Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 81 As everyone knows, cats are liquid.

The trident, named Earth Dragon, was stored in Katakuri's arm using the power of the Mochi Mochi Fruit.

"Glutinous Rice Ball Thrust!"

Katakuri's arm transformed into a mochi, which then enveloped the trident in his hand. Using the mochi as a base, Katakuri's arm holding the trident began to rotate, thrusting forward like a drill.

Just as the action was halfway through, Katakuri suddenly changed his thrust into a sweeping motion, smashing it to the side.

Just like when Kate went to intercept Katakuri's attack, she happened to appear within his attack range.

This wasn't a peak match, and neither of them were actors. The reason this happened was entirely due to Katakuri's Observation Haki.

As Charlotte Linlin's most valued offspring, Katakuri's combat talent has been fully displayed. While he is not weak in other aspects, his Observation Haki is his strongest point.

This is also related to his experience. Because of Charlotte Linlin, they live in the chaotic place of Beehive Island. Charlotte Linlin can intimidate most people, but there are still some people who do dirty tricks in private.

There was an unspoken rule on Beehive Island: adults shouldn't interfere in children's affairs.

Therefore, the offspring of those pirates often fought each other. Katakuri couldn't find any rivals among his peers, and since no one could do anything to him, they turned their attention to his younger siblings.

Katakuri's younger sister, Brulee, was also injured as a result, leaving a scar on her face. From that moment on, Katakuri's desire to protect his younger siblings grew stronger.

With the mindset of anticipating danger and taking precautions, Katakuri's Observation Haki grew stronger day by day.

"I already anticipated your plan!"

Even though he hasn't yet cultivated to the point of foreseeing the future, he can still predict the enemy's attacks and evasions in battle.

Katakuri may seem to be attacking haphazardly, but he actually anticipates Kate's landing point with every step.

It's sizzling!

Katakuri heard a thunderous roar in his ears.

The arm that had just thrust out was too late to retract, but Katakuri's body scattered in place, and whips made of several mochi flew out of his body, lashing towards the spot where he had originally been standing.

"Willow Rice Cake!"

The strips of rice cake whipped forward wildly, like willow branches dancing in the gale. Amidst the dense whip shadows, a white figure retreated rapidly, with Katakuri's rice cakes following closely behind.

The Mochi Mochi Fruit has extremely high elasticity, allowing Katakuri to extend his attack radius to an enormous distance even while standing still.

"Trouble. I've been pulled into his fighting rhythm."

As she retreated, Kate also blocked Katakuri's attacks and tried to break free from Katakuri's rhythm.

Combat is not turn-based like in games. Everyone has their own combat habits, and once they seize an opportunity, it will be a continuous attack.

In terms of age, Kate is three years older than Katakuri, but their upbringing is different.

Katakuri has experienced more battles, whether it was fighting other pirates on Beehive Island or after the Rocks Pirates disbanded, as Charlotte Linlin's right-hand man, he has been constantly fighting against enemies.

Charlotte Linlin's guidance also played a crucial role. In terms of physical ability, Kate is no worse, or even stronger, but his Observation Haki level is far behind.

There's a significant difference between having someone guide you and figuring it out on your own.

"That won't do. It needs to be faster."

Although Katakuri had an advantage in Observation Haki, Kite was still able to hold his own against him because Kite's speed was higher than Katakuri's attack speed.

Katakuri anticipated her next move, but when the attack came, Kate was able to react forcefully using her physical abilities.

She's not completely incapable of using Observation Haki. Besides, Observation Haki battles aren't about you predicting my next move and me predicting yours, so I have to change.

This approach will only lead to an endless chain reaction, eventually resulting in two people standing face-to-face as punishment, until one of them simply admits defeat.

Besides predicting, Observation Haki can also be used to conceal one's actions, so the clash of Observation Haki is essentially more like an addition and subtraction problem.

The two people's Observation Haki cancels each other out, and whoever has more left will gain the upper hand.

"Extreme Flash!"

boom!

A glint of light flashed within the Hextech Core, and more power surged from the heart, converging into a tangible current along Kite's body. The raging lightning instantly dried and cracked some of the mochi Katakuri had released, creating a gap in his attack.

Kate also gathered a bolt of lightning at her fingertip and pointed it in Katakuri's direction.

Several lightning pulses were fired in succession. Although Katakuri dodged them, they allowed Kite to get close.

"I've seen Mink Tribe members before, but I've never seen one as unique as you. You're a true opponent!"

Fists flashed and clashed, Kate's fists were enveloped in lightning, and the impenetrable fist shadows struck Katakuri.

Katakuri didn't choose to dodge, but instead began a brutal exchange of blows. It's not like he's incapable of close combat; with his Mochi-Mochi Fruit and his original arm span, he even had a considerable advantage.

But the next moment, Kate suddenly punched him squarely in the chest.

"How is that possible?!"

"Lord Katakuri was hit head-on?!"

Seeing Katakuri take two steps back, the members of the Big Mom Pirates that Katakuri brought with them were startled. Although Charlotte Linlin's other adult children were also quite strong, none of them were as powerful as Katakuri.

Even in the New World, Katakuri is synonymous with invincibility within the Big Mom Pirates.

Charlotte Linlin is naturally the one leading the charge in the Big Mom Pirates now, but in battles where Katakuri is in charge, none of the other members have ever seen him fail.

This isn't a new world, it's paradise.

Haki, which is common in the New World, is a rare commodity here. Judging from this, the opponent not only mastered Haki, but even surpassed Katakuri at that moment.

In fact, even Katakuri's eyes flashed with a hint of doubt.

The sensation in his chest was unmistakably real; the additional damage from the lightning was still lingering on his body.

He sensed the direction of Kate's attack using his Observation Haki, but chose not to dodge.

As Kate threw her punch, Katakuri also launched an attack, and in his perception, Kate did not dodge either.

If he were to dodge, given Kate's current reaction speed, he would inevitably evade and avoid his next attack. Therefore, Katakuri's choice is to take the punch head-on.

Given his physical strength, trading injury for injury would definitely be a good deal for him, but just as his fist was about to hit, Kate dodged it. His Observation Haki didn't detect that Kate intended to dodge at all.

When Katakuri looked at Kite again, he noticed something. Kite's eyes were devoid of any emotion, as if she were not a living being.

This is also why he didn't anticipate Kate's move.

Observation is used to predict the opponent's actions, but if the opponent does not make any move from beginning to end, then naturally the outcome cannot be predicted.

If Katakuri had cultivated his skills to the point of foreseeing the future, he could have seen this outcome, but that's not enough for now.

Just now, Kate used the unique characteristics of her body to suppress her emotions and began her battle in a more mechanical way.

Katakuri's attack was dodged because her fur sensed the force of the punch and reacted instinctively, just like Luffy's "rubber feigning ignorance" when fighting Enel in the original timeline.

While Kate doesn't have a rubber body, it's well known that cats are liquid and can appear in all sorts of unexpected places.

They can squeeze into pipes, fish tanks, and other seemingly inaccessible places.

As a cat with fur, Kite's body is very flexible. As his strength increases, so does his control over his body. Combined with the existence of the Hextech Core, he ultimately accomplished something beyond Katakuri's comprehension.

"Interesting, this trip was definitely worthwhile."

Katakuri felt a surge of joy. He still didn't understand how Kite had managed to do it, but he didn't mind learning from his opponent in battle.

Only by becoming stronger can he protect his younger siblings. Discovering problems through such sparring is far better than encountering them in a future life-or-death battle.

However, neither Katakuri nor Kite seemed to realize that their fight was gradually veering off from the realm of mere sparring.

"I said, that's enough! Stop fighting!"

Feld tried to stop them, but it was no use; nobody cared what he said.

Katakuri never took Feld seriously from the start. It's true that he came to invite guests, but if no one showed up, Charlotte Linlin would lose face.

So if Feld refuses, Katakuri will have to find a way to force them to go, or simply settle scores and establish rules.

Oran and Feld had a fairly good working relationship, but Feld still couldn't control Kate. To be precise, apart from Oran, no one could control her.

Despite his fear, Feld could only hide behind Frankenstein and watch the two continue fighting.

"Why isn't Oran done yet? I'll go check on him."

Feld found an excuse to leave first. If it were an ordinary person next to him, they might have sensed that it was just a pretext, but now he was next to Frankenstein.

Upon hearing Feld's words, Frankenstein grabbed him instead.

"No, you can't disturb Father. He's conducting an experiment."

"That's not the point. Besides, I gave him this lab. I even went in to see him before. What's wrong with that?"

"It used to be a mechanical laboratory, now it's a chemical laboratory, the situation is different."

Even though Feld is a big spender, there are some things he can't get through. The reason he was able to see Oran before was because Oran was just tightening screws, preparing the training robot that Zefa wanted.

But right now Oran is working on some unknown things in the chemistry lab, so Feld can't get in.

"Don't be so rigid. Sometimes I might not do what I say."

As they were speaking, a bolt of lightning struck towards Feld, and Frankenstein casually raised his warhammer and absorbed it.

"Yes, it's bad to waste resources."

Feld covered his face helplessly. He got along quite well with Oran, but in his opinion, Oran's subordinates were all stubborn and inflexible, which sometimes drove him crazy.

Fortunately, this situation didn't last long. A mercury wall rose from the ground, and Oran himself had resolved his own issues.

After arriving here, they also used Zack's abilities to separate Katakuri and Kite.

"That's enough. Wasn't your goal to invite us to a tea party?"

Feld's words were useless, but Oran's words still had an effect. Kate took a few steps back, the indifference in her pupils faded, and emotions returned to her body.

Katakuri saw that his opponent had lost the will to fight and that all the invited guests had arrived, so he naturally stopped.

"It seems we'll have to call it a day. We'll settle this once we have the chance."

Next time, that trick won't work anymore.

"This isn't even your strongest form, Meow. Next time, your Observation Haki won't be this dominant."

Kate still has her Sulong trump card, and so does Katakuri; it can be said that both sides are still holding back.

"I look forward to that day, but in reality, you should pray you don't get too far behind."

"Heh, I wonder who will be left behind."

The post-match trash talk session has come to an end. After some preparation, Katakuri successfully invited the participants of the two meetings. Oran's entourage has also changed this time.

Frankenstein and Kate took turns, and Oran also brought Leriana along.

Although it was an invitation from pirates, there was actually no danger involved, and given Charlotte Linlin's personality, bringing a child along would actually be a good thing.

Prior to today, Katakuri had not been in contact with Oran, Feld, or the others. His previous business dealings were handled by Charlotte Linlin's eldest son, Charlotte Perospero.

While the eldest son is not as strong as Katakuri, he is better at business negotiations.

Based on first impressions, Katakuri has a better feeling about Oran.

Unlike Feld's apprehension, Oran was remarkably calm, even bringing a gift box with him.

As Oran's subordinate, Kate's strength was recognized by Katakuri, who believed that anyone Kate chose to follow must have their own abilities.

Oran's division of their Mercury Wall also indirectly demonstrated his strength. Most importantly, Katakuri now has a very strange feeling, which comes from Oran's daughter, Lyriana.

Katakuri himself couldn't explain what this feeling was, and in the end, he didn't show it.

Blue blue blue~

"Mmm~ Mmm~ Katakuri, how's it going? Have you received my guest yet?"

"I've picked up Mom. I was just about to let you know that we're on our way back to Whole Cake Island and will definitely be back before the tea party starts."

"Excellent, you truly are my most outstanding son. You did a fantastic job."

Charlotte Linlin's mission to retrieve Umit's children was far more complicated than Katakuri's, which displeased Charlotte Linlin somewhat, but she didn't say anything, since they had successfully completed their mission.

"In that case, you'd better hurry back. Your younger siblings miss you terribly. Katakuri, what's that sound over there?"

[Impossible! Impossible! That kind of thing shouldn't exist; it would be devastating to this industry! Hahahaha!]

"No, it's just that a chef seems to have suffered a bit of a shock. I'll go take care of it right away."

(End of this chapter)