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OPI Chapter 441: Fire, Flood, and the Gate of the Underworld
🕑 Added 2025-06-24 00:18:30 +0000 UTC“This is going to be a problem…” Standing atop the back of his black hawk, Uchiha Fugaku frowned deeply and let out a silent sigh. There wer
“This is going to be a problem…”
Standing atop the back of his black hawk, Uchiha Fugaku frowned deeply and let out a silent sigh.
There were just too many demons—and now that they’d learned how to deal with the black fire in localized areas, he wouldn’t be able to burn many of them like this.
[Boom!]
Suddenly, Fugaku saw a sweeping surge of golden sand rolling forward like crashing waves.
As soon as the sand came into contact with the black fire—
The flames erupted with astonishing intensity, rapidly growing in size. And as the golden sand flowed outward, the black fire spread with it across a much wider area.
Moments later, almost every grain of sand was wrapped in black fire, and under Rasa’s control, the flaming sand flowed deliberately across the battlefield—seeking out and engulfing more demons.
The sight stunned not only Uchiha Fugaku, but also the Konoha and Sunagakure shinobi positioned at the distant battlefront.
Rasa floated next to Fugaku, on a cluster of golden sand.
The synergy between Amaterasu and Magnet Release was an absolute counter to mass assault tactics like this.
“Abyssal Waterfall!”
Just as Uchiha Fugaku and Rasa were beginning to relax, a raspy voice suddenly rang out across the battlefield.
Both turned their heads in unison toward the source of the voice—
What they saw was a tall, slender figure, floating midair in the distance. It stood over 3 meters tall, with black wings sprouting from its back and twin horns jutting from its forehead. Aside from the face and chest, the rest of its body was completely pitch-black.
Yet it wasn’t the figure that drew the most attention.
Above its head, the sky had split open—revealing a gaping black rift, from which black water came gushing out.
The rift quickly expanded to its widest point, and what began as a stream soon transformed into a full-fledged waterfall.
[RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!]
A tremendous volume of black water thundered onto the desert below, crashing against the sand with a deafening roar. Waves surged forward in a relentless tide, spreading outward—yet curiously, not a single drop flowed backward.
“Kahahahaha! I knew it! There had to be a high-ranking demon around… but I didn’t expect it to be Lord Akertos himself!”
The surviving demons, lucky enough to have escaped the burning assault of the Amaterasu Sand Gold, burst into elated cheers.
Their joy turned into outright ecstasy when they saw the black flames on some demons vanish the instant they were doused in the black water. Even the golden sand, once infused with chakra, seemed to lose its vitality and sank powerlessly beneath the surface.
That meant Lord Akertos’s magic was fully capable of countering the terrifying black flames!
At that same moment—
Uchiha Fugaku and Rasa, floating in the air, wore grim expressions.
Even as they saw the spatial rift above slowly closing, the black water ceasing to pour out, neither let their guard down for a moment.
Because the pressure they felt from the so-called Demon was indescribable.
It was obvious—without even needing to fight—that this creature was dangerously powerful.
“These black waters seem capable of washing away the Magnet Release chakra from the sand,” Rasa murmured.
Fugaku nodded slightly and replied, “Yeah… and they can neutralize my Amaterasu too.”
He could summon more black flames if he wanted—but judging by the current situation, the enemy could likely conjure even more black water.
There was no point in trying to win a contest of volume.
Better to focus on eliminating the opponent directly.
“But why didn’t this guy act earlier? Why wait until now?”
Rasa asked in puzzlement.
Before Fugaku could respond, a cold laugh echoed from the distance.
“Because I couldn’t beat that sand-using monster, of course,” Akertos said with a mocking grin. “Naturally, I wouldn’t throw my life away. But as for you two... I should have no problem dealing with you. Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Akertos, a high-ranking demon from the first layer of the Underworld. The magic I wield is what you just witnessed—River of the Dead Magic. As the name implies, it allows me to manipulate the waters of the River Styx.”
“Pleased to meet you, humans—though soon, not even your bones will remain.”
Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku and Rasa exchanged glances. Both could see the same reaction mirrored in each other’s eyes—shock, and confusion.
The shock was understandable.
But the confusion?
Why would this guy willingly reveal his own ability?
To ninja like them, that made absolutely no sense.
...
Inside the volcano that had, for generations, served as the sealing ground for Mōryō’s body—safeguarded by the shrine maidens of the Land of Demons.
Now, this place had been completely transformed into a hellish nightmare teeming with chaos and demons.
Countless demonic beings surged forth from a vast black veil, one that resembled a black hole capable of swallowing all light.
Its edges were uneven, vaguely forming a rectangular outline—like a patch of darkness that had appeared out of nowhere.
This was the infamous Gate of the Underworld!
“Kuahahahaha! Come forth, come forth! Let this shinobi world become a demon realm! And I… I shall become the highest… the ultimate demon!!”
On the altar glowing with a ghostly purple light, Mōryō, who had possessed the body of the Miroku shrine maiden, burst into a fit of maniacal laughter as he gazed at the Gate of the Underworld.
“This guy’s completely beyond saving.”
Not far away, Hiruko stood, holding the unconscious young Sasori and Bunpuku in each hand.
With the ultra-high speed of his Swift Release and the precise perception of his Sharingan, he nimbly dodged wave after wave of demonic attacks—his cold gaze never leaving Mōryō.
Truth be told, Hiruko had already anticipated things would unfold this way.
Or rather, he had long prepared himself for a falling-out with Shinnō and Mōryō.
What he hadn’t expected was the sheer number of demons that would emerge—and that they would attack him without hesitation.
“But when exactly is the Sage of Six Paths going to appear?!”
A trace of urgency crept into Hiruko’s heart.
According to Black Zetsu, the legendary Sage of Six Paths was still alive, constantly observing the affairs of the shinobi world.
With such a catastrophic event now taking place, logically, he wouldn’t just sit by and do nothing.
Once the Sage of Six Paths arrived and wiped out these monsters and demons—
Then Hiruko would become the strongest, the true ruler of this shinobi world.
He might even be able to claim credit for subduing the demon army and sealing the Gate of the Underworld, laying the foundation for his future dominion.
That was precisely why he had gone out of his way to rescue Sasori and Bunpuku.
Sasori’s Human Puppet technique had already proven him a rare genius, and the One-Tail sealed inside Bunpuku was an immense source of power.
Their value made it worthwhile for Hiruko to protect them—as long as the circumstances allowed it.
Of course, if things truly spiraled out of control, he wouldn’t hesitate to abandon them and escape.
So seriously—where was the Sage of Six Paths?
This was getting frustrating. Could he hurry up already?
“Damn it. Looks like I’ll have to get out of here first.”
Cursing the Sage of Six Paths internally, Hiruko leapt into the air. While in midair, he swiftly created two Wood Clones to take Sasori and Bunpuku from his grasp.
This freed up his hands. As waves of magical attacks and a swarm of lesser demons lunged at him from all directions, he brought his palms together forcefully in front of his chest.
[Smack!]
“Let me show you the power of the First Hokage, you disgusting creatures!”
“Hrah—Nativity of a World of Trees!”
The scorching, dim interior of the volcano suddenly began to tremble violently—like the onset of an earthquake.
Moments later, thick, gnarled trees erupted from the ground in twisting arcs, snaring the surrounding demons one by one—each of them visibly startled.
But they quickly realized something: while these trees were abnormally large and resilient, making them difficult to break free from by brute force alone, they couldn’t actually harm them.
In other words, this tree-conjuring 'magic' didn’t possess Nether Domain properties!
Realizing this, the demons let go of their concern and began taunting him with mocking grins.
Some cursed loudly at being restrained, but none showed the slightest trace of fear.
In their eyes, if an ability lacked Nether Domain properties, it was incapable of hurting them—simple as that.
Hiruko’s Wood Release clearly lacked Nether Domain traits.
It wasn’t demonic, nor divine, nor tied to any cosmic law.
Still, this localized technique was more than enough to buy Hiruko the time he needed to escape.
And in the process, he used the tangled mass of trees to block off the entrance to the cave.
