Chapter 18: A Dimensionality Reduction Strike
"What's going on?! Who IS this guy?!"
"That shell of his is so hard—is it a turtle shell?!"
A murloc curiously tapped his broken blade against Susano'o's ribs, utterly bewildered.
Hody's roar cut through their confusion: "WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING AROUND FOR?! CUT HIM DOWN!"
"Boss Hody..." The murloc held up his shattered weapon helplessly. "We don't understand what's happening. This human has some kind of impenetrable shell. Our weapons can't even scratch it."
"USELESS! ALL OF YOU!"
Hody grabbed his trident, preparing to descend personally—and froze.
The murlocs surrounding Susano'o had been confused one moment. The next, black flames erupted across their bodies.
The very murloc who'd been speaking to Hody heard his companions' screams. He turned—and found black fire spreading across his own back.
"WHAT—AAAAHHHHH!!!"
He never finished the scream. The flames consumed him utterly.
Itachi's gaze swept the chamber. Wherever his eyes passed, Amaterasu ignited on murloc flesh. They thrashed in the water, but the black flames would not die—burning even in the deep sea, burning as if they would consume the world itself.
Hody, who had been about to charge, stood paralyzed.
"HOW?! Fire—FIRE—BURNING IN WATER?!"
His voice cracked. "This is the SEA! Our—our heaven—"
His eyes met Itachi's.
The Mangekyō Sharingan, spinning slowly within Susano'o's crimson glow, was fixed on him.
Hody's survival instincts screamed. He grabbed the nearest murloc and shoved him forward as a shield.
"B-BOSS HODY?! WHAT ARE YOU—AAAAHHHH!"
Amaterasu consumed the unfortunate subordinate.
Hody looked around wildly. Every murloc in the palace was burning. The black flames defied the water, defied logic, defied everything he knew.
Then Itachi moved toward him.
"You used your companions as shields?"
Susano'o's hand reached out. Hody raised his trident to block—
CRUNCH.
The trident shattered against that ethereal arm.
Hody stared at the broken weapon, then at those bleeding eyes. One thought dominated his mind:
This black flame... this is a DIMENSIONALITY REDUCTION STRIKE!
He turned and RAN.
Amaterasu ignited behind him, hot on his heels. The main entrance was blocked by Itachi's presence, so Hody did what any cornered animal would do—he BIT through the palace wall. Energy Steroids surged through his veins as he chewed through coral and stone, burrowing like a rat, fleeing into the depths beyond.
Itachi considered pursuit—but Hody's underwater speed was remarkable, and behind him, Zoro and Usopp still needed extraction.
Priorities.
He expanded Susano'o, the skeletal structure growing, and reached down to scoop Zoro into its protective embrace.
Usopp didn't wait to be reached. The moment Susano'o's hand came close, he leaped, scrambling inside with desperate relief.
Inside Susano'o, Usopp nearly wept with gratitude. "ITACHI-BROTHER! You're my GOD! My literal GOD!"
"Enough." Itachi's voice was calm but firm. "Help the samurai. He needs resuscitation."
He glanced at Neptune's massive form. "Where are the others?"
"Nami and Camie disappeared during the fight! Luffy vanished earlier! And Brook—um, Brook is—"
Itachi pointed upward.
There, floating motionless on the surface, Brook had adopted the classic 'playing dead' pose.
"I am dead... I am bones... nobody look at me... nobody look at me..."
A massive crimson skeleton rose from the water before him.
"GYAAAAH! WHAT IS THAT?!"
"BROOK! Stop playing dead! Itachi's here to save us!" Usopp's voice rang from within Susano'o.
"Ah! Itachi-san's giant skeleton!" Brook waved feebly.
Itachi's skeletal hand plucked him from the water.
"Anyone else? What about this giant mermaid?" Itachi indicated Neptune.
"He's... uh..." Usopp scratched his head. "Long story. But we should save him too—he's the king of Fishman Island."
Itachi extended Susano'o's hand toward Neptune. "Hold on. I'll take you out."
Neptune waved his fins frantically. "Wait! Everyone—I've only caused trouble for you!"
He looked at Itachi with shining eyes. "You have truly reliable companions."
Itachi's expression didn't change. "Stop talking. Come."
"Eh..." Neptune's eyes welled with tears. "Can't you let an old man have a touching moment?!"
"He has a point, uncle! Can you just COME?!" Usopp echoed.
Neptune shook his massive head. "I won't go."
He straightened as much as his wounded body allowed. "As king of Fishman Island, I will remain in my palace!"
"Shirahoshi is missing! My three princes will return! Since there's no immediate danger, I'll stay here—wait for Sharkstar and the others—explain how to deal with Hody!"
His eyes blazed with determination. "I WILL find whoever abducted my daughter! I WILL find Shirahoshi!"
He looked back at Itachi and the others. "Brothers, go on ahead. I—"
They were gone.
Neptune looked up to find Itachi already swimming away, Usopp and the others safely within Susano'o.
"Th-this..." Two lonely tears traced down the whale king's face. "Can't you even let me FINISH?!"
Usopp glanced back at the rapidly shrinking figure of Neptune. "Um... the king uncle wasn't done talking."
Itachi swam forward steadily, having already extinguished the Amaterasu flames throughout the palace. "Leave him."
Zoro stirred within Susano'o, consciousness returning. "He's right. The priority now is finding Luffy and the others. Something big is about to happen here."
"ZORO! You're awake!" Usopp exclaimed.
Zoro took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Just oxygen deprivation." He looked around at Susano'o's interior, then at Itachi. "Thanks."
The word came out slightly stiff—Zoro wasn't accustomed to gratitude—but it was genuine.
Itachi nodded slightly. "Don't talk too much."
Zoro's lips twitched upward.
At Ryugu Palace's entrance, Robin sat on the bubble they'd arrived in, gazing into the distance. She'd spotted Camie and Nami swimming away from the palace earlier, but they were too far to reach—too far to warn.
Then she saw it: a crimson glow emerging from the palace depths. Itachi, carrying Zoro and the others within Susano'o.
"Faster than expected."
Robin dropped from the bubble as Itachi reached the exit and dismissed Susano'o.
Usopp immediately rushed to her. "Robin! Did you see an escaped fish-man?!"
(End of Chapter)
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