*BOOM!*
The ground shook violently.
One by one, giant trees burst through the earth, and under the stunned gazes of everyone from the ninja world, they extended, branched, twisted, and connected. In just a few minutes, a colossal spectator grandstand, several times larger than Konoha, emerged!
The previously chaotic crowd began entering in an orderly manner.
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Seeing this, the ninja world erupted in commotion.
"This is Wood Style!"
"That's Naruto, right? Why can Naruto use Wood Style?!"
"Such incredible Wood Style, creating a grandstand like this in minutes—is this still human?"
"The First Hokage's Wood Style… can it be this powerful?"
A group of Konoha ninja shouted in shock.
"As expected of the awesome Big Brother Naruto, his power is terrifying."
Ninja World Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement, imagining how cool it would be to have such power himself.
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"Why? Naruto can use Wood Style?"
Ninja World Tsunade's chest heaved, her face full of disbelief as she asked.
"Didn't I tell you before? The Uzumaki and Senju were originally one family. Their physiques are similar. With Naruto's strength, combining a bit of chakra allows him to use Wood Style. It's not difficult." Imperial Tsunade said nonchalantly.
"What about you? Can you use Wood Style?"
Ninja World Tsunade's gaze burned.
"I can, but my Wood Style is far weaker than Naruto's, or I'd have done it myself." Imperial Tsunade said with a smile.
"…"
Ninja World Tsunade fell silent.
"What? Jealous? Want to learn? Join the Empire, drink the Divine Tree potion to enhance your physique, and you can use it too." Imperial Tsunade said, smiling.
"Really…" Ninja World Tsunade said softly, her expression complex, as she was carried into the sky by Imperial Tsunade.
Looking down, the grandstand could hold at least hundreds of thousands of people.
The central arena was staggeringly vast, over a kilometer long and wide.
Imperial Tsunade brought her to the front row of the right-side spectator seats.
Beside her were Orochimaru, Sasuke, Kabuto, and Kakashi from the ninja world, whom Ninja World Tsunade recognized.
"Tsunade-sama." Ninja World Kakashi smiled and waved.
Behind him was the Imperial Hatake family.
"Kakashi, how's it going here?" Ninja World Tsunade asked.
"Pretty good. For us, who could be thrust back into war at any moment, this world is like paradise." Ninja World Kakashi said.
"Is that so?" Ninja World Tsunade nodded in agreement, then shifted her gaze to Ninja World Orochimaru and Imperial Orochimaru behind him.
"That Orochimaru isn't a good person. Are you sure nothing will happen with those two together?" she said, glancing at Imperial Tsunade.
"His Majesty leads such a powerful empire, an existence no one can defy. Tsunade… you've been in the Empire for over half a month. Seems like, aside from eating, drinking, and playing, you haven't done any significant work. How pitiful… is this Konoha's current Hokage?"
Ninja World Orochimaru licked his lips, sneering.
"Hmph! This is called inspecting for the people. Can a Hokage's perspective be the same as a traitor like you?"
Ninja World Tsunade said coldly, then looked at Ninja World Sasuke.
"Hmph!"
All she got was an arrogant cold snort from Ninja World Sasuke.
"Little Sasuke! How can you talk to your village's Kage like that? So rude! Even if you were once a traitor, once everyone joins the Empire, we'll all be family!" Imperial Mikoto, behind Ninja World Sasuke, gently patted his head.
"They haven't joined the Empire yet, hmph! It's better if they don't, so I can take my revenge!" Ninja World Sasuke said, his face full of hatred.
"Things like that were done by the old folks. Big Sister Tsunade wasn't in Konoha back then. You can't take revenge recklessly, little Sasuke!" Imperial Mikoto coaxed.
"Hmph!"
Ninja World Sasuke kept snorting coldly.
'Seems he knows everything he needs to know.'
Ninja World Tsunade muttered to herself, then shifted her gaze from Sasuke to the nearby Imperial Hyuga clan.
These Hyuga, like Konoha's, favored white robes.
Wait, one of them was dressed very differently.
Ninja World Tsunade carefully observed her counterpart.
Tight, dark clothing accentuated her excellent figure.
Long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, with crescent moon-shaped earrings.
Her face… was this world's Hinata?
"So different from ours." Ninja World Tsunade muttered.
Imperial Hinata slowly turned, smiling and nodding at her.
Seeing her opponent's starry, brilliant eyes, Ninja World Tsunade instinctively frowned.
"These eyes… very dangerous…"
"The Tenseigan is the supreme eye. The weak, facing it, instinctively feel fear and shock." Imperial Neji, sitting beside Imperial Hinata, said with a mocking smile.
"This guy…"
Ninja World Tsunade's face showed displeasure.
As expected, this world's Neji was annoying, far less polite than the one in her village.
After a long wait, rousing music suddenly blared in the arena.
One by one, trees pierced the ground, releasing vast amounts of glowing pollen.
Several beautiful girls in tight outfits appeared from thin air, moving their bodies.
Some ninja formed seals, projecting virtual screens in the sky for all spectators to see clearly.
Imperial Ino performed too, singing while dancing:
"When the moonlight rises… red lanterns are lit…"
As the song began, the entire venue erupted.
A group of young men shouted:
"Aaaaaa! Ino! I love you! I love you!"
"Look here! Ino, look here! She saw me!"
"Darling! I love you! Let's have a kid together!"
Seeing this, Ninja World Tsunade sighed slightly.
"Though I knew Ino's job in this world, seeing it for real is still hard to believe. So popular… But this Ino-Shika-Chō generation, is it just over like that?"
"Who said it's over? Ino trains spiritual martial arts. Being a star, dancing, and singing before crowds is also a form of training. Shh! Calm down, feel Ino's aura with your heart." Imperial Tsunade said, patting Ninja World Tsunade's back.
"This counts as martial arts training?"
Ninja World Tsunade was confused but followed Imperial Tsunade's words, calming herself.
In her perception, everything around her slowed to a halt.
In her eyes, only Yamanaka Ino remained.
She then noticed milky-white true energy flowing through Ino's brain.
"So… the paths of martial arts are truly diverse, with a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations…"
Ninja World Tsunade calmed down.
She wasn't too interested in this.
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But the Konoha ninja watching via the space-time device were incredibly enthusiastic.
Ino laughed proudly, while Sakura nearly fainted from anger.
Naruto scratched his head, saying, "No matter what they think, I still find Sakura cuter…"
"Tch! No taste, so into Sakura's wide forehead?"
"Naruto-kun…"
"Oooo! This is the burning youth!"
"Burning!"
Ninja World Tsunade listened quietly, smiling unconsciously.
Good that they're enjoying it. At least… when they surrender later, resistance will be minimal.
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The performance soon ended.
Golden light shimmered.
Imperial Minato, in a white tuxedo, appeared in the arena with a microphone.
The women in the stands erupted, just like the men during Ino's performance, shouting:
"Husband! Husband! Husband Minato!"
"I want to bear your child, Husband Minato!"
"Look at me! Look at me! Please!"
"Let me die! Let me die before you, Husband Minato!"
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Ninja World Konoha.
Naruto's eyes sparkled.
"As expected of Uncle Minato, this outfit is so cool."
"The Fourth Hokage was Konoha's popularity king back then. If Kushina hadn't acted fast, other women in the village might've been like this." a senior ninja sighed.
"Why's the Fourth Hokage so handsome, but Naruto's just average?" Ino's voice suddenly rang out.
Naruto's happy face soured:
"Damn it! Tasteless woman! I'm just… I'm just not grown up yet! Wait, I'll be as handsome as Uncle Minato."
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Empire.
Ninja World Tsunade sighed endlessly.
"Minato's popularity is terrifying."
"Big background, strong power, his son's among the Empire's top experts, and he's a warm, handsome man. Hard not to be popular." Imperial Tsunade said.
"Aren't you number one on the beauty list? Why so popular yet still single?"
"If you hadn't asked that, we'd still be friends…"
"Ladies and gentlemen from across the Empire, good evening! I'm the Imperial Guard Captain and the host of this competition, Namikaze Minato."
"I'm sure everyone here knows the competition rules. But I must explain them again. This is a round-robin inter-provincial battle."
"Each province fights at least three rounds. A win earns one point, a loss deducts one. The final tally determines the winner. I won't say more—let's invite the provincial governors to the stage."
After Imperial Minato's words, A, Ōnoki, Rasa, and Mei ascended the stage. Ninja World Tsunade had seen them before, so no surprises.
But the last person to take the stage stunned her, making her mutter:
"Dan… that's… Dan?"
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Ninja World Konoha.
Young ninja didn't understand why their Hokage reacted this way until a senior explained:
"In our world, Dan was Tsunade-sama's lover, but he died in the war. That's why Tsunade-sama has stayed single."
"War, always war… if only our world were as strong and peaceful as the Empire. Then everyone could've survived." Ninja World Naruto said, his expression complex, thinking of his parents.
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"I see." Imperial Tsunade now understood.
"Is this why you've never married…"
"Dan…" Ninja World Tsunade muttered.
After the five governors took the stage, they waved to the crowd before sitting in designated seats.
"With the five governors on stage, the competition will soon begin. Per the rules, please have Governor Dan and Governor Rasa each send one participant to the stage." Imperial Minato said.
Ninja World Tsunade saw Imperial Dan operate his wristwatch.
Soon after, two figures appeared on the arena.
"Kakashi from this world, but who's the other?"
Ninja World Tsunade looked across from Imperial Kakashi at a fairly attractive middle-aged woman with purple hair, asking curiously.