Shu! Shu! Shu!
Droplets of water shot forth at bullet speed—crystal clear, yet carrying lethal penetrating power.
Under the storm of needle-like strikes, stone, trees, even soil were riddled with countless tiny holes.
Jiraiya's scalp prickled as he stared at the massive, half-man half-fish warrior.
"This strength… is it like Tsunade's monstrous strength? No… he doesn't even have chakra…"
Pure physical might alone had turned water into bullets deadlier than anything Tsunade or Might Guy could produce.
"Hari Jizō won't work… the piercing force is too strong, even hardened hair won't block it.
Fire Release? I'll have to retreat… but the Hyūga clan head is about to be killed…"
Jiraiya clenched his teeth.
"No choice. Orochimaru!!!"
Orochimaru, beset by swirling sand, sneered as he countered.
"You dead last… you can't handle even one enemy?"
Jiraiya's face twisted. He could hold against the fish-man's onslaught—but Hyūga Hiashi was being beaten to death. Surrounded, pummeled relentlessly, his vaunted Gentle Fist shattered uselessly against bodies immune to tenketsu strikes. Only Kaiten barely kept him alive, and even that cracked under blackened fists.
Though he mocked, Orochimaru still moved. With a flick of his sleeve, dozens of snakes shot at Jinbe.
"Snakes!?" Jinbe scowled, punching them away in a spray of scales and venom.
Jiraiya seized the opening, slammed his palms to the earth.
"Doton – Yomi Numa! (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!)"
The ground liquefied into a mire, sucking at pirates' legs, trapping dozens instantly.
"Clan Head Hyūga, this way!" Jiraiya shouted.
Hiashi stumbled forward, face swollen, nose broken, three teeth missing, his voice cracking like a child's.
"Jiraiya-sama, save me!"
Jiraiya's lips twitched but he didn't mock him. He had seen it—these monsters weren't human. Gentle Fist, Hakke Kūshō, even Kaiten—all useless. Their bodies tanked everything.
"Bunta! Now!" Jiraiya roared.
Gamabunta grumbled even as he opened his maw. "Jiraiya, honestly… you humans taste terrible."
With a lash of his tongue, he swallowed Jiraiya and Hiashi whole.
A few more flicks, and he gulped down the battered Akimichi Chōza and the restrained Nara Shikaku.
"Not so fast!!!" Jinbe bellowed. He couldn't let them escape. If he failed here, his dream of bringing Fish-Men back to the surface would collapse.
"Gosenmai Gunjū! (Gun Wave: Torrential Rain!)"
Streams of water rained like bullets at Gamabunta.
"OROCHIMARU!!!" Jiraiya shouted desperately.
But Orochimaru was engulfed in Crocodile's sandstorm, buried under the suffocating tide.
"Kukuku… perfect." Orochimaru's rasp drifted from within. His body collapsed into a writhing white serpent, slithering at blinding speed, wriggling free.
Then—
"ROOM!"
Law's blade glinted.
Shu!
Orochimaru's head flew, his eyes wide with shock. Even as it rolled, he still hadn't processed what had happened.
"Impossible…" Jiraiya whispered, staring at the decapitated body.
"GYAAH!" Gamabunta screamed, Jinbe's rain of water-bullets tearing into his flesh. "Jiraiya! I'm leaving!!"
Before Jiraiya could reply, poof! Gamabunta vanished, dismissed back to Mount Myōboku.
In that last instant, inside the toad's maw, Jiraiya locked eyes with a blond youth standing on a giant's shoulder. A golden-haired figure, arms crossed, a great scroll across his back—smiling faintly.
"...Naruto!?" Jiraiya breathed.
It was him.
"Forgive me, Lord Naruto… I couldn't finish them," Jinbe said, pale-faced.
Naruto smiled faintly.
"It's fine. That man is a powerful shinobi even in my homeland. You don't need to blame yourself."
Jinbe exhaled, relieved. This was his first battle under Naruto's command—he had feared failing his future sovereign. But Naruto was merciful.
From the sands, Crocodile emerged, cigar between his lips, amused.
"Uzumaki Naruto… your homeland's strong. That snake fellow found my weakness quickly."
Indeed—water countered his Suna Suna no Mi. Orochimaru had exploited it instantly.
Law hefted Orochimaru's severed head, voice cool.
"Strong or not, without Haki he's nothing. Lord Naruto, what should I do with him? Shall I finish it?"
Even headless, Orochimaru didn't panic. Instead, his eyes gleamed with fascination.
"What is this power… dissecting a man without harming him? Fascinating! You and I should collaborate. Research! The Uchiha, the Senju, the Hyūga, even Kaguya… don't you want to unlock their bloodlines…?"
"Stop your poisonous words, Orochimaru!"
Naruto leapt from the giant's shoulder, seizing Orochimaru's head in one hand. His voice was calm, but steel-hard.
"You. Did you ally with Konoha?"
(End of Chapter)
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