"On the way here, I took a stroll through the Demon Slayer World—that place has really changed quite a bit~"
Kuzan didn't seem at all bothered by Sakazuki's grumbling. He slowly approached the other man and said with a smile, "Anyway, you should probably fill me in on what's going on here."
Seeing this, Sakazuki didn't press the issue any further. "We'll talk as we walk."
Kuzan naturally had no objections.
The two walked side by side toward the newly constructed elevator nearby.
They were about to ride it up to Rōran's surface-level district.
"Konoha has already rejected my peace proposal," Sakazuki said flatly.
"Well, that's hardly surprising," Kuzan replied. "You seriously thought they'd accept those outrageous demands?"
As they spoke, the two stepped into the elevator cabin.
The elevator doors began to slowly close.
Meanwhile, Kuzan continued his commentary. "Let's not even get into demanding they cancel the Impure World Reincarnation of Senju Hashirama. That's basically asking them to give up their strongest fighter."
"And you seriously proposed to hold the peace talks in Konoha? Are you sure you wouldn't just unleash a Meteor Volcano on them the moment you got there?"
Hands in his pockets, Sakazuki responded in a deep voice, "Of course not. I wouldn't go personally. I'd send Aramaki to handle the talks."
"Oh—now I get it."
When the elevator stopped and the doors opened again, Kuzan gave an exaggerated nod of realization.
"You plan to have Aramaki threaten the entire village as hostages and crush Konoha in the process. That's so you, Sakazuki~~"
His tone was unmistakably laced with sarcasm.
"Hmph. What's wrong with that? It saves time and effort. Aramaki even gets to earn a promotion to Army General in the process—two birds with one stone!"
Sakazuki didn't care in the slightest.
In his view, enemies should be dealt with through any means necessary—without mercy.
"You really don't want Crocodile to become a general, do you?"
Kuzan glanced sideways at Sakazuki. "Don't tell me you can't tell that Crocodile is stronger than Aramaki."
"And even putting aside raw power, in terms of overall capability, Crocodile's probably more suited for the position anyway, right?"
"Hmph. So what? If there's a choice, a former pirate should never be made a general!" Sakazuki replied coldly and forcefully.
"Ara ara~ So that is the reason, huh?"
Kuzan shook his head with a sigh.
"We're all comrades now. We'll be facing enemies from other worlds together in the future. Can't you let go of the past?"
"If you'd lived through what I have, Kuzan, you wouldn't say things like that."
Kuzan, knowing a bit about Sakazuki's past, said nothing further.
"So, what are you planning to do next?"
"I need you to hold off that so-called Senju Hashirama—to buy time for Aramaki and the troops he leads to seize Konohagakure!"
Sakazuki's tone was firm and absolute.
By this point, they had both reached the staircase before the main gate of the central spire.
"I've already sent a message to Konoha. I told them that if Senju Hashirama can defeat just one more of our top fighters, we'll agree to peace talks. The talks would be held here in Rōran, and we'd even be willing to offer favorable terms across the board."
Kuzan twitched at the corners of his mouth, caught between amusement and exasperation.
"You really are a pathological liar. Looks like I'll need to take everything you say with a grain of salt from now on."
Sakazuki's lips curled into a chilling smile.
"Don't you understand the art of deception in warfare? Besides, I only lie to the enemy."
"Fine. When do I depart?"
Kuzan nodded.
"The sooner the better—ideally, right now."
Sakazuki quickened his pace and was the first to reach the front gate of the spire. He turned around and met Kuzan's gaze with a calm expression.
Kuzan paused.
But a moment later, realization struck, and a shadow fell over his face.
"You're not even going to let me go inside, are you?"
"You can stay as long as you want—after you return."
Sakazuki was perfectly matter-of-fact, showing no sign of embarrassment or shame.
"Crocodile's actions are growing bolder by the day. It won't be long before he conquers the Land of Earth and a few neighboring countries. That's why Aramaki's side needs to speed up."
"Kuzan, once the Konohagakure situation is resolved, I want you to take Aramaki and annex the Land of Water while you're at it."
[Polu-purupuru, Polu-purupuru]
Just then, the Den-Den Mushi in both Sakazuki and Kuzan's justice coats began to ring.
Their expressions changed instantly.
Because under normal circumstances, if there was a situation to report, the message would be relayed to their adjutants first, who would then summarize it.
Only matters of extreme urgency were patched through directly to their Den-Den Mushi.
"Hello?"
"Hello?"
Sakazuki and Kuzan answered their respective calls almost simultaneously.
But as the messages came through, both of their faces grew increasingly grim.
The Starfish World had been attacked—by space pirates?!
The atmosphere instantly turned oppressively heavy.
When the calls ended, Sakazuki's eyes burned with fury as he spoke heavily to Kuzan: "We need to accelerate our conquest of this shinobi world!"
"Mhm. Assign me a guide—I'll depart for Konoha immediately."
Kuzan didn't waste a single word. He agreed on the spot.
When it came to conquering other worlds, he didn't exactly oppose the idea… nor did he support it.
He simply had no strong feelings either way.
But when it came to defending Starfish, it was an entirely different matter.
As soon as he finished speaking, Kuzan turned and left the city of Rōran—unaware that Sakazuki's eyes lingered on his back with a complicated look.
At that moment, Sakazuki muttered inwardly, "Of course I can tell that Crocodile is stronger than Aramaki… but I can also feel that your strength has already caught up to mine."
He was well aware of the reason behind Kuzan's rapid rise in power.
It clearly had something to do with the natural energy he was currently cultivating.
Sakazuki had in fact inquired about this natural energy before.
But the Biochemical Research Institute had yet to find a way to neutralize the effects of Guren Blood.
Which meant that only those with exceptional ice-type aptitude and an unshakable will could adapt to it.
As of now, only Kuzan, Esdeath, and the 'Frost Giant' Utgard—user of the Snow-Snow Fruit—were able to train in ice-element natural energy.
As for this situation, Sakazuki had no choice but to accept it.
He could either wait for the Biochemical Institute to make progress… or hope that, someday, a cultivation method suited for him would appear.
Until then—
All he could do was carve out time each day to temper his physical strength in the gravity training field.
After all, in terms of mastering his Magma-Magma Fruit abilities—
Sakazuki considered himself to have achieved an unprecedented level of development.
Breaking past that would be extremely difficult—and unlikely.
"So what are we doing next?" Shiryu asked as he walked over.
"First, we go up. I want to see for myself what those space pirates actually look like. Then tonight, you're coming with me to the Land of Earth."
"You planning to steal Crocodile's military merit in the Land of Earth~?" Shiryu said with a cheeky grin.
"Hmph. It's about accelerating our conquest of this world!"
With that, Sakazuki turned expressionlessly and walked into the central spire.
Shiryu gave a casual shrug.
Crocodile had nothing to do with him anyway.
He followed along and asked, "General Akainu, when do you think I'll get promoted to General?"
"When you learn to control your bloodlust."
Sakazuki marched forward without even turning his head.
"I can already control it now," Shiryu said with a smile.
"Then why does your killing intent still reek?"
"…Tch."
Shiryu's expression darkened.
He could feel the murderous pressure he'd been holding back starting to boil to the surface.
These past few years had been sheer torture.
Back when he was in Impel Down, he could at least occasionally kill a prisoner or two to blow off steam.
But ever since he started following Sakazuki—
Aside from the occasional pirate encounter on missions, he'd been forced to live a life of complete restraint.
Still, over time, he'd gradually adapted to this more… 'bland' lifestyle.
His aura of bloodlust had actually mellowed quite a bit.
But from Sakazuki's perspective, it still wasn't enough.
"Shiryu, I'm not asking you to erase the bloodlust in your heart—I want you to fully master it. Only then will I consider you fit to be a General."
Just then, as they reached the elevator hall inside the main tower, Sakazuki suddenly stopped.
[BOOM!]
Before Shiryu could react—
A wave of killing intent surged from within him like a tidal explosion.
Shiryu suddenly felt a surge of dark crimson energy rush toward him like a crashing wave.
The killing intent contained within it was so intense that even someone like him—born with a thirst for blood—felt as though he'd been plunged into an icy abyss. His body and soul instantly chilled.
But the murderous aura came and went just as quickly.
The entire episode lasted barely two seconds. All of that dark crimson force—
Like a receding tide—rapidly withdrew and was reabsorbed into Sakazuki's silhouette.
At that moment, Shiryu finally understood.
The killing intent dwelling in Sakazuki's heart was vast—like the sea, like a mountain.
In comparison, his own killing intent seemed laughably small.
Even more astonishing—
Sakazuki's control over this immense bloodlust was nearly flawless.
"…Thank you for the lesson."
In that moment, Shiryu fully submitted to Sakazuki's strength and presence.
Meanwhile—
Kuzan and Liver, guided by a member of CP8, were the first to set off toward Konohagakure.
Not long after, Aramaki also departed Rōran, leading a main battle brigade of 5,000 troops.
"This time, Konoha will fall for sure."
Aramaki sneered coldly as he looked toward the east, where the sun was setting.
Time ticked on.
Night fell completely.
Sakazuki and Shiryu emerged once again from the gate of the central spire.
"Phew—"
Sakazuki glanced up at the alien night sky and muttered in a deep voice, "The moon back on Starfish is still bigger—and more beautiful."
Shiryu, standing behind him, was momentarily speechless.
To him, there wasn't much difference at all.
But since it was the boss who said it—
Then the moon on Starfish really was better than the one in the shinobi world!
"Let's move ou—hmm?!"
Just as Sakazuki was about to head toward Iwagakure in the Land of Earth—
Something caught his attention. His head snapped upward, eyes sharpening with intensity.
Shiryu was utterly confused.
[Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!]
Moments later, Shiryu finally noticed sharp, rapid sounds slicing through the air above.
And they were growing louder.
All around Rōran, army soldiers and CP operatives in black uniforms had started looking up as well.
The next moment—
Countless purple lights bloomed across the night sky.
"Enemy attack!!!"
A nearby soldier, using night-vision gear, shouted as he identified the glowing specks—each one a descending beam of energy.
In an instant—
Explosions of golden light erupted throughout the city.
Each blast lit up the darkness, again and again, momentarily banishing the night.
A chain of deafening booms followed as spires, skybridges, and walls were torn apart.
The chaos jolted every corner of the ancient city of Rōran into full alert.
Then came the blaring air raid sirens.
Their shrill, piercing wail suppressed all other noise in the city—crushing the clamor beneath its weight.
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