The air didn't smell like smoke. It smelled like the end of the world.
Ren gasped, his lungs burning as he shoved a slab of heavy, burning timber off his chest. His hands were smaller than he remembered, his skin paler. One moment, he had been sitting in his apartment, the blue light of his monitor reflecting in his eyes; the next, he was lying in hell.
The ground buckled violently, throwing him onto his side. Ren scrambled to his hands and knees, vomiting bile onto the scorched earth.
Where am I?
He looked up, and his blood turned to ice.
The sky was splitting apart.
Above him, the clouds weren't just moving; they were being torn asunder by streaks of jagged, red and black lightning. Two distinct pressure waves clashed in the heavens, creating a vortex that seemed ready to swallow the island whole. The sound of the impact hit him a second later—a boom so loud it wasn't a noise, but a physical blow that rattled his teeth.
Ren knew that sky. He knew that black lightning.
Conqueror's Haki.
"No way," Ren whispered, his voice cracking. He looked around. The architecture was ancient, made of white stone now stained with soot. Celestial Dragon symbols were carved into fallen pillars. In the distance, he saw a massive skull-shaped rock formation, but it wasn't Onigashima.
"God Valley," he realized, the name tasting like ash in his mouth. "I'm in God Valley. During the incident."
That meant death was everywhere. The Rocks Pirates. Roger. Garp. The Celestial Dragons. This was the single most dangerous focal point in history.
"Help me! Someone!"
Ren whipped his head around. A Marine, barely older than him, was crawling through the dirt nearby. His legs were mangled, crushed under debris.
Before Ren could even decide whether to move, a shadow fell over the Marine.
A pirate—massive, hairy, wearing a vest studded with iron—stepped out of the smoke. He held a flintlock pistol in one hand and a serrated cutlass in the other. He didn't look like a named character. He looked like fodder. But in this world, even fodder could kill a normal human in a heartbeat.
"Shut up, Marine scum," the pirate growled.
Bang.
The Marine stopped moving.
Ren froze behind the fallen pillar, holding his breath. But he wasn't hidden well enough. The pirate turned, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Ren. A cruel grin split his beard.
"Ooh? A little noble brat left behind?" The pirate stepped over the dead Marine, raising the smoking pistol. "Your daddy run off without you? Don't worry. I'll send you to hell to meet him."
Ren scramble backward, his back hitting a stone wall. I'm going to die. I've been transmigrated just to die in thirty seconds.
I need a weapon. I need power. Anything!
As the pirate cocked the hammer of his pistol, a translucent blue window flickered into existence before Ren's eyes.
[System Online.]
[Welcome, Host.]
[Ability Detected: Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei).]
Time seemed to slow down. Ren stared at the text. Edo Tensei? The Jutsu from Naruto?
[Conditions Met.]
[1. Living Sacrifice/Fresh Corpse: Available (Marine).]
[2. Chakra/Stamina: Sufficient for Low-Level Summon.]
[Select Summon:]
[> Hidan (The Immortal)]
Ren didn't hesitate. He didn't think about the morality of desecrating the dead. He didn't think about the implications. He looked at the pirate, then at the dead Marine.
"Summon!" Ren screamed. "Hidan!"
The pirate laughed. "Summon? Have you gone mad with fear, boy?" He pulled the trigger.
The bullet flew.
But simultaneously, the ground beneath the dead Marine erupted.
It wasn't a zombie rising from a grave. It was faster. Debris, dust, and grey ash swirled violently around the Marine's corpse like a magnetic vortex. The blood soaked into the ash, turning it a dark, clay-like grey. The corpse jerked upright, intercepting the bullet with a wet thwack.
The pirate blinked. "What the—?"
The dust settled. The Marine was gone. Standing in his place was a man of average height with slicked-back silver hair and violet eyes. He wore a cloak that had materialized from the dust, opened to reveal a bare chest and a silver necklace with a triangle inside a circle.
Hidan looked down at his chest, where the bullet was lodged. He poked the wound, scowling.
"Ow," Hidan grumbled. He looked up, his eyes scanning the burning island. "What the hell? I was in the middle of a ritual! Hey! Which one of you pagans interrupted my prayer to Lord Jashin?"
The pirate took a step back, unnerved. "Devil Fruit user?"
"Devil Fruit?" Hidan tilted his head, pulling a three-bladed red scythe from his back. "Is that something you eat? Look, I don't care. That bullet hurt. That means you have to die."
"Die!" The pirate roared, overcoming his shock. He lunged, swinging his cutlass down with enough force to cleave stone.
Ren flinched.
The blade struck Hidan's shoulder, burying itself deep into the clavicle. Blood sprayed.
"Got you!" The pirate yelled.
"Yeah, yeah," Hidan sighed, looking bored. He didn't even try to dodge. "You got me. Can we speed this up?"
The pirate's eyes widened as Hidan grinned—a manic, terrifying expression. Hidan didn't collapse. He didn't scream. He simply raised his scythe.
"Ritual time!"
With a wet tear, Hidan ripped the pirate's sword out of his own shoulder. The wound was already closing, grey debris swirling to patch the skin. Before the pirate could react, Hidan swung the scythe.
It was brutal. Efficient. Over in a second.
The pirate collapsed, his head rolling away.
Hidan stood over the body, wiping blood from his cheek. He turned to Ren. "Oi. Brat. You're the one who pulled me here, aren't you? I can feel the chakra link." He pointed the scythe at Ren. "This better be good, or I'll sacrifice you too."
Ren stood up, his legs shaking, but his mind racing. He had a bodyguard. An immortal one. "I... I summoned you. You work for me."
"I work for Jashin," Hidan spat. "But... damn, my body feels weird. Like I'm made of paper."
Boom.
A new tremor shook the ground, far more violent than the last. A blast of purple energy erupted from the center of the island, knocking trees flat.
"Whoa!" Hidan whistled, looking at the destruction. "Now that looks like fun."
From the smoke of the blast, a figure walked toward them.
Ren stopped breathing.
The man was colossal—easily over twenty feet tall, though he looked younger than the pictures Ren had seen. He wore a dark feather coat draped over massive shoulders. He had wild, long black hair, and two curved horns protruding from his head. He carried a spiked iron club (Kanabo) that dripped with fresh blood.
Young Kaido. Not yet a Yonko. Not yet the 'Strongest Creature.' But clearly a monster.
Kaido stopped. He ignored Ren entirely, his gaze fixing on Hidan. He looked at the healing wound on Hidan's shoulder.
"You..." Kaido's voice was deep, a rumble that vibrated in Ren's chest. "You took a sword to the neck and you're standing."
Hidan scoffed. "Obviously. Immortality is the ultimate grace, big guy."
"Immortality?" Kaido's eyes lit up. A wide, predatory grin spread across his face. "Is that so?"
Kaido moved. He was a blur.
SLAM.
Kaido's Kanabo smashed into Hidan, sending the Akatsuki member flying through three stone pillars. The impact was enough to turn a normal human into paste.
"Hidan!" Ren shouted.
The rubble shifted. Hidan climbed out, his arm twisted at a disgusting angle, his neck snapped to the side. With a sickening crack, he snapped his neck back into place. Grey paper swirled, mending his arm.
"THAT HURT, YOU BASKET-WEARING FREAK!" Hidan screamed, pointing his scythe at Kaido.
Kaido didn't attack again. He threw his head back and laughed.
"Worororororo!" Kaido laughed, the sound echoing over the battlefield. "Amazing! You don't die! You can't die!"
Kaido looked at Ren for the first time. "Did you do this, brat? Is this your power?"
Ren swallowed his fear. This was the moment. The pivot point of his new life. He stepped forward, looking the future Emperor in the eye.
"Yes," Ren said, keeping his voice steady. "I can summon warriors who cannot die. An army of immortals."
Kaido lowered his club, staring at Ren with intensity. "What is your name?"
"Ren."
"Ren," Kaido tested the name. He grinned. "This crew—Rocks—it's finished. Too many captains, not enough soldiers. I'm going to start my own. A crew of monsters."
He extended a massive hand toward Ren.
"Come with me, Ren. Bring your immortals. Let's turn this world upside down."
Ren looked at the hand, then back at Hidan, who was still cursing out the concept of pain. Ren smiled.
"Deal."