On the sea, a giant white cloud was speeding towards Whole Cake Island, and on it sat a formidable woman, none other than Linlin.
Linlin's face was somewhat gloomy, and her mood was far from pleasant. Since becoming an Emperor, she hadn't been provoked like this in a long time.
Even if her opponent was an Admiral.
"Fish-Man Island... Jinbe, how did he find that kid as a backer?"
Rumble!
Thunder boomed as Linlin returned to Whole Cake Island at an astonishing speed.
Purururu...
The Den Den Mushi rang.
Linlin, with a terrifyingly dark expression, stared intently. She had already made up her mind that if nothing of monumental importance had happened, the person who called her at this moment would definitely have fifty years of their lifespan extracted.
"It's bad, Mama! That Admiral brought a Marine... and attacked Whole Cake Island!"
"!!!"
Linlin was first stunned by the news, then a terrifying aura emanated from her, transforming into a violent Haki that shook the sea, causing colossal waves.
"What did you say?! That kid! How dare he? Only brought one Marine?!" Linlin roared in fury.
The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, disregarding his fear, braced himself and answered her question, "Yes... yes, Mama, and that Marine, he seems to be Renji's disciple, and he's fighting evenly with Katakuri."
"What!?"
Linlin was even more shocked upon hearing this. Although Katakuri's strength hadn't reached the level of an Emperor, with his future-seeing Observation Haki, he was already one of the most powerful individuals on the Grand Line.
And a single Marine disciple brought by Renji could actually fight such a figure to a standstill?
"Mamamama!" Linlin laughed, her expression extremely dangerous.
"Where is that Renji now?!"
At the same time, on Whole Cake Island.
Boom! Bang! Boom!
"He actually blocked Katakuri's Grilled Mochi. They say the power of that move is something even Oven can't achieve."
"That Marine's Armament Haki and Observation Haki aren't stronger than Katakuri's. And he hasn't eaten any powerful Devil Fruit. He's gradually falling into a disadvantage."
"But what an astonishing physique is that? After taking so many punches from Katakuri, he can still fight?"
The battle between Miguel and Katakuri had moved from indoors to outdoors. It made sense, how could such a narrow room contain a battle of billion berries bounty-level?
Of course, Miguel had not yet reached the billion-level.
According to Renji's judgment, Miguel's current physique was equivalent to the initial stage of Lv. 7 martial arts, not much different from Katakuri's, but in terms of Haki, the latter was clearly superior.
However, in the past two years, Renji's meticulous guidance to Miguel, even conveying some of the extreme transcendent combat philosophies and techniques to him, allowed Miguel to utilize his abilities beyond ordinary imagination.
For example, if Miguel's numerical value was 7, normally, being able to utilize 5 points of that 7 in combat would already be considered exceptionally gifted. But with Renji's combat philosophies and techniques, Miguel could utilize 6 points or even more of that 7.
Utilizing every one of one's combat methods to the limit—this was the terrifying aspect of the Transcendent skill.
That's why Miguel was able to temporarily fight evenly with an opponent like Katakuri, who possessed advanced Armament Haki and future-seeing Observation Haki, despite having a roughly equivalent physique.
"But... if this continues, you're going to lose, Miguel."
Renji stood on the roof of a strawberry tart cake house, observing the surroundings of the island while also keeping an eye on Miguel's battle.
Bang!
With a powerful blow, Miguel's black elbow strike and Katakuri's giant Mochi punch clashed head-on for the first time in this battle.
"Katakuri!"
"Go, big brother! Take down this presumptuous guy!"
Brulee was also among them, and seeing Katakuri gradually gain the upper hand, her face became joyful.
"As expected of Katakuri, who is called invincible. This Marine is no match."
On the screen, the clash between the black elbow and the black Mochi punch generated a large amount of sparks. The terrifying force of the impact created a convection current, causing the windows of the surrounding buildings to tremble.
However, this head-on clash clearly saw Katakuri, with his stronger Armament Haki, gain a complete advantage.
"Ugh..."
Katakuri's immense power even made Miguel's hardest elbow ache, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
However, he showed no discouragement because of this. His eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Is this what it's like to fight a Haki master? What boss Renji said was indeed true. You... are not invincible."
"What!?"
Hearing this, a vein popped on Katakuri's forehead.
"A guy who's being beaten by me dares to spout such nonsense."
"Heh heh, your future-seeing Observation Haki can't be used simultaneously with your advanced Armament Haki, can it?"
Miguel looked confident, he had already grasped the key to victory. Although there was still some distance from Katakuri, the hope of victory was no longer so slim.
Katakuri's pupils involuntarily contracted. Within the short battle, his Haki weakness was exposed.
How could this man's combat awareness be so sharp? Was that guy the one who taught him?
"So what? It's enough to deal with you!" Katakuri roared, and powerful Conqueror's Haki emanated from his body.
At the same time, his Devil Fruit ability also began to undergo a qualitative change. The ground, rocks, buildings—all surrounding objects began to be assimilated by Katakuri into sticky, resilient mochi.
That was the ability known as Devil Fruit Awakening.
Is he going all out now?
Renji stood on the rooftop, his gaze sweeping towards the azure seaside.
On the endless horizon, a black dot was rapidly approaching.
He's finally here, is he!
Renji's lips curved into a smirk, and the next moment, his figure vanished.
"Cracker-sama! Watch out behind you!"
Prompted by the others, Cracker suddenly realized that a figure had appeared behind him at some unknown point.
"Listen to me." Renji said nothing more, simply placing his hand on Cracker's shoulder.
A simple action, yet it instantly made Cracker feel as if he had fallen into a cold abyss. He, who was known as one of the Sweet Commanders, was suppressed by an inexplicable Haki in front of Renji, unable to muster the slightest courage to fight.
"Next, I will disappear for a while, but if I find any one of you interfering in Miguel's battle..."
A strange light flickered in Renji's azure eyes. As his hand pressed down on Cracker's shoulder, with a "Boom!" sound, only a pitch-black crater remained where Cracker had been.
"This is the consequence."