Chapter 22: Third Rank??
A bullet came whistling through the air with a piercing sound. Katakuri punched Doflamingo back with one fist, intending to charge toward Cracker.
"Foot Thread."
Doflamingo wrapped his leg in Armament Haki and kicked toward Katakuri's head. Katakuri was forced to stop, raising one arm to block in front of him.
With a bang, yellow sand mixed with shredded flesh splattered. Cracker was sent flying several meters by the bullet's impact force. His legs were blasted into a bloody mess, revealing stark white bone. Before the bullet hit him, he had wrapped his legs in Armament Haki.
Had Su Xiao's shot missed? Not at all. He and Doflamingo were using a strategy of wounding the target to draw out reinforcements.
Katakuri's personality seemed aloof and cold, but that wasn't the case. Unlike his biological mother, Charlotte Linlin, Katakuri appeared cold and ruthless but actually cared deeply about his subordinates and family.
Cracker was his younger brother, a brother he had watched grow up. Therefore, he would never abandon Cracker to die. As Cracker, now half-unconscious, took Su Xiao's shot, Katakuri, while enduring Doflamingo's kick, hurled a mass of mochi wrapped in Armament Haki to envelop Cracker's legs. That was the only reason Cracker's Armament Haki alone couldn't block the shot.
This was the terrifying aspect of being able to foresee the future. Before the bullet even landed, Katakuri had already predicted its point of impact.
As a Mochi Mochi no Mi user, Katakuri could nearly ignore physical attacks. Unfortunately, Doflamingo's kick was imbued with Armament Haki, allowing it to strike Katakuri's true body.
Katakuri's expression turned grim. He understood that while protecting Cracker, he couldn't engage Doflamingo in combat.
In a 1v1 fight, Katakuri was fully confident he could kill Doflamingo. But the current situation was clearly not a 1v1.
"Kata... Katakuri bro... deal with... the sea scum first... I can... hold on."
Cracker's pain brought him back to some semblance of consciousness. He understood the situation; he was a burden now. He had underestimated the Don Quixote Family earlier, and this was the price of underestimating his opponent.
"..."
Katakuri remained silent, assessing Cracker's injuries. The damage wasn't so severe that Cracker had completely lost combat capability.
Katakuri lightly stamped the sandy ground beneath him. The texture of the yellow sand changed. With Katakuri as the center, the surrounding sand turned milky white and fused together.
This was the ability granted by awakening a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit: the power to assimilate all surrounding objects. As a Mochi Mochi no Mi user, Katakuri could turn the environment into mochi.
Doflamingo leaped backward repeatedly to escape the mochi zone. The sand under his feet also began to turn white, transforming into white threads. Doflamingo had also awakened his Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.
Within a radius of several hundred meters, half the beach was mochi-fied, and the other half was thread-fied. This was the power of a Paramecia awakening: making the environment more advantageous for one's own combat.
Cracker lay on the mochi, which slowly enveloped him.
A mass of threads surged toward Katakuri. He waved his hand, and the mochi surged forward to meet them.
Cracker soon disappeared into the mochi. A large mass of mochi and threads tangled together.
With a boom, a figure was sent flying backward out of the threads. It was Doflamingo, his hands protecting his head as he crashed straight into a massive rock.
Beep, beep, beep...
An electronic sound came from within the mochi. Katakuri flicked his finger, and a plastic bomb was squeezed out by the mochi.
The bomb exploded. Katakuri paid no attention to the flames from the blast. A mass of mochi appeared in his hand, rapidly deforming into a trident, which was then coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.
Katakuri's body slightly crouched, part of it turning into mochi as he assumed a throwing stance.
Bang!
A sharp sound of air being rent spread out. The trident in Katakuri's hand was released.
Rubble flew. A boulder by the seaside was pierced, creating a three-meter diameter hole. Blood could be seen inside the hole. This was a Fourth Rank Contractor with a phasing ability, instantly killed by Katakuri's attack. No need to guess; this guy was trying to scavenge an easy kill.
It wasn't just this Contractor. Dozens of Fourth Rank Contractors were watching from the nearby area. These Contractors had originally been mixed into the battlefield to earn pirate reputation. After discovering Doflamingo and Katakuri fighting, they hid nearby, waiting to pick off the loser.
Most of these Contractors were aligned with the Big Mom Pirates, while a smaller portion had joined the Don Quixote Family or Kaido's forces.
Don't think that just because Contractors joined a faction, they would fight for it. Without benefits, who would be willing to risk their lives for a plot character's faction? The answer was no one.
Now, dozens of eyes were fixed on the severely wounded Cracker. Cracker had been injured by Su Xiao. If they had a chance to kill Cracker, they would gain all the benefits from his death.
Under such tempting circumstances, even Contractors from the Big Mom faction were tempted. Even if they betrayed the Big Mom Pirates, they could still join the Don Quixote Family or the Beasts Pirates, though their main quest rewards would be reduced.
These people weren't just targeting Cracker; they also had their sights on Su Xiao. Given the current situation, if someone could take out Su Xiao, it would be a major achievement in Katakuri's eyes. Katakuri's influence within the Big Mom Pirates was enough to grant them a high status and substantial rewards.
The situation had taken a sharp turn. Katakuri, relying on his own abilities, had turned the crisis around and seemed poised to severely wound or even defeat Doflamingo. As a result, these Contractors shifted their focus to Doflamingo.
Inside the fourth floor of the villa, Su Xiao had stopped paying attention to the beach. Doflamingo would have to fend for himself. Su Xiao now had other troubles.
Su Xiao adjusted his scope. He had already noticed several Contractors moving toward the King's Plateau. These were Contractors from the Big Mom faction.
Killing Contractors from an opposing faction also yielded pirate reputation, equal to half of the enemy's current reputation. That meant if someone killed Su Xiao, they would gain over 1000 pirate reputation points.
In the residential district of Dressrosa, five Contractors were swiftly moving between houses. They were a small team.
After moving quickly for a distance, they stopped behind a tall building.
"Don't expose yourself directly in that guy's crosshairs. Cracker only took one shot and was nearly beaten to death."
A gaunt man holding an iron chain spoke. He leaned against the edge of the wall, looking toward the King's Plateau.
"Have you confirmed that guy's identity?"
"Confirmed. He's a Third Rank Contractor, codename White Night. His specific attributes are unclear for now; the distance is too far."
A red-haired, long-legged woman replied while also looking toward the King's Plateau.
"Third Rank?"
The gaunt man with the iron chain looked slightly surprised.
"That's right, Third Rank."
The long-legged woman shrugged, indicating that this was the intelligence she had gathered.