The moment Danzo Shimura raised his Membership Badge, every can opener in the arena knew his intent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi lunged to stop him.
Too late.
Danzo burned his points to activate the Fate-Witnessing Stage. Instantly, the world resounded with the shattering of mirrors—crack, crack, crack.
Sky, earth, space—prismatic fractures tore through reality.
"What's happening?!"
"What's going on?!"
Panic seized the stands, especially the nobles and their guards from foreign lands.
Some scrambled to flee.
Konoha's ninja wavered, unsure whether to intervene.
Then the ground quaked, throwing everyone off balance.
Screams erupted as chaos consumed the arena.
Escape was futile. To the crowd's horror, the arena convulsed, warping beyond reason. With the grinding clash of unseen gears, the stands splintered into seven or eight fragments, rising erratically to hover above an arena now swollen ten times its size, severing all escape routes.
The spectacle defied mortal understanding.
Even ninja couldn't fathom it.
Two Chūnin beside Shen Mo tried calming the crowd, but their own trembling faces betrayed their fear.
"What ninjutsu could do this?!"
"Is this even possible with ninjutsu?"
"It's no illusion—dispelling seals are useless!"
Such frantic exchanges echoed among the ninja, but Sunagakure's forces were the most terrified. They'd clustered near their Kazekage, only to find themselves, in a blink, corralled onto a single fragmented stand.
Everyone was trapped.
The sheer impossibility sparked primal dread. Whoever engineered this could crush them effortlessly.
As the chaos quieted, the scene shifted again.
Like a grand curtain rising, colossal screens flickered to life before each fragmented stand.
The screens broadcast the arena's key players: the Kazekage, the Hokage, Danzo, and others charging in—Tsunade, Kakashi, and more.
"Danzo, do you know what you've done?" Hiruzen's voice, steady yet grave, carried clearly through the screens.
This was the Fate-Witnessing Stage's spectator mode, triggered with over fifty onlookers.
The crowd could only watch, powerless to act.
"I know precisely what I'm doing," Danzo replied, awestruck by the transformed arena, his voice ringing with righteous zeal. "Hiruzen, war is inevitable. But we can limit its toll. Victory here makes Konoha the winner—without sacrificing our villagers or ninja."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
He couldn't argue.
Danzo was right. In a ninja village war, defeating the enemy's can openers on the Fate-Witnessing Stage ensured triumph with minimal loss—no collateral damage, no war coffers drained.
"So, Konoha truly means to wage war on Sunagakure!" Rasa's face darkened.
He'd foreseen this possibility.
But facing Konoha's might alone? His confidence faltered.
"Who started this?" Danzo shot back, a chill of killing intent seeping out. "Jealous of Konoha's rise, you conspired with Orochimaru to attack us. I have detailed plans and proof."
Before, Danzo cared little for justifications.
Now, he grasped their power. By painting Sunagakure as the betrayer, Konoha's retaliation would evade other villages' suspicion.
"There's nothing more to say," Rasa growled.
He wasn't a ruler of words.
His Kazekage title rested on sheer force.
With a flourish, a tall, black staff—carved from ancient wood—appeared in his hand.
"Great Lord of Nature, punish those who defile your domain—Thunder's Wrath!"
The words had barely left his lips when Danzo's instincts screamed. He leaped back, but a blinding, earth-shattering bolt of lightning roared from the heavens.
BOOM!
The thunderclap numbed every scalp in the arena.
"Danzo!" Hiruzen cried out.
Danzo's form vanished within the lightning's glare.
A Level 3 can skill, amplified by Rasa's terrifying natural energy, could fell even a Kage caught unawares.
The crowd's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Sunagakure's ninja were stunned.
"When did Father master such a powerful Lightning Release?" Temari whispered. "No hand seals…"
A mere gesture with his staff summoned cataclysmic lightning.
What kind of ninjutsu was this?
As the lightning's brilliance faded, Danzo stood revealed—charred, his features unrecognizable. He glared at Rasa, mouth twitching as if to speak, then collapsed.
"So weak?" Rasa's brow furrowed.
A Level 3 can skill, yet this Konoha elder should've opened countless cans.
On the ground, Danzo's heart pounded.
Without his forbidden jutsu, he'd be dead. Even now, he was gravely wounded.
Strength.
Feigning death, Danzo swore to define his path and secure a class-change item for true power.
Hiruzen, after initial shock, recalled Danzo's revival ability and eased slightly.
A flicker of regret lingered.
He faced Rasa, raising a hand. A quill materialized before him.
No choice now—they had to fight. That lightning was at least a Level 3 can skill.
"Lord Kazekage," Hiruzen began, but Rasa's form blinked, reappearing far off.
In that instant, a colossal countdown blazed across the sky.
Faction Confirmation. Final Krypton Time.