Time had stopped.
No, more precisely, time had been forcibly dragged into a flow so slow it was nearly stagnant.
The instant Darui formed his hand seals, the entire training ground seemed to be submerged in thick amber. The air no longer moved, dust froze in midair, and the stunned expressions, open mouths, and raised arms in the stands all solidified into rigid statues. Even sound had been swallowed, and the world fell into a suffocating silence.
Only the "Time Vortex: Stasis Cage" spreading from Darui's palm continued to creep steadily toward Hyuga Xiao.
Wherever the vortex's edge passed, the patterns on the stone floor blurred and light twisted into strange arcs. Mifune's sword-drawing motion stopped halfway through, his blade still three inches from the vortex's edge yet unable to advance another fraction—this Land of Iron general, along with the anxious expression on his face, had been completely frozen outside time.
In the stands, members of the Hidden Cloud delegation wore cold smirks.
The Leaf Village ANBU disguised as merchants had already reached toward their ninja tool pouches, but they remained forever suspended in that motion.
Kurenai Yuhi stood at the edge of the field, her silver eyes reflecting the vortex closing in on Xiao. She wanted to rush over, but her body felt pinned beneath ten thousand tons of stone. Even breathing had become a luxury.
Only two people in the entire arena could still move.
At some point, Darui's real body had appeared at the highest point of the stands. His hands maintained their seals, fine sweat beading on his brow. Maintaining time stasis on this scale was clearly no easy task. Yet his gaze was cold, as though he were looking at an insect about to be made into a specimen.
And Hyuga Xiao—
He stood where