Dust Release: Original World Separation Technique.
Strip. Deconstruct. And—
Explode!
Orochimaru smiled with confidence. In his eyes, unless Logan had the ability to phase through reality itself, there was no way he could possibly avoid that attack.
The blinding white light of the explosion eventually faded. Uchiha Itachi was the first to look toward the battlefield.
"Konan! What happened? Is Logan dead?" Deidara shouted.
Konan looked confused. "Can't you see it yourself?"
"The blast was too bright. I stared directly at it. My vision's still a blur," Deidara replied, eyes red and watery.
Unlike others who shielded their eyes, Deidara had chosen to admire the display—his love of explosive art compelling him to witness every second of the detonation. It was rare for him to see an artist who shared his aesthetic, so he stared wide-eyed, refusing to miss even a flicker of beauty.
Uchiha Itachi, watching this odd display, couldn't help but miss Hoshigaki Kisame. He may have been a bit rough around the edges, but at least Kisame had boundaries.
Then came the unexpected.
"Logan… is fine," Konan murmured. "Actually, it's the Second Tsuchikage who's in trouble."
Everyone looked again. Standing in the heart of the explosion, Logan was completely unharmed. He remained poised mid-throw, one arm extended in a follow-through motion. And then they saw it: a streak of glowing energy slicing through the air, crossing hundreds of meters, piercing the floating void above.
The Sword of Destruction.
It had been launched through the light of the explosion and struck true—skewering the Second Tsuchikage in midair.
Every single person—be it the trio in the sky, the spies on the ground, or Orochimaru in hiding—stood frozen.
What the hell just happened?
By all accounts, this was a flawless ambush. Senju Hashirama and the Second Tsuchikage had coordinated perfectly. Logan had been completely caught in the range of Dust Release: Original World Separation Technique. There should have been no escape.
So how was he unscathed?
Even with Itachi's Sharingan, everything had unfolded too quickly, too brightly. No one saw the full picture. No one except, perhaps, Orochimaru.
He squinted, studying the battlefield.
"The Dust Release definitely hit him," Orochimaru muttered. "It deconstructed enough mass to trigger a massive explosion... but something's off."
His gaze locked on Logan's round backpack—then narrowed.
That pack probably contained the Dragon and Snake Orbs. Orochimaru also remembered the sword Logan had used before in the village—the same terrifying weapon now protruding from the Second Tsuchikage.
He finally understood.
Natural energy.
The principle behind Dust Release is simple in theory but lethal in execution: it creates a deconstruction field. Anything that enters that field is stripped apart, reduced to atoms. But is that deconstruction limitless?
Of course not.
If it were, the Tsuchikage could fire one shot at the ground and drill through the entire planet.
The range is restricted by chakra output. Based on that limit, the Dust Release field can likely disintegrate five to six times the mass of a human body. Beyond that, the chakra-generated field begins to break down and dissipate.
Once it finishes disintegrating its target, the remaining energy ignites, triggering a blast with the leftover heat.
Logan had sensed the difference.
He used the Dragon Snake Orb to summon natural energy—raw power from the world around him. Before the Dust Release field could even touch him, he forcefully injected that natural energy into the incoming field, consuming its energy and rendering it inert.
The explosion still occurred, but Logan wasn't harmed. His Stand, Star Platinum, absorbed the shockwave.
And in that same moment, he used the light of the explosion as cover—launching his Sword of Destruction in a lightning-fast counterattack.
A single second. One observation. Dozens of actions.
That's all it took.
"Is this... Uchiha talent?" Kabuto whispered in awe after hearing Orochimaru's muttered analysis.
"No," Orochimaru answered quietly, still staring at Logan. "This is his own talent."
---
Logan now stood before the fallen Tsuchikage, who had been pierced clean through.
Orochimaru grinned.
"Yes. Fight. Fight with all your strength. And then…"
"Submit to fate."
He wasn't concerned about Logan winning. After all, Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation allowed endless retries. Sooner or later, Logan would make a mistake.
As long as Orochimaru was alive, he had chances.
But then he saw something that made his smile vanish.
The White Snake appeared.
Logan reached forward, grabbed the Tsuchikage's throat, and the White Snake grinned wickedly before slapping the man across the face.
Sizzle—Click!
Two CDs popped out from the body. The White Snake casually removed them.
The Tsuchikage collapsed into sand—his true form exposed. Nothing more than an ordinary man now.
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
"The spell... It's been lifted?!"
He checked again.
No. Impure World Reincarnation was still active. The soul was still bound.
But the control—the anchor—had been moved. Instead of being tied to the corpse, it was now embedded in the CDs held by the White Snake.
The snake turned the discs in its hands with disgust. Small flakes crumbled off—old and brittle.
These couldn't be reused in a host. But...
The White Snake clapped its hands together, crushed the disks between them, and threw the remains over its head.
From the drifting powder, a glowing thread materialized—pointing downward.
The connection between soul and summoner had been reversed. They had a lock on the caster.
The White Snake placed one hand on her hip, tilted her head, and smiled.
"I found you."
Orochimaru's stomach sank.
He quickly ordered Senju Hashirama to intercept Logan.
Too late.
Logan darted forward and slashed downward with his blade.
A deep crack split open the ground.
Star Platinum reached down, gripped the edges of the fissure, and pulled.
The underground base was ripped open like a can.
Sunlight spilled in—and revealed Orochimaru and Kabuto, frozen mid-movement.
Orochimaru winced.
"So... bright."
A shadow loomed over him.
"I—" he began.
Ola!
A crushing blow from Star Platinum slammed into his skull.
Logan gave him no time, no opportunity for ninjutsu, no conversation.
No mercy.
Before Star Platinum could unleash a combo, Logan switched.
White Snake!
The White Snake reappeared.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted.
This… this was the thing that had found him earlier!
Where Star Platinum was raw power, the White Snake was chilling—like staring into a mirror and seeing your darker self.
"I succeeded," the White Snake said softly.
Sizzle—Click!
Logan watched as the White Snake extracted a disc.
It contained a face: Orochimaru's.
A memory and a ninjutsu.
Logan's expression hardened.
This was Orochimaru's true self.
Without hesitation, Logan raised his blade, infused it with ripple energy, and it shimmered with golden waves. He prepared to finish it—with one clean strike to sever the root of this threat.
Yakushi Kabuto, acting at last, lunged forward with a steel needle.
He tried to intervene—but deep down, everyone knew the truth.
Kabuto couldn't stop him.
Not Logan.
---
The spies watching nearby held their breath. They wanted to record this moment in memory. This was history.
Logan's blade cut through the air with deadly precision.
But just before the blow landed, he saw something reflected in the blade's surface.
A pair of eyes.
Buzz—
The world shifted.
It turned red.
A pair of crimson Sharingan eyes hung in the sky above Logan like gods watching from the heavens.
His body froze.
Three figures dropped from the sky, landing with grace and finality.
When the spies got a good look, they erupted into whispers and panic.
Uchiha Itachi.
Deidara.
Konan.
Three infamous names—appearing at once, in one place.
The implications would send every intelligence agency into overdrive.
Logan's blade hovered a mere three inches from Orochimaru's throat.
"Is this enough?" Deidara asked casually.
Uchiha Itachi responded, "The battle is over."
Deidara and Konan nodded in agreement.
Itachi waited a moment, then glanced at the two. "Aren't you going to seal him?"
They both shook their heads.
They had seen enough.
They had witnessed Logan's battle firsthand. His Stand, Star Platinum. His abilities. His instincts. The way he dismantled every threat with overwhelming force.
Even with escape techniques of their own, they weren't about to walk into Logan's range.
Itachi turned toward Logan. "He's under my genjutsu now. He won't be able to break it. There's nothing to worry—"
He stepped forward, entering within two meters of Logan.
pàtreøn (Gk31)