'The Mirror World, huh?''
Ray had some recollection of this place.
It was where Luffy and Katakuri had fought in the original storyline, and where Luffy had awakened his future-sight Observation Haki.
It seemed Katakuri had brought along the user of the Mirror Devil Fruit.
As Ray suspected, out of caution, Katakuri had brought his sister—someone who could perfectly conceal her presence within mirrors.
Katakuri called out to the mirror behind him, "Brulee, open the mirror. Let me and Ray in."
"Yes, Brother Katakuri."
A flash of white light followed, and the mirror behind Katakuri became illusory.
"Let's go, Ray. Show me whether you truly have the power to defeat Mother."
With that, Katakuri stepped into the mirror space first, and Ray followed closely behind.
Seeing the two about to fight, Smoothie could no longer contain her anxiety and rushed into Brulee's Mirror World as well.
…
The Mirror World lived up to its name—a multicolored space surrounded by mirrors of all shapes and sizes.
Fighting here would not disturb the outside world, as their presence would remain undetected. It was an ideal location for a battle without causing widespread alarm.
At that moment, Ray and Katakuri stood facing each other, ten meters apart.
Katakuri was utterly serious.
Although he doubted Ray's ability to kill Big Mom, he was well aware that his mother had already fought Ray.
The fact that Big Mom had failed to defeat him after such a prolonged battle proved, at the very least, that this silver-haired man's strength was no less than his own.
Especially that composed expression—so calm it bordered on indifference—made Katakuri feel that this man was unfathomably powerful.
"Ray, I'm going to make my move."
"Mm."
The moment Ray nodded, blue, lightning-like energy instantly surged around Katakuri as he charged forward.
Ray naturally knew this was Katakuri's Conqueror's Haki.
'This man intended to clash auras right from the start.'
But Ray didn't respond to the challenge.
Instead, he calmly stood in place, allowing Katakuri's Conqueror's Haki to descend upon him.
Smoothie, watching from afar within the Mirror World, remained relatively calm.
After all, she had personally experienced Ray's terror.
Brulee, however, was different.
In her understanding, Katakuri was the strongest person after Mama, and she even believed her brother would eventually become a Yonko.
Yet now, this man called Ray dared to directly endure her brother's Conqueror's Haki pressure.
Brulee almost laughed out loud.
"This Ray guy will probably get dizzy—maybe even faint outright. Really, how dare someone without Conqueror's Haki fight against Brother Katakuri?"
Hearing this, Smoothie could only sigh.
Although Brulee's words were partially correct, they also revealed her frog-in-a-well perspective.
Between two fighters of equal strength, if one possesses Conqueror's Haki, they can indeed apply continuous pressure on the other through sheer will.
But Conqueror's Haki isn't omnipotent.
The stronger one's willpower, the greater their resistance.
Those who can be knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki are usually people with weak willpower or unstable minds.
If an opponent's will is stronger than Brother Katakuri's, then even without Conqueror's Haki qualifications, Katakuri's aura would have little effect.
In this world, those with great strength generally possess great willpower as well.
That was why Conqueror's Haki mostly functioned as a mob-clearing ability and was nearly ineffective against top-tier combatants.
If Ray could hear Smoothie's thoughts, he would have agreed—though she hadn't mentioned everything.
Those born with Conqueror's Haki also had a higher ceiling: the ability to infuse it into their attacks.
The gap between those who could master Conqueror's Haki infusion and equally strong fighters without it would eventually become apparent.
…
Back on the battlefield.
When Katakuri's Conqueror's Haki enveloped Ray, something happened that shocked both Brulee and Katakuri.
Ray showed absolutely no reaction.
There was no sign of pressure, no hesitation, not even the slightest disturbance.
Brulee felt as if reality itself had slapped her in the face. Her mouth twitched as she desperately tried to comfort herself.
"This Ray guy is a good actor. Was he a professional deadpan performer before? There's no way he isn't scared at all. That's Conqueror's Haki!"
Watching her sister struggle for excuses, Smoothie sighed helplessly once more.
"Brulee, just watch quietly, or you'll embarrass yourself."
"Uh…"
Although Brulee was Smoothie's elder sister, in the Big Mom Pirates—where strength reigned supreme—she, an ordinary officer, didn't dare question one of the Four Sweet Commanders.
…
Seeing that his Conqueror's Haki had no effect, Katakuri immediately became more focused.
'A will stronger than mine…'
But the battle had only begun.
If Ray wanted his acknowledgment, willpower alone wasn't enough.
"Mochi Donuts."
Katakuri activated his Devil Fruit, creating two donut-shaped masses of mochi in midair.
Seeing this, Ray confirmed that Katakuri had awakened his ability, granting him the power to transform his surroundings into mochi.
That meant the upcoming attacks would come from all directions.
Sure enough, more Mochi Donuts emerged from both the air and the ground.
"Musou Donuts."
In an instant, nearly a hundred Armament Haki–coated mochi fists burst forth from the surrounding donuts, all surging toward Ray.
Facing this rogue-style assault that nearly sealed off every escape route, Ray remained perfectly calm.
'Let's test my speed.'
Without using Observation Haki, Ray relied purely on high-speed movement—evading each mochi fist at the exact moment it struck, all while continuing to walk steadily toward Katakuri.
At first, Katakuri believed Ray was using future-sight Observation Haki.
But the longer he watched, the more wrong it felt.
Cold sweat began dripping from his forehead.
'This isn't predictive dodging…'
'He's reacting instantly—when the attacks reach him.'
'What kind of speed does that require?'
At that moment, Katakuri's judgment shifted.
Ray possessed not only stronger willpower, but also speed that clearly surpassed his own.
"But this only proves you can escape from Mama," Katakuri said grimly.
"It's not enough!"
With that, he halted the barrage, transforming one arm into a massive mochi fist coated in Armament Haki—larger than Luffy's Gear Third—and slammed it straight toward Ray's face.
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