As the countdown reached zero, the light screen in the sky began to play.
[In a dim forest, the first thing that appeared was a young boy—panting heavily, covered in wounds, carrying a large wooden box on his back.]
[The boy had red hair and red eyes. A distinct scar marked his left forehead. From his ears hung ancient-looking hanafuda earrings, and over his black uniform he wore a checkered haori.]
[In his hand, he held a broken sword—only about an inch of blade remained past the guard—as he stared ahead with intense vigilance.]
"...A broken blade?"
In the world of One Piece, aboard the Thousand Sunny, Roronoa Zoro narrowed his eyes in surprise.
On Kuraigana Island, Dracule Mihawk showed a rare flicker of astonishment as well.
A swordsman… fighting with only an inch of blade?
"Ah~ It's Tanjiro, isn't it?"
At the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho, smiled as she reported.
"Master, the one appearing on the screen is indeed Tanjiro."
"How… flamboyant!"
The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, couldn't help but admire aloud.
At the entrance of the Batcave—
Bruce Wayne finally relaxed his tightly furrowed brows.
The setting and clothing shown in the image clearly didn't belong to Gotham City.
In fact, they didn't resemble anything from the modern world at all.
"Alfred, scan the footage. Find out where this is."
"Right away, sir."
Alfred Pennyworth complied without question.
Though he wasn't entirely sure why his master wanted this information, he still carried out the order.
After all… hadn't he been indulging Bruce's "superhero game" for years now?
Across countless other worlds, similar reactions erupted:
"Oh! Someone appeared!"
"It's starting! It's starting!"
[The camera shifted—from the boy to the figures standing opposite him.]
[A boy and a girl appeared—both dressed entirely in white, from head to toe.]
[Silver-white hair. Pale, almost sickly skin. White kimonos embroidered with spiderweb patterns.]
[Within the dark forest, their presence carried an eerie, almost mesmerizing beauty.]
Inside the Fairy Tail Guild—
Mirajane Strauss smiled gently at her younger brother.
"They're white-haired siblings… just like us, Elfman."
"Big sis, they're nothing like us except the hair!"
Elfman Strauss scoffed.
"Look at that guy—so short, and with that arrogant expression. Definitely the type who can't even protect his own family."
Standing over two meters tall, Elfman clearly looked down on the much smaller figure—Rui.
"Hey! Hey! Elfman! Tell me what you're seeing!"
Hanging from the tree, Natsu Dragneel—who had already recovered from being knocked out—started shouting again.
"Be quiet."
"BAM!"
This time, Mirajane—already in her demon form—delivered the punch.
Silence returned.
[Back to the scene.]
[Rui suddenly swung his arm toward Tanjiro.]
[From the tip of his index finger, a thin white thread extended outward—lashing toward Tanjiro at incredible speed.]
"Heh… heh heh heh…"
In the Dressrosa, atop the King's Plateau—
Donquixote Doflamingo's lips curled into a grin.
"Now this just got interesting."
At first, he had assumed this was some meaningless spectacle.
But the moment he saw the thread—
Something familiar.
That was enough to spark his interest.
"Behehehe~ Young Master, that ability… it's just like yours."
Beside him, Trebol snickered, mucus dangling from his nose.
"Similar ability doesn't mean similar usage," Doflamingo replied lazily.
"Let's see what kind of tricks this brat can pull off with strings."
He waved away the swimsuit-clad women around him, leaving only his trusted officers as he reclined by the pool, calmly watching the screen above.
[Back to the battle.]
[Tanjiro twisted his body—barely dodging the thread.]
[Behind him, the ground was carved open—several meters long and deeply gouged.]
[Seeing his attack fail, Rui raised a second finger. Another thread shot out—aimed straight at Tanjiro's face.]
[Tanjiro ducked again.]
[Even as he dodged, his mind raced.]
If I can't cut the threads… then I just need to get within range…
[But Rui gave him no such opportunity.]
[He spread his hand. Five razor-sharp threads wove together in the air—forming a massive net that came crashing down toward Tanjiro.]
[No matter how he moved, at least one thread would follow him relentlessly.]
[Faced with such overwhelming density, Tanjiro had no choice but to retreat.]
[He withdrew rapidly—only stopping once he reached the limit of the threads' range, barely escaping the web's deadly grasp.]
["Haa… haa… This won't work… These threads move like they're alive! There's no way to get past them!"]
Exhaustion weighed heavily on Tanjiro as he struggled to catch his breath.
["I told you… I won't kill you all at once."]
["I'll tear you apart piece by piece… and then rip you to shreds."]
["Unless…"]
["…you take back what you said earlier."]
["If you do, I might consider killing you in one stroke."]
["I won't take it back!"]
Despite being at a clear disadvantage, Tanjiro gritted his teeth—stubbornly meeting Rui's increasingly dangerous gaze.
["What I said wasn't wrong! You're the one who's wrong! The bond between you… it was never real!"]
["…I see."]
As Rui's expression darkened, the atmosphere grew heavy.
The forest fell silent.
Even the chirping insects disappeared.
Across countless worlds—
Even through a mere screen—
Everyone could feel it.
The killing intent radiating from Rui.
On the Thousand Sunny—
A certain cat burglar was trembling.
"Na… Nami… I can't… breathe…"
Hearing the weak cry of Tony Tony Chopper, Nami snapped back to her senses and quickly loosened her grip.
Freed at last, Chopper stuck out his tongue, coughing twice before gulping down the salty sea air.
(New book release! Please support with flowers, monthly tickets, and recommendations orz!)
(Attached: A picture of Rui's "mother"—the visual highlight of the spider family. ～(￣▽￣～)~)