Inside the jolting carriage, Uchiha Kaede was still immersed in a meticulous process of convalescence, with both Shiraishi and Unohana Retsu pooling their efforts to treat him.
"Splitting the soul to manifest multiple individual entities... this secret technique is truly miraculous. Yet, the most unexpected variable is that your original soul's fundamental density has not been weakened because of it; it has actually grown stronger."
The residual backlash of the Reaper Death Seal left Kaede's mind constantly foggy and heavy.
Despite Shiraishi's persistent medical intervention, the structural damage inflicted upon his soul kept his overall condition highly volatile.
Unohana Retsu observed the dynamic between Shiraishi and Kaede with profound interest. While she did not possess the manic disposition of a mad scientist like Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Shiraishi's unconventional state was far too glaring to ignore.
Having previously experienced the refinement of her own spiritual pressure via the Heavenly Curse of the five Phantoms, Unohana had deduced Kaede's true structural origins the exact millisecond she first laid eyes on him.
Even so, witnessing a methodology that allowed a singular existence to fracture into five entirely autonomous soul structures felt like an absolute masterwork of divine craftsmanship.
However, when it came to matters concerning the structural equilibrium of the soul, Unohana was, in a sense, far more textually synchronized with the subject than Shiraishi. "What he requires at this exact microsecond is a method to permanently anchor his spiritual vessel's frequency. As a Shinigami, managing this particular parameter falls squarely within my baseline expertise."
"Then I shall trouble you with it..."
To have one's soul severely fractured by the Death God of this world, only to be systematically repaired by a Death God from an entirely foreign universe—the fundamental reality of this world was nothing short of absolute madness.
Putting Shiraishi's internal musings aside, Unohana gripped the pommel base of her Zanpakuto and gently pressed it against Kaede's forehead.
Almost instantly, a specialized kanji character flared to life across Kaede's brow.
It was then that Unohana initiated a highly unique Soul-Anchoring Konso Chant, releasing a subtle, serene wave of spiritual pressure that bathed Kaede's entire physical vessel.
Among the baseline classifications of a Shinigami's capabilities, the primary duty was the guidance of souls, split fundamentally into Konso (Soul Burial) and Purification.
However, given the anomalous parameters of Kaede's condition, Unohana bypassed standard protocols to deploy a third, exceptionally rare Soul-Soothing Requiem Methodology.
The Requiem Chant was engineered exclusively to stabilize spiritual entities whose natural lifespans had not reached their mathematical conclusion, but who had inadvertently experienced structural desynchronization from their physical vessels.
Consequently, for an elite captain of Unohana's caliber, executing this technique required a negligible expenditure of spiritual energy; it was effectively an extension of her baseline physiological instincts.
As the specialized light illuminated the interior of the transport carriage, Shiraishi watched with compounding intrigue.
The innate capabilities possessed by this foreign Shinigami were exceptionally diverse, proving far more versatile than the native entity of his own world, which seemed entirely limited to executing suicidal sealing contracts.
"To be formally designated as a sovereign deity of death, an entity must naturally possess its own unique, absolute authority."
Perceiving Shiraishi's train of thought, Unohana systematically retraced her Zanpakuto.
A trace of physiological fatigue and pallor washed over her features; despite being categorized as a fundamental chant, the localized drain on her spiritual pressure was exponentially higher than she had initially anticipated, leaving her temporarily depleted.
"The death deity you encountered tonight is likely a specialized localized projection acting as a medium for the Pure Land. Consequently, the threshold of capabilities it can actively manifest is heavily constrained, limited almost entirely to the raw sealing of standard souls."
From Unohana's perspective, the structural laws governing the Three Realms within this ninja world were actually significantly more rigid than those of the Soul Society.
At the very least, it prevented a chaotic accumulation of stray spirits from routinely breaching the barrier into the living world, indicating a highly stable dimensional equilibrium.
Conversely, the mortal plane of this universe was an absolute chaotic landscape, saturated with an endless sequence of bizarre ninjutsu formulas and specialized forbidden arts designed specifically to manipulate and desecrate the souls of the deceased.
It was a reality that frequently caused Unohana to quietly sigh at the sheer disorder of the world.
Nevertheless, because the treatment originated from a definitive master of soul mechanics, the structural output was nothing short of spectacular.
Kaede's highly volatile spiritual frequency stabilized entirely under her care, and within a short duration, he possessed enough physical coordination to weakly stand and move around.
"What is the current structural completion status of the Sharingan Orb?"
A few hours later, the very first sentence that left Kaede's lips upon reclaiming consciousness was an inquiry regarding the orb.
After all, having absorbed the concentrated ocular power of so many fallen Uchiha clansmen on the Night of the Extermination, the raw energy within the asset had compounded exponentially.
Unfortunately, because he had been locked in a lethal deathmatch against the Third Hokage at the time, Kaede had possessed zero luxury to personally oversee its stabilization.
"It has fundamentally solidified into its baseline form. However, because it aggressively harvested ocular energy under those exact catastrophic parameters, the underlying malice accumulated within the orb's dark aspect is far too dense.
Excessive deployment will inevitably warp the user's cognitive equilibrium."
The final structural integration of the Sharingan Orb had been finalized inside Kaede's physical system.
Immediately after extracting Kaede from the battlefield, Shiraishi had systematically uncoupled the device from his chest.
The sheer volume of negative, volatile energy packed within the core had caused even Shiraishi's pulse to quicken in alarm, prompting him to deploy a high-tier sealing scroll to temporarily isolate the artifact.
Having settled the status of the orb, Kaede lapsed into a brief, contemplative silence before speaking. "Moving forward... I will not be returning to Sunagakure."
Sharing a singular cognitive foundation, Shiraishi understood Kaede's underlying intent instantly. "You intend to embed yourself within Akatsuki?"
"Mmh. The Hidden Sand's localized Tailed Beast Capture Campaign is preparing to go live, but on the public stage, we still require Akatsuki to act as our primary strategic shield.
Although they have formally finalized an alliance with the Hidden Stone, Nagato is fundamentally not the type of individual who will ever tamely submit to the authority of the Tsuchikage."
Akatsuki's core operational directive was the systematic collection of the Tailed Beasts. While they had been forced to coordinate with the Hidden Stone to secure the One-Tails, the remaining entities were distributed across entirely separate shinobi capitals.
Consequently, a faction of that nature would never permanently align its long-term interests with any singular hidden village.
Furthermore, putting the public figurehead of Nagato aside, the masked operative masquerading as Uchiha Madara—who was, in architectural reality, Uchiha Obito—remained an asset that required constant, high-priority surveillance.
Compared to an erratic variable like Deidara, Kaede's psychological profile was exponentially better suited to insinuate itself into Obito's immediate operational circle.
Returning to the Land of Wind now would accomplish nothing more than anchoring him as the political patriarch of a displaced Uchiha remnant, while simultaneously drawing the undivided, immediate wrath of Konoha directly toward the Sand's borders.
Conversely, by embedding himself as a rogue element within Akatsuki, he could position himself as an absolute tactical wedge driven cleanly between the Hidden Stone and the Hidden Leaf.
"The mathematical probability of Akatsuki and the Hidden Stone deepening their tactical coordination is exceptionally high. Maintain absolute vigilance across all parameters."
At that remark, Kaede let out a low, amused chuckle. "Rest easy. Deidara is already firmly anchored within their infrastructure. Focus your entire computational capacity on your primary blueprint."
Following their brief structural alignment, Kaede stepped down from the command carriage, making his way toward the civilian transport vehicles to conduct a brief, formal explanation and farewell to the surviving clansmen.
It had to be said that as the current military commander of the surviving Uchiha remnants, Kaede commanded an absolute, unshakeable tier of prestige in their eyes.
This was especially true following the cataclysmic firestorm his engineered sun had unleashed upon Konoha; he had effectively granted the clan a massive, long-overdue release of the suffocating oppression they had endured beneath the Leaf's administration for decades.
When Kaede formally clarified that high-priority external directives prevented him from establishing a permanent presence within the Land of Wind for the time being, the vast majority of the clansmen expressed absolute administrative comprehension.
After all, such was the baseline reality of a shinobi's existence—the absolute fulfillment of the assignment always superseded personal considerations.
Amidst the departing crowd, Uchiha Kei watched Kaede's silhouette with a sharp, intensely focused gaze, an unadulterated tier of raw adoration and reverence gleaming within his eyes.
Gently taking hold of the hand of Izumi—who was several years his senior—Kei hardened his internal resolve. "Izumi-nee... in the future, I will mathematically ensure that I become an absolute powerhouse, exactly like Lord Kaede."
"Mmh, I have absolute faith in you..."
Finding her hand suddenly enclosed by the young boy's grip, a brief, uncharacteristic flutter stirred within Izumi's chest, though she rapidly restored her external composure.
In the current landscape of her mind, her emotional focus remained entirely anchored upon Uchiha Itachi. As for young Kei standing beside her, she merely perceived him through the lens of a younger brother.
Deep within the absolute baseline of Shiraishi's consciousness, nestled within the silent, mysterious grand palace, the six-dimensional mirrors hovering in a synchronous orbital circle began to violently resonate once more, casting complex patterns of radiant light across the void.
At that exact millisecond, the surface of the third mirror erupted with a blinding, majestic luminescence.
Scenes of unadulterated slaughter, visceral bloodbaths, calculated betrayals, and absolute vengeance flickered across the glass in high-velocity succession.
Countless colossal, primordial monstrosities shook the foundations of the earth with their sheer kinetic mass; before the absolute physical dominance of these titanic entities, the civilizations of mankind appeared heartbreakingly fragile and insignificant.
Suddenly, a brilliant, singular lance of white light sliced through the heavens of that reality, completely vaporizing and purifying the infinite horde of monstrosities beneath its path, leaving behind a wake of endless salvation and absolute redemption...
With a violent convulsion of his consciousness, Shiraishi's eyes snapped open as he surged backward into reality, completely stunned.
The third world had officially localized!
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