Chapter 1009: Petrifying Earth, A Desert in the City

Chapter 1009: Chapter 1009: Petrifying Earth, A Desert in the City

"If you’ve got the guts, then come and get it! Barján!"

Crocodile let out a disdainful snort. His lower body dissolved into yellow sand, and his arm extended into a crescent-shaped sand blade several meters long. With a roar, he launched himself forward, slashing directly at Katakuri.

At that moment, red light flickered in Katakuri’s eyes. He caught a glimpse of the future: if he didn’t dodge, the sand blade would strike him, and he would be drained of every drop of moisture in his body in an instant. Even his Mochi-infused body wouldn’t save him, because Mochi was, by nature, moist. Losing that moisture would cause severe, debilitating damage.

"Mochi Thrust!"

Katakuri let out a low growl. His right arm suddenly bulged, forming a massive mass of sticky Mochi that encased his trident. He stepped forward, putting his entire weight into a ferocious, high-speed lunge.

BOOM!

A violent gust of wind erupted, scattering the air. The crescent sand blade shattered in the middle, dissolving into a swirling vortex of yellow sand that filled the sky.

Crocodile moved with fluid grace in mid-air, carving a semicircle to bypass Katakuri’s guard and appear behind him. His golden hook lashed out, stabbing viciously toward Katakuri’s back.

But Katakuri’s Observation Haki was legendary. He pivoted instantly, his trident snapping upward with a crisp, metallic clang as he parried the golden hook.

Simultaneously, Katakuri launched a counter-attack. His right leg morphed into Mochi, elongated with lightning speed, and hardened with Armament Haki, smashing into Crocodile’s midsection.

Crocodile had no time to react. A wave of excruciating pain surged through his gut as he was sent flying back like a dark shadow. He crashed into the ruins of a building dozens of meters away, sending a massive plume of dust billowing into the air.

"A former Seven Warlord... is that all? Compared to him, you’re not even worth mentioning," Katakuri hummed, his calm tone laced with clear disdain. He looked up toward the sky, where flames and lightning still clashed in a chaotic dance.

As the eldest of the Sweet Commanders and the second-in-command of the Big Mom Pirates, a man with a bounty exceeding a billion berries, Katakuri had never known defeat, at least, not until he faced Aeridar.

His ability to foresee the future with his advanced Observation Haki allowed him to dodge any incoming strike or intercept an opponent’s path before they even made their move. Those weaker than him couldn’t last more than a few exchanges. Even against a Marine Admiral or a Yonko, he was a nightmare to handle, for every one of their actions was telegraphed to him long before they struck.

Within the ruins, a patch of sand bubbled up from the ground, rapidly condensing into Crocodile’s form.

"Damn it... so you predicted my move," Crocodile muttered, his face grim. He knelt on the ground, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

An opponent who could see the future and pick apart his every move before he even made it, it was infuriating. No matter what he tried, the man was always one step ahead.

"Hmph. Just some sticky Mochi! Ground Secco!"

Crocodile gritted his teeth and slammed his palm against the earth. He began to rapidly absorb the moisture from everything within reach. Centered on his palm, the ground began to wither and crack, spreading outward until the area turned into a parched, desolate wasteland, and even the stone ruins were ground into fine sand.

In mere moments, the ground had completely desertified. The ruins of the building sank into the sand, and a vast, barren wasteland began to spread rapidly outward.

Suddenly, Katakuri felt the air turn deathly dry. It wasn’t the heat of the fire; it was as if all the moisture had been vacuumed out of the atmosphere. He looked around, alert.

"This is..."

His eyes widened. The earth in front of him had turned into a desert, a patch of sand over thirty or forty meters in diameter that was still aggressively expanding. Within seconds, the ground beneath his own feet gave way, turning into loose, shifting yellow sand.

"What’s going on?"

"Sand? The ground turned into sand!"

"Am I hallucinating? The city... it’s become a desert!"

Soldiers and combatants nearby, who had been locked in mortal combat, faltered as the ground beneath them turned soft and unstable. They looked down to see the cobblestone streets replaced by sand, while surrounding buildings began to crumble and sink into the encroaching dune. The city was being swallowed by an expanding desert over five hundred meters wide.

"Desert Spada!"

A fierce roar echoed from somewhere deep within the sand. Suddenly, the ground beneath Katakuri’s feet erupted, forming a sand blade several meters long and a meter wide, slashing upward to cut him clean in half at the waist.

"Turning the earth into a desert and attacking from below? Are you a mole?"

As Katakuri’s upper body fell, his expression remained perfectly composed, neither pained nor surprised, as if he had already foreseen his body being severed.

Immediately, Katakuri’s falling torso slammed his hand onto the sand. He unleashed his own power, instantly converting the yellow sand into white, sticky Mochi, forcefully seizing control of the territory from Crocodile.

BOOM!

A figure burst out from the sand dozens of meters away, sending a massive spray of grit into the air.

"Devil Fruit Awakening!"

Crocodile looked at Katakuri with a heavy expression. His hair was disheveled, his clothes were tattered, and he looked thoroughly haggard. He knew that an awakened Paramecia-type user could affect the environment, but he never imagined his opponent could rewrite the very nature of his own desert.

"It’s no use."

Katakuri’s body restored itself. He gripped his trident and said in a low voice, "I am stronger than you. You aren’t my match! You should just let Enel..."

He stopped mid-sentence. His expression shifted. Something was wrong.

Where was Enel?

Given that guy’s temper, he should have been the first to jump into the fray, screaming for a fight. Why had twenty minutes passed without a trace of him? Why was he nowhere to be found on the entire battlefield?

"Are you looking down on me?!"

Crocodile erupted with fury. The entire desert began to churn and surge like an angry ocean, responding to his rage. It roared with a thunderous sound, like an army of thousands charging into battle.

"Big Mom! Let’s take this elsewhere!"

Just then, Aeridar’s wild, arrogant voice boomed from the sky, causing Katakuri to instinctively look up.

Rumble—

A sound like muffled thunder filled the air. A dark shadow and a ball of fire streaked across the sky, descending rapidly, trailed by a series of sonic boom clouds.

"That direction is..."

Katakuri’s eyes widened in horror. He watched the shadow and the fireball plummet toward the coastline, directly toward the encampment of the Big Mom Pirates.

"You brat! What do you think you’re doing?!"

Charlotte Linlin roared from the sky, mounting Zeus to give chase, with Prometheus screaming in hot pursuit behind her.

———————

Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]