Chapter 49

"Captain…" Enel said in shock, staring at the water around them, which was slowly turning into mochi.

"I didn't know awakened Devil Fruits could transform water into their element," Kong said, his eyes fixed on the shifting sea. This was Katakuri's doing. When a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit is awakened, it grants the user the ability to alter their surroundings, typically the land, into their own element. In Katakuri's case, he could turn the terrain into mochi and manipulate it freely.

"Be extra careful. I didn't know Katakuri had awakened his Devil Fruit," Kong said softly. Enel nodded, his eyes fixed on the mochi rushing toward them like a tidal wave.

He raised his palm, unleashing a massive lightning beam that clashed with the mochi, forcing it back. As the smoke cleared, they caught sight of Katakuri, and the other Sweet Commanders. Only the three strongest had come: Katakuri in the lead, followed by Smoothie, and then Cracker.

The mochi continued to surge toward them. Smoothie, sword in hand, stepped forward and pulled her blade back before unleashing a powerful slash aimed straight at the ship. Kong didn't need to act—Zed rocketed into the sky, his massive fist colliding with the sword slash and dispersing it. Meanwhile, Enel countered the oncoming wave of mochi with another burst of lightning.

"I guess I'll fight the girl," Zed said with a sigh, glancing toward Ain and Binz. The two had grown stronger—still in need of polish, but now capable of wielding Haki. Zed wanted to test them against Cracker. Could they win? He believed so. Why? Because Ain's and Binz's Devil Fruits, when combined, might just give them the edge. And even if they couldn't win… Kong was watching.

"Ma ma ma ma!" Big Mom made her appearance, riding atop a cloud with what seemed to be a sun floating beside her. Her eyes burned with fury, and seeing that, Kong smirked. He locked eyes with the Emperor—this was one of the Four Emperors? She didn't look like what he imagined. He expected an emperor to look powerful, not… fat. Shrugging off the thought, he jumped off the ship, rocketing straight toward Big Mom.

"You little brat!" Big Mom roared in rage. Without hesitation, she grabbed the sun beside her, which erupted into flames, sending a torrent of fire down toward Kong. Laughing, Kong drew his sword and infused it with both Armament Haki and Conqueror Haki.

Boom

Big Mom hadn't expected it—Kong's blade surged forward, crackling with both Armament and Conqueror Haki. The raging force behind it cut through her flames like they were nothing, snuffing them out as if blown away by a storm. Her eyes widened in surprise, just before the sword closed in.

At the last second, she raised her other arm, coating it in Armament Haki to block the strike. The impact rang out like thunder, forcing her massive frame off the cloud she stood on. She flipped mid-air with surprising agility, landing heavily on her feet far below. The ground cracked beneath her as she slid back, her heels digging trenches into the earth for hundreds of meters before she finally came to a halt.

"You!" Big Mom immediately stopped underestimating Kong. Only a rare few in the world had the skill to infuse Conqueror Haki into their attacks… and of course, she was one of them.

Her lightning cloud floated beside her, now swirling into a violent storm as she jumped onto it. Her hat morphed into a sword, which she gripped tightly, while the sun descended, settling atop her head and igniting her hair into blazing fire.

"Come at me, ugly," Kong said, waving her forward. Enraged, Big Mom burst ahead—and Kong did the same.

Their clash shook the air, creating a shockwave so massive that Katakuri and the others were forced to retreat. They were powerful in their own right, but even they knew better than to linger near a battlefield of that scale—it would be suicide.

Coming to an unspoken agreement, Enel and the rest moved their fight to another island. There, Enel faced off against Katakuri. Lightning crackled through the sky, dense and chaotic, as Katakuri weaved through it all, avoiding every bolt while clashing head-on with Enel, who now wielded a golden trident.

Enel formed mochi donuts mid-air, and from them, a large arm extended, coated in Armament Haki.

The funny thing was—Katakuri had better mastery over his body than even Kong. Sure, Kong had his cheat, but had he ever needed to get this creative? The most inventive he'd gotten was when he grew extra limbs, and even then, Kong rarely did such a thing.

Katakuri, on the other hand? He compressed his arm, forcing it into a square-like shape. That single act caused his attack power to skyrocket, catching Enel completely off guard. Katakuri hadn't shown this level of control over his devil fruit during their last battle.

Boom

Enel's lightning-covered fist clashed with Katakuri's boxed punch, and the impact sent Enel flying backward. Even with the power of his Devil Fruit, he couldn't keep up with Katakuri's creativity. Still, he didn't care. While recovering, Kong had shared countless ways people could use lightning in battle. Enel could tell just how much Kong envied his fruit.

But even putting the Rumble-Rumble no Mi aside, Enel knew he had to master Armament Haki and sharpen his Observation Haki. And when was a better time to improve than in the heat of battle?

His body shifted into lightning just in time to avoid a trident aimed at his stomach. He reformed instantly, clashing with Katakuri's follow-up attack—but Katakuri's future sight still outclassed his own. A well-timed kick slammed into Enel's gut, launching him across the battlefield before he once again turned into lightning to avoid the incoming trident strike.

Enel was losing—for now. But as the battle dragged on, his Haki continued to grow stronger, along with his fusion of Armament Haki and lightning.

Elsewhere on the island, Zed stood watching Katakuri's fight with a look of approval. Even though Katakuri wielded an awakened devil fruit, Zed was confident he could still defeat him. The only real obstacle was Katakuri's ability to see the future.

He shifted his gaze toward Ain and Binz, who were locked in combat with Cracker. They were evenly matched, though if the battle dragged out… they might lose.

"Focus, old man!" Smoothie shouted, her sword cutting down toward Zed. He dodged swiftly, turning to face her with narrowed eyes. If there was ever a time to awaken future sight, it was now—right in the heat of battle…

"How annoying!" Cracker said in frustration as another one of his biscuit soldiers crumbled to dust under the effects of Ain's Devil Fruit. Cracker had eaten the Bisu Bisu no Mi, a Paramecia-type fruit that allowed him to create and manipulate biscuits at will.

He could create biscuits with a simple clap of his hands. Not only could he summon whole biscuits, but he could also crumble them into super-fine dust, and reshape them into anything. The biscuits he created were incredibly durable, something Ain and Binz quickly realized when they tried to destroy one of the soldiers born from Cracker's Devil Fruit.

However, Ain's Devil Fruit allowed her to reverse time on the biscuits, effectively bypassing their durability. The best part was that Cracker could only infuse Armament Haki into the soldiers that were near him—so most of the biscuits they faced lacked Haki reinforcement, leaving them completely vulnerable to her ability.

Binz, on the other hand, darted around the battlefield at high speed, causing plant life to erupt from the ground and wrap around the massive army of biscuit soldiers charging at them.

Cracker kept his distance, avoiding close combat altogether. He didn't know the exact nature or limitations of Ain's Devil Fruit, but he had heard of abilities that could manipulate a person's age regardless of their strength. Not wanting to take any chances, he vanished into the ranks of his biscuit soldiers.

Binz's job was simple: slow down the biscuit soldiers long enough for Ain to use her Devil Fruit on them. But for both of them, this was more than just a battle, it was training. Binz was pushing his powers to their limit, not just commanding plants to grow, but forcing them to grow strong and fast enough to restrain Cracker's durable creations.

Meanwhile, Ain had to work fast, using her Devil Fruit non-stop to affect as many soldiers as possible. At the same time, she had to stay alert, constantly dodging attacks while scanning the battlefield, trying to spot the real Cracker hidden among the fakes.

As for the rest of the crew, they stood back, silently watching their elites in action.