The mission concluded

The setting sun shone like molten gold, spreading shimmering light along the Land of Waves' long coastline.

The sea had long since lost the violence that had torn space apart. The black rift connecting another plane had vanished completely, leaving only the stiff corpses of mutated sea beasts strewn across the beach and two deeply unconscious pirates from the One Piece world. A faint trace of foreign energy still lingered in the air.

Kakashi formed a long-distance communication technique with one hand. Wrapped in pure chakra, a specially encrypted intelligence scroll became a streak of light and shot straight toward Konoha. It recorded every detail of the string of abnormalities in the Land of Waves: scraps of strange black metal capable of disrupting and suppressing ninja chakra, black-mist Cursed Spirits sustained by negative emotions, pirates from the One Piece world who had crossed space, sea beasts with otherworldly physiques, and a natural spatial rift entirely beyond the scope of ninjutsu.

This had long since exceeded the scale of disputes between small nations or rampaging rogue ninja. It was a staggering upheaval capable of shaking the foundations of the entire Shinobi World.

"We must let the Third Hokage know everything immediately." Kakashi lowered his hand, his fingers tightening slightly at his side. Beneath his mask, his expression was utterly grave. "For a thousand years, we've assumed the Shinobi World was all that existed. Now these rifts prove there are completely different worlds and systems of power outside it."

Naruto crouched beside a sea beast's corpse and poked its scaly hide, clicking his tongue in amazement. "These monsters are ridiculous. Ordinary ninjutsu barely tickles them. Only Lin Chen can finish them off outright."

Sasuke stood nearby, his fingers clenched tightly around a kunai, complicated emotions churning in his eyes.

From fighting the two Armament Haki warriors in the warehouse to defeating Haku and Zabuza, then single-handedly clearing out the strange beasts pouring from the rift, Lin Chen could subdue with a raised hand enemies Sasuke could barely hold back with all his strength. The gulf between them was already beyond anything training or talent could bridge. The scenes of the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, Kirigakure assassination techniques, and the otherworldly beasts' essences all being plundered replayed in his mind, pressing a fierce sense of urgency upon his heart.

Sakura crouched beside a curved sword the pirates from the One Piece world had left behind, studying the skull patterns engraved on its blade. "Their clothes, writing, and forging techniques have nothing in common with the Shinobi World," she said softly. "It's hard to imagine what their world is like."

Atop a reef, Lin Chen stood quietly, gazing into the distance as system notifications streamed through his mind.

[Ding! All beasts spilling from the level-one rift have been eliminated. All remaining otherworldly energy recovered!]

[Seastone resistance perfected. Low-level cursed energy manipulation mastered!]

[The complete physical essence of a Sea Kings Youngling has been integrated. Base physical combat power greatly increased!]

[The Myriad Worlds Fusion continues to accelerate. The Shinobi World's Heavenly Dao is making corrections more frequently!]

[High-risk warning: the host's repeated plundering of world essence and otherworldly resources has caused the Shinobi World's Heavenly Dao to mark him as a heretic. Subsequent targeted suppression will intensify!]

A faint, cold gleam passed through Lin Chen's eyes, but he showed not the slightest apprehension.

From seizing Naruto's opportunity to gain nine-tails chakra during the entrance assessment, to intercepting the unique talents of major plot characters, to harvesting otherworldly essence from the spatial rift today, he had been breaking the predetermined course laid out by the Heavenly Dao all along. Its intervention to restrain him was inevitable. But to someone with his plundering ability, the suppressive power it poured down was also nourishment he could devour and refine.

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do with these beasts' corpses and the two otherworldly pirates?" Sakura asked as she stood.

"Seal them all up and take them back to Konoha." Kakashi quickly settled on a plan. "The research department can study the beasts' bodies to analyze otherworldly biological structures. These two pirates from the One Piece world are even more important leads. They might help us unravel the secrets of another world's power system."

What had begun as a simple C-rank escort mission had now been elevated directly to a special-grade anomalous incident report. The value of Team 7's trip far exceeded anyone's expectations before setting out.

The shipbuilder Tazuna had been standing nearby, not daring to approach. Only now, with the danger completely over, did he hurry forward and bow deeply, bending his back low. "Thank you, honored ninja, for saving us. Without you, the sea beasts would have slaughtered every coastal fishing village in the Land of Waves."

The underground forces Gato had spent years building had already collapsed. All the Seastone and cursed objects in the warehouse had lost their special effects. The Armament Haki warriors he had hired at great expense had been stripped of their cultivation and reduced to ordinary men. Zabuza and Haku, whom he had secretly relied upon, had suffered drastic losses in strength and fled in panic. With all his backing gone, Gato could no longer control the Land of Waves' shipping. The criminal trading syndicate that had terrorized the region crumbled overnight.

"The core objective of this escort mission has been completed. Gato's forces have been destroyed, and the crisis threatening the Land of Waves' livelihoods has been resolved." Kakashi looked at Tazuna, his tone softening. "Konoha will send ninja to remain stationed along the coast, maintain local order, and prevent similar threats from arising again."

Overjoyed, Tazuna repeatedly bowed his head in thanks.

Team 7's assignment in the Land of Waves officially came to an end.

But everyone knew that this brief conclusion was only the prelude to a great storm that would sweep through the Shinobi World.

Night swiftly swallowed the sea, and the last glow faded from the horizon. Team 7 divided the work, sealing the beasts' corpses into scrolls and restraining the two unconscious pirates from the One Piece world with special chains. They organized all the mission evidence overnight, preparing to return the next day.

While everyone was too busy to spare any attention, Lin Chen walked alone to an isolated reef by the sea.

The salty, damp sea breeze stirred his clothes. He slowly raised his right hand, and a strand of bone-chilling, ice-blue chakra flowed from his fingertips, instantly condensing into translucent ice crystals. With a thought, the crystals vanished, and a layer of Armament Haki with a dark metallic sheen coated the surface. With another slight exertion, a thin strand of black cursed energy wound around his knuckles.

The Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, Armament Haki from the Pirate Plane, Cursed Spirit essence, the physical foundation of a Sea Kings, the complete Five Nature Transformations, Kirigakure's finest Secret Technique assassination techniques... Over a journey of just a few days, several entirely separate power systems had fused into one within him.

His raw physical combat strength had now reached the peak of elite Jonin, with only a paper-thin barrier separating him from Kage Level.

"As spatial rifts become a regular occurrence, planar fusion will only accelerate." Lin Chen murmured to himself, clearly mapping out his next steps. "Devil Fruit fragments, advanced Haki, and powerful Cursed Spirits will keep spilling through the rifts. They're all resources for improving myself. And I won't miss the opportunities in the Shinobi World's established plot, either."

The approaching Chunin Ninja Exams, Orochimaru's planned Konoha Crush, the rampaging One-Tail Shukaku, the Akatsuki secretly collecting Tailed Beasts... These plot points carefully arranged by the Heavenly Dao were all treasure troves he could harvest at will.

In the shadows of the dense forest, two frail figures supported each other as they silently withdrew from the coast.

They were the wounded fugitives, Zabuza and Haku.

Their auras had weakened to the extreme, and pain stabbed through their chakra pathways. More than half the essence of Haku's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai had been plundered. Now he could produce only scattered flecks of ice; his advanced Ice Release ninjutsu was completely unusable. The essence of the Silent Killing Technique and beheading swordsmanship Zabuza had honed for over a decade had been drained away. With more than half his formidable combat foundation lost, his strength had plummeted to that of an ordinary Chunin.

"Mr. Zabuza... that boy's power doesn't belong to ninjutsu at all." Haku's voice was weak, his delicate face filled with helplessness and bewilderment.

"I know." Zabuza gripped the Kubikiribōchō tightly, apprehension and searing hatred churning in his eyes. "No hand seals, no reliance on chakra. He can strip away cultivation, the essence of objects, and sinister otherworldly power through his own ability alone. There's no answer to that plundering power. He's an aberration in this world."

In all his years roaming the Shinobi World, he had never seen an ability so bizarre and impossible to counter.

"We'll get away from the Land of Waves' borders first and find somewhere hidden to heal our damaged chakra pathways. The humiliation we suffered today, everything that was taken from us-I won't let it end here," Zabuza said through gritted teeth.

The two figures disappeared into the thick coastal mist, vanishing completely from sight. But they did not know that their core essences had already been plundered dry. With their foundations gone, neither would find it easy to stir up trouble again.

The scene shifted to the Hokage's office in Konoha.

The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held Kakashi's intelligence scroll, his fingertips trembling slightly. The pipe near his lips hung motionless in midair, remaining unlit for a long time. The atmosphere in the room was oppressive and grave. Several elders of the Konoha High Command stood on either side, their faces ashen and their hearts shaken after reading the scroll.

"Natural spatial rifts, foreign civilizations existing outside the Shinobi World... special metal that suppresses chakra, spirits that feed on negative emotions?" an elder murmured involuntarily. Before this intelligence, a thousand years of established understanding of the Shinobi World had collapsed completely.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slowly, his voice heavy. "Everything recorded in the scroll is true. Each of these otherworldly powers is entirely different from our inherited ninjutsu system, enough to upset the existing balance of combat strength."

The Root commander knelt on one knee and added a crucial detail. "Lord Hokage, nearly all the abnormalities in the Land of Waves were resolved by the Genin Lin Chen alone. Kakashi only held the enemies back throughout the operation. He never had the chance to take charge of the battle."

At those words, the office fell utterly silent.

A Genin just twelve years old had single-handedly resolved an otherworldly crisis that had left even an elite Jonin helpless. "Genius" could no longer begin to describe him. He was a variable beyond the rules of the Shinobi World.

"This boy is far too unfathomable." The white-haired elder's brow furrowed with concern. "The source of his power is unknown, and his growth has no limit. Now, with the Myriad Worlds Fusion bringing chaos, if he turns against us, no one in Konoha-or even the Five Great Nations-will be able to restrain him."

The elders voiced their opinions, wariness, fear, and concern intertwining.

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled and looked toward the forests of Konoha outside the window. "There's no need to take the initiative to restrain or suppress him. For now, he is stable in temperament and has limits to what he will do. He has never acted to harm Konoha."

"Besides, the upheaval of worlds is already upon us. An endless stream of foreign beasts and unfamiliar powerhouses will enter the Shinobi World through the rifts. We urgently need top-tier combat strength to protect the village and confront unknown disasters. Right now, Lin Chen is our best shield."

He saw further ahead. Compared with Lin Chen, who remained manageable for now, the unpredictable spatial rifts and the constant influx of otherworldly threats were the true catastrophic dangers capable of destroying the Shinobi World.

"Pass down my orders," the Third said gravely, issuing several secret directives. "First, seal all intelligence concerning other planes in the Land of Waves. Prohibit its dissemination to avoid causing widespread panic. Second, begin preparing for the Chunin Ninja Exams ahead of schedule. Select the best of the new generation and accelerate their combat development. Third, dispatch the Anbu to patrol the entire Land of Fire coastline and spatial weak points in the valleys. Establish round-the-clock watch posts. Any rift discovered must be reported immediately!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Secret orders were swiftly dispatched. All of Konoha quietly went on alert, and undercurrents began surging everywhere.

In the shadows of the Shinobi World, at a hidden Akatsuki base.

Pain sat on a raised platform, his Rinnegan gazing coldly down at a map of the entire Shinobi World. His low, icy voice echoed through the empty hall. "The world's barriers are breaking. The Myriad Worlds Fusion has begun. Otherworldly powers are invading... The shackles that have bound the Shinobi World for a thousand years are finally loosening."

Konan stood beside him and reported softly, "Leader, the boy who appeared in the Land of Waves possesses the ability to plunder essence. He's a rare planar variable. Should we send people to eliminate him?"

A faint light shifted through Pain's Rinnegan. After a brief consideration, he slowly shook his head. "Not yet. Chaos is coming. A variable can break the old order, but it can also advance our plans. We need only watch how things develop."

Meanwhile, in a hidden underground laboratory.

Orochimaru toyed with a fragment of cursed energy collected from the border. His slit snake pupils brimmed with greedy excitement, and his tongue lightly swept the corner of his mouth. "Spatial rifts, otherworldly powers, a special constitution capable of plundering essence... Truly perfect experimental material."

"Lin Chen, those unknown beings from other planes, and their power systems-I'll dissect and study every last one."

The leadership of the Five Great Nations, the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, the remaining Kirigakure rogue ninja-all factions had been stirred by the otherworldly disturbances in the Land of Waves. The once-fixed chessboard of the entire Shinobi World had been thrown into chaos and reshaped by the appearance of spatial rifts and Lin Chen's rise.

At dawn the next day, the rising sun broke through the mist over the sea, casting down gentle morning light.

Team 7 organized all the sealing scrolls and physical evidence and set off on the journey back to Konoha.

Naruto chattered the whole way, constantly imagining eating at Ichiraku Ramen once he returned to the village and boasting to Iruka-sensei about this mission. Sasuke walked alone near the rear flank of the group, silent throughout, continually reviewing his shortcomings in the battles and gritting his teeth as he trained hard in private. Sakura carefully checked the mission equipment and kept a complete record.

Lin Chen walked at the very front of the group, facing the newly risen sun, his expression calm and untroubled.

The Heavenly Dao's targeted suppression, the endless otherworldly crises, the concealed scrutiny of various factions... Obstacles crowded the road ahead.

But he did not shrink back in the slightest.

Chaos was descending, and opportunities lay everywhere.

This vast world, where the powers of One Piece, jujutsu, and the Shinobi World had merged, would ultimately fall into his grasp, step by step.