Hozuki Mangetsu swallowed nervously from the side.
Wait—is Sensei actually about to take off his blindfold!?
He was worried this was just another one of Satoru's fake-outs.
After all, Satoru *loved* doing that stuff—"You excited? Just kidding~"—kind of nonsense.
Even though now wasn't exactly the best time to hope for anything cool, Mangetsu still couldn't help but glance at Orochimaru, then back at Satoru again.
Hatake Satoru didn't seem to care at all about how Hozuki Mangetsu kept peeking at him from the side.
He casually hooked a finger under his blindfold and started pulling it down. His eyebrows, the same color as his hair, came into view.
His pace stayed relaxed, his face still wearing that faint, easygoing smile.
"Edo Tensei bodies can't be killed physically. No matter how many times the body is smashed, it just puts itself back together."
"But my attacks can go straight for the mind and soul~"
"So, can an Edo Tensei body still regenerate after that?"
Orochimaru stared at Hatake Satoru, suddenly much more cautious. He could clearly feel the air around them start to shift.
It was like every eye in the space was locked onto Satoru's blindfold.
Orochimaru had always thought Satoru might have a Kekkei Genkai and that the blindfold was hiding it.
But he had no idea what kind of power those eyes actually had.
He kept his gaze fixed on the blindfold—curious, but also wary of what it might mean.
An attack that could strike the mind and soul directly?
Was that kind of thing even possible in this world?!
If it was just Genjutsu or something similar, it wouldn't really affect Edo Tensei bodies.
Since, technically, Edo Tensei doesn't have real consciousness. They naturally resist illusions.
"Soul stuff is way too vague. There's no such thing as an attack that directly hits the soul."
"Maybe that old man's sealing jutsu could do it, but there's no way *you* can use that, right?"
Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out, followed by a creepy, disgusting laugh.
"No attack can destroy Edo Tensei. Stop wasting time."
But a drop of sweat slid down Orochimaru's cheek—he could already sense something was off.
Before that uneasy feeling spread, he had to finish off Hatake Satoru quickly.
The three Hokage, fully reformed by now, exchanged a glance—then rushed toward Satoru from the side.
"In such a hurry to attack?"
"You keep saying it's unbeatable, but now you're panicking?"
"My attack covers a wide area. As long as you're inside this barrier, it doesn't matter if you get close or try to run—same result."
Satoru's calm voice echoed as he pulled the blindfold down completely.
His messy silver hair fell along with it, draping over his forehead and lightly covering his lashes.
His eyes were still closed—cold, like a god untouched by anything.
In the blink of an eye, all the incoming kunai, water-style jutsu, and even massive wooden attacks were frozen midair.
They were right in front of him, but suddenly everything just… stopped—like time itself had been cut off.
His long, silver lashes trembled slightly—and then, his eyes opened all the way.
Icy and bright like frozen crystal, his pupils caught the faint light filtering through the trees and reflected it with stunning clarity.
The mocking smile on his face faded a bit. Instead, what appeared was a subtle smirk, cold and hard to read—almost wicked.
Now that his eyes were uncovered, the usual playfulness and carelessness vanished.
From those eyes, there was only a cold sense of superiority—like he stood far above the world.
Heaven above, earth below—there is only me.
That was the feeling his gaze gave off.
Hatake Satoru looked straight ahead, slowly raised his right hand, curled his middle finger slightly over his index finger, and for once, spoke in a calm, low voice.
"Domain Expansion."
"Limitless Void."
A blinding white light burst out from beneath his feet, spreading outward in an instant.
As if ignoring the environment completely, the tightly packed trees were instantly flattened and torn apart with loud cracking noises.
Kunai, jutsu, and everything else nearby was completely wiped out by the light in a flash.
Only a few Edo Tensei bodies were left standing, all of them frozen and confused, along with Orochimaru.
Looking from outside the barrier, a massive black sphere had formed inside.
"What the hell is that…?"
"There was already so much fog in there, and now with that black thing, we really can't tell what's going on anymore."
The people standing near the barrier instinctively stepped back, raising their heads to stare at the strange change inside.
The tree branches created by Wood Release had been crushed to pieces, and the four shinobi maintaining the barrier suddenly felt a heavy pressure coming from inside.
The black sphere was huge—so big it seemed like it might break through the barrier.
The Four Sound Ninjas from Otogakure frowned and looked at each other.
Clearly, none of them had any idea what was happening inside. All they could do was keep reinforcing the outer barrier.
"What is this?!"
Orochimaru was shocked by the sudden burst of white light. He instinctively frowned and leapt backward—
But the light had already swallowed up the space behind him.
Everything around him was now nothing but endless white and emptiness.
Inside this world made of light, Hatake Satoru stood calmly in midair, smiling as he looked down at them.
His eyes, glowing faintly with a cold, sky-blue light, seemed to gaze into the edge of the universe itself.
"——!"
Once the light completely wrapped around them, the space filled with overwhelming noise and chaos.
Insect chirps, birdsong, the rustle of things growing, people talking—every sound of life rushed into their ears all at once.
Wherever they looked, it was like the entire universe had opened up right in front of them.
Plants, oceans, skies—everything imaginable—the images flashed nonstop before their eyes.
The messy sounds and images suddenly collapsed into a black hole, surrounded by dazzling lights like an aurora.
The lights and black hole together formed a huge eye, and everything else in the space turned into thick, heavy darkness.
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