Mei Terumi looked at Ryosuke, her mouth half open, her lips trembling slightly.
She had so many things she wanted to say.
Ever since Ryosuke set out, every late night, Mei Terumi would imagine, what she would say to him when he came back, and how she would make him fulfill the "owe me once" promise he made before leaving.
She imagined countless versions, thought of endless possibilities.
But today...
Mei Terumi could not say a single word.
She threw herself into Ryosuke's arms, pressed her cheek against his chest, listened to his steady heartbeat, breathed in his scent, closed her eyes, and felt a sense of peace she had never felt before.
Mei Terumi suddenly raised her head.
The night was pitch black, the stars seeming to fall into her eyes. She looked at Ryosuke, who was so close to her. "What did you just say?"
"I said, I'm back."
She wiped away her tears, tilted her head slightly, and showed a sweet smile.
"Welcome home."
Ryosuke also smiled.
"You two…"
"You seem very happy."
A cold, lazy, arrogant voice came from the end of the world, like a knife covered in barbs stabbing straight into the heart, making people shiver.
Mei Terumi's smile froze on her face.
She slowly turned her head and looked toward the direction of the world rift...
Hiss!!!
The world rift pierced by the Calamity Divine Tree was torn open up and down with a slow yet unquestionable force.
Under the brutal tearing, the world barrier let out a sharp and piercing cracking sound that echoed deep within the soul of every living being in the ninja world.
Humans, summoned beasts, wild animals, livestock…
All living beings instinctively looked toward the source of the sound.
The world rift spread left and right, forming a scar stretching thousands of kilometers across the sky.
Gray white mist drifted in along the rift. Under the cover of the mist, figures could be seen suspended at the edge of the rift, densely packed, endless at a glance.
They stepped on the mist. Strands of silver white lightning flashed among the crowd, rolling thunder sounding like booming war drums.
With the flashing lightning, Mei Terumi saw clearly.
Thirty million vampires walked out from the rift and stood in the sky. Among them were seventy thousand Stand users from the JoJo world.
Now that he held the Arrow, Dio acted without restraint in creating subordinates. He did not care about the consequences of failed awakenings. In the end, at the cost of a ten times death rate, he created a legion of Stand users.
Thirty million vampire army.
Seventy thousand Stand user legion.
Along with the black light surrounding them and their scarlet eyes enhanced under amplification, just standing at the edge of the world rift, they gave off a terrifying pressure.
But "that person" simply sat there, yet drew everyone's attention...
Dio Brando.
He sat on his throne, one hand supporting his chin. In the way he looked down at Ryosuke, there was nothing but contempt and disgust.
Dio said, "I didn't expect you would dare to come back… Ryosuke!"
As soon as these words came out, the whole world was in an uproar.
People who were busy with the final relocation work in various regions all froze.
'Ryosuke… came back?'
Sasuke thought he had misheard.
He subconsciously put down what he was doing and stared blankly at the sky, listening for what came next.
Not just him. It could be said that at this moment, everyone in this world seemed to have been pressed on pause.
They waited, full of excitement, yet also afraid, fearing it was just Dio's trick to toy with their hearts.
After a moment of waiting, Ryosuke's response did not come.
Tsunade's eyes dimmed.
"Could it really… just be Dio's sick humor?"
At that moment, a howl came from the world rift. A streak of crimson light shot out from deep within the sea of mist, crossing time and space like a meteor.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked over. Soon he saw clearly.
What flew over was a broken blade.
Others might not recognize it, but Sasuke had followed Ryosuke all the way and had seen him wield this great blade countless times. How could he not recognize it?
"What's flying over… is Brother Ryosuke's blade!"
"He's back!"
Sasuke understood why they had not heard Ryosuke's response...
Ryosuke only spoke to enemies who could still be talked to.
When facing a target he truly intended to kill, he would not waste a single word in battle.
Hearing this, everyone from this world put down what they were doing. At the same time, Oda Ieyasu's urgent voice came through the broadcast above, "Stop the relocation. Shelter plan suspended. All personnel enter…"
He took a deep breath, as if he could no longer hold back his emotions, and shouted into the microphone, "Special grade war state!"
Not preparation, not support.
The so called special grade war state meant using everything at hand, throwing in all available resources and manpower without caring about cost, launching war regardless of consequences.
This emergency plan had originally been placed at the very bottom of all tactics, to be used only when the shelter was breached and they had no way out.
"Now?!" The adult Naruto from the sub world was stunned.
"Wasn't your previous tactical choice very conservative?"
"If we throw everything into the battlefield… isn't that too risky?"
Miyamoto, holding his katana and about to pass through the portal to head to the battlefield, heard this and looked back.
"All the previous conservatism was for this moment. Of course, I understand it might be a bit hard for you to understand, but don't worry. You'll understand soon."
Space gates opened one after another. Sasuke, Rei, Miyamoto, Tsunade, Iwamine… former comrades passed through the portals and arrived at Kirigakure.
Because Dio and the vampire army's killing intent was directed straight at Ryosuke, when everyone arrived at Kirigakure, they personally felt this vast, solid, hopeless malice.
Although each of them was a well known ninja or samurai, if they put themselves in the situation and imagined Dio's gaze locking onto them...
They might not even have the thought of resisting.
This had nothing to do with their life experiences or willpower. It was purely the crushing difference in the level of life itself.
But when they saw Ryosuke's back standing at the highest point, the small fear that had just grown in their hearts vanished instantly.
Whoosh!
The incomplete Ruin Great Blade cut across the sky. The blade edges that had long been ground into powder and erased from the world returned from the void one by one, falling back onto the long blade, restoring it bit by bit until it was completely whole, and finally...
It fell into Ryosuke's palm.
The moment he gripped the blade, Dio suddenly felt something was wrong. The contempt in his expression disappeared at once.
He sensed a familiar power.
"You..."
Before Dio could finish speaking, the Ruin Great Blade spun once in Ryosuke's hand.
Ryosuke swept his gaze across the densely packed enemies and said the first sentence after seeing Dio, "There are a bit too many people."
'Too many?'
Dio suddenly understood what Ryosuke meant, "Uninvited guests who barged into the ninja world, there are too many."
'Too many… what to do?'
Ryosuke gave the answer with his actions.
The long blade swung. A streak of crimson blade light suddenly shone across the sky, like a thin wave, lightly passing through the countless vampire army.
In the next second, their bodies collapsed, endless screams and pleas pouring from their mouths.
The vampires had thought the black light granted by Dio would let them escape death...and in fact it had done so. The Hidan spores could no longer harm them.
But…
It was useless against Ryosuke.
The blood of the vampires burned, igniting their collapsing bodies from the inside out. Under the impact of the blade light, it scattered in all directions, forming clusters of blood red flames like fireflies.
Lighting up the dark ninja world as bright as day.