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Chapter 289: Overwhelming Presence
Among the crowd were many familiar faces.
Tsunade sat on a rock, her arms crossed. Her appearance was shockingly elderly. Without the Strength of a Hundred Seal to maintain her youth, her true age had caught up with her in an instant. Her skin was sagging, her face lined with deep wrinkles; the once peerlessly beautiful Fifth Hokage now looked like any other elderly civilian woman. Yet, her eyes remained as sharp as ever.
Shikaku stood beside her, his expression steady, but a deep-seated anxiety hid within his eyes. As Konoha's top strategist, the feeling of losing his power left him feeling more deeply unsettled than anyone else. That hollow sensation—the inability to mold chakra or use ninjutsu—felt as crippling as losing his own limbs.
Inoichi stood silently nearby, his brow furrowed in a tight knot. Choza wrung his hands together, visibly uncomfortable. Without chakra, he couldn't even use his clan's Multi-Size Technique; he felt completely empty inside.
Orochimaru sat in a corner, his hands steepled under his chin. A contemplative light glinted in his golden, snake-like eyes. Unlike the others, he wasn't anxious at all; instead, he observed his surroundings with keen interest. A method capable of simultaneously stripping the chakra from every person on the planet was utterly unheard of.
Sakura stood behind Tsunade, casting frequent, worried glances at her master's aged face. She, too, had lost her chakra. That profound sense of powerlessness brought back memories of her childhood, back when she hadn't yet become a ninja.
There were many others: Kurenai, Shizune, Tenten, Rock Lee... They had all been summoned here to await their unknown fate.
Kameda stepped into the center of the plaza. His gaze swept over the masses. Taking a deep breath, he raised the Chakra Paper high into the air.
"Everyone!" His booming voice echoed across the plaza. "Lord Alex has decreed that as of today, the construction of the Holy City officially begins!"
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"To ensure the construction is completed swiftly and perfectly, Lord Alex has granted this Chakra Paper to temporarily restore your chakra!"
The moment those words fell, the entire plaza went dead silent for a split second before exploding into an uproar.
"What!?"
"Restore our chakra!?"
"Are you serious!?"
Cries of shock and disbelief rang out from every direction. Everyone's eyes lit up with desperate hope. The maddening anxiety of losing their power, that hollow, helpless sensation of being gutted from the inside out, was an agonizing, silent torture. Hearing the word "restore" was like throwing a life preserver to a drowning man.
Kameda didn't waste any more breath; he instantly activated the talisman.
In a flash, tens of thousands of beams of light erupted from the paper, unerringly striking every single person in the plaza!
Tsunade was the first to feel the change. A surge of warm energy rushed into her chest, like spring water flooding a long-dry riverbed, instantly coursing through her entire body! It was an indescribable feeling of absolute fullness; every single cell in her body seemed to sing with joy.
She instinctively molded her chakra.
Strength of a Hundred Seal: Release!
Her sagging skin began to tighten at a visible rate. Deep wrinkles vanished as if erased, and her dull, graying hair rapidly regained its lustrous blonde sheen. Her elderly features rapidly rewound back to their prime. In the span of a few breaths, the peerlessly beautiful Fifth Hokage had returned!
Tsunade abruptly stood up, clenching her fists. Feeling the surging torrents of chakra within her, an uncontrollable wave of excitement flashed in her eyes. Her power was back. Her power was back!
"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura cried out in sheer delight, her eyes turning red with joyful tears.
It wasn't just Tsunade; everyone present was experiencing the exact same miracle.
Shikaku Nara took a deep, shuddering breath. Feeling the familiar flow of chakra through his pathways, his rigidly tense face finally relaxed. He clenched his fist, opened it, and clenched it again. The joy of regaining what was lost nearly made him laugh out loud.
Inoichi closed his eyes, sensing the mental fluctuations of everyone around him. The corners of his mouth curved up. It was back. Everything was back.
Choza rolled his shoulders. As chakra circulated through him, that familiar feeling of lightness made him break into a wide grin.
Orochimaru slowly stood up, an unprecedented light blazing in his golden eyes. A dangerous smile crept onto his face. Fascinating. Utterly fascinating. A power capable of evaporating the entire world's chakra, and then instantly restoring the chakra of tens of thousands of people... This was no longer the realm of ninjutsu. This was the authority of the gods.
Orochimaru subconsciously licked his lips, his eyes burning with an intense thirst for knowledge. Those two, Alex and Konan... Just what kind of power did they possess? What were the underlying mechanics of such a force? Could it be replicated? Could it be... claimed for himself?
His heart pounded, his blood boiling. How many years had it been? How long had it been since he last felt such overwhelming excitement?
"Truly... mesmerizing. Subarashii..." Orochimaru muttered, his voice raspy and full of ravenous desire.
Kameda put away the talisman. Turning to Hinata and the others, his stern face softened into his usual honest smile. He bowed respectfully. "The ninjas' chakra has been restored. Next—"
"Next, it is our turn," Hinata took over, her pure white eyes scanning the massive crowd. "Your chakra was a gift from Lord Alex. You will use your strength to build the city. Do not think about fleeing, and cast aside any delusions of rebellion. You will not be given the slightest chance."
"The shinobi world is entirely unified. It belongs to Lord Alex and Lady Konan. True peace has finally arrived. I suggest you cherish your current lives, and cherish your own survival."
Hinata's previously timid and gentle nature had vanished entirely, replaced by a tone dripping with absolute dominance and unquestionable authority. Lord Alex had entrusted the construction of the city to her, and she absolutely refused to let him down. She wouldn't let anyone cause trouble. Not even a little.
Hinata completely stopped hiding her strength.
Her chakra erupted. The sheer, unadulterated pressure of a Six Paths-level entity instantly descended, blanketing the entire plaza in a split second.
She looked at Shikaku. She looked at Tsunade. She looked at Orochimaru. She looked at everyone. Every single person who met her gaze found themselves physically incapable of maintaining eye contact, their heads violently forced down.
In that fleeting moment, everyone's soul experienced an absolute, irresistible suppression. It was an overwhelming pressure that completely transcended human comprehension.
. . .
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