"Bzzzz!"
The air shook violently.
Ahead, the empty sky suddenly split open as a river-like torrent of vibrations surged forward. With a deafening roar, countless fine cracks spread across the heavens.
The cracks raced ahead at incredible speed, reaching the charging Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom in the blink of an eye.
Then...
'Crack!'
Space itself split apart.
The air seemed to snap in two.
Large numbers of Shinigami suddenly froze in place, confusion filling their faces.
They discovered they couldn't move at all, as though they had been sealed by an imprisonment technique, suspended motionless in midair.
The Shinigami on the ground looked up, their pupils shrinking in horror.
"The... the sky... it's breaking apart!"
It was as if a giant mirror had shattered.
The Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom trapped within that "mirror" shattered along with it. Their bodies, their very existence, split apart as the fractured space collapsed.
Without a sound, that man with the white beard had cleaved open the void itself with a single swing.
And along with space, the Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom were torn apart as well.
Immediately afterward...
'Whoooosh!' 'Bzzzz!'
Violent vibrations echoed through the air.
The atmosphere trembled.
The ground trembled.
Everything within sight seemed to be shaking.
Three breaths later, buildings began collapsing. Countless fissures ripped across the land of Soul Society, causing unsteady Shinigami to lose their footing and tumble into the cracks amid cries of alarm.
When everything finally settled down about a minute later, thick clouds of dust had risen into the sky, blotting out the sun.
The Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom looked back toward the heavens, their eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
That crescent-mustached man had nearly torn heaven and earth apart with a single slash.
At the same time...
Experts from Qin's Nation stepped into the skies across every corner of Soul Society.
"Senpō: Tengai Shinsei!"
Clad in armor, Uchiha Madara looked down from above with an icy gaze. As his hands formed seals, he coldly spoke the technique's name.
'Bzzzz!'
Half the sky suddenly fell into shadow.
The Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom looked up in terror.
An enormous object had appeared overhead.
It was so massive that it covered nearly one-eighth of Soul Society.
Even more terrifying, the colossal object immediately began plummeting downward, bringing with it a raging storm of wind.
'BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!'
Explosions thundered through the sky.
Even the surrounding space shook so violently that it seemed ready to collapse, rumbling like endless thunder.
The airflow twisted violently, tearing away to both sides.
"A meteor!! It's a meteor!!"
Only after two breaths did someone finally recognize what was falling from the sky, and they screamed in terror.
'Rumble...'
By now, the meteor's roar had become deafening.
The very air trembled under its descent, letting out piercing shrieks.
The ground answered with violent quakes, wave after wave of shockwaves erupting outward.
'Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!'
Flames suddenly ignited around the meteor.
In an instant, they expanded into a gigantic fireball.
As the seconds passed, the rumbling grew louder and louder, while the meteor's friction against the atmosphere produced an increasingly sharp, ear-piercing scream.
The Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom trembled beneath the meteor that blotted out the sky. There was nowhere to run.
Ten breaths later, the meteor crashed down above them.
A tremendous impact shook all of Soul Society, sending an enormous column of dust soaring into the sky.
The single strike shattered the ground where Uchiha Madara stood, leaving behind a gigantic crater as countless cracks spread in every direction.
The death toll among the Shinigami of the Nie Kingdom from that one attack reached an astonishing four million.
It was enough to show just how massive the meteor was, and how terrifying its destructive power had been.
The moment Qin's Nation's forces revealed themselves, they launched deadly attacks without hesitation, delivering devastating blows to the Shinigami stationed throughout Soul Society.
---
At King Chengdui's location...
The Shinigami had only just finished speaking when everyone noticed the changes in the sky. A moment later, the terrifying explosions and violent tremors reached them, causing everyone's expressions to change.
"Good!"
King Chengdui's eyes instantly turned ice-cold.
"This kind of madness... this decisiveness... that's the bearing a true king should have!"
Though his words sounded like praise, the killing intent in his eyes was completely undisguised.
First the Human World.
Then, without any pause, an all-out assault on Soul Society.
The courage of this rival king was astonishing.
"You dare launch an attack on my home turf." He narrowed his eyes with a savage grin. "It seems you're quite confident. Then let's see which of us is stronger... and which of us is more ruthless!"
He suddenly turned to the thirty-six Venerables and the Nie Kingdom's top officials.
"Everyone, move out! Kill them all! Since our enemy dares to disregard both me and the Nie Kingdom, we'll make this so-called king understand just how powerful we truly are!"
The thirty-six Venerables all rose solemnly.
"We obey the Venerable King's command!"
Then they strode out of the hall.
From that moment on, inside the newly constructed giant portal within Central 46, endless streams of troops poured through into Soul Society, their battle cries shaking the heavens.
The army was divided into thirty-six legions, each commanded by one of the thirty-six Venerables, with each legion representing the military strength of a different world.
In an instant, war erupted across Soul Society.
Neither king had any intention of backing down. Both had pointed their armies at Soul Society, turning this vast world, which each had originally intended to conquer for themselves, into the battlefield where they would settle everything once and for all.
There could only be one king in the world. When two kings met, the chance of peaceful coexistence was practically zero. Both were proud, domineering rulers who bowed to no one. Especially kings who had already risen to power, they would never submit.
Only victory or defeat could decide their future.
Victory meant their kingdom would grow stronger and ascend to an even higher level. Defeat meant becoming nothing more than nourishment for the enemy's empire, losing everything they had built.
A decisive battle. Annexation. Greater power.
That was the rhythm of war between great kingdoms.
The thirty-six Venerables entered the battlefield. The Purple Flow Army deployed. Countless Captain-class fighters led their squads into combat. The entire Nie Kingdom sprang into action within Soul Society.
Although Qin's Nation had caught them off guard, the Nie Kingdom's experts quickly gathered and formed defensive lines against the invading forces.
In the east, Whitebeard and the experts from the Pirate World took command.
In the west, Uchiha Madara and the experts from the Naruto World held the line.
In the south, the Arrancar Legion and the Shinigami Realm Legion were in charge.
In the north, Qin Yi stood at the center. Around him, members of the Parliamentary Institute rapidly issued orders, directing the entire army, while Yhwach of the Wandenreich stood at the very front.
The deployment of both armies was now perfectly clear.
The great war had truly begun. And from the very first moment, it had already entered its fiercest stage, with both sides fighting with everything they had.
"Deploy the drones. Find the location of their Realm Gate immediately!"
Qin Yi's eyes were icy cold as he shouted,
"I'm taking this fight to their homeland!"
(End of Chapter)
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