Time Stop, Move People

In this unremarkable little grove.

A giant gear appeared before Dan. It was ancient and heavy, as if it had experienced countless vicissitudes of the world, turning slowly and mercilessly.

Never stopping.

Whoosh!

Dan's heart stirred, and his Stand Power transformed into a stream of light, shooting out like a fine needle and lodging itself into one of the gear's teeth.

The Time Gear, thus, stopped.

The entire world turned dim, and all things lost their original colors.

One second, two seconds.

Three seconds, four seconds.

A full five seconds later, with a snap, as the fine needle broke, the Time Gear resumed its rotation.

Finally.

Dan could pause time for five seconds.

Compared to the previous two seconds, although it only sounded like an increase of three seconds, the amount of things that could be done in these three seconds had increased immensely.

One must understand.

In a ninja's battle, even 0.1 seconds is enough to determine life or death.

Now, facing someone like Obito or Danzo, even if the opponent mastered Izanagi, he could, within the time stop, first attempt to gouge out their Sharingan before killing them with a punch.

Just imagine.

With a five-second time stop, combined with Dan's taijutsu and The World's full output, how many people in the Ninja World could withstand it?

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Something fell onto Dan's hat.

He looked up and saw the sky was dim, with countless raindrops falling.

It was time to go home.

He walked into the grove, strolling along the path in the rain, heading towards Konoha.

The rain grew heavier, making the leaves rustle.

The raindrops falling from the sky connected into lines, countless lines formed a net, and in the end, it was like a waterfall, pouring down from the sky, covering everything.

In the primeval forest of the Land of Fire.

A woman in a dark green trench coat, wearing black high heels, was running through the rain.

Splash!

She stepped into a puddle on the ground, splashing mud onto the fair skin of her instep and dirtying her toes, which were painted with red nail polish.

But Tsunade couldn't afford to care about that now.

After being suffocated by Dan, she took two days to recover, and the first thing she did was track him down.

Previously.

When Tsunade fought Dan, she had sprinkled a colorless and invisible powder she personally concocted onto him. No one but her could detect anything unusual.

She was tracking him to uncover his true identity.

However, it was raining now, and if the faint scent of the powder was washed away by the rain, Tsunade would lose him.

So she had to hurry.

Suddenly.

Tsunade's body stiffened, and she stopped.

Because, in the clearing ahead, she saw a person standing in the rain with their back to her.

The person was nearly two meters tall, wearing a straw hat and a cloak. Their imposing figure, just standing there, exuded a heavy, mountain-like pressure.

That's right, it was him.

The rain was pouring down. Tsunade's blonde hair and clothes were soaked, clinging to her body, making her look as disheveled as a drowned rat.

But that person, despite also being in the rain, was completely dry.

Tsunade's gaze sharpened. Upon closer inspection, she realized:

Chakra was emanating from the surface of his body, forming a shield of energy that repelled every single raindrop that fell on him, not letting a single one land.

His entire body, from his hair to his skin, even his straw hat and cloak, had become like lotus leaves.

As soon as raindrops fell, they would quickly slide off, roll away, and take the dust from his clothes with them.

His body was like a lotus leaf, pure and flawless.

This sight deeply shocked Tsunade, and she felt inferior.

His control over Chakra had reached the pinnacle of perfection.

Or rather, the other party had integrated ninja training into their daily life, even using rain to practice Chakra techniques, never slacking off for a moment.

Such a person was truly terrifying. No wonder he had developed such formidable muscles.

This person was, naturally, Uchiha Dan.

In the rain.

"As expected of Tsunade, one of the Sannin. To be able to place a tracking mark on me without me noticing."

Dan spoke first, but without turning around.

"It's just a trivial skill, not worth mentioning."

Tsunade shook her head, her expression serious. She directly asked the question that was troubling her, "Are you a ninja from Konoha?"

"No."

Dan answered readily. He was indeed from Konoha, but not a ninja, as he hadn't even graduated from the first year of the Ninja Academy.

Hearing this, Tsunade frowned and fell into thought.

After thinking for a moment, she pressed on, "Then who exactly are you? Why do you have the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan and also use the Akimichi Clan's Expansion Jutsu?"

"My name is Araki, and I am a bounty hunter," Dan replied.

Araki?

Upon hearing the name, Tsunade knew it was most likely a codename, not his real name, but she didn't care anymore.

Since she couldn't get any answers, it was time to fight.

She stepped through the puddles on the ground and walked towards Dan step by step, determined to use this upcoming battle to avenge her previous defeat.

Sensing Tsunade's undisguised fighting spirit.

"I'm not interested in fighting you right now. Don't come any closer," Dan advised her.

Hearing this, Tsunade clenched her fist, her eyes burning, "If I insist on fighting you?"

As she spoke, she had already reached within five meters of Dan, entering his optimal attack range.

Tsunade was a highly competitive woman, especially when it came to fighting with her fists. In her decades of life, she had never feared or lost to anyone.

But two days ago, she had been defeated by Dan's Rear Naked Choke, a complete and utter loss.

The more Tsunade thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt that she hadn't performed well last time. If she couldn't fight Dan again and regain her honor, she would feel restless.

Facing Tsunade, who was stubbornly refusing to yield.

Dan sighed silently and decided to give her a warning. He then silently recited those four words in his heart.

ZA WARUDO!

In an instant.

Everything in the world turned gray. Countless raindrops froze in mid-air, like transparent beaded curtains, creating a spectacle never before seen.

Dan turned around.

Tsunade, five meters away, was raising her fist, her face full of fighting spirit. Even the heavy rain couldn't extinguish the flames in her eyes.

Whoosh.

Dan lowered his center of gravity and charged forward.

After shattering many raindrops, he extended his right hand, grabbed Tsunade around the waist, and hoisted her onto his shoulder.

He sprinted twenty meters away.

Then.

He placed Tsunade on the ground like a statue, quickly turned, and sprinted back to his original position.

This series of actions was completed within five seconds.

Next.

Time resumed its flow.

"Take this!"

Tsunade shouted and was about to throw a punch when she suddenly froze.

She discovered that her opponent, who had been within arm's reach moments ago, was now twenty meters away in the blink of an eye.

No.

The opponent hadn't moved at all. It was she... who had retreated.

Tsunade was shocked.

What in the world... was going on?

Had she fallen for his Genjutsu again?

Tsunade refused to believe it.

She shook her head vigorously, forcing herself to stay awake, then took another step, cautiously walking towards Dan.

This time, she was completely focused, her mind stretched to its absolute limit, constantly on guard against his Genjutsu attacks.

Ten meters, eight meters, five meters.

Tsunade reached this distance for the second time.

Then, the bizarre scene from before replayed itself—

Tsunade inexplicably retreated back to twenty meters away from Dan.

That man's back was like a never-ending destination, an endpoint she could never reach no matter how hard she tried...