After hearing Vegapunk's words, Orochimaru replied without hesitation, "No, it seems Suikazan Fuguki has never used such a move before. At least during the last Ninja World War, I never received any intelligence regarding this."
"Aside from Samehada, what this guy was best at in the past was Water Release and hair-based Ninjutsu driven by Yang Release."
"Hmm..." A meaningful smile appeared on Vegapunk's face as he watched Suikazan Fuguki's performance, a guess forming in his mind.
Is this a Ninjutsu intentionally developed to mimic the Eight Gates because of psychological trauma? Unfortunately, the effect is far worse than the Eight Gates, probably only equivalent to opening the third or fourth gate! Conversely, the side effects are at least equivalent to the seventh gate. It can't be called a complete failure, but for Suikazan Fuguki, it was indeed the wrong path to take.
In reality, Suikazan Fuguki wasn't that stupid; this move was originally meant to be used in conjunction with Samehada. By continuously absorbing Chakra through Samehada to heal his physical body, he could minimize the side effects and prolong the battle. It was only because Samehada failed him this time that he had to fight so desperately.
Vegapunk was a super genius in scientific research but had zero achievements in combat. Relying on the talent and battle instincts of this physical body, along with training and development using scientific equipment, his own combat power wasn't low, but his combat intelligence was basically at a novice level.
Therefore, he didn't see the true intent behind Suikazan Fuguki's Ninjutsu. Orochimaru, however, did see it, though he clearly had no intention of speaking up.
"Suikazan Fuguki is going to lose."
After watching for a moment, Orochimaru quickly reached a conclusion. Among the several people fighting Suikazan Fuguki, aside from the Great White Shark who was easy to deal with, the remaining few could either fly, burrow underground, regenerate, or had shell defenses. Their survival capabilities were much stronger than that Great White Shark.
So for a while, although Suikazan Fuguki held an absolute advantage, he couldn't take down another person in a short time. Furthermore, as time passed, the combat power he displayed was gradually decreasing.
This type of explosive ability emphasizes speed in combat; the first round of eruption is the most violent, but it quickly weakens afterward.
Therefore, if one cannot achieve an instant kill or heavily injure the opponent at the start, simply delaying a bit dooms them to failure.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, after Suikazan Fuguki had one last burst and smashed the head of that Octopus Ninja, he completely collapsed.
Soon, in less than ten minutes, the dying Suikazan Fuguki and that biological weapon Samehada were brought before Vegapunk and Orochimaru.
Vegapunk didn't really care about Suikazan Fuguki; he was just a slightly taller fat man. In the One Piece World, there were plenty of people taller and huskier than him.
Instead, it was that Samehada that drew quite a bit of Vegapunk's attention. Although this sword was made using a type of fish that lives symbiotically with the Three-Tails, in Vegapunk's view, its value might be even higher than the Three-Tails itself.
Setting everything else aside, the ability to swallow Chakra or even Ninjutsu and revert it to its original form for absorption was already a standard feature of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Although it was far inferior to Nagato's Rinnegan in terms of absorption capacity and limits, what kind of status did the Rinnegan have? Being able to compare with the Rinnegan in one aspect actually made one look more highly upon Samehada.
To some extent, the ability to devour and absorb Chakra can be said to be the core power of the entire chakra system, and the foundation for the Ōtsutsuki Clan to harvest planets.
The various other abilities of the Ōtsutsuki, such as Amenominaka, Yomotsu Hirasaka, Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, and Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb... in the end, they are all derivatives of accumulated large amounts of high-quality Chakra, and cannot be compared to the ability to absorb Chakra itself.
Vegapunk reached out and picked up Samehada, channeling Chakra into it. This sword, which possessed its own will, was not very obedient. Although the Chakra in Vegapunk's body was also very vast, it didn't seem to suit Samehada's taste. The entire sword grew spikes at the hilt, but after a series of ear-piercing sounds, they only left a few white marks on Vegapunk's hand.
Vegapunk's physical defense couldn't compare to a monster like Big Mom, and it was a notch below Kaido's, but it was only slightly inferior to those two monsters. Samehada's most terrifying ability was actually its power to absorb Chakra; its own hardness and sharpness were at most slightly better than ordinary metal, so it naturally couldn't hurt Vegapunk.
"This thing is quite arrogant!" Vegapunk frowned and lightly tapped it with his finger. With a crackling sound of overflowing electricity, Samehada immediately began to twitch and went limp on the ground a moment later.
Samehada can absorb Chakra, but Vegapunk used pure electricity. Samehada is not immune to this kind of power; this time, Samehada thoroughly enjoyed the treatment of an electrocuted fish.
Vegapunk wouldn't indulge Samehada. Unlike those Ninjas who treated their Ninja Swords as their second life, in Vegapunk's eyes, this thing was just a rare experimental specimen.
While Vegapunk was busy electrocuting the fish, Orochimaru had also made preparations, directly collecting many cells from Samehada's body before starting his analysis.
After fiddling with Samehada for a bit, Vegapunk handed the preliminary work of cell and gene observation to Orochimaru and turned his gaze to Suikazan Fuguki lying nearby.
Suikazan Fuguki's constitution was indeed good. Although he was severely injured all over and had lost at least a thousand milliliters of blood, leaving his face deathly pale, he still managed to stay conscious.
"Who... who exactly... are you?"
Hearing Suikazan Fuguki's question, Vegapunk said indifferently, "Haven't you seen the situation clearly yet? I should be the one asking you questions now!"
"Heh, do you think... there is... anything... worth saying... between us..."
Suikazan Fuguki spoke slowly and with great effort, pausing between every few words. Although this fat man's breath was as thin as silk, he didn't show much fear.
Although the Ninjas in this world have various personalities, those who can reach high positions possess a certain level of poise; at the very least, they are not complete cowards who fear death.
Even for Suikazan Fuguki, if it hadn't been for being severely beaten by Might Duy back then—changing from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into the 'Lucky Three' and having his psychological defenses completely shattered—he wouldn't have made the decision to betray Kirigakure.
But to say he was truly afraid of death was not necessarily true either.