Soon, everyone else also noticed the strange situation with the Five Elder Stars and the others, leaving them stunned.
What they witnessed now was the Five Elder Stars, Uchiha Madara, and the others—who had just been fighting at a dizzying speed—suddenly slow down simultaneously.
It wasn't just one person slowing down; everyone did at the same time!
Because of this, the previously blurry battle became clear to the spectators.
This was extremely bizarre.
Why would everyone suddenly slow down their fighting speed together?
It couldn't be because they realized the onlookers couldn't keep up and decided to slow things down for their benefit, right?
"Could it be because of this silver barrier?" Orochimaru muttered from within the crowd.
He then took out a kunai and threw it towards the silver barrier.
To everyone's surprise, the kunai passed through the barrier as if it were air, encountering no resistance.
However, once inside the silver barrier, a strange phenomenon occurred.
The rapidly flying kunai suddenly became sluggish, its speed drastically reduced.
Yet, despite this slowed state, it continued flying for a considerable distance before finally falling to the ground.
"That's not right. At that speed, the kunai shouldn't have been able to fly that far! What's going on?" Uchiha Itachi said quietly.
In fact, nearly everyone from the Ninja Association had made the same judgment. For ninjas, they were far too familiar with tools like kunai. Estimating how far a kunai could travel based on its initial throwing speed was basic common sense. So, they immediately spotted the anomaly.
At that moment, they saw Uchiha Madara inside the silver barrier perform a Fire Release jutsu, and the resulting explosion also seemed off.
"Why does even the explosion look slowed down?" Deidara from the Akatsuki, an expert in explosions, immediately identified the issue.
Next, others noticed various other strange phenomena.
"It feels... almost like time itself has slowed down!" Namikaze Minato wondered aloud, scratching his head.
The speaker might have been无心, but the listeners were有意. Orochimaru, Tobirama Senju, and many others present, upon hearing this, instantly thought of a startling possibility. Their gazes unanimously turned towards Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan gave a faint smile and looked approvingly at Minato. "Water Gate guessed correctly. Time within the barrier has indeed slowed down. It's about one-fifth of the normal flow outside."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present collectively drew a sharp, cold breath.
Although many had suspected it, hearing Lin Xuan confirm it personally was still utterly shocking.
Whether it was people from the ninja world or those from the pirate world present, most had witnessed various strange abilities. But controlling time? That seemed incredibly unbelievable no matter which world you were from.
Time was too mysterious, too powerful, an existence revered and feared across all worlds because it was connected to what countless people valued most: lifespan!
In both the ninja world and the pirate world, there were indeed some special techniques or abilities related to time, but none could achieve something as bizarre as what Lin Xuan had done—directly slowing time within a specific area by several times!
Many began to imagine if Lin Xuan used this ability in battle against them. Could they counter it? The more powerful individuals present, the more they realized the terrifying potential of this ability, and the more apprehensive they became.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, standing right beside Lin Xuan, had an especially grave expression. Just as I thought, she mused inwardly, this man was definitely holding back when he fought me before!
Yet, even now, she couldn't determine exactly how much Lin Xuan was hiding. Her wariness towards him grew exponentially.
Because everyone was thinking along these lines and becoming increasingly alarmed, Lin Xuan actually managed to earn back double the 100 million reputation points he had just spent in a mere moment, which came as an unexpected delight to him!
After the initial shock wore off, the ninjas from the ninja world were the first to regain their composure. They then turned their curious gazes back towards the barrier.
Orochimaru, the research fanatic, fearlessly stepped forward, approached the silver barrier, and asked Lin Xuan, "Guild Leader, would you allow me to enter and experience it for myself?"
Lin Xuan waved his hand generously. "Go ahead, feel free to take a look."
The Time Deceleration Barrier's only function was slowing time; it had no defensive or offensive effects. Therefore, Orochimaru could enter and exit without any issue.
Thus, Orochimaru easily stepped inside the barrier. The moment he entered, his snake-like pupils constricted sharply.
Once inside, he saw that Uchiha Madara and the others, who had appeared to be moving in slow motion from outside, were now fighting at their original, astonishing speed again.
He immediately looked outside and saw that everything beyond the barrier seemed to be moving at an incredibly fast pace; even distant birds flew by with startling speed.
"What a marvelous power!" Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly with his tongue. "It seems I've found a new direction for my future research!"
After repeatedly experiencing the strange sensation of the different time flows inside and outside the barrier, he eventually stepped out.
After all, this was a battlefield, and facing a group of Six Paths-level powerhouses, even he had to be extra cautious.
When he returned to Lin Xuan's vicinity, he noticed that Lin Xuan wore a pensive expression.
No one disturbed him.
So, what was Lin Xuan contemplating?
He had been inspired after witnessing the peculiarity of the time deceleration ability and suddenly thought: Could I learn to control this power myself?
Setting aside other conveniences, if he could master this ability, he wouldn't need to spend reputation points to ask the system for help in situations like today's!
Coincidentally, the ability of one of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was related to time!
----------
T/N:
You'll also get 5 extra chapters just for being a free member!
Access 40 chapters in advance on my Patreon: [email protected]//allbluestories