Chapter 414: Fear and Conquest

“Can you send me back?” asked Tsunade.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, but the old man said it was an emergency.”

“Alright. Anyway, our task here is finished. I’ll also return to my lab,” said Edward before thanking Katsuyu and the Slug Sage for their hospitality. After promising the sage he would come to visit her, he teleported Tsunade back to the village using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu; he left a kunai with coordination in different parts of the world to ensure his fast travel.

Tsunade headed directly to the Hokage’s office, and she was surprised when she entered.

“Jiraiya, you’re here too?”

“Yes, the old man called me back, saying it was important.”

Tsunade then focused on the Third Hokage, “What is this about?”

“It’s about your new friend.”

“Edward?”

The third Hokage handed her a scroll containing some information, and Tsunade’s face changed after reading it.

“His actions of attacking the Nine Tail Beasts have alerted the other Kages,” explained the old man.

“Danm it, I told him to be discrete.”

“So you knew about it?”

Tsunade did not answer.

“I knew he was dangerous when you told me he killed Danzo.”

“Danzo is dead?”

Tsunade ignored him,” Old Man, do you plan to accept the Five Kage Summon?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you doing something so stupid? I’ve told you how powerful he is. Your actions could destroy the Hidden Leaf.”

“The more reason to ally with the other villages. Such uncontrolled power with no loyalty to anyone cannot remain unchecked.”

“You will doom us all.”

“Tsunade, calm down,” said Jiraiya.

[Sigh]

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing or saying as they realized they could not identify where this loud sound came from. Then, they finally noticed someone else in the room. Jiraiya and the Third Hokage became stiff as they did not even realize someone was next to them. As Ninjas, this was a grave mistake that would cause them to die on the battlefield.

“Edward, give me time to convince them.”

“How much effect do you think you’ll have? You can’t even convince your sensei.”

“It’s better than not trying.”

“You don’t have to worry; I won’t kill them,” he said before looking at the other two, who were on guard. With just one look, these two became immobile and incapable of moving even one finger.

“What are you going to do?”

“I will use the most direct method to deal with the issue.” Edward waved his hand to create four portals, from which people suddenly appeared from. Killer Bee, the fourth Raikage, Gaara and Lady Chiyo, Onoki, and the Fifth Mizukage, Mei.

“Where am I?” asked Mei.

“The Third Hokage? Is this the plot of the Hidden Leaf?” asked Onoki.

Edward did not give them the time to process the situation and immobilized them as well with just a glance. Finally, they recognized the man they planned to hold the Five Kage Meeting for.

“I did not want trouble since that would bother and stop my research,” explained Edward. “Unfortunately, I was too careless and underestimated Ninja’s ability to gather information.” He blamed his clone’s carelessness for the current situation.

“Now, I have to take things into my hands. So, let’s begin with the first step: fear.”

A bubble or shield surrounded everyone present before they disappeared. The group soon found themselves floating in empty spaces, but they could breathe without any trouble.

“You see that floating orb over there? That’s your planet: the Shinobi World.” Everyone looked at the huge floating rock and did not know what to say, nor could they do so if they wished.

“Now, look to that planet in the distance.” After everyone looked at the planet, Edward teleported them outside of the planet’s space.

“Pay attention.” He gathered a mass of energy in his palm before firing it at the planet, exploding it into millions of pieces with one attack.

“This is what I can do while seriously injured,” added Edward before looking at the group. “You can use whatever means you wish to detect whether this was a Genjutsu.”

A few people took him on his offer. And, of course, they could not determine anything.

“It’s a waste to destroy a planet like this,” uttered Edward before waving his hand to manifest a green magic circle. And before everyone, time reverted back, and the planet returned to its intact shape.

‘Time Ninjutsu’ appeared in these people’s minds. Edward waved his hand to gather all the natural energy on that planet before putting it away. Finally, under his control, the planet began to shrink until it was the size of a large marble floating on his palm.

He then made a necklace out of it and gave it to Mei.

“For the beautiful lady.”

“T-Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I have enchanted the necklace so only you can move it as if it were light. However, it still retains the mass of a planet. You guys can try to move it.”

The fourth Raikage took the offer, entered his Thunder Mode, and tried to move the necklace. Bee turned into the Eight-Tails to help his brother, but it was useless. Onoki used his Earth Jutsu to make things lighter as his attempt, but he could not bear the mass of a planet no matter how many times lighter he made it.

“I’m done flexing my power. Now, let’s move to the next step.” Edward teleported them back to the Shinobi World, to an open field in the Land of Fire. He opened his interdimensional ring to summon ten thousand metal golems more than 10 meters tall.

All these golems were between Tier 5 and 6.

“These golems are more than enough to conquer this planet. However, I understand you Ninjas are people with strong Willpower and will not accept surrender so easily. So, I will give you time to gather your troops and ally yourself. A month should be enough. Then the war can begin.”

“Edward, must you do this?”

“Yes. The Shinobis are excellent talents for assassination and would be a great asset to my Empire.”

“What about all the people who will die?”

“No one will die. I’ve programmed the golems to use non-lethal means to defeat you.”

“This is still wrong.”

“Think about the positive. After the conquest, all the people will no longer be divided by the village or Land they are from: they will all be members of the Arcane Empire.

“There will no longer be wars over resources. Children will no longer be forced to become soldiers; they will have free education and access to health. Knowledge of Ninjutsu and even the Empire’s magic will be open to everyone to encourage development.

“All citizens of the Empire have a minimum life span of 200 years old, and through magic, a person can live forever. The Empire has conquered death, and as long as citizens have enough merit, they can ask someone to resurrect their loved ones.”

“Are you telling the truth?” asked Lady Chiyo.

“I am. If you want to have your children revived, it is possible,” stated Edward before looking at Gaara. “The same for your mother.”

“Everything sounds too good,” commented Me.

“Indeed,” added the Raikage. “I don’t believe such a perfect place exists.”

“Of course, it’s not perfect. The rapid development of technology makes it difficult for many people to adopt.

“Although everybody is equal under the law, there is a class disparity between the people with ‘godlike powers’ and weak average citizens. The Empire values talent to the detriment of many other things.

“More importantly, we live in a world with some beings that even I fear and must be wary of. And at any moment, these entities could become our enemies and try to destroy us.”

The Kages remained quiet, all with their own thoughts on how to deal with the current situation.

“Alright, you can return and prepare for your final fate.”

Edward waved his hand and teleported them back to where they came from.