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OPI Chapter 371: A World Beyond the Shinobi
🕑 Added 2025-05-03 21:40:58 +0000 UTCIn response to the overwhelming surge of Wood Release, over 1,500 Konoha shinobi specializing in Earth Release had already taken up positions.
With sharp whistling sounds that cut through the air, they used the Body Flicker Technique to leap forward, quickly forming a long formation.
In the next moment—
The ground in front of the Konoha forces rapidly turned into soft, liquefied mud right before their eyes.
[BOOM!]
When the surging wave of tens of thousands of trees collided with the rolling mud, towering pillars of sludge erupted from the impact.
Immediately afterward—
Those twisted, snake-like trees slowed down drastically as they rolled through the swampy mire, gradually sinking deeper into it.
No matter how rapidly new trees sprouted, they were helpless against the mud’s relentless pull—dragging them downward without pause.
In the end, everything was swallowed by the abyss of earth and sludge.
“Hm?!”
Standing atop the wooden ox’s head, Aramaki’s face twisted in mild surprise at the sight.
“Rawawa! You guys actually came up with something that clever? How entertaining! But now doesn’t that mean this ox beneath my feet is useless? Rawawa—!”
Yet rather than rage, Aramaki simply threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.
“…No, wait. This ox still has its uses.”
He seemed to have thought of something amusing. Wearing an arrogant grin, Aramaki slowly sank into the head of the wooden beast.
“Moooo!!”
Suddenly, the massive wooden ox let out a deafening bellow, lifting its head toward the blazing sun overhead.
The Konoha shinobi, watching across the vast swamp, felt a chill grip their hearts.
What was he planning now?
Moments later, Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, and the others saw it.
The terrifying wooden ox—on par with a Tailed Beast—first took several dozen steps back.
Then, its horned head lowered, and its front hooves began stomping furiously on the tall trees beneath it.
“This is bad!”
Jiraiya shouted instinctively, then bellowed down to the shinobi below: “Watch the skies—it’s going to jump!”
Even as he roared out the warning, the wooden ox had already begun charging thunderously across the sea of trees.
And then—
Just before reaching the edge of the swamp, the colossal beast leapt high into the air.
Its landing point: directly atop the assembled Konoha forces on the other side.
At that moment, the Konoha shinobi didn’t just stand idly by.
Led by the elite jōnin, they quickly launched a massive coordinated Wind Release assault.
Their goal was to either blow the airborne ox back into the swamp—or slice it apart in midair.
But that wasn’t all.
Many other Konoha shinobi joined forces without hesitation to launch a combined Fire Release.
In an instant—
Wind fueled the flames, and flames rode the wind. Together, they created a raging inferno that filled the skies!
[BOOM!!!]
What followed was a scene of unimaginable scale.
The hellish blaze rising from the ground collided midair with the falling wooden ox.
A blast wave like a nuclear explosion tore through the sky, forming a thick white shock ring that surged outward.
In the next second—
Within the sightlines of Jiraiya and the others, a burning, battered ox carcass—its body covered in savage gashes, its horns and legs snapped—came crashing down with a deafening BANG.
It landed right in the middle of the front lines—smashing into the very squad of over a thousand shinobi who had just finished unleashing their Wind Release techniques.
The sky was filled with fire and thick smoke, completely engulfing the area.
At that moment—
Everyone fell silent.
Because they knew—
Those 1,000+ Wind Release users were finished.
The head of the Shimura clan twitched at the mouth, his face turning an ashen gray. Fury boiled inside him, and his fists clenched tightly.
Because most of those Wind Release shinobi… were members of the Shimura clan.
“He’s here!”
But Jiraiya didn’t have time to care about that.
Even if that massive ox had been destroyed, the real issue… was that towering man.
Aramaki.
...
"This is… how it really is?"
In a private room at Konoha Hospital, Minato murmured instinctively as he read through the contents of the file in his hands.
Dimensional Gates. The World Government. Invaders from another world.
The greatest change was that his perspective, once confined to the Shinobi World, had suddenly expanded to span the cosmic sea of stars—within mere seconds.
In the World Government’s propaganda video that Sara had previously watched,
there were brief introductions to their homeworld, Starfish World, and several other worlds that had already been conquered.
And all of that had been extracted from her memories using the Yamanaka clan’s secret jutsu, becoming the text now written in this report.
Right now, Minato was deep in thought.
This transdimensional mega-faction that had already conquered and ruled several worlds… how could a single village like Konoha—or rather, the entire Shinobi World—possibly resist them?
Just one man, Amaki, who claimed to be a Lieutenant General, had already crippled him.
And now, all of Konoha had been forced into a full state of alert just because of his presence.
So what would happen when the bulk of their forces arrived? When more Lieutenant Generals appeared? Or worse—actual General… even the Marshal?
What then?
Despair.
The more Minato thought about it, the more deeply he sank into despair.
Was the Shinobi World destined to become just another stepping stone in the World Government’s path of conquest?
Or—was there some way to stop their invasion? Something that could force them to back off and redirect their aggression toward some other world?
But he failed to notice something.
Standing at the foot of the bed, Orochimaru—after several minutes of shock—had begun to show a different look in his eyes. An emotion was surfacing.
Excitement.
Compared to Minato…
Orochimaru wasn’t particularly concerned about invasions or whether the Shinobi World would be conquered… or even destroyed.
“So there are other worlds beyond the Shinobi World…”
“No wonder I couldn’t understand those two objects at all—they must’ve come from another world.”
“If only I could visit one of those other worlds. If only I could study things from beyond… surely, surely there's a way to achieve true immortality out there!”
That was the voice screaming within Orochimaru’s mind.
Even if the World Government didn’t yet possess a method for achieving immortality—
As long as he could follow them and continue exploring more otherworlds, he was certain that with his intellect, he could one day discover a way.
And along the way, there would be countless fascinating things to study.
"Ah… what a wonderful life that would be."
Orochimaru extended his tongue and slowly licked his lips in excitement.
Right now, he was itching to visit Roran in person.
But at the same time, he hesitated—what if they didn’t recognize him? What if they refused to accept him?
Maybe… he should first find a way to get noticed by the World Government?
Thinking it through carefully—
In a force that ruled over multiple worlds, there had to be countless talents drawn from across many realms.
So if he just showed up uninvited, there was no guarantee he’d be valued at all.
That wouldn’t do.
But the method had to be handled properly—he couldn’t do anything that might offend them or make them look down on him.
For example, betraying his own village in front of the World Government.
Orochimaru understood human nature well enough.
That might look clever on the surface, but in truth, it would be the height of foolishness.
If he really did that—even if the World Government let him in—chances were, he’d never be allowed to rise through the ranks.
The tense silence in the hospital room had dragged on for quite a while, when suddenly the ANBU who had been waiting silently all this time finally spoke.
“Have you both finished reading?”
Orochimaru and Minato glanced at each other.
The next moment—
Both raised their files in unison.
In Orochimaru’s hand, the paper caught fire and burned into ash without a spark.
In Minato’s, the document instantly crumbled into a puff of smoke and dust.
Witnessing such masterful chakra-based elemental manipulation,
the ANBU said nothing. He simply turned and prepared to leave.
[Bang!]
But just as he opened the hospital room door, a loud crash came from behind him—the sound of a window shattering.
The next instant, a violent gust howled in, flinging shards of broken glass across his back.
At the same time—
All of Konohagakure was struck by a gale-force wind. Houses closest to the western edge of the village had their windows blown out without exception.
Thankfully, there were no civilians on the main streets at the time, so serious casualties were avoided.
Even so, it was enough to make every ninja in the village turn their gaze toward the western sky outside the village walls—
faint flickers of firelight could be seen through the haze.
Meanwhile—
At the battlefield where Jiraiya and the others were stationed,
a force of several thousand Konoha shinobi stood dumbfounded, staring at a colossal, flaming ox-head.
Or rather, the towering figure standing atop that ox-head—godlike, or perhaps demonic in appearance.
“Hey, you shinobi.”
Suddenly, Aramaki spoke. Instinctively, all the ninjas held their breath and listened.
“Not bad. You actually managed to destroy my wooden ox. Guess that means… it’s time for Round Two.”
A wild grin spread across Aramaki’s face as he slowly raised his right hand—
a gesture that felt like an invitation to all below.
“Considering how many of you are about to die, I should probably introduce myself first. Wouldn’t want you all dying without knowing whose hand struck you down—that would just be too tragic.”
“Remember this.”
“My name… is Aramaki!”
“Currently a Lieutenant General in the World Government’s Army Headquarters. Soon to be a General. As for my title—yeah, I’ve already decided on one.”
“Let’s go with ‘Green Bull’~~”
“Sounds way better than something like ‘Sand Crocodile’, don’t you think? Rawawa!”
As he burst into laughter, Aramaki showed no concern whatsoever for the nearly eight or nine thousand Konoha ninjas glaring up at him with hatred and fury.
“Shut your damn mouth!”
Suddenly, a furious shout cut him off. Aramaki stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes to see who had spoken.
It was a man with long, white hair, clad in a red cloak.
“We already know who you bastards are.
You call yourselves peacekeepers, yet your cloaks bear the word ‘Justice’ as you carry out an invasion!”
“To laugh and boast so shamelessly, even while committing such atrocities—
it's downright repulsive!”
