"We're here, we're here! Madara, who would have thought there was such a massive space hidden in the shadows?"
Sengoku watched as a passage connecting the inside and outside appeared in the shattered space before him. Before anyone could be seen, a slightly thick, honest-sounding voice echoed out.
Accompanied by the clanging of armor, Hashirama Senju stepped out of the spatial tunnel, clad in his signature red plating.
Behind him followed a man in similar armor. His expression was cold and aloof, and his wild, untamed black hair framed a pair of Sharingan glowing with a crimson light that formed a complex, swirling pattern.
Uchiha Madara!
After continuous persuasion from Ren's messengers and a trip to the Ninja World to uncover the truth, Madara finally understood the true nature of the Eye of the Moon plan.
Furthermore, after the bitter pleading of Uchiha Izuna—who had been pulled back from the Pure Land—Madara had remained stubborn for nearly six months before finally stepping out of his cell and agreeing to join Ren's side.
Now, he had come as part of the reinforcements entering the Shadow Empire to support Sengoku's frontline forces.
As they emerged from the tunnel, the scorching heat of the air hit them full force.
Madara's eyes flickered as he looked ahead, taking in the purgatory-like scenery of the entire Shadow Empire.
A hint of a mocking smile immediately touched his proud face.
"Quite a grand war we have here."
Sengoku took a step forward to greet the two.
"For the stability of the world, the Quincy must be wiped out. This is a necessary sacrifice."
"The current state of the battle is still within our control, but you've arrived at just the right time."
After a period of persistence, Ren had once again opened a passage to the Shadow Empire, allowing the troops stationed in the City of the Dead to enter the shadows.
The leaders of this detachment were Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
As the two stepped out, they were followed by squads of fresh troops composed of ninjas, carrying a large amount of supplies and ammunition to support Sengoku and the others at the front.
Although Hashirama and Madara held the title of leaders, they didn't care for such trivial matters. The one truly responsible for the command was the blond-haired Minato Namikaze.
"Mr. Sengoku, the follow-up troops and supplies have been delivered. Please inspect them."
Sengoku nodded slightly. "Tsuru, look over these munitions and have them sent to the front lines immediately."
"As for the personnel, follow our arrangements and distribute them throughout the battlefield."
Sengoku assigned his subordinates to handle various affairs on the spot.
Minato Namikaze nodded heavily. "Understood!"
Hashirama, who had been the first to emerge, ignored the administrative work and walked to the edge of the high ground, looking down at the burning city below.
It was as if he could feel the cries and despair of the people here, and he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
"Even if it's for the sake of the world, killing everyone here seems a bit too much."
Seeing Hashirama's sentimentality, Madara sneered from the side. "The war they started is no different from your own actions back then. At this point, you have no right to criticize anything."
"In the end, you're all just the same kind of people, aren't you, Hashirama?"
Hashirama was momentarily at a loss for words. Thinking of what he had once done to Madara, he found himself unable to say anything in return.
To protect the village, he had been willing to kill Madara, his childhood friend.
To maintain the peace of the world, they were now killing these Quincy who endangered it.
Whether it was him or Ren and the others, there was essentially no difference.
After handing the logistics over to Tsuru, Sengoku saw the two talking and walked over.
His tone was firm and decisive.
"As long as these Quincy exist, they will cause unimaginable destruction to the world. If we wait for their King to fully resurrect, the world will fall into complete chaos. Who knows how many will die then!"
"It is better to completely exterminate the Quincy now, while their King, Yhwach, has not yet revived, than to let the world be destroyed in the future!"
"This is the policy we decided on from the beginning. Didn't you two agree to it back then?"
Madara turned his head away from Sengoku, his black hair swaying behind him.
He had only agreed to join these people because he didn't want Izuna to be sad. As for what Sengoku's goals were or what Ren was thinking, none of it mattered to him.
Joining this war now was merely a way to experience the blood-pumping thrill of battle after so long.
Hashirama opened his mouth, his expression somewhat dim.
"I naturally understand the principle of eliminating evil to promote good. By removing the villains who harm the world, we can protect it."
"But even though I know they must be killed, watching them die before my eyes... it still feels a bit uncomfortable..."
Sengoku had only come over to see these two, who held great prestige among the ninjas. He wanted to see if they held any resentment after being subdued or if they would disrupt the war effort.
Looking at them now, it seemed he had overthought it.
Madara was mocking but battle-hungry, and while Hashirama was simple-hearted and kind, he also understood the righteousness of this battle.
Neither would do anything to obstruct the campaign or add variables to the war.
As the commander of this war, he had to minimize all potential risks to ensure victory!
Madara didn't want to listen to Hashirama's lamentations, nor did he care about the logistical arrangements.
"I'll leave this place to you. I'm heading to the battlefield!"
With that, he leaped down the slope toward the combat zone below.
"Madara, you've just come back from the dead and don't have much power yet. Wait for me!"
Hashirama was about to jump down with him when Sengoku hastily called out to him.
"Where is the Lord? Why didn't he come with you?"
"Lord Shinigami came as well, but he said he had other important matters to attend to, so he didn't take the same path as us."
After a brief explanation, Hashirama leaped down to chase after Madara.
Sengoku reached out and shouted, "Then where is he?"
"He said that to be safe, he was going directly to the Quincy palace!"
Hashirama called back over his shoulder, his speed suddenly increasing as he caught up to Madara.
Watching the two leave without a second thought, their figures growing distant, Sengoku shook his head imperceptibly.
He then looked forward, focusing on the massive palace standing in the center of the city, and a surge of anxiety hit him.
"The leader actually went to the enemy's headquarters?!"
With a leader as self-willed as Ren, it was no wonder his subordinates were so casual!
Was he the only normal person in this entire army?
Sengoku stared at the palace for a moment. After his initial urgency, his emotions gradually calmed down.
"Fine. With his power, he shouldn't run into any problems even in the enemy's nest."
Sengoku turned and left, heading to the command post to report the reinforcements to Nobunaga.
Nobunaga was busy moving chess pieces across a map, with intelligence documents covering the entire table.
Hearing Sengoku mention that the reinforcements had arrived, Nobunaga couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Good. This way, we can speed up our movements."
Noticing the hesitation on Sengoku's face, Nobunaga asked, "Hmm? What's with that look, Brother Sengoku? Is there something else?"
Sengoku briefly mentioned Ren's situation, which immediately caused Nobunaga's expression to turn to one of disbelief.
"What?"
Nobunaga smacked his forehead, feeling his ears ring and his head throb with pain.
It was pure anger.
"That fool! The commander of the army actually went to the enemy's headquarters? Does he have any idea how important his position is!"
"Toyohisa is this way, and now Ren is doing the same thing! If I had known, I never should have let him be educated by Toyohisa!"
Sengoku consoled him, "The Lord is always cautious and incredibly powerful. Besides, he has many experts with him. Nothing should go wrong."
"It had better not!" Nobunaga snapped irritably.
At the entrance to Silbern, the Quincy palace, space suddenly shattered, revealing a pitch-black rift.
The Soldat standing guard nearby immediately noticed the anomaly and rushed over with their weapons.
A spatial rift appearing at a time like this could only mean an enemy!
"Attack—"
The Soldat were about to raise their weapons when they saw several dark shadows flash before them. Accompanied by two crimson flashes of light, the group instantly lost consciousness.
After dealing with the incoming enemies, the shadows stopped and merged into a single person—Shisui.
Those shadows were merely afterimages formed by his incredible speed.
"Shisui, your Shunpo has improved again."
A low voice echoed from the spatial rift.
Shisui flicked the blood from his blade, his expression instantly becoming respectful.
"My Lord, the enemies have been eliminated."
Accompanied by steady footsteps, Ren stepped out from the black rift and arrived at Shisui's side in a flash.
Behind him followed a strangely dressed man in a white research coat, his face painted with a terrifying black-and-white mask. It was Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Upon landing, Mayuri looked around, surveying the city that had been turned into a purgatory. Surprise colored his face.
"Even though we knew the Quincy were in the shadows of the Seireitei, I didn't expect them to create such a massive place right under our noses."
"A pity. After today, the Quincy will cease to exist."
Mayuri shook his head with a look of mock regret.
Ren listened to the tremors erupting from all directions; the battle must have reached the vicinity of the palace.
Seeing that the palace was still standing and guarded by Soldat, he assumed the main army hadn't arrived yet—just a few individuals.
Sensing the area carefully, he understood. It was Kaido and Big Mom fighting against the powerhouses among the Quincy.
Nearby, he could also feel Ace's surging spiritual pressure as he engaged in battle.
Ren was well aware of their strength and believed they wouldn't lose, so he stopped paying them much attention.
"Mayuri, relax. I'll leave some Quincy for your experiments."
Mayuri's eyes lit up. "Could you leave a few more? Preferably alive?"
"That depends on how things go."
Ren waved his hand and stepped over the corpses of the Soldat, heading into the palace.
"Let's go. Come inside and have a look with me."
Leading only Shisui and Mayuri, Ren walked into the heart of the Quincy palace.
The palace gates were no match for Ren's advance; Shisui simply destroyed them with brute force.
Perhaps alerted by the previous guards, they were immediately met by squad after squad of Soldat rushing toward them.
Seeing the swarm of Quincy approaching like a tidal wave, fangs extended from Shisui's mouth, and scales faintly appeared on his neck and behind his ears.
"My Lord, please wait a moment."
He held out his hand, his black fingernails as sharp as blades, glowing with faint white light as he formed a hand-sword.
Shisui stepped forward, his other hand gripping his Zanpakuto.
Just as he was about to slaughter the Quincy, Ren stopped him.
"Shisui, there are so many of them. It'll take too much effort for you to deal with them. Let me."
Seeing Ren step forward, Shisui nodded slightly and retreated, giving up the stage.
He knew his master's power. Although there were many Quincy, they wouldn't even count as an obstacle.
Ren watched as the Quincy ahead notched their arrows and manifested their Reishi blades, launching an assault from all sides.
He slowly raised his hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together and pointing forward.
"Dismantle!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dense series of slicing sounds filled the air. The Quincy were struck by invisible slashes, their bodies falling apart before they could even get close.
"Ah—!"
"What kind of attack is this—!"
"Quick, report this—!"
The air filled with screams and cries.
In the blink of an eye, the chaotic noise stopped abruptly. Not a single Quincy remained standing.
The air was suddenly heavy with the thick scent of blood!
The once quiet and clean palace was now stained crimson, leaving behind nothing but a floor of neatly sliced meat.
Only Ren and his two companions remained breathing.
Covering his nose, Ren frowned, a mix of satisfaction and disgust on his face.
"Sukuna's ability is useful, but using it to kill enemies makes the scene far too bloody."
"It would be nice to have an ability that could just erase the enemy directly."
Hearing this, Mayuri shook his long fingernail and spoke with a hint of helplessness.
"Isn't that what fighting is? It always ends up in a bloody mess."
"True enough."
Ren nodded, deciding not to dwell on such a minor detail.
Shisui suddenly reminded him, "My Lord, didn't we come here to find Yhwach's body? Next time we run into enemies, we should leave one alive to give us directions."
Ren waved his hand dismissively. "This is the palace of the Wandenreich. There are plenty of Quincy. We'll find another one."
Just as the three were about to move past the pile of remains, a crisp sound suddenly rang out.
Bang!
Hearing that familiar sound, Ren recognized it instantly. It was a gunshot!
The moment he sensed the attack, Ren vanished from the spot.
A hole the size of a bowl appeared in the ground exactly where he had been standing.
Seeing the attack, Shisui and Mayuri reacted instantly, using Shunpo to reposition.
They moved to the side of the walls, using the decorations to hide their presence.
"A sniper from a distance!"
"It's probably that birdman with the piercing ability!"
Shisui and Mayuri looked at the hole left by the attack and immediately deduced the enemy's identity.
Likely, the opponent had learned of their intrusion and rushed over to snipe them from afar.
Mayuri peeked his head out to scan the area, only to realize that Ren was no longer there.
His face darkened instantly. "Where did Lord Ren go?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]