TitoVillar
patreon
OPI Chapter 345: The King of All Deserts Descends
🕑 Added 2025-04-19 19:38:00 +0000 UTCAmid the sweeping sandstorms and fierce winds, the yellow earth-toned buildings of Sunagakure loomed faintly in the distance.
Above the Kazekageâs office towerâ
A swirling mass of thick golden sand rapidly gathered into a vortex.
In the blink of an eye, it formed the tall figure of a man dressed in a tan suit, a black coat draped over his shoulders.
âHe really is that tallâŚâ
Chiyo, EbizĹ, and the other elders all looked visibly stunned.
Three meters sounded impressive on paperâbut seeing it with their own eyes was another matter entirely.
Standing in front of him, Chiyo wasnât even as tall as Crocodileâs leg. She was only 1.49 meters tall.
Of course, Crocodile hadnât always been this tall.
Back then, he had stood at most 2.53 meters. But through intense physical training and a steady diet of high-nutrition food provided without limit by Army Headquarters, he had grown another 40 centimeters or so.
âYou must be the Sand Release user who captured the Third Raikage alive in RĹran?â
As the highest-ranking figure present, Chiyo naturally stepped forward, taking her place beside Rasa, who was still controlling the alert-ready Gold Dust. Her expression was grim as she asked the question.
âIâm Chiyo, a senior advisor of Sunagakure. And you are?â
âChiyoâŚâ
Crocodile recalled the intelligence he had read on the Shinobi World and quickly matched it to the person before him.
Not that the intel had been very detailed.
It only listed her name, gender, estimated age, title, and a few combat styles and jutsu she could use.
Not much at all. Barely anything, really.
âVery wellâyouâre qualified to speak with me.â
He first acknowledged Chiyoâs standing, then grinned broadly. âI am Crocodile, the King of all Deserts.â
âThe King of the Desert?!â
Chiyo, Rasa, and the others froze. What was that supposed to mean?
âAfter my battle with the so-called Sage of Six Paths long ago, Iâve been slumbering beneath the Land of RĹran. But I was rudely awakened by that Raikage fellow.â
Crocodile recited his fabricated backstory without the slightest change in expression.
âAfter casually disposing of him, I thoughtâsince Iâm already awake, why not return to the Shinobi World and lead my people to conquer it once and for all?â
Of course, this was exactly the sort of performance he enjoyed.
And judging by the stunned expressions on Chiyo, Rasa, and the others, it seemed to be working quite well.
He battled the Sage of Six Paths?
Slept beneath RĹran for centuries?
Casually defeated the Third Raikage?
Conquer the world?
These four key points instantly elevated Crocodileâs aura to an overwhelming level, leaving the elders gathered on the rooftop thoroughly dazed.
âAhemâŚâ
Thankfully, Rasa recovered first. In a deep voice, he asked, âSo you mean⌠youâre not a mortal either? Youâve been asleep since the Sage of Six Pathsâ era?â
Crocodile smiled slightly and didnât answer right away. Instead, he transformed into a swirl of golden sand and reappeared right in front of them in an instantâcausing both Rasa and Chiyo to instinctively retreat several steps.
âDo I look like a mortal to you?â
The reduced distance made his towering three-meter frame and imposing build all the more striking to Sunagakureâs leadership.
Rasa, Chiyo, and EbizĹ all fell silent.
He had a point.
That kind of physique couldnât possibly belong to an ordinary human. And considering he had mentioned the Sage of Six Paths⌠perhaps he really was some ancient god or celestial being brought back to life.
Of courseâ
As shinobi, they still held onto a sliver of doubt.
âAnd when you say âconquer the world,â you meanâŚ?â EbizĹ asked hesitantly.
âExactly what it sounds like. I will lead youâand the entire Land of Windâto conquer the Shinobi World. Aside from RĹran, no other nation shall remain!â
Crocodile assumed a posture of grand ambition.
Seeing his display, Chiyo felt like she understood him a little better now. Most likely, he had once attempted to conquer the Shinobi World back in his era, only to be defeated by the Sage of Six Paths.
But then againâ
In this era, there was no longer a Sage of Six Paths. And if this man could easily defeat the Third Raikage, perhaps there truly was no one who could stop him.
In that case, wouldnât SunagakureâŚ
At that thought, a surge of emotion welled up in Chiyoâs heart.
Because she saw hope.
Hope for avenging her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandson!
She still didnât know exactly how Sasori had disappeared, but she had always believed Konohagakure had something to do with it.
That suspicion wasnât just because her son and daughter-in-law had died at the hands of Konohaâs Hatake Sakumo. It also had to do with the fact that the latter had suddenly died by suicide in Konoha last year.
Chiyo didnât believe the suicide story one bit.
Hatake Sakumo was a powerful shinobi whose strength could rival that of the Kage from any villageâhow could someone like that just kill himself out of nowhere?
And conveniently, the Third Kazekage and Sasori had also gone missing last year.
How coincidental was that?
But was it really a coincidence?
Chiyo didnât believe it for a second. She was certain Hatake Sakumo had infiltrated their village, killed both the Third Kazekage and Sasori while they were outside, and was seriously injured in the process. He must have died shortly after returning to Konoha.
Konoha then faked a story about Sakumo committing suicide to cover up their crime of sending someone to assassinate the Kazekage.
Her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandson had all died at the hands of Hatake Sakumo. But since Sakumo was already dead, Chiyo could only transfer all her hatred onto Konohagakure itself.
Yet Sunagakure was weak, and they had no Kazekage.
She simply had no way to exact revenge on Konoha. So every day, she could only mope about and go fishing with her younger brother outside the village.
But nowâ
Crocodileâs strength, and his ambition, had given her hope.
Gripped by this desperate hope, she found herself no longer so concerned about the truth of his self-proclaimed identityâso long as he didnât harm Sunagakure, it didnât matter.
âSo, Lord Crocodile, are you planning to become the Kazekage of Sunagakure?â
It was at this moment that Rasa suddenly spoke, though his tone carried a hint of nervousness.
âYou should be calling me Your Majesty now!â
Crocodile let out a cold snort from above, his tone haughty and commanding.
[BOOMââââââ]
Suddenlyâ
A forceful, overbearing aura erupted from him, surging outward like a tempest far more violent than the sandstorm surrounding them.
In an instantâ
The heavens and earth over Sunagakure shifted once again.
Already dim from the swirling yellow sand, the light grew even darker and more obscure under the roar of the wind.
Even visible purple lightning flickered in and out of the air, crackling with sharp pzzzt sounds.
âThis isâŚâ
âWind Release?â
âNoâitâs a mental shock! A genjutsu?!â
In front of Crocodile, Rasa, Chiyo, EbizĹ, and the rest of Sunagakureâs elders all turned pale as they struggled to withstand both the violent wind pressure and the spiritual impact washing over them.
They were all jĹnin-level shinobi, so they didnât faint under the pressure of his Conquerorâs Haki.
[Thud! Thud! Thud!]
But down in the streets and alleys of Sunagakureâand among the ninja patrolling or standing guard on rooftopsâanyone who wasnât at least jĹnin-level was rolling their eyes back and collapsing to the ground.
And the affected area was expanding at an alarming rate.
"This is what you call presence. Watch your words from now on."
Seeing that it was enough, Crocodile slowly withdrew the Conquerorâs Haki he had only recently mastered.
At the same time, he took out a cigar, placed it between his lips, and lit it with a lighter. A small red glow flared to life.
"As for the position of Kazekage, I donât need it. After all, this Land of Wind was a nation I founded back in the day. In a moment, Iâll be heading over to make the current daimyĹ step down."
He exhaled a long stream of white smoke, looking down on the shocked Rasa and the others.
"My purpose here today is twofold. First, to meet with you all. Second, to get you prepared."
âPrepared for what?â
Chiyo asked in a low voice, her expression filled with unease.
"To elect a new Kazekage as soon as possible⌠and prepare to launch a conquest war."
Crocodile spoke in his deep, magnetic voice, calm and unhurried: "From now on⌠youâre all under my command. Got that?"
According to the intel provided by the World Government, he had already gained a decent understanding of this shinobi worldâs class structure and political system.
Perhaps the other officers in the army weren't very interested in such thingsâ
But he wasnât like them.
Thatâs why he set his sights directly on the daimyĹ of the Land of Wind.
He had noticed the inexplicably strong influence these daimyĹ had over the shinobi villages. So, the first step would be to eliminate the daimyĹ in a way that seemed justified.
Then, using the Land of Wind and Sunagakure as the foundation, he would ignite a civil war within the shinobi world.
That way, the World Government wouldnât need to rush to send in a massive army.
As for military strengthâ
Crocodile had already resolved that problem on the spot!
