I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 285 Lu Mingze's Little Gift

"it's me."

Lu Mingze nodded: "You seem a little surprised?"

"...A little. I thought you should be with your good-for-nothing brother right now."

As he responded, Uchiha Hikaru glanced to both sides.

If what Angers just released was a "relatively static" time-stopping realm...

What Lu Mingze created at this moment was an absolute "time stop".

Within this area, all sounds and images froze in place. Whether it was Angers wielding twin swords and unleashing "Double Sunburst," or the phantom of "Demon Void" that had just emerged from behind her, or Esdeath and the others standing outside the arena watching, they were all frozen in place, and the air was eerily quiet.

the other side.

Lu Mingze continued with a grin, "Well, I just happened to be passing through Tokyo while handling some personal business, and I noticed what was going on here, so I rushed over to take a look..."

How did you end up fighting with this old guy? He's the most steadfast dragon-slaying faction of this era, and he also possesses one of the most unique types of Word of Power: 'Time Zero.' If you discover your identity as the 'White King,' there might be some unpredictable trouble ahead."

These words carried a somewhat sarcastic tone.

Lu Mingze knew that Uchiha Hikari was not the "White King"; that was her self-proclaimed title in front of the Snake Clan, merely a facade to deceive others.

He also knew that Uchiha Hikaru was quite powerful. It was hard to say how he compared to the "White King," but he was certainly no less than the Four Great Kings.

So...

What is the true strength of Uchiha Hikaru?

In the world of Naruto, are there any time-related abilities among the eye techniques?

Curiosity about these questions was the main reason Lu Mingze chose to come and watch.

A secondary reason was that the outcome of this battle could influence the attitudes of the Secret Party and the Snake Clan towards Uchiha Hikaru, thereby affecting the cooperation the two had just reached. As a partner, Lu Mingze felt it necessary to investigate.

but……

His attention was quickly drawn to the slightly blurry phantom behind Uchiha Hikaru, and he frowned slightly: "By the way, what is that thing behind you? It doesn't look like the 'Susanoo' from the manga."

"This guy..."

"I'll just call it my summoned beast, except that its form of existence is a little special."

As he said this, Uchiha Hikaru glanced at Makura behind him out of the corner of his eye.

It's not surprising that Lu Mingze can see Mo Xuluo, because they are essentially spiritual beings, and the former has the ability of "spiritual vision," so he can naturally see each other clearly.

However, what Uchiha Hikaru was more concerned about was whether the roulette wheel behind Makuro was moving.

This thing is not a weapon or decoration in the usual sense, but a manifestation of the ability of the Demon Lord to "adapt to all things in the world". Each time the wheel spins, it means that the Demon Lord has completed an analysis. After several analyses, it will gradually become able to adapt to and become immune to the opponent's moves.

And now...

Hmm, it didn't move.

It seems that the time-stopping technique used by Lu Mingze has far exceeded the upper limit of the world of sorcery, that is, the gradient at which the fully formed Su Nuo is located, and therefore cannot be analyzed by Mo Xu Luo.

"A summoning beast...?"

Lu Mingze was skeptical, but didn't press further: "Although I'm not entirely sure what your purpose is in playing house with the Snake Clan, as an ally, let me give you a small gift... This is some insight into the power of time, which I hope will be helpful to you."

As he spoke, Lu Mingze raised his hand and made a grasping motion, tossing a tiny, firefly-like point of light forward, which stopped just inches away from Uchiha Hikaru.

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes, looked at it, and then reached out to shake hands.

The fluorescent light followed her skin and quietly seeped into her fair palm.

This moment.

A flash of inspiration swept through Uchiha Hikaru's mind, and countless images swept through it, accompanied by the ancient tolling of bells and the murmuring of a stream, echoing softly in his ears.

In a daze, she seemed to see a long white river flowing through a dark and deep void, with countless fragmented silhouettes on its surface, rushing endlessly towards the river's source. It seemed to confirm an ancient painting—"Time flows like this, never ceasing day or night."

"This is……"

Could that clock tower and the river represent the long river of time?!

It was just a fleeting moment.

The scene before Uchiha Hikaru's eyes shattered, and he felt as if he had been suddenly awakened from a dream, with a dizzying sensation sweeping through his body.

"I'm gone."

Lu Mingze waved his hand across from him: "That old guy is about to wake up. You can handle the rest yourself. If you're satisfied with this gift, bring me something related to the Sage of Six Paths next time. I'm quite interested in that guy."

"……good."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded slightly.

But Lu Mingze's gift was indeed extraordinary, and could even be described as valuable.

In theory, this is actually a fragmented "time" authority. If one can digest, absorb, and integrate it into oneself, time travel may not be possible—even Lu Mingze himself can't quite do that. However, it should be possible to extend time like Angers or manipulate the world lines like the Dragon King in the later part of the original work.

However, if she were to offer a return gift based on the principle of equivalent exchange, she might actually have to bring something related to the Sage of Six Paths or the Divine Tree, so as not to have taken advantage of the other party for nothing.

Thoughts only last a moment.

next moment.

Lu Mingze's filter disappeared, and Angers continued forward, his twin swords drawing a sharp arc in mid-air before slashing at the sword in Uchiha Hikaru's hand.

—Judging from his appearance, it seemed he intended to knock Uchiha Hikari's sword away first, and then defeat her using the back of the blade or the hilt. Without involving the dragon-slaying project, this old headmaster was quite appreciative of talent, even considering taking Uchiha Hikari from the Snake Clan and bringing her to Kassel Academy for training.

Can……

Just as the two swords clashed, Uchiha Hikaru's body moved slightly.

Then, she gently twisted her wrist, breaking free from the time-stopping restraints, and then, with a horizontal slash of her blade, blocked the oncoming short blade.

"?!"

Angers' eyelids twitched.

He was already over a hundred years old, having experienced hundreds of battles over the past century. His nerves, originally as tough as steel, were rarely provoked by external stimuli. But now…

What's going on? Has "Word of Power: Moment" advanced to "Time Zero" on the spot?

If it weren't the same incantation, how could it have surpassed its own "time zero" by striking later?

In the blink of an eye.

The time stretching out 50 times finally came to an end. As things returned to normal, Angers stared intently at Uchiha Hikaru, a hint of surprise and uncertainty in his eyes: "What kind of incantation did you just use? A higher-level technique than Aga's? Or...?"

"Just a coincidence."

Uchiha Hikaru bowed slightly and spoke in an elegant yet polite voice, "Principal Angers' swordsmanship is indeed superb; I am ashamed to admit my inferiority. If you have any guidance on swordsmanship, please do not hesitate to teach me."

"..."

……

Angers naturally didn't have much to teach him, since he was completely outmatched in swordsmanship. He only managed to look less pathetic thanks to the final "Time Zero," but he certainly didn't win.

And among the people present.

Only two people knew exactly what had just happened.

One is Uesugi Koshi.

He had fought Angers in his younger days and knew how bizarre Angers' "Time Zero" ability was. Although he hadn't witnessed it firsthand—and in fact, it was impossible to—he had guessed from their interactions that Angers had used this incantation. And yet, Uchiha Hikaru remained completely unharmed…

That alone is enough to tell you something.

As for the other person who sensed something was wrong, it was Esdeath.

"Did someone freeze time just now?"

When Uchiha Hikaru returned to the sidelines and reunited with Esdeath and the others, the latter immediately asked him this question.

"Hmm? Why are you suddenly asking that?"

"intuition."

Esdeath responded crisply, then pointed to her eyes: "Besides, I was watching from the side the whole time. If time and space hadn't been frozen, how could my eyes not have seen your fight?"

That statement is indeed true.

Her "Mokpa Temo" is also an ability related to time and space. After using it a lot, one can detect some anomalies in this aspect of the ability.

Uchiha Hikaru nodded readily: "Yes, that old man named Angers, like you, also has the ability to freeze time... but the principle is a bit more advanced than yours. He truly changes the flow of time, and I almost fell for it too."

"Almost?"

"Yeah, by chance, I temporarily awakened a talent related to time, so I broke free from his time stop... Well, freezing time won't be your exclusive move anymore, Xiao Ai."

Uchiha Hikaru smiled slightly.

Esdeath's expression was one of doubt.

Uchiha Hikaru didn't intend to show it to her here—to be honest, she had only had this "time fragment" for about ten minutes, and the fact that she managed to break free from "time zero" at the last moment was already a flash of inspiration. To try to reproduce it directly would be asking too much of her.

Therefore, Uchiha Hikaru just smiled mysteriously and then pulled Esdeath to the other side.

"It's almost lunchtime. Let's go eat, and I'll tell you all about it later."

(End of this chapter)