One Piece: I am Imu
Chapter 380: Dragons, Demons, and Dead Men

Chapter 380: Chapter 380: Dragons, Demons, and Dead Men

Imu was reading the reports in his office on Noah’s Ark.

Previously, he had issued an order to switch Borsalino and Shiki.

The former was to return to the Starfish World and take up station on the Moon, while Shiki was dispatched to the Zero Magic World to handle the revived ancient dragon and simultaneously stand guard over the Elven Kingdom.

That directive had now been carried out.

However, according to reports from the Other Worlds Strategic Committee—

During that period, the ancient dragon had roamed freely through the former Papal States of Romalia, reducing every city it encountered to scorched earth with its flames.

This included the former capital of the Papal States, home to the Grand Cathedral of Romalia.

Fortunately, before leaving, Amatori Biba had pushed through a mass relocation plan to the airborne island of Albion, leaving those cities empty.

So, although the material losses were enormous, there were no human casualties.

This brought great relief to King Wales, Queen Henrietta, and Pope Vittorio.

King Wales’s feelings toward Amatori Biba became even more complicated.

"Looks like that dragon’s searching for the Void users..."

Imu murmured softly as he watched the holographic projection of the ancient dragon venting its fury and wreaking havoc on the surrounding landscape.

The dragon had once devoured a Void user—thus acquiring its current strength and abilities. It could grow even more powerful by consuming additional Void users.

Crucially, it possessed the ability to sense the location of every Void user across the world.

But the problem was—Louise, Hiraga Saito, and the others had already been taken to the Canberra Continent of the Titans World.

With its targets suddenly gone, the dragon had become violently agitated.

But all of that had happened several days ago.

Once the current Air Force General, the ’Golden Lion’ Shiki, arrived in the Zero Magic World—

The dragon was first stripped of all its black outer shell by his dual swords. Then, using the powers of the Float-Float Fruit, Shiki compressed it into a giant sphere of molten rock.

To make it easier for researchers from the Academy of Sciences to access it, Shiki directly suspended the sphere over the skies of the Kingdom of Albion.

However, there was one noteworthy detail:

Shiki discovered that the dragon’s outer shell interfered with Devil Fruit abilities to a certain extent.

To maintain the effectiveness of the Float-Float Fruit on the molten sphere, the Academy of Sciences had to routinely request help from a swordsman of the Army.

The swordsman’s task: cut away the black shell that continuously formed on the lava’s surface and collect it for research.

Surprisingly, the results were excellent.

The ’molten sphere’ had effectively become a self-regenerating source of anti-magic material.

Of course, over time, it still needed to be returned to a volcano to absorb magma energy and replenish its magical power.

"Father!"

While Imu was carefully reviewing a series of holographic reports at his desk, Little Yama suddenly bounced out from a spontaneously opened ’Gate of the Underworld’ on the other side of the office.

"How did it go?"

Imu waved a hand to clear away the various images on his desk, eyes gleaming slightly with anticipation as he looked up.

"There’s news from the underworld of the Starfish World! The King of the Dead’s fleet has already reached the edge of the Underworld in the Shinobi World, guided by the soul coordinates!"

Little Yama slumped into a chair with a giggle.

"Is that so..."

Imu’s mood brightened instantly—this was exactly what he’d been waiting for.

Afterwards, he still had to watch how the battle unfolded on the side of the King of the Dead. If the King of the Dead could tie down Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, then the pressure on the World Government would drop significantly.

"I’ve already told you what to do, Little Yama. Just keep monitoring the King of the Dead."

"Got it, Father~"

Little Yama agreed sweetly, then added with a pitiful look, "But Father, since I rarely get to visit... can I stay and accompany you for a few days?"

Imu fell silent for a moment before giving his permission.

"Very well. You can stay here for two days. In the meantime, show me how your Kidō research is progressing."

"Yay! Wonderful!"

Little Yama cheered and jumped down from the chair, laughing brightly.

"I’ll demonstrate the technique I just developed!"

"Oh?"

Imu’s interest was clearly piqued.

At the same time—

In the Shinobi World, in the Sea of Trees near Konohagakure, in the Land of Fire—

The battle between Aramaki and the reinforcements—Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Sage Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—was officially underway.

"Summoning Technique!"

Hiruzen was the first to act, calling forth the Monkey King, Enma, and transforming him into the indestructible Adamantine Staff.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

In the next instant—

Three identical versions of the Third Hokage surged forward, charging at Aramaki, who was standing on the head of a giant wooden titan, arms outstretched and laughing loudly.

"Rawawawa! Come, then—show me your power, Shinobi!"

Hiruzen paid no attention to Aramaki’s taunts and wild laughter.

At the same time—

The wooden giant beneath Aramaki lifted its arm, which was several dozen meters long.

Its massive fist came crashing down toward them.

The terrifying force shattered the air with a deafening blast,

Creating a thick, visible shockwave that surged out in all directions across the sea of trees.

When Hiruzen, Danzō, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru saw that colossal hammer strike descending upon them, their expressions changed.

"Water Release...!"

"Earth Release!"

"Lightning Release!"

Hiruzen and his two Shadow Clones quickly formed hand seals.

At the same moment—

From the rear, Danzō and Jiraiya combined their own signature jutsu.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"

"Sage Art: Flame Dragon Bomb!"

In the blink of an eye, the five powerful techniques merged mid-air, fusing into an enhanced version of the Five Release Great Combo Technique.

In an instant—

The five high-level jutsu spiraled together,

And collided directly with the descending wooden giant’s fist.

[BOOM!!!]

A thunderous explosion rang out.

The ferocious force compressed the air into a blurry wave of destruction.

Entire swaths of the surrounding forest—and the Konoha shinobi fighting within it—were violently blown away.

Aramaki, atop the wooden giant’s head, narrowed his eyes at the sheer power unleashed.

When the aftermath finally settled—

The surviving shinobi, who had barely endured the shockwave, were stunned to see that the giant’s entire right half had been blown open—leaving behind an enormous gaping wound.

A wave of astonishment swept through the battlefield.

The morale, which had plunged to its lowest point due to Aramaki’s earlier onslaught,

Now began to rebound with this first offensive strike led by Hiruzen and the others.

On the faces of many shinobi—previously numb and filled with despair—faint smiles were finally returning.

"Interesting."

Aramaki, on his side, also let out a few surprised clicks of his tongue.

He immediately abandoned the now-’damaged’ wooden giant, leaping straight down toward the ground.

Though he could’ve easily regenerated the hole in the wooden giant,

He was simply getting bored of playing with his ’mecha’.

"Rawawawa! Brace yourselves—your granddaddy’s about to get serious!"

Aramaki laughed wildly again, unrestrained, as he plunged downward against the rushing wind.

"Scatter!"

Hiruzen didn’t respond with words.

At his command, the two Shadow Clones immediately spread out to either side.

The next moment—

With a loud sonic boom, the staff’s tip suddenly shot upward and extended at incredible speed.

[DUANG!]

However—

The Adamantine Staff, wrapped in fierce momentum and tearing through the air, was smashed aside by a single heavy punch from Aramaki.

Hiruzen wasn’t surprised by the outcome.

Seeing Aramaki continuing to charge forward, he quickly retracted the staff and leapt backward.

Just then, Jiraiya—now in Sage Mode—swept past Hiruzen, rushing head-on toward Aramaki, who towered above him.

"Sage Art: Needle Jizō!"

Jiraiya’s long, white hair suddenly stiffened, each strand hardening into a needle-like quill.

With the surge of senjutsu chakra,

Jiraiya’s hair instantly flared upward and transformed into a dense cluster of silver-white senbon, launching forth like a torrential downpour.

"Tch, what a pain~"

Aramaki sneered at the wide-area attack.

Those silver hairs were clearly infused with that senjutsu chakra or whatever—

Which meant he couldn’t just rely on his elementalization ability to tank the hit.

In an instant, he dodged to the left at lightning speed.

But Jiraiya’s hair seemed endless—and his sensory ability had clearly been enhanced as well.

The needles tracked him like auto-targeting machine cannons.

No matter where Aramaki moved, the barrage continued to track and rain down on his position.

"Ugh, are you done yet?!"

Aramaki’s face twisted in frustration.

In response, over a dozen trees rapidly grew in front of him, trying to shield him from the onslaught.

But the power behind those ’senbon’ was far from ordinary—

The thick trunks, as tough as millennia-old trees, were pierced clean through almost instantly.

Meanwhile—

Danzō moved into position nearby and unleashed his Vacuum Sphere Waves to support Jiraiya’s offensive.

"Aaaargh, ENOUGH already! All this flashy crap—how about fighting me head-on for once?!"

Aramaki snapped.

The photosynthetic energy inside his body fused with Armament Haki and exploded outward in a blinding surge of green light.

The sheer force instantly obliterated the incoming high-pressure wind spheres.

As for the ’senbon’ infused with senjutsu chakra—

Though they managed to pierce about five or six centimeters into his skin, they couldn’t fully break through.

Ultimately, they too were forcefully repelled by the surge of outward energy.

Jiraiya’s heart sank at the sight.

However—

Aramaki didn’t give them time to be shocked.

His fist surged forward.

A violent shockwave shot toward Jiraiya with explosive momentum.

In midair, a massive bull—composed entirely of green light—took shape around the attack.

It tore through the sky, charging straight toward Jiraiya through the storm of ’senbon’.

Even though the ’senbon’ carried senjutsu chakra, Aramaki’s punch was imbued with an overwhelmingly powerful Armament Haki.

"Not good!"

The luminous green bull avatar was faster than expected.

Just as Jiraiya halted his Needle Jizō and prepared to dodge, the green wave was already upon him.

"Three-Seal Barrier!"

At that critical moment—

With a thunderous shout from three Hiruzen Sarutobi clones, a barrier made of green energy walls rose in front of Jiraiya,

Blocking the charging green bull avatar head-on.

[BOOM!!]

A deafening explosion shook the air.

Jiraiya, mid-leap backward, watched clearly as the translucent green, pyramid-shaped barrier shattered like fragile glass in less than two seconds.

During that brief two-second window, Jiraiya’s hands rapidly formed a new set of hand seals.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled a dark yellow liquid directly at Aramaki.

"Sage Art: Toad Oil Bullet!"

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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