He had joined the Divine Court to use absolute power to end the chaotic age and establish an order defined by himself.
But now he realized that before Kai, his so-called "absolute power" was nothing but a joke.
He himself had become part of what was being defined.
"Enough."
"The game is over."
Kai seemed to have lost interest in continuing to "educate" these mortals.
"Since all of you treasure your suffering so much, then I'll give you even more of it."
His gaze locked onto Gaara once again.
"We'll start with the One-Tail."
"I'll pull every Tailed Beast you cherish out of your bodies one by one, and then, right in front of your eyes, I'll reshape them into forms that I find pleasing."
Kai raised a hand, his palm aimed at Gaara.
"The sand of the Hidden Sand no longer obeys you."
"The One-Tail's chakra is no different."
Gaara suddenly felt an overwhelming force pulling from inside his body, as though even his soul was being ripped away.
Deep within him, Shukaku's sealed consciousness let out a furious and agonized roar.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH—!"
Gaara screamed in pain.
His body bent forward violently.
Violet markings appeared across his skin—the unmistakable sign that Shukaku's chakra was being forcibly extracted.
"Gaara!"
Naruto's eyes nearly split apart from rage.
He desperately struggled against his restraints, but the invisible force holding him was like an impassable abyss.
"Stop!"
Temari and Kankurō also slammed themselves against the invisible barrier before them.
It was completely futile.
"Excellent experimental material."
Kai watched Gaara's suffering with the expression of a researcher examining a specimen.
"The soul link between a Tailed Beast and its jinchūriki..."
"So this is how it's structured."
"As long as this node is severed..."
His fingers suddenly clenched.
Pffft!
Gaara coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.
His body collapsed limply to the ground.
At the same moment, a gigantic tanuki-shaped phantom composed of highly condensed chakra was violently torn from his body.
It was Shukaku's soul.
But unlike before, there was no arrogance or savagery in its eyes.
Only pure fear remained.
It struggled desperately in midair, yet could not escape Kai's control.
"Next."
"The Eight-Tails."
Kai shifted his gaze toward Killer B.
Killer B shuddered and instinctively assumed a combat stance.
"Yo, bastard, don't even think about touching me, yo!"
"Octopus Gramps and I are the perfect duo, yo!"
"A duo?"
Kai smiled.
"Not for much longer."
Just as he was about to act, a figure suddenly stepped in front of Killer B.
It was Uchiha Sasuke.
He still maintained his kneeling posture, but now his head was raised.
Within those Rinnegan eyes was a complexity of emotion unlike anything seen before.
"Divine Lord."
Sasuke's voice was slightly hoarse.
"You said you wanted to establish a new order."
"But what you're doing now is nothing more than destruction and torture."
"It goes completely against the 'salvation' you claim to seek."
The air instantly froze.
No one had expected it.
The first person to question Kai would be none other than his most trusted subordinate—Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto was stunned.
He stared at Sasuke's back and found himself unable to speak.
The smile slowly disappeared from Kai's face.
He looked at Sasuke.
His eyes became immeasurably deep.
"Sasuke."
"You are questioning me?"
Kai's voice was quiet.
Yet it struck everyone like an invisible hammer.
Even the desert wind seemed to stop.
The atmosphere became so oppressive that breathing felt difficult.
Sasuke raised his head and met Kai's gaze directly.
Within those bottomless eyes, he could see nothing.
No anger.
No surprise.
Nothing but emptiness.
And that emptiness was more terrifying than any fury.
"I'm not questioning you."
Sasuke's voice remained steady.
But his tightly clenched fists betrayed his turmoil.
"I simply want to know whether what you seek is truly order..."
"Or merely obedience."
"Is there a difference?"
Kai asked.
"Of course there is."
Sasuke slowly rose to his feet.
At some point, the Kusanagi Sword had already appeared in his hand.
Its tip pointed diagonally toward the ground.
"Order is built upon rules."
"Even if those rules are created by you."
"But right now, you're simply using your power however you please."
"You're displaying your might."
"This isn't creating order."
"It's oppression."
"Oppression?"
Kai repeated the word thoughtfully.
Then he laughed.
The laughter was quiet.
Yet it echoed across the entire battlefield.
"Sasuke."
"You've learned quite a few grand principles while following me."
"But it seems you've forgotten the most important thing."
He raised a finger.
The extracted soul of Shukaku suddenly released a horrifying scream.
Its entire body stretched and twisted under an invisible force.
Then—
Boom!
It compressed into a violet sphere no larger than a fist.
"That is…"
Sasuke's pupils contracted sharply.
He could clearly sense it.
The sphere contained all of Shukaku's chakra and consciousness.
Yet it was no longer a living being.
It had become an object.
A thing.
"This is the most important lesson."
Kai casually tossed the violet sphere in his hand like an ordinary marble.
"I create the rules."
"And I break them."
"If I allow something to exist, then it exists."
"If I decide it should disappear, then it disappears."
"That is my rule."
A chill ran down Sasuke's spine.
The sight before him reminded him of Orochimaru.
No—
It was infinitely worse.
Orochimaru pursued immortality.
At the very least, he still acknowledged the concept of life.
But Kai...
Kai didn't seem to regard any of them as living beings at all.
"It seems you still don't understand."
Kai's gaze returned to Sasuke.
"The reason you've developed such ridiculous thoughts..."
"Is because I granted you too much freedom."
"Enough freedom for you to mistakenly believe that you could stand as my equal and discuss things with me."
The moment those words fell—
Sasuke felt an overwhelming pressure crush him from every direction.
His prized Susanoo did not even have the chance to manifest.
His bones groaned under the force.
Crack...
Crack...
Pffft!
Sasuke spat out blood and dropped to one knee.
The force was perfectly controlled.
Enough to make him feel the agony of death.
Not enough to actually kill him.
"SASUKE!"
Naruto roared.
The Nine-Tails' chakra erupted violently inside him as he struggled to break free.
"Brat, calm down!"
Kurama's voice thundered in his mind.
"Charging in now is suicide!"
"That bastard is deliberately provoking you!"
"How am I supposed to stay calm?!"
Naruto's eyes turned blood-red.
"He's torturing Sasuke!"
"Divine Lord!"
Alarmed voices echoed from the floating black fortress overhead.
But none of the Divine Court members dared intervene.
Kai ignored them all.
Step by step, he walked toward Sasuke.
Then he stood before him and looked down.
"I admire your talent, Sasuke."
"Your eyes."
"Your gifts."
"They are among the finest configurations this world has ever produced."
"That is why I made you my deputy."
"That is why I allowed you to witness the birth of the new world."
His tone resembled that of a teacher disciplining a disobedient student.
"But it seems you mistook my admiration..."
"For the capital to challenge me."
He lifted a foot.
Then stomped down onto Sasuke's back.
Boom!
Sasuke was slammed face-first into the sand.
Completely pinned beneath Kai's foot.
"Remember your place."
"You are my tool."
"My spear."
"A tool only needs to obey commands."
"It does not need to think."
"Otherwise…"
"It is nothing more than defective scrap."
Humiliation.
Unprecedented humiliation.
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