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OPI Chapter 442: Black Frost, Burning Shadows
🕑 Added 2025-06-24 18:07:58 +0000 UTCJust as Hiruko reached the cave entrance with Sasori and Bunpuku in tow, moving at high speed— He froze in place at the sight before him. “T
Just as Hiruko reached the cave entrance with Sasori and Bunpuku in tow, moving at high speed—
He froze in place at the sight before him.
“This…”
A swirling sandstorm, towering about 4 or 5 meters high and yellow-brown in color, surged directly toward him with overwhelming force.
Any demon caught in its path—no matter what kind of magic they used to defend themselves—was inevitably swept up, only to emerge moments later as a shriveled corpse.
Then, with the wind, their bodies crumbled into trails of dust and vanished into the air.
The terrifying sight threw the nearby demons into a state of utter panic. Just like those beings from other worlds who once fled from them in terror, they now scattered in every direction in a desperate panic.
Hiruko could more or less guess the origin of that sandstorm.
After all, the 'First King of the Land of Wind', infamous for killing the daimyō of Wind Country, was far too well-known.
He immediately prepared to activate Swift Release and escape with the others.
His intention was to find Black Zetsu and demand an answer—why hadn’t the Sage of Six Paths appeared yet?
But just then, a deep, hoarse voice—laced with charisma—drifted into his ears.
“So, you're the one who pulled the One-Tail’s jinchūriki out?”
“Behind me!”
Hiruko’s Sharingan contracted sharply. He triggered Swift Release in an instant, trying to flash-step to the side—
But in the very next second—
He felt a large, warm hand clamp down on the back of his neck.
“Impossible!”
“Not bad. You're faster than standard Shave… but still not fast enough.”
Before Hiruko, the swirling sand rapidly coalesced into an enormous figure.
Crocodile.
Yet the hand on the back of his neck hadn’t disappeared.
A clone?
Hiruko’s mind began racing, preparing to break free.
If it was just a clone, escaping shouldn't be too difficult.
“You’d best behave. I don’t have much patience to waste.”
Crocodile narrowed his eyes as he spoke, his voice casual—almost lazy.
But that single, effortless sentence sent an indescribable wave of terror crashing over Hiruko.
In that moment—
He could feel the brutal, tangible pressure erupting from Crocodile’s body like a living force.
In his eyes, an illusion took form—a monstrous crocodile bellowing furiously at him.
I’ll die!
His sharp sixth sense was screaming—this man was extremely dangerous.
If he didn’t follow his instructions—
He would truly die!
Hiruko was left in a state of shaken disbelief.
He had already mastered the Chimera Technique, granting him an 'immortal body'.
No matter how damaged his body became—
Even if his heart or brain were destroyed… even if he were torn limb from limb… even if only the tiniest sliver of flesh remained, as long as it retained life force, he could regenerate endlessly.
So how could he possibly be feeling… as if he really might die?
“I—I mean… Sir… is there anything you’d like to ask…?”
Hiruko pressed his lips together and asked in a low voice.
It was hard to believe.
But he wasn’t about to bet his life on whether his sixth sense was wrong.
Besides, this man didn’t seem intent on killing him right away.
Might as well talk.
Maybe—just maybe—while they talked, the Sage of Six Paths would show up…
...
“So that’s how it is… So all we need to do is deal with the ‘Gate of the Underworld’ inside the volcano.”
Crocodile, having patiently listened to Hiruko's explanation, seemed lost in thought.
Hiruko stood obediently in place, showing no intention of escaping.
“You take them to the Sunagakure camp first, then go assist Rasa and the others.”
After speaking, Crocodile added coldly, “You’re a smart man. You should be able to see that these demons are impossible to work with.”
Hiruko understood the deeper meaning behind those words and thought to himself, That’s true. If the Sage of Six Paths Black Zetsu spoke of never shows up, or turns out to be unreliable, then the best option really would be to join the World Government. So for now, I’d better avoid offending them too much—no need to cut off a potential escape route.
Conquering the shinobi world was a goal he had recently set for himself.
But achieving immortality and surpassing even Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru in strength—that had always been his true obsession.
Or rather, ruling the shinobi world was just a way to prove something.
To the world—and to those three.
That he, Hiruko, was not only their equal, but even more brilliant.
Now that he had attained all of this, he valued it all the more.
“Rest assur—”
Just as Hiruko was about to offer a few words of reassurance—
And perhaps use the chance to build rapport with this World Government lieutenant general—
A fierce, icy wind suddenly blew in from behind.
His body froze instinctively, and he noticed Crocodile’s expression turn sharply grave.
What just happened?
With growing unease, Hiruko turned his head to look behind him.
“Huh?!”
That single glance left him utterly stunned.
The entire active volcano he had just escaped from—along with the lava and black smoke that had erupted into the sky—was now sealed in a thick layer of ice, releasing clouds of visible white mist and chilling air.
It was a volcano, for heaven’s sake! A towering mountain thousands of meters tall!
Crocodile snapped, “Get moving! You’ll only get in the way here!”
“Y-Yes, of course!”
Snapping back to his senses, Hiruko hurried off toward the south, carrying the unconscious Sasori and Bunpuku in his wooden clone’s arms.
[BOOM!!!]
But just as Hiruko set off, the frozen volcano exploded.
Countless ice fragments, large and small, burst outward like a massive blooming flower, scattering in all directions. Carried by the shockwave, they surged outward in a roaring tidal wave.
“A demon with ice-based abilities?”
Crocodile let out a cold snort.
Then, with deliberate force, he stepped forward with his crocodile-skin leather shoe.
“Even if it’s Aokiji himself—today, I’m going to see how I fare against him!”
[RUMBLE—]
In an instant, torrents of golden sand erupted from the ground before him like a flood, rising up to meet the incoming avalanche of frost and snow.
The two forces collided like opposing cavalry charges, immense and unstoppable. The front lines of ice and sand blasted skyward simultaneously—
A tidal surge swallowing the heavens, a thunderous quake that rocked the earth!
And then, silence.
When the chaos subsided, the battlefield appeared split in two: one side gleamed stark white, the other shone golden yellow.
“There!”
Crocodile's Kenbunshoku Haki instantly locked onto a spot roughly 400 meters away.
Two overwhelmingly evil and powerful auras had suddenly emerged there—so intense it was hard to believe.
They bore a faint resemblance to the 'Black Smoke' from the Kabane World.
But compared to these two presences, even that fear-laden smoke seemed laughably insignificant.
“Two of them?” Crocodile’s heart grew heavy.
...
“The view finally opened up, didn’t it, Lilith?”
“It certainly did, Nahamah.”
The area where the volcano once stood was now reduced to icy rubble—nothing remained, not even the underground lava pool, which had been completely frozen over.
Floating just above the icy ruins were two terrifying figures, swirling in shades of black and white.
They looked eerily alike.
Each had long, snow-white hair that flowed like flames, obscuring the upper half of their faces beneath jet-black masks. A pair of black horns—one long, one short—jutted from their heads.
At their waists sprouted pairs of sleek, elongated wings in alternating black and white feathers. From behind, a single long, thin black tail trailed through the air.
Still, it wasn’t hard to tell them apart.
The demon called Nahamah, judging from its chest, leaned masculine. Its entire left arm, from shoulder to fingertips, was formed of writhing black fire.
The demon known as Lilith, also evident from her chest, was more feminine. Her right arm, by contrast, was sculpted entirely from pitch-black ice.
It was clear.
The one who had just frozen—and then blown up—the volcano was none other than the high-ranking demon, Lilith.
At the same time...
From that pitch-black rift in space, countless grotesque demons continued to pour out.
Yet the moment they saw the backs of Lilith and Nahamah, they immediately veered off to either side. No matter how ferocious they were, not a single one dared to approach.
“There’s someone interesting over there, Nahamah.”
“A human with demonic aura—how interesting indeed, Lilith.”
“Shall we take a look?”
“Mhm. Let’s go see.”
With just a few casual lines, Lilith and Nahamah each transformed—one into a mass of black fire, the other into a cloud of black frost—and shot across the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, they had crossed hundreds of meters and landed before Crocodile.
“Elemental transformation, is it...?”
Crocodile, with a cigar lit at some unknown moment, stood expressionless as the two demons reformed their humanoid shapes from fire and ice.
“He’s not a demon, Lilith.”
“There’s no demon within him, Nahamah.”
“How strange, Lilith.”
“Yes... how curious, Nahamah.”
Lilith and Nahamah continued their eerie exchange, completely ignoring Crocodile's presence.
Nahamah: “Then let’s take our time… slowly, carefully...”
Lilith: “Let’s enjoy this. Yes, that’s the plan.”
Nahamah: “Torment him. Toy with him.”
Lilith: “Ruin him. Kill him. That’s it—exactly.”
“Hmph—so I’ve been underestimated… You two freaks—neither human nor ghost.”
Crocodile clenched his cigar, his face darkening.
Though the pressure from each of these demons was immense—
Crocodile, his spirit already fully reignited, had no intention of retreating or showing fear.
“Come!”
“Let’s fight it out first—show me what you’re made of!”
[BOOM————]
A storm of overwhelming fury erupted from Crocodile’s body—accompanied by snapping arcs of purple lightning. It surged out like a tangible hurricane, sweeping across the field with explosive force.
“It’s not magic, but it’s close... isn’t it, Nahamah?”
“Mhm. For a human, that’s impressive. Must be the strongest of this world, Lilith.”
Yet despite sensing his Haoshoku Haki, neither Lilith nor Nahamah showed the slightest surprise.
