In this moment, Elder Murakami truly felt the kind of deep, primal fear he had never experienced before.
That terrifying monster gave off a level of malice and power that was off the charts. He had never seen anything like it—not even imagined something like this could exist in the world.
The amount of chakra in the Red Force wasn't that high, but that didn't matter anymore. Its appearance alone had already broken everyone's understanding of the world.
The Red Force was originally just a regular ship made from a divine tree's branch. Some leftover malice from the Ten Tails was normal.
To be honest, normal people might be scared out of their minds by that kind of malice, but to real powerhouses, it wasn't a big deal.
These sages were the top fighters in the ninja world. Not a single one of them was weak. Even Yoshimura, who had attacked Amado, was an incredibly powerful sage.
A fighter like that in the normal Fourth Ninja War would've dominated the battlefield single-handedly. He had power that could even stand up to Six Paths level opponents, or take down someone like Obito.
Yoshimura wasn't weak at all. He had amazing survival skills, strange attack methods, top-level taijutsu, and terrifying perception.
A guy like that in the regular war? How do you even beat him? It's hard to imagine him ever losing.
Elder Murakami wasn't weak either. He was an extremely powerful sage, one of the top-tier ones in every way. As an elder among that group of ancient sages, he was even stronger than Yoshimura.
But even Elder Murakami felt a massive threat to his life when facing this monster.
The divine tree's power in the Red Force didn't really matter to sages—or any real powerhouse for that matter.
But the Red Force wasn't just a divine tree, and it wasn't just a piece of the Ten Tails. It was also Shanks's ship.
When Shanks was targeted by the world's will, the Red Force also became part of his will—the "Red Will." In fact, you could even say it became a very important part of it.
That's why in front of Shanks, the Red Force always acted like it was dead. Simply put, Shanks had a natural hold over it, and the Red Force fully accepted Shanks as its captain.
At this point, the Red Force now held the power of two wills. Even if it didn't have much chakra, that didn't matter—chakra is one thing, but how much power it could actually use was something else.
When Shanks stepped into the Dragon Vein cluster and caught the attention of the world's will, and the Red Force was also locked on by it, everything changed.
That's because the world's will realized this thing came from the same source as something that had attacked it thousands of years ago—and it immediately locked onto it.
The Red Force didn't understand what was going on, but once it got hit with that kind of "destiny-like" force, what else could it do but run?
Not only did it run, but the key part was that when the world's will descended, the "Red Will" inside the Red Force also woke up. At the same time, the Red Force's own divine tree will started growing rapidly.
By then, it was just acting on instinct. Normally, a divine tree wouldn't even get this much attention from the world's will.
But the Red Force had gone straight to the heart of the world's will—and it also had Shanks's will on board. That made the situation a whole lot messier.
Three different wills got tangled up inside the Red Force all at once. The Red Force basically "ascended on the spot" and took off running.
As for holding a grudge? With its level of awareness, that wasn't even the point. It wasn't about revenge—Amado just happened to also carry a part of the "Red Will," and on top of that, he was weak. So the Red Force caught him and tried to drag him down too.
At this moment, the Red Force had already become, in the eyes of all the sages, a monster far more terrifying than the Ten-Tails.
"What… is that?!"
"What kind of monster is that?!"
A horrifying power surged up from the sea. Red sand fell onto the ocean, turning the water into solid red ground in an instant. And that power was still spreading.
"Boom!!"
The violent energy slammed into the island's barrier. Cracks appeared in an instant. It was like the sky went completely dark, as if all the light had been crushed.
A figure burst out from the barrier, and a powerful voice echoed out.
"Hold the barrier! Don't let it fall apart!!"
At that moment, Fukuda Kiyomu couldn't stay calm anymore.
Luckily, he had been prepared for this.
"That thing… it's insane!!"
"The will coming off of it completely blocks out all sensing skills. You can't pick up anything at all."
"Has that kid Yoshimura already trained his Observation Haki to this level?"
Fukuda Kiyomu was shaken by how terrifying the Red Force was—and also by how powerful Yoshimura's Observation Haki had become.
Such a monstrous force, and yet Yoshimura still picked up on it. Even if he didn't fully sense it, it was still incredible.
In this era, the sages had grown to such an unbelievable level.
"Bang!!"
A huge burst of power erupted from Fukuda Kiyomu's body.
The air under his feet cracked apart. The red sand on the ground was torn open by sheer force. His legs doubled in size in an instant.
His muscles exploded with power, and the natural energy inside his body turned into white steam.
"Nature Release—First Gear—On!!"
His muscles swelled. The Senjutsu chakra of a sage poured back into him, and his hair instantly turned white.
At the same time, he vanished from sight.
Ripples of energy swept past him, but his body smashed straight through them. He spread his arms wide, and forcibly held those shattered waves of power in place.
One person tore open a path from the island, blasting out a road nearly a kilometer wide.
All the sages on the island let out a breath of relief—but even so, they were still in a bad state.
"Hold steady!! The World Will has arrived!"
"The will of the Earthly Immortal Kingdom is using this island as its base—it's about to ascend!"
The sages sent from the World Government directly called forth the will of the Earthly Immortal Kingdom. At that very moment, Chiriku had just finished his term as Marine Fleet Admiral.
The power of the Earthly Immortal Kingdom descended on Chiriku. With the title of Marine Fleet Admiral, he became the official representative of the World Government—and a part of the Earthly Immortal Kingdom.
Chiriku's strength surged rapidly. And because of the complex situation in the New World, the sages in Water Capital could also feel the feedback from the Earthly Immortal Kingdom's power. Its will had fully taken shape in that moment.
The real battle began.
High above the island in the New World, a projection of the Earthly Immortal Kingdom's will appeared. That phantom-like power took a clear shape—a massive palace floating above a high platform.
A huge "仙" (sage) character appeared above the palace.
White light rained down onto the sages of the Earthly Immortal Kingdom. With its power flowing back into them, over ten sages ascended right there on the spot. Strong life energy and natural power filled the island.
Not far from the island, on the battlefield, Fukuda Kiyomu had already stepped in.
Facing the Redverse, which was radiating terrifying malice and wrapped in countless wills, Fukuda Kiyomu charged forward, his hands tightening in an instant.
The force wrapped around his hands pulled out every ripple of energy on the battlefield, like grabbing countless threads at once.
"Secret Art: Fist of Severed Power!"
Fukuda Kiyomu's roar shattered the energy shockwaves across the field. In that moment, his fists collided with the Redverse.
The power of the strongest sage in the ninja world — true overwhelming force — fully erupted at that moment.
It was as if the whole battlefield had been lifted up by Fukuda Kiyomu's punch.
The elder Murakami and Yoshimura, who had barely been holding on just moments ago, were blown away by the aftershock. A powerful force and will descended, and the center of the battlefield began to crack layer by layer.
Boom!!
The sky — a huge piece of it shattered.
Right after, the Redverse broke through Fukuda Kiyomu's energy lock and slammed downward, dragging him along.
"Open!!!"
Fukuda Kiyomu didn't back down at all. He took the full hit from the Redverse with his body alone. Not only that, he also endured the twisted power coming from it.
"Gear_Second!! Mental Return!"
An even stronger burst of energy exploded from Fukuda Kiyomu. His warped mental power forcefully blocked the will coming from the Redverse.
"Roar!!"
The Redverse let out a thunderous roar that shook the sky. At that moment, it truly felt threatened.
A real, undeniable threat of death!!
The man standing before it… had the power to kill it.
Fukuda Kiyomu's strength had already broken through — or rather, he had long surpassed — into another level. He was now on the same level as Shanks, capable of directly attacking with willpower.
This was the strongest sage in the ninja world — not just of this era, but probably the strongest in the past few hundred years. A madman.
A madman who took the full force of the Redverse with his body.
Boom!!
The entire ship of the Redverse slammed into the sand.
A massive cloud of dust rose up. A figure was sent flying, bouncing several times across the sand before finally managing to stop.
Half of the Redverse's hull was now buried in the red sand.
It had definitely taken more damage than Fukuda Kiyomu. Fukuda Kiyomu didn't have any serious injuries, but that didn't mean he was unscathed.
Taking that kind of hit head-on — even though most of the Redverse's willpower had already faded at that moment — the strange force it carried still wasn't something easy to deal with.
But all of this was still within what Fukuda Kiyomu could handle.
Looking at Fukuda Kiyomu, who was now radiating warped energy all over, even Elder Murakami and Yoshimura, standing at the edge of the battlefield, felt a chill run down their spines.
This was the same madman who, a hundred years ago, hunted down other sages!
"That guy… actually took that monster's hit with his body!!"
Yoshimura was holding up Elder Murakami with one arm. Murakami's chest had caved in, and blood was still flowing out, but that wasn't the worst of it.
The real damage was from the parts of his body that had been corroded by willpower — those might take a year or two to heal.
"He's really grown this strong?"
Elder Murakami looked at Fukuda Kiyomu, his hair completely white, but there wasn't a trace of age on him. The aura, the presence he carried—it was just like when he was young.
Full of pride and arrogance!!
A madman among sages. The strongest among sages. The one who once dreamed of challenging the Sage of the Six Paths, yet disappeared for a hundred years.
"This era… has awakened that madman. He wants to challenge the Sage of the Six Paths… to become a sage even stronger than him.
To break free from the chains of a thousand years!!"
Elder Murakami clenched his teeth, paying no attention to his own injuries.
He had lived for so long, yet he knew that man better than he knew himself. That man… was once strong enough to dominate an entire era—a powerhouse who made even other sages take notice.
But… he couldn't accept it. Why… why wasn't it him?
Why couldn't a sage like him become someone like Fukuda Kiyomu? Was the gap between sages really that huge?
"Yoshimura, take Murakami to rest."
Fukuda Kiyomu's voice came through. His white hair floated in the air, and both of his hands were now covered in a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki. Dark haki patterns also spread across his face.
His eyes turned toward the distant Red Force, which was slowly rising. The ship's torn sails fluttered in the wind, and on those tattered sails, a red-haired skull with a wide grin was visible.
A ship… even just a ship, held such incredible power.
Fukuda Kiyomu looked at his hands. Through them, he saw the land beneath his feet.
"Shanks!"
"The New World… the red New World, huh? You're really full of yourself, Shanks."
Fukuda Kiyomu raised his head.
Behind him, Yoshimura also noticed the ship in the distance.
On the deck, a familiar face appeared—it was Amado.
The moment Yoshimura saw Amado, his pupils shrank slightly.
"So it's true. Even though it felt like we killed him… we didn't land a single real hit. We're just not on the same level."
"Elder Murakami, let's go."
Yoshimura helped up the unwilling Elder Murakami.
At that moment, Murakami looked at Fukuda Kiyomu again, then glanced toward the distant island and the faint outline of the celestial kingdom starting to appear.
He pushed himself up with all his strength.
"Fukuda!!"
"Why… tell me why!!"
Murakami didn't even know what he was asking. He didn't even know why he wanted to ask.
Fukuda Kiyomu answered in a calm voice.
"Because… you asked me to save you. That's the difference between us. Got it?"
"Go. Genichi is a clever guy. I never wanted common people to pay the price for my power.
But that doesn't mean Genichi is wrong."
"That's the difference… between me and all of you."
Fukuda Kiyomu spoke coldly. At the same time, something changed in his presence.
An ancient aura started to rise from his body.
His target: the Red Force!
No idea why, but whenever I insert an image into the main text, it turns into gibberish!!!
The surface Immortal Kingdom looks exactly like Marine HQ—no doubt about it, it's the Surface Immortal Kingdom's Ascension Platform! *[confirmed]*
Also, I wasn't drained dry by the trap, but Gray Wind is seriously way too cute—I wanna kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss!!! Kiss so hard!!!
Mwah mwah mwah!!! Too cute! Such a good boy!
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You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu