The Underworld of Starfish.
The sky here, as always, was blood-red—more like fire than dusk.
The land was scorched black like charcoal, and from time to time, a purple mist drifted lazily through the air.
At the center of this underworld stood a grand city.
A towering black wall reached into the heavens, with rivers of molten lava flowing outside its perimeter. Volcanoes loomed all around. Inside the walls stretched an immense cityscape of vast proportions.
Only those under the command of the King of the Dead—Shinigami, Underworld Generals, Underworld Soldiers—as well as the souls of their chosen family members and descendants, were allowed to reside in this place.
Given that spiritual beings typically lived for several centuries…
Even this already massive citadel was becoming overcrowded.
However, ever since the King of the Dead led his army into the Pure Land of the Shinobi World, the city's population had sharply declined.
Yet, no one seemed particularly worried about this.
In their eyes, the King of the Dead was an invincible existence.
That was… until the scattered remnants of his army returned in defeat—bringing with them the grim news of the King's downfall.
From that moment on, the sweltering air of the citadel began to carry with it a rising sense of panic.
Fortunately, the strongest of the Underworld Generals under the King's command, Sanast stepped forward in time to quell the unrest.
He announced that, as Lord of the Underworld, even if the King of the Dead fell in battle outside his domain, he would resurrect within his homeland after thirteen days. This news greatly eased the mounting tension across the city.
This was why Sanast believed that if someone on the other side had the power to defeat the King of the Dead, then they most certainly possessed the strength to launch an invasion into their homeland as well.
Truth be told, the thought weighed heavily on him.
He didn't believe he could possibly defeat someone capable of besting the King.
Worse still, he knew that even after resurrection, the King of the Dead would remain in a weakened state for quite some time.
So if the enemy truly did counterattack now… there would be no way they could hold the line.
And yet, despite it all, Sanast had no choice but to grit his teeth and take charge of the situation.
Even if… he technically had no teeth to grit.
Nor a scalp to harden.
Beyond all this, however—
Another matter pressed heavily on Sanast's mind.
Just a few days prior, Ryōma, who lived in the Other Shore Garden, had been killed—by someone unknown.
Ryōma's death was a tremendous loss to their side.
Had he still been around, he might have helped ease some of the pressure Sanast now faced.
And the mysterious figure who had slain Ryōma… could not be ignored.
Unfortunately, even now, Sanast's Shinigami had turned up no leads.
The Other Shore Garden, along with Ryōma's entire estate, had been completely reduced to rubble.
At the same time—
A skeletal figure, cloaked in black and wielding an enormous scythe, swept into the Death God Hall.
Upon seeing Sanast seated atop a throne made entirely of piled skulls, the figure dropped to one knee and reported urgently: "Commander! We've just received an emergency alert from the West River sea outlet—massive numbers of underworld ships flying the World Government flag have invaded! They initiated the attack without warning!"
"The World Government?!"
Sanast snapped his head upward in shock.
"Yes, confirmed—it's the five-circle-cross emblem!"
As he spoke, the black-robed Shinigami quickly retrieved a Den-Den Mushi and projected an image feed into midair, relaying the scene from the West River outlet.
"What…?!"
At once, the soul-flames burning in Sanast's eye sockets flared and quivered violently.
He had never expected that the first invaders wouldn't be forces from the Shinobi World—but rather the World Government of the human realm itself!
But now that it had happened, Sanast had no choice but to face the reality and act quickly.
What should he do?
Should he abandon the citadel of the King of the Dead and head to the West River outlet to intercept?
But what if, in the meantime, the Shinobi World's forces tore open the skies and attacked directly?
After a moment of intense deliberation, Sanast made his decision:
He would deal with the World Government's strange army first.
Just as he had reasoned earlier—if the one who defeated the King of the Dead truly arrived in person, then holding the line here wouldn't matter anyway.
Even so, Sanast left behind 5,000 Shinigami, and took the remaining 3,000 with him to rush toward the West River outlet.
He wanted to see for himself just what exactly was going on.
Meanwhile, at the West River outlet of the Underworld—
Just as the footage had shown, the battlefield had already descended into a blood-soaked frenzy.
A murderous aura, vast and boundless, surged like wind around the pitch-black River Styx, which sparkled faintly with scattered starlight.
Thousands of underworld warships were sailing in, tightly arrayed and advancing in a mighty wave that surged into the Underworld of Starfish.
And yet, the figures disembarking from those ships were nothing like expected.
They were all titans, each nearly 10 meters tall, dressed in dark purple-black military uniforms.
As soon as they landed, they charged across the battlefield—grinning from ear to ear.
And then, with brutal force, they began to pummel a formation of skeletal soldiers clad in dark crimson armor, wielding swords, spears, sabers, and halberds.
On the deck of one seemingly ordinary underworld ship nestled in the middle of the fleet—
A young man with black hair stood at the prow, wearing a purple coat of justice. His bright emerald-green eyes were fixed on the dark silhouettes swirling high above the battlefield.
"Brother Zeke," he said calmly, "bring those black-robed skeletons down."
"No problem!" came the reply.
Just as the young man behind him finished speaking, a burst of crackling golden electricity erupted in the air—followed by a swiftly expanding shadow that loomed overhead.
And yet, the youth didn't even bother to turn around.
In the blink of an eye, a towering figure—17 meters tall and covered from head to toe in coarse brown-black fur like a simian—appeared on the deck.
It was none other than the Beast Titan, Zeke Yeager!
Currently serving as a Lieutenant General in the Underworld Army under Enma.
At that moment, a dozen soldiers struggled to wheel over three large carts, each filled to the brim with stone spheres.
Zeke didn't hesitate.
He grabbed one of the carts, poured the stones into his free hand—
—then took a pitcher's stance.
In the next instant, dozens of massive stone projectiles were hurled with immense force into the air.
[Boom!]
The piercing howl of tearing air burst through the battlefield, followed by a wave of violent shockwaves. The Justice Coats of everyone present flapped wildly in the wind.
Standing among them were Bertholdt Hoover, Reiner Braun, Lara Tybur, Annie Leonhart, and many more—each one a past or present host of an Intelligent Titan, and all now serving as officers in Enma's Underworld Army.
"You go too," the black-haired young man said again from the front. "End this quickly."
"Yes, General Eren!!!"
...
Eren Yeager.
In life, he had been deceived by Ymir, mistakenly believing that the World Government would bring only death and suffering to the Eldians.
Because of this, he gave everything he had, rallying all the major powers of the Titan World to form an enormous army to resist the invasion of the World Government.
At the same time, through a series of carefully laid plans, he succeeded in devouring the holders of the other intelligent Titans, ultimately becoming the unprecedented 'Nine Titans in One' — the ultimate Titan.
Back then, Eren's mindset was simple: if defeat and enslavement were inevitable, then he would at least land one heavy blow — using everything he had to cause the World Government as much trouble as possible.
And judging by the results, he succeeded.
But when Eren eventually discovered that everything had been part of Ymir's whimsical deception, his mind completely collapsed.
And now, the reason Eren had reappeared on this battlefield as a general of the Underworld Army…
Was mainly because Enma had too few capable subordinates.
When she heard that Eren had once been some sort of 'ultimate Titan', she was naturally intrigued.
After learning the full story, Enma immediately ordered Ymir to summon Eren's soul.
Ymir didn't object either — and obediently complied.
Though Eren now knew the full truth, his feelings were complicated. Still, he no longer harbored any hostility toward the World Government.
Instead, all of his hatred, resentment, and fury were now directed at Ymir — the one who had deceived him.
Ymir, of course, couldn't care less.
Frankly, what could Eren even do besides glare at her?
The so-called 'ultimate Titan' meant nothing in her eyes.
Eren understood that perfectly well.
So he had no choice but to force himself to shift his focus elsewhere.
He began training in hand-to-hand combat and Haki, striving to improve his own strength.
At the same time, he took on the role of commander of Enma's Titan Corps, fighting across the Underworld on behalf of the World Government.
Atonement, perhaps, for everything he had done in life.
And deep down, he still held on to the hope that one day — somehow — he might see Mikasa again.
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