Wind Province.
The Dragon Vein Ruins.
Chiba watched the five figures disappear into the purple pillar of light.
He found a reasonably flat boulder, sat down, and waited in silence.
Time ticked by, second after second.
Only the hum of running equipment filled the underground palace.
One day passed.
Two days passed.
Three days...
Then came the fifth day.
The purple pillar of light still showed no change whatsoever.
The receiving equipment Orochimaru had set up displayed nothing but meaningless gibberish.
But neither Chiba nor Orochimaru was in any hurry.
In an unexplored field like crossing space and time, any unexpected development was understandable.
Then, on the morning of the seventh day...
The windblown sand outside the underground palace seemed fiercer than usual.
Beep-beep-beep-
The receiving equipment, previously silent as the grave, suddenly emitted a shrill alarm.
Orochimaru snapped his head up, his fingers blurring across the keyboard.
"We've detected the specified chakra frequency!"
"Decoding the signal..."
"Establishing the image!"
The air at the center of the metal arch distorted violently.
After a burst of crackling electricity...
Five slightly blurred holographic figures appeared directly beneath the arch.
Leading them was the bespectacled Kabuto Yakushi.
"Your Majesty."
"Lord Orochimaru."
"We have successfully reached our destination."
"Everyone is safe. No casualties."
A moment later...
Kabuto Yakushi's voice came through, faintly distorted.
At those words...
Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes blazing with excitement.
It worked!
Cross-dimensional communication-this was nothing short of a miracle in the history of the Ninja World!
"What trouble did you encounter over there?"
"Why did it take you a full seven days to establish contact?"
Chiba slowly stood, his gaze sweeping over the five figures in the projection.
At Chiba's words...
The five figures visibly froze.
Sasuke Uchiha frowned.
Neji Hyuga looked utterly bewildered.
Shikamaru Nara's mouth fell