The first half of the Grand Line, Kenzan Island.
Katakuri's Mochi pirate ship slowly sailed into port. After a moment, a towering figure descended from the vessel, followed by a group of fierce-looking pirate subordinates.
This was Katakuri. Standing over five meters tall, he resembled a small giant.
Finn's own height had increased recently. When he'd been in North Blue, he'd stood just over 1.8 meters, thinking he'd reached his growth limit. That height would have been acceptable in his previous life, but in this world, it was woefully inadequate.
Kuzan, Sakazuki, Borsalino, and others all exceeded three meters. Even Vice Admiral Garp stood at 2.8 meters. Every time Finn stood among them, he'd felt like a child.
After his strength continued increasing and he'd consumed the Press-Press Fruit, Finn's height had broken through again. Now it exceeded two meters and would likely continue growing. He'd been surprised at first. Even if he was still twenty two, making another major growth spurt seemed unusual.
Later he'd realized that powerful Devil Fruits sometimes caused such changes. For instance, after consuming the Dark-Dark Fruit and Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Teach's originally ordinary physique had transformed into a powerfully muscular build within two years. So Finn had stopped being surprised.
Katakuri had likely inherited Charlotte Linlin's bloodline. Regardless, he was extremely tall, with a resolute face and a scarf covering the lower half. He hadn't revealed his true face in years. That face looked somewhat grotesque, almost monstrous.
His clothing style was bold: a vest that barely covered his frame, exposing his chest and abdomen, displaying tightly packed muscles. At first glance, he radiated physical power.
In fact, Katakuri was indeed formidable.
Standing at the port, Katakuri looked confused. He sensed something wrong. The port of Kenzan Island was completely empty. No one was present.
That was definitely suspicious.
"Lord Katakuri, I fear there's an ambush," a pirate subordinate behind him said.
Katakuri didn't answer. Though confused, he still walked onto Kenzan Island. He was Charlotte Linlin's third son. He'd maintained an undefeated record since debut. Even if there were problems on the island, he would complete the task his mother assigned.
Moreover, if he fled upon sensing danger, how could he be called a perfect man and set an example for his brothers and sisters?
Seeing his silence, the pirate subordinates didn't dare argue further and followed his steps.
Soon, Katakuri passed through the deserted port town. He was certain something was wrong, but couldn't determine what.
"Who could it be? Waiting for me here?" Katakuri thought to himself.
After leaving the town, Kenzan Island's environment became equivalent to vast grassland. Boundless and lush.
At that moment, Katakuri stopped and looked at a pile of rocks in the distance.
On the stone sat a figure. Blond hair, high-top military boots, loose brown overalls, and a tight white short-sleeved shirt that perfectly displayed the elegant muscles beneath. A sword hung at his waist, its workmanship clearly extraordinary. Most importantly, a Marine Justice coat draped over his shoulders.
Examining his epaulettes carefully revealed he was a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral.
That figure was Finn, who'd been waiting here for quite some time.
As a Rear Admiral planning to fight Katakuri here, he'd naturally wanted to avoid involving innocent people. Therefore, he'd dispersed all the town's residents at the start. He'd known that doing this would alert Katakuri something was wrong, but he'd also been certain that given Katakuri's character, he definitely wouldn't back down.
It turned out he was correct.
"Rear Admiral? Who are you?" Katakuri walked slowly toward Finn, asking as he approached.
Simultaneously, his Observation Haki spread out to investigate the surrounding situation, but found no ambush, only this Marine before him.
He felt no fear. In the New World, he'd fought Marines many times. Even Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals weren't his opponents. In that case, how could he fear a Rear Admiral?
"As expected, you won't be scared off by an empty port, Katakuri." Finn smiled brightly, stroking the Sōzai hanging from his waist. After a brief pause, he continued, "Pleased to meet you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rodriguez Finn, Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral."
"Charlotte Katakuri," Katakuri replied.
To some extent, he still gave Finn a measure of respect.
Simultaneously, his figure approached Finn until only three or four meters separated them.
"So, what are you doing here?" Katakuri asked quietly.
Finn grinned, looking at Katakuri. "I'm here on Marine Headquarters' orders to invite you back as a guest."
Katakuri's eyes flashed with disdain. "Just you? A mere Rear Admiral?"
"Just me." Finn nodded seriously.
After he finished speaking, Katakuri said nothing more, and Finn didn't speak again either. They simply stared at each other in silence, the atmosphere growing heavy and tense.
Though Katakuri felt this small Rear Admiral was somewhat arrogant, he wasn't a conceited person. If something seemed suspicious, something suspicious was happening.
He tried recalling the name Finn in his mind, but had no impression. After all, Finn rarely took action. Almost none of his information had been leaked.
Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking. No matter what conspiracies or tricks existed, in the end, everything came down to strength.
A breeze blew across the grassland, brushing the faces of Katakuri and Finn. At that moment, Katakuri moved.
With a sudden punch, packed with Armament Haki's power, he struck directly at Finn's head.
Simultaneously, Finn moved. He didn't draw his sword from its sheath. Instead, the sheath wrapped in dark Armament Haki stabbed toward Katakuri.
The scabbard hit Katakuri's fist with precision. Powerful force arrived instantly. The stone Finn had been sitting on shattered directly, his feet landing on the ground, standing firmly on the grass.
Though Katakuri was extremely powerful, Finn proved no less formidable.
The first clash between them erupted.
Understanding flickered in Katakuri's eyes. In this exchange, true strength couldn't be hidden. No wonder the Rear Admiral before him dared block his path. He was genuinely powerful!
After breaking through his body's limits several times, Finn was very clear his own strength was considerable. At this moment, he felt no difficulty withstanding Katakuri's punches.
"Mere brute force isn't enough!" Katakuri suddenly said.
As the words fell, his fist against Finn's scabbard suddenly changed. The Armament Haki suddenly disappeared, the original hardness completely vanishing. His massive fist transformed directly into thick mochi, wrapping around Finn's scabbard with signs of continuing to engulf it.
Simultaneously, Finn changed moves, pulling back his hand. The scabbard and blade separated directly. The scabbard remained absorbed by Katakuri's ability, but the sharp blade had already been unsheathed, bringing with it a hint of cold light.
"Of course it's not enough..." Finn responded, twisting his waist, turning on the spot. Simultaneously, he slashed out with the sword in his hand.
"Gravity Blade: Tiger Bite!"
As Finn's blade unsheathed, Katakuri felt a massive change in the Rear Admiral's aura before him. After the sword slashed out, that aura condensed as if substantial, like a tiger pouncing.
"This is..." Surprise flickered in Katakuri's eyes.
The next second, brutal gravity with slashing force struck his waist and abdomen directly. In such a rushed moment, he couldn't resist this force at all. Katakuri's tall figure was blown away by the strike.
The low-key, exquisite scabbard of Sōzai flipped several times in the air, fell to the ground, and stood upright.
Katakuri knelt on one knee, releasing all the brutal strength from his body.
Unlike before, this time he looked at Finn in the distance with utterly serious eyes, holding the Sōzai.
Finn grinned. "Katakuri, be serious and don't let me down. I've been looking forward to this day for a long time."
The seriousness in Katakuri's eyes slowly faded as he stood up calmly. Though he'd taken Finn's attack head-on, even though he'd been somewhat careless, he'd still used Armament Haki to defend himself at the most critical moment. He wasn't truly injured, merely felt slightly embarrassed.
"Interesting. Even with the Charlotte family's intelligence capabilities, we didn't notice there was a master like you in the Marines. Was that ability gravity?" Katakuri looked at Finn questioningly.
"Maybe it's because I rarely take action? You're correct. It's gravity." Finn responded with a smile.
At this moment, Finn was also speculating internally that, judging from the current situation, Katakuri's Observation Haki shouldn't be profound enough to foresee the future yet.
But this was reasonable. He was only twenty-three years old, still in his developmental stage. If he'd awakened the ability to foresee the future now, wouldn't that be excessive?
"It seems you're an opponent worth my time," Katakuri said quietly, his voice steady but edged with tension. "I hope you won't disappoint me."
"Though I should return those words to you… I hope you won't disappoint me either." Finn answered.
As they spoke, Katakuri right arm began to shift, mochi rippling and twisting until a trident formed from his body. He caught it effortlessly, the weapon settling into his grasp as if it had always been there.
The trident in his hand spun twice. Armament Haki instantly wrapped around it. The next second, Katakuri suddenly exerted force with his feet, his figure rushing directly before Finn.
Finn seemed to have anticipated this. The Sōzai in his hand also displayed Armament Haki, slashing at the descending trident.
Two powerful Armament Haki collided instantly. The brutal Haki collision stirred turbulent airflow that spread outward from both fighters.
This was the first time Finn had created such a commotion, and it also made him realize his Armament Haki was actually quite powerful!
The grass beneath their feet flattened in a perfect circle, debris and dust swirling upward. Both fighters' eyes locked onto each other, neither giving ground.
"Not bad," Katakuri acknowledged, a hint of genuine interest entering his voice. "You're stronger than most Vice Admirals I've fought."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Finn's grin widened. "But we're just getting started."
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