"Hehe..."
The eerie laughter echoed hauntingly.
Karin, however, belatedly realized she didn't seem to have turned into mush like that pale-faced weirdo after looking directly at the other.
Just moments ago, she had even mentally prepared to buy time for everyone before her own death.
Clatter clatter...
That was the sound of chains being shaken. Karin immediately turned her gaze over.
Sure enough, the black humanoid figure was now approaching her direction.
This thing was four or five meters tall, quite imposing in ordinary people's eyes.
Of course, for Karin, such a feeling naturally didn't exist.
But she did sense hostility from this creature.
It was the same instinctive, deepest hostility she felt when first seeing the other.
Purifying Lock was effective.
Undoubtedly, the shaking chain sounds were the best proof.
Perhaps because the origin of [Purifying Lock] was the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Jashin's birth also stemmed from the Chakra within Orochimaru's body.
Thus, it seemed to naturally possess the ability to bind the other.
Because she couldn't stop emitting golden light and Observation Haki couldn't sense it, Karin could only perceive the black thing's movements through the tactile feedback from the chains.
After she released the golden light, the thing actually began moving away from her, just hindered by the Purifying Lock's binding, preventing it from achieving its goal.
Although she didn't know the exact principle, at least this way, the light from her body seemed to make the other very uncomfortable as well.
In that case... then she absolutely couldn't let it escape.
With a thought, more Purifying Lock chains extended from Karin's body, winding toward the direction of the black shadow.
This was pure blind shooting, but with so many chains, several quickly transmitted the sensation of binding something.
Karin didn't dare rashly drag this thing into the air… she feared people below might accidentally see the black shadow's true form.
So she could only keep suppressing the other with golden light while trying to bind it with more chains.
...
"Hmm? What's that?"
On the Shark Emeralda, Caesar, still ignoring Naomi's attacks, was distracted by the dazzling light and subconsciously looked over.
But because the golden light emanating from Karin was too blinding, he couldn't see the 'artificial Jashin' figure beside her at all.
However, even though unclear, biological instinct warned him of some danger there.
This wasn't Observation Haki… Caesar hadn't trained to that level. He was just a guy relying on scientific knowledge and Devil Fruit abilities to bully ordinary illiterates.
Distracted, Caesar didn't notice that Naomi opposite him suddenly stopped her movements when illuminated by the dazzling golden light.
Turbid pupils reflected the golden divine bird… the beast's will was rapidly dispelled at this moment.
Naomi blinked, then seemed to jolt awake as if from a dream.
"What's... going on?"
"Oh? Actually regained consciousness!?"
Hearing Naomi's voice, Caesar immediately tossed aside thoughts of the golden light opposite.
Orochimaru's safety?
Frankly, he didn't care much.
Caesar was such a person. In his dictionary, nothing was more important than his grand plans… besides himself, no one was indispensable.
After hearing Caesar's voice, Naomi immediately recalled the last scene she saw before losing consciousness.
'This guy! An enemy!'
She instinctively wanted to draw her bow but suddenly felt something off with her hands.
Looking down, this usually somewhat timid girl immediately let out a panicked scream.
"Ah! What happened to me!? Where are my legs?!"
Naomi frantically waved her longbow, then saw a cloud of smoke rapidly spreading around her.
"Gas Lasso!"
Though gaseous, under Caesar's control, the gas became tougher than ordinary ropes, quickly binding Naomi's hands.
The longbow thus fell to the ground. Naomi wanted to break free but accidentally inhaled some of the gas forming the lasso.
That gas came from Caesar himself, highly toxic. Ordinary people inhaling it would be poisoned and faint… staying in it could cause death.
It could be said that for Naomi, someone like Caesar, who could turn into gas, was the most troublesome.
Without mastering Haki, she simply couldn't threaten him.
"Data collection is almost done..."
Caesar gave Naomi a malicious smile, then used the Gas Lasso to bind her, lifting her and flying toward the shore.
Those mindless snake-people had little value, only anomalies with self-awareness like this were worth studying.
Simultaneously, she could become a bargaining chip.
Caesar was very satisfied with his kidnapping mission progress… it pretty much went as he expected.
Until—
As he flew into mid-air, he finally saw the blurry figure through the golden light.
"...Is that Orochimaru? As expected, captured by the other. But why does he seem taller?"
Caesar was puzzled. In his impression, the little brat serving as Orochimaru's vessel was only seven or eight years old. Even if Orochimaru could transform, he shouldn't grow this much taller at once.
Such doubts were quickly dispelled as Caesar gradually neared the shore.
"That is... what!?"
Caesar's flying movements suddenly froze mid-air. Then, sweat poured down his face, his expression turning terrified.
Perhaps because of the golden light's obstruction, Caesar didn't instantly turn into mush like Orochimaru. Instead, he genuinely felt a kind of 'contamination'.
It was information-level knowledge contamination.
Jashin, curses, Death Controlling Possessed Blood, sacrificial rites...
Various pieces of knowledge, which Caesar saw as utterly unscientific, were forcibly crammed into his mind, violently colliding with his original worldview.
Plop!
The Gas Lasso binding Naomi lost control due to Caesar's rigidity, turning back into a gaseous state.
Naomi, previously hung like a dead pig, directly fell into the seawater.
—Fortunately, she wasn't a Devil Fruit user… otherwise, this might have been the grand finale.
As is well known, some sea snakes also possess the ability to live in water.
And Naomi's current transformed appearance precisely met such biological conditions.
"Wuwuwu... Huh?"
Initially panicked by suddenly falling into water, Naomi struggled briefly, then suddenly realized she seemed able to breathe underwater.
Not only that, the elongated snake tail from the transformation could actually provide stronger propulsion in water. Just with a thought, Naomi resurfaced.
When she looked back at Caesar, who had bound her and intended to counterattack, she suddenly froze in place.
What did she see?
Drip, drip...
Bright red blood dripped from mid-air.
At this moment, Caesar Clown's face was covered in blood… where his eyes should be were now just two hollows.
He was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. Who could injure him like this?
The answer was only one: himself.
"Finally... quiet..."
A relieved smile suddenly appeared on Caesar's face, then his whole figure plummeted from mid-air, falling straight into the seawater.
For a Devil Fruit user, this situation was basically a death sentence.