Hozuki Castle also had sages guarding it, though normally they wouldn't show themselves.
After the Jigen incident, the World Government would surely station people to guard Hozuki Castle well. With the new era arriving and wars breaking out, its importance would only rise.
The last time a criminal was taken away, it was already a slap in the face for the Five Great Nations. If Jiraiya hadn't been strong enough to break into the top tier of sages, it wouldn't have been resolved so easily.
If it had been the old Jiraiya, he might not have been able to stop Ichidai Kiyomu.
Of course, that incident wasn't a huge deal back then, since it was before the World Government was formed. But if it happened now, it would be different.
So the World Government's prison fortress, Hozuki Castle, had to be guarded with extreme care—it was their pride.
"Was this criminal sent by Kazahana Doto?"
"Yes. Killer Bee-sama is Kumogakure Village's strongest fighter, so naturally he went to the battlefield first."
Hearing Terumi Mei's words, Mui replied. His tone had returned to its usual coldness.
When Terumi Mei heard the name Killer Bee, she let out a quiet sigh. If she guessed right, Killer Bee had already taken that step forward.
Ever since losing to Shanks, he had been training hard in silence, and the entire power of Kumogakure Village had been focused on him.
You could say Killer Bee was even more important than A.
"In that case, let's hurry too!"
By now, the whole East Blue was already in motion.
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield.
As the fight dragged on, Orochimaru clearly sensed something was wrong, but there was very little he could do.
He couldn't step into the battle directly—there was still hope—but as time went on, Orochimaru felt these people had no way of bringing down the will of New World.
Only by facing Shanks in person could one understand how terrifying he was. That man's presence was something an ordinary person could never handle.
Buzz!!
When the huge sword light came crashing down with black and red lightning, Orochimaru, in his dragon form, drove everyone back with a single strike.
"Haku! Time to go, the plan won't work."
Orochimaru's massive figure dropped from the sky, his deep, commanding voice echoing across the battlefield.
His huge body was like a towering mountain, making it hard for everyone on the battlefield to breathe.
But to people like Ross Jess, Orochimaru's pressure meant nothing. Only those who had faced Shanks knew what a true mountain was.
"Is there a problem with the plan?"
A wall of ice rose in front of Haku, and the spikes of ice drove back his already injured opponent.
He slipped away to Orochimaru's side.
"It's not about Shanks. These people are too weak. They don't have what it takes to make this power lock onto them."
Orochimaru spoke helplessly. To reach that level, they would need to spend some time training in New World.
"I see?"
Haku looked up, his gaze piercing through the clouds. He too could sense that will.
Did they fail?
No. They had already succeeded. If it had been someone else, it would have worked long ago.
Orochimaru didn't know the real plan. Under this will, everyone would grow stronger, and the speed of their growth would be shocking.
This was something Orochimaru didn't know.
The world's will, now infused with Shanks' own, had already taken on his special nature. The effect was already there—just not obvious.
No matter who it was, facing Shanks would make them stronger. But only those with a will to die, trapped in absolute desperation, could reach that level.
But… that meant sacrifices. Huge sacrifices.
On the way here, Haku had already understood why this mission had been given to him.
Because of his kindness… If there was a better way, Haku would never let anyone be sacrificed. But the original plan demanded too great a price.
"In that case, let's retreat!"
Haku gave the order without hesitation. Orochimaru had already decided to pull back—there was no reason to keep dragging this out.
Marine reinforcements would only keep coming.
But at that moment, a bullet from the chaos of the battlefield pierced Haku's head.
"Boom!!"
The bullet exploded the instant it went through his head, blowing his whole body apart. In an instant, Haku's body formed again.
The next moment, Ross Jess raised his hand, and a dice floated between him and Haku.
"Sorry, but we're not taking your orders."
"Zehahaha! This is our chance to strangle the Marines! Orochimaru, you wouldn't mind this kind of sacrifice, would you?"
"And besides, we have absolute faith in Shanks. How could that guy ever be wrong?"
"Even though I almost died at Shanks' hands back then… I trust him too," Kagero Pick added.
Getting them to retreat was impossible.
As for Orochimaru, he just sneered at them.
"Of course, but from here on, it's up to you."
"Same here."
Haku also nodded. He had the power to start a war, and the power to end it.
With just a light wave of his hand, the ice in the area where the Marines and pirates were fighting split apart. The whole battlefield shook, and both sides in the chaotic fight quickly pulled back to their own camps.
But the next moment!
"Gambler's Domain, Game Table, set!"
In the sky, the dice floating between Haku and Ross Jess fell.
Thud!
The clear sound echoed across the battlefield.
The dice landed with a big "five" facing up. As long as the number was greater than three, Ross Jess would win every roll.
On this battlefield, the lowest number on the dice was two, and the highest was seven.
"Sorry, I win."
In the next moment, the split battlefield closed up again, and in that instant, Haku's control over the field vanished.
Everyone's eyes turned to the man in front of them, even Haku felt a sense of threat from Ross Jess.
Orochimaru's gaze also froze slightly.
"What an incredible Devil Fruit ability."
Ross Jess's Devil Fruit power was easy to understand—it was all about rolling dice.
He didn't know what would happen if he lost, but one thing Orochimaru was sure of—if Tsunade had to face this man, a hundred lives wouldn't be enough.
What no one else knew was that just taking control of the battlefield cost Ross Jess his own life on the line.
If he lost, he would die instantly on the spot.
But he wasn't afraid of death.
At this moment, the other pirates were also watching.
All eyes from the pirates turned to the two of them, even the pirate captains. When they heard Haku tell them to retreat, they were all stunned.
"Lord Haku, are you telling us to retreat?"
"Yes, but… it seems Ross Jess has stopped us!"
"…"
Right now, almost all the pirates were frozen in place.
Haku didn't just represent himself.
"So, what's your choice, Haku?"
"Are you… going to retreat?"
Ross Jess asked in a calm tone.
From Haku, he could see the shadow of Karin—that value for life, or maybe, a certain kindness.
They were never really cut out to be pirates.
"You should know how to undo a Devil Fruit ability."
Before Ross Jess could finish speaking, an ice spear appeared right in front of him. The ghost dragon beside him reached out to block it, but in just that instant, half of his arm was completely frozen over.
The terrifying cold spread, but the ghost dragon didn't even blink.
Crack!
His arm shattered, but then instantly grew back.
He looked at Haku with no expression.
"Zehahaha… Haku, if you want to leave, just leave.
We won't laugh at you… or the Red-Haired Pirates."
"Ghost Dragon, the Blade-less Pirates aren't the Red-Haired Pirates. That guy Zabuza is just some pirate blocked in by Dark."
Kagero Pick sneered coldly from the side.
"Sacrifice me, and you can save most of the people here.
Sacrifice most of the people here, and you can save this whole era."
Ross Jess smiled. He understood why Haku was doing this, and Orochimaru was also watching Haku with great interest.
By this time, Suigetsu and Jugo had already moved toward the edge of the battlefield. Orochimaru could leave whenever he wanted, but those two couldn't.
And at this moment, Haku hesitated.
The next instant, a chilling sensation swept over them. At the same time, Orochimaru also sensed that power.
The horizon lit up!
"Heaven's Fall: Saturn's Great Descent!"
The terrifying voice sounded like the wrath of the heavens. In the sky, lightning fell, countless bolts trying to block the intruder.
But the one coming from afar was too strong. The sky was forcefully torn open, leaving a trail in its wake. On the ground, everyone felt a crushing pressure.
The decision was made in that moment.
"Fall back!!"
Haku turned and roared. At the same time, the Sage on the Marines' side gave the order, and Kakashi quickly moved some people away.
"Great Ice Layer!!"
Without hesitation, Haku froze the seawater deep below once again. Countless ice pillars shattered the ice surface, creating an ice barrier on the pirates' side of the battlefield.
All the pirates stared. Haku's terrifying power was once again on full display. And at that moment—
Ross Jess's dice rolled again, returning to normal with faces from "one" to "six."
Beneath the ice barrier, the pirates looked to the sky. By now, Orochimaru had already charged out.
The enemy was coming straight for him.
In just an instant, the opponent reached Orochimaru.
A massive body, over a hundred meters tall, with an earthy yellow color. Lightning and black flames coiled around its body.
Behind the giant beast, eight tails twisted together, releasing a surge of overwhelming natural energy from below.
Its head was also earthy yellow—shaped like a bull's!
"The Eight-Tails?"
Orochimaru was furious. Even the Eight-Tails dared to challenge him?
"Fire Dragon: Thunderquake Eight Trigrams!"
Even though it was the Eight-Tails, Orochimaru didn't dare underestimate it for a second.
Blazing flames spewed from his mouth, engulfing his body in an instant. At the same time, the white clouds around Orochimaru's four dragon claws ignited. The claws merged, and the sky churned.
The Kusanagi Sword was swallowed into Orochimaru's belly.
As the sword entered him, the clouds and lightning in the sky formed a massive vortex, which Orochimaru swallowed whole with his open jaws.
"Rumble!!"
"Crack!!"
Explosive thunder, terrifying rolling clouds, and that skin-crawling natural energy all sank down. The Marine Sage looked on in disbelief.
"Is… is this really something a human can do?"
"No way… this kind of power…"
Lightning flickered around one Sage's body, but the next moment, it vanished, turning into a bolt that Orochimaru swallowed whole.
Terrifying!
A fear that made the scalp go numb.
"Was that guy just toying with us before?"
"No… no way… how could there be such a monster in this world?"
"..."
Nearly half the Marines dropped to the ground, trembling as they looked at this horrifying scene.
At this moment, there seemed to be fewer lightning bolts in the sky, but in reality it was even more terrifying, as if Orochimaru had swallowed the entire sky.
"Boom!!"
Another bolt of lightning struck. Under its light, Orochimaru's once strong and muscular body had become bloated, like a balloon that could burst at any second.
Even his dragon body was covered in solid-looking blue natural energy.
Even the pirates could see this terrifying scene through the ice, and the most important thing was… Orochimaru was right above them!!
"Orochimaru… got stronger. How could he become this strong?"
"Wasn't that guy beaten by Shanks? How is he still this powerful?"
"…"
Orochimaru had indeed grown stronger, far stronger than before.
But only Orochimaru knew that no matter what, he could never defeat Shanks. The Land of Wind was his only chance.
Even so, Orochimaru was not someone just anyone could challenge.
"I… am… the Divine Dragon!!"
In that instant, the clouds in the sky fell silent, and the thunder stopped.
Only the piercing sound of something tearing through the air could be heard.
Orochimaru looked up at the sky. The Eight-Tails' massive body swept across the battlefield in the next moment, its gigantic shadow carrying a terrifying wave of natural energy as it came crashing toward him.
"Boom!!"
Orochimaru exhaled a deep breath, and in that moment his bloated body returned to normal.
A massive blue thunder, hundreds of meters thick, filled the sky, mixed with black-and-red lightning and flames, and struck directly at the Eight-Tails.
But the Eight-Tails' own power erupted at that moment, a brown force covering its body. With its overwhelming impact, it forcibly withstood Orochimaru's attack.
Rip!!
The tearing lightning struck the ice layer. The terrifying power pierced straight through, and in just a moment, the entire battlefield split apart, the ice neatly severed.
The ice beneath the pirates and Marines was split, pushing both sides farther apart.
The sky turned white, shrouded in lightning.
The aftershocks of the battle crashed down, but the ice barrier over the pirate battlefield blocked the attacks. Under the flash of lightning, everyone could see the two terrifying monsters in the sky.
On Orochimaru's tail was a deep, shocking wound.
On the other side, the Eight-Tails also had a horrifying sword wound. Even though it had regenerated, the scar was still there.
"How… how is this possible!!"
The strongest Marines stepped forward to block the aftershocks. Even from this distance, the power of that lightning was not something they could easily defend against.
Yet under that terrifying force, the scars on Orochimaru and the Eight-Tails were even more visible. Even though their bodies had grown strong enough to regenerate, even though the lightning had covered the sky…
Those crimson scars still stood out clearly.
"This… this is already a whole different level of power. Just how strong is that man?"
"New World… what kind of place is the New World?!"
At this moment, even though the fight was between Orochimaru and the Eight-Tails, Shanks' figure appeared in everyone's minds.
It was because of the terrifying power Orochimaru and the Eight-Tails unleashed that those who had never faced Shanks before could now imagine just how fearsome his strength was.
A man whose power was terrifying beyond measure!
---
You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu