Chapter 238: Changing the Participants
"Just average, compared to an old geezer like you, my petty scheming is nothing. At least I launch my sneak attacks openly."
Ren stood casually, his white captain's haori fluttering in the chaotic wind. He fiddled with the Zanpakuto in his hand, a blade that currently appeared no longer than a simple wakizashi or dagger.
His eyes were narrowed into thin slits, a deceptively permanent smile plastered on his face.
Although Shinsō—the Divine Spear—didn't possess an illusionary, unsolvable ability like Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, it was indeed a terrifyingly dangerous weapon in its own right. Its essence was speed and length.
Anyone facing it had to be vigilant to the point of paranoia. Otherwise, being impaled would take less time than a single heartbeat. And as long as the sneak attack succeeded, even a scratch could be fatal if he chose to leave a shard of the blade inside the opponent, dissolving them from the cellular level with potent poison.
"Old man, just stay on the side. Leave all these guys to me," Ren said to Makarov without looking back.
He knew Makarov's health wasn't what it used to be. The Guild Master had a history of heart problems. If this fierce battle against three monsters caused the old man to suffer a sudden heart attack, the pillar of Fairy Tail might crumble right here.
Makarov shook his head firmly, his giant form shrinking back to normal size but his aura blazing. "No! If they were ordinary opponents, fine, but the opponents are from the strongest guild, Grimoire Heart, plus Jose. It's too difficult for you alone, Ren. I cannot let my child fight this darkness by himself."
"Don't worry! Old man, at least wait until after I finish fighting before you say anything."
"Hey! You three, come and play with me!" Ren taunted, pointing his short blade at the trio of villains.
"Play? Brat, disappear together."
Bluenote Stinger, the ace of Grimoire Heart, stepped forward. He raised his palm casually, and the air pressure instantly plummeted.
"Fall."
A powerful, crushing gravity pressed down on Ren and Makarov. This was Bluenote's signature Gravity Magic, a force that could flatten armies by simply increasing the weight of the atmosphere until bones snapped.
"This is... Gravity!!"
Makarov groaned, his knees buckling slightly under the immense weight. "This guy... his magic power is monstrous!"
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a silver flash cut through the heavy air.
Ren's Zanpakuto instantly lengthened, shooting forward like a beam of light, aiming straight for Bluenote's throat.
Bluenote's expression changed from boredom to surprise. He quickly tilted his head, the blade grazing his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Dark Spiral!"
Jose Porla, the former master of Phantom Lord, had been waiting for this exact moment. His hands swirled with purple, ghostly energy. He unleashed a vortex of dark spirits, screaming towards Ren.
Shunpo!
Swish—!
Ren's body vanished. He instantly reappeared right beside Jose, his blade already swinging in a lethal arc. "Gotcha."
Jose's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the boy to move so freely under Bluenote's gravity. He had no choice but to abort his attack and conjure a shield of darkness.
Clang!
Sparks flew. Before Jose could counter-attack, Ren was gone again.
Swish—!
Ren's body appeared twenty meters away, perched on a rock.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
Whoosh—!!
The blade extended again, this time aiming for Master Hades. It moved at the speed of sound, a silver blur.
Hades, the Master of Grimoire Heart, didn't panic. He shifted his stance slightly, dodging the thrust by a millimeter. At the same time, black chains erupted from his cloak, snake-like and sentient, attempting to wrap around the extended blade of Shinsō.
"Ghost Arrow!"
Jose raised his hand, seizing the opening. He released a barrage of hundreds of purple-black spectral arrows, raining them down on Ren's position.
Ren flicked his wrist. Shinsō instantly retracted back to its dagger form. He pushed off the rock, retreating rapidly.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!
The Ghost Arrows bombarded the area where Ren had just been standing, triggering massive explosions that pulverized the rock and set the trees ablaze with cold, dark fire.
"Butō: Renjin (Dance of Blades)!"
Ren gripped his blade with both hands.
Thrum-thrum-thrum!
Shinsō extended and retracted dozens of times in a single second, creating a wall of silver spears. Jose was forced to dance back, sweating as the blades punctured the ground all around him.
"Gravity Strike!"
Bluenote swung his fist, punching the empty air. A horizontal column of distorted gravity blasted forward like a cannonball.
Rumble—!
The invisible impact rushed toward Ren, tearing up the earth in its wake.
Bang!
Ren brought his blade up to block, but the force was overwhelming. He was blasted backward, his feet carving deep trenches into the soil as he struggled to regain his balance.
"Ren!"
Seeing Ren being attacked from all sides, Makarov couldn't stand it anymore. "I will not watch this!"
Makarov swung his giant fist toward Hades, his arm expanding to the size of a truck.
Hades merely raised his palm. A purple magic barrier manifested instantly.
Boom—!
Makarov's Titan fist struck the barrier. The ground shook violently, cracks spider-webbing for miles, but the barrier firmly blocked Makarov's punch without shattering in the slightest.
Ren finally skidded to a halt, shaking his numb arm.
"Brat! The attack speed of your weapon is indeed very fast, but as long as we concentrate, your attacks won't succeed," Bluenote said lightly, cracking his neck. "Gravity crushes all speed."
"Sigh! I still suffered the disadvantage of appearing too early!"
Ren patted the dust off his white haori. The previous attacks hadn't caused much actual damage to him; only the hem of his clothes was slightly dirty.
He sighed internally. It was just like in the manga. Shinsō was like the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, where everyone got power-ups one after another, but Gin Ichimaru logged off way too early in the Arrancar arc.
Gin back then couldn't be called weak; he could at least suppress Ichigo Kurosaki in his Masked state. If Gin had truly wanted to, Ichigo would have died the moment he was injured by the potent cell-dissolving poison of Kamishini no Yari.
But numerically speaking, in terms of raw destructive power and speed, Gin was far inferior to Ulquiorra in his Segunda Etapa form. Ulquiorra could crush Masked Ichigo effortlessly.
The difference between merely suppressing an opponent and utterly crushing them was enormous. Especially against three opponents of this caliber.
Gin's strongest ability was undoubtedly the poison that dissolved the body on a cellular level, but landing that hit on three vigilant Wizard Saints was proving difficult.
"Dealing with three Ten Wizard Saints-level guys in this form is truly a bit troublesome."
To be honest, he didn't really like this hit-and-run fighting style. He preferred overwhelming speed or brute force. But these old geezers were all shameless; despite their age, their Magic Power was monstrously high, and they were ganging up on him just because his current Magic Power pool was lower than theirs.
"Then let's change the participants. Speed for speed. With my current Magic Power reserve, I should barely be able to activate that form for a short time."
Ren closed his eyes. The sinister aura of the snake vanished instantly.
"Full Body Take Over: Minato Namikaze!"
Ren whispered the name.
His body began to change. His light purple hair turned a brilliant, sun-kissed yellow. His narrowed, scheming eyes opened wide, revealing bright blue irises full of determination. The black shinigami uniform dissolved, replaced by a standard blue shinobi outfit and a green flak jacket.
Finally, a white, flame-patterned cloak materialized over his shoulders. The kanji for 'Captain of the Third Division' faded, replaced by vertical red kanji:
Fourth Hokage.
"Another new transformation?!"
Jose took a step back, stunned. Everyone was surprised to see the drastic change in Ren's appearance and aura.
"This guy... has too many faces," Bluenote muttered.
"Brat, no matter what you transform into, the outcome is immutable. This time, you're dead," Hades declared cold-heartedly.
At this moment, Makarov lunged at Hades again.
Makarov quickly performed magic hand signs, weaving a high-level light spell. For many Great Magic spells, especially the legendary ones, complicated magic hand signs or long incantations were absolute requirements to stabilize the mana.
Both incantations and hand signs could increase the power of magic, focusing the caster's will.
"Do you intend to resist me, brat? You are a hundred years too early."
Hades didn't weave signs. He simply slid his finger through the air.
Purple lines of light trailed his fingertip, and a wildly complex magic circle was completed in an instant.
Makarov was shocked when he saw it, his eyes widening in horror. "Amaterasu Twenty-Eight Style Magic Circle?! In an instant?! That's too fast! That formula usually takes minutes to write!"
"You can't win against me, Makarov. I have peered into the abyss of magic."
Boom—!!
As soon as Hades finished speaking, he clenched his fist, detonating the magic circle directly in Makarov's face.
"Wuuu-ahhh! Hah!!"
Makarov roared, flaring his own golden Magic Power to create a shield, trying to repel the blast of the Amaterasu spell. The explosion engulfed him.
"Hmph!"
Hades didn't let up. He immediately released black magic chains from his sleeve. They shot through the smoke like vipers, clamping tightly onto Makarov's shoulders and limbs.
"I can dance freely with magic. Can you?"
Crackle crackle!
Hades casually swung the chains with terrifying strength. He whipped Makarov's massive body through the air, smashing him through several ancient trees and then slamming him down, shattering a giant boulder into dust.
"Gah!!" Makarov coughed blood.
Just as Makarov was preparing to struggle to his feet, Hades raised both hands.
Swish swish swish—!!
Layer upon layer of complex magic circles appeared around Makarov's body—so complex that even Makarov, a master himself, barely recognized the geometry. They stacked on top of each other, trapping him.
"W-what is this?!"
Although Makarov didn't recognize the specific formula, his instincts screamed danger. This was a spell designed for total annihilation.
"Maximum Defense Magic Circle, Three Pillar Gods!!"
Makarov slammed his palms together. Three massive stone pillars, etched with ancient protective runes, rose from the ground around him, forming a triangular barrier. This was Makarov's strongest defensive magic, a fortress that could withstand attacks capable of destroying entire cities.
Hades looked down at him with pity.
"Vanish, brat!"
"Amaterasu Formula 100!"
Boom—!!!
A blinding white light swallowed the world.
An incredibly terrifying impact erupted, engulfing half the island in a sphere of pure destruction. The terrifying shockwave tore apart the earth, vaporized the trees, and shook the very ocean foundation. Everything within the blast radius was annihilated in an instant.
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