"Phew…"
Pirate Yujin let out a long breath, pinching his frozen nose until the stiff nose hairs cracked off. Only then did he feel a bit of relief.
Even in this miserable state, he still managed to joke in the "Chat Group."
"Well, at least our resistance to hunger, heat, and cold has improved now!"
The Yujin from Naruto and the one from Marvel didn't even know how to reply. They could only force an awkward laugh.
"I'm not really hungry," Pirate Yujin continued, "but damn, it's freezing. The war wolves' fur isn't even warm! I'm starting to wonder how those beasts survive the cold—are they just naturally hot-blooded?"
Marvel Yujin thought for a moment.
"Why don't you just knock out a couple of them," he suggested casually, "and carry them around as living heaters?"
"Genius!" Yujin slapped his forehead. "I'll go catch them right now!"
But just as he moved, his body froze.
Within his Observation Haki, a powerful aura was rapidly approaching. It felt both unfamiliar and terrifyingly familiar.
Unfamiliar—because he had only recently learned to use Observation Haki.
Familiar—because that killing intent was something he could never forget.
The Head Jailer of Impel Down.
And the future Second Ship Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates—
Shiryu of the Rain.
A low, eerie laugh echoed through the cold air.
"Hehehehe… hahaha…"
Shiryu stepped into Yujin's view, cigar glowing faintly in the dim light. His eyes gleamed with a predator's excitement as he studied Yujin.
"I know your ability is strange," he said, exhaling a ring of smoke. "And I also know Seastone doesn't work on you. Do you know why I never reported that to the higher-ups?"
Yujin pressed his palms together, his Sharingan's three tomoe spinning violently.
"Because you damn bastard," he snarled, "you knew I'd break out again anyway!"
Shiryu's grin widened.
He unsheathed his blade—Raiu—and lunged forward like a starving wolf.
"Smart!" he shouted.
His sword flashed with deadly precision, every swing filled with madness and bloodlust.
But just before he could strike, his expression suddenly froze. His pupils dilated, his body stiffened—like he had fallen into a bottomless illusion.
A burst of blinding white light flared before his eyes.
And in the next instant, everything around him vanished.
Only silence remained.
A vast, endless void.
In most people's nightmares, fear might take the form of monsters, demons, or terrifying scenes.
But for Shiryu, his greatest fear was something far simpler—
A world with no one left to kill.
That endless void, that suffocating silence,
It was like the deepest, most haunting nightmare imaginable—
One that made even his soul tremble.
Yet, after all, he was a man who had crawled out of countless massacres.
Even when fear gnawed at his heart, his killer's instincts refused to bow.
"Pssshk!"
Shiryu's eyes snapped open!
In that instant, he broke free from the illusion—
Only to feel a sharp pain shoot through his chest!
Taking advantage of his brief distraction, Yujin had already launched his counterattack.
Two sharp tails shot forward like arrows, piercing toward him with immense force,
So strong that Shiryu's body tilted slightly backward from the impact.
But his battle-hardened body, tempered through endless slaughter,
Withstood what should've been a fatal blow.
The tails barely managed to pierce his flesh before his muscles clenched tight,
Trapping them in place, unable to go any deeper.
A savage grin flashed across Shiryu's face.
He swung his blade without hesitation!
With the combined focus of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and Observation Haki, Yujin narrowly dodged the slash, cursing inwardly:
"Damn it—people in the One Piece world have ridiculous bodies!"
If even his tail attack couldn't break Shiryu's defense,
Then that combination of Great Fireball and Pressure Wind—his compound ninjutsu, Flame Wind Chaos Wave—
Wouldn't do much either.
This guy hadn't even used Armament Haki yet.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Yujin thrust out his hand toward the descending blade Raiu,
As several snakes shot out, wrapping tightly around Shiryu's sword!
But in the next moment—
Shiryu merely twisted his wrist,
And the blade spun viciously.
The snakes were severed instantly, bursting into puffs of white smoke before fading away!
At that critical instant, Yujin's Sharingan flashed again—
He activated his Hypnotic Ability!
Shiryu's body froze for a split second.
Yujin leapt back, retreating to a safe distance,
As a blue Wind-Release: Mask erupted from his body!
His hands formed seals in rapid succession,
And chakra surged wildly within him like a raging tide.
He took a deep breath, focusing the Fire-Release chakra in his throat—
Then shouted, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The Earth Grudge Mask shone with a blinding blue light,
Unleashing a roaring whirlwind that intertwined with the massive fireball!
Under the storm's embrace, the flames twisted, fused, and transformed—
Becoming a colossal wave of blazing fire and violent wind!
Compound Ninjutsu — Flame Wind Chaos Wave!
The fire raged forward like a furious beast,
Devouring everything in its path as it surged toward Shiryu!
In an instant, his figure was swallowed whole by the inferno.
The scorching heat distorted the very air,
Melting the snow into steam and cracking the frozen ground beneath their feet.
Yujin didn't dare to relax for even a moment.
He knew exactly how terrifying Shiryu truly was.
The instant his jutsu was unleashed,
He turned and sprinted away without looking back.
He had no intention of checking whether Shiryu had survived.
Even Garp's furious over-the-shoulder throw hadn't managed to inflict any real damage on Shiryu.
With his current strength, killing Shiryu was nothing short of a fantasy.
As expected.
Yujin had barely taken a few steps when Shiryu, wreathed in smoke, burst out from the flames!
A layer of dark, metallic sheen coated his fist that gripped the blade — it looked almost like black lacquer.
It was Yujin's first time witnessing Armament Haki in the One Piece world.
Shiryu swung his sword.
The immense force carried a blood-red arc of light that sliced through the air, shooting straight toward Yujin's back!
Boom!
The crimson blade light slashed through—only to split a wooden log in half.
Shiryu didn't seem surprised in the least.
He quickly turned his head and slashed again!
"Die!"
In that instant—
A colossal water dragon roared into existence!
Its vast body twisted and coiled through the frozen landscape, a vivid, almost blinding contrast against the snow and ice.
Shiryu's sword slash, sharp as Inazuma, cleaved straight toward the beast!
The two forces collided in an instant.
Where the blade light struck, half of the dragon's body vaporized under the intense heat, rising as swirling mist into the air.
But the dragon's remaining force didn't fade — its other half, still surging with crushing momentum, slammed into Shiryu like a tidal wave!
The impact drove him back two heavy steps, his boots carving deep trenches into the snow.
Yet he quickly regained his balance, the killing intent in his eyes burning even fiercer.
Just as he stepped forward, dozens of black feathers — hard as steel and sharp as arrows — shot toward him from the side!
Shiryu frowned slightly, biting down harder on his cigar.
His blade moved in a blur.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A sharp chorus of metal rang out as he deflected the barrage of feathers, each one falling harmlessly at his feet.
He barely had time to lift his head before a massive fireball and a speeding water cannon came crashing toward him!
Irritated, Shiryu let his power explode in full.
He ignored the onslaught of ninjutsu — letting the flames swallow him whole, only to be blasted back by the water cannon moments later.
When the storm settled, Shiryu stood amidst the steam, his face dark and cold, fury boiling inside him like a raging tide.
Both hands gripped his blade, Raiu, pouring his immense strength and Armament Haki into it without restraint.
His body sank slightly, legs rooted deep into the snow like iron stakes.
The air around him trembled and twisted, drawn toward the violent energy about to erupt from within.
"Prison Break Slash!"
With a low, commanding roar, Shiryu swung his blade violently into the air!
In that instant, a massive, terrifying blade of black light shot forward like a streak of Inazuma, tearing through the air and heading straight toward Yujin, as sensed by his Observation Haki.
The power contained within this slash seemed capable of splitting the heavens and earth.
The very space around it groaned under its immense force, and the snow beneath was whipped into towering waves, rolling violently to either side!
Yet, just as the blade was about to strike Yujin, a massive Rashomon suddenly rose from the ground, slowly but steadily.
The Rashomon appeared just in time, blocking the path of the deadly strike.
"Boom!"
With a deafening crash, the blade struck the Rashomon with tremendous force.
Sparks flew in every direction, the light blazing so brightly that it was impossible to look directly at it.
The impact was so strong that the snow around the Rashomon was instantly obliterated, revealing the hard ice beneath.
Though the enormous Rashomon resisted bravely against the terrifying slash for a moment, it ultimately could not withstand the attack and was cleaved cleanly in two.
Shiryu had expected that Yujin would be revealed after such a strike.
But to his shock, Yujin's presence had vanished without a trace in the endless snow.
"He ran?!" Shiryu's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.
His chest heaved violently as he spun around in anger, searching every corner for Yujin.
But all he found were the shattered remnants of the Rashomon and a chaotic, snow-covered battlefield. Nothing else.
After a long moment, Yujin, hidden under the ice, gasped for breath.
He had almost suffocated inside the ice layer.
He glanced at the Okama beside him, an androgynous figure with a playing-card club motif.
"Th… thanks," Yujin whispered.
Holding a glass of red wine, Inazuma shook his head.
"Anyone who can go toe-to-toe with Shiryu is worth keeping around. Come on. Let's go."
****
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