Bleach : Begins with a Contract with the Departed Souls of the Uchiha Chapter 294: Absorbed Lives

Ever since Ren established this space as his headquarters, he had moved the World Gate Palace here.

He even took the opportunity of the relocation to expand the hall significantly.

Amanai Riko was appointed as the Hall Master, responsible for managing the Senkaimon that led to various worlds.

A towering wall enclosed the outer periter of the World Gate Palace, spanning several square kiloters. Another palace stood directly at the front, serving as the guard post for the entire complex.

This hall was nad the [HALL OF REINCARNATION]. The person entrusted with guarding Riko was Nagato, along with his forr subordinates from the Akatsuki.

Ren had even commissioned the creation of the Akatsuki's signature black robes with red clouds, simply to recreate the image in his mind.

Inside the hall, the mbers of the Akatsuki stood in their respective positions, keeping watch over the three captured Quincies.

Yahiko sat in the central chair, unable to hide the worry etched onto his face.

"Konan is a girl, and the military called her away. Won't she be in danger?"

Opposite him, Nagato rose from his chair.

His strange Rinnegan reflected the sa hint of concern, but he walked over and placed a hand on Yahiko's shoulder to comfort him.

"Don't worry. Wasn't it explained clearly during the strategy eting?"

"Konan's technique is very versatile, perfect for spreading ssages. She'll mostly be high above Seireitei, and the military has assigned specialized personnel to protect her. She won't have to fight."

Hearing this, Yahiko's expression softened slightly, though the worry in his eyes didn't fully dissipate.

"Nagato, I know everything he said, but I just can't stop thinking about it."

"We finally managed to reunite with each other, yet we have to let Konan face that kind of battlefield alone. I just can't rest easy."

"If I had known, I would have proposed going with her during the strategy eting."

Nagato shook his head. "That's impossible. The higher-ups decided from the start that we only need to stay here and protect Miss Riko."

"Besides, during the ti you were gone, both Konan and I beca much stronger. You should trust her; she is quite powerful."

"I suppose so."

Yahiko nodded, then rembered sothing and grumbled, "Doesn't that Riko girl have an Uchiha girl protecting her personally? She's a powerhouse with the Mangekyō Sharingan. Our presence here is basically negligible."

"Especially since there's a guy here who clearly loves causing chaos. Wouldn't it be better to put him on the battlefield?"

As he spoke, he glanced toward one side of the hall.

A young man with blond hair in a high ponytail was standing there, looking toward them with a look of surprise on his face.

Nagato frowned. "Deidara, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Deidara shook his head repeatedly, but the strange look remained.

He walked over in a few steps, his ponytail swaying, and rubbed his chin as he looked at Yahiko with curiosity.

"Co to think of it, this is the first ti I've seen 'Zero' with so many lively expressions, hmph."

As he spoke, he looked back at Nagato.

"I heard the gist of it from Konan. That ans when you were alive in the ninja world, you were always the leader with the Rinnegan, and 'Zero' was just a puppet you pushed to the front, right?"

"Yahiko was always the leader of the Akatsuki. That has never changed," Nagato said, his voice carrying a trace of displeasure.

Sasori, standing nearby, sensed the shift in Nagato's tone and quickly stepped forward to grab Deidara.

"There are so things you should keep to yourself. You don't have to say everything out loud!"

"Hey, Sasori-danna, aren't you curious too? The true face of our boss, hmph!"

"Brat, shut up!"

Sasori clamped a hand over Deidara's mouth, refusing to let him speak further.

Seeing the gloom on Nagato's face, Yahiko quickly stepped between them to calm him down.

"Forget it, Nagato. Am I not right here?"

He didn't know what Nagato had gone through after his death, but his temper had grown quite significant.

Especially when he was angry; his majesty was so overwhelming that one could no longer see the soft, shy boy he had been as a child.

At Yahiko's intervention, the darkness on Nagato's face gradually receded.

Glancing at Deidara, he warned coldly, "For Yahiko's sake, I'll overlook your insolence this ti. There won't be a next ti, Deidara."

"Fine, I understand, Leader."

"I told you, Yahiko is the leader of the Akatsuki."

"Alright, alright. Deidara is still just a kid. There's no need to be so serious."

Yahiko placed his hands on Nagato's shoulders to guide him back to his seat, while simultaneously changing the subject.

"Don't we have other tasks besides guarding this place?"

He looked to the side, where the other Akatsuki mbers were standing, surrounding three Quincies.

When the army occupied this shadow space, they had captured a group of prisoners. Most were disposed of, leaving only three powerful Quincies.

He had heard they were mbers of the Sternritter.

One chanical Quincy had been sent to the research departnt to have his technology analyzed.

Now that the army had launched its offensive against Seireitei, the remaining three were left here under their watch.

Seeing everyone's gaze shift toward them, Giselle's face turned cold. "Don't worry. We won't do anything reckless."

Liltotto nodded. "We're fully aware of the power gap between us. We won't cause trouble."

"Besides, if we intended to resist, we would have done it when you were slaughtering those other Quincies," Candice added, her tone filled with irritation.

"You truly are heartless people, watching your comrades die without blinking," Kisa remarked, his mouth peeling back to reveal rows of sharp teeth. "But it's good that you understand."

Kakuzu was holding a pen, scribbling in a notebook and barely looking up. "Correct. That is for the best. If you cause a disturbance, we'll have to suppress you, and I don't like doing extra work for no profit."

Out of curiosity, Kisa leaned over to look and saw the page was filled with calculations.

"What is this?"

"Even if it's the Solitary King's command, I won't work for him for free," Kakuzu stated matter-of-factly. "When the war is over, I'll find Senju Tobirama and have him settle my wages and overti pay."

Kisa was stunned. "You're already dead, yet you care about money this much? There's truly no one like you."

"One can only say it's classic you."

At that mont, an anomaly occurred.

"Aaaaaah!"

A shrill, agonizing scream rang out.

Everyone turned to look, only to see Candice, who had been fine just a mont ago, suddenly collapse to the floor.

She thrashed uncontrollably, her limbs twitching as bolts of lightning periodically erupted from her body.

Her face turned deathly pale, and blood began to seep from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth as if she were undergoing a horrific torture.

"Candice, what's happening to you?"

"Bitch! Are you okay? Don't joke around at a ti like this!"

Liltotto tried to approach, but was struck by a stray bolt of lightning, causing half her body to go numb instantly.

Giselle's expression changed drastically as she glared at Nagato and the others. "What did you do to her?!"

"Wait, we didn't do anything!" Yahiko stood up abruptly to explain.

"No... it's... it's not them..."

Candice sprawled on the ground, her fingers clawing at the floor until she left bloody grooves, her nails tearing away from the flesh.

She forced herself up, coughing up blood as she looked at her two Quincy companions.

"It's... Ren Shihoin... that bastard is absorbing my life... he never intended to let us live!"

"Liltotto... Gigi... be careful—"

Before she could finish, her body suddenly stiffened, and she collapsed, her breath completely gone.

"Hey, Candice..."

Liltotto was about to step forward when Giselle stopped her.

"Wait, don't go near her yet."

Before their eyes, once Candice stopped breathing, her body rapidly withered. Her Reishi surged violently, emitting a brilliant, crystalline light.

A translucent thread erged from her corpse, extending backward through the palace walls.

The Reishi erupting from the corpse converged toward that thread, feeding it until it grew thick and vibrant.

In the blink of an eye, all of Candice's Reishi was absorbed by the thread, and her corpse vanished without a trace.

The thread itself disappeared from everyone's sight.

All that remained was Candice's clothing and the bloodstains sared on the floor.

Liltotto's eyes widened, her small face filled with shock.

She had just watched her companion die right in front of her, and not even a body was left behind.

Before she even had ti to grieve, she recalled Candice's dying words, and a realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

She whipped her head around to look at Nagato and the others.

"So that's what it was! You bastards!"

Beside her, Giselle had also realized the truth.

She had seen that thread before. When she signed the contract with Ren Shihoin, it had connected to her body as well.

The scene just now was a form of predation upon Candice!

Ren Shihoin must have encountered a disadvantage in battle, perhaps even a life-threatening situation, and so he had forcibly taken Candice's life and power!

Damn it!

That bastard had kept them alive until now for exactly this purpose!

"You knew all along, didn't you? That's why you kept us imprisoned here!"

Seeing this change, Nagato sighed.

"I didn't think it would actually co to this."

He looked at Giselle and Liltotto and said coldly, "I suggest you do nothing. It will save you from suffering."

With those words, he essentially confird Giselle's speculation.

"Damn it!"

Giselle looked at Liltotto, her spiritual pressure surging as she shouted, "Liltotto, we can't just sit here and wait for death!"

"With the war raging, the guard here is thin. This is our best chance!"

Liltotto opened her mouth wide, her expression wary as she looked at the Akatsuki mbers surrounding her and Giselle.

Nagato's brow furrowed as he gestured to Kisa and the others.

"Go. Subdue them. Rember to keep them alive."

Kisa's blue face twisted into a grin as he gripped the large sword on his back.

Kakuzu closed his notebook. "Make sure to add a bonus for this later."

"Money doesn't matter. Let show you my art, hmph!"

Deidara was full of excitent, his hands reaching into the clay pouches at his waist.

A battle erupted instantly.

anwhile, inside Seireitei, after absorbing the life and power of a strong individual, Ren finally had enough spiritual power to repair his own injuries.

Cradled in Shisui's arms, Ren slowly turned his head, using eyes that hadn't yet regrown eyelids to look at Cang Du and the others who were surrounded by Sengoku's group.

The muscle fibers on his face were exposed, but he forced his mouth to curl up, revealing a twisted and terrifying smile.

"Cang Du, you really almost killed just now!"

"Just a little more, really. If you had landed about twenty thousand more of those attacks, my life might have actually been forfeit."

Seeing Ren, who now consisted of little more than a head, still so energetic and full of vigor, the Soul Reapers' eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"That... how is that possible?!"

"We all saw it! He was clearly decapitated and burned to a crisp! How can he still be alive?"

"Damn it! What kind of ability gives him that kind of immortality?!"

"Even for an immortal, there should be limits!"

Cang Du's gaze fixed on Ren, his face darkening instantly as he gritted his teeth, hissing a curse through the gaps.

"You damn monster!"

Nearby, Unohana Retsu opened her mouth but couldn't find any words. Her usually gentle expression was now overshadowed by a hint of gloom.

Previously, the Captain-Commander had used every ans at his disposal just to kill Ren Shihoin once.

If it was truly as Ren said, that it would take twenty thousand more deaths... even with their seemingly invincible Captain-Commander Cang Du, could they really win?

In the crowd, Aizen suppressed the shock in his heart, his eyes filled with wonder.

He hadn't expected his senior, Ren, to be hiding such a powerful trump card. He had never seen soone survive in such a state before. To call it immortality was no exaggeration!

"Twenty thousand tis, is it?"

Based on his understanding of his senior, although Ren rarely lied, he loved omitting the full truth.

Aizen speculated that even if Cang Du really killed him twenty thousand tis, it likely wouldn't be enough to finish Ren Shihoin.

He definitely had other tricks up his sleeve!

What confused Aizen now was how this immortality worked.

And where exactly did that number—twenty thousand—co from?

"How interesting."

Sengoku and the others, seeing Ren acting as if nothing were wrong, let out a collective sigh of relief.

Though they knew Ren wouldn't die easily, seeing him in that ghostly state earlier had still made their hearts skip a beat.

If the threads connecting them hadn't remained steady, they wouldn't have dared to imagine the consequences.

"Gurarara! Regardless, it's good that you're fine."

"Mamma mamma~ Whitebeard is right. We can rest easy now."

Beside Sengoku, Luffy stared at Ren, blinking, until he suddenly realized sothing.

"Eh?!!!"

Luffy's mouth fell open, his tongue rolling out like a wave, his eyes bulging as a trail of snot ran down his nose.

"You... you... you're actually okay?!"

"Mr. Luffy, your reaction is too slow," Kuzan said, clutching his forehead and sighing at the sky.

Seeing Kuzan's reaction, Luffy closed his mouth and looked at the others.

Whether it was Kuzan, Sengoku, or Whitebeard's group, everyone had a very calm expression.

"What's going on? Am I the only one who didn't know?"

He quickly looked at Kuzan and asked, "Hey, did you guys hide this from on purpose?"

"How is that possible?"

Kuzan waved his hand, his face full of exasperation.

"We discussed this during the strategy eting. You were sleeping at the ti, so you didn't hear it."

Luffy punched his palm, a look of realization dawning on his face.

"So that's how it is. That makes sense."

At the ti, he had found the eting too tedious. After hearing the beginning, he hadn't been able to stop himself from dozing off.

Seeing Luffy's buffoonery, Sengoku's face turned black. "Luffy! So you really were sleeping!"

"I wasn't! Definitely not!" Luffy laughed loudly, pointing at Kuzan. "Kuzan is framing ! Do I look like that kind of person?"

Kuzan nodded. "You exactly like that kind of person!"

Sengoku didn't want to deal with the idiot and turned back to Ren.

"Great King, you should understand the situation now."

"As per our previous agreent, we are taking over this battle. You stay there and recover; don't put yourself in danger again."

By now, Ren's eyelids had regrown, the muscles on his face had filled in, and skin was beginning to surface.

He recalled that he did have such an agreent with Sengoku.

Before the invasion of Seireitei, Sengoku had been uneasy about him fighting the Soul Reapers alone and had proposed this condition.

Ren spoke up. "Cang Du is very strong. Are you confident?"

"Of course!" Sengoku said decisively.

Whitebeard and the others nodded, their faces full of confidence.

Ren's head bobbed up and down as he looked at Whitebeard's group. Suddenly, he asked, "Why are you all joining the fight? I recall that wasn't part of the plan."

In the original plan, Ren had only wanted Whitebeard and the others to block the Soul Reaper Captains' retreat to prevent them from escaping.

Ren had a greater use for Whitebeard and the others later on.

Whitebeard replied, "Seeing you suddenly end up like that, how could we just stand by?" Linlin added, "Even if we're villains, we still understand the aning of honor."

"Fine then."

Ren's head nodded again as he said, "That's fine. It'll take about sixty seconds for my body to fully recover. During this ti, you hold off Cang Du for ."

"However, once that old man uses his release, you must retreat imdiately."

"I'm still holding onto a few ultimate moves that I've been planning to test out on him."

[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comnts are highly appreciated to keep going.....( 50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]