After his brief stint of showing off, Brandon White tucked Silly Girl back into his spatial storage and watched the projection with idle curiosity.
Roxie Vale shot him a glare, then turned her attention to the hologram with undisguised irritation.
Uchiha Madara and Marquis Voban exchanged a glance before both letting out a cold, dismissive snort, and shifted their gaze to the projection as well.
"Ding. Congratulations, Host. Dimensional crossing successful."
"This world is the Naruto World. Please proceed with caution, Host."
The discomfort of crossing between worlds left Chen Yu's head swimming. Upon hearing the system's voice, he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.
Trees. Undergrowth. Damp earth.
"An expected choice."
Chen Yu registered the system's words without much reaction.
The first world he had crossed into was the One Piece World. The Naruto World's combat power was formidable, certainly—but it wasn't significantly stronger than the One Piece World. Or rather, if not for the existence of the Six Paths raising the Naruto World's ceiling, the One Piece World was clearly the stronger of the two.
As a transitional world, Naruto was a reasonable choice.
The Sharingan, the Byakugan, and all of their derivatives—the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the Rinnegan, the Nine-Magatama Rinnegan, the Reincarnation Eye—every single one of these was extraordinarily valuable to him.
His system allowed him to fuse items within the limits of what his body could withstand, and could erase the inherent flaws of fused elements at a certain cost.
It was through the system that he had fused four Devil Fruits.
The Quake-Quake Fruit, the Dark-Dark Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and the Fish-Fish Fruit—Mythical Zoan Model: Azure Dragon.
Had that been all, ascending to the very pinnacle of the One Piece World so swiftly would have been impossible.
After all, developing Devil Fruit abilities demanded time and innate talent in equal measure.
Beyond the fusion capability, the system could also grant Chen Yu a certain amount of energy by recovering Devil Fruits. This energy didn't merely wash away the Devil Fruits' inherent defects—it also helped him master and develop their abilities at a far accelerated pace.
Even Conqueror's Haki could be boosted in the same way.
It was precisely because of all this that he had been able to bring the era of piracy to an end, overthrow the Navy, and usher in a new age.
"I wonder what point in time the current Naruto World is at."
"If even Uchiha Madara hasn't been revived, then there's not a shred of interest to be had in this shinobi world."
Chen Yu said this in an unhurried tone.
In his eyes, setting aside the Otsutsuki, the only ones in the entire shinobi world worth a second glance were Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju.
Everyone else—he couldn't be bothered to even raise a hand against them.
Kage-level was, in the eyes of ordinary people, truly formidable beyond imagination. But to him, they were nothing more than dirt chickens and stray dogs—not worth a single blow.
Even Uzumaki Nagato was nothing but a slightly stronger ant.
Just as Chen Yu was thinking this, his expression shifted to one of mild surprise—followed by a smile.
"Interesting."
"I hope you can bring me a little entertainment."
"Ugh, this is so boring—not being allowed to kill anyone is so boring!"
"As the most devoted follower of the Evil God, I can't even offer up a single blood sacrifice. The great Evil God will abandon me at this rate."
A somewhat sullen voice broke the silence, every other word dripping with the desire to kill.
"If you have complaints, take them up with the King."
"How about I kill two pigs for your so-called Evil God instead."
"You've eaten so many people—eating a few pigs for a change of pace wouldn't hurt."
The other spoke in an even, measured tone.
"Hey hey hey—Kakuzu, what's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to make my great Evil God eat pigs? You're insulting my great Evil God."
"How do you know the Evil God doesn't like pigs? Maybe it enjoys them just fine—you've simply never fed it any."
"Is that so?"
He tilted his head, mulling it over as he spoke.
"But honestly... people still taste better, don't they."
"The Zombie Duo. You're among the sturdiest fighters the shinobi world has to offer, I'll grant you that."
"Within Kage-level, you're passable, I suppose."
"I hope you don't disappoint me."
The voice drifting down from the void brought Kakuzu and Hidan to an abrupt stop. Both turned their eyes to the human figure that had materialized before them without warning.
How to describe him, exactly?
Golden pupils. An overpowering presence. The sheer aura he radiated simply by standing there was enough to set both Kakuzu and Hidan on edge instinctively.
And it didn't stop there. Kakuzu sensed an almost incomprehensible killing intent rolling off this man.
It was a killing intent unlike anything he had ever felt from any powerhouse he had encountered before. Just how many people had this man slaughtered?
"Who are you?"
At the very least, this was a man who had seen the world—who had dared to attempt the assassination of the First Hokage. Kakuzu drew a long breath, forcing down the unease churning inside him, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
Chen Yu looked at them, a light laugh escaping his lips as he spoke:
"You don't have the right to know my name."
"Though it is precisely because of your appearance that I now have a rough sense of where this world's timeline stands."
"As a token of gratitude—you can die here."
"Though the first and second opponents I've met in this world are only Kage-level, and among Kage-level fighters your ability to endure punishment far outstrips your actual strength—don't worry. I won't hold that against you."
The words landed. Kakuzu and Hidan's expressions darkened, fury swelling within them in equal measure.
You don't have the right to know his name?
Die here as a token of gratitude?
Their endurance outstrips their strength?
What powerhouse wasn't supremely confident in their own ability? Especially after joining the Akatsuki—the other members' strength was certainly worthy of mutual respect, but precisely because of that, their awe of anyone outside the organization had been reduced to virtually nothing.
What ninja village could boast a dozen or more Kage-level powerhouses?
And the Akatsuki's members—which of them was a mere ordinary Kage-level fighter?
The man standing before them was nothing but some unknown who had crawled out of the woodwork—and he dared to be this insufferable right to their faces, acting as though he had the whole world figured out. How laughable.
"Because of the Empire's laws, I won't kill you."
"But I will make sure you understand just how cruel reality can be."
Kakuzu said this in a tone as cold as ice.
If not for the Empire's laws restricting them from killing, this man who dared to provoke them would be dead without question.
"Words are cheap."
"BOOM!"
Unlike Kakuzu, Hidan didn't hesitate for a single instant. He erupted into a blur of shadow and hurled himself at Chen Yu. His silver hair streamed behind him in the wind. His violet-crimson eyes blazed with boundless madness and killing intent. The scythe in his hand flared into a lance of blood-red light, tearing through the air with the sole intent of splitting Chen Yu clean in two.
Even though Uchiha Madara had used the power of the Infinite Tsukuyomi to implant false memories in everyone, a person's fundamental character was not so easily altered.
Especially not someone like Hidan—a man who would stop at nothing for the sake of the Evil God.
Under normal circumstances, if no one provoked him, he could just barely keep himself in check. But if someone was dead set on finding their own grave, he wouldn't spare a thought for any legal restriction.
As long as his attack could land a wound on this man...
Hidan licked the corner of his lips, the image of Chen Yu writhing in agony flashing vividly through his mind.
His entire body thrummed with excitement.
It was a deep, soul-level thrill—a satisfaction that reached his very core.
Chen Yu watched Hidan's grotesque grin and knew immediately what was running through his head. He held the man's gaze for a long, steady moment, the corner of his own mouth curving into a smile heavy with meaning.
(End of Chapter)