The field stretched out before them like a gentle sea of green, soft damp grass glistening faintly under the rising sun. Tall trees bordered the clearing on three sides, their branches arching overhead to form natural shade like a quiet forest cathedral. The rustling of leaves in the morning breeze blended with the chirping of birds.
Serene. Almost sacred.
Renji inhaled deeply. This was one of Uzumaki Village's oldest training grounds, designed primarily for physical conditioning. No flashy dummies, no chakra-enhanced targets, no elemental testing stones. Just open, honest space for the body to run, leap, and grow stronger.
The field was almost completely empty now—too late for the early risers, too early for the evening warriors. Perfect for them.
Elric was already off like a shot, sprinting across the field in a red blur. His laughter echoed faintly as he made loops around tree trunks, racing his own shadow and giggling each time he "won."
Renji smiled faintly, then took a step forward—
And froze.
His chest tightened. Thump. His heartbeat spiked sharp and unnatural, his breath catching mid-inhale. The world tilted just slightly. His legs, though steady, suddenly felt as though they stood on ice. Cold sweat formed at the base of his neck. His scalp prickled, every hair on his body standing on end.
What—
Something was watching him. Something ancient. Something that shouldn't exist.
His head turned sharply, scanning the trees, the grass, even the sky. For just a breath of a second, the entire world went silent. The birds stopped chirping. The wind stopped blowing. Even his own breathing seemed to vanish.
And then it was gone, vanishing without a trace as though it had never been there at all. His heart slowed, the dizziness faded, the air smelled normal again. The birds resumed their song.
"…What was that?"
Renji's brows furrowed. That oppressive, suffocating pressure—that weight pressing down on his very soul—hadn't been chakra. It was something deeper, something that didn't belong in this world. His instincts screamed at him like they hadn't in years.
Something was wrong. A bad feeling twisted in his chest, cold and sharp.
"Dad! What are you doing?!"
Elric's voice called from across the field, full of energy and innocence. "Come on! Hurry up!"
Renji turned his head. His son was waving both arms, impatient as ever, already bouncing in place like a coiled spring.
The unease still lingered in the back of his mind, but he forced it down. It's probably nothing. I'm just overthinking it. It's just another day.
He took a breath, forced a smile, and stepped onto the field.
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki—a name once spoken across galaxies with awe and terror alike. A being who had turned worlds into dust, driven entire civilizations to extinction, consumed chakra fruits from ten thousand planets and crushed rival Ōtsutsuki with nothing but contempt in his heart.
At least, that's who he used to be.
A thousand years had passed since the peak of his reign. He stood now upon a planet shaped by the corpse of a god—Earth, once the sealed body of Shiva Ōtsutsuki, a celestial who had ascended and abandoned his physical form, locking it away with the divine force of Chibaku Tensei. That divine husk had become the core of this blue planet.
A convenient prison.
Isshiki's black eyes narrowed. This world. This cursed place.
He remembered it vividly. A millennium ago, he had arrived here with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—nothing more than a low-class servant, a weakling as far as the hierarchy was concerned. A caretaker meant to support his mission. Every high-level Ōtsutsuki had one. She had merely been assigned to him.
And yet she had dared.
Just as he prepared to devour the chakra fruit of this planet, just as everything was aligning, just as victory was within his grasp—she attacked. From behind. A betrayal so deep, so sudden, so effective it nearly killed him. Half his body obliterated, his divine form shattered. He had no choice but to flee, to find a suitable host and survive in disgrace.
That host body had been acceptable. Barely. But it was frail, mortal, pathetic. If he dared to use even a fraction of his true strength, it would collapse, turn to ash, crumble like dust in the wind.
And the worst part? That lowly servant—Kaguya—ate the fruit herself. One single fruit, and she surpassed him.
It was infuriating. He had consumed ten thousand chakra fruits, harvested over centuries, stolen from worlds that would never see their stars again. And she dared to become stronger with only one.
Where was the justice in that? Where was the fairness? Where was the order of the universe he had built his entire existence upon?
He clenched his fists, his divine chakra surging like the silent roar of an invisible sun. And yet he could not make his move. Not yet. Not until he found a new vessel—a perfect body that could bear the weight of his power without turning to ash, one that could handle his true strength without shattering like glass.
Isshiki narrowed his eyes. He had waited this long. A thousand years of patience. A thousand years of humiliation.
He could wait a little longer. Just a little longer.
And then he would reclaim everything.
Back in the training field, Elric sneezed. "Achoo!"
Renji blinked. "Are you catching a cold?"
"No!" Elric rubbed his nose.
"Never mind that." Renji rolled his shoulders. "Let's warm up. First round—tree dodging."
Elric tilted his head. "But the trees aren't attacking."
Renji's smile turned sharp. "Don't worry." He cracked his knuckles. "I am."
Elric's eyes widened. "…Wait, what?!"