The rift strikes

The urgent, piercing report instantly shattered the office's calm.

Everyone's expression changed abruptly.

The Level One Rift in the Land of Waves had only just settled down, yet in just two days, a Level Two Rift had actually appeared!

The Myriad Worlds Fusion was progressing far faster and more violently than Konoha had predicted!

Kakashi stood at once, his expression grave. "I'll take a team to reinforce them immediately!"

The Third's gaze grew solemn. He turned to Lin Chen and said softly, "Lin Chen, with this dangerous mutation, could you accompany them? Sorry for the trouble."

Lin Chen looked up, a faint trace of anticipation flickering in his eyes.

A Level Two Rift meant higher-quality otherworldly plane origin, stronger One Piece Armament Haki, purer cursed energy, and more powerful exotic beast physiques.

Another rich opportunity had delivered itself to his doorstep.

"Let's go."

As his words fell, he turned first and strode out of the office.

Konoha's first region-wide counteroffensive against an otherworldly plane crisis began.

Neither said anything more as they set off at full speed. Kakashi's figure flashed as he unleashed the Body Flicker Technique, his gray silhouette streaking out of the office building; Lin Chen stepped lightly, unleashing his body's full explosive power, his speed no slower than an elite Jonin proficient in the Body Flicker Technique. One behind the other, they raced toward the mountain forests on the Land of Fire's western border.

They sped along like the wind, and half an hour later, the outline of the western border's mountain forests came into view.

Before they even drew close, a violent storm of mixed energies rushed toward them. Cold, pitch-black cursed energy mist blotted out the sky, shrouding the entire valley, while fine, chakra-suppressing seastone particles filled the air, forming a natural otherworldly plane suppression domain. The wind moaned, the trees trembled, and the vitality of the entire area was being slowly devoured. Its might was several times more terrifying than the Level One Rift in the Land of Waves.

This was the true menace of a Level Two Spatial Rift.

A Level One Rift could only spill out scattered weaklings and fragmented resources, while a Level Two Rift could already steadily nurture high-level fused exotic beasts and fully formed otherworldly plane warriors. The overlapping powers of two planes perfectly countered conventional ninjutsu systems.

"Such powerful energy suppression..." Kakashi landed and stopped, instantly activating his Sharingan to its fullest, his eyes filled with gravity. "The chakra obstruction here is more than three times as strong as in the Land of Waves warehouse. An ordinary Chunin would exhaust their chakra within moments of entering, and even a Jonin's combat strength would be forcibly suppressed by thirty percent."

At the center of the valley, a pitch-black rift over three meters wide hung twisting in midair. Spatial patterns writhed continuously, occasionally spilling wisps of black mist and fine seastone powder. From deep within the rift, the roars of exotic beasts and the heavy breathing of warriors could faintly be heard.

The valley battlefield was already a scene of devastation.

Several Anbu ninjas lay in pools of blood, shattered barrier scrolls scattered across the ground. The four surviving Anbu elites held their ground back-to-back, their breathing erratic, their chakra overdrawn, and their bodies covered in wounds. Forced to devote everything to defense, they had no strength to counterattack. Their ninjutsu either dissolved in the black mist or bounced off hardened flesh when it struck the enemies, proving completely ineffective.

Within sight, three entirely different types of otherworldly plane enemies occupied the valley, their ranks clearly defined and their combat strength far surpassing every opponent encountered before.

First were four High-Level Mutated Sea King Beasts.

Unlike the scrawny juveniles in the Land of Waves, these four exotic beasts were nearly nine meters long. Their bodies were covered in thick, ink-black seastone scales as hard as top-grade ninja tools, and pure Sea Kings blood flowed beneath their flesh. Intermediate Cursed Spirits had completely infested them, wrapping their bodies in dense black mist. Not only did they possess brute physical strength that overwhelmed Jonin, but they also wielded the corrosive properties of cursed energy. Most lethal of all, their scales constantly shed seastone dust, continuously suppressing chakra throughout the area and perfectly shutting down the ninjas' advantages.

Next were two Cursed Spirit Mutant Beasts.

They had mutated when Intermediate Cursed Spirits spilling from the rift infested wild beasts in the mountain forests. Their bodies were twisted and bloated, pitch-black and eyeless, covered in sharp claws formed from black mist. They had completely abandoned physical defense to specialize in cursed energy corrosion. Physical attacks were almost useless, and ordinary Water and Fire Release techniques were annihilated upon touching the black mist. Only sealing and purification ninjutsu could inflict slight damage, making them the ultimate weapons for countering ninjutsu.

But the most troublesome were the three East Blue Elite One Piece standing before the rift.

All three were veteran East Blue pirates hardened by countless battles, nothing like the rank-and-file soldiers captured before. Every one of them had mastered advanced Armament Haki, their fists and forearms perpetually covered in a dark, pitch-black hardened coating. Their bodies were tough enough to take Jonin-level ninja tools and release techniques head-on. They wore damaged standard pirate armor, curved swords hanging at their waists, their eyes fierce and brutal. Their coordination was seamless, integrating offense and defense.

Their leader, a brawny man with short hair, had the strongest physique and more extensive Armament Haki coverage, even able to harden parts of his torso. He had torn through the Anbu's Earth Release defenses with his bare hands, his combat strength firmly at Special Jonin level, enough to overwhelm an ordinary elite Jonin head-on. The other two pirates were slightly weaker, but still possessed strength at the peak of elite Chunin, approaching Jonin, and could completely overwhelm ninjas of the same rank in close combat.

"No wonder the Anbu squad was completely pinned down." Kakashi's expression was tense as he rapidly analyzed the situation in a low voice. "The seastone suppresses chakra throughout the area, the Cursed Spirit Mutant Beasts counter ninjutsu attacks, and the elite pirates handle close-range assaults. Three layers of counters perfectly shut down every combat method available to conventional ninjas."

Any conventional elite Konoha squad caught on this battlefield would ultimately suffer a complete defeat.

At that moment, the pirate leader wielding Armament Haki stepped forward with a vicious grin. His pitch-black, hardened fist carried a fierce gust as he hurled a killing blow straight at an exhausted Anbu ninja. The wind from his fist was biting, the air bursting apart. If this strike landed, it would shatter bones and kill.

The Anbu ninja's chakra was exhausted, leaving him utterly unable to dodge, and despair instantly flooded his eyes.

Just as the fist was about to strike, a slender figure suddenly intercepted it.

Lin Chen stepped forward unhurriedly. Without dodging or retreating, he raised one hand and steadily caught the full-power Armament Haki punch.

Boom!

A deep, thunderous impact erupted. Shock waves swept in every direction, sending all the loose stones on the ground flying.

The expected crushing defeat did not occur.

The fierce, overpowering Armament Haki punch landed in Lin Chen's palm like a stone sinking into the sea, unable to advance another inch. The moment that indestructible Haki hardening touched his hand, it actually began to dim and fade at a visible speed.

[Ding! Advanced Armament Haki origin locked on!]

[Enhanced origin exclusive to a Level Two Rift detected. Quality far exceeds Level One overflow products!]

[Available for plunder: advanced Armament Haki, pureblood Sea Kings physique, Intermediate Cursed Spirit Technique, full-region seastone resistance!]

[Critical multiplier: tenfold! Top-tier opportunity triggered full plunder!]

Vast devouring power erupted, surging wildly into the pirate's body through his fist and forcibly stripping away the Haki origin and physical foundations he had painstakingly cultivated for years.

"What?!"

The pirate leader's pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with shock. The iron-bone hardening and overpowering Haki he had relied on to run rampant across the East Blue were rapidly draining away. His hard fist quickly softened, the blood and energy throughout his body churned, and the foundations of over a decade of deadly combat were drained in an instant.

He had roamed the seas for years, splitting reefs with his bare hands and enduring cannon fire, yet he had never seen such a bizarre ability. Without ninjutsu or brute force, it extracted the source of another person's painstakingly cultivated power out of thin air!

"You freak... what kind of monster are you?!" the pirate howled involuntarily, frantically pulling back his fist and retreating, his face filled with terror.

Lin Chen's expression remained calm as he exerted a little force with his palm.

Crack!

A crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. Along with the weakness of having his entire origin drained away, the elite pirate with Special Jonin-level combat strength screamed and collapsed limply to the ground, losing all ability to fight. His advanced Armament Haki and powerful physique had all become nourishment for Lin Chen.

The remaining two pirates turned deathly pale, instantly terrified.

They had witnessed their captain being crippled in an instant, and that inexplicable, unanswerable ability completely crushed their will to fight. Neither dared fight any longer. They turned, trying to flee into the depths of the rift.

"Think you can leave?"

A faint light flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. He fully activated Spirit Vision, and an invisible devouring domain instantly spread out, enveloping the entire valley.

The two pirates abruptly stiffened. Their Haki rapidly collapsed, their physical strength drained away, and their legs buckled. One after the other, they fell unconscious, all their high-level otherworldly plane origin plundered in an instant.

With the three most troublesome elite pirates dealt with, more than half the pressure on the battlefield vanished at once.

Kakashi seized the opportunity to move. His Sharingan worked at full speed as he precisely unleashed Water Release Ninjutsu, combining it with Sealing Jutsu to hold back the four high-level Sea King Beasts and clear away interference for Lin Chen. But even his utmost efforts to restrain them accomplished little against their powerful bodies and the seastone suppression. Within mere seconds, the Sea King Beasts smashed through his Water Release barrier with brute force. Kakashi had no choice but to evade with the Body Flicker Technique. Unable to kill them effectively, he could only barely slow their advance.

With the pirate main force no longer holding the enemy down and Kakashi precisely restricting their movements, the four high-level Sea King Beasts grew even more ferocious. All four turned their savage heads and charged wildly at Lin Chen, the only one on the battlefield who had completely neutralized the suppression. Their heavy hooves shattered the rocky ground, and clouds of seastone dust burst outward with their charge. Dense black mist wound around their sharp claws as they tore through the air with shrill sounds. The four exotic beasts on the threshold of Kage level surrounded him for the kill, sealing off every avenue of escape. Yet beneath Lin Chen's devouring domain, the seastone suppression and cursed energy corrosion dissolved layer by layer the moment they approached. Every rule that countered the Shinobi World's ninjas was utterly ineffective against him.