Bacora's hypnotized state had left a deep impression—none of them wanted to end up the same way in public. That would be worse than death.
Hancock frowned. She hadn't expected such a terrifying ability, but at least now she knew what she was dealing with.
"Marigold!"
Whoosh!
A large, orange-haired, heavy-set woman leaped lightly down from the stands, landing before Akemi with surprising agility. She pointed her massive guandao at him.
"Man, I'll take your head."
Akemi raised a hand. "Wait. Your opponent isn't me—Itachi."
Whoosh!
A small figure appeared beside him.
"Your opponent is him."
"A kid?! You're sending a child to fight me?! Are you mocking me?!"
Marigold shouted angrily. The boy before her couldn't be more than ten.
Akemi smiled calmly. "Mocking you? This battle carries the fate of the Uchiha. How could I not take it seriously? Itachi is our clan's prodigy. I sent him because I am serious."
"Itachi, she's yours."
"Understood," Itachi nodded firmly.
Marigold glared down. "Kid, I won't hold back just because you're a child!"
Her body began to expand, transforming into a half-human, half-snake hybrid.
"Ah! Lady Marigold!!"
"She's invoking the Gorgon's Curse!"
"So majestic!"
"That's the proof of a warrior who defeated the monster Gorgon!"
"The cursed royal sister is so charming!"
The Amazon crowd roared with excitement.
"What is this?! She's turning into a snake?! That's not ninjutsu or transformation technique."
The Uchiha, new to this world, were startled by the display.
From the stands, Akemi explained calmly, "That's a Devil Fruit ability. In this world, there exist special fruits called Devil Fruits. Whoever eats one gains incredible powers but becomes cursed by the sea—they can never swim again. Still, the power is worth it. Even a common fruit is worth about 100 million ryō in ninja world terms. The rarer ones can exceed ten billion."
"One hundred million?!"
"Ten billion?!"
"You're kidding!"
The Uchiha were shocked—such value was beyond comprehension. Their monthly police salary was only fifty thousand ryō, and even their clan's yearly expenses didn't reach a hundred million. Ten billion was unimaginable.
For a clan oppressed by Konoha for years, such wealth sounded like a fantasy.
Fugaku, however, was thinking more deeply. "Akemi, are these Devil Fruit powers really that strong?"
Akemi nodded seriously for once. "Indeed, very powerful. Devil Fruits are divided into three main categories: Zoan, Paramecia, and Logia types."
"The Zoan type is like the one before us—she's eaten the Hebi-Hebi no Mi, Model: King Cobra. The strength of Zoan Fruits lies in their resilience. Once developed to the awakening stage, the user becomes an almost immortal warrior—able to recover quickly even from fatal injuries."
"Paramecia types are also extremely strong. They grant various supernatural abilities—some can control gravity to pull meteors from the heavens, others can use vibrations to shatter the earth and split the sea."
"As for the Logia types, they're known as the strongest category. They can manipulate and become elements like wind, fire, lightning, and more. Some can freeze the ocean, others can burn everything in existence."
The Uchiha clan members all turned pale in astonishment. They had thought this world wasn't anything special, but never expected such terrifying powers to exist.
Someone muttered, "Doesn't that kind of strength rival the Hokage?"
Akemi nodded. "Yes. To be precise, many powerful beings in this world surpass even the Hokage. Perhaps only the First Hokage could stand on equal ground."
His words were slightly exaggerated—but not by much. He just wanted them to understand this world was far from simple.
The Uchiha all fell silent, deeply shaken by what Akemi had said.
The Hokage was already considered the mightiest in their world, and the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was even revered as the God of Shinobi.
To bear the title "God" meant that his power was nearly divine.
At that time, the only person capable of rivaling him was their own ancestor—Uchiha Madara.
But both of them had perished long ago. There hadn't been a ninja worthy of being called "God" in the Shinobi World for ages.
Now, only Akemi was known as the "Sword God."
Yet in truth, his strength still couldn't compare to that of Hashirama or Madara.
---
At this moment, the battle below had already begun.
"Brat, if you don't want to die, surrender now!"
Marigold swiftly swung her weapon down at Itachi, who dodged nimbly.
"Finish him, Lady Marigold!!"
Cheers erupted from the audience stands.
"Do your best, Nii-san!"
On the Uchiha stand, young Sasuke shouted encouragement to his brother.
"Kid, is dodging all you can do?"
Pfft!
Marigold spat a glob of sticky fluid at Itachi, who evaded again.
Ssshhh!
When the saliva hit the ground, it made a harsh sizzling noise.
"Poison?!"
"That's right—it's deadly poison! What a pity!"
Itachi immediately pulled several shuriken from his pouch and threw them at Marigold.
Clang, clang, clang!
The shuriken hit her body with metallic sounds and bounced off harmlessly.
"What?!"
Itachi was surprised, and the Uchiha spectators were puzzled as well.
"Don't you even know this? As expected of someone from a backwater place. This is Haki—Armament Haki. Without understanding it, your attacks can only tickle me!"
Marigold boasted arrogantly, then raised her massive guandao and slashed down at him.
Itachi leapt into the air, and Marigold spat another jet of venom toward him.
Itachi's hands quickly formed seals:
Serpent – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Whoosh—!
A giant fireball two meters wide roared from his mouth.
Ssshh!
The intense flames instantly evaporated Marigold's poison.
Shocked, she retreated quickly, barely dodging.
Boom—!
The fireball exploded violently.
"Ughhh!!"
Marigold screamed in pain. Although she had evaded the blast itself, the scorching heat still burned her body. Even Armament Haki couldn't fully protect her.
"Lady Marigold!!"
"What is that?! A human can breathe fire?!"
Gritting her teeth through the pain, Marigold demanded, "What kind of power is that?!"
Itachi answered coolly, "Ninjutsu. If you don't want to get hurt, surrender."
"Brat, you think you can make me surrender that easily?! Don't think you're the only one who can use fire!"
"Serpent Possession—Flame Serpent God!!"
Her body ignited with blazing flames, and her hair twisted into two flaming serpents that hissed with deadly power.
The crowd of Amazon Lily warriors erupted in cheers once again.
"Lady Marigold is serious now!"
"That kid's dead for sure!"
"Finish him, Lady Marigold!!"
Marigold glared fiercely at Itachi. "Brat, your fire won't harm me anymore!!"
Unfazed, Itachi replied calmly, "Fire, huh? Then let's use water."
"Die!!!"
Marigold commanded the flaming serpents to lunge at Itachi.
He leapt high into the air, forming another series of hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!!"
From his mouth, a torrent burst forth, forming a huge water dragon.
The dragon clashed with the flaming serpents, instantly engulfing them and triggering a massive steam explosion.
"Waaaaah!!"
Scalding white vapor spread in all directions, even reaching the audience stands.
When the mist finally cleared, Marigold's flames had vanished, and she stood soaked and disheveled, like a drenched cat.
Before she could react, Itachi appeared silently before her, his calm eyes meeting hers. "You've lost."
Marigold opened her mouth to protest—but suddenly realized she couldn't move. Her gaze locked on Itachi's eyes, and she immediately remembered what Akemi had said earlier. She understood now—she had fallen into a genjutsu.
No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't respond. She finally grasped just how terrifying Akemi's illusions truly were.
Continuing the fight would be pointless. If he wanted to kill her, she would already be dead.
Defeated, Marigold lowered her head weakly. "I've lost."
Boom!!
The audience erupted into an uproar.
"What?!"
"Lady Marigold surrendered?!"
"That kid is incredible!"
"He can spit fire and water—how is that possible?!"
All the warriors in the stands were stunned. A boy barely over ten had just defeated one of the Gorgon Sisters—one of Amazon Lily's top three fighters.
Unbelievable.
"Nii-san's amazing!!"
Sasuke cheered happily, thrilled that his brother had won so decisively.
The Uchiha clan members were equally impressed, though not entirely shocked. After all, Akemi had already been famous across the ninja world at age eleven.
"I'm sorry, Sister… I lost."
Marigold returned to Hancock in shame.
Hancock's face darkened. Her trusted sister had lost in the first round—it was humiliating.
"It's fine. You simply didn't understand their abilities. Leave the next one to me."
Sandersonia patted Marigold's shoulder, then stepped forward toward the arena.
Marigold warned urgently, "Sonia, be careful of their eyes! Their illusion techniques are terrifying—I couldn't move at all after falling for it."
Sandersonia replied confidently, "Illusions? Just cheap tricks. As long as I don't meet their gaze, I'll be fine."