Chapter 116: The Tsunami

"You ran all that way... just for a lollipop?" Nonou tightened her clothes, suddenly feeling that she wasn't wearing enough. The impact of that scene was simply too strong; if it had been her, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist committing suicide.

"It's really sweet, want a taste?" Shiroki took the lollipop out of his mouth and dangled it in front of Nonou.

Nonou looked at the string of saliva hanging from the lollipop, and at the thought of the mucus on the tentacles, she nearly vomited. "No! Way!"

"Suit yourself. Let me see what the situation is now." Shiroki shoved the lollipop back into his mouth.

Orochimaru and Rasa were still fighting. Both were the type of combatants who relied on exchanging ninjutsu; unlike taijutsu battles, it wasn't easy for injuries or deaths to occur, and it was hard to determine a winner until their chakra was exhausted. Moreover, Orochimaru hadn't come for an all-out war; he was simply there to stir up trouble and had no intention of taking down Sunagakure in one go, so the battle wasn't particularly intense.

The puppet troop brought by Granny Chiyo was the most impressive. Against Orochimaru’s swarm of venomous snakes, these wooden blocks showed no fear of their fangs, leaving nothing but snake corpses scattered everywhere. As for the genin and chunin on both sides, their situation was a bit more miserable, with dozens of bodies left behind by both parties. They were just unlucky collateral damage from Orochimaru's whim.

"Where’s Kakuzu? Where did he go?" Shiroki looked left and right.

"Isn't he in that pile of gold dust?" Nonou pointed to the towering sea of sand under Rasa’s control. In the darkness, Kakuzu was hiding inside, frantically stuffing gold dust into his chest, seemingly unafraid of being flattened by a wave.

"Know when to quit! Quickly call him over!" Shiroki patted A-Fei on the shoulder.

"Got it! Kid!" A-Fei dashed out in a blur, dragging and pulling Kakuzu back.

"Damn! How much gold dust did you stuff in there? I'm telling you, finders keepers!" The sight made Shiroki’s inner outlaw restless. He had never seen so much yellow treasure in his life and was half-tempted to pull a double-cross.

"I'll kill you!!" Kakuzu, with every crevice of his body stuffed full of gold dust, glared at Shiroki vigilantly.

Nonou shook her head in disappointment, clutching her forehead. She really didn't understand how this group managed to thrive; they stole from their employer the moment they arrived. If Rasa found out, she just hoped it wouldn't implicate her.

"Damn! If you won't share, then lend me one of your hearts." Shiroki held out his hand.

"Take it! Don't bother me while I'm making a fortune." Kakuzu habitually extracted a water-attribute heart and tossed it to Shiroki. He then shook all the gold dust from his body, packed it into a sealing scroll, shoved the scroll into his stomach, and ran back to pan for gold under Rasa.

"The water supply problem needs to be solved, and the 'style' needs to be elevated. So... let's merge! Earth Grudge Fear!" Shiroki pressed a mass of sea-urchin-like black threads against his chest.

The Earth Grudge Fear threads crawled into Shiroki’s body as if they were familiar with the path. Endless water-attribute chakra surged through his meridians, bringing a new system notification.

[Hero Experience Mechanism activated. Please choose one of the following heroes:]
[1: Tidecaller - Nami]
[2: Fizz - The Tidal Trickster]
[3: Nautilus - The Titan of the Depths]

"As expected, mermaids and fish-men? I choose the mermaid, Nami!"

[Nami grants you full skill experience, but flips you the middle finger in disgust.]

"Ahem... sorry for making you appear in the desert." Shiroki coughed awkwardly and straightened his clothes. "But... it’s time for the true protagonist to make an entrance!"

A-Fei hurriedly took out a tape recorder, a speaker, and a set of spotlights.

The background music started, and the lights fell on Shiroki.

The sudden radiance in the dead of night was too easy to attract attention. Everyone stopped fighting, their eyes falling on Shiroki, including Anko, who was busy cleaning the mucus off herself.

"What is that tentacle pervert trying to do now?"

There was no trace of a strange smile or manic expression on Shiroki’s face anymore; there was only a sacred, inviolable piety, and his eyes held only a pure, flawless light. Who could have imagined that beneath those meticulous white robes lay such a filthy, yellow soul? Who knew that the serious-looking black holy scripture he held was actually a book cover for *Make-Out Paradise*? And who could believe he had just snatched a lollipop from an innocent girl?

Even Anko didn't believe it; this had to be his twin brother.

"Great and almighty Cthulhu, you are the master of all things, the Ruler of the Old Days. You were born of the sea; you created all things with seawater, and you watch over the world with great compassion."

Shiroki walked barefoot on the sand, step by step. Every word was so sacred, like the music of the heavens, purifying people’s souls.

"Kazekage-sama, what kind of nonsense is the distinguished guest you invited up to?" Orochimaru sneered as he watched Shiroki put on his act.

Rasa shook his head; he didn't understand either.

"I, your lowly servant, feel your great grace, becoming your pure limb, the mouthpiece of your divine will, the heir to eternal life. Therefore, I implore you to bring forth a tsunami. May your divine power purify the hearts of the heretics, and may your holy water invigorate the spirits of your followers!" Shiroki’s voice suddenly rose in passion, echoing through the night sky.

"Those who believe in gods are either mentally ill or insane," Orochimaru continued to sneer.

"May the paschal mystery I perform in this barren land allow these unbelievers to feel the majesty of the god, to walk the path of faith, to devote their lives to service, and to share in the eternal feast with the gods in the days to come. In the name of our Lord, Nagakabouros, I pray you listen to our plea, Cthulhu..."

Shiroki opened his arms, embracing the endless starry sky.

[TIDAL WAVE!!!]

"Heh... it seems his divine grace doesn't care much for this place," Orochimaru sneered, looking at the completely still sea of sand.

Suddenly, the sand began to tremble violently... as if countless beasts were running. Everyone looked around in panic, completely unaware of what was happening. A dark, massive mountain was moving slowly from the distance; it was this that brought the trembling of the ground.

*Heh... mountains don't have legs, how could it be moving?*

This was the confusion of everyone present. Until the black mountain drew near...

"Sea... sea... tsunami...!" Finally, a young Konoha genin uttered the word.

"Idiot, this is a desert. Where would a tsunami come from?" His captain gave him a merciless knock on the head.

The next moment, he regretted it.

Because it really was a goddamn tsunami!!!!

But no one told him why there would be a tsunami in the desert!

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

Orochimaru’s subordinates were all battle-hardened elites. After a three-second hesitation, they immediately began to perform a joint Earth-style ninjutsu. A hundred-meter-long rock wall rose from the ground, becoming increasingly sturdy under the chakra support of countless Konoha ninja. The Sunagakure ninja were bewildered; they even wanted to join them. Although the tsunami was summoned by their own side, could it tell friend from foe?

"Call out the name of Cthulhu! The god will never harm his believers!" Shiroki shouted, raising his arms.

The Sunagakure ninja were still skeptical, but when they looked back at the tsunami that blocked out the sky and sun, they immediately knelt down and shouted loudly: "Cthulhu! Cthulhu! Cthulhu!"

*Rumble, rumble!*

It wasn't thunder; it was the roar of a tsunami!

The surging, massive wave swept over everything in its path, turning everything into nothingness under its immense impact.

*BOOM!!!*

The deafening roar of the wave slammed into the Earth-Style Wall. The makeshift hundred-meter rock wall didn't last ten seconds before it was completely crushed into rubble, carrying the Konoha ninja away into the far distance. Meanwhile, the Sunagakure ninja who were kneeling on the ground widened their eyes in terror. They were clearly in the middle of a tsunami, yet the violent water flow didn't cause them a single bit of harm, as if everything were just an illusion.

Only the Konoha ninja struggling in the torrent told them that it wasn't an illusion—it was real. This made them believe even more in Cthulhu’s divine power, and they shouted the divine name even more fervently.

"Interesting... interesting... to be able to unleash this level of Water Style in a place without water—even the Second Hokage in his day would have found it difficult. I am even more interested in your god now." Orochimaru stood atop Manda’s head, slowly being washed into the distance by the tsunami, his tongue still licking his lips, his eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge—the desire to dissect Cthulhu.