The Palace of the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
Among the five great nations, this was by far the largest and most luxurious palace.
It occupied nearly a third of the entire capital.
Its many grand halls were nothing short of majestic in the shinobi world.
And yet now, this once resplendent and opulent palace was engulfed in a thick purple haze, its grounds littered with corpses.
A distinct, though not overpowering, stench of blood lingered in every corner.
[BOOM!]
The slanted roof of the grandest main hall, made from hiwada-buki, was suddenly blown apart from the inside by a massive force.
In an instant, the entire building collapsed, sending out a deafening roar and a cloud of thick smoke.
[Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—]
Dozens of blurred afterimages burst forth from within, each employing extraordinary techniques to escape before the structure was reduced to rubble.
The moment they emerged, they split into two factions and landed on the open ground outside.
Almost as if by tacit agreement, they charged toward their respective chosen opponents and engaged in fierce combat.
Just then, Levi—having only just returned from the 'Zero Magic World'—
Was zipping through the air using his well-practiced Moonwalk, all while unleashing various sword forms of 'Breath of Wind' with his dual blades.
He faced two 'Guardian Shinobi' whose strength rivaled elite jōnin—alone.
From time to time, he would also deploy his Devil Fruit ability to block incoming Fire Release and Lightning Release attacks,
Filling the battlefield with dazzling, multicolored, dreamlike bubbles.
Elsewhere—
Lubbock, whose original world was the 'Teigu World',
Was engaged in a vicious close-quarters fight in the corner of a palace hall.
He controlled a vast number of threads produced by his Teigu,
Clashing with a Guardian Shinobi adept in Wind Release and swordsmanship.
The pink spear shadows clashed constantly with blades shrouded in wind chakra.
Sparks flew wildly amid the clashing metallic sounds of ding ding clang clang.
Elsewhere—
Merraid had run into trouble.
A massive black swarm of insects circled around Merraid like a living cloud.
The insects resembled black beetles of various types, but each had a pair of fast-vibrating, translucent elytra, producing a constant buzzing sound.
They were insect-type artificial alchemic Danger Beasts—
Yet even such a terrifying swarm
Had so far been unable to break through the defenses in front of them, unable to even graze the daimyō of the Land of Fire who was hiding behind.
At that moment, three Guardian Shinobi stood protectively around the trembling daimyō.
Among them was a bald monk who introduced himself as the abbot of the Fire Temple—
With his right palm held flat in front of his abdomen, and his left hand raised vertically before his chest,
He stood calmly, facing Merraid—
An aura of quiet authority radiating from him, matching the crimson Vajra manifestation that had appeared behind him.
No matter how many dark, buzzing insects Merraid sent forward,
Each wave was effortlessly crushed midair by those floating crimson fist auras,
"Hmph. What a tough turtle shell. In that case, don't blame me for stepping in personally!"
Merraid's expression darkened.
In a flash, her figure vanished from her original position and reappeared right in front of Abbot.
A barrage of crimson fists came hurtling toward her.
[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]
She fluttered gracefully between the red fists, letting all the attacks crash harmlessly onto the ground—
Each impact gouged massive craters into the earth.
"Sorry, sweetie—but I don't go for monks."
Merraid finally closed the distance, and with a cold glint in her eye, raised her right leg in its high-heeled shoe,
Coating it in Armament Haki before driving a heavy kick toward Abbot at point-blank range.
[Thud!]
However, the powerful strike was blocked directly by the hovering crimson Vajra.
Though a few cracks appeared on its surface, the construct itself remained completely unshaken.
Merraid's expression changed drastically.
She immediately used Shave to evade the flurry of incoming red fists from all directions,
Managing to re-establish some distance just in time.
"That's enough. Step back."
"I've already cleaned up the rest."
A cold voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
At the same time, a mass of violet-white gas surged between Abbot and Merraid.
"You—"
Merraid tried to argue for herself.
But the moment Amatori Biba's gaze swept over her—
Her entire body froze. She couldn't utter another word.
Even though she had once been a top-tier assassin in the Empire of the Teigu World,
She was no prodigy like Esdeath.
And her time within the World Government was still far too short.
Biba, showing no concern for Merraid's grim expression behind him,
Wore a calm, elegant smile as he looked toward Abbot, who remained in his defensive posture.
"How intriguing. Would you be so kind as to tell me more about this ability of yours, Master?"
"May I ask who you are?"
The abbot maintained his hand seal posture, his expression solemn as he studied the pink-haired man whose features were so refined that even he had to take note.
Years of meditation had honed his spiritual perception far beyond that of ordinary people.
Because of this, he could clearly sense the terrifying presence that surged from the man—immense, like a mountain or a vast ocean.
In the abbot's eyes, a spectral image of a massive purple-white serpent loomed behind Amatori Biba, confronting the crimson Vajra manifestation that stood silently behind himself.
"Captain of Cipher Pol No. 8 under the World Government—Amatori Biba," the man said with a faint smile as he introduced himself.
After finishing his introduction, Amatori Biba spoke again before Abbot could respond: "If I may, would you be willing to explain your abilities, Master? They seem quite different from a ninja's ninjutsu."
Because he more or less guessed what Abbot was about to say—
Like asking why they attacked the daimyō and other such pointless chatter.
"Mm."
The Abbot paused for a moment, then said, "This is the Gift of the Hermit Group Meditation Technique, a method passed down in our Temple of Fire since ancient times."
"It allows a person, through long-term training, to gradually perceive and control their own spiritual energy. That spiritual energy can then be used to draw on the surrounding natural forces and form a 'mental construct'."
"I am willing to offer this secret technique as an exchange."
So that's what this long speech was about—He was bargaining.
"Oh?"
Amatori Biba raised an eyebrow and smiled. "And what would the Master like in return?"
"The life of His Excellency the daimyō," He said solemnly. "The Temple of Fire has received the Land of Fire's patronage for nearly a thousand years. Now that disaster has struck, it is only right that we sacrifice everything to protect him."
"Master Abbot... sob..."
The Fire Daimyō behind him was moved to tears by these words.
Even the few remaining guardian shinobi around them cast looks of admiration at the old monk.
However, to Amatori Biba, this request was utterly impossible.
His mission was to assassinate the daimyō.
Which meant—not only could the Fire Daimyō not be allowed to live, even the Abbot had to die.
But Amatori Biba suddenly changed his mind.
He decided to take the Abbot alive.
He would extract the Meditation Technique, then let the higher-ups decide the monk's fate.
"All daimyōs in this world must die," Amatori Biba said coldly, rejecting the Abbot's offer without hesitation.
The words had barely left his lips—
And as the Abbot's face changed dramatically, Amatori Biba struck without warning.
[Shing!]
The golden-hilted longsword at his waist was drawn in an instant.
The blade was pitch black, like ink, with glowing red patterns snaking along its surface like pulsing veins.
But in the blink of an eye, it flashed into a streak of purple-white light and slashed forward.
The crimson Vajra behind the Abbot reappeared and hurled out a barrage of fists—
The entire scene played out like a hot knife through butter.
Be it the flurry of punches or the Vajra's body itself—
All were effortlessly split apart. Yet the slash stopped with absolute precision just one centimetre from the Abbot's nose.
While the old monk was still dazed—
That slash, now hovering mere millimetres from him, suddenly exploded into a thick cloud of purple-white gas.
A tendril of the gas slithered out like a spirit snake and darted into his nostrils.
The Abbot's vision went black immediately.
He collapsed on the spot, unconscious.
"Master Abbot!!"
The two guardian shinobi nearby cried out in alarm.
But—
Amatori Biba's figure emerged from the gas cloud like a phantom.
As his sword flashed again—
The two guardian shinobi on either side had no chance to react.
In an instant, their heads were sent flying.
Two headless corpses collapsed beside the daimyō with two dull thumps.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
The Fire Daimyō screamed in pure terror.
As his wail of despair echoed, a pale yellow liquid spread beneath him.
The next second—
The daimyō, crawling and scrambling on the ground in a desperate attempt to escape—
Was quickly engulfed by the onrushing cloud of gas, swallowed whole in seconds.
"He's this strong?!"
Watching all of this unfold, Merraid covered her mouth in shock.
"This guy might not quite be at the level of a military general, but he's definitely stronger than most lieutenant-generals, right?"
The key thing was—
As far as she knew—
Amatori Biba's original world was the Kabaneri World, a place devoid of any supernatural powers aside from the so-called Kabaneri.
And yet, a man born in such a powerless world—
Had grown this powerful in just a few short years!
"Bring the prisoner. We're heading to the next destination—the Land of Lightning."
Amatori Biba gave the order to Levi, who had just finished dealing with the two guardian shinobi.
Then he transformed into a swirl of purple-white gas and vanished into thin air.
Moments later—
Screams of horror rang out in the capital of the Land of Fire.
"His Excellency the daimyō is dead!!!"
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