The storm's fury stretched all the way to the battlefield near the Sabaody Archipelago. The navy, locked in a desperate struggle to surround Uchiha Madara, Hashirama Senju, and their allies, suddenly felt the sea quake beneath them. A massive wave surged, nearly swallowing them whole, catching them off guard and startling even the most seasoned fighters.
The ninja warriors they faced were equally shocked, their gazes snapping toward the turbulent sea in unison.
"Shisui, the fighting over there seems intense," Uchiha Itachi remarked in a low voice, his Susanoo blazing around him as he spoke to Uchiha Shisui, who stood nearby, also cloaked in his own Susanoo.
"Yeah, I'd love to go check it out," Shisui sighed softly.
But both knew they couldn't afford to leave—not yet. Their opponents were no pushovers: Vice Admirals Tea Dolphin and Peach Rabbit, two navy powerhouses just shy of admiral-level strength. Even for Itachi and Shisui, taking them down was proving to be no easy task.
In a fleeting moment of distraction, Peach Rabbit struck. With a swift whoosh, her figure blurred and reappeared right in front of Shisui's Susanoo. Her blade gleamed like a flowing river as she unleashed a devastating slash.
Shisui reacted instantly, commanding his Susanoo to raise its arm in defense. A thunderous boom echoed as the strike landed. To his shock, the green armor of his Susanoo cracked under the force of her attack. Before he could recover, Peach Rabbit spun, her body a whirl of motion, and delivered another ferocious slash to the same spot.
Crack!
The Susanoo shattered like glass, and the remaining force of her blade sliced toward Shisui himself. His Susanoo wasn't a complete form, and his strength, honed only to the level of an elite jonin before his death, fell just short of kage-tier. Against a master of physical combat like Peach Rabbit, a quasi-admiral in her prime, his defenses were pushed to their limit.
But landing a hit on Shisui wasn't so simple. At the critical moment, he formed a single hand seal, and with a whoosh, his body flickered and vanished, dodging her strike.
In an instant, he reappeared behind her. "Uchiha Style: Gale Blade!" he roared. His figure surged forward, a massive blade of flame erupting from his sword as he slashed at Peach Rabbit with all his might. To everyone's astonishment, the fiery edge was laced with the dark sheen of Armament Haki.
Peach Rabbit spun, raising her blade to block, her own Armament Haki flaring to meet the attack. Boom! The clash sent her flying backward, crashing into a nearby warship with enough force to leave a gaping dent. She barely managed to steady herself, gripping the edge of the wreckage.
"Peach Rabbit!" Tea Dolphin shouted, his voice thick with worry as he saw her flung away. She was the woman of his dreams, the one he'd confessed to over a hundred times—each time met with rejection, but he'd never given up. Now, seeing her in danger, his heart sank.
But in that moment of distraction, a cold voice cut through the air. "Ten-Fist Sword!"
Tea Dolphin snapped back to reality, only to see a flaming blade hurtling toward him. He hastily summoned his Armament Haki to defend, but it was too late. The blade pierced through, and his body froze. Strength drained from him as if shackled, and the world around him shifted. Suddenly, he saw Peach Rabbit standing before him, radiant in a bridal gown, her cheeks flushed with shy affection. Was this… their wedding?
He had fallen into Itachi's illusion, trapped in a dreamlike genjutsu.
Shisui grinned at the sight. "Not bad, Itachi. Our teamwork's still sharp."
Itachi gave a faint smile. "Looks like we can finally join the main battle over there."
"Definitely," Shisui replied with a nod.
Their plan had worked perfectly. Shisui had deliberately left an opening to lure Peach Rabbit into attacking, creating a chance for himself while also distracting Tea Dolphin, allowing Itachi to land the decisive blow. Now, Shisui's gaze shifted back to Peach Rabbit, his mind racing with plans to finish her off.
On the open sea, the bald monk had no idea that his earth-shaking attack had caused a ripple effect, putting two of the navy's key vice admirals in peril. Seeing Lin Xuan stagger from his kick, the golden Susanoo showing signs of cracking, the monk didn't hesitate. He launched another flying kick, aiming to press his advantage.
But Lin Xuan wasn't about to let him land another hit. A massive golden fist, as large as a small mountain, roared through the air, meeting the monk's kick head-on. Boom! The collision unleashed a terrifying storm that swept across the sea. Lin Xuan's Susanoo staggered back two steps, sending shockwaves through the water, but the monk was hurled backward, soaring several kilometers before crashing into the sea with a violent splash.
The ninja watching through the Fire Nation's chat group livestream perked up. From the intel shared by Madara and Hashirama, and from what they'd observed in the battle, one thing was clear: many of this world's strongest fighters were Devil Fruit users. Even the mightiest among them would grow weak and powerless if submerged in seawater.
The bald monk, it seemed, was one such Devil Fruit user. Now that he'd plunged into the ocean, would he become as helpless as a drowned rat? The thought alone was almost comical.
As the ninja watched with bated breath, the livestream showed the monk's figure finally breaking the surface of the sea.
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T/N:
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