It was a deserted island with sparse vegetation, few animals, and not a trace of human life.
Islands like this weren't uncommon in the unpredictable climate of the New World, where the seas were treacherous, and even the magnetic fields were completely unstable.
Aokiji had forced them to land here, then swiftly used his Ice-Ice Fruit to freeze their pirate ship solid, wiping out almost everyone aboard in a single move. That alone was enough to show the Marines' stance on this incident.
"You've carved out your own territory as an Emperor of the Sea, so you should've stayed quietly in your own backyard..."
Aokiji stopped across from Katakuri, both hands tucked into the pockets of his white suit pants. Wisps of icy mist drifted from his body as he said, "Instead, you made such a public attack on an important World Government member nation. Are the Big Mom Pirates trying to declare war on us?"
"..." Hidden behind his large scarf, Katakuri's expression was unreadable. His deep voice answered, "If you think you can cut us down... try it."
"If you're bold enough to reach out, you'd better be prepared to lose your hand. Hm?" Aokiji looked a little surprised. Scratching his curly hair, he gave Katakuri another careful look. "So the rumors are true. Your Observation Haki really has reached the point where you can see the future."
"..." Katakuri's muffled voice came through the scarf, sounding slightly gloomy. "That's right."
Just then, Aokiji pulled his hands from his pockets. Frost wrapped around both arms as he said calmly, "Well then... this fight might actually be interesting."
On the frozen deck of the Big Mom Pirates' mochi ship by the shore, Liam had already decided to sit back and enjoy the show. Since two genuine top-tier fighters were about to clash, he figured he'd grab a chair from inside the cabin and watch from up close.
As he turned toward the cabin, he accidentally bumped into one of the many crew members who had been frozen into an ice statue.
Crack!
The man's arm snapped off.
"Oh, sorry."
Liam looked down. The arm hit the frozen deck and shattered into several pieces.
"...Though I guess it's a little late for that."
He casually patted the guy on the shoulder.
Crack...
Half of the frozen body split apart beneath his hand before collapsing with a loud bang, the human-shaped ice sculpture shattering across the deck.
"Well... I don't actually feel that sorry."
Liam strolled into the cabin in search of a chair.
At moments like this, he couldn't help but miss his good buddy B.I.B. If it were here, there'd be no need for him to do the work himself; his Stand could've simply phased through the wall and carried a chair back for him.
"So even the chairs are frozen solid..."
He kicked open a cabin door. Sure enough, everything inside had been frozen by Aokiji.
Liam casually picked up a large, high-backed chair, but then his eyes narrowed as he looked closer at the backrest. Beneath the layer of ice... was a face. It had human-like eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
The residents of Totto Land paid part of their souls to Big Mom in exchange for the protection of her flag. Big Mom used her Soul-Soul Fruit to take a small portion of their lifespan, then turned those stolen lifespans into Homies. Like the chair in Liam's hands, Homies had human-like faces. They could move, talk, and even sing.
Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit had frozen everything inside and outside the ship. But thinking about it carefully... the furniture itself wasn't the Homie. The real Homie was the tiny soul hidden inside, created from the lifespan Big Mom had stolen.
Could freezing ice really kill a soul?
Liam fell into thought. Still holding the chair, a mass of pitch-black energy suddenly appeared in his hand.
Stand energy.
In the world of JoJo, Stand users can see souls. And in a sense, a Stand is the user's soul given form.
Liam was, after all, a genuine Stand User. Even though his Stand wasn't with him at the moment, he could still use Stand energy. His hand, wrapped in a layer of pitch-black energy, reached toward the frozen face on the chair's backrest…
With a single grab, he tore a small soul out of the chair.
It looked like a tiny black cloud with two white, floating eyes. As it was ripped free, faint cries of pain echoed through the air. At the same time, the human-like face on the back of the chair disappeared completely.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With a flick of his hand, Aokiji launched two icy spears wrapped in freezing air straight at Katakuri.
The two "Partisan" ice spears pierced right through Katakuri's body, but they didn't hit him. Two soft mochi holes were left where the spears passed through, only to close up again a moment later.
"Well, well... Are you actually a Logia too?" Aokiji was surprised by Katakuri's strange ability, which looked almost identical to a Logia's elemental transformation.
Katakuri answered with a kick. His leg stretched out, turning into flowing mochi before crashing toward Aokiji.
Bang!
The kick shattered Aokiji's head.
Crash...
Chunks of ice fell from Aokiji's headless body, only to roll back together and quickly reform his head. The two continued exchanging blows, first testing each other with the basic abilities of their Devil Fruits.
Before long, three more voices from the Charlotte Family called out from behind.
"Big brother Katakuri! We'll help you!"
Charlotte Angel, the seventh daughter, drew her sword and rushed forward.
Aokiji transformed into living ice, surrounded by freezing mist, and lunged to embrace Katakuri. Katakuri's body melted into a stream of mochi and shot into the sky, landing several meters away before reshaping into human form.
As he turned around, he saw his younger brother Mont-d'Or flying over on two flapping books.
Mont-d'Or said grimly, "Big Brother Katakuri, this isn't the time for a proper duel! We have to deal with this Marine quickly and return to Totto Land with the sweets! Otherwise, Mother's eating disorder..."
A flash of red crossed Katakuri's eyes. "Don't come any closer!"
Charlotte Castard, the sixth daughter, looked stunned. She watched Katakuri grab his trident, Mogura, and swing it toward her and her twin sister Angel.
Bang!
The two sisters cried out as they were knocked flying.
Mont-d'Or, still airborne on his books, was about to ask why, when a dazzling blue slash swept past, barely missing the tip of his nose.
Boom!
A massive flying slash came from a distance, carving a deep trench into the ground between Katakuri and his three siblings, separating them completely.
A few strands of Mont-d'Or's hair drifted through the air. Even one corner of the book beneath his feet had been sliced clean off. Cold sweat ran down his face. If Katakuri hadn't shouted that warning just now, the three of them would have taken that slash head-on.
After being knocked back by Katakuri, the twin sisters immediately understood why once they saw the enormous trench separating them from their older brother.
"Giorno Giovanna..."
They all turned toward their frozen ship by the shore. Standing at the rail was Giorno, just lowering one leg after delivering that attack.
I've seen Rankyaku before, but never anything like that! Mont-d'Or roared inwardly. That's not Rankyaku anymore, that's a swordsman's flying slash!
Liam cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "Hey! Could you not interfere with their fight?"
"..." Katakuri narrowed his eyes.
From across the distance, he watched Giorno's hand pull something out of the frozen ship.
A black mass... A Homie... from inside the Mochi Ship?!
Pitch-black Stand energy swirled around Liam's hand as he gripped the poor Homie's wandering soul. Then... he squeezed.
The soul burst apart into countless black fragments. As it faded away, a faint smile of relief seemed to appear on the Homie's face.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395