A flicker of excitement flashed deep in Daren's eyes. His expression lit up as he laughed loudly, eyes gleaming.
"You actually trained your Observation Haki to the level of future sight?! Hahaha! At your age... you really are the Charlotte family's greatest masterpiece!"
Katakuri froze, his pupils narrowing.
Seeing the unabashed excitement on Daren's face, a strange chill ran down his spine.
This lunatic!
Most people would be shocked—or at least cautious—when their opponent pulled out an ability this powerful.
But this guy?
He was getting fired up?!
"In that case, I won't hold back!!"
Daren grinned wickedly and stepped forward. Inhuman strength surged from his legs, channeled up through his tense spine as he launched a thunderous punch.
His eyes were razor-sharp, his mind and body in complete harmony.
A serious blow!
The air cracked with a sharp boom as the blackened fist surged forward, expanding rapidly in Katakuri's vision at an unimaginable speed.
Something's wrong!
As the punch came at him, Katakuri felt everything around him recede like a tide, vanishing from his senses.
Every hair on his body stood on end. That punch—it carried a bizarre and overwhelming pressure, the kind that felt like it could pulverize even a towering mountain!
He immediately activated his future-sight Observation Haki. Crimson glints flickered deep within his gaze.
But what he saw left him reeling.
In dozens of fleeting glimpses into the future... he couldn't avoid it.
There was no way to dodge!
What the hell kind of attack is this?! He's completely locked onto my aura!
Katakuri roared in his mind, then made a split-second decision. Determination flared in his eyes.
His arm ballooned into a massive mochi blob, reshaping into thick strips of rice cake. He met Daren's punch head-on with a thunderous strike!
"Kaku Mochi!"
Black-and-red Armament Haki flared across the mochi fist, crackling like lightning as the two forces collided with terrifying impact.
BOOM!!
A powerful shockwave erupted outward from their clash, tearing up the land and hurling building debris in every direction.
Katakuri let out a muffled grunt. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he was blown back dozens of meters.
While airborne, he quickly regained control of his body. His "melted" face returned to normal, and with a flick of his right arm—enhanced by his powers—it morphed into a massive machine gun.
Armament Haki coated the weapon. It spun rapidly, unleashing a storm of Haki-infused mochi bullets that rained down on Daren.
"Musō Mochi Hadan!"
Daren frowned.
So he's switching tactics—trying to maintain distance now that he's losing in close combat?
In a flash of thought, he understood Katakuri's plan.
He activated both Observation Haki and his magnetic field sensing simultaneously. Cold sparks flickered in his eyes like flashes of blue lightning.
His figure suddenly blurred—his speed so fast it left afterimages in his wake.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
The torrent of mochi bullets tore through the afterimages, pummeling the ground and nearby ruins, leaving behind clusters of cratered holes.
Katakuri's bullets weren't made of metal—they were mochi laced with Haki. Daren couldn't manipulate them with magnetism.
The barrage roared nonstop. Katakuri barely landed safely, arching backward, teeth clenched as he avoided falling flat. The spiked soles of his boots dug two long grooves into the earth.
With a heavy stomp of his right foot, he crushed the ground beneath him, leaving a deep crater and steadying his stance.
He took a sharp breath, and the moment a crimson glow flashed in his eyes, he predicted Daren's future landing point.
Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward and once again transformed his right arm into a massive block of mochi. With a roar—
Shhhk!!
Friction between the compressed mochi and Haki ignited crimson flames.
The blazing mochi arm shot out like a rocket, trailing a fiery tail as it streaked toward its target.
"Yaki Mochi!!"
A bizarre scene played out.
Just as the flaming mochi rocket was about to hit the ground, Daren's figure suddenly appeared—right at the impact point of the Yaki Mochi!
It looked almost too perfect, as if he had deliberately stepped into the strike zone to "receive" Katakuri's attack.
If it weren't for the brief flash of surprise and confusion on Daren's face, anyone watching might've thought the whole thing had been choreographed.
"He can see the future!"
With the blazing rocket just inches away, that thought shot through Daren's mind.
This was the terror of future sight!
Predicting an opponent's moves in advance left no time to react—it was completely disorienting!
Every hair on his body stood on end, but a fierce gleam lit up in Daren's eyes.
His thoughts didn't have time to catch up, but years of battlefield experience kicked in instinctively.
He dropped into the opening stance of Ryusoken.
Three fingers formed the dragon claw, slicing through the air with a visible white ripple as he lashed out toward the searing Yaki Mochi!
BOOM!!
The immense force sent Daren sliding back over ten meters. He stayed upright, crashing straight through two buildings.
"I told you—this kind of heat won't work!"
Daren tilted his head back and let out a savage grin. Armament Haki burst from his dragon claw in a second wave of impact!
The burning mochi in front of him instantly exploded into a sky full of flaming fragments.
Through the swirling smoke, Katakuri's blood-streaked figure charged out, eyes sharp and cold.
His right arm had already regenerated with mochi. Both hands morphed into hardened mochi, wrapped in Haki, extending and stretching out toward Daren like a torrential storm!
"Mochi Ginchaku!!"
Fists flew like a hailstorm, rapid as gunfire, completely filling Daren's field of vision.
At the same time, Katakuri pushed his Observation Haki to the limit, predicting Daren's movements and strike points to maintain pressure.
Daren didn't back down.
He threw his fists forward to meet the onslaught head-on.
Their fists clashed in midair, unleashing deep reverberations and sparking bursts of energy. Rings of compressed air exploded out with every strike.
Under the suppression of future sight, Daren was occasionally struck by Katakuri's more deceptive blows. Yet his body remained unmoved, tanking the hits directly as thin trails of blood slowly crept from the corners of his mouth.
Katakuri's eyes lit up at the sight.
It's working!
This guy's physical power and technique were absurd—he could easily overpower him in raw strength.
But with his Observation Haki, he wasn't entirely outmatched!
What Katakuri failed to notice was...
Behind the dense flurry of fists, the Marine Vice Admiral's lips had curved ever so slightly into a smirk.
Because while he focused intently on dodging and reading Katakuri's attacks,
he could clearly sense a new notification flashing on his "attribute panel"—
Observation Haki +0.03
Observation Haki +0.04
Observation Haki +0.03
Observation...
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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