He saw a group of guards dressed in black cloaks, each with an imposing physique, the shortest around 180 cm, and the tallest reaching 190 cm or even 2 meters.
"Yes, I received the notification and knew you were all coming. So, I voluntarily requested permission from His Majesty the Emperor to be your guide."
"Welcome, Orochimaru-kun, Princess Tsunade, Kakashi-kun, Sasuke-kun, Kabuto-kun. Welcome to the Shinobi Empire!"
"I am the Captain of the Shinobi Empire's Capital Guard, Namikaze Minato!"
Minato smiled brightly.
"A great honor, Captain Minato." Orochimaru said with a polite smile.
The others responded one by one.
"Minato, do you have the space-time communication device? I need to stay in constant contact with everyone in Konoha." Tsunade said suddenly.
"Hmm? Oh?"
Minato paused, his smile growing brighter.
"Of course."
As he spoke, he took out a time-space communication device from his spatial ring and fiddled with it briefly.
A light screen opened.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Ninja World, Konoha
Imperial Lee was surrounded by a group of people, all eagerly staring at the communication device in front of him.
When the device flickered green, Imperial Lee gently pressed a button.
A light screen opened.
The figures of Orochimaru, Tsunade, Kakashi, Sasuke, Kabuto, and Minato appeared before everyone.
Instantly, the Konoha crowd exclaimed.
"Minato-senpai!"
"The Fourth Hokage!"
"Minato-sama!"
"Sasuke!"
"Orochimaru!"
"Tsunade-sama!"
Among the shouts, "Minato-senpai." "Fourth Hokage." and "Minato-sama" were the most frequent.
"Hahaha. Sorry, sorry, I'm not the Fourth Hokage you know. I'm the Captain of the Shinobi Empire's Capital Guard, Namikaze Minato."
Imperial Minato on the light screen apologized sincerely. Then he glanced to the side, saw Naruto, and smiled:
"Little Naruto, how's life back in Konoha?"
Hearing this, many ninja were shocked.
Minato from the other world had met Naruto… he knew everything?
"Uncle Minato, I'm doing fine in Konoha. But Orochimaru and Sasuke beside you… are they from our world?"
Naruto answered first, then looked at Orochimaru and Sasuke with confusion and asked.
"Yes, this is Orochimaru-kun and Sasuke-kun from your world, little Naruto."
Minato smiled and nodded.
"Long time no see, loser." Sasuke said with a cold expression.
"Is this Sasuke-kun? It's been over three years… he's gotten even more handsome! Oh no! I can't hold back!" Ino clutched her chest, looking smitten.
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered longingly.
"Sasuke! Why did you go to the Empire with Granny Tsunade and Kakashi?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
"Hmph! I joined the Empire long ago. Isn't it normal to visit?" Sasuke sneered.
"Joined the Empire?" Naruto was stunned, then scratched his head and suddenly laughed.
"That's great! If you're with the Empire, we can form a team again later."
"What nonsense are you spouting? The strong only team up with the strong. Who'd want to team up with a loser like you?"
"Damn you, Sasuke!"
Naruto gritted his teeth, but his expression suddenly brightened.
Even Sakura unconsciously showed a slight smile.
Both of them subconsciously saw themselves as part of the Empire!
Seeing this, Ino-Shika-Cho and many other ninja shifted their expressions slightly.
Empire
Tsunade, who had just exchanged secret codes with Shikaku, rolled her eyes.
"Minato, give us a proper tour. I assume our range of movement isn't limited to just this, right?"
"Of course, Princess Tsunade."
Imperial Minato nodded. Then he left the steel fortress and stepped outside.
The full view of the Empire's ancient city of Roran unfolded before the Konoha group for the first time.
Seeing the rows of towering buildings, the beautiful clothes worn by the people, and the radiant smiles… all the Konoha ninja had to admit that the Empire's social development and standard of living far surpassed Konoha, even the entire ninja world.
This wasn't something that could be easily faked.
Tsunade, Kakashi, Shikaku, and everyone who had been skeptical now trusted the Empire over ninety percent.
"Minato-kun, the standard of living in the Empire indeed far exceeds the ninja world. But… what interests me most will always be great power and unknown science. Obito-kun invited me to join the Empire, saying it has everything I desire."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Of course, for a talented individual like Orochimaru-kun, whom even His Majesty the Emperor values, we'll naturally show you things that interest you."
"But before that, perhaps we could observe the Empire's military training. Are you interested, Orochimaru-kun, Princess Tsunade?" Minato said with a smile, a hidden intent in his words.
"Here it comes! A show of the Empire's military might! Trying to make us submit, huh…" Tsunade's heart raced.
"Of course, power is also one of the things that interest me." Orochimaru nodded.
"The Empire's army? What's so interesting about a group of soldiers training?" Sasuke said dismissively.
Kakashi then said, "Captain Minato… I heard the Empire's soldiers have strength comparable to mine… and there are a million of them?"
"How could that be… comparing the Empire's soldiers to Kakashi-kun's strength? Without fighting, who knows? Don't listen to rumors!"
Hearing Kakashi's words, Imperial Minato gave an awkward smile.
Sasuke and Orochimaru's eyes shifted slightly.
Ninja World, Konoha
A group of ninja were also shocked:
"No way! A million Kakashi-senseis (senpais)?"
"If there are a million, that's too terrifying. Compared to Konoha, we're like a remote village."
"It's got to be a bluff!"
Many ninja discussed.
A figure wrapped entirely in bandages appeared, pushing through the crowd to the front of the space-time device:
"What Empire, what other world? It's all just genjutsu and tricks! Trying to scare Konoha and make us submit? What a fantasy!"
"A million Kakashis? A million elite Jonin? If you had that kind of power, why bother with tricks? The entire ninja world would already be yours!"
Danzo cursed, and the expressions of the nearby ninja shifted slightly.
"You're Danzo? Good, reasonable doubts are necessary. But our Empire will prove all your doubts wrong one by one. As for why we're so friendly to Konoha, it's because the Empire also originated from Konoha."
"We can't bear to attack or slaughter recklessly. For other ninja villages, the Empire wouldn't have such reservations…"
Hearing the voice from the device and seeing his own image, Minato nodded slightly.
Then, spatial energy fluctuated around them, and everyone felt their surroundings sway.
They arrived at the city's outskirts.
A fierce battle was unfolding between two groups.
One group, at least two hundred strong, skillfully used Rokushiki, with Rankyaku and Shigan flying everywhere, their figures flickering unpredictably, showcasing high combat prowess.
The other group was a stream of seven-colored light, moving like a dragon amidst slashing air, Shigan, and the encirclement of two hundred people, dodging relentless attacks.
Occasionally, it darted past the Rokushiki experts, causing their bodies to explode into bursts of blood, falling from the sky with wails.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
Red meteor streams shot from the seven-colored light, smashing the Rokushiki experts deep into the ground!
This wasn't an equal fight!
In just a few minutes, all two hundred Rokushiki experts lay defeated, and ninja medics appeared one by one to treat them.
The seven-colored light stopped flying, revealing its true form.
It was a metal puppet about three meters tall, with light wings on its back and a light sword in its hand.
Seeing such a battle, all the Konoha ninja's expressions changed.
"Those Martial Arts experts… defeated so easily…"
"Those Martial Arts experts seemed so strong. Compared to their speed and technique power, I'm no match." Choji said bitterly, staring at the space-time device.
"Is this one of the million Kakashis? Even just two hundred is terrifying…" Shikaku said.
"Two hundred elite Jonin… don't joke… Tsunade! Are you sure everything you're showing us is real?" Danzo asked in disbelief.
"It's been confirmed. Tsunade-sama's condition is fine." Shikaku said again.
Danzo fell silent.
Two hundred Kakashi-level combatants… even if this was the Empire's full force against them, it couldn't be underestimated.
And then… there were those puppets that crushed the elite Jonin.
Those things were the truly terrifying part!
What was displayed before their eyes was enough to easily destroy Konoha… perhaps requiring an alliance of the five ninja villages to face it.
Truly horrifying.
"What are those puppets?" Orochimaru asked, his eyes gleaming, as the others were still confused.
"Those are small humanoid mobile weapons. You can also think of them as armed puppets. Every soldier who masters their control can gain Kage-level strength through them." Minato explained with a smile.
"Kage-level strength? So, ten units mean ten Kages… truly terrifying technology…" Orochimaru said "terrifying." but his eyes grew more excited.
"Impressive, but this won't scare me! After all, I've seen even more incredible power before. And this alone isn't enough to conquer the ninja world." Tsunade said, struggling to calm her racing heart, keeping her expression neutral.
"As expected of Princess Tsunade. But this combat training I brought you to see isn't all there is. Come!" Imperial Minato smiled and said, then looked up with a serious expression.
At the same time, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and the others, along with the camera on Kabuto's device, looked up.
A deafening roar came from above the clouds:
A pale white light pillar tore through the clouds, crashing down a kilometer away from everyone!
A massive mushroom cloud rose, and a fierce storm swept through, making those a kilometer away feel a strong wind hitting their faces.
"That… what is it? Susano'o?" Kabuto's voice trembled.
Above the parted clouds, a massive humanoid puppet appeared, primarily pale blue with white spikes at its joints, light flames blazing in its palms, radiating immense energy waves.
On the other side, another giant puppet, primarily blue with black accents and reversed spikes at its joints, flickered with layers of illusory shadows.
The pale white light pillar followed the giant puppet, sweeping along, leaving a trench dozens of meters deep and several kilometers long in the ground!
"Attacks like this are useless against me, Kankuro!" a flat female voice came from the black-based giant puppet.
"Temari! Don't get too cocky! That was just an appetizer! How about this move! Genbu Kongodan!" a voice came from the white-spiked puppet.
Its right arm swung back.
Its right fist then spun wildly, terrifying flames trailing a hundred-meter-long tail behind it, accompanied by a fearsome roar, tearing through the atmosphere and smashing toward the black-based puppet!