In the next moment—
"Boom!"
A cloud slowly rose into the sky.
A world-ending explosion surged upward, its roar echoing through heaven and earth, instantly sweeping out in all directions like a mushroom cloud.
At that moment, the massive tree at the center of the island began to glow.
In the next second, countless branches extended rapidly, forming a barrier around the explosion site while swiftly absorbing its energy.
Only then was the blast contained, preventing it from spreading and devastating the Shabondy Archipelago.
Inside the Ninja Guild's main building, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened with fury as he cursed, "That girl Konan—is she trying to blow up the entire Shabondy Archipelago?"
It was a good thing that a few days ago, Otsutsuki Kaguya had followed Lin Xuan's instructions and modified the Shabondy Archipelago. Now, with the Divine Tree rooted at its center, it could selectively absorb the powers of Devil Fruit users and even protect the Ninja Guild on its own.
Otherwise, an explosion of that magnitude wouldn't have flattened the entire archipelago, but it would have destroyed most of the buildings!
If that had really happened, how was he supposed to explain it to the president when Lin Xuan returned and saw the Shabondy Archipelago in ruins?
The thought made Sarutobi Hiruzen itch to rush over and give Konan a harsh lesson right then and there!
But considering her current strength, he ultimately sighed and dropped the idea.
He was feeling pretty down about it all.
Back when he was Hokage, he had been a legendary ninja, his name striking fear far and wide. Who could have imagined that after all the previous Hokages were brought back with Edo Tensei, he'd end up being seen as the weakest one in history by comparison?
And now, even juniors like Konan and Yahiko—practically his grandstudents—were advancing so rapidly in strength that they were on the verge of surpassing him. It left him with a tangled mess of emotions.
No, he had to hand off this acting president role to someone else soon and find a way to boost his own power!
While Sarutobi Hiruzen brooded, the culprit herself stuck out her tongue in secret, realizing she'd caused a real mess!
In truth, she hadn't expected the blast to be that powerful. Now that she had the Paper-Paper Fruit ability, she could create explosive tags at will, and she'd accidentally made too many!
"The old man must be furious!"
Konan still felt a lingering fear, grateful that the big tree had blocked it for her!
Once the explosion's aftermath had fully dissipated, she hurried over and returned to the battlefield she'd just left.
The area was now utterly unrecognizable, with a massive crater left in the ground—and that was after the Divine Tree had absorbed most of the blast.
"I hope the president won't be mad when he sees this!" Konan muttered uneasily to herself.
Little did she know, Lin Xuan had already witnessed everything through her eyes.
"That Konan—she's totally become Deidara's idol now!" Lin Xuan chuckled wryly.
He didn't mind the damage to the Shabondy Archipelago's environment and nodded approvingly. "Looks like eating the Paper-Paper Fruit has really boosted her strength."
"And Orochimaru—that guy's full of surprises. He actually figured something out from the Devil Fruits, not only reviving Konan but helping her awaken her abilities too!"
For him, this was an unexpected bonus.
With this, he had even more options for strengthening the Ninja Guild members.
Of course, what surprised Lin Xuan most was that even after Konan's revival, he could still control her—it hadn't vanished just because she was no longer in Edo Tensei form.
The system's power was impressive indeed!
Konan scanned the surroundings, checking for any survivors, but it was clear that the group from before hadn't made it through the explosion.
That was quick!
Suddenly, her gaze shifted to the distant skies over the sea, where five figures were approaching at high speed.
In the blink of an eye, the five landed near the Shabondy Archipelago!
"It's them!" Konan's pupils narrowed as she recognized the five. They were the World Government's most formidable enforcers!
The Five Elders stared at the Shabondy Archipelago ahead, their expressions icy cold.
"What happened here? That explosion earlier seemed to come from this direction!" the bald monk said, his eyes freezing over.
Returning to this place reminded him of how Lin Xuan had nearly killed him before—if not for Lord Im's intervention, he might have been left here for good!
The other four Elders curiously surveyed the area, puzzled about the explosion. Had someone beaten them to attacking the Ninja Guild?
"Doesn't matter. We're here to destroy this place, and it looks like there aren't any heavy hitters around right now!" the one with the curly beard spoke up.
"Agreed!"
The others smirked in response.
"Whoosh!"
Just as they were about to act, several sharp attacks flew toward them.
"Hmph!"
The bald monk's expression chilled as he swung his long sword, slicing through the incoming assaults and reducing them to shredded pieces of paper.
At that moment, Konan burst out from the Shabondy Archipelago, her paper wings carrying her into the air as she hovered and demanded, "What are you doing here?"
The group ignored her question. The one with the golden beard sneered, unfazed. "So we've been spotted?"
"Since we're discovered, let's make it quick before that guy gets word and rushes back. As for outsiders—kill them!" the one with the mustache said with a casual smile.
As his words fell, he waved his hand forward, summoning a bolt of lightning from the sky that crashed down toward Konan.
"Boom!"
She didn't even have time to dodge before being engulfed in the thunderous light.
But the figure within the lightning dissolved into paper—it was just a paper clone.
Konan reappeared on the other side, transforming countless sheets into sharp arrows that rained down on the Five Elders.
A battle erupted over the sea in an instant.
Facing the Five Elders, Konan unleashed her full power!
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T/N:
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