Chapter 82: Crushing
Holding Tsunade's fist, Ayaan slowly increased his strength. The sound of "ga ba ge ba" echoed continuously. Tsunade's face turned red and she groaned—but it was the sound of her hand bones breaking.
Not only that, as the black mist spread, the chakra in her body was continuously being absorbed by Ayaan. In just a few short moments, at least three layers of chakra had been drained.
The explosive power of Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength was strong, but it couldn't make her body as tough as steel. At this moment, Tsunade was in a dilemma—there was no way to pull her fist out of Ayaan's grip.
Seeing this, Jiraiya could no longer sit still. His white hair fluttered as he leapt forward like a giant python.
"Chaotic Lion's Mane Technique!"
"Get out of the way and stop being a nuisance," Ayaan snorted coldly. He casually waved his other hand, and a swirl of black mist forced Jiraiya back in an instant.
No matter how flexible Jiraiya's hair was, it was useless against the black mist. As soon as it came into contact, his chakra was drained. What's more, the black mist continued to press forward, forcing even Jiraiya to retreat again and again.
"Damn it, Dark Release is such a cheating ability! It completely suppresses regular ninjutsu, is incredibly flexible to use, and doesn't even need hand signs!"
Orochimaru, watching from the side, stared at Ayaan's attack wide-eyed. He had long heard of the terrifying kekkei genkai known as Dark Release, but it wasn't until now that he truly realized just how overwhelming this ability was.
"It's a terrifying technique comparable to Dust Realese. Dust Release disintegrates everything, but Dark Release absorbs everything. And in terms of versatility, Dark Release is far superior."
At that moment, while Ayaan used one hand to suppress Jiraiya, Tsunade swung her free fist and punched directly at Ayaan's head!
She thought that with Ayaan holding her with one hand and fending off Jiraiya with the other, he would be forced to let go or retreat in the face of her incoming blow.
However, a faint sneer appeared on Ayaan's face. A dark, domineering aura spread over his head—and with a clang like a giant bell, Tsunade's punch landed.
"Ah!" But it was Tsunade who cried out in pain. It felt like she had punched solid diamond. Her fist bones cracked and tendons tore—blood began to drip.
During the earlier fight, Tsunade had already realized the mystery behind Ayaan's Haki, but she never imagined that it could even be applied to his own head. This was completely different from standard ninjutsu.
Ayaan felt Tsunade's body suddenly weaken, her pupils dilating. She almost collapsed, and the other fist she had used to resist also loosened. Her entire body began to tremble.
"...Hemophobia?" Ayaan's mind flickered. He remembered Tsunade's condition from the original timeline.
"You've got hemophobia and you still dared to pick a fight with me?" Ayaan was somewhat confused by Tsunade's choices. He let go of her arm and threw her directly toward Jiraiya.
Seeing Tsunade flying toward him, Jiraiya immediately gave up fighting and rushed to catch her in his arms.
The three reconnaissance ninjas nearby now looked at Ayaan as if facing a monster.
Ayaan glanced at the three. The one with insects? Naturally restrained by Armament and Observation Haki—not worth worrying about.
The one with the dog? His ninjutsu are mostly close-combat. If he dares come close, I'll just smash his dog head in.
The last one uses Gentle Fist and chakra point strikes. But even without chakra, I can beat him to death with raw strength alone.
To be honest, if the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist existed in the world of One Piece, it would be almost useless—except for brute-force techniques like Rotation or Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Chakra point strikes are worthless when chakra isn't even needed. Just muscles alone would destroy them.
"That guy should be Hyuga Hizashi, right? I wonder if devouring him would evolve my bloodline further?" Ayaan eyed Hizashi with greed, making the man shiver involuntarily.
"Forget it. The Giant Tenseigan is still on the moon. One more or one less Hyuga doesn't matter."
Ayaan's last gaze turned toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's expression had become stiff.
[Question: What do you do when the experiment subject you love is so strong that he could kill you in seconds? Urgent. Asking online.]
Orochimaru wanted to retreat, but since the beginning—even though Ayaan was fighting Jiraiya and Tsunade—he felt that Ayaan had most of his attention focused on him.
He didn't know how Ayaan was watching him, but it felt like countless invisible eyes were tracking his every move. That's why he didn't dare to slip away earlier.
Now, with no way out, Orochimaru could only fight with full strength.
He bit his finger, quickly formed hand seals, and slammed his palm to the ground: "Summoning Technique!"
With a loud bang, a massive purple serpent appeared on the battlefield. The first thing it said to Orochimaru was:
"Orochimaru, I want 100 sacrifices this time!"
Orochimaru's face darkened. This was why he rarely summoned intelligent creatures from Ryuchi Cave. Among the Sannin, all three were summoning masters. But Orochimaru had only one intelligent summon—Manda—because the other snakes had too massive of appetites.
But this was a critical moment in the battle. Orochimaru had no time to argue.
"If we win this fight, I'll give you all 100 sacrifices!"
"Remember what you said." Manda turned and looked at Ayaan. "Is this the opponent?"
"Be careful, he's not easy to deal with!" Orochimaru warned.
"Hmph." Manda snorted coldly but did not underestimate Ayaan. He was familiar with Orochimaru's strength and knew that anyone Orochimaru warned about had to be taken seriously.
With a cold hiss, Manda's thick tail swept forward, smashing toward the balcony like a falling mountain.
Ayaan narrowed his eyes slightly. Facing such a giant summoned beast, his long-dormant excitement was finally ignited.
Ordinary ninjas were like paper in front of Ayaan. They may surpass pirates in chakra versatility and skill, but in terms of physical endurance, they were fragile. They always dodged and avoided direct confrontations.
Tsunade had been a rare exception—a close-combat specialist. But while strong, her body wasn't built for the pure force of Ayaan's Haki. Just the recoil of his aura broke her bones.
But now, a giant summoning beast like Manda—this was a rare opportunity. A perfect target for Ayaan's overwhelming, direct combat style.
---