It took a long while before someone finally snapped out of it, their voice trembling with shock.
"What was that?! I just saw a gigantic serpent with eight heads!"
"That must be the power of Yamata no Orochi granted by the Devil Fruit! This is insane! With a body that massive, a single sweep of its tail could wipe out an entire village!"
"A tail swipe? Did you not see that each of its eight heads had a different ability? I doubt even a Kage-level shinobi could withstand a casual attack from it!"
"Eight heads with eight different powers… That's terrifying. I wonder how it compares to Karin's strange power?"
"Hey, hey, hey! You're all missing the point!" a hurried voice cut in, interrupting the astonished chatter. "The point isn't how strong it is—it was slaughtering everything in sight! I'm starting to doubt whether that was even Kabuto anymore!"
That statement jolted everyone awake.
"Right! The mysterious voice said there's a remnant will inside the Devil Fruit. If you can't resist it, you'll turn into a mindless beast of slaughter!"
At that thought, the envy that had filled people's hearts was instantly replaced by lingering fear.
"If you lose your consciousness, then no matter how powerful you become, isn't that the same as being dead?"
"But if a Devil Fruit were placed right in front of you, could you really resist taking the gamble?"
"Exactly. That's reality. No matter how dangerous it is, I doubt most people would pass up a chance to become powerful overnight."
The thought lingered in everyone's mind, casting a heavy pall over what had moments ago been an uproar of excitement.
"No wonder they're called Devil Fruits. Succeed, and you gain world-shattering power. Fail, and you become a mindless monster—no different from dead."
Someone stared at the empty sky where the Heavenly Screen had vanished and sighed heavily.
"I wonder if Kabuto managed to withstand the Devil's will… Of all times, the screen had to end there!"
"You'll get used to it. Who knows whose story it'll show next time? Maybe we'll get an answer then."
Though the projection had ended, the storm it stirred swept across the entire shinobi world. Some were worried, some curious, and many were already secretly calculating how to locate that forest cave.
Inside a hidden base, Orochimaru looked at Kabuto, whose face was pale and troubled.
"I believe you'll succeed," Orochimaru said firmly.
Kabuto gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Orochimaru-sama, please don't comfort me. Even I'm not that confident."
Young Karin stood on her tiptoes and patted Kabuto's arm, speaking with absolute conviction. "Kabuto, I believe in you too! You managed to fuse Orochimaru and all those messy cells into your body—what's a tiny demon's will compared to that?"
Orochimaru's lips twitched violently, feeling strangely offended yet unable to refute her.
Kabuto chuckled awkwardly, opened his mouth as if to respond, then ultimately said nothing.
Although the Heavenly Screen had faded, the impact it left behind was immeasurable.
First came the revelation of Nagato, wielder of the Rinnegan, and the destruction of Konohagakure.
Then the exposure of Asura's chakra within Naruto Uzumaki and Indra's chakra within Sasuke Uchiha—along with the faintly looming, mysterious presence behind them.
Those beings might very well be the masterminds who regarded shinobi as nothing more than "food."
For shinobi—who had always seen themselves as superior to ordinary civilians—the idea was deeply insulting. The humiliation and fury of being treated as prey were difficult to swallow, yet impossible to ignore.
And now, the sudden emergence of the Devil Fruits had driven the shinobi world into outright madness.
Even the claim that "shinobi are descendants of traitors" failed to dampen the desire for such overwhelming power.
No one could resist the temptation of ascending to the heavens in a single leap.
High-priced bounties for information about Devil Fruits appeared across the land like falling snow.
The once relatively stable shinobi world had descended into chaos.
Watching the turmoil unfold, Yin An curled his lips into a satisfied sneer.
"Devil Fruits? As if I'd let something that good fall into the hands of you fools."
He tightened his grip around the fruit in his arms.
It looked identical to the one Kabuto had eaten on the Heavenly Screen—its surface covered in twisted snake-head patterns.
But this was no real Devil Fruit.
It was a fake he had crafted himself, utterly devoid of any special power.
"Since the Heavenly Screen has already hyped up the name 'Devil Fruit' for me, it's only right that this counterfeit gets put to use."
A calculating gleam flashed in Yin An's eyes as he chuckled.
"I'll place it inside a cave replica I've specially constructed. Once those greedy idiots find it, I'll have one of my puppets appear suddenly—kill a few people to establish dominance—then 'snatch' the fake fruit and leave."
"Of course, if something unexpected happens and someone actually eats it… I'll just kill them. That way, no one will ever find out it was fake."
"In doing so, the 'Devil Fruit' will vanish from public sight, cutting off their obsession. At the same time, I'll fabricate the illusion of a so-called 'Devil Fruit organization,' plunging this already chaotic shinobi world into even deeper unrest."
He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Now, what should I call this organization?"
"Hmm…"
"I already created the God's Knights before, so this one should be its counterpart…"
A grin spread across his face.
"Let's call them… the Seven Warlords Under the King."
After all, if there's an organization that worships gods, there should also be one that serves demons.
Imagining the shinobi world scrambling in the future to investigate an organization that didn't even exist, Yin An couldn't help but let out a low laugh.
"Perfect plan. I really am a genius."
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