One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 25 Are you alright?

After much pleading and the lure of donuts, Katakuri was finally persuaded to start training the next day. Katakuri didn't give Yu any rest, waiting outside her room early to wake her.

Just as I was about to knock, the door opened with a "snap" from the inside.

"Morning!"

Yu, dressed neatly with her ponytail tied high, appeared in front of Katakuri and greeted him warmly, regardless of why he was in front of her door.

Katakuri was surprised that Yu was so punctual. He responded with a slightly embarrassed "hmm" and turned to go downstairs.

The two ate breakfast facing each other in the restaurant. You sensed that the person in front of her was in a slightly bad mood that morning, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. "The early bird catches the worm. Don't look so grumpy in the morning, it'll make you look ugly."

Katakuri indicated he didn't want to speak, saying, "No."

"Fine~ If you say no, then no." He took a sip of milk. "Oh my, I wonder who has such power to make Katakuri a little upset first thing in the morning, tsk tsk tsk."

"If you eat properly and keep your mouth shut now, I might consider letting you have some water later."

"..." Yu said, "I can't beat you, but I'll listen to you."

Seeing Yu's frustrated little expression, Katakuri's "little mood" also subsided. All I can say is, he was in a good mood.

Yu remained silent, and breakfast was quickly finished. Katakuri led Yu to the back of Wheat Island, away from the center.

There are two other people here—Smoothie and Cracker.

"Karn, why didn't you mention your younger siblings were there too!"

Katakuri knew what she was thinking, so he didn't explain further. He led Yu over and briefly explained that the two of them would fight Yu. He emphasized that they must take it very seriously, as if they were facing an enemy.

Yu was on the verge of tears. What happened to the promise of going easy on me? You really did go easy on me, giving me an entire ocean to fight over. Now you let your younger siblings bully me. What have I done to deserve having two of the Big Mom Pirates' strongest fighters, the Three Sweet Commanders, spar with me? Waaaaah, this is outrageous! This is too much!

"So, is it a bit... unfair that there are two against one?"

"Smoothie and I have something else to discuss. You and Cracker practice. Practice well!"

Katakuri spoke earnestly, then walked away side by side with Smoothie, leaving Yu alone with Cracker—the middle-aged biscuit warrior with a long beard—staring at each other.

The biscuit-carrying figure looked down at You without saying a word or making any further moves.

"You... are Katakuri's biscuit... younger brother?" As she spoke, she rested her chin on her hand and moved closer to the biscuit, wanting to examine it, since this biscuit younger brother smelled quite good.

"..." Cracker stood still, his eyes following Yu's movements, his expression blank.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were his father, except you're a bit ugly." After circling around, he returned to the biscuit and came to a meaningless conclusion.

"Huh? Are you still going to fight or not?"

"Can we not fight?" Since Katakuri is gone, and he doesn't want to fight, his brother can't force him to, right?

"No, Katakuri's only task for me today is to show my full strength and spar with you."

Seriously?! That's ruthless! Does Katakuri have to go this far?!

While feeling sad and wanting to curse Katakuri, Cracker didn't give Yu time and swung his longsword at the spot where Yu was standing.

"You! You attacked me from behind!"

But after that brief moment of reflection, Yu quickly got into the zone. After all, Katakuri had specifically chosen three Sweet Commanders for him to practice with; such a good opportunity didn't come around often.

Yu has basic physical skills, but his practical combat experience is relatively lacking. He can't compare to Katakuri's or Cracker's practical combat experience.

The biscuit is large, and although its movements are slower than Youyou's, its defensive capabilities are extremely high.

Yu tried to attack Biscuit's body several times with the vine whip, but all his attempts were blocked and he couldn't hurt Biscuit at all.

Ordinary cookies are crisp and crumble easily. But this one is different. Yu felt its hardness was constantly changing; sometimes the whip would sink in, and sometimes it would bounce back straight out. Yu wanted to use her fist to gauge the situation, but she was afraid of pain, so the two remained locked in a stalemate.

Yu was unable to damage the surface of the biscuit. Although each attack from the biscuit was powerful, Yu skillfully deflected and dodged them, or used his vine whip to entangle it and help him delay the attack.

Yu never imagined that the cookies she ate so often would one day put her in such a passive position. She vowed never to eat cookies again, no matter how delicious they were placed in front of her! She'd just leave them there, and even if they got soggy, she absolutely wouldn't eat them!

潮？

By the way, cookies soften when they get wet, so they can damage him. Whether or not that happens, at least he won't be so hard anymore!

Yu dodged the biscuit's attacks, gradually luring it closer to the sea, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Seeing that the distance was about right, he leaped into the sea and, imitating the Fishman Karate, gathered water in his hands and launched it out.

Yu can control seawater, though not over large areas yet, but small amounts are no problem for her. She learned Fish-Man Karate from books about Fish-Men when she was bored; although it's only a basic understanding, combined with her special abilities, it's quite effective.

Cracker hadn't expected Yu to lure him to the beach and pull this stunt. By the time he realized what was happening, most of the cookies on his body were already soaked.

Yu gave him no chance to catch his breath, controlling the vines to restrain Cracker's limbs, and wielding the vine whip to unleash her swordsmanship.

The cookies fell to the ground under the attack, shattering into pieces.

!!!

Are you alright?