Inside Qin's Nation.
A crowd had gathered in front of the Divine Nation's Tower. At the very front stood Gandalf, Chief of the Parliamentary Institute. Behind him were the current members of the institute, now numbering over a hundred, while the elite forces from various worlds lined both sides.
By now, the Parliamentary Institute had recruited talented individuals from the Three Kingdoms World, the Dragon Emperor World, the Naruto World, the One Piece World, the Sword and Fairy World, and many others.
It could be said that the Parliamentary Institute was where Qin's Nation's greatest talents gathered. After passing layer upon layer of selection, only the best students from each academy earned the right to take its entrance assessment.
"Chief Gandalf, Madara has been inside for quite a while now. Nothing's happened to him, has it?" Zhuge Liang asked with some concern.
Ever since the Underworld Realm had opened, anyone who cleared the first floor of the Divine Nation's Tower could enter it. Once inside, the realm's unique power could awaken the Hollowfication ability in certain people. Those who succeeded would experience a dramatic surge in strength.
Before this, large numbers of people from Qin's Nation had already entered the Underworld Realm and successfully completed their Hollowfication.
Not long ago, Madara and his group had returned to Qin's Nation. They were covered in wounds and looked thoroughly battered, leaving everyone wondering what kind of place could injure them so badly.
But the moment they heard they could become even stronger, Madara and the others had entered the Underworld Realm one after another, without even resting in Qin's Nation.
By now, a few people had already come back out, but there was still no sign of Madara, Whitebeard, or the rest.
"Madara is incredibly powerful. He's always been among the strongest in the Divine Nation. He'll be fine," Gandalf said in a deep voice. "What we should be thinking about is how much stronger he'll be after completing his Hollowfication."
Behind him, the members of the Uchiha Clan all wore expectant expressions. Standing at the very front was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy with black hair and black eyes, looking calm and composed.
"Itachi, aren't you going in? With your talent, I'm sure your strength would improve beyond recognition," Uchiha Fugaku said casually, standing ahead of him with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
"I'll wait until all the seniors come out before I go in." Itachi paused, a flicker crossing his eyes as he asked, "Father... I heard His Majesty plans to gather every expert in the nation and send them into that world. Are we going too?"
"Of course we are. Why do you think we're all standing here? Neither our world nor Whitebeard's world has fully entered the Shinigami Realm yet. We're waiting for those few people," Fugaku replied.
As he spoke, he glanced toward Marco and the others nearby. Their appearances varied greatly, and each carried the unmistakable aura of the sea.
As some of the earliest people to join this world, they had advanced alongside the Divine Nation from the very beginning, constantly growing stronger without pause.
After such a long period of peace, countless outstanding talents had emerged. The Naruto World alone had produced Itachi, Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and many others.
These rising stars had achieved an astonishing amount in a very short time, already matching many of Qin's Nation's top experts. However, because they lacked seniority, they couldn't undergo Hollowfication ahead of everyone else and had to wait their turn.
At that moment, a man wearing a black uniform with short black hair slowly walked out of the Divine Nation's Tower, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"That's..."
Everyone turned to look. After recognizing him, they were all slightly surprised, and strange expressions appeared on their faces.
"Shuu Ouma, how do you feel?" Gandalf asked with a smile.
"Chief Gandalf." Seeing so many people gathered in front of the Divine Nation's Tower, Shuu Ouma was briefly stunned before walking over and greeting him softly. He glanced at the groups on both sides, hesitated for a moment, then said, "It feels... strange."
"Strange?"
His answer caught Gandalf and the members of the Parliamentary Institute off guard. Even the staff nearby, who had been busily tapping away at their keyboards while recording test data, looked up in surprise.
"Why does it feel strange? According to our tests, after your Hollowfication, you're able to fight opponents two levels above your own. That's the highest combat potential we've recorded so far," one of the staff members said seriously. "You could say your current state is nearly perfect."
"What I mean by strange is... after my Hollowfication, my ability seems to have changed," Shuu Ouma said with a solemn expression.
As he spoke, he raised his right hand. A pale blue, crystal-like light gathered around it, and an ancient-looking sword slowly formed in his grasp, its blade shimmering beautifully under the sunlight.
"Changed how?" Gandalf asked, glancing curiously at the sword.
"My ability lets me manifest the hearts of others and use their power. But after Hollowfication... it evolved," Shuu explained.
"Evolved?" Everyone looked at him in confusion.
"That's right. I can feel that the power I draw from others has become purer... and much stronger. Now, I don't just manifest their power anymore, I can directly use their abilities. And because of that, my own strength has increased by leaps and bounds," Shuu said in a deep voice.
Gandalf narrowed his eyes, then immediately turned toward the staff. "Read out his latest combat data."
The staff quickly pulled up the updated results. The moment they saw them, every one of them froze, their expressions changing dramatically.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, one of them began reading.
"Shuu Ouma, from the Guilty Crown World. Strength before the Underworld Realm was established: Starlight Level 1. Status: Qin's Nation's... His Majesty's brother-in-law."
The moment he reached that line, strange expressions appeared on everyone's faces. They wanted to laugh, but couldn't quite bring themselves to.
Shuu Ouma was definitely a unique figure in Qin's Nation.
Despite being the protagonist of an entire world, his personality was unusually gentle. Ever since joining Qin's Nation, his strength had remained near the bottom of the rankings. Compared to the ministers of the Imperial Palace, the gap was enormous.
So all this time, he had been someone with high status, but very little power.
"After Hollowfication, his strength has increased dramatically. In his normal state, he is now at Starlight Level 5. While Hollowfied, he reaches Starlight Level 7."
The final sentence made everyone's pupils contract. Every eye in the area immediately turned toward Shuu, leaving him scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Isn't Hollowfication only supposed to transform your state and amplify your existing power?" Marco asked in confusion. "How did even his base strength jump so much?"
No one answered. No one could.
Without a doubt, the changes to Shuu Ouma's strength were beyond anyone's understanding. But the results were undeniable.
Starlight Level 5 was already among the absolute strongest in Qin's Nation. His Hollowfication had completely turned his fate around, taking him from the very bottom straight to the top.
"Oh ho ho ho! Shuu, you've really outdone yourself," Gandalf laughed as he patted him on the shoulder. "This time, you'll be able to help His Majesty too."
Shuu scratched the back of his head again and grinned sheepishly. "You're giving me too much credit, Chief Gandalf. I honestly don't know how this happened."
"There are many things in this world that have no explanation," Gandalf smiled. "You don't need to understand them. Just accept them and use them to create your own value. Now return to your group. We'll wait for Madara and the others to come out."
Shuu nodded and headed toward the group from the Guilty Crown World.
Compared to the other worlds, the experts from his world were naturally at a disadvantage. They had started later, joined Qin's Nation later, and still needed time to grow.
But now that Shuu Ouma had reached the unprecedented peak of Starlight Level 7, everyone from the Guilty Crown World couldn't help but celebrate.
(End of Chapter)
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