The wind carried the scent of blood. Faint, but undeniable.
Shin stood on the outskirts of the battlefield, his Abyss Eye glowing faintly as he surveyed the carnage before him. Bodies lay strewn across the scorched earth, their armor shattered, their weapons broken. Some still clung to life, their pained groans swallowed by the wind.
This was not war.
This was slaughter.
And he had arrived too late.
A presence stirred behind him.
"You should have been here sooner," a voice said, sharp as a blade.
Shin turned, his expression unreadable. Raizen stood a few feet away, his cloak stained with dust and blood, his katana still dripping crimson. His eyes held no accusation—only cold fact.
Shin exhaled. "I didn't know."
Raizen scoffed. "Would it have made a difference?"
Shin didn't answer. Because he didn't know.
A crack of thunder split the sky. The storm was coming.
And with it, something far worse.
The clouds churned above them, their dark forms swirling unnaturally. Shin's senses sharpened. The air was thick, dense with an oppressive weight that bore down on his chest. This was not an ordinary storm.
Raizen turned his gaze skyward. "They're here."
A figure emerged from the shifting darkness, stepping onto the battlefield as if he had always belonged to it. His long, tattered robes billowed in the wind, and his piercing golden eyes reflected the destruction around him like a twisted form of admiration.
"So much suffering," the figure murmured, his voice carrying an eerie calm. "Yet, still not enough."
Shin's grip tightened around his blade. "Tenka."
The leader of the Void Cult smiled, though there was no warmth in it. "Ah, Shin Noragetsu. Finally, we meet face to face. I've been waiting."
Shin stepped forward, his stance unwavering. "You orchestrated this. You turned this battlefield into a graveyard."
Tenka tilted his head. "Did I? Or did they?" He gestured to the lifeless warriors around them. "Man's thirst for violence needs no encouragement from me. I merely... accelerate the process."
Raizen's katana gleamed as he raised it. "Enough talk."
Tenka sighed, almost disappointed. "So impatient. But very well."
The moment the words left his lips, the ground beneath them fractured.
A pulse of energy erupted from Tenka, an invisible force tearing through the battlefield. The wounded warriors let out strangled cries as an unseen force lifted them from the ground. Their bodies convulsed violently before collapsing into dust.
Shin's eyes widened. "Void Release..."
Tenka extended his hand, and the very air around him warped. "The old ways are dying, Shin. The Shinobi World, the balance, the false sense of peace—all of it is crumbling. The only path forward... is through me."
Shin's Abyss Eye burned as he activated it fully. Shadows coiled around him like a living entity, responding to the energy Tenka exuded. "If you believe that, then you're more delusional than I thought."
Tenka's smile widened. "Then let me enlighten you."
He vanished.
Raizen barely had time to react before Tenka reappeared behind him, his hand slicing through the air like a blade. Raizen twisted at the last second, his katana meeting Tenka's palm in a clash of power. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the field.
Shin moved, his blade flashing as he aimed for Tenka's blind spot. But Tenka's hand shot out, intercepting Shin's strike with unnatural ease.
"Predictable," Tenka whispered.
Dark energy surged from his palm, hurling Shin backward. He flipped midair, landing on his feet just as Raizen lunged again. Tenka sidestepped, his movements fluid, effortless. With a flick of his wrist, a vortex of void energy swallowed Raizen's attack, dispersing it like mist.
Shin didn't hesitate. He formed a single hand seal, and the shadows around him condensed. "Abyssal Rend!"
The darkness surged forward in a wave, its form writhing as it sought to consume Tenka. For the first time, Tenka's expression shifted. He raised both hands, summoning a barrier of void energy. The two forces collided in a cataclysmic burst of power.
The battlefield trembled.
But Shin wasn't done.
He dashed through the chaos, his blade infused with abyssal energy. He struck at Tenka, their weapons clashing in rapid succession. Raizen joined the assault, his strikes swift and precise. Tenka deflected, evaded, countered. He was toying with them.
And they knew it.
"Is this the best the so-called heirs of the old world can offer?" Tenka mused. "Pathetic."
Shin gritted his teeth. He needed an opening. A single moment where Tenka was vulnerable.
Raizen caught his eye and nodded. A silent understanding passed between them.
Shin feinted left, drawing Tenka's focus. Raizen moved in from the right, his katana poised for a decisive strike. Tenka smirked, ready to intercept—but then, the shadows surged.
Shin's Abyss Eye flared, and the battlefield darkened.
Tenka hesitated. A fraction of a second.
Raizen's blade struck home.
A line of crimson splattered across the ground as Tenka staggered back, a deep gash tearing through his side.
For the first time, Tenka's golden eyes flickered with something resembling surprise. "Oh...?"
Shin pressed the advantage. He channeled everything into one final strike, his blade singing through the air. Tenka raised his hand to block, but the wound had slowed him.
The tip of Shin's sword met flesh.
A heartbeat passed.
Then, Tenka laughed.
Shin's eyes widened as Tenka's body shimmered—and dissolved into mist.
A voice echoed around them. "Impressive... but not enough."
The air distorted. The battlefield warped.
And then, he was gone.
Silence settled over the land. The storm above them finally broke, rain pouring onto the blood-soaked earth. Shin lowered his blade, his breathing heavy. Raizen wiped the blood from his katana, his expression unreadable.
"He let us wound him," Raizen muttered. "On purpose."
Shin knew. And that terrified him.
Because Tenka never did anything without a reason.
And this... was only the beginning.
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