Chapter 90: The Price of Ambition
Observing the monstrous entity, Akatsurugi raised an eyebrow. So this is a demon? It's rather... unsightly. Its aesthetic is worse than a Tailed Beast's.
"Oh no! The demon is free!" the shrine maiden cried out in alarm. The demon was the very reason for the Land of Demons' existence. The other nations tolerated them solely because the maiden's lineage could seal the threat. If that purpose vanished, so would their sovereignty.
Akatsurugi ignored her panic, focusing instead on the demon's soul. It was a fascinating, concentrated mass of spiritual energy. So this is what they call a 'monster.'
More grotesque heads erupted from the ground. Deciding it was time, Akatsurugi gestured, and Ryūjin Jakka flew back to his hand from where it was planted. He flashed next to the demon, Mōryō.
A flicker of contempt crossed the demon's many eyes as it launched a barrage of shadowy tentacles from its form, aiming to impale Akatsurugi.
With a simple, almost casual twist of his wrist, Akatsurugi severed the tendrils.
Shock replaced the demon's arrogance. This blade... it's unnatural!
Before it could process this, Akatsurugi was upon it. The zanpakutō plunged deep into the demon's core.
"How is this possible?!" Mōryō roared.
It was paralyzed. Was this some new sealing art? Its massive form began to shrink, its multitude of heads dissolving into nothingness.
"No! NO! Who are you?!" it screamed. To be destroyed before it could even reunite with its body? If its soul perished, it would be a true, final death.
Akatsurugi paid its roars no mind. As Ryūjin Jakka drank deeply of the demon's soul, he felt a revelation. So it can do this, too. It seemed his zanpakutō held unique properties, likely a product of its cross-world origin.
A torrent of pure soul power, far vaster than that of the Shinigami, flooded into him. The sensation was one of profound, exhilarating saturation, like the first cold drink on a sweltering day.
In moments, the demon was no more. The shrine maiden stared, dumbfounded. Had it been killed? Or sealed? She couldn't tell, but the demon's soul had utterly vanished.
Feeling the immense, surging energy within him, Akatsurugi formed a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Technique."
Four copies of himself appeared around him. In unison, they shouted, "Four Red Yang Formation!"
A crimson barrier erupted, sealing the area. It was the same technique Uchiha Madara had used. Now, Akatsurugi would use it to ensure his own undisturbed cultivation.
Sitting in the center of the barrier, he began the process of assimilation. To refine this power, to strengthen his soul and amplify his spiritual pressure—this was the final step. With this, Bankai would no longer be a dream. And with Bankai, the limitations of his eyes would become irrelevant.
I refuse to believe that a mastered Bankai and techniques like Zanka no Tachi cannot stand against Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself.
Of course, countermeasures for her spatial abilities would still be necessary. But that was a problem for later.
And so, Akatsurugi began his seclusion within the Land of Demons. The terrified shrine maiden could only watch and pretend nothing was amiss.
Meanwhile, the shinobi world plunged into full-scale war. The prolonged testing period was over. With Konoha's Blaze God confirmed absent, the other great nations moved with impunity. Kumogakure was the first to formally declare war on Konoha.
The Second Shinobi World War had begun in earnest.
Initially, Danzō managed to hold the line. But as the conflict intensified, his forces, stretched thin across four fronts, began to buckle. The other villages, in a display of shameless opportunism, formed a tacit non-aggression pact, focusing their combined military might solely on Konoha.
Facing the onslaught of four major villages at once, even Konoha's formidable strength began to crack under the strain.
A panicked Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, immediately sent a message to Tsunade. Find the slugs. Contact Akatsurugi. We need him back. Now.
The reply Tsunade received was not what he hoped for. Akatsurugi had left the Shikkotsu Forest. His current whereabouts were unknown.
The news felt like a physical blow to Hiruzen. He was supposed to be in seclusion! Where could he have gone?
With no other choice, the Hokage was forced to take to the field himself. He headed for the Land of Rain, where the Iwagakure forces were proving too much for Homura and Koharu. That left Danzō to suffer alone against Kumo's main force.
"Where is Lord Akatsurugi? Why isn't he here?" The question spread like wildfire among the Konoha ranks on the Hot Springs border, especially from the ninja of his former Third ANBU Battalion. "The leadership never informed him," some whispered. "There must be something going on at the top."
Such rumors proliferated, impossible for Danzō to quash.
More importantly, the ninja realized a painful truth: without Akatsurugi, they were not the unstoppable force they had imagined. With him, Kumo had been manageable. Without him, they were being beaten back, nearly to the very border of the Land of Fire. The difference was staggering.
In the Konoha command tent, Danzō was nearing his wit's end. This was not the glorious campaign he had envisioned. He cursed Hiruzen for not reinforcing his front. If this continued, a full retreat was inevitable.
He was a Kage-level combatant, but Kumo was not to be trifled with. They had brought out their ultimate weapon: the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. They had no interest in a war of attrition; they sought a decisive, brutal victory.
Facing the full power of a Tailed Beast, Danzō was thoroughly outmatched. Led by the Fourth Raikage, Dodai, the Kumo forces handed him defeat after defeat. The battlefield remained in the Land of Hot Springs, but Danzō knew it was only a matter of time before they were pushed back into the Land of Fire.
He had sought glory, but found only a desperate struggle for survival. One village against four? This is madness!
"Where is Akatsurugi?!" Danzō bellowed, his composure shattered. "Why hasn't he arrived?!"
A harried intelligence officer looked up, his expression grim. "A message from the Hokage, sir. Lord Akatsurugi... cannot be located."
"That bastard!" Danzō snarled, his face contorted with rage. "Akatsurugi is a traitor to Konoha!" In his fury, he had completely forgotten his own boasts and schemes at the war's outset. He hadn't wanted Akatsurugi then. Now, facing defeat, the Blaze God's absence was all he could think about.