It was a tranquility born of the spirit.
As if conflict had never been meant to exist in these waters.
All living beings with will should restrain their instincts before that power and remain silent.
The smile Orochimaru always wore gradually vanished.
He had once faced the Third Hokage.
He had also seen Hanzō unleash his killing intent.
He had personally experienced the oppression brought by Pain's Rinnegan.
Those powers had all been formidable.
Yet none of them could make every living thing across an entire sea fall silent before even appearing.
White Zetsu hid half his body back beneath the deck.
His voice dropped considerably.
"Is this Uchiha Lieyang's ability too?"
Black Zetsu did not answer.
He had hidden within Zetsu's body for many years and had seen countless top-tier experts.
Yet the change before him made him instinctively uneasy.
This was not merely the release of chakra.
It was some kind of will spreading outward.
The waves had not been forcibly flattened by ninjutsu.
The surrounding environment was voluntarily settling into calm under the influence of that state of mind.
"Put away your contempt."
Black Zetsu's voice was hoarse.
"He has already discovered us."
The casualness on White Zetsu's face vanished completely.
Orochimaru stood motionless at the bow.
He had originally regarded this meeting as a recruitment attempt.
He had also wanted to use the opportunity to observe Lie Yang's body and ocular techniques.
But now, he was no longer considering how to test him.
That spiritual pressure alone made Lie Yang more dangerous than Akatsuki's intelligence had suggested.
Time passed slowly.
At last, a vague figure emerged from within the dense fog.
The person stood atop the sea.
There was no boat beneath his feet.
Yet his body did not rise and fall with the waves.
The