Satchels Maffey, a member of the God's Knights.
Despite appearing to be only in her thirties or forties, this individual had actually been a God's Knights' member during the tenure of the previous God's Knights' Commander, Shamrock's father, Garling.
Like Gunko, she participated in the God Valley Incident thirty-eight years ago and even snatched the infant Shamrock from Dragon's hands.
To be precise, Shamrock, Shanks' twin brother, should be the youngest in age among the current God's Knights.
Not just Maffey… in fact, any God's Knight, upon obtaining their qualification, is granted an 'ageless and immortal' body by Imu. These individuals have maintained their appearances for decades... even a century.
Barring accidents, Shamrock would also maintain his current prime form indefinitely, unchanged even after his brother Shanks dies of old age.
Time and life are, to them, inexhaustible resources.
While the battle between Karin, Sasuke, and the others raged on, Konohamaru's situation was becoming precarious.
Facing the attacks from the God's Blades, he could still rely on the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to maneuver, even defeating several God's Blades.
But this was only because his opponents weren't powerful enough.
Ultimately, Konohamaru had only initially mastered the two basic Haki types. His mastery of the several Forbidden Jutsu could be described as able to perform them, but limited by his current Chakra Reserves and proficiency, their power was somewhat lacking.
Once he encountered someone like Jack or other opponents with high vitality or defense, he would easily be at a loss.
For example, now.
A God's Knights' member wearing a ram's skull mask and wielding a scythe easily withstood his [Rasengan Barrage].
When the Rasengan hit the opponent's cloak, it caused no ripple.
In contrast, the other party, with just a few casual swings of his scythe, swept away dozens of Konohamaru's clones around him.
"This one... also not... the real one..."
The Ram-headed God's Knights' member's voice was halting, but the scythe in his hand was swung with great speed.
Soon, most of the clones Konohamaru had released were eliminated.
His main body had also nearly been hit during the earlier attacks.
"Found... it..."
Perhaps the clones' subconscious obstruction made him realize something.
The Ram-headed God's Knights' member suddenly turned his face, staring intently at Konohamaru's main body.
"Damn it..."
Looking at the easily destroyed clones and the enemy getting closer and closer, Konohamaru felt a surge of frustration.
'I still wasn't strong enough.'
Crack!
The scythe was casually snapped by a large hand, and the God's Knights' member was sent flying by a punch, his figure breaking through the deck railing and falling into the sea.
Naruto's gentle voice sounded in front of Konohamaru.
"You've done very well already, Konohamaru."
As he spoke, he pointed to the sea surface nearby.
"You just need to think more broadly."
Seawater.
To a Ninja, seawater is the same as any other water, and at most, it's undrinkable, but performing Ninjutsu, etc., isn't affected.
But for strong individuals on the seas, especially those who have eaten Devil Fruits, seawater is quite lethal.
"Remember the Ninjutsu I taught you?"
Naruto said meaningfully, referring to the one he learned from Zabuza and later passed on to Konohamaru.
"I understand! Naruto Aniki!"
The next moment, numerous Konohamaru clones charged into the water, taking their enemies with them.
Some who reacted in time used Geppo to leap into the air, but more were dragged into the water by Konohamaru's clones.
Konohamaru stood on the water's surface, his hands forming various seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
After over ten seconds of seal formation, Konohamaru finally completed this B-Rank Ninjutsu.
Under normal circumstances, a Ninjutsu with troublesome hand seals, slow speed, and lacking power would definitely not be within Konohamaru's consideration.
But now was different.
Guided by Chakra, the seawater was lifted together, transforming into a massive water dragon that swiftly charged towards the ships.
The Devil Fruit Users covered by it soon fell into a weakened state, losing their combat ability.
Those who weren't Devil Fruit Users tried to destroy the water dragon, but not understanding the operating mechanism of Ninjutsu, they could only watch helplessly as the water, replenished by Konohamaru's Chakra, restored its form and continued to wreak havoc.
Jinbei also followed suit. Floating on the water's surface, he plunged his hands directly into the seawater.
"Fish-Man Jujutsu: Ocean Current Shoulder Throw!"
Seawater, like a high-pressure water cannon, scattered the God's Blades and struck another God's Knight.
Unfortunately, this move failed to take down the other party as well.
At this point, Shamrock, who had been observing the battle, finally made his move. His sword left its sheath, transforming into a three-headed hellhound.
The three-headed dog, named Cerberus, had a massive blade extending from the mouth of each head. Following Shamrock's slash, the three dog heads detached from the sword body and flew towards the opposite side.
On the other side, the battle between Sasuke, Karin, and several God's Knights had also reached a stalemate.
Those God's Knights weren't as powerful as Shamrock, but they also possessed immortal, indestructible bodies.
"Hehe... Useless."
Maffey didn't dodge or evade, taking Sasuke's attack with her body, then immediately slashed at him with her sword.
Sasuke directly manipulated his Susanoo to form transparent armor, blocking this strike. Then the Susanoo's skeletal hand directly grabbed Maffey's figure.
"Strange... ability, but still useless!"
It was clear that Maffey's physical attributes were also extremely formidable. Even caught in the Susanoo's grip, she still had the ability to resist.
Her arms stubbornly propped up the Susanoo's fingers, and then her mouth opened wide, preparing to spew a laser again.
But before she could continue her action, a slash shimmering with black and red lightning suddenly appeared behind her, directly cutting through half of her body.
"Gyaaaaaaah!!"
Strangely enough, Maffey, who had remained expressionless even after being beheaded earlier, now let out such a scream from just one slash.
Behind her, Naruto casually flicked the blood off his blade.
"As expected, only slashes imbued with Conqueror's Haki can truly harm them."
It was the same last time. No matter how he attacked, the God's Knights could recover. Only the advanced Conqueror's Haki Infusion truly managed to kill one of them.
Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke couldn't help but frown.
If only Conqueror's Haki worked, then no matter how they attacked, it would probably be futile.
Before he could say anything, Naruto suddenly turned and swung his blade again.
A stream of light flashed, and the charging three-headed dog's heads were sliced into several segments by Naruto, then dissipated into flame clouds.
In the distance, the long sword in Shamrock's hand slowly returned to its original form.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you've grown stronger again."
Seeing the other destroy his attack more easily than last time, Shamrock showed little concern.
'However, no matter how much stronger you become, it's useless. The moment you came here, the outcome was already decided.'
He raised his head to look at the sky.
Sure enough, large masses of dark clouds had unnoticeably appeared in the sky, enveloping the entire area of Impel Down.
"You stay here, as the 'marker'."
Shamrock turned and ordered Gunko, who clearly understood Shamrock's intention and agreed without any hesitation.
"Yes!"
After saying this, Shamrock leaped into the air, using Geppo to rapidly charge towards Naruto's direction.