A sudden flash of inspiration struck Shanks.
He remembered that the Ninja Guild possessed a miraculous technique capable of teleporting people across vast distances in an instant. Perhaps Chairman Lin Xuan intended to evacuate everyone before the next strike landed?
But as he looked around, doubt crept in. There were far too many people here, and the Pluton's attack was imminent. Was there truly enough time for a mass migration? Or was Lin Xuan planning to abandon a portion of them to their fate?
His gaze shifted, landing on Otsutsuki Kaguya.
That woman's abilities were unsettling. She had the power to make people vanish into thin air; she had already whisked away the Five Elders, resulting in the confirmed deaths of three of them. Though Shanks didn't understand the mechanics of her power, he surmised she was sending people to a separate dimension.
Is Lin Xuan planning to have her pull everyone into that unknown space to weather the bombardment?
Lin Xuan remained oblivious to Shanks' whirlwind of theories. Had he known, he would have been impressed by the pirate's ability to overthink so much in such a short window of time. In reality, he had no intention of using the Flying Thunder God Technique for a mass evacuation—it was simply too slow for a crowd this size. Nor did he plan to tax Kaguya with Amenominaka, as the chakra drain would be immense even for her.
Lin Xuan's solution was far more direct: he would simply stop the attack.
Suddenly, the horrific wounds covering Lin Xuan's body began to knit together with supernatural speed. Within seconds, he stood healed and whole, showing no trace of the man who had been at death's door moments ago. Beside him, Uchiha Madara and the others underwent the same instantaneous recovery.
Whitebeard and the other legends stared, dumbfounded.
What the hell?
How had their injuries vanished in the blink of an eye? The realization hit them like a physical blow: they hadn't been injured at all. It was an act.
Whitebeard's expression shifted as he looked at Lin Xuan. The pieces clicked into place. Lin Xuan must have known Rocks was still alive from the very beginning. The "mortal wounds" and the weakened state of the Ninja Guild's top brass were nothing more than bait to draw Rocks out of the shadows.
What a terrifyingly calculated move, Whitebeard thought.
Out at sea, the warship Pluton had finished charging. Its secondary main cannon was aimed directly at Mariejois, ready to erase the Holy Land from the map. Just as Lin Xuan prepared to intercept the strike, he froze.
A message had arrived via the Dimensional Communication Device from Konan.
While the war raged, the scholars of Ohara—resurrected through Edo Tensei—had been tirelessly researching the Poneglyphs. With the Ninja Guild's bottomless resources, their progress had far outstripped their previous lifetime of work. Recently, Nico Robin and her mother, Olvia, had stumbled upon a groundbreaking discovery. Following the World Council, they had slipped away from Sabaody Archipelago to investigate a specific site. Konan had stayed behind specifically to ensure their safety.
For Konan to reach out now meant the discovery was monumental.
Lin Xuan scanned the message. Madara, sensing the shift in the air, glanced at him with confusion. He saw something rare on the usually unflappable Chairman's face: genuine, wide-eyed disbelief.
"What is it?" Madara asked.
Lin Xuan snapped back to reality and let out a sudden, sharp laugh. "Nothing. It's just that... things have suddenly become much more interesting."
Madara frowned, unable to grasp the context, but he didn't have time to press for details. The Pluton fired.
However, he noticed Lin Xuan made no move to intercept the incoming blast. "Are you taking this, or should I?" Madara prompted.
Lin Xuan offered a calm, cryptic smile. "Neither of us needs to move. Someone else will handle it."
Madara stared at him, momentarily wondering if the stress had finally caused Lin Xuan to lose his mind.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of fire erupted from the sea, tearing through the atmosphere with apocalyptic force. The projectile screamed toward Mariejois, carrying the weight of inevitable destruction.
Despair washed over the crowds surrounding the Holy Land. Even Whitebeard's face paled. He saw Lin Xuan standing still, hands down, making no effort to mount a defense.
Has even the Chairman given up? The thought flickered through their minds, but there was no time to act. The Pluton's power was not something they could easily parry on a whim. Madara and Senju Hashirama's fingers twitched; they had the power to stop it, but seeing Lin Xuan's absolute stillness, they hesitated, placing their trust in his judgment.
Just as the terrifying energy was about to vaporize the peaks of Mariejois, a figure blurred into existence.
The stranger moved with staggering speed, appearing high in the air above the Holy Land as if they had folded space itself.
CRASH!
A thunderous explosion shook the heavens. The strike capable of leveling Mariejois shattered in mid-air, dissolving into a harmless curtain of fire that swept across the sky.
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T/N:
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