Clash of Titans
BOOM!
Between electric light and flint, the incomparable blazing dragon-shaped slash continued unabated.
It pierced through Borsalino's entire body and slammed hard against the thick ice.
"BOOM..."
"Woo hoo hoo..."
"Kacha kacha..."
The ice layer shook violently, ruthlessly torn apart and collapsing directly. Violent gusts danced and swept across the battlefield, carrying massive amounts of crushed ice, making it impossible to open one's eyes.
A golden light flashed.
Borsalino's bloody, humiliated figure appeared on the ice below. He stared fixedly at the silver-white figure flickering with electric lights, resembling a ferocious beast with an overwhelming aura.
"That slash just now..."
He groaned abruptly and staggered backward.
A wisp of scarlet blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth. His cloak emblazoned with the word "JUSTICE" had long since disappeared, and his gray suit was now in tatters.
Blood dripped steadily from his left shoulder, where a deep gash had appeared at some point. The wound was so deep that bone was visible, a shocking sight.
"Zizi!"
In the next moment, under the watchful eyes of Wilhelm and Katakuri, Borsalino's body condensed with an extremely strong and dazzling light.
Cold sweat beaded on his brow as he gritted his teeth, resisting unimaginable pain. He controlled his Glint-Glint Fruit Logia powers, maintaining his body in a non-elemental state, while directly using the terrifying heat generated by his Devil Fruit to cauterize his own wounds. The horrific sizzling sound made one's scalp tingle as the bleeding stopped.
He truly was ruthless.
But it undoubtedly proved that this Admiral candidate had been forced to desperate measures by the combined strength of Wilhelm and Katakuri.
"Not only can you transfer yourself or targets, but you can also instantly teleport slashing strikes to any position, even changing their direction?"
Not only Borsalino, but Katakuri couldn't help but narrow his pupils in surprise. He looked at Wilhelm, who resembled a monster covered with thick snow-white fur, scarlet bloodthirsty eyes, sharp fangs, and nails so sharp they made one's scalp go numb.
He had clearly seen that the Flying Slash his younger ally had swung towards Borsalino from afar had strangely disappeared, only to flash directly behind their opponent an instant later, delivering a devastating blow.
Having such an opponent would be truly frightening. That kind of elusive, unpredictable ability was simply horrifying and incomprehensible.
"Zzzzzgrrrr..."
His body surrounded by fierce electric light, Wilhelm, who resembled a werewolf, held Cloud Fang in his hand and said directly to Katakuri: "As expected, Big Brother Katakuri, Logia users who can transform into elements are truly difficult to deal with."
"Indeed," Katakuri shrugged. "If it were an ordinary strong fighter without proper countermeasures, their physical bodies wouldn't be strong enough. I fear the sudden pressure change would cause their entire body to swell instantly, and they would simply explode!"
Borsalino, as a Logia user, was exceptionally difficult to handle. If their opponent had been Admiral Sengoku in his Buddha form, Katakuri wouldn't be so concerned.
Over the past few days, combining his previous experience mastering the Mochi-Mochi Fruit's Paramecia abilities with Wilhelm's suggestions, Katakuri had developed many powerful techniques he never had the opportunity to demonstrate or verify before.
Because they simply wouldn't work against opponents who could transform into elements.
"Vacuum Field" was one of the special moves he'd developed using the Air-Air Fruit abilities under Wilhelm's guidance—instantly evacuating air from a specific area, creating a vacuum zone. Normally, the extreme pressure differential would cause a target to explode instantly.
If their opponent hadn't been Borsalino with his Glint-Glint Fruit Logia abilities but instead someone like the Pika-Pika Fruit user, even with a monstrous physique far tougher than ordinary people, they wouldn't have exploded outright, but they certainly wouldn't have escaped unscathed.
At the very least, they would show a slight opening—and for him or Wilhelm with their extreme speed, the slightest gap was enough to inflict devastating damage.
"Next..."
Clutching his gorgeous, monstrous blade, Wilhelm emanated an awe-inspiring aura. Strands of electric light shone, jumped, and intertwined around him. Astonishing electric arcs burst continuously from his body, frantically stimulating his muscles and nerves, raising his combat effectiveness to its ultimate level.
His Observation Haki, far from weak, locked directly onto Borsalino. "Big Brother Katakuri, you only need to entangle him with Haki and attack from a distance. Leave the rest to me!"
He hadn't expected Katakuri's mastery of the Air-Air Fruit Logia abilities to be more perfect than anticipated—almost on par with Kuzan, the youngest of the three Admiral candidates. Compared to Sakazuki and Borsalino, Kuzan's strength was undoubtedly inferior and still developing.
As expected of the Charlotte family's strongest fighter—after obtaining a top-tier ability, Katakuri's strength had completely broken through to new heights! The Air-Air Fruit was a perfect match for him.
Coupled with Wilhelm's own teleportation abilities, and with Charlotte Linlin herself completely overpowering Sakazuki, there might truly be hope. With swordsmen like Ryuma, Shiryu of the Rain, Mihawk, and Kaku the Giraffe of the "Four Kings" under their command completely occupying Kuzan, they might actually succeed in holding off all three of the Navy Headquarters' future Admirals.
This battle was yielding even more amazing results than expected.
"Okay!"
"Here I come!"
A little unsteady on his feet, Borsalino steeled himself for battle. He didn't dare be careless, maintaining extreme vigilance, his nerves stretched to breaking point.
"Swish—"
In a split second, Wilhelm's figure vanished from sight. His entire body became completely invisible as he activated the Clear-Clear Fruit ability from the "Ten Rings."
"What?!" Borsalino's face contorted with shock as his powerful Observation Haki detected "presences" from all directions, triggering powerful premonitions of danger.
"Shhhhh..." In an instant, a barrage of dense, invisible slashes—imperceptible to the naked eye—overwhelmed him from every direction.
Borsalino's hair stood on end, his complexion changing drastically.
At this moment, Wilhelm held nothing back, pushing his combat power to the absolute limit. Both the "Ten Rings" and his teleportation abilities were being used to their ultimate extent.
He was going all out, using every means at his disposal to eliminate Borsalino, the Navy Headquarters' future Admiral.
"Air Rocket: Mochi Cannon!"
And at the same time, Katakuri clenched his fists and shouted.
He habitually named his newly developed technique—which combined his Air-Air Fruit Logia abilities—after his previous Mochi-Mochi Fruit moves.
"Whoosh!" In an instant, the air around him compressed visibly, forming one substantial fist imprint after another, each wrapped in Armament Haki.
"FWOOSH!" Intense blue flames erupted, lightning crackling as they surged toward Borsalino.
Countless fist imprints, like a violent storm, gave Borsalino no chance to breathe.
"BOOM..."
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