"Let go!" Orochimaru struggled to pull Luffy off of him.
"No! Don't be angry anymore," Luffy pleaded. If Orochimaru got angry, the whole room would suffer. "Let go! I'm not angry anymore," Orochimaru said, somewhat helpless. He had no way to deal with the pouting Luffy. He knew he had been too emotional just now.
Meanwhile, little flames of anger erupted behind Sanji.
"Hey! You lowly errand boy! How can you be so rude to this young lady?"
The room instantly fell silent. Everyone stared at Sanji with dumbfounded expressions. It was understandable, albeit funny, to mistake Orochimaru's gender before he spoke. But to still mistake his gender *after* he spoke... this was truly... Even Luffy looked askance.
Luffy was silent for a moment, then said, "Orochimaru is a man."
After 10 years, Luffy once again saw someone turn to stone and crack, with sounds of something shattering, because of this issue. Luffy didn't understand... Did it really have such great power? Sanji had already turned ashen and was dragged away by Zeff, who was embarrassed by him. The other chefs openly mocked Sanji.
Luffy was a bit conflicted at this moment, wondering whether to tell everyone this was the chef he had high hopes for. Or should he wait and see? Yes, he should definitely wait and see.
The farce ended, and the Straw Hat Pirates returned to the ship. The sea was covered in a thick fog, and a Pirate Crew approached from a distance. Orochimaru considered it for a moment and decided that there was no need to let Luffy gain experience from something like Krieg.
Looking at Luffy, who was moving things, Orochimaru gestured to him with his chin, "Hey, Luffy, how about I use this Pirate Crew to vent my anger?" At this moment, Orochimaru was full of suppressed rage from the so-called 'Iron Fist' and Sanji's blunder. Wasn't this a perfect punching bag? Moreover, quickly dealing with these guys would allow them to go defeat Arlong sooner for Luffy to gain experience.
Luffy hesitated for a moment but agreed. What if Orochimaru got sick from holding it in and took it out on them?
Then Orochimaru said to Zeff, "Chef, I'll take care of this Pirate Crew for you, as compensation for the items Luffy damaged. How does that sound?"
Zeff, of course, agreed. He wasn't a fool; he wasn't going to wait to be robbed.
Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly as he stepped onto the water, then placed both hands on the surface and lay down.
Luffy swallowed. This move seemed a bit familiar... No way... goosebumps appeared on his arms.
The Straw Hat Pirates looked at Luffy in confusion.
Usopp was a bit curious, "Luffy, what's wrong with you?"
"It's nothing... You'll know in a bit..." He shivered after saying that. Actually, he wasn't really scared, but it was truly a bit of childhood trauma.
Orochimaru lay on the water. Although his posture wasn't elegant, the effect was quite good.
"Ten Thousand Snake Formation!" Everyone shivered upon hearing this. Then, countless dense snakes crawled out of Orochimaru's mouth. Thanks to the Devil Fruit, the scale of this technique was now much greater than in the Naruto World.
Nami couldn't help but scream, trembling with Usopp. Even Zoro swallowed hard.
Everyone watched as the snake swarm surrounded several Pirate Crews on the sea. Sharp sword blades pierced out from the snakes' mouths. Countless swords instantly penetrated the ships, and all the ships instantly shattered, falling into the sea. Among them, some unlucky ones were run through by swords, including the unfortunate Krieg.
Orochimaru chuckled, stretching his body, and returned to the ship. Everyone collectively took a step back. Orochimaru, whose mood had improved, even had a spring in his step, humming a tune as he skipped back to his room to bathe... He had to change clothes again.
Watching Orochimaru leave, Nami roared, grabbing Luffy by the neck, "What was that!!! Did you know about this all along?!"
Luffy yelped, "Don't you all know that Orochimaru is a Devil Fruit User? It's just a few more snakes!"
"Is that just a few more?! That must have been tens of thousands!!! Whose Devil Fruit develops like that?!" Nami's hair stood on end from fright. After all, most girls don't like slippery snakes. One Orochimaru was acceptable, but the visual impact of that was too strong, especially since they came out of his mouth.
"Because Orochimaru is also a Ninja!" Luffy was incoherent from being choked.
Nami finally let go. She didn't know what she was thinking, but Arlong probably couldn't withstand that move. Then she pretended to be weak, leaning against the ship and fake-crying, "Waaah, waaah."
Orochimaru came out after changing his clothes and saw Nami crying. He tilted his head, "Did you bully Nami?"
"It was you!!!!" The group roared at Orochimaru with shark-like expressions.
Orochimaru was confused. Did the Ten Thousand Snake Formation scare Nami? It shouldn't have. He looked at the crying Nami, finding her a bit troublesome... How was he supposed to deal with this? He had no experience with women, except for almost being beaten to death by Tsunade. Finally, he remembered something.
"Uh, sorry, I scared you. How about I have Luffy or Zoro help you kill Arlong?" Orochimaru said, then turned, his face a little red. It didn't seem right to casually order Zoro around like that.
"No, why are you blushing, you teapot!!! And don't make decisions on your own!!! Who is Arlong!!!!" The others continued to roar.
"Alright, it's decided. Uh, you explain it to Luffy and the others yourself," Orochimaru concluded. Anyway, the next battle was going to happen, so it was better to reassure Nami beforehand to prevent her from running off again.
Nami thought about the fighting power here, then thought about Arlong... In the end, she decided to tell Luffy about the situation. The group listened to Nami's pain in silence. No one objected to defeating Arlong, after all, isn't that what the Straw Hat Pirates do?
Zoro, drinking sake, leaned next to Orochimaru, "You knew all along."
"Yes, I've seen too many eyes filled with such pain and hatred," Orochimaru said, looking at the sea in silence.
"Hey... Orochimaru... are we comrades?" Zoro took a sip of sake.
"Why do you say that?" Orochimaru turned his back, leaning against the railing.
"Because you never seem to get involved. You always maintain a spectator's attitude, like an observer. Perhaps only Luffy can make you show a slight ripple of emotion."
"But I am here, aren't I?" Orochimaru didn't say anything more, watching the fog dissipate over the sea.
"Hawkeye is here. Don't die." Although he knew he wouldn't die, he couldn't help but say it.
Zoro excitedly looked at the sea, jumping onto the deck to meet Hawkeye. Of course, the result was the same; Zoro was easily defeated but also gained Hawkeye's recognition.
"So, nothing will change... I just need to be an observer," Orochimaru jumped off the ship, watching Zoro cry while holding his sword, saying he would never fail again.
Orochimaru ignored Hawkeye, looking at the deep, bone-visible wound. He roughly tore Zoro's clothes and began to treat him, which could be described as very brutal. Johnny and Yosaku shivered, teeth chattering. Once Zoro had mostly recovered, Orochimaru just left him there.
Orochimaru turned and gave Hawkeye a deep look, "Let's spar." With that, he spat out a kusanagi sword from his mouth and gripped it in his hand.