That's right.
You weren't seeing things.
A sandstorm—something known as a force of nature—had just vanished before everyone's eyes without a trace.
If not for the faint grains of sand still lingering in the air, and the fact that everyone had witnessed it personally, many of Loran's soldiers and ministers would have thought it was nothing more than an illusion.
But—
the truth was right in front of them.
Whether they believed it or not… they had no choice but to accept it.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Under such circumstances, the entire scene fell into a deathly stillness.
Even the Queen of Loran and Princess Sara stood there, stunned, clearly shaken to their core.
After all—
that had been a sandstorm.
A disaster that had plagued Ancient Loran for countless years…
And yet now, it had been effortlessly erased.
Just thinking about it sent a chill down their spines.
"The sandstorm… it's really gone…"
"Too terrifying… the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, is just too terrifying…"
"Is this… the power of the God of the Shinobi World? This is beyond belief…"
A moment later, the ministers finally snapped out of it and burst into exclamations.
The way they looked at Ren—
was no longer the way one looked at a person.
But at a god.
In their hearts, Ren had already risen to that level.
Before, the title "God of the Shinobi World" had only been a rumor.
Now—
they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
"…How boring."
At that moment, Ren merely shrugged, completely unfazed, and said lightly,
"A mere sandstorm dares act so arrogantly before me? It was asking to be destroyed."
As he spoke, he even shook his head slightly.
Hearing this—
the Queen of Loran, Princess Sara, and the ministers all twitched at the corners of their mouths before lowering their heads in unison.
What could they even say?
They had seen arrogance before—
but never anything like this.
And yet…
faced with Ren's overwhelming power, they could only pretend they hadn't heard a thing.
Meanwhile—
Princess Sara blinked slightly.
For some reason, her heart began to pound like a startled deer.
A young girl's feelings were always like poetry.
At the moment when Loran had been on the verge of being swallowed by the sandstorm—
Ren had descended like a god and saved everything.
Without realizing it, a faint ripple had formed in Sara's heart.
"Fifth Hokage… why have you come to Ancient Loran?"
The Queen of Loran took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart as she asked carefully,
"Without the Dragon Vein, Loran should hold no value for Konoha at all."
"…No. You're mistaken."
Ren replied calmly,
"I never consider whether someone has value before I act."
"Because no matter how valuable something is… it means nothing to me."
"Even if Loran still possessed the Dragon Vein, it would still have no value."
"You…"
The Queen opened her mouth, wanting to refute him—
but found herself unable to say anything.
Because for someone like Ren—
it was true.
Loran held no real value.
Even the Dragon Vein itself seemed insignificant in his eyes.
Such was the level he stood at.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
Beside her, Princess Sara clenched her teeth and spoke,
"As the invincible Fifth Hokage, you didn't come all the way here just to laugh at us, did you?"
"Of course not."
Ren glanced at her with mild interest before replying indifferently,
"The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sealed the Dragon Vein."
"I came today to undo that seal… and take the Dragon Vein for myself."
…!
The moment those words fell—
the Queen of Loran, Princess Sara, and all the ministers were struck with shock.
Unbelievable.
The Fifth Hokage had come for the Dragon Vein—
not only to unseal it, but to take it away.
That would mean—
the complete destruction of Loran.
In an instant, everyone fell silent, not daring to speak.
When someone possessed absolute power—
they could do whatever they pleased.
And Ren clearly had that power.
"Fifth Hokage-sama… if the Dragon Vein is taken, Ancient Loran will be finished."
After a few minutes, the Queen forced herself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, she spoke in near desperation,
"For all these years, Loran has struggled to survive in the desert… do you truly intend to wipe us out?"
"…How dull."
Ren replied casually,
"You still have one choice."
"Submit to me."
"Submit to Konoha."
"…Agreed."
The Queen froze for a moment.
Then, as if a realization struck her, her eyes lit up—and she nodded without hesitation.
If moments ago she had been in despair—
now she was filled with hope.
At last, she understood Ren's true intention.
He didn't want to destroy Loran.
He wanted Loran to submit.
And if that was the case—
there was no reason to resist.
To submit to the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren…
honestly—
it didn't sound bad at all.
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