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OPI Chapter 432: Beneath the Blade of Cold Judgment
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 19:26:31 +0000 UTCIn the heart of the vast sea of purple-black flames that covered the sky and blotted out the sun— A dense white mist glowing with a faint bl
In the heart of the vast sea of purple-black flames that covered the sky and blotted out the sun—
A dense white mist glowing with a faint blue light suddenly burst forth, like a rapidly expanding white sun.
But what it radiated was not light and heat—
It was an intense cold capable of freezing most things in the world.
High above in the sky,
The avalanche-like cold air and the tsunami-like evil fire clashed violently, devouring each other.
The collision instantly produced a blanket of white steam that nearly enveloped the entire sky over the Land of Bears.
The resulting surging shockwave swept all the Hoshi Shinobi nearby off their feet.
“Just what kind of powerhouse intervened to save us?”
The Third Hoshikage instinctively looked up in the direction where the Frost Kirin had appeared.
High above—at some point—a graceful and stunning figure had appeared in the sky, slowly descending despite the raging air currents swirling around her.
A woman?
At the same time, the clash between frost and flame had reached its conclusion.
The avalanche had completely extinguished the sea of fire.
Frigid temperatures. Countless ice crystals. Snowflakes filled the sky.
Mukade’s puppetized face showed no expression—
But within, his heart was in complete turmoil.
His ultimate technique had just been effortlessly wiped out by this sudden blue-haired woman.
That alone was proof—this opponent’s power was not to be underestimated.
“Ice Release… Could she be from the Yuki Clan of the Land of Water…?”
Mukade still instinctively believed that the intruder must be from one of the known factions in the shinobi world.
“You there—who are you?”
He spoke first, out of caution.
“Enough talk. If you’re strong enough to satisfy me, you’ll learn everything in time. But if you let me down...”
Her voice turned cold. “Then don’t blame me for giving you the fate all weaklings deserve!”
Esdeath couldn’t be bothered with introductions.
At this moment, all she wanted was to fight—fight, fight, fight!
It had always been her dream to battle powerful beings from other worlds.
“You—!”
Mukade flew into a rage. This woman was insufferably arrogant.
But before he could even curse—
She suddenly raised the slender silver-white sword in her hand.
[RUMBLE—RUMBLE—RUMBLE————!]
The sky over the Land of Bears was instantly shaken by a deafening roar of thunder.
Everyone present witnessed with their own eyes a colossal ‘white waterfall’ plummeting from an indescribable height.
Those with exceptional vision were the first to realize:
That was no waterfall at all. It was a massive avalanche of rolling snow and ice.
When the cascading mass approached just a few hundred meters above Esdeath—
Under some mysterious force, it suddenly burst outward in all directions, transforming into a colossal blizzard that engulfed the entire Land of Bears.
Then it began to spread—rapidly and violently—into the neighboring lands of Demons, Wind, Earth, and Birds.
The shinobi on the ground could no longer spare a thought for the Ghost Army.
All at once, they activated every possible technique to resist the fierce snowstorm, while obeying the urgent commands of the jōnin to retreat with all speed toward the Land of Wind.
The clash between Jiraiya and Kakuzu was, of course, forcibly interrupted by this storm.
Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, Kitsuchi, the Third Hoshikage, and several jōnin from both villages who hadn’t managed to withdraw in time—
All stood dumbfounded, staring at the sight in the distance:
An army—forming.
Knights? Formed from vast quantities of snow and ice.
These ice knights, bearing long lances of frost and shaped like centaurs—
Lined up swiftly into a massive formation.
With thunderous hooves, they charged as one, their unified march like a tidal wave—
Rushing headlong into the seemingly endless Ghost Army before them in a grand and ferocious assault.
Ice and snow churned like a storm surge.
The earth shook. The heavens trembled.
It was a direct clash between Ice and Stone.
Soon, the front line of the stone statue formation could hold no longer, crumbling under the endless advance of Ice Knights who fell only to be replaced by more.
[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]
Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, and the others stood stunned, wide-eyed, momentarily forgetting they were supposed to be retreating.
Meanwhile, high in the sky—Mukade stood face-to-face with Esdeath.
He no longer had the luxury of paying attention to the battlefield below.
At this moment, he was right in the heart of the howling, merciless blizzard.
All he could see around him was a vast expanse of white. Nothing else.
He was forced to constantly wrap his body in dark chakra, or he’d be instantly covered in frost and risk being frozen solid.
Mukade didn’t hesitate. Once again, he unleashed a massive surge of purple-black fire, hoping to burn away the violent snow and chill that surrounded him.
But then—
A gigantic slash of ice-blue light fell from the heavens, cleaving all the snow and fire in its path perfectly in two.
“What?!”
Mukade jerked his head up.
Icy blue light reflected off the round surface of his puppet head.
He simply couldn’t believe a woman this powerful could even exist.
“Wait—you’re with the World Government!”
In that moment, Mukade realized… Even if no such being existed in the Shinobi World, that didn’t mean there weren’t monsters like her in other worlds.
But that thought did nothing to stop the massive blade of frost descending upon him.
...
“Tsk… Esdeath-sama, that was way over the top. Are you seriously trying to take him alive?”
From the edge of the airship deck above, Guren looked down at the brilliant flare of light below and sighed in helpless resignation.
She could only hope that Mukade could hold on—
At least long enough to survive Esdeath’s slash empowered by her Ice Breathing technique.
Behind her, Tsunade and Shizune stood frozen like statues, utterly speechless as they stared at Esdeath’s overwhelming display of strength.
“…That’s insane,” little Shizune whispered in disbelief.
She knew Esdeath was powerful. But not this powerful.
She even began to doubt whether the Hokage himself could reach such a level.
As for Tsunade, all she could think was:
The Shinobi World is finished.
There was no possible way to oppose the World Government.
Even the fact that her grandfather had been summoned back offered her no hope.
In that moment, she was secretly glad that Orochimaru had already led Konoha to surrender.
In hindsight, maybe that guy really was suited to be the Fourth Hokage.
...
The Teigu World.
Inside the study of the Noah’s Ark.
Imu now stared wordlessly at the holographic image—Esdeath was unleashing her overwhelming might like an ice goddess descended upon the battlefield.
Then he switched to surveillance footage from other parts of the shinobi world.
After all, that was simply how Esdeath was. If she were kept close for too long, it was only a matter of time before psychological issues surfaced.
This made Imu consider whether he should assign some responsibilities to these empresses.
Perhaps Esdeath could be allowed to form an 'Ice Knight Order' for her own amusement? But then—what would be their actual function?
For now, Imu had no concrete ideas.
As for Historia, just managing the Eldians was enough to keep her busy.
Still, it was a matter worth giving serious thought—after all, there would certainly be new empresses in the future.
“How fascinating. Not only have Shinnō, Mōryō, Satori, Mukade, Kakuzu, the Cult of the Evil God, and the Chinoike Clan resurfaced—Black Zetsu even managed to recruit Hiruko and Sasori.”
Imu clicked his tongue in amazement as he watched various clips displayed through the hologram.
Especially the ones from the Land of Swamps.
There, with Shukaku’s aid, Pakura and Chiyo had finally managed to seal the “half-tailed beast form” Jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails, who had been taken over by White Zetsu.
Meanwhile, the remaining jōnin and chūnin of Sunagakure were suffering heavy casualties as they were just about to break through a defensive line composed of Chinoike Clan shinobi, deranged cultists, and Wood Release–wielding White Zetsu.
Then suddenly, a new figure appeared—Hiruko (the puppet), who was controlling the Third Kazekage like a puppet.
This made Chiyo, Pakura, and the other Suna shinobi see red. They believed they had found the killer of the Third Kazekage.
“Sasori and Mukade both hold significant value. If possible, they should be captured alive. Once caught, they can cool off for a while in Impel Down.”
Imu now felt a little concerned that Esdeath, acting impulsively, might shatter Mukade’s core with ice.
In Imu’s eyes, Mukade showed far greater technical talent than Sasori when it came to puppet design, modification, and energy application. He was clearly the scientist type.
Sasori’s strength, on the other hand, lay in his 'Human Puppet Technique', which preserved a corpse’s kekkei genkai and all its jutsu. His specialty leaned more toward the biological field—surely the Biotech Research Division would be very interested.
Still, Sasori alone would never be able to stand against the combined might of Chiyo, Pakura, and Shukaku—especially since he hadn’t yet reached the power level he had in the 'original timeline'.
Which meant the key player… was Hiruko!
Imu magnified the display until it filled the entire study, transforming it into a fully immersive illusion.
This allowed him to observe every detail of the scene from any angle.
At this moment, Hiruko, dressed in white robes, was single-handedly suppressing both Chiyo and Shukaku. Meanwhile, Sasori, using both Hiruko (the puppet) and the magnetic release of the Third Kazekage, was locked in fierce battle against Pakura and the elite forces of Sunagakure.
Yet Imu’s gaze remained fixed solely on the white-robed figure—Hiruko.
“Sharingan, Wood Release… no, wait. That vitality—Black Zetsu must have implanted him with Hashirama’s cells!”
“And that ability to absorb and release jutsu through his palms—that has to be Dark Release. As for that sudden burst of speed—it must be Swift Release. Now then… what’s that last one?”
As Imu watched, a faint look of surprise surfaced in his eyes.
Because he witnessed Hiruko sequentially using Lightning Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Water Release, and Earth Release—something he hadn’t done in the movie version.
Imu stared intently at Hiruko’s figure, deep in thought.
In other words, this version of Hiruko didn’t just possess five kekkei genkai and an immortal body—he also had mastery over all five elemental chakra natures.
Wait—add the Sharingan and Hashirama’s cells to that, and he should also possess yin chakra and yang chakra.
That meant… Hiruko had all chakra natures!
All in all, with this kind of build and power set, even Shukaku alone would never be able to defeat Hiruko. As for Chiyo and her puppets? They might as well be toys.
Sure enough, under Imu’s watchful eye, Shukaku was once again being brutally pummeled.
If he didn’t retreat into Bunpuku’s body soon, he risked being smashed to pieces and scattered across the land.
But Bunpuku himself was clearly more vulnerable to being killed by Hiruko—and once a Jinchūriki died, the Tailed Beast sealed within would vanish as well.
Which meant Shukaku was now in a truly miserable position—trapped with no good options and no way to voice his frustrations.
“Damn it, Crocodile, you bastard! I’m getting my ass kicked again! I thought we were allies! Get down here and help me already!!”
Shukaku roared toward the sand-filled skies, trying to fend off the dual assault of the Sharingan and Wood Release while also completely losing his temper.
“…”
Is this thing serious? That’s supposed to be one of the Tailed Beasts!
“But what exactly is Mōryō—who’s currently possessing the priestess Miroku—trying to do? If all he wanted was to reclaim his chakra, he should’ve been done by now…”
Imu murmured to himself in mild confusion.
“Hm?”
At that moment, he suddenly looked up, casually gesturing for the Star Den-Den Mushi to shut off the holographic projection.
He had sensed Enma’s presence in the living room outside.
Could it be that there’s new intel from the King of the Dead?
