"Excellent! But my Soul Cutter won't fear a move like this!"
Temari's voice rang out.
The giant puppet instantly drew a sword from its waist, unleashing a ferocious storm that scattered clouds within a thousand-meter radius.
"Wind Flash!"
The giant puppet swung its sword, transforming into countless afterimages in the eyes of the Konoha group.
Sasuke's eyes widened, his Mangekyou working at full capacity, but he could only vaguely make out the movements.
Countless storm winds were generated with each swing of the sword, but due to the incredible speed and short duration, they didn't even have time to fully burst forth.
Finally, the giant puppet's sharp sword thrust forward.
*ROAR!!!*
A towering tornado followed the straight thrust, roaring and colliding with Kankuro's spinning flying fist.
The clash was as if two different worlds collided.
The shockwave dispersed clouds within a dozen-kilometer radius.
On the ground, the five Konoha members felt a fierce wind hitting their faces, even experiencing slight pain.
They gently touched their stinging cheeks and were shocked to realize their faces had been cut by the storm from seven or eight kilometers away!
"It's not over yet!"
Kankuro shouted again.
The giant puppet soared to an even higher altitude.
The flying fist that had clashed with the storm seemed summoned, instantly returning to the giant puppet's right arm.
"Soul Seizer! Full Power!"
The giant puppet's fists collided, erupting in a deep blue light. The next moment, its fists turned into countless afterimages, ferociously striking the air ahead.
Giant light orbs, several meters in diameter, streaked like meteors with long fiery tails, hurtling toward Temari.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
The puppet controlled by Temari also became countless afterimages, dodging at speeds beyond the limits of the human retina.
One by one, the giant light orbs tore through the sky, piercing the afterimages, and finally crashed into mountains a dozen kilometers away.
*BOOM!*
Mushroom clouds exploded one after another, and under the soaring airwaves, the mountains were gradually leveled at a visible rate.
"Not done yet! Not done! Not done! Code: Kirin!"
Kankuro roared, the spikes on the giant puppet's joints glowing brightly, extending into hundred-meter-long light swords and thrusting directly at Temari's puppet.
"Excellent! Soul Cutter! Limits Released! Full Power!"
Temari shouted back.
The giant puppet's eyes glowed red, and in the next moment, it transformed into a burst of light.
*BOOM!*
The two streams of light crossed a dozen kilometers in an instant, colliding, then separating and colliding again.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Terrifying roars continued, shifting locations.
Gradually, clouds within a dozen, then tens, then hundreds of kilometers were completely dispersed…
"The intensity of these consecutive attacks far surpasses a Bijuu…"
The group of ninja watching through the communication device had grim expressions.
"Just now… if I heard correctly, they called each other Temari and Kankuro? They're… the older brother and sister of Kazekage Gaara?"
Someone said with a trembling voice.
"It seems… it really is them, Temari and Kankuro from that world… so strong?"
"This is no longer something a Kage could match…"
"These are called puppets? Don't joke… this is like gods fighting."
"Temari…" Shikamaru muttered, hearing the fearful voices around him.
He recalled the Chunin Exams three years ago.
'Good thing the one I faced wasn't this strong, or my grave would be overgrown with three-meter-tall grass by now. Such a terrifying woman—what kind of monster will she marry…'
Just imagining it was frightening.
"These aren't gods. These are super mechanical warriors developed by the Empire's mechanical warrior research department. Kankuro pilots the super machine Soul Seizer, and Temari pilots the super machine Soul Cutter."
Imperial Lee, who had been silent, explained to everyone.
"Technological power? Truly incredible. So, how many of these super machines does your Empire have?" Orochimaru asked with keen interest, hearing the voice from the space-time device.
"These are the latest super machine series of the Shinobi Empire. They can synchronize and amplify the driver's chakra and True Qi for combat."
"Piloting these super machines has high requirements for the driver's physical condition and mental strength… Therefore, the entire Empire currently has only fifteen units."
Imperial Minato interjected, speaking with slight regret.
"Fifteen units…"
Konoha's Tsunade took a frustrated breath, feeling a tightness in her chest.
"Fifteen units? That's laughable! Monsters of this level—if they have no specific weaknesses—maybe just one could destroy Konoha… such terrifying things can't possibly exist! It's fake!"
At that moment, Danzo shouted loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
"Fake? Impossible… we're with Tsunade-sama…" Shikaku tried to explain.
Danzo confidently interrupted, "Hmph! I followed the First Hokage to the battlefield. I know best the standard of the strongest combat power in the ninja world!"
"These two super machines already have power equal to the First Hokage. That's absolutely impossible! The First Hokage was the god of ninja, the strongest since the ninja world's birth! If he wanted, he could've unified the ninja world!"
"There's no way this world has ninja stronger than the First Hokage! So… fake Minato! This move of yours is too overdone! I've seen through your trick!"
"This… because it's too strong, you can't accept reality, huh… I originally wanted to introduce the Empire slowly… seems it was too much…"
Hearing Danzo's words, Imperial Minato smiled awkwardly.
"But it's fine. Everyone still has plenty of time to learn about the Empire. For now, you should all follow me to meet His Majesty the Emperor."
After speaking, Minato had no intention of staying longer.
Spatial energy fluctuated around them.
Everyone vanished from their original spot and appeared in a sky temple shrouded in clouds and mist.
At the center of the temple, on a throne, sat a man over three meters tall, with a rugged appearance and long, disheveled hair.
His aura was as deep as the ocean, boundless and vast.
Just looking at him, Orochimaru's body trembled uncontrollably, his snake-like danger instincts making it feel as if he were facing the most terrifying sight.
Everything before him vanished, blood turning into earth.
Countless skeletons floated.
Spirits of the dead roamed and wailed.
The figure on the pitch-black throne became impossible to see with the naked eye…
This person was far stronger than anyone he'd met before, including the monstrous Imperial Lee…
He and they were not beings of the same dimension!
If there were gods in this world, it had to be the man before him…
'Ugh… hungry… my body, my consciousness can't take it anymore… everything's blurring…'
Orochimaru gradually struggled to breathe, his head spinning.
Though the others weren't as sensitive as Orochimaru, they also faintly sensed Ryuji's terror, clutching their chests and gasping.
"Orochimaru-kun!"
Minato gently patted Orochimaru's back, a simple sealing technique spreading across it.
Finally, Orochimaru's strange sensations faded. He looked at the man on the throne, drenched in cold sweat, mouth dry, but his heart thrilled.
"Your Majesty the Emperor! The honored guests have arrived."
Minato bowed respectfully.
"Welcome, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kabuto from Konoha in the ninja world."
The man on the throne spoke softly.
"You are the Emperor of the Shinobi Empire… truly a man whose strength is evident at a glance."
Konoha's Tsunade sighed heavily and praised.
"Strength… is only relative." Ryuji said.
"You mean we're too weak?" Tsunade asked.
"You could say that."
"Sorry, but we don't have another Senju Ryuji creating Martial Arts on our side." Tsunade shrugged.
World Ninja Sasuke, beside her, observed both sides of the throne with his eyes.
When he saw, among a group dressed in Uchiha clan attire, a man strikingly similar to the Uchiha Itachi he knew, he froze.
His eyes filled with hatred and complexity.
"…"
Imperial Itachi, seeing Sasuke's gaze, only nodded lightly.
Imperial Fugaku and Shisui beside him showed slight complexity and pity.
World Ninja Orochimaru was also observing the people on both sides of the throne. Seeing his other self, he was immediately intrigued, both admiring and studying each other's bodies.
As for Kakashi, he stared in a daze at two white-haired men, short swords sheathed at their backs.
At the same time, the Konoha group from the other world was in an uproar.
"Another Tsunade-sama! I see another Tsunade-sama!"
"I see another Kakashi-sensei! He looks so spirited!"
"That's another Orochimaru! Just as grim and creepy!"
"Jiraiya-sama! He looks so vibrant!"
"That's… Konoha's White Fang! Hatake Sakumo-sama!"
"That's Itachi, the traitor!"
"Uchiha Shisui! That's Uchiha Shisui!"
"Clan leader Fugaku!"
"Clan leader Hiashi!"
"Kushina-sama!"
"Asuma-sensei…"
A series of shocked exclamations rang out.
The Konoha group's expressions were thrilled. But soon, some noticed something off.
Shikamaru frowned and said, "Those who can appear here… should all be high-ranking or key figures in the Empire, right? But why is there no sign of the Third Hokage? Has the Third Hokage in the Empire retired?"
Hearing this, Tsunade and Kakashi from Konoha, along with others who knew the truth, twitched their eyes unconsciously.
'Trouble! This Shikamaru kid, asking at the worst time!'
'Old man! Third Hokage, your reputation might not survive!'
"Shikamaru from the other world? Let me answer that question."
Standing to Ryuji's left, a man with a thin mustache and a ponytail stepped forward and spoke.