'What?!'
'Th-This is...?!'
The moment they saw this black rift appear beside them, Orochimaru and Hiruzen both froze simultaneously!
The two of them almost simultaneously widened their eyes, their pupils contracting to their smallest!
Their expressions froze on their faces!
Hiruzen froze because,
He had never seen such a strange sight before!
'The intangible air could... also show cracked fissures!?'
'What is this?!'
'Space-Time Ninjutsu?!'
'How could there be a technique that directly shatters space like this...?!'
Even Hiruzen, known as the know-it-all of the Shinobi World, was completely unable to comprehend it at this moment!
In his sixty-nine years of Shinobi career,
He had never even heard of such a thing!
And at this moment,
On the other side, Orochimaru also froze.
However,
Unlike Hiruzen,
He... had seen this before!
A few years ago,
In the bounty capital of the Land of Fire, Kikyo Castle,
That person wearing the Kitsune Ogre mask who declared war on all bounty hunters across the land,
After defeating the Fourth Raikage, had left precisely by using this bizarre method of tearing through space!
And without a doubt...
The rift before them was exactly that Space-Time Ninjutsu from back then!!
'Could it be...'
'That man is about to come?!'
'Or perhaps... it's another member of Las Noches?!'
Orochimaru's pupils narrowed slightly, shock in his heart.
In fact,
Back then, because he was very curious about this peculiar Space-Time Ninjutsu, he had intentionally gone to ask Kyo about it.
And the answer he received was,
This Space-Time Ninjutsu was called "Garganta".
Furthermore, it was a secret Space-Time technique mastered by every member of Las Noches!
Its function was to seamlessly connect two unconnected locations!
And after entering the rift, one could reach their destination in an extremely short time!
Moreover,
At that time, Kyo had even directly summoned that Kitsune Ogre,
And released this technique right in front of Orochimaru!
It was precisely because of this,
That over the past few years, Orochimaru had become even more eager to join Las Noches, with the goal of learning this powerful secret technique...
And now, since this peculiar rift had appeared again,
It meant that,
Whoever was coming here now was definitely a member of Las Noches!
'Besides the Kitsune Ogre, it could also be someone else...'
Thinking this,
Orochimaru instantly stared intently at the spreading rift.
He couldn't help but hold his breath.
And in front of him,
Hiruzen, who was being held hostage, naturally also had a solemn gaze.
Because this rift had appeared so suddenly, it seemed he had temporarily forgotten that he was being held hostage...
And the next moment,
From within the void darkness of the spreading rift,
A tall and straight figure leisurely stepped out.
The bright moonlight shone upon his black silhouette, his fluffy brown long hair swaying slightly in the night breeze.
On his face was a calm and unhurried smile.
His golden eyes gleamed as brightly as burning flames.
"!!"
Seeing his appearance, almost instantly,
Orochimaru and Hiruzen's hearts clenched simultaneously, both shuddering violently, their eyes widening in unison!
'What the!'
'How... is it him???!'
'Why would he come here at this time?!?'
Both were dumbfounded.
Orochimaru was bewildered because he never imagined... that Kyo would actually come here in person!!
Hiruzen was bewildered because this person... he had only just learned about him that morning!
At that time, when Shikaku came to report the investigation results, the person he mentioned was precisely this mysterious Shinobi from Amegakure!
And at that moment, Hiruzen had intentionally arranged for Anbu to monitor him, and had even dispatched an intelligence squad to investigate Amegakure!
But he never imagined that this person... would appear here directly at this time!?
The two of them were momentarily stunned.
And at this moment,
Around them,
The four Otogakure's Shinobi maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation, upon seeing this scene, were also suddenly startled.
'W-Wait...!'
'Wh-Who is this person...?!'
'Why did he appear inside our barrier?!'
'Our barrier should be completely... completely unbroken, just how did this guy... get in?!'
The four hurriedly exchanged glances, only to find that everyone's faces showed expressions of shock and bewilderment!
However,
Outside the Four Violet Flames Formation,
Due to the increasingly intense fighting between the various Shinobi Villages, no one had temporarily noticed the situation over here.
Therefore, no one noticed that,
Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation barrier, an extra person had now appeared out of thin air!
And just then,
Kyo turned his gaze towards them.
He first slightly raised an eyebrow, glanced at Hiruzen, then looked at Orochimaru, and spoke with a light smile:
"Orochimaru-san,"
"You're a bit slow..."
"Didn't I say that you should start acting immediately after I created the disturbance?"
"How is it still not done yet?"
"...?!"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Before Orochimaru could react, Hiruzen beside him instantly turned pale!
'Create... a disturbance?!'
'What?!'
'Wh-What's going on...!?'
'Could it be that the enormous black monster outside... was created by this guy from Amegakure?!'
'And listening to his words...'
'Is it possible that Amegakure is also cooperating with Orochimaru?!'
Hiruzen was instantly bewildered!
He never imagined that this glasses-wearing youth, who looked so honest, would actually be the biggest mastermind behind this plan!
Hiruzen's aged face turned as pale as lime at this moment.
And just then,
A bead of sweat involuntarily appeared on Orochimaru's forehead. He reluctantly curled his lips into a smile and responded:
"Ara..."
"How surprising,"
"That terrifying existence, comparable to a Tailed Beast, is represented by only the word 'disturbance' for Kyo-kun?"
"Hehe... speaking of which, Kyo-kun,"
"You actually chose to appear here so openly. Could it be... you're not afraid of exposing your identity..."
Orochimaru spoke slowly, his eyes flickering slightly.
He remembered before,
Kyo seemed somewhat unwilling to openly show hostility towards Konoha.
How come now, he suddenly dared to appear here directly...
And just as he was pondering this,
Kyo opposite him suddenly chuckled lightly, shook his head, and said:
"You're right."
"Then, let's conceal it a bit."
As he spoke, Kyo lightly raised both hands with a smile, casually pressed his palms together, and then said with a smile:
"Bakudo #26: Kyokko."
The moment the words fell, he spread his palms open.
Suddenly, an iridescent light surged violently forward from before his palms!
The next moment, these several beams of light quickly rushed out in all directions, directly merging with the Four Violet Flames Formation, transforming into four walls of light!
And the moment these light walls formed, they instantly warped all surrounding light, like a enormous ripple!
In an instant, it became impossible to see the outside situation from inside!
And looking from the outside, one would also be astonished to find that the situation inside the Four Violet Flames Formation was completely unseeable as well!
"-?!"
Seeing this scene,
Orochimaru and Hiruzen caught their breath!
'This...'
'This was actually a technique that warps light?!'
However,
Before they could react,
Kyo looked towards them and said with a light smile:
"This way it's fine, you two continue."
"Don't mind me."
"I'm just a passing Amegakure teacher."
"Here to watch the show."
As the words fell, Kyo somehow produced a chair from somewhere.
Then, he leisurely leaned back, crossed his legs, gently pushed up his glasses, and revealed a gentle smile.
Quite resembling the feeling of a pure bystander.
However,
Upon hearing these words and seeing this scene,
In an instant, Hiruzen's aged face turned completely livid!
'This...'
'This damn 'passing'??!'
'You've already damn well come inside the Four Violet Flames Formation!!'
'All that's left is to come up and make a move!'
'And,'
'What's with you carrying a stool around?!?'
'Are you really just a spectator on the battlefield...?'
Hiruzen couldn't help but clench his fist.
As the 'Strongest Hokage', this was the first time he had been so underestimated by a younger Shinobi...
And at this moment,
Orochimaru, upon seeing this scene, was also momentarily taken aback.
However,
Unlike Hiruzen,
In just an instant, he immediately realized-
'Tsk tsk,'
Kyo-kun seems unwilling to even make a move...'
'To him, even the power of Sarutobi-sensei seemed utterly insignificant...'
'So,'
'He really does seem to be just here to watch the show...'
Thinking this,
Orochimaru couldn't help but smile wryly inwardly.
'This ruler of Las Noches really does enjoy pursuing some inexplicable "pleasure"...'
'However,'
'This is actually good...'
'I will personally defeat you, Sarutobi-sensei...'
Thinking this, Orochimaru once again turned his cold gaze towards Hiruzen.
However,
Just as he was about to speak,
Hiruzen seemed to perceive this gap in his thoughts, instantly raised his hand and knocked away the kunai in Orochimaru's hand!
Then, with a leap, he directly distanced himself from Orochimaru!
He looked over solemnly.
However,
His gaze, at the first moment, did not turn to Orochimaru, but instead focused on Kyo, who was watching the show nearby!
His instincts told him,
This Amegakure's Shinobi with golden eyes might pose a danger far greater than Orochimaru!
Therefore, he must prioritize eliminating him first!
Thinking this,
Hiruzen, almost without hesitation, instantly raised his hands and, at an incredibly fast speed, quickly completed the hand signs!
Aiming a Fire Release at Kyo before him, he launched it!
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!!!"
"!"