Chapter 29 : The Great Waterfall Technique
Anyone who has closely observed spiders knows that their bodies are covered with coarse hair, a defense mechanism. This coarse hair can easily pierce the delicate skin of animals, particularly unprotected mouths. Therefore, most animals don't consider spiders as prey.
However, this coarse hair also has a fatal flaw—it's highly flammable. Even a small spark can set a spider on fire, as the coarse hair acts as an excellent fuel.
Right now, Black Maria is clearly suffering the consequences of this weakness. Before she could react, her entire lower spider body became a large ball of fire, causing her to scream in pain. She quickly transformed her spider legs back to human legs, covering them with black Haki to suppress the flames.
Seeing her legs covered in burns and blisters, Black Maria's face was full of rage. As a woman, especially a beautiful one, Black Maria naturally took great care of her appearance.
Now that her legs were burnt, and not knowing whether scars would be left, how could she not be both angry and anxious?
In her fury, Black Maria abandoned any pretense of being a lady, not that there would be any in the Beast Pirates: "Damn you, little bastard! Die!"
Coated in dark Haki, her weapon struck Youta, who braced himself with his arms above his head. The dark Haki clashed, almost sparking. This time, however, Youta didn't retreat; he firmly gripped Black Maria's weapon.
Black Maria was taken aback. She had slightly underestimated Youta based on his earlier performance when he was distracted and sent flying. Now, she sensed that Youta's physical strength might be on par with hers.
Her weapon's head continuously snapped and chomped, trying to bite Youta. Youta sneered and applied pressure with his fingers, causing sharp blades to extend from them.
These blades were formed from high-quality swords collected by Youta and infused with chakra metal. They were wrapped in Haki and constantly emitting chakra. There was no way the artificial Devil Fruit weapon could withstand them.
The weapon's head let out a scream as Youta slashed with his hands, sending blood splattering. Black Maria's Haki was torn apart like paper. Her weapon was immediately sliced halfway.
Seeing her beloved weapon badly damaged in one move, Black Maria didn't feel anger; instead, she sobered up as if doused in cold water.
"Oh no, if he can tear through my Haki so easily... I'm no match for him!"
In fact, among the Flying Six, Black Maria might have been the largest in size but was the weakest in terms of raw strength.
She relied on her venom, webs, her weapon, and fire to compensate for her lower strength, resulting in a more extravagant fighting style.
Now, the Devour-Devour Fruit perfectly countered her webs and fire, and her venom was almost useless against Youta, a medical ninja. Physically fighting left her at a disadvantage, and she considered retreating.
Ultimately, Black Maria might have a streak of brutality typical of the Beast Pirates, but she was a bully who feared the strong. Her fighting spirit wasn't high. Seeing no chance of victory, she thought of running instead of fighting to the end.
Feigning an attack, she ignored her burned legs and resumed her half-human, half-animal form, although her lower spider body now looked charred and hairless.
But there's no denying it; with eight legs, she could run fast, and climbing walls and ceilings made her a skilled escape artist.
Seeing Black Maria retreat, Youta smiled slightly. Black Maria's strength was not to be underestimated. If she had fought to the end, Youta would have had a hard time defeating her.
"Too bad you turned your back on me while running away," Youta said as he chased her calmly. He formed hand seals, and soon, he performed the only A-rank jutsu he had learned.
"Water Release—Great Waterfall Technique."
A torrent of water flooded the hallway, instantly submerging Black Maria, who let out a scream as she was swept away.
The Great Waterfall Technique essentially involves summoning a large volume of water. Apart from requiring a significant amount of chakra, it's one of the easiest A-rank jutsu to learn—but also one of the least practical.
The multiple hand seals take a few seconds to perform, making it impractical for combat, and it's just slightly better than the Water Dragon Bullet with its 40 or so hand seals.
Simplified hand seal techniques were closely guarded secrets that couldn't be found even on the black market.
If it weren't for the natural countering effect of water against Devil Fruit users in the world of One Piece, Youta wouldn't have put much effort into learning such techniques. Black Maria's desperate escape gave him the opportunity to use this jutsu.
Once successfully cast, the Great Waterfall Technique had a notable effect on Devil Fruit users. Black Maria reverted to her human form, lying in the water, completely powerless.
Although the Great Waterfall Technique summoned large quantities of water, it was just ordinary water and would soon drain away, so Youta didn't waste time. He swiftly moved to Black Maria's side, transformed his hand into a giant syringe thanks to the Devour-Devour Fruit, and injected her neck.
Black Maria's eyes rolled back, and she immediately fell unconscious.
"Good thing I have enough medicine prepared; otherwise, her large size would require a significant dose," Youta muttered. In the One Piece world, people's resistance to various poisons and anaesthetics was incredibly high, especially Black Maria, given her large size, her consumption of an ancient Zoan fruit, and her inherent venom.
In the world of Naruto, due to the extraordinary nature of chakra, the resistance of powerful individuals was also unusually high. Thus, the toxins created by medical ninjas had to be much stronger than those in the real world to handle the resilience of One Piece characters.
After Black Maria fell unconscious, Youta prepared a potent sedative and used his genjutsu to control Maria, gathering information about the Beast Pirates, especially the location of their treasure trove.