"Sonic Boom!"
Electricity crackled as the kanabo was swung.
A 'staff wave' akin to a slash shot out from the tip of Takeru, hurtling toward Orochimaru.
"Kukuku…"
Facing the astonishingly powerful attack, Orochimaru simply shifted his position casually, brandishing the soft 'cloth' in his hand, causing it to ripple out in overlapping layers.
Thud!
The Sonic Boom struck the first layer of cloth, producing a metallic clanging sound.
That layer of cloth didn't hold for even an instant before being pierced.
But behind it were many more layers of equally hard 'cloth'. After being weakened layer by layer, the wave had lost most of its power by the time it reached Orochimaru.
"A straightforward attack, but the power is truly impressive."
The two opponents didn't know, but Orochimaru knew his own business.
Those things that looked like cloth were actually alloys with terrifying levels of toughness.
'These sea warriors are truly unreasonable in their strength…'
'Those alloys were used as armor plates for warships, and they might not even be pierced by a cannonball.'
'Yet, before this guy's casual strike, these alloy plates could only block it by continuously using layers to weaken it.'
'However—'
The corner of Orochimaru's mouth, hidden by his cloak, curled up.
'The stronger, the better.'
He lightly tapped the ground with his scaly foot, and instantly, the floor tiles of the entire castle came to life, undulating like waves.
"Tch! So many strange tricks!"
Yamato leaped into the air, adjusting her balance mid-flight.
The ground beneath her feet had silently transformed into spikes.
Fortunately, during the earlier climb, Yamato had mastered the ability of brief flight. Using Flame Clouds as footholds, she successfully flew into mid-air.
"Hey, are you okay—"
When she turned back to look at Sasuke, she was surprised to find that he seemed completely unaffected by the distorted ground, charging toward Orochimaru as if walking on flat land.
It must be said, the effect of Chakra adhesion is just too suitable for naval battles.
Whether it's a rocking ship or accidentally falling into the water, as long as you can attach Chakra to the soles of your feet, it's no longer a problem.
It was the same in this situation… Orochimaru's terrain traps couldn't hinder Sasuke's steps at all.
In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was in front of Orochimaru, his sword drawn.
"Uchiha-Style Sword Technique—"
Orochimaru's eyes had been gouged out by himself, yet he could still perceive Sasuke's movements the moment he approached.
"Not so easy!"
The curtain-blade wielded in Orochimaru's hand whipped out like a swimming snake, its curved blade capable of attacking various parts of Sasuke's body simultaneously.
"—Nameless."
Like a flash of light in a cold night, Sasuke's slash was so fast it was invisible to the naked eye.
After his previous experiences, Sasuke had made some improvements to his initially crude [Uchiha Style Sword Technique].
Now, the Uchiha Style Sword Technique was no longer just a name without substance, purely relying on Chakra power for show, as it was during the Marineford War.
Of course, this didn't mean Sasuke had completely abandoned Chakra and Ninjutsu either.
Kusanagi Sword, as if destined, instantly sliced through the surrounding alloy blades, followed by a slash that severed Orochimaru's arm.
This was Sasuke considering the need to keep Orochimaru alive… otherwise, that single slash would have been enough to behead him outright.
"Tsk… that really hurts."
Orochimaru acted as if nothing had happened, using his remaining clawed hand to dab at the blood from the severed arm, then casually putting it in his mouth to suck on.
The sight made Yamato nauseous.
But Orochimaru himself didn't care.
He didn't even care about the imminent threat of death, instead looking at Sasuke with great interest.
"Just now… when you swung your sword, that energy… it wasn't Haki, right?"
His response was Sasuke's backhanded sword slash.
But this slash didn't hit Orochimaru as before.
Orochimaru's entire body now drifted like a sheet of paper in the wind, shifting his body along the direction of Sasuke's swing.
The powers of the Hira Hira no Mi could also be used on himself, allowing him to become a [Flag Human] that could dance freely.
After dodging the slash, Orochimaru's counterattack finally arrived.
A thick serpent tail, which had somehow hidden among a pile of fluttering cloth, suddenly sprang up, whipping toward Sasuke's back like a steel whip.
Fortunately, with Observation Haki, Sasuke wouldn't be hit by such a sneak attack.
Thud!
The massive serpent tail and Sasuke's left hand collided mid-air, producing a solid sound of flesh hitting flesh.
"Wolf Impact!"
The shockwave traveled directly through the serpent tail into Orochimaru's body, causing his movements to stall.
Immediately after, Sasuke swung his sword horizontally, cutting off Orochimaru's other arm as well.
Finally, he grabbed Orochimaru by the back of his neck and slammed him to the ground, planting a foot on his back.
"Is this all you've got?"
Sasuke's words were heavy with sarcasm.
To be honest, Orochimaru's muscular monster-snake appearance was only intimidating on the outside.
Even with the Devil Fruit powers he had somehow acquired, at best he was at Vice Admiral level.
"Heh—"
Yet Orochimaru, pinned to the ground, showed no sign of defeat or frustration at all.
After letting out a hoarse laugh, his neck suddenly elongated, twisting 180 degrees to bite at Sasuke's calf.
"Dodge!"
Yamato, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally found her chance to steal the kill. She came down with a [Thunder Bagua], giving Orochimaru's head a home run.
This blow hit Orochimaru's head squarely.
Crack.
The sound of shattering bone was clearly audible in the room.
Hearing this, Yamato's expression, which had been smiling at securing the kill, immediately stiffened.
'Crap, I was a bit too hasty and didn't pay attention.'
Because his body was pinned under Sasuke's foot, only Orochimaru's neck and head could move.
Under the 'friendly' impact of the kanabo, Orochimaru's head spun several times before finally going limp.
"…"
Watching Sasuke silently retract his foot and look at her with an expression of speechlessness, Yamato also felt somewhat embarrassed.
"Ah… well, sorry about that, I didn't hold back."
Admitting mistakes when you make them is one of the essential lessons for a warrior.
"…Forget it. This guy has plenty of dirty tricks. Killing him early is a good thing."
Sasuke shook his head.
He could no longer sense any vitality from Orochimaru.
"Don't… don't worry! We still have that what's-her-name princess! There must be a way to resolve this crisis!"
As if trying to make up for it, Yamato gestured animatedly in front of Sasuke.
However, just as the two were about to leave, Orochimaru, who should have been dead, stood up again in a grotesque manner.
"It… sounds… like… this gentleman… called Sasuke… seems to know me… well."
The expressions of the two turned serious again as they watched Orochimaru rise like a zombie.
Because most of his jawbone had been shattered, his speech was halting.
But in the mere few seconds it took for him to stand up, Sasuke and Yamato watched as his shattered skull visibly healed before their eyes.
Not only that, the wounds on his severed arms had already stopped bleeding, and even short 'claw tips' had begun to grow.
'Impossible, he was clearly just now…'
Sasuke didn't respond to Orochimaru's words, instead beginning to doubt himself internally.
He remembered clearly that Orochimaru had indeed lost all signs of life earlier, and even his pulse had disappeared.
—Even now, it was the same!
Yet he had undoubtedly stood up again.
"Is it a puppet?"
"Huh?"
Yamato looked at Sasuke, puzzled.
However, upon hearing Sasuke's words, Orochimaru simply chuckled lightly.
"Hehe… if you insist, you could consider it that."
A chilling smile appeared on his face, parts of which still had exposed flesh.
"I can kill you once, I can kill you a second time."
Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword was drawn again, ready to strike at Orochimaru.
"Oh… if I were you, I wouldn't do that."
Orochimaru made no move to dodge.
And precisely after he said this, Sasuke and Yamato's movements suddenly became stiff.
'How?!'
Both Sasuke and Yamato now felt their limbs gradually slipping out of their control.
Simultaneously, violent, bloodthirsty thoughts began to quietly sprout.
"Those Evolution Gas agents were created by me. Of course, I know they are ineffective against Devil Fruit users."
Orochimaru's originally near-shattered body had now recovered enough to take on a vaguely human shape again.
He slowly approached his prey like a true serpent, delivering his victory speech.
"So, I created another type of drug, specifically effective against you Devil Fruit users."
"After mixing them in with these gases, you couldn't tell the difference. A simple plan, right?"
"What, did you let your guard down because you possess great power?"
"When will you people ever abandon that power-is-everything mindset?"
Orochimaru's vocal cords and oral cavity were now fully healed, and his speech became fluid.
"Long before you stepped into this space, my killing move was already deployed."
"Now, my attack has concluded. I have won."