Just as Katakuri composed himself to speak, he saw it.
He saw the young man standing opposite raise his hand toward him.
Katakuri's body tensed as red light flashed in his eyes before his expression froze.
"Beco my son... subordinate!"
The words echoed through the air.
Katakuri's expression shifted through various emotions, finding the situation absurd.
Behind Cyrus, Robin pressed her hand to her forehead with a speechless expression.
'Even if you want to recruit soone, you should at least put so effort into it. Who in their right mind would say sothing like that right off the bat?'
"Any problem?" Cyrus withdrew his hand and watched Katakuri's barely-contained expression.
While questioning, Cyrus's hand had already settled on his sword hilt.
Everyone was speechless.
When Whitebeard said those words, they worked fine because he'd collected so many sons, so why didn't it work for him?
'It seems I need to beat them up first. That makes sense! When Whitebeard told Ace to beco his son, Ace resisted, got thoroughly beaten by Whitebeard for a long ti, and finally beca Whitebeard's son.'
Understanding flashed across Cyrus's face before he nodded, and the hand on his sword applied pressure as the sound of the blade scraping the sheath rang out.
Watching Cyrus draw his sword made Katakuri feel numb.
'What's wrong with this guy? Is he going to fight already?'
The pirates and Homie soldiers behind Katakuri assud defensive positions.
After taking a deep breath, Katakuri raised his hand to stop the pirates behind him.
"Mother has sent to invite you to the tea party on Whole Cake Island."
Even sensing that a fight was imminent, Katakuri still stated the purpose of his visit.
"Am I that familiar with Charlotte Linlin?" Cyrus partially drew his blade before seeming to rember sothing, sheathing it again and tossing it to Robin behind him.
"So, is this the start of a battle?" Katakuri thought to himself upon hearing Cyrus's words, though he wouldn't voice it aloud.
If there was any possibility of reconciliation, Katakuri didn't want to give up.
"So, what do you think of my proposal?" Cyrus asked again, his tone not serious but rather casual.
"Please don't joke about this, sir," Katakuri replied with a grave tone.
He was alert, because a faint pressure was emanating from Cyrus and growing stronger.
Boom!
Under this pressure, Katakuri couldn't hold back, and his Conqueror's Haki erupted violently.
"This person also has such potential?" Issho was surprised after noticing the burst of Conqueror's Haki from Katakuri.
"Many people possess Conqueror's Haki, though most never awaken it because this ability is most easily triggered when one is still weak." Cyrus explained without turning his head before releasing his own Conqueror's Haki.
A clash of Conqueror's Haki erupted between the two ships as black lightning sparks burst forth.
Upon contact, the black lightning surged toward Katakuri's direction, and cracks began to appear on the Dessert Pirate Ship beneath his feet.
His Conqueror's Haki was being suppressed.
Although he had anticipated it, when it happened Katakuri was still inwardly shaken.
A trident erged from his hand as his arm stretched like dough to expel the long weapon.
Mogura was the na of Katakuri's trident, and normally he stored this weapon inside his arm using his ability.
Just as Mogura appeared in his hand, Cyrus flickered on the bow of the Rose Hunter and appeared before Katakuri.
This wasn't Cyrus's top speed, though to others it seed fast, almost like teleportation, and Cyrus had been watching Katakuri.
Sure enough, the mont he appeared before Katakuri, Katakuri had blocked with Mogura wrapped in Armant Haki.
Bam!
A fist clad in Armant Haki struck the long handle of Mogura, and a trendous force sent Katakuri flying backward to land on the thick mast of the Dessert Pirate Ship.
A cracking sound echoed.
But Katakuri had no ti to care about that, because though he saw it coming, he only had ti to make that slight movent.
Cyrus's extre speed left him with very little reaction ti.
Bam!
Katakuri's mind raced, and just as he steadied himself by gripping Mogura with both hands and holding it horizontally in front of him, his body was sent flying again.
He was flying even faster than before.
Flying backward, Katakuri widened his eyes, gritted his teeth, and dug two furrows into the ship's deck with his feet to send wood splinters flying.
Cyrus waited for him to steady himself again before vanishing once more to deliver another ordinary punch, but this punch was slightly faster than the previous two strikes.
Bam! Bam!
With each of Cyrus's strikes, Katakuri's body slid backward in different directions, making his posture increasingly disheveled.
On the Rose Hunter, Robin and Baby 5 leaned against the railing to watch the scene with puzzled expressions.
"It seems he's testing this person's strength," Issho spoke up to explain when he sensed their confusion.
His Observation Haki could clearly see what was happening.
Katakuri was no match for Cyrus, not even close, but Issho could clearly see those defensive movents made in advance.
'An advanced application of Observation Haki?' Issho speculated internally.
Though his Observation Haki focused on different aspects than Katakuri's, he could still tell it was Observation Haki at work, but this seemingly future-predicting ability appeared sowhat inadequate against Cyrus's faster speed.
Boom!
A different sound from before echoed through the air as Issho raised his hand to block the hilt, using his gravity to redirect and stop the figure that was about to crash into the Rose Hunter's cabin.
Cyrus stood on the battered Dessert Pirate Ship and watched as Katakuri was intercepted by Issho.
His attack speed just now seed excessive, as it had surpassed Katakuri's defensive limits and landed a punch on his chest.
Cyrus had noticed the changes in Katakuri's chest due to his Devil Fruit ability, but the force behind this punch wasn't sothing that could be avoided so easily.
Katakuri knelt on one knee after being stopped by Issho's ability, and the scarf around his neck slipped off.
He pressed a hand against his chest and abdon, his intense pain causing him to furrow his brow since he was incapable of fighting back.
His Devil Fruit ability couldn't be activated at such speed, and when he tried to use it to evade the final punch, the ability had just activated when the blow already landed.
It was unavoidable.
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