As the colossal countdown blazed in the sky, the can openers snapped to attention.
The Final Krypton Time—their last chance to purchase cans.
Did this mean… access to senior membership?
Their suspicions were swiftly confirmed.
Cracks splintered across the sky, revealing an abyss of impenetrable darkness behind them—no sound, no presence, just a void where nothing seemed to exist.
Yet every ninja bearing a Membership Badge knew: beyond those cracks were senior members from other worlds.
A chance to acquire higher-tier cans.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind flashed to Kakashi's report: the Level 4 cans White opened—a dagger that nullified any ninjutsu, a fruit that reshaped life itself. Such power.
Naruto, brimming with enthusiasm, pumped his fist. "This time, I'll get my shot!"
Even Sasuke and Neji, spared from the spectator stands, approached with eager eyes.
"Hold it," Tsunade gripped Naruto's shoulder, her gaze deadly serious. "You're not fighting this time. Stay back, watch, or check the village's status."
"Why?!" Naruto blurted, voice rising.
"Tsunade's right," Kakashi cut in, glancing at Danzo's charred, motionless form. "You think Danzo, the Hokage's teammate, is weak? He was taken down in one hit."
A single blow had felled a can opener like Danzo.
Naruto and the others could be obliterated in an instant.
Even Neji and Sasuke fell silent. Despite training with their sensei and gaining immense power, they were no match for can-enhanced masters.
"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei's right," Sasuke said, suppressing his own hunger for higher cans. He shot a glance at Rasa in the distance. "This isn't our fight."
A quick defeat would only tarnish their chances with senior members.
It might even leave a bad impression.
Naruto's face fell, but he nodded grudgingly. "Fine."
Though itching to watch, he obeyed Tsunade. He, Sasuke, and Neji sprinted toward the stage's edge, vanishing as they crossed it.
The sight sparked another wave of commotion.
With the countdown mirrored on their screens, the crowd couldn't see the trio's departure.
In a shadowed corner of the stands, Kisame Hoshigaki, disguised, turned to Itachi Uchiha. "Itachi-san, those kids left."
"I saw," Itachi replied, his eyes tracing Sasuke's fading figure. "Didn't you notice? Besides them, every Konoha ninja—even Jōnin—is stuck in the stands. Even Jiraiya, one of the Sannin."
"Jiraiya…" Kisame's gaze shifted to Jiraiya, rooted in the stands.
He didn't grasp the implication.
"That badge in Danzo's hand," Itachi continued, voice low.
"What?" Kisame gasped.
His eyes lacked Itachi's sharpness, unable to discern Danzo's badge from afar.
But if it was like Kado's badge…
"Exactly," Itachi said, his expression unusually grave. He scanned the surreal arena. "This isn't Konoha's doing, nor Sunagakure's. It's him—the one we're after."
Kisame's fists clenched.
He had his answer.
But no joy came—only a creeping fear, a first in his life.
A ninja stronger than him wouldn't faze him.
But this… the mastermind behind this stage…
What kind of being was he?
"We watch closely," Itachi instructed. "Our priority is to gather all intel and return alive."
He held back further guesses—about Sasuke's unnatural strength, his unfamiliar techniques.
Suddenly, Itachi and Kisame's eyes widened.
Two figures materialized in the sky.
One in a sharp suit, the other in regal attire, pink wings fluttering gently behind her.
A single glance sent Itachi's heart racing.
Instinct screamed: this was the mastermind.
The crowd saw them too, even Danzo, feigning death, peeking through a slit eye.
Chaos erupted—shouts, pleas, panic.
The unfolding events already defied comprehension, and Shen Mo's arrival, with his eerie presence, pushed fear to the breaking point.
Some stood, begging skyward.
"Please, I'll pay anything—let me out!"
"Is this your doing?"
"Release me! I'm the daimyo's nephew!"
Some were defiant, others broken, some resigned. Faced with the unknown, ordinary people reacted as expected.
"No need for fear," Shen Mo's calm voice cut through, silencing all. "You lack the qualifications to join this stage. For now, you are merely spectators."
His words, though blunt, carried an uncanny power.
Emotions settled, hearts steadied.
Even Itachi and Kisame felt it.
Miraculous… or terrifying.
Itachi's gaze hid profound shock. His heart, ever restless from killing his parents, calmed under Shen Mo's simple words, like a dose of tranquilizer.
He realized he had to discard all prior assumptions.
Conjecture was meaningless.
This being existed beyond common sense.
What followed proved him right.
Rasa and Hiruzen, locked in enmity, stood tall.
In unison, they bowed deeply to Shen Mo, voices reverent: "Lord Shen Mo."