Recruit Luffy at the start and build the strongest navy.

Pluto was not the largest ship in the world; ships such as Moria's Thriller Bark or Noah's Ark were much larger than Pluto.

The size of Pluto was only a few times that of the Canglan battleship.

But the sense of oppression that Pluto brought was undoubtedly the strongest, and by a huge margin.

Just by looking at its appearance, you can tell that this is a terrifying creation born for war.

After scanning the whole thing, Kyle's gaze fell on its main cannon muzzle, which looked like the gaping maw of an abyss, exuding a suffocating aura.

"This cannon, capable of destroying an island with a single shot, must be what they're talking about, right?"

Kyle murmured something to himself and prepared to get closer to take a look at the legendary warship.

I'll also take a look inside.

Since we're already here, we can't just look at the appearance, can we?

However, at that moment, a chilling voice suddenly rang out from the empty underground.

"Oh? Someone managed to get here without damaging the external structure?"

!!!

Kyle's pupils contracted instantly, and he looked sharply in the direction of the sound.

There were other people here besides him?

Why didn't he sense it just now?!

Kyle's gaze was fixed on a certain direction, where a protruding stone wall blocked the light emitted by the white stones, creating a shadowy area.

A blurry outline slowly emerged from the shadows, and a sound similar to the clattering of wooden clogs echoed continuously in the empty space.

As more of the figure became visible, Kyle's gaze grew increasingly serious.

When the figure's outline became fully visible, Kyle's pupils contracted again, and after an unknown period of time, horror reappeared on his face.

"You...who are you?!?"

……

-

At this time, on the island where Luffy and Katakuri are located.

The battle raged on, with powerful shockwaves spreading outwards from the center of the island almost without pause.

Rumbling--

The explosions were mixed with some muffled roars.

The two figures could be seen flashing back and forth on the ground and in the air, constantly exchanging blows.

After another exchange of blows, both of them were sent flying backward, retreating over a hundred meters before coming to a stop.

"Huff~ Huff~"

Heavy breathing echoed across the field, and both men's bodies heaved violently as they exhaled deep breaths.

Meanwhile, his clothes were tattered, and Katakuri's scarf had disappeared long ago, revealing his jagged mouth.

But at this moment he no longer cared about that. His gaze was fixed on Luffy opposite him, without moving an inch, as if the whole world consisted only of Luffy's figure.

Meanwhile, Luffy on the other side was in the same situation as Katakuri, his attention completely focused on Katakuri, without the slightest distraction.

At this moment, their world consisted only of each other.

Luffy took a deep breath, then exhaled, his gaze fixed on Katakuri opposite him, and said:

"Next, it's the last one!!"

"Mochi Man, I said I'd beat you, and I will!!!"

Katakuri also adjusted his breathing, repeating the same statement as before.

"Let your performance speak for itself!!"

Luffy put his finger to his mouth and bit it hard.

"Fourth gear!"

boom--

In an instant, a white wave of energy spread outwards from Luffy, enveloping his entire figure.

Within this white shockwave, Luffy's figure elongated and grew larger, but only a blurry black outline could be seen during this process; the specific changes were not visible from the outside.

Not long after, another wave of air exploded, the white waves dissipated, revealing Luffy's appearance, and at the same time Luffy's voice rang out.

"Gear Fourth: Snake Man Form!!"

Luffy's size was several times larger than before, but his overall shape was slender and well-proportioned. His limbs were covered in black and red Armament Haki, his black hair stood on end, steam swirled around him, and his eyes were sharp, exuding a fierce aura.

Luffy stared intently at Katakuri, slowly raising his fist as he spoke:

"Are you ready?!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Luffy unleashed a powerful punch.

boom--

The red fist shot out like an arrow, slicing through the air with a whooshing sound, and arrived in front of Katakuri in the blink of an eye.

Katakuri's pupils contracted slightly. He had already "seen" this scene using his Observation Haki, but now that he was actually facing it, he couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart. Fortunately, he was prepared and immediately dodged to the side, avoiding the punch.

Luffy's fist continued its whistling attack, then suddenly veered off course after traveling some distance, changing direction abruptly before turning around again and heading straight for Katakuri.

Katakuri's figure kept flashing across the field, while Luffy's fists relentlessly pursued him.

Seeing that he hadn't gotten rid of Luffy's fist after some time, Katakuri's eyes narrowed, and he immediately turned around, stomping his right foot on the ground to stop himself.

The dough ball wrapped around his arm, forming a shape resembling a cylindrical fist. Then, Armament Haki covered it as well, and he roared:

"Horned rice cake!!"

The fist slammed out!

Since we can't run away, let's fight it out!

WHO is afraid of WHO...

However, the moment their fists made contact, Katakuri's expression suddenly changed.

A terrifying force struck Luffy's fist, sending him flying almost instantly.

That wasn't the end of it. Less than a second after the first punch, Luffy threw another punch at Katakuri.

Katakuri hastily defended himself, and unsurprisingly, he was blasted away again.

And then the fist came down again...

For a time, Katakuri found himself in a passive and defensive position, but as the second-in-command of the Big Mom Pirates, this situation did not last long.

He quickly adjusted, kept "looking" into the future, and dodged Luffy's punches one by one, while rushing towards Luffy at an extremely fast speed.

Seeing this, Luffy showed no fear and continued to launch attacks.

Rumbling--

The two clashed again, and after Luffy knocked Katakuri away once more, he flew into the air and struck a pose.

At the same time, he roared:

"It's time to end this, Mochi Man!!"

"Eyes... King Cobra!!"

The very next second after Luffy shouted, a giant golden cobra seemed to appear behind him, roaring at Katakuri, and then darted out at an extremely fast speed.

It looked as if a real King Cobra was attacking.

Katakuri: !!!

-

Wishing all my dear readers a happy Lunar New Year's Eve, good health, and all the best!