Chapter 26: Mochi Fruit
Katakuri and Doflamingo stopped their clash. Su Xiao stood at the edge of the mochi-covered area, not yet stepping into it.
Before confirming one specific matter, he absolutely would not recklessly engage Katakuri in close combat: whether Azure Steel Shadow was effective against Devil Fruit users, or more precisely, whether he could injure Katakuri after activating Azure Steel Shadow.
Katakuri’s body could turn into mochi, making ordinary slashes completely ineffective. Azure Steel Shadow’s ability was to slash an enemy, then devour energy within their body, dealing True Damage.
Su Xiao seriously doubted whether slashing through Katakuri’s mochified form counted as injuring the enemy. If it didn’t, Azure Steel Shadow would be useless, and he would have no way to deal with Katakuri at all.
Katakuri’s Mochi Fruit was troublesome. This Paramecia-type Devil Fruit was even more valuable than most Logia-type fruits.
In most cases, the value ranking of Devil Fruits was Logia > Paramecia > Zoan.
This wasn’t an absolute ranking. Certain Mythical Zoan-type fruits were even more valuable than Logia types. But in terms of initial combat power after eating a Devil Fruit, most Logia types were the strongest.
Paramecia-type fruits had high upper limits. Most top-tier powerhouses were Paramecia users, such as Whitebeard, Golden Lion (in his prime), and Bondi Waldo (in his prime).
These individuals’ abilities were initially unremarkable, but the users’ strength elevated these Paramecia fruits to world-destroying capabilities.
There were no strongest fruits, only the strongest users. While this saying wasn’t entirely accurate, it generally held true.
Katakuri’s Mochi Fruit was a nearly perfect ability. Paramecia types already had high upper limits, and this fruit possessed a power similar to “elementalization.”
The elasticity, adhesiveness, and plasticity of mochi had all been developed to their extremes by Katakuri.
D·Assassination appeared in Su Xiao’s hand. He fired two shots at Katakuri’s head.
Pfft, pfft…
A red gleam flashed in Katakuri’s eyes. The next moment, he suddenly tilted his head to dodge, twisting his body to an almost unnatural angle. His waist had already turned into mochi.
The bullets flew past Katakuri’s ear. The experiment failed. Su Xiao could only put away D·Assassination. He had originally planned to create a silent zone around Katakuri, but the opponent had foreseen it.
No wonder Doflamingo was getting beaten so badly. With Katakuri’s agility in dodging and his mastery of his fruit ability, without overwhelming speed, it was impossible to injure him.
Doflamingo slowly approached Su Xiao and said in a low voice, “You hold him off first. I’ll deal with Charlotte Cracker. This is an opportunity we can’t miss.”
“You want a researcher to hold off one of the Big Mom Pirates’ Four Sweet Commanders?”
Su Xiao smiled as he looked at Doflamingo, whose forehead bulged with veins.
“I don’t know Armament Haki. I can’t hold him off at all.”
“?”
Doflamingo was stunned. He couldn’t understand how someone of Su Xiao’s strength hadn’t mastered Armament Haki.
“That’s the reality. You hold him off, I’ll take care of Charlotte Cracker. Like before, once he tries to support Cracker, you’ll have a chance to injure him.”
Su Xiao wasn’t greedy for Cracker’s treasure chest. He simply couldn’t confirm whether Azure Steel Shadow could harm Katakuri.
“Fine.”
Doflamingo probably didn’t want to face Katakuri alone either. If this continued, he would die here today.
“Charlotte Cracker’s position is…”
Bang! Mochi splattered beneath Katakuri’s feet as he charged straight at the two.
Su Xiao and Doflamingo leaped to the left and right respectively. Katakuri’s forward momentum slowed, and he turned to pounce on Su Xiao.
“Hold him off!”
Doflamingo roared as he charged into the vast expanse of mochi.
Katakuri instantly closed in on Su Xiao. His right arm turned into mochi, bending at an exaggerated angle.
Armament Haki coated Katakuri’s right arm as he punched at Su Xiao. Su Xiao had no intention of dodging. The opponent could see the future; evasion was pointless.
A 700-point strength Energy Shield appeared in front of Su Xiao. Katakuri’s fist slammed into it.
After Su Xiao’s Azure Steel Shadow ability reached Lv.40, the Energy Shield’s strength cap had increased to 700 points. A 700-point shield was a completely different concept from a 600-point one.
Thud!
The ground beneath Su Xiao’s feet trembled. Large cracks spread across the Energy Shield in front of him. A shockwave penetrated the shield and surged into Su Xiao’s body.
His internal organs ached faintly. He immediately dispelled the Energy Shield, channeling Azure Steel Shadow energy onto Dragon-Slaying Flash. The long blade slashed toward Katakuri’s knee.
Against an opponent standing five meters tall, aiming for the neck was impractical. As long as such a massive frame wasn’t clumsy, it was an undeniable advantage.
The moment Su Xiao swung his blade, Katakuri leaped into the air. His legs turned into mochi as he kicked straight at Su Xiao’s face.
The long blade was only halfway through its arc when Su Xiao immediately withdrew it, holding Dragon-Slaying Flash horizontally in front of him.
At that moment, Katakuri twisted his body midair. His mochified legs were as flexible as boneless limbs, bypassing Dragon-Slaying Flash and swinging sideways toward Su Xiao’s face.
Instinct ability immediately issued a warning. Su Xiao raised his forearm, clad in a metal bracer, to block the side of his face.
Just as he expected the attack to land, a sense of danger surged from beneath his feet. Unnoticed, a clump of mochi had coiled around his leg.
Katakuri’s arm turned into mochi, coated with Armament Haki, and punched directly into Su Xiao’s abdomen.
Crack! The Energy Shield covering Su Xiao’s abdomen shattered. He flew backward with a whoosh, crashing straight into a massive boulder.
This was Katakuri. No matter how the enemy defended, he could foresee it and use his mochified body to constantly change attack angles until he was certain to hit.
If Su Xiao hadn’t had his Instinct ability, he would have been sent flying by Katakuri’s U-shaped kick earlier, never lasting until Katakuri threw the punch.
Indeed, Katakuri’s earlier kick had curved into a U-shape, dodging Dragon-Slaying Flash while still aiming for Su Xiao’s head. Su Xiao’s blocking motion made Katakuri abandon that strike, instead using a clump of mochi to bind Su Xiao’s movement and landing a punch on his abdomen.
As for the Energy Shield that formed on Su Xiao’s abdomen, Katakuri had foreseen it as an inevitable outcome. No matter where he attacked, that energy layer would block it.
Su Xiao had held off Katakuri for a few seconds. Doflamingo had already charged into the vast mochi, threads flying and mochi splattering as he searched for Cracker.
Was Doflamingo truly fixated on killing Cracker? No. Though Doflamingo had never heard of “besieging Wei to rescue Zhao,” he clearly understood the principle. If both of them were pinned down by Katakuri, that would be the worst outcome.
The moment Su Xiao was punched into the boulder, Katakuri quickly rushed toward Doflamingo.
Rubble flew. Su Xiao, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, stepped out of the hole in the boulder. Katakuri was terrifyingly powerful.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Su Xiao coughed dryly several times. Despite taking the punch, he noticed something very interesting: from start to finish, Katakuri had been avoiding Dragon-Slaying Flash.