cleverly bypassed his sword, and then instantly reformed, ruthlessly chopping down toward his head.
"Predicting the future with Observation Haki, huh?" Roa was not surprised.
It would be strange if the current Katakuri hadn't mastered future sight.
So, he charged headfirst right into the trident.
CRASH!
Amidst the booming sound, the two figures rapidly flew backward.
However, in the next moment, they both sped forward again, and the long sword and the trident clashed once more.
Red light flashed in both their eyes.
Both were peering into the future!
Slicing open Katakuri's trident, Roa chuckled, "If we both see the future, what's the point?"
"No point? As long as I can see a future further than yours, isn't that enough?"
A pitch-black fist came right at his face.
Roa quickly dodged sideways, then hurriedly blocked the thrusting trident with his sword.
He was sent flying by the blow.
"Roa! Are you still refusing to use your ability?" Katakuri roared. "Let me show you the power I've honed over these twenty-five years!"
The Haki lightning on the trident suddenly surged, and Katakuri hurtled through the air.
"Impressive, Katakuri. I have to say, looking at this, your Armament and Observation Haki are indeed superior to mine."
Roa chuckled. "But—"
"Hmm?" Katakuri's expression suddenly froze.
He's gone!
He can't see Roa's future anymore!
And in the instant he lost his future sight, Roa's body twisted like a pretzel, gracefully evading Katakuri's thrusting trident, and then swung his sword back for a strike.
Katakuri could only cross his left arm in defense. "Mochi Horn!"
His left arm squared into a block shape, coated in dual-colored Haki.
CLANG!
Amidst the metallic explosion, Katakuri was instantly blasted away by Roa's single strike, drops of fresh blood splashing into the air.
"What!!" Perospero was dumbfounded. "Katakuri, Katakuri was blown away!"
"How can this be possible!!" The eldest daughter, Compote, looked equally bewildered. "That's Katakuri!"
Bonney was confused. "Brother Perospero, didn't you just say that Roa was one of the top experts on the sea twenty years ago? Isn't it normal for Brother Katakuri to get hurt?"
"That's because," Cracker, behind her, was practically grinding his teeth, "that bastard is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user! He hasn't even gotten serious yet!"
"EH!!!" Bonney was also stunned.
He could fight Brother Katakuri, a Pirate Emperor, to this extent, and he still hadn't gone all out?
Just how strong was this guy?!
Katakuri's face was equally displeased. He looked at the long, narrow wound on his left arm. "Straw Hat's move?"
The name "Straw Hat" almost made Roa not react.
After pondering for two seconds, he realized, then smiled and nodded, "Strictly speaking, it's Roger's move. What is it, Katakuri? Did you clash with that kid on Roger's ship too?"
"He's very strong! He's probably close to the Roger of those days." Katakuri grew slightly more serious, then changed the subject. "But, what exactly is your ability? I don't remember a Zoan Awakening being able to enhance one's base power!"
Roa's strength was exaggeratedly powerful.
His displayed Conqueror's Haki was merely average, perhaps weaker than his own, and his Armament Haki was a notch weaker than his own. Yet, in this situation, he could still fight him to a draw!
Is this right?
"That's why I said it's evolution," Roa said with a smile.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Katakuri pointed his trident at Roa. "Let me see your evolved power!"
"Alright." Roa nodded readily.
He was also slightly curious about just what kind of power he possessed when going all out after his evolution.
I shall attack in Qiongqi Form!
As black fur began to grow, a pitch-black aura suddenly emanated from around Roa.
In this instant, even the Charlotte Family cadres watching from a distance suddenly felt a great stone pressing down on their hearts.
"What is this!" Charlotte Smoothie sweated profusely. "This chilling, creepy feeling!!"
As if the sky responded, dense dark clouds suddenly gathered, as if offering a cheer for the Demon King's advent!
In the sky, wide black wings spread. Roa threw his head back and moaned in comfort, "Perfect! This feeling is truly perfect!"
Katakuri's eyes, however, had solidified into an almost tangible intensity.
Roa's appearance was vastly different from his past form.
The most direct change was his size.
In the past, when Roa used his ability, the change in his physique was not significant.
But now, his size had increased to over five meters, no less tall than himself.
Then, the fur covering his body intertwined, forming an exoskeleton-like structure that coalesced into a set of pitch-black armor, covered in various spikes, looking utterly menacing.
The pair of massive horns extending from his forehead were now even larger, winding and coiling upward, standing on Roa's head like a majestic crown.
Finally, the black aura swirling around Roa gave Katakuri a sense of foreboding just by looking at it.
"Whoa! I'm so strong, Katakuri!" Roa laughed loudly, like a little boy who had just gotten a new toy and couldn't wait to show it off to his friend. "I'm really so strong now!"
"I feel like I could rip this sky apart!"
VROOM!
A thick bolt of Haki lightning suddenly shot up into the sky.
BOOM!
The island below began to tremble violently.
The sea surrounding the island began to churn.
The air between heaven and earth began to wail in agony.
Even though Roa deliberately avoided the cluster of Charlotte Family members, the residual Haki shockwaves still made the watching cadres drop like mown wheat.
Even experts like Oven, Daifuku, and Perospero felt dizzy and shaky.
And then.
CRASH!
The sky shook!
The pitch-black clouds that covered the sky were instantly torn to shreds. In the blink of an eye, clear skies reappeared!
"This Conqueror's Haki!!" Bonney exclaimed in disbelief. "Is he still human?"
She wasn't the only one. Katakuri also forced a wry smile. "Did you really just jump twenty-five years through time?"
Why does the gap feel like it hasn't shrunk at all?!
"Are you ready, Katakuri!" Roa raised the sword in his hand toward his old friend. "Next is my full power!"
The flame-like black patterns on the surface of Tiger Soul, which had grown larger along with his physique, spread further. The dark-red aura had already turned into billowing smoke, rising up.
Full release of Haki, full use of the energy converted from the black aura to strengthen his physique and Haki.
This strike would be merciless!
"Bring it on!" Katakuri laughed loudly, the Haki lightning on his trident surging. He even actively lunged toward Roa.
"This is my full power too! Meteor Thrust!"
The rotation of the trident alone created a storm. Pitch-black lightning mixed within, engulfing a large portion of the sky.
This strike would pierce the stars!
Roa's wide wings beat. The air instantly erupted violently. Just a single flap created a vacuum!
Borrowing this force, Roa transformed into a black lightning bolt, forcefully smashing through the approaching storm.
"Roa!" Katakuri laughed from within the eye of the storm, thrusting his trident.
"Katakuri!!" Roa laughed joyfully in response, the long sword wreathed in billowing smoke chopping down mercilessly.
BOOM!!
The storm instantly exploded. A ferocious shockwave swept through everything between heaven and earth.
The island below was completely scoured. If the dizzy Perospero hadn't quickly used his ability to generate candy to catch his unconscious siblings, they would have been taking a bath in the sea.
And in that instant, a crisp snap echoed in the sky.
The trident was sliced to pieces by the sword, fragments scattering everywhere.
Katakuri was left holding only the bare shaft.
His gaze was wistful.
Because the dark-red blade was now resting across his neck.
"How was that, my friend?" Roa smiled triumphantly.
"Truly remarkable. I'm completely no match for you," Katakuri said gloomily. "Going all out only allowed me to hold on for a few more seconds. But Roa,"
"That trident was the one fused with the Enma fragment you gave me all those years ago. It looks like it can't even be repaired now."
"Uh—" Roa's smile twitched slightly.
I'm so dead.
Regardless, the battle ended here.
Roa also gained a general understanding of his current strength.
He had completely surpassed the limits of humanity.
It's hard to say if he was as strong as Imu's main body, but if Imu dared to try any of that possession nonsense in front of him again, he'd beat the crap out of that guy! Unless that guy also had infinite stamina.
Since the fight was over, following another rule of the sea, it was time for a banquet.
The Charlotte Family cadres gathered together.
Roa saw quite a few familiar faces.
The sisters Chiffon and Lola. It seemed Lola hadn't run away this time due to Auntie Linlin's forced marriage. Loki probably hadn't even met them, but then again, that kid Loki's aesthetic sense was exactly like his father's.
There was also Pudding, only twelve years old this year, not needing to cover her eye with her hair as she did in the original story. Katakuri's rise had indeed created a safe haven for his bullied younger siblings.
It should be said that it was fortunate the black aura in this world had reached a certain density, allowing Roa to enjoy delicious food anytime, anywhere.
Otherwise, given the public security of Totto Land under Katakuri's rule, Roa would once again have to ask his good buddy to prepare him some special dishes.
At the climax of the banquet's atmosphere, Katakuri announced that they would next go to bring Mama back, and at the same time, help Roa deal with Wang Zhi, who was entrenched on Hachinosu Island.
A chorus of agreement immediately followed.
It was clear that everyone had suffered under Wang Zhi and his crew for a long time.
After the banquet, Roa picked up a Den Den Mushi and dialed a number he had just gotten from Katakuri.
The other side quickly picked up.
"Oh? Who is this? Do you have a big news scoop for me?" A familiar but noticeably older voice came through.
Roa curved his lips. "Morgans, are you ready to shake the world again?"
The other side fell instantly silent. Roa could only hear the sound of heavy, rapid breathing.
Then.
"BOSS!! Have you finally returned?! Hahahaha! Ready? Of course, I'm always ready! Always ready for the day you shake the world again!!"
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