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The final eruption of Ishida Uryū's Sacred Light Array hit like a thunderclap from clear skies, instantly propelling the entire ninja world to the edge of awe.
The sheer destructive force, enough to level thousands of square kilometers in an instant, was nothing short of divine annihilation to ordinary shinobi.
Even the legendary "Heavenly Starlight Destruction" once unleashed by Uchiha Madara paled in comparison—it was utterly incomparable.
"K-Kakashi-sensei… How could he possibly possess power that can destroy the world like this?"
At the moment of the blast, Sakura Haruno's mind was swallowed by an endless white light. Everything went silent, empty, until reality slowly yanked her back. She clutched Kakashi's arm, staring at him with wide, trembling eyes. Her voice barely rose above a whisper, fragile as a frightened kitten.
"Don't think about it too much, Sakura."
Not just Sakura—Kakashi himself felt a tsunami of dread crash inside him. His face was pale, sweat soaking through his mask. An attack of this magnitude was cataclysmic.
If this had gone off over Konoha, the entire village—including the Hokage Rock—would have been erased in an instant, leaving no trace behind.
At this point, the only person in Konoha who could remain arrogantly unconcerned might be Danzo Shimura, deep within Root.
"This kind of strike… only I could possibly survive it, clinging to life with my forbidden Izanagi," Danzo murmured, huddled in his perpetually dark underground lair. He stared greedily at the Sharingan eyes on his arm, relishing his own bloody, scheming past. His pride stemmed from an obsession with survival and power.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Wind, sand whipping across the horizon:
"Beautiful! This… this is real art!"
"Scorpion! Can you see this?! This is explosion art perfected!"
"An explosion is the pinnacle of art! That glasses guy… he's a god-given artist!"
Inside the Akatsuki, explosives expert Deidara's eyes burned red. He was glued to the projection of the unparalleled blast, consumed by manic excitement.
To Deidara, explosions were the highest form of art. But the destructive scale of the Sacred Light Array shattered everything he thought he knew. Ishida Uryū had become the ultimate rival he had to surpass.
Even Deidara's prized self-destruct techniques couldn't produce devastation on this scale.
"Deidara, shut up!"
Akasuna no Sasori's deep, cold voice cut through the chaos. He cast a disdainful glance at his partner, who wouldn't stop gushing.
As self-proclaimed "artistic partners," the two couldn't be more opposite: Deidara worshiped fleeting brilliance, while Sasori believed eternal art was the only true form. Previously, they merely loathed each other, but Ishida's explosion forced Sasori into reluctant silence.
After all, his eternal puppet art couldn't compete with an instantaneous explosion that erased everything.
"First, bring the One-Tail back. Someday, you'll understand what true eternal art really is," Sasori muttered.
Deidara didn't argue. His mind raced, calculating how to elevate his own explosions to a level even comparable to the Sacred Light Array.
Meanwhile, another dimension—the Shinigami World.
At Karakura First High, normally noisy and chaotic, the campus went utterly silent, as if someone had hit a mute button when the explosion appeared on the giant screens.
Students and teachers froze for seconds before erupting into discussions ten times louder than before.
"We… we're not even in the same dimension as Ishida-kun!"
"That kind of explosion could flatten all of Kuza Town in one blow!"
"Ishida-kun… he's terrifying! A monster!"
"I'm doomed! I've fallen for Ishida-kun… completely, willing to give everything for him!"
"Teaching this kind of 'monster'… my career is officially under extreme stress!"
In a quieter corner of Urahara's shop, Ichigo Kurosaki gaped at Ishida, disbelief written all over his face.
"Ishida! I didn't expect you'd get this strong in the future!"
"Yeah, Ishida-kun… you've become amazing!"
Even the petite and charming Orihime Inoue couldn't hide her admiration.
"You've grown stronger, Ishida."
Not even the usually quiet Chad had held back, offering a rare, firm praise.
Amid all this, Ishida Uryū remained perfectly calm, adjusting his glasses, as if all this admiration were entirely ordinary.
In the Soul Society…
"This guy… he grows this much in the future?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya stared at the bottomless crater on the screen, frustrated, running his hands through his silver hair.
"Ah, that's the Quincy who had a run-in with Captain Nnoitra, right? Lucky for us, he didn't have this power back then…"
Rangiku Matsumoto flopped onto Hitsugaya's back, soft as ever, nearly unbalancing him. The scent of alcohol told him the vice-captain had been sneaking drinks again.
Meanwhile, Nnoitra stared at the screen, letting out a strange, owl-like laugh, recalling that damned Quincy.
The camera cut to another battlefield, fire lighting the scene. Rukia Kuchiki faced off against Gunjō.
"Gula!"
Gunjō felt Gula's spiritual pressure vanish. His bandaged eyes flicked toward the source of the explosion.
In that split second, Rukia seized her chance. Her body blurred like a lightning strike, closing in on Gunjō's face.
Her Zanpakutō sliced through the air, aiming straight for his midsection.
But just as Rukia was about to strike, four black, serpent-like tentacles erupted from Gunjō's lower abdomen, writhing like living snakes.
Even more terrifying, the bandaged sockets of his eyes sprouted countless smaller tendrils.
They moved faster than Rukia had anticipated.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Before her blade could land, the tentacles wrapped around her from all directions, pinning her down.
"Gula and Ryuga seem to be taken care of. This deviates slightly from the plan but is still acceptable," Gunjō observed.
The tentacles tightened slowly. Rukia swung her Zanpakutō wildly, trying to break free.
But the limbs were far stronger than she expected.
Her blade, Sode no Shirayuki, struck one tentacle—
And shattered.
"What… how is this possible?!"
Shock echoed from both Rukia on-screen and the viewers watching.
"Now, die, little bug," Gunjō sneered, completely unmoved by her terror. The tentacles constricted like pythons, crushing her.
"Ah… ah… ah…"
Rukia screamed as the crushing force broke bones with sickening cracks.
"Listen… isn't this a beautiful finale?"
Gunjō watched, enthralled. Bone after bone snapped, Rukia's breath weakening, until he finally tossed her aside.
"Hmm?"
Just as Gunjō readied his finishing strike, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
Pure white, they drifted like holy feathers, casting a serene, chilling beauty over the desolate battlefield.
"San… Sanbu: White Blade!"
Her previously shattered Sode no Shirayuki extended from behind her, fully intact, striking straight at Gunjō.
Crack, crack, crack!
A terrifying cold radiated from the point of contact, spreading rapidly, freezing everything nearby.
The brown, stagnant water on the ground solidified instantly; even splashing droplets froze mid-air.
The cold intensified, centering on Rukia, turning the battlefield into pure white.
Gunjō froze completely, encased in flawless ice, which shattered moments later into countless shards.
Around Rukia, the surrounding area spanning tens of kilometers was coated in an unbreakable, mirror-smooth ice, reflecting the sky above—a new, icy canvas laid over the former hellscape.
"....."