The evolution of divine abilities—this was Kiyosu Iemitsu's last chance.
He wasn't weak. In fact, he was the strongest sage among the five.
But no one expected Orochimaru, such a powerful fighter, to be this cunning.
It wasn't that Orochimaru had never shown his Devil Fruit ability before, but up until now, he had only been taking hits—getting beaten while retreating.
From the start, Orochimaru had been testing the sages. They were indeed careful, never making reckless moves.
At the same time, though, they were prideful. After forcing Orochimaru to keep retreating, they more or less decided on their assessment of his abilities.
Their conclusion: Orochimaru was definitely strong. His tough body could withstand their attacks, and taking him down wouldn't be easy.
But his biggest weakness? His attacks were too weak. He barely had any offensive power and could only take hits.
That explained why Orochimaru could keep up with Shanks in a fight—because he just kept enduring the hits, dragging it out as long as possible.
In truth, Kiyosu Iemitsu's analysis wasn't wrong. Orochimaru really had been enduring the hits and dragging out the fight.
But the person he held off was Shanks—a man whose sword could cut through even the will of the world.
And yes, Orochimaru's attack power was weak—but only in comparison to Shanks. Orochimaru hadn't been able to fully focus his strength or push his physical power beyond its limits.
But after getting slashed by Shanks for so long, Orochimaru learned. Even if he had to rely on tricks, he figured out a way to reach the same state as Shanks.
And that's how Kiyosu Iemitsu fell right into his trap.
Orochimaru didn't even transform into his dragon form—he just swung his sword straight down. Before the attack landed, there was no energy leaking out, no warning signs of danger.
It looked like an ordinary strike.
You could say Orochimaru was shameless, but honestly, this was just how he fought. Even against weaker opponents, he had no problem using such underhanded tactics.
Besides, why should he follow any kind of honor code? He wasn't Shanks. Why should he be treated like Shanks? He was a sage, after all. They ganged up on him first, and now they wanted to call him dishonorable? Weren't they just as bad?
Everyone was the same—no one was better than anyone else. In the ninja world, who followed these so-called morals? Besides Shanks, no one.
Kiyosu Iemitsu could only accept his fate. At this moment, even though he was at the brink of death, he still managed to steady his mind.
"Take the final step, become a top-tier sage, and find a way to transcend death itself."
That was Kiyosu Iemitsu's answer. He had a real chance to take that last step.
Just like Jiraiya back then—though in his case, it was different. Jiraiya had been forced to break through to the level of a divine sage because of his battle with Shanks.
"This great pirate era is a shift in the world's will. If I want to take that step, I have to use the power of the world's will itself."
The power of the Dragon Vein flowed through Kiyosu Iemitsu's body, leaving no visible trace behind.
But the layers of world will attached to the Dragon Vein were constantly influencing him.
The revival of the Dragon Vein was also the awakening of the world's will—a process of the world growing stronger.
And sages were the ones who benefited the most from this. That much was certain.
These sages were different from Jiraiya and Kabuto, who had trained to become sages. They were born as sages, possessing sage-like traits from the moment they entered this world.
Senjutsu chakra was simply the fusion of natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy. That much was easy to understand.
To sages, changes in natural energy were something they could sense with incredible precision.
It was like if someone had been drinking iced tea their entire life, and then one day, just the tiniest drop of horse piss got mixed in—they'd notice the difference immediately.
Okay, maybe the comparison wasn't perfect, but that's how sharp a sage's senses were when it came to natural energy.
So when natural energy started to shift, when the Dragon Vein began to awaken, and when sages noticed changes in their own power—
The next steps became obvious.
The legacy of sages stretched back even further than the origins of ninjutsu. Before Rikudou Sennin, sages in the ninja world had no real restrictions, and there was plenty of conflict between them.
But their traditions still endured.
And after Rikudou Sennin, when sages faded into the background of history, those old conflicts disappeared as well. That's when a more structured system of inheritance took shape.
One of the simplest examples was the place Jiraiya had once seen in the Land of Fire—a site that held the legacy of sages.
And after the Dragon Vein revived, it didn't take long for sages to find a fast way to grow stronger.
Plus, they had Orochimaru as an example—someone who had tested it out for them.
That is, even after coming into contact with the world's will, he didn't die.
At that point, the importance of the Dragon Vein became clear.
If they could find the Dragon Vein, they could use its world will to refine their own natural energy. As the world's will grew stronger, so would their power—pushing them to an even higher level.
Sages already had the potential to become stronger, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take shortcuts when they had the chance.
It was like how seagulls used the ocean winds to help them fly.
And the world's will within the Dragon Vein? That was the wind. If they could ride it, they'd soar.
Some could even use this wind to reach the very limits of this world—however high the sky went, that's how strong they could become.
And for some sages, becoming pirates was just another path shaped by this belief.
This was the study of the "Red-Haired" school of thought.
The sages of the "Red-Haired" school believed that since Shanks had started the Great Pirate Era, the will of the world would naturally pay attention to pirates.
And judging by the impact pirates had on the world, this theory made sense. Pirates were getting stronger at an incredible rate, so fast that even the ninja world couldn't react in time.
So, if they became pirates too, wouldn't they also benefit from the will of the world?
Of course, this was just a theory, but trying it out didn't cost anything. As for things like dignity and pride?
Well, once you find yourself being hunted down by that lunatic Fukuda Kiyomu because you're too weak, you'll understand—strength is the foundation of everything.
Besides the "Red-Haired" school, there was another school of thought—the "Reverse Sage" school.
The sages' research was quite ridiculous. They started their studies with only a handful of documents and just ran with it.
The "Reverse Sage" school mainly focused on the study of Conqueror's Haki. Their core theory was the concept of relative balance.
A "Reverse Sage" would be suppressed by the will of the world because they weren't something the world accepted. So, under the influence of Conqueror's Haki, the will of the world would be dragged down along with them.
At the same time, the empty space left behind by this sinking effect would quickly be filled.
That meant that in the affected area, the will of the world would become even stronger.
It was kind of like how air sinks and shifts.
So the sages discovered the fastest way to get stronger—find the strongest "Reverse Sage" and fight them five or six times.
After that, they would pretty much "stand at the same height as the heavens."
Of course, a normal sage probably wouldn't survive five or six rounds.
But no one expected that some idiot among the sages would actually try it. He thought, "I was born a sage. How could I not be able to handle a mere flawed version of a sage—a 'Reverse Sage'?"
However, the so-called "Reverse Sage" had an entire book dedicated to them in the sages' archives.
Needless to say, that guy is now frozen in ice, still drifting somewhere on the sea.
As for another "Reverse Sage," Orochimaru—he had naturally been targeted by the likes of Kiyosu Iemitsu and his people.
"Boom!!"
A massive red-and-black bolt of lightning struck from the sky. The clouds churned with thunder as a sage, his entire body smoking, crashed into the ocean.
The sea caved in where he landed, the water being forcefully compressed. Within a hundred meters, the ocean's surface became as smooth as a mirror.
Standing on the water, the sage seemed to sense something. His gaze turned toward the deep sea in the distance, where faint flashes of lightning flickered.
"That guy… still hasn't given up?"
Yamano Shishi wasn't particularly close with the other sages. The only one he was somewhat familiar with was Kiyosu Iemitsu, but between sages, was there really such a thing as friendship?
Blood seeped from his body, staining his charred skin red.
The once smooth surface of the water beneath him was now tainted with red. The blood carried a faint trace of natural energy as it began merging with the ocean.
To make it back down from the sky, Yamano Shishi had paid a heavy price. That lightning strike had nearly taken his life.
And it also made him realize—there was an overwhelming gap in strength between them and Orochimaru. If they fought, they would die.
That guy had been hiding his true power all along. From the moment they got dragged into this fight, they had already lost. No one could afford to waste time against a monster like that.
"If that's the case, let's see if you can take this last step."
"At most… one minute!!"
Yamano Shishi looked up at the sky.
A massive flame erupted from Orochimaru's mouth. As the fire burned away, a sage's hand was sliced off by the Kusanagi sword hidden within the flames.
His entire body plummeted from the air, but Orochimaru didn't give him any chance to recover—he immediately chased after him.
Seeing this, Yamano Shishi pressed his palms together and looked up at the sky.
For a brief moment, his cloudy eyes became clear again. The sea breeze lifted his long hair, but soon, his once-clear gaze turned blank, as if he had lost himself.
"Secret Art: Grand Ocean Tide!"
A simple move with a simple name.
But at that moment, the seawater beneath Yamano Shishi was instantly drained. Countless streams of green life energy were forcibly extracted from the ocean.
The overwhelming life energy filled the entire area around Yamano Shishi, surging into his body.
Before losing consciousness, he gave his body one final command—kill Orochimaru above him.
"Roar!!"
The ocean surface shattered.
Yamano Shishi, now like a wild beast, radiated violent green energy and shot toward the sky.
This time, there was no secret technique.
With a single step, the air beneath him exploded. His body kept growing, and green natural energy surged through his muscles. His immense power completely suppressed his mind.
But... if he could hold out for just one more minute, it would be enough.
"So, this is your final technique?"
Orochimaru said coldly. As expected of a sage—he had been hiding quite a few tricks.
But...
"If this is all you've got, you're still no match for me."
Orochimaru roared.
The next moment—
"Boom!!"
A terrifying force erupted as Yamano Shishi's fist smashed into Orochimaru's massive head, sending him flying backward. A giant fist imprint appeared in the sky.
Blood sprayed from Orochimaru's nose.
In the next instant, as he was knocked back, his claw tore straight through Yamano Shishi's body.
It happened in a flash—Yamano Shishi's body was nearly ripped apart by a single strike. The black *Armament Haki* on Orochimaru's claw instantly shredded through his defenses.
Rip!!
Yamano Shishi's body was torn open, blood splattering everywhere.
"A desperate move? You're not even worthy of that."
Orochimaru was flung backward, but Yamano Shishi's shredded body was immediately restored by the seawater, growing even larger.
The terrifying life energy transformed into seawater—keeping him alive, no matter what.
Even if his soul was taken, he still wouldn't die.
Boom!!
The two clashed again.
Neither of them put up any defense, but at that moment, Orochimaru's attacks noticeably weakened.
Because of the seawater!
However, Yamano Shishi's life energy was being drained even faster.
That's right—even with the power of the sea, he was still no match for Orochimaru.
All he could do was stall for time.
Even though seawater weakens Devil Fruit users, when you look at Orochimaru's massive body, stretching hundreds of meters long, the effect of seawater depends on the amount.
From the start, Yamano Shishi's plan was only to stall Orochimaru. Whether he would survive or not was left to luck.
Unlike the fierce battle in the sky, the fight below wasn't a desperate struggle for life. Kabuto and Hiruko were just trying to keep their opponents busy.
But at that moment, Kabuto could feel an unnatural gathering of natural energy from beneath the sea.
"Damn it! What's going on?"
"You think you're the only ones trying to buy time?"
Kabuto's opponent smirked. They were gambling too. If their bet was right, they would be the ones to die.
If they were wrong, they'd have to use their backup plan and escape.
"Kabuto! What's happening?"
Hiruko was knocked back by an attack. The two enemies had now regrouped.
Hiruko still had no idea what was going on.
"I don't know… but it's probably that guy from before."
Kabuto frowned. Now, they were the ones being stalled.
"Hahaha! A low-level sage like you wouldn't understand!"
"As born sages, we are the chosen ones of this world. Now, let us show you…"
"…what it means to stand as high as the heavens!"
The two of them grinned. The next moment, a streak of lightning shot through the sea.
A gaping hole appeared in Kabuto's chest.
A figure emerged behind him—half of its body made of flesh, the other half formed from pure lightning.
It was none other than Seishu Iemitsu, the one Orochimaru had cut in half earlier.
"Run!"
Seishu Iemitsu's arrogant voice rang out. The two sages suddenly looked confident again. Whether they would win or lose no longer mattered.
"I meant you two idiots! Run!!"
Seeing them just standing there, Seishu Iemitsu shouted in anger. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed the heavily injured Kabuto and flew straight into the sky.
"Huh?"
The two remaining sages glanced at each other, stunned for only a second.
Then, without hesitation, they fled the battlefield at full speed, leaving Hiruko standing there in confusion.
"Huh?"
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