One Piece: I am Imu

"Who's there?!"

Hyūga Hizashi was startled. Instinctively, he activated his Byakugan and scanned the area around him but saw nothing unusual.

Underground!

With the reaction speed and combat experience of a jōnin, his body had already executed a Shunshin the moment the thought occurred to him.

But even though he was fast, some things were faster.

From beneath Hizashi's foot, shadows shot upward like lightning, wrapping tightly around his left leg.

"What is this...?"

His Shunshin was forcibly halted. Hizashi quickly looked down, shocked to see that it was a thick tree branch with green leaves coiled around his leg!

More branches burst up from the earth, writhing like serpents. Hizashi didn't hesitate. At once, chakra surged from every tenketsu in his body.

Rotation!

A violent torrent of chakra spun at high speed, instantly tearing apart all the branches wrapped around him and those still reaching out.

At that moment—

"What an interesting technique. But in the face of absolute power..."

"Mudada!"

Suddenly, that same arrogant voice rang out again.

At the same time, two massive tree trunks burst from the ground on either side of his swirling blue chakra dome, growing rapidly upward.

[BOOM————]

These two thick trunks transformed into gigantic wooden palms and slammed together from both sides.

His Rotation burst like a balloon on contact, the rampant blue chakra surging uncontrollably out between the wooden fingers.

"Gah...!"

Caught between the two giant palms, Hizashi coughed up blood, clearly suffering a severe blow. His pale eyes were wide with disbelief.

"H-How... how is that possible? This... this is supposed to be... absolute defense...!"

As the giant wooden palms pulled apart, Hizashi collapsed weakly to the ground.

Even as he mumbled his confusion, his blurred vision caught sight of a polished black leather boot in front of him.

But he no longer had the strength to raise his head.

Still, an image rose unbidden in his mind—the man he'd seen earlier through his Byakugan in that underground palace.

Was it him?

So he had already been discovered back then... But this Wood Release—before he could finish the thought, Hizashi's consciousness finally sank into darkness.

"Hizashi-san!!!"

In the distance, Inuzuka Gaku and Akimichi Chōza, locked in battle against a group of army frontline troops and CP8 black-clad operatives, watched this scene unfold with bloodshot eyes and expressions of rage and despair.

Their gazes immediately fixed on the tall man now standing beside Hizashi.

That man, newly arrived in the Shinobi World, was none other than Aramaki.

"Who would've thought that the moment I step outside, something this exciting would happen? Rawawa! Looks like even fate is on my side. The position of Army General is as good as mine—Rawawa~~!"

Aramaki burst into unrestrained laughter, head thrown back in the middle of this chaotic and thunderous battlefield.

"Damn it!"

His arrogance completely infuriated Inuzuka Gaku. He immediately called out his ninken and charged straight at Aramaki.

Together, they activated the Inuzuka clan's secret technique—

Human-Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf!

[BOOM————]

With a huge burst of white smoke, a towering, seven-meter-tall beast with two heads and yellow fur appeared as it charged straight at Aramaki.

Bullets from large-caliber guns pelted its body without effect. In its ferocious eyes, there was only the reflection of Aramaki's grinning face.

The huge two-headed dog leaped into the air, transforming into a yellow tornado.

"Yo~ A little two-headed doggie doing pirouettes? What a fun little show~"

Aramaki stood still, making no move to evade. His right arm, however, suddenly turned into wood—elementalizing—before rapidly expanding.

[Buzz————]

The wooden texture of his arm suddenly darkened into a glossy black sheen.

The next instant—

That thick, oversized black fist blasted out like a fired cannonball, meeting the incoming yellow tornado head-on.

[BOOM!!]

A terrifying force radiated from the punch, thick with compressed wind pressure. The surrounding air violently surged and wailed under the sudden impact.

The air itself exploded.

Waves of white, mist-like shockwave clouds erupted in all directions.

The yellow tornado, under the force of that unmatched power, lasted no more than four or five seconds before shattering completely.

Before everyone's eyes, the two-headed beast was blown backward.

Before they could hit the ground, their transformation was forcefully canceled midair by the impact, dispersing in a burst of white smoke.

One person and one dog, coughing up blood, were sent flying straight toward a tall spire behind them.

The giant form of Akimichi Chōza reached out just in time, catching them both with his massive hands. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at Aramaki, who was casually reverting his right arm back to normal.

"Hey, what're you staring at? You're next! Rawawa! You're all mine!"

With that, Aramaki turned and shouted to the surrounding Army soldiers and CP8 agents: "You lot are making too much noise. Just stand there and watch!"

"..."

The Army soldiers immediately stopped their attacks.

But the CP8 members exchanged glances—then ignored his orders entirely and continued their assault on Akimichi Chōza and Inuzuka Gaku.

"Ahhhhh! Damn it! Damn it! They're mine—!"

Furious, Aramaki drove both arms—now thick tree trunks—into the shattered ground and activated his Mori-Mori no Mi powers once more.

[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...]

From the ground of the plaza near the central tower, massive tree trunks burst out one after another.

They surged wildly toward Akimichi Chōza and toward the airborne CP8 members mid-attack.

However—

The towering Chōza vanished in an instant right before Aramaki's eyes.

"What?!"

Everything happened far too suddenly.

"They took those two… which means the next one is—"

Aramaki quickly composed himself. Though he usually came off as lazy, cocky, and arrogant, he had always been the type to make the most rational decisions in moments of crisis.

His gaze instantly shifted to the unconscious Hyūga Hizashi lying at his feet.

Just as his peripheral vision brushed over the man's form, a yellow flash appeared—it was Namikaze Minato, materializing with Flying Thunder God. His right hand was already reaching toward Hyūga Hizashi.

From the outside, the whole process seemed to unfold in the blink of an eye.

But within Aramaki's 'world', time itself had slowed to a crawl for both him and his opponent.

He could clearly see Namikaze Minato's movements.

He even locked eyes with the man, who looked up at him in surprise.

But if he relied on his own physical reflexes—whether to strike or kick—he knew there was no way he could stop this damned 'blond brat' from snatching away another 'combat achievement'.

Fury surged within him, and that fury exploded outward as Haki, forming an invisible shockwave that swept across the surroundings.

Namikaze Minato's pupils contracted; he had clearly sensed the invisible shockwave bearing down on him.

In the next instant—

A yellow flash reappeared. The shockwave of Armament Haki only brushed against the residual blur of his afterimage. By the time it passed, Namikaze Minato had already reappeared at the top floor window of the central tower.

Through the breach in the wall, one could see the main hall strewn with the corpses of men clad in black. Blood was splattered everywhere, flowing freely across the floor.

And there—

Behind a thick stone pillar, Gozuki had collapsed against it, limp.

A dark crimson pool had already spread beneath him, and the Shingu 'Kiriichimonji' was soaked in his blood.

Not far from Gozuki, Sheele and Tsukushi sat on the cold stone floor, each clutching a foot in pain.

Minato had shown mercy to the two girls—he hadn't killed them, merely severed the tendons in one of their feet.

Sara, naturally, had already been taken away as well.

So when Namikaze Minato appeared once more at the window, Sheele and Tsukushi were first startled—then filled with a whirlwind of emotion.

Had he returned to finish them off?

Minato didn't spare them a single glance. His eyes were locked downward, fixed on Aramaki, who was also staring up at him.

Because he could feel it—this man's strength was no joke.

But no matter what, he had to figure out a way to take Hyūga Hizashi.

The next moment—

Namikaze Minato pulled out eight specially crafted kunai from behind his back—each one etched with Flying Thunder God seals—and hurled them outward.

At the same time—

Chakra burst from beneath his feet, and with the aid of the Body Flicker Technique, he shot downward at an astonishing speed, hugging the surface of the central tower as he descended.

Meanwhile—

Aramaki's gaze remained fixed on Namikaze Minato's every movement, while his Observation Haki constantly monitored the surroundings.

As for the flying kunai, many were knocked off-course midair by the trees lining their path.

At this moment—

The area surrounding the central tower had become a miniature jungle, teeming with bizarrely shaped trees and vibrant green grass.

And that was exactly what made Minato wary.

"Wood Release... I never imagined I'd one day go up against such a legendary ability."

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

While continuing to move at high speed, he quickly formed hand seals in front of him and then unleashed a rapidly expanding horizontal gust of wind from his mouth.

The violent gale crashed into the dense grove ahead, ripping through the thick trees like a knife through butter.

[Fwoooosh—]

Using the Great Breakthrough as cover, Minato vanished into the jungle, dashing through without a single branch slowing him down.

He was drawing closer to Aramaki.

[Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!]

With another flick of his hands, he flung eight more of his marked kunai in a scattered formation.

However—

As the gale began to fade, thick, twisted branches erupted from the ground once again. They writhed like a swarm of demons, clawing and thrashing wildly.

In the end, they all merged into giant wooden fists that smashed down toward Minato.

But another yellow flash appeared.

The massive blows landed on empty ground, shaking the earth with a deafening boom.

Minato now stood right in front of Aramaki. While the latter stared at him with mockery in his eyes, Minato's gaze remained calm as he conjured a high-speed, spiraling blue sphere in his right palm.

"Good—bring it on!"

A ruthless gleam lit up Aramaki's eyes.

This 'blond brat' had kept teleporting around before, leaving him no choice but to stand guard over Hyūga Hizashi and wait like a predator at the rabbit hole.

But now, he was charging in for a direct clash?

If that's how it was going to be—then this was the perfect chance to deal a devastating blow and blast his arm right off!

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