"Orochimaru, are you saying the Third Raikage, A, has joined forces with the Third Tsuchikage to deal with me?"
After Orochimaru finished recounting the series of events surrounding the alliance of the Four Kage, Garp slightly lifted his head, yet showed no intention of letting Tsunade and Kushina get down.
"Yes!"
Orochimaru nodded, his manner carrying a trace of respect.
His reverence for Garp did not stem solely from Garp's strength. More importantly, Garp's very existence overturned years of Orochimaru's research.
Although he had yet to embark on the path of Impure World Reincarnation, through extensive study of ancient texts and countless experiments, Orochimaru had already realized something.
Ever since chakra first appeared in the shinobi world, throughout all traceable history, those who truly reached the pinnacle were always only a tiny handful.
And that handful almost always came from a few specific ninja clans.
The Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Uzumaki, and Kaguya.
Outside these clans, it wasn't that no one ever reached the peak, but such individuals invariably had deep, tangled connections to those five clans.
Either they had mastered techniques belonging to those clans, or they possessed some portion of their bloodline.
Only the Garp before him had absolutely no connection whatsoever to the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Uzumaki, or Kaguya clans, yet he could still press the powerhouses of the Warring States era, all born from those clans, until they couldn't even raise their heads.
Such a thing was utterly unprecedented in all the shinobi history Orochimaru knew.
"An alliance of the Four Kage, huh?
Very well, I understand."
Garp pondered briefly, then casually dug at his nostril and broke into a wide grin.
"..."
Aside from Orochimaru, who had already suspected as much, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Minato were all stunned when they saw that the man before them showed not the slightest hint of panic, gravity, or even seriousness after learning of the Four Kage alliance.
Instead, he wore an expression one might have upon seeing an interesting game or toy.
Clearly, Garp's reaction completely exceeded their expectations.
'He doesn't seriously see the alliance of four Kage and the combined mobilization of four great villages as some kind of fun game, does he?'
After taking in Garp's expression in full, Hiruzen felt a chill creep into his heart.
So this was a top-tier monster from the Warring States era?
Whether in strength, perspective, or mindset, he was utterly different from those of the village era.
Even as one of the Five Kage, leading the strongest village in the shinobi world, Hiruzen's first reaction upon hearing of the Four Kage alliance had been disbelief, the second shock, and the third fear and anxiety.
Yet Garp, the very enemy the Four Kage sought to confront, was smiling.
"If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Garp chuckled, then lowered his head again, resting it on the chair.
"Lord Garp, don't you think this is an extremely serious matter?
An alliance of four Kage, mobilizing thirty thousand troops. Once a war of this scale breaks out, the shinobi world won't merely be reigniting the flames of war.
At that point, the entire world could regress into an earlier era, returning to the Warring States period of nothing but conflict, slaughter, destruction, and plunder.
You were the one who personally ended the Warring States era. Do you really want the shinobi world to revert to that terrifying state?"
Before coming here, Minato had imagined many possible reactions from Garp upon hearing this news, but he had never imagined Garp would be so indifferent.
Originally, Minato believed that someone who had once ended the Warring States era would never wish to see the shinobi world regress and return to that time.
Yet Garp's attitude just now sent a chill through his body and mind.
"And then? What exactly are you trying to say to me?"
Garp slightly lifted his eyelids and glanced at the emotionally agitated Minato.
"Minato, that was rather impulsive of you."
Seeing Minato getting a bit worked up, Jiraiya quickly shot him a sharp look.
"Don't be too hasty."
Cold sweat broke out on Hiruzen's back.
At this moment, he felt a pang of regret. If he had known this would happen, he would have brought only Orochimaru, instead of letting Minato come along to try and make an impression.
He had originally hoped that Minato might catch Garp's eye.
After all, Minato was the only Konoha shinobi since the Second Hokage to master the Flying Thunder God Technique and even improve upon it.
Perhaps that technique could have drawn Garp's attention.
However, he never imagined that Minato would indeed attract Garp's attention, but in a way that nearly scared him to death.
"My apologies, Lord Garp. I lost my composure just now."
Minato took a deep breath.
Jiraiya and Hiruzen had just begun to relax when Minato suddenly spoke words that stunned everyone.
"However, there is still one thing I wish to say to you, Lord Garp. For the sake of the hard-won village era and the equally hard-won peace, spare A just for once…"
The moment Minato said this, the expressions on Hiruzen and Jiraiya froze solid.
"Jiraiya's student is really courageous…"
Tsunade and Kushina, their bare feet stepping on Garp's back, each pressing down on half of his broad back muscles, paused slightly in their motions.
"As expected of someone taught by that idiot Jiraiya. His way of thinking really is… unique."
Orochimaru lowered his head without speaking, but beneath the curtain of long, straight black hair hanging down on both sides, his expression was extraordinarily vivid.
There was astonishment, admiration, pity, and ridicule.
...
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