One Piece: I am Imu-Chapter 377: The Raikage Returns

"Lightning Release: Black Panther Slash!"

Once again, a black lightning-formed panther leapt into the sky above the desert battlefield.

The next moment, it pounced on the grayish cement giant.

[BOOM!]

A deafening thunderclap replaced the panther’s roar, erupting across the field along with explosive black lightning.

When the smoke and dust from the blast finally cleared, many of the surrounding Kumogakure shinobi lit up with joy.

Because the once-imposing cement giant that had rampaged through their ranks had now been blown to pieces, its remains scattered as shattered chunks of cement across the ground.

"Incredible! As expected of A-sama!"

"Of course! He’s about to become the Fourth Raikage, after all!"

"Long live Lord A!"

The Kumogakure ninja cheered excitedly, while even the shinobi from Takigakure and Kusagakure looked at A with admiration as he descended back to the ground.

"Shut up!"

But A showed no signs of joy at their praise. Instead, he turned and barked angrily, "My father was only captured alive—he’s not dead!"

"U-Understood—!"

The targeted Chūnin from Kumogakure instantly panicked and nodded hastily. "Yes, of course! The Third Raikage is definitely fine!"

But just then, the cement chunks strewn across the ground suddenly and silently softened into a slurry-like state—and then began flowing rapidly toward the center.

The bizarre sight caught the attention of many shinobi, and startled exclamations erupted all around.

Hearing the commotion, A instinctively turned his head—and his face filled with shock. "No way..."

In the blink of an eye, all the liquefied cement gathered into a massive figure that easily stood around 3.5 meters tall—a burly man resembling a towering giant.

"Zehahahaha! That scared the hell out of me!"

Looking at A, now cloaked in blazing chakra and surrounded by crackling lightning, Teach burst into laughter. "So that’s how it is. Your powers may look impressive... but they can’t actually hurt me at all!"

Because he was from the Ministry of Construction, Teach hadn’t received any of the intel files Imu had previously distributed.

As a result, he knew very little about the Shinobi World.

Which only made his next words and actions even more revealing—he had knowingly risked the unknown to escape the Ministry of Construction, chasing greater freedom, power, and status with the mindset of a gambler ready to bet everything.

"But why? Why the hell is this happening?"

A’s face was filled with disbelief and confusion.

"Because this gentleman’s ability isn’t ninjutsu."

Just as A was spiraling in confusion, a voice called down from above—one so familiar it could never be mistaken.

He jerked his head up, and the name slipped out uncontrollably: "Father!"

In that moment—

A finally laid eyes again on the man he’d longed to see day and night: the current Third Raikage of Kumogakure. At the same time, Hanzō arrived as well, with Yahiko and the others in tow.

For Hanzō, who also carried countless questions in his heart, this was the perfect chance to see for himself what was really going on.

At the same time—

Facing his son’s call, the Third Raikage floating above didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he swept his gaze across the battlefield, scanning both sides. Spotting skirmishes still ongoing between the army and various shinobi forces in the distance, he threw back his bulging, vein-lined neck and roared into the sky: "I, the Third Raikage, hereby order all shinobi to cease combat!"

"And to the World Government’s ground forces—by order of General Akainu, I’ve come to put an end to this war!"

His voice surged outward like a soundwave, blasting across the battlefield.

Wherever it passed—whether shinobi or soldiers—everyone froze in hesitation. Slowly, both sides drew back from each other, weapons still raised, tense but no longer striking.

For a brief moment, gunfire faded, cries of war vanished, and the desert began to return to an eerie, tentative peace.

"Father... what are you doing?"

A looked up in confusion at the Third Raikage.

"A, lead all shinobi two kilometers back—immediately!"

Only then did the Third Raikage descend to the ground, turning to his son to issue the order.

But to his surprise, A didn’t immediately obey. Instead, he hesitated, prompting the Raikage to frown and bark irritably: "What are you doing? Didn’t you hear what I just said?"

It wasn’t A who answered—but Hanzō, who had remained silent until now.

"I imagine he’s wondering if you’re really who you say you are... or if perhaps your mind has been manipulated by some kind of jutsu."

Truthfully, that was exactly what Hanzō himself had been thinking.

Sure enough—

A gave a slight nod.

"You—!"

The Third Raikage’s face instantly darkened.

But then he remembered—given the circumstances, to those who didn’t know the full truth, his current actions would seem strange and out of character.

He had no choice but to take a deep breath and suppress his growing irritation.

"Relax. I am myself. I haven’t been manipulated or controlled by anyone."

"It’s just... this situation is too complicated to explain in a few words. Once you’ve all withdrawn, I’ll explain everything in full."

But Hanzō pushed further.

"Then how about we verify that... by temporarily sealing your body with the Binding Jutsu?"

"You’ve got a death wish?"

The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes dangerously. A cold, murderous aura radiated from his body like a pressure wave.

"Heh."

Hanzō, however, met his gaze without flinching, and gave a cold smirk.

"I think it’s a reasonable request. Who knows what you really are right now?"

Off to the side, Teach—who had been largely ignored until now—watched the rising tension with an expression of mild disbelief.

Am I even needed here anymore?

So what now? Are we still fighting or not?

He certainly wanted to keep fighting—after all, each of these shinobi was basically a walking stack of achievement points.

But the problem was that damn Third Raikage just name-dropped General Akainu...

If he attacked now, there was no doubt he’d piss off that military big shot.

That was no good—he still needed to maintain good ties with the military if he wanted to get anywhere in the future.

"Wait... did he say General Akainu is in this world too?"

A gleam flashed in Teach’s eyes. He immediately turned to look toward the distant city of Rōran. Maybe the general was there right now...

Without another word to the shinobi around him, he transformed into a cloud of powdered cement and shot off into the sky.

He was hoping his earlier performance would earn him a chance to speak with Akainu—maybe even get himself transferred out of the Construction Department and into the military.

Teach’s abrupt exit broke the tension in the air like a knife slicing through cloth.

The Third Raikage withdrew his glare from Hanzō and turned to glance at the plume of cement dust soaring into the sky. A flicker of astonishment passed through his eyes.

"As expected of the World Government... that man must also be a Devil Fruit user. Judging from his power, he seems to have an ability similar to Crocodile’s. Another one of the so-called strongest Logia types."

"But... why isn’t he wearing the ’Justice’ coat that represents military officers?"

The thought passed in a flash. He turned his gaze back to Hanzō and asked coldly: "Why the hell are you here, you old poison bastard?"

"Hehehehe..."

Hanzō chuckled and said, "Obviously, it was your outstanding son who went out of his way to invite me here—to rescue you after you were captured alive. So I’d advise you to show a little gratitude~"

The Third Raikage cast a glance at A, who was still silently observing him. frёewebηovel.cѳm

Of course, he was pleased that his son had gone to such lengths to rescue him. But unfortunately... their enemy had been far too formidable.

"And what was the price?"

"What did that foolish son of mine give you to convince an old poison master who’s barely ever left the Land of Rain to come all the way out to a desert like this?"

"Heheheh... oh, nothing much. Just the Two-Tails. Something your village doesn’t really use anyway~"

A flicker of pride flashed in Hanzō’s eyes. Even just mentioning it put him in a particularly good mood.

After all, a tailed beast was enough to make the major shinobi villages wary—keeping them from treating Amegakure like a battlefield ever again.

"What?!"

The Third Raikage froze—then exploded in fury.

"A, you fool! Don’t you understand the value of a tailed beast?!"

"I just thought... you were worth far more than the Two-Tails."

Faced with his father’s outburst, A pushed aside his lingering doubts and responded at once.

At the same time, he glanced briefly at Yahiko, who stood behind Hanzō, a thought crossing his mind that he didn’t voice out loud: If he successfully rescued his father... he’d find an opportunity later to steal the Two-Tails or its jinchūriki back.

A’s logic was simple: Sure, I agreed to hand over the Two-Tails, and I did. But I never said I couldn’t take it back afterward!

The Third Raikage, who knew his son well, followed A’s gaze until it landed on the youth known as Yahiko.

The sheer pressure behind his stare made Yahiko unconsciously step back two paces, his entire body tensing instinctively.

But Hanzō stepped to the side, just enough to block the Third Raikage’s gaze from reaching Yahiko.

At that moment—

In Yahiko’s eyes, Hanzō’s back seemed broad, reliable, and full of quiet strength.

He even felt, for a brief moment, that it overlapped with the silhouette of Jiraiya-sensei.

"Raikage... this deal has already been concluded. Now that you’ve returned, there’s no need for us to stay any longer."

Even before he finished speaking—

Hanzō was already preparing to leave, leading Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and a hundred Amegakure shinobi back to their village.

But of course, things wouldn’t be that simple.

"You can go—

But the Two-Tails jinchūriki stays with me."

Sure enough, the Third Raikage’s threatening voice rang out from behind them.

Hanzō’s grip on his chained sickle tightened as he slowly turned around.

"What, Kumogakure intends to go back on its word?"

His rough voice, muffled by the gas mask, was laced with chilling hostility and murderous intent.

"I’m the Raikage," the Third said coolly. "And I don’t recall agreeing to anything with you. As for A—he’s not qualified to speak for Kumogakure just yet."

Taking a step forward, he looked at Hanzō and added in a low voice: "Here’s a bit of advice—there are some things your little Amegakure can’t hope to handle."

He had already agreed to lead all of Kumogakure into the World Government and submit to the direct command of Umigakure.

But that wasn’t public knowledge—yet.

They would wait until Kumogakure and Sunagakure joined forces to subdue Iwagakure. Only then would the existence of the World Government be formally announced to the rest of the shinobi world.

Which meant—

Eventually, every village would join the World Government.

But within that system, the level of treatment a village received would likely depend not just on individual power or leadership, but also on the overall strength and value of each village.

And in that equation, tailed beasts carried enormous weight.

Even if all tailed beasts were ultimately to be claimed by the World Government, the village that offered them would surely gain favor.

Kumogakure, as a major power, had the strength to offer up two tailed beasts.

But now Hanzō wanted to take one away.

Naturally, the Third Raikage couldn’t allow that.

That Two-Tails jinchūriki—

Whether they stayed willingly or not—

They would stay. There was no room for negotiation.

---

I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar

---