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Within the towering Realm Gate, multicolored streams of energy surged and shimmered. A ripple appeared, and from it strode Qin Yi, his face cold and his brows furrowed, clearly weighed down by unspoken troubles.
The first half of the Grand Line had finally been unified under the fervent advance of the Three Admirals. Because of this, Qin's Nation had gained recognition from the strange rules governing the Pirate World, establishing itself as a true kingdom.
Yet during this period, Qin Yi had been plagued with unease. His father, his past life's father, had appeared briefly, calling to him only once. But that single word was enough for Qin Yi's heart to sense ill omens.
Almost immediately, he felt his King's Strength weaken.
His expression had darkened at once. He knew this could only mean one thing: the strength of his nation was faltering, and his people were suffering. His King's World was under attack.
"What in the world happened?" Qin Yi's gaze grew heavy as he thought to himself.
Fortunately, the Realm Gate had been only a step away from completion. Once it stabilized, his King's Strength ceased its decline, allowing him a moment's reprieve. And today, with the Realm Gate fully formed, he finally crossed the two realms and returned to his world.
Behind him followed Madara and the Three Admirals, each stepping out in turn.
But Qin Yi froze the instant his foot touched solid ground. His eyes swept forward, and his expression darkened to its limit.
Everywhere he looked lay ruins. The Royal City was in tatters, its people silently toiling to rebuild amidst the wreckage. Great trees lay toppled across broken streets, once-paved stone roads lay shattered, and aside from a handful of newly rebuilt structures, the rest was nothing but devastation.
"What happened here?!" Qin Yi muttered with a stormy look on his face.
The Three Admirals gaped, at a loss for words, almost wondering if they had stepped into the wrong world. Madara crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing sharply.
After standing in stunned silence for a long while, they pressed forward.
"Your Majesty." On the streets, the people recognized Qin Yi and immediately bowed low, trembling with reverence. Their eyes flickered with shame; none dared meet his gaze directly.
They felt disgraced. While their emperor was away, they had allowed the kingdom to fall into such ruin. And now, the cold fury etched on their young ruler's face was something they had never before seen.
Soon after, Qin Yi and his retinue encountered General Yang and Hashirama, rushing toward them.
"Your Majesty!" Hashirama and the others bowed deeply.
"What happened here?" Qin Yi demanded, his voice low and thunderous, his fury restrained but palpable.
"It was an otherworldly Demon Immortal," Hashirama said with a sigh. "An Immortal, where he came from, we do not know. But he struck at our nation with a single palm."
"An… otherworldly Demon Immortal?" Qin Yi's brows arched, his face a mask of doubt.
"That is how Gandalf described him. Beyond that, we know little," Hashirama admitted, shaking his head.
"Your Majesty, a recording was captured of that day," General Yang said in a hushed voice. "Please… come see for yourself."
Qin Yi cast him a sharp glance, then nodded.
Moments later, his head lifted from the recording, his expression ashen as he looked at the silent figures before him.
"…Where is Gandalf?"
Even though the recording only caught fragments of the battle, Qin Yi could feel the terror of that clash, the heart-pounding brutality of it.
It was the kind of power he had once dreamed of. The power of the immortals.
Eternal life, unfading youth, strength unmatched, an Immortal Cultivator who could traverse the vast cosmos, descend above his kingdom, and unleash a palm strike that nearly shattered the entire world.
"Gandalf San… he performed a sacrificial ritual. He fell into a deep slumber, and has yet to awaken," Hashirama finally confessed after exchanging looks with the others.
"Gandalf!" Qin Yi's fists clenched, his roar shaking the frozen chamber.
"Take me to him!"
Half an hour later, Qin Yi and his companions descended into the underground ice cavern.
There, encased in frost upon a bed of ice, lay Gandalf, his body sealed, his breath locked in a fragile thread of life. Qin Yi's eyes quivered, and it felt as though all strength had drained from his body.
In his very first battle upon arriving in this world, it was Gandalf who had stood at his side. Without the guidance of this kind, elderly figure, he would never have come this far. And Gandalf… was the last person left to him by his former father.
Strictly speaking, Gandalf was not of Qin's Nation. He was under no obligation to follow Qin Yi, nor to obey his commands. Yet in their time together, Gandalf had quietly played the role of a loyal subject, bending his back, devoting all he had.
"A nation can be destroyed and rebuilt… But if you are gone, you are gone forever!"
Qin Yi's thin shoulders trembled. He let out a long, shuddering sigh, then closed his eyes. A tear slipped down his cheek. Behind him, silence reigned. All present could feel the weight of their Emperor's grief. Gandalf's slumber had plunged the entire nation into sorrow and stillness.
At last, after gazing long at Gandalf's frozen body, Qin Yi turned away.
"Your Majesty, do not despair," General Yang said softly. "You possess the power to travel across worlds. Gandalf still clings to a sliver of life. There may yet be a way to save him."
Qin Yi's whole body jolted. He had been so lost in anguish that he had overlooked the obvious.
His knowledge of the Myriad Heavens was not shallow. Across those vast worlds, there were countless methods to restore life, even to resurrect the dead. And Gandalf was not yet truly gone.
"You're right!" Qin Yi's head snapped up, his eyes burning with sudden light.
"Among the boundless worlds, across countless living beings… there must be a way to save him!"
His gaze sharpened.
"Your Majesty," Hashirama added gravely, "though Gandalf still clings to life, even sealed, it won't last long. His vitality must be replenished, quickly."
"Replenish… vitality." Qin Yi muttered. Then his voice hardened. "I understand."
After a while, he and the others left the cavern.
"Deploy soldiers. Guard this place well. No one is to enter without leave."
He gave the order to General Yang, then strode away.
Later, in the newly built council hall, Qin Yi sat frowning, deep in thought. At last, he sighed heavily.
That Immortal Cultivator who had appeared without warning, unleashing a strike that nearly annihilated the kingdom… And his former father, who had once shown himself.
It became clear to him: that terrifying blow had been his father's hand.
What shocked Qin Yi most was the ability itself, an unfathomable power. From across a gulf of unfathomable void, he had sought Qin Yi out, pierced through, and manifested before him.
"What level has he reached? If I could reach that realm… could I save Gandalf?" Qin Yi murmured.
But no matter how many questions stirred within him, one truth was undeniable.
He was still weak. Pitifully weak. And this world was far from forgiving.
"The process must accelerate."
His eyes sharpened. He turned to Hashirama.
"Hashirama, the Ninja World. It must be unified."
His tone was calm, but the authority in his gaze made Hashirama's heart jolt.
In that instant, he understood: his deliberate, measured pace, his attempts to slow the conquest… had finally angered the King.
(End of Chapter)