"No wonder it's hailed as the Goblin Slayer World's ultimate divine artifact; the Hero's Sword truly lives up to its name."
Naruto exclaimed with emotion after reading the description of the Hero's Sword.
Aside from the Hero's Sword, there was also a Death Labyrinth, another red-grade divine artifact.
To become a god, one needs to forge their own God-Kingdom. Naruto possessed the Shadow Garden, which was similar to a domain. The Death Labyrinth's item effect could integrate with a domain, thus laying the foundation for Naruto to create his God-Kingdom.
He extended his hand, and two peculiar objects, radiating entirely different auras yet subtly resonating with each other, appeared in his palm.
One was the mission reward: the Death Labyrinth.
It wasn't a physical entity but a constantly shifting, miniature spatial model that seemed to contain countless corridors within, emitting unsettling spatial fluctuations.
The moment Naruto took out the Death Labyrinth, the Death Labyrinth that spanned and connected the Underworld and the Goblin Slayer Continent vanished into thin air.
The other was the skill manifestation of his own Shadow Monarch power: the Shadow Garden.
It resembled a solidified darkness, profound and lightless, like a black hole, emitting a cold aura of death.
"Let's try to fuse them."
A flicker of determination and anticipation flashed in Naruto's eyes.
He slowly brought the two peculiar objects closer.
Initially, there was intense repulsion!
The Death Labyrinth twisted wildly, attempting to devour the Shadow Garden, transforming it into another complex spatial corridor of the labyrinth.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Garden emanated absolute darkness, trying to assimilate and corrode the Death Labyrinth's spatial structure, pulling it into eternal shadowy silence.
Two powerful spatial rule forces clashed fiercely, causing the space around Naruto to fluctuate unstably and even crack!
Clearly, hoping for the Death Labyrinth to naturally fuse with the Shadow Garden was impossible.
But Naruto was prepared.
His right eye activated the Mangekyo Sharingan. His powerful ocular and mental energy, like the most precise carving knife, forcibly intervened between the two. Using his understanding of space-time Ninjutsu and his absolute control over shadows as a bridge, he guided these two forces not to devour each other, but to fuse!
"In my name, Uzumaki Naruto, I hereby construct my kingdom!"
"Death as bone, shadow as blood!"
"Space as foundation, will as soul!"
"Fuse!!"
He let out a low roar, unleashing the power of Take-Mikazuchi Mode. He pressed his hands against the two repelling orbs of light and began to merge them towards the center!
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
The intense spatial tremor reached its peak, then abruptly collapsed inward!
The complex structure of the Death Labyrinth found its framework, rapidly expanding and taking shape.
And the endless shadows of the Shadow Garden, like flowing blood, quickly filled every corner of the labyrinth, dyeing it with eternal night and imbuing it with the vitality of shadows!
The light dissipated.
Naruto's consciousness felt as if it was instantly pulled into a nascent, immensely vast space.
A nascent God-Kingdom had been born!
It wasn't a traditional continent or planet, but a more abstract, more rule-based triple-structured space.
Naruto was currently in the first layer of the Shadow God-Kingdom.
It was vast and boundless, with both ground and sky in an eternal dark-grey hue, permeated by a faint, reassuring black mist.
Countless Shadow Soldiers, clad in black armor, stood in perfectly aligned formations, stretching as far as the eye could see.
They included powerful magical beasts, and even the recently converted Sixteen Demon Generals of the Underworld lay quietly among them, like the legion's strongest war fortresses.
This was a purely militarized zone, filled with an aura of killing and coldness. All Shadow Soldiers were in absolute standby, awaiting their Monarch's summons at any moment.
Naruto stood in mid-air, like an absolute god, overlooking his completely subservient Shadow Legion.
"The first layer of the God-Kingdom is where the Shadow Legion is stored. Let's call it the Shadow Military Court."
"From now on, all controlled Shadow Soldiers will assemble in the Shadow Military Court."
With a thought, Naruto instantly moved to the second layer of the God-Kingdom.
Unlike the Death Labyrinth, which had teleportation points between its first and second layers, there were no teleportation points between the three layers of the Shadow God-Kingdom.
Unless Naruto, as the owner of the God-Kingdom, allowed it, or one possessed the power to shatter the void and surpassed Naruto's strength, no one could freely traverse between the three layers.
This place was also dark and cold, but compared to the first layer, the Shadow Military Court, it seemed to have a hint of vitality.
In the center of the space was a colossal black palace complex reaching to the heavens. Within the palace were vast halls and quiet rooms, with soft light that, though originating from eternal shadows, was not eerie. Instead, it possessed a tranquil power and sanctity.
This layer could also accommodate other non-shadow creatures; as long as they obtained Naruto's permission, they could safely reside here.
"The old Shadow Garden could only store items or the Shadow Legion. Now, after fusing with the Death Labyrinth, it can also sustain life here. Hinata and the others can live here in the future."
"Once I research the power of the Six Paths, I will create all things on the second layer and completely transform it."
"Hmm—let's call the second layer the Eternal Royal Court."
Naruto stroked his chin, took a step, and instantly vanished from the Eternal Royal Court, arriving at the third layer.
This was the lowest and most dangerous layer of the God-Kingdom.
There were no physical entities here, not even concepts of light or darkness, only pure "nothingness."
Space lost its meaning here, and the flow of time was almost stagnant.
It was the ultimate cage, specifically used to imprison enemies or dangerous objects that could not be killed by conventional means.
Whether it was immortal monsters, extremely dangerous cursed objects, or terrifyingly dangerous and unstoppable ultimate attacks, all could be thrown in here.
Naruto had previously created a Ninjutsu—Great Black Sky.
Behind Great Black Sky, just like Kamui, it connected to the third layer of the Shadow God-Kingdom.
"Since it's a cage, let's call it the Void Cage."
Naruto murmured, naming the third layer of the Shadow God-Kingdom.
"Thus, my God-Kingdom has been established!"
Naruto's will hovered above this nascent God-Kingdom, feeling every inch of its space intimately connected to him, at his beck and call.
The Shadow Military Court held his army.
The Eternal Royal Court was his palace and home.
The Void Cage was his trump card and prison.
Although it was only a preliminary construction, with many details still to be perfected, a true God-Kingdom belonging to Uzumaki Naruto, independent of the world, had already laid a solid foundation.
With a thought, his figure vanished from the Void Cage.
The next moment, he was already seated on the towering obsidian throne, formed from condensed shadows, within the palace of the Eternal Royal Court.
Before him was the magnificent and powerful Shadow Legion.
Beneath his feet was the cold and terrifying Void Cage.
The God-Kingdom was nascent, and the Monarch was enthroned!