Everyone gradually approached the top of the Whale Tree, and Orochimaru rubbed his temples, feeling a headache.
At this moment, the giant heartbeat became clearer and clearer, thumping repeatedly, making him restless.
He remembered that this situation was a precursor to Momonosuke being able to communicate with Zunesha.
Could it be that this Whale Tree could establish a connection with Zunesha?
But the strange thing was, there had been no movement before. Was it because everyone hadn't arrived yet?
Or was it that this giant elephant recognized people and only responded to specific individuals?
Or perhaps, Luffy was the key to unlocking all of this? This thought flashed through Orochimaru's mind.
Following the guidance of the vines, everyone arrived at the tail of the whale.
Nekomamushi stepped forward and pushed open a very hidden door.
Seeing this, everyone exclaimed in surprise. The door was so well hidden that it would have been difficult to find without deliberately looking for it.
Immediately after, everyone began descending a long flight of stairs.
The thought of Raizo being so close instantly made Usopp and Luffy's eyes light up, their excitement almost overflowing.
The two exchanged a look, and without another word, they dashed down the stairs, their hearty laughter echoing through the empty, long passage, as if to spread their joy to every corner.
As everyone got closer to the bottom, a mournful cry drifted up.
Chopper's ears twitched, his face full of curiosity. He gently tugged at Nekomamushi's paw, his voice filled with doubt: "This is...?"
Nekomamushi sighed: "It's Raizo's voice."
"Eh!!! It's a Ninja's!" Chopper's eyes sparkled with excitement, his voice brimming with uncontrollable thrill.
Luffy and Usopp also looked expectant. They exchanged glances, both wearing the same brilliant smiles, their grins stretching to their ears, their excitement practically overflowing.
Unable to hide his eagerness and excitement, Chopper pushed off with his short legs and leaped directly from Nekomamushi's head. Upon landing, he ran towards the source of the sound.
"Ninja! Ninja!"
Seeing this, Luffy and Usopp were not to be outdone, following closely behind Chopper, running like the wind.
Franky, who was at the back of the group, saw how eager the three were, and a spark of curiosity ignited in his eyes. He instantly chased after them.
Orochimaru's face was full of exasperation as he silently watched the four people's frantic retreating figures.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint, almost imperceptible cold smile playing on his lips: Heh, men, isn't having me, the legendary Ninja, enough?
You just wait! This snake will run away from home tomorrow!
Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper yelled all the way, completely immersed in their fantasies of Ninjas.
Luffy ran, waving his arms, shouting that he wanted to witness the most powerful Ninjutsu;
Usopp, with a triumphant look, described his imagined Ninja, scaling walls and leaping across rooftops;
Chopper hopped and skipped, so excited that his small ears kept twitching.
The three kept shouting "Ninja."
Finally, after much effort, they reached deep underground, but the scene before them instantly stopped them in their tracks, leaving them speechless.
They saw a strange-looking uncle tied to a red poneglyph. The uncle's head and body were almost the same size, like a giant sphere, and his short limbs were helplessly bound by chains.
The hair on his head was even more bizarre, long and curly, extending wantonly like spider legs.
He had purplish-red lower eyeliner drawn on his eyes, and around his waist was a purple rope similar to Orochimaru's.
At this moment, the uncle was crying terribly, snot and tears smudged on his face. His wails echoed through the empty underground space, sounding particularly desolate.
"You're finally here! Nekomamushi!! Why didn't you hand me over to the enemy!
Everyone who comes here to deliver food is injured! They all say everything is fine in the country!
But is that true! If it's a lie! I, Raizo, will hate you to the core!"
Looking at the uniquely styled uncle before them, Chopper, Usopp, and Franky widened their eyes in disbelief, then their gazes became somewhat vacant, tears uncontrollably streaming down their cheeks as they wailed even more miserably than Raizo.
"It's not what I imagined."
All the images of majestic and mysterious Ninjas in their minds shattered like a mirror at this moment, making a crisp sound.
Everyone present seemed to hear the sound of their hearts breaking.
But just as everyone was utterly disappointed by Raizo's strange appearance, Luffy did not have his illusions shattered like the others.
He tilted his head, his eyes unblinking, staring intently at the purple rope around Raizo's waist, as if he had discovered something new and interesting, his mind racing.
"Orochimaru??" Luffy suddenly blurted out.
Orochimaru, who had just entered and hadn't even fully stabilized his footing, heard this nonsensical remark.
He was startled at first, then a flash of anger crossed his face. Without a word, he delivered a precise flying kick, sending Luffy flying directly into the ceiling.
"Get lost!!!" Orochimaru roared loudly.
Luffy was kicked by Orochimaru, sent flying into the ceiling, and was embedded there in a twisted posture, his straw hat hanging askew on his head.
Everyone's gaze followed the flying Luffy, rising in unison, their eyes wide with astonishment.
For a moment, the entire space was so quiet that only the faint sound of Luffy's body scraping against the wall could be heard.
After only a brief moment, a dull thud echoed, and Luffy fell heavily to the ground.
Everyone's heads uniformly lowered, their gazes focused on Luffy, who had fallen to the ground.
At this moment, a large bump had risen on Luffy's head, his messy hair stood on end as if electrocuted, and his iconic straw hat was askew.
He was utterly bewildered, his eyes still holding unresolved confusion, his mouth agape in an "O" shape, seemingly still not understanding why he had suddenly "flown" around.
After a good while, Luffy looked at Orochimaru with a wronged expression, pouting, on the verge of tears.
The group looked at the two brothers, wanting to speak but holding back. Indeed, it was all Luffy's fault; this cunning snake was forced to make a deadly move in public.
In the past, Orochimaru always gave Luffy face in front of outsiders, even in front of Doflamingo.
They had seen Orochimaru get angry at Heavenly Yaksha for Luffy several times.
Everyone then turned their gaze to the tearful Luffy, and then looked at Raizo. After a brief assessment, a thought simultaneously flashed through their minds:
Hmm... this guy certainly deserved it. This Raizo, from every angle, was completely incomparable to Orochimaru.
Luffy just now, he probably really had bad eyesight. It seems Orochimaru really needs to help cure his 'blindness' problem.
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