Inside the barrier, the air seemed to stagnate, falling into a silence devoid of any sound.
Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi stared fixedly at Luo Chen, their four eyes wide. The shock, astonishment, and bewilderment in their gaze were clearly visible.
"Give me some face and end this war," Luo Chen said, attempting to emulate Red-Haired Shanks.
Orochimaru's eyes flickered as he asked coldly, "Who are you, sir?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi also spoke, "Thank you for the rescue, traveler."
Immediately following his words, he let out a great shout and continued to drag the soul out of Orochimaru's body. Since things had reached this point, how could the battle possibly stop?
Even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't.
The Reaper had already been summoned; if he withdrew now, he would have sacrificed himself for nothing. If Orochimaru were left unscathed, Konoha would surely face destruction again.
Forced by circumstance, Orochimaru once again drove the Kusanagi sword forward. If he didn't kill the Third Hokage quickly, he would be the one to die.
In this current situation, the battle could not be stopped just because someone said so—unless the Third was willing to die in vain.
The Kusanagi sword in Luo Chen's hand struggled violently, trying to break free and fly off to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Luo Chen applied a slight bit of pressure with his grip, and a crisp *crack* echoed through the air.
The Kusanagi sword snapped under the pressure.
The two halves of the blade fell onto the roof tiles, remaining motionless.
Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils constricted as he stared at Luo Chen's palm.
The Kusanagi sword was crushed?
How was that possible?
He hadn't sensed any chakra fluctuations just now. Did this person crush one of the divine artifacts, the Kusanagi sword, using nothing but his physical body?
Intuition told Orochimaru that this mysterious man who had suddenly appeared was anything but simple. However, he was currently in a life-or-death crisis; regardless of who tried to stop him, he had to deal with the Third first.
Under Orochimaru's control, the First Hokage and the Second Hokage moved simultaneously.
The First Hokage charged straight at Luo Chen.
The Second Hokage activated the Body Flicker Technique, picking up the broken tip of the Kusanagi sword and lunging it toward Hiruzen Sarutobi's neck.
*It's really hard to learn the 'Face-Face' fruit style from the Red-Hair,* Luo Chen complained inwardly.
He casually threw out a punch.
*BOOM!* The air suddenly erupted with a deafening roar.
The sound of the sonic boom terrified both Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Blood seeped from their eardrums as they turned their heads in horror.
First Hokage Hashirama Senju's Impure World Reincarnation body was blown into oblivion by the mere wind of the punch. In the blink of an eye, the body turned into countless fluttering scraps of paper.
Second Hokage Tobirama Senju was still lunging at Hiruzen Sarutobi under Orochimaru's command, but the shockwave from Luo Chen's punch caught his reincarnated body as well.
His fate was the same as Hashirama's; half of Tobirama's body was instantly shattered, and he was sent flying, crashing onto a spot more than ten meters away.
"You..." Orochimaru's pupils trembled. He couldn't believe such a powerful person existed.
Even his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been suppressed in Taijutsu by the First and Second Hokage earlier. Yet, this mysterious young man had shattered the Impure World Reincarnation bodies of two former Hokage with a single punch.
How was this possible? Even Tsunade's monstrous strength certainly couldn't achieve this, could it?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression shifted emotionally as he watched Luo Chen closely, wondering what his true purpose was.
Luo Chen glanced at the Reaper phantom. If he didn't deal with this guy, Hiruzen Sarutobi probably wouldn't stop.
He raised a palm.
Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki swirled and wrapped around it.
A being like the Reaper phantom was essentially a mutant entity formed by the condensation of a massive number of souls. His Conqueror's Haki was perfectly capable of inflicting damage upon it.
As for the "Rule Immunity" trait of his Armament Haki, it was there just in case. Luo Chen liked to use Rule Immunity as an absolute defense.
His pitch-black palm, wreathed in dark-red lightning, slashed down through the air.
A crescent-shaped strike expanded to over ten meters, tearing through the Reaper phantom.
In the next moment, the Reaper phantom let out a mournful wail as it was split in half. The two illusory remnants twisted in the air before finally dissipating like smoke, vanishing completely.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's entire body swayed, suffering from the backlash of the technique's destruction as his chakra ran rampant within his body. He spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back several steps, barely managing to keep his footing.
Orochimaru wiped the blood sprayed on his face and leaped back several meters, creating distance between himself and Luo Chen.
The master and apprentice both looked over with gazes full of wonder and alarm.
"The Reaper Death Seal... was broken?" Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to be asking, yet also muttering to himself.
He looked at his own palms, certain that he was still alive. But wasn't the Reaper Death Seal a forbidden jutsu meant for mutual destruction? How did that young man do it?
Who was this person?
Orochimaru's doubts were similar to Hiruzen's. They stared at Luo Chen, not daring to act recklessly again.
"May I ask which village you are a shinobi of? And how exactly did you break the Reaper Death Seal?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke quite politely. Previously, he believed death was imminent and had no time to converse with Luo Chen. Now that the Reaper Death Seal was broken, he could afford to speak patiently.
Luo Chen scanned the two of them and smiled. "You can call me Luo Chen."
"As for my origins, I am not a shinobi, nor do I hail from any country or village in this realm."
"To you, I should be considered an Outsider—a being from beyond the heavens."
He pointed toward the sky.
His words left both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru dazed for a moment. Especially that last phrase, "a being from beyond the heavens," caused their minds to crash.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed repeatedly, becoming solemn, but he did not speak. Orochimaru was the same, his golden vertical pupils scrutinizing Luo Chen carefully. He observed his appearance, skin, clothes... attempting to judge the truth of his words from every detail.
Luo Chen gave them time to process the information, his eyes roaming the surroundings.
The Impure World Reincarnation bodies of the First and Second Hokage had fully recovered and retreated to Orochimaru's side. Their eyes were hollow; their consciousness had likely been temporarily sealed.
In the spectator stands, Kakashi and the others had mostly finished dealing with the Sound and Sand shinobi. Now, Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and others had gathered together, looking toward his position.
Naruto and the other Konoha Genin, who were originally supposed to chase Sasuke and Gaara, had not left. They too were looking in his direction.
Luo Chen made a beckoning motion, and Kalifa, who was at the spectator stands, teleported over to his side. Once he declared his intention to rule the Shinobi World, there was no guarantee Konoha wouldn't move against Kalifa. To be safe, keeping her by his side was best.
*Space-time ninjutsu...* Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to themselves.
To be honest, they didn't quite believe the "being from beyond the heavens" claim. Most likely, Luo Chen was a reclusive shinobi who had lived in seclusion. Using the term "Outsider" to deceive them likely meant he had other intentions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi cast aside his stray thoughts and said solemnly, "I thank you for saving this old man from the Reaper phantom."
"However, Orochimaru has invaded Konoha. This debt is one I must settle with him."
Luo Chen waved his hand. "Hold on with your battle for a moment."
"Listen to my proposal first, and then it won't be too late to decide whether to fight or not."
He continued, "Whether you believe I am an Outsider or not doesn't matter. My goal is to unify the Shinobi World."
Luo Chen looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose face shifted slightly. "The Five Great Nations, including the Land of Fire, as well as the other small nations—I intend to bring them all under my rule."
"I hope the Hokage will pass on the word and notify the other countries and hidden villages of my will."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression became exceptionally grave. "Do you realize what you are saying?"
"Unifying the Five Great Nations, unifying the Shinobi World... such a thing has never happened since ancient times!"
Even during the era when the First Hokage was alive, Konoha failed to unify the Shinobi World. From the Warring States period until now, the Shinobi World had never been unified. Did this young man named Luo Chen truly not realize he was speaking arrogant nonsense?
A smile played across Orochimaru's pale skin as his long, thin tongue licked his lips, looking very interested.
"The Third Hokage and I cannot represent the entire Shinobi World."
"Luo Chen, do you know how deep the waters of the Shinobi World truly are?"
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