Tanaka had just completed a full set of Sixty-Four Palms on Jabra.
He was in a state where his old strength had been exhausted, and new strength had yet to be generated.
Facing Rankyaku, he truly had no time to dodge. He could only use his Byakugan to watch helplessly as the attack approached, slicing toward his back.
Crack!
Accompanied by the sharp sound of a blade cutting into flesh, Who's-Who's Rankyaku, like a crescent moon, struck Tanaka's back solidly, splitting his body in two.
"Tanaka!"
Rosinante, who had been teleported thirty meters away by Tanaka using his Op-Op Fruit to escape the exploding tags, saw his savior being cut in half, and the blood drained from his face.
Thud.
His knees gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
However, just as Rosinante was drowning in despair, the "Tanaka" who had been sliced in two suddenly burst into a cloud of white mist.
Thud.
With a heavy object hitting the ground, where Tanaka had been standing, only a severed wooden log remained.
Watching as Tanaka dissolved into mist, leaving only a log behind, Rosinante was stunned.
Who's-Who was stunned.
Even Kalifa, who had yet to recover from the battle, was stunned.
What did it mean to put on a show?
This was it.
A display of ninja techniques from the shinobi world left even the CP9, including Who's-Who, utterly bewildered.
And Rosinante, who could only watch from a distance, was equally dumbfounded.
Compared to being instantly defeated due to an absolute power difference, the way Tanaka used a strange technique and tactical maneuvers to fight was both shocking and excruciating for CP9.
"You're the last one left. Come on. Let's end this."
Tanaka, who had just used the Substitution Jutsu to thoroughly baffle Who's-Who, slowly rose from the distant sandy ground.
After standing firm, he raised his chin slightly and beckoned to Who's-Who.
"Fucker! You're just a brat! Don't get too cocky!" Who's-Who was enraged—and panicked.
If the mission to capture the boy failed, he would be unable to atone for his sins and would surely be eliminated by the World Government.
"Geppo!"
At this thought, he took a step forward and soared into the air like a raging storm, shooting dozens of meters high. He then opened his mouth, revealing his sharp teeth—like a ferocious tiger preparing to devour its prey.
"Fang Pistol!"
In the instant he bit down, the air around him rippled violently before releasing a massive air projectile in the shape of a saber-toothed tiger's jaws. It tore through the sky, descending upon Tanaka with overwhelming force.
Tanaka saw this and smiled.
No one saw it, but he had already expanded his ROOM, encompassing both himself and Who's-Who, who was stepping through the air.
"Shambles."
At the very moment when he was about to be devoured by the massive air projectile shaped like razor-sharp fangs, both he and Who's-Who vanished—only to reappear together a second later.
However, in that brief instant of disappearance and reappearance, their positions had drastically changed.
Tanaka was now in mid-air, standing at the very spot where Who's-Who had been using Geppo to step on thin air.
Meanwhile, Who's-Who had landed on the ground—right where Tanaka had been standing just moments ago.
And then—
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted.
The massive air projectile, like the jaws of a colossal beast, engulfed Who's-Who, who had been teleported into its path by Tanaka's fruit ability.
"AAAHHH!"
Although Who's-Who, like Jabra, could maintain Tekkai while using other Rokushiki techniques, the problem was—he hadn't activated it just now.
So in that instant of forced position swap, he was directly hit by his own Fang Pistol attack at point-blank range.
His neck.
His chest.
It was as if he had been bitten by a saber-toothed tiger, its fangs tearing through his flesh.
Skin ripped open.
Blood gushed out.
He dropped to one knee.
"You don't develop such a terrifying battle strategy without experiencing thousands of life-and-death fights. How could a kid who's barely ten years old have such vast combat experience?"
Kalifa turned pale as she witnessed Who's-Who's miserable state.
Cold sweat ran down her back, soaking her white shirt and revealing glimpses of her skin.
Her desire to take action was completely extinguished.
Ever since Tanaka detonated the explosive tags, she had been lying in wait, ready to strike at the first opening—like a predator hidden in the shadow, waiting for its prey to reveal a weakness before pouncing.
But unfortunately, the boy's relentless chain of tactics had left all of CP9 utterly bewildered.
And with the space-swapping ability of his Op-Op Fruit, she couldn't find even the slightest opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
At this moment, no matter how much she refused to admit it, she knew in her heart—this mission to capture the boy had failed.
Rather than staying and getting killed, it was better to continue concealing her presence.
Whether or not she would get another chance to assassinate Tanaka later was uncertain, but at the very least, she could try to rescue Jabra and the others.
At worst, she could protect herself and report all of Tanaka's strange abilities and his cunning, deceitful battle tactics to the World Government.
"Bullshit."
"Bullshit."
"Bullshit."
"Bullshit."
"Damned Op-Op Fruit power!"
Who's-Who, kneeling on the ground, roared hysterically.
But his excessive movement tugged at his wounds, causing fresh blood to spurt out instantly, soaking his entire body. His Marine uniform was dyed red, and the sand beneath him turned scarlet.
He had always had a hot temper.
From the very beginning of the fight, he had been completely led around by Tanaka, falling into one trap after another.
How could he not mentally collapse?
Furthermore, compared to ninjas from the Naruto world, the powerhouses of the One Piece world were undeniably strong in terms of sheer fighting spirit and durability.
But when it came to mental resilience—most of them were lacking.
They had no sense of tactics, acted on instinct, and often lost their cool in battle, rushing in headfirst without thinking.
Just like Who's-Who at this very moment.