Falmart World, Designation No.0008.
The sky gradually darkened as another evening descended.
By now, Garp, Shiki, and the others had already returned to the Nuclear Weapons World.
Meanwhile, on the northern side of Alnus Hill, at Italica—
—the war between the shinobi and the magicians still raged with unrelenting fury.
The varied lights of ninjutsu and magic rose and fell in rapid succession.
Explosions echoed without pause, mingled with endless, harrowing screams.
High above, amidst the blood-red clouds of dusk, silver and blue bolts of lightning crisscrossed in a furious tangle—each strike colliding, bursting, dissipating, only to repeat again and again.
Time slipped by unnoticed, carried along with the deepening darkness of night.
With every passing moment, more lives were snuffed out across the battlefield.
Suddenly, the rumbling of thunder overhead had vanished.
This abrupt change made both sides of the battlefield unconsciously slow their movements, raising their heads to peer into the night sky.
In the next instant—
—when the scene above became clear, both shinobi and magicians were visibly shaken.
In the night sky—
Old A, his entire body cloaked in Lightning Release chakra, was gripping Sage Cato's throat with one hand.
With his other hand, he had pierced clean through the mage's abdomen and withdrawn it.
No blood flowed, for the wound had already been cauterized by the scorching high-voltage current.
"To withstand even my Double Lariat is no small feat… but in the end, you still could not resist the 'Strongest Spear'!"
Old A raised his right hand, only the index finger extended, and held it before Cato's body.
Cato's lightning magic, his defensive wards—
—all had been forcefully pierced through by Old A's One-Finger Nukite. He was slain on the spot.
[Bang!]
Old A steadied himself in the air with Moon Step. With one hand he conjured a lightning clone, then handed Cato's corpse to it.
"Seal him in a scroll and find a place to bury him later."
Although Cato had crippled his son's limbs, filling him with rage—
—now that his enemy was dead, the fury was spent. What remained was only respect for a fallen strong one.
"Understood."
The lightning clone nodded and descended with the body.
Meanwhile, Old A's gaze turned sharp as steel.
He swept his eyes across the battlefield, glaring down at the magicians, and his thunderous voice rang out: "Your Sage is dead!"
"Lay down your staffs and surrender at once! Do so, and this old man will spare your lives!"
After a pause, he barked another order: "All shinobi, heed this—if anyone resists or attempts to flee, kill them without mercy!"
"Yes!!!"
From city to countryside, farmland to hills to riverbanks, shinobi raised their voices in thunderous reply.
The magicians' faces grew even more ashen.
Some, in despair, let their staffs fall to the ground.
They did not want to die. They did not want never to see their families again.
But others, unwilling to be captured, tried to flee back to Rondel to deliver word of this disaster to Sage Magnus.
For those who tried to flee, Yūhi Shinku, Uchiha Tekka, and the others showed no mercy.
Following Old A's orders, they pursued and cut them down on the spot.
Even so, the magicians had the advantage of numbers—and with their flying staffs, a few still managed to escape.
Moments later, they contacted the Auxiliary Corps at Alnus Hill, handing over the prisoners along with their fallen comrades and the heavily wounded.
Several shinobi squads were left behind to guard them.
Old A then led the rest of the shinobi force, gave them a short rest, and once again pressed forward toward the magic metropolis of Rondel.
...
Starfish Underworld.
Inside the Central Assembly Hall within the Court of Souls—compared to the earlier desolate silence, the place now brimmed with vitality.
As the Hall gates—etched with strange and intricate patterns—swung open, the figure of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo appeared, urn in hand.
What met Hagoromo's eyes was Imu, seated casually upon an obsidian throne, and beside him, Enma, obediently holding the two-tailed in her arms.
He advanced until he was about 20 meters from the high platform. He bent slightly at the waist and respectfully announced:
"Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, comes to pay respects to Lord Imu!"
"Mm. You've worked hard. Have you brought all the main gods?"
Imu leaned his cheek against one fist, gazing at him with a calm, steady look.
"Lord Imu, with the exception of Duncan, the God of Flame and Smithing, the souls of the other ten main gods are all here."
Hagoromo raised the sealing urn in offering.
"What about Duncan?"
"Lord Imu, the Warrior God Garp said—"
Hagoromo hastened to explain the situation.
"In that case, let it be. Forget it."
Imu gave a faint smile, utterly unconcerned with Garp's willful behavior.
Such a trivial matter—hardly worth notice.
"Very well. Let's see these so-called gods."
"Yes, Lord Imu!"
At the command, Hagoromo immediately unsealed the urn. Channeling chakra, he released the ten main gods sealed within.
From the urn, streaks of multicolored light burst forth, one after another, striking the smooth floor before him.
Each god was tightly bound by a Binding Rope of Gold, unable to stir the divine power born of faith within them.
"What is this place?!"
"Ahhh! Let me go! Please, I beg you, let me go!"
"What are you going to do with us?!"
"I am a god—you are a god too! Even if defeated, we deserve respect!"
Zufmuut, Deldort and the others—these deities erupted into shouting the instant they appeared, thrashing wildly.
"Noisy!"
At that moment, a cold snort—aloof and commanding—suddenly echoed through the vast hall.
[BOOM————]
In an instant, a chilling, merciless aura of pale gold descended, pressing down upon the bodies and souls of every main god present.
[Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!]
In that moment—even Emroy, even Flare—
—all of them were forced to the ground by an overwhelming power, pinned against the floor.
"This—?!"
"How could this be possible!!"
They could no longer speak, yet every inch of their flesh stung as if pierced by countless invisible blades.
And deep within their consciousness, waves of agony battered them like a storm of the spirit.
Horror surged through their hearts, their expressions shifting drastically.
With eyes filled with dread, shock, rage, and terror, they all turned in disbelief toward the same direction.
At the top of the steps, Imu sat casually upon the obsidian throne, his indifferent gaze locked upon the gods below.
On the floor beneath him, Emroy—forced down, straining with all her might yet unable to move—wore a face ashen with fury.
She could feel it: Imu bore divinity, and divine power as well.
And his nature was similar—akin to hers, akin to Hardy's.
That could only mean this figure too was a god of the Underworld.
But why did he possess such a terrifying aura?
"Father, how do you plan to deal with them?"
Standing one step below the throne, Enma asked with a mischievous smile.
"Erase their consciousness, refine them into Philosopher's Stones, and then combine those with other materials to forge Teigu. Since their souls inherently carry divinity, the result should prove quite effective."
Imu calmly revealed the decision he had already settled upon.
"What!!!"
The main gods, all forced flat upon the floor in humiliation, gaped in disbelief.
Despair, terror, and even faint glimmers of pleading flooded their eyes.
But under the crushing weight of Imu's Haki, not a single one could give voice to their cries.
"This time you have done well. I will allow you to choose one of the Six Paths Ninja Tools, and I shall enhance its quality for you."
"Thank you, Lord Imu, for your boundless grace."
After a moment's thought, Hagoromo pointed toward the bound gods below.
"During this mission, I found this Binding Rope of Gold most useful. I humbly ask you to strengthen its power for me."
"Very well." Imu nodded in agreement. "Then I shall take it for now."
The moment the words left his mouth, he straightened and raised his right hand toward the ten main gods cowering below, their faces twisted in terror.
[Hum————]
A bright white light suddenly flared from the back of his hand.
The space surrounding the deities and their spirit-bodies visibly warped, drawn inexorably into Imu's palm by a powerful gravitational pull.
"No, no, no, no!!"
As the pressure of his Haki lifted, the gods at last managed to scream, their wails echoing through the hall.
Yet it was all in vain.
In the blink of an eye, nothing remained on the floor but the lone "Dark Knight," Mars.
Unbothered by the shock flashing in Hagoromo's eyes, Imu withdrew his hand with calm indifference.
"Enma, reforge this Mars into something usable as well. I'll leave it to you."
"Yes, Father!"
Enma agreed with delight.
Imu then turned to Hagoromo below. "Your task is finished. Return."
"As you command, Lord Imu. Your vassal, the Sage of Six Paths, takes his leave."
Hagoromo's bearing seemed even more reverent than before.
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