One Piece: Hell Pirates

Chapter 428 428: Attack on Jigen

Brook released Black Zetsu from the Kamui Dimension, then immediately began laying traps throughout the surrounding area.

"The Otsutsuki are extremely sensitive to chakra, and they can absorb it too. Looks like I'll have to rely on the old methods after all."

At first, Brook had considered setting up a massive sensory barrier and a sealing barrier. But after thinking it over, he decided against it. If he used too much chakra, Isshiki Otsutsuki might notice in advance. In the end, he concluded that the power of the Underworld would be safer.

Brook waved his right hand, and a gate of death appeared.

In the previous major battles, he had harvested the souls of three to four thousand ninja. Countless ghosts poured out one after another, spreading around the mountain and village, blocking off every path while also serving as Brook's eyes.

At the same time, he left Flying Thunder God formulas all across the area, prepared to cut off Jigen's escape route at any moment.

"Even if Jigen is only a parasite carrying Isshiki Otsutsuki, he can still use the terrifying power of Karma and even open spatial portals. I need even more preparation."

Jigen seemed not to have noticed Brook's arrival yet. After completing the ghost blockade, Brook continued his setup and began constructing his improved sealing formation.

[Netherflame, Six Crimson Yang Formation!]

"This was originally a precious trap I prepared for the Sage of Six Paths. Looks like it'll be used on you instead."

Brook let out a cold laugh. Ever since he had been tricked by the Sage of Six Paths and the Great Toad Sage, he had been itching for revenge, and he had already begun preparing sealing techniques for the next time they met.

As the formation was completed, a massive dark red barrier rose into the sky.

The villagers instantly fell into chaos. Fear spread everywhere, and alarms rang throughout the village.

Deep within the mountains, the hidden base also flashed with red warning lights, and shrill alarms echoed through every corridor.

The personnel inside the base immediately entered a state of high alert.

Inside a high level laboratory, Isshiki was in the middle of carving a Karma seal into a child when he suddenly frowned, his face turning cold.

The three experimental children trembling under the alarm could not withstand Otsutsuki Isshiki's Karma. One after another, they died in agony.

That made Isshiki's expression grow even darker.

"Sir, an intruder has appeared!"

Boro, leader of the Otsutsuki cult, rushed over in panic to report the situation to Jigen.

"A giant and incredibly powerful barrier has appeared outside the village. Several believers were reduced to ashes the instant they touched it."

This base was one of their most important strongholds. If they abandoned it, the loss would be enormous. Most of the cult's funds over the past few years had gone into building these facilities and laboratories.

"Hmph. Let's see what kind of insect dares to act so arrogantly here."

Isshiki spoke expressionlessly, his tone icy cold. He was already furious that he still had not found a suitable vessel.

Now some mortal had the nerve to disturb him too. That only made him angrier.

He walked out of the laboratory and, within a few seconds, arrived outside the base.

Then, all of a sudden, a deadly warning exploded through his body.

His pupils shrank sharply. Every pore on his skin stood on end. A terrifying attack was about to strike.

Without hesitation, he activated his ability.

[Sukunahikona!]

In an instant, Isshiki shrank down to the size of a speck of dust, barely dodging the terrifying slash and vanishing from sight.

"Holy hell! Pure Otsutsuki really don't have souls?!"

Brook was stunned.

His [Soul Slash] and [Corpse Demon Sealing] had both failed to kill Isshiki.

That realization made his expression sink at once. His greatest soul techniques had unexpectedly failed.

Brook quickly forced himself to calm down.

Then he remembered it. The Otsutsuki resurrect through Karma. That meant they might not be ordinary soul based life forms at all, but data based beings with Karma as their true core.

No wonder they had been capable of killing the Northern Underworld God and were unaffected by the cycle of reincarnation.

Replacing the role of the soul with a "wedge" really was a perfect counter to the soul based powers of the Northern Underworld God.

More importantly, that "wedge" could continuously fuse with the genes and abilities of other races, constantly strengthening itself while gaining more powers and greater combat potential.

[Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!]

Brook could no longer sense the shrinking Isshiki, so he immediately covered the area where Jigen had vanished with Dust Release, attempting to erase every particle of matter within it.

The giant transparent cube glowed with blinding white light.

Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the technique vanished.

When the light faded, Boro stared in horror at the empty space where his master had stood.

"Lord Jigen!"

"Damn you!"

[Lava Release: Star Rending Burst!]

Boro roared in rage and unleashed his Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, spraying a massive torrent of corrosive acid at Brook, trying to kill him on the spot.

"Hmph. If I can't kill Jigen yet, do you really think you matter?"

Brook casually batted aside the lava, and the giant Grim Reaper behind him grabbed Boro, tore out his soul alive, and swallowed it whole.

A mere elite Jonin actually dared to bark in front of him.

[Six Paths of Pain, Hell Path!]

Seeing Boro's towering body, Brook felt that his appearance was practically made for the Hell Path. Without hesitation, he turned him into the final body of the Six Paths of Pain.

Then he resumed searching for Jigen's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, inside another dimension...

Jigen was coughing up blood. His face was pale, and his body was already on the verge of collapse.

"Damn it! Who the hell is that?!"

Jigen cursed furiously as he realized that this body was beginning to die.

That thought filled Otsutsuki Isshiki with terror.

He still had not found a suitable vessel for reincarnation. Was fate trying to force him into a dead end?

Jigen's soul had been completely erased by that mysterious enemy.

In other words, this body was about to die and rot because it no longer had a soul.

Unless it was turned into some kind of puppet that neither ate nor drank, it would inevitably decay. But a puppet could not serve as a vessel for Karma.

Isshiki had spent one or two thousand years carefully preserving Jigen's soul and body.

Jigen's body had never aged and had never died. Through it, Isshiki could eat, drink, and enjoy all the sensations of life.

But now, with the host body on the verge of death, he was both enraged and anxious.

Even if he could not find a perfect vessel today, he had to find a replacement host body immediately. Jigen's body was no longer fit for parasitism.

Otsutsuki Isshiki clenched his teeth and drove Jigen's failing body toward the juvenile Ten Tails.

"It seems I have no choice but to use chakra to sustain this body and delay its death for as long as possible. Then I'll kill that bastard immediately. Even if I have to reincarnate on the spot, I'll still crush him!"

At that moment, Otsutsuki Isshiki was overflowing with murderous fury.

Once Jigen's body truly died, the Karma on his body would automatically enter its resurrection phase, and Otsutsuki Isshiki would revive on the spot.

But that kind of forced resurrection, while it would restore his full strength, would also leave him with only two days to live.

----------

If Isshiki could not find a suitable reincarnation vessel and a second host within these two days, then he would truly die. His consciousness would be erased completely, leaving behind nothing but the data of the [Karma].

And even if he did find a vessel for reincarnation, or was forced to parasitize an ordinary host, he would still have to go through the long process of thawing and dissolving the [Karma].

If the vessel were perfect, the thawing process would be much faster, and he could revive completely once the release was finished.

But if he could only seize an ordinary host, and that host was unable to bear the power of the [Karma], then the thawing process would become painfully slow. After that, he would still have to continue searching for a true reincarnation vessel.

It would be an enormous waste of time.

And even if he managed to resurrect successfully, the deadline for handing in the Divine Tree's fruit would have long passed. When the patrol team sent by the upper ranks of the Otsutsuki clan arrived, the lightest punishment he could expect would be demotion. The worst case would be being turned into a sacrifice.

"How hateful!"

Otsutsuki Isshiki's entire plan had been wrecked by this unexpected bastard.

Unless he could find the perfect vessel within these two days and complete reincarnation immediately, then he was truly finished.

While absorbing chakra from the Ten Tails larva to replenish his life force, Isshiki cursed that intruder with endless hatred.

Even if he killed the bastard right now, he would most likely still be punished by the upper ranks of the Otsutsuki clan.

After all, if he had failed to find a perfect vessel in a thousand years, how could he possibly find one in just two days?

But no matter how furious he was, he had no choice but to accept reality.

He had to go out immediately, eliminate the intruder in the shortest time possible, and use the remaining two days to search for a reincarnation vessel or at least a second host.

Jigen's body was already saturated with chakra to slow the loss of life force. Even the juvenile Ten Tails had started growing restless, because the amount of chakra being drained from it this time was simply too great.

"You bastard, I will definitely kill you!"

Jigen's body immediately entered the first stage of [Karma]. Black markings spread across his body. In this state, he already possessed Kage level power, but that still was not enough.

He instantly pushed it further and entered the second stage of [Karma]. A horn grew from Jigen's head. This horn form was the unique manifestation of Isshiki Otsutsuki.

In this state, he stepped into the Six Paths level, and could use more of Isshiki Otsutsuki's true power.

In the original future, this was the form that allowed him to crush Naruto in full Nine Tails mode and Sasuke with Complete Body Susanoo.

This was also the limit Jigen's body could endure. The moment this form was activated, the burden on the body would increase dramatically.

But Jigen's soul had already been erased, and the body did not have long left anyway. Isshiki no longer cared, and activated his strongest state without hesitation.

More importantly, the enormous pressure Brook gave him made him realize that even this second stage might not be enough to kill him. He might even be forced into his final reincarnation state.

He could only hope that this second stage would be enough to kill Brook, allowing Jigen's broken body to last a little longer before reaching the final collapse point.

That would buy him just a bit more time to search for a suitable vessel or at least a second host.

Having activated his strongest second stage, Jigen immediately opened a space time portal and left that alternate dimension.

He could not afford to waste even a single second.

Time was life itself.

...

Outside, Brook was using the Tenseigan to search for Jigen's whereabouts, but he found nothing.

Then he quickly remembered Isshiki Otsutsuki's private dimension, and immediately switched his eyes into a double Kamui state.

"Even another dimension cannot escape the power of dual Kamui."

Brook immediately began using the combined power of both Kamui eyes to search for nearby alternate dimensions.

As long as he could locate the dimension first, he could then tear open a passage and force his way in.

In the original story, Obito Uchiha had used the power of both Kamui eyes to search for Sasuke Uchiha inside Kaguya Otsutsuki's six [Amenominaka] dimensions.

[Daikokuten!]

Just as Brook focused on searching for the alternate dimension, more than a dozen massive black cubes suddenly appeared out of nowhere and smashed down toward him.

Each one carried terrifying weight, overwhelming momentum, and crushing kinetic force, enough to pound him into paste.

At the same time, a storm of black rods formed through Yin Yang Release and giant stone pillars rained down continuously, giving Brook no room to breathe.

Those black rods also possessed the power to absorb chakra and seal chakra points. A direct hit would instantly throw the target's chakra circulation into chaos.

"So you've finally come!"

Brook's eyes gleamed with excitement when he saw Jigen appear. But the black cubes, rods, and pillars all passed harmlessly through his body without causing any damage at all.

"Space time ninjutsu? So you really are Brook of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Nations."

Now that he was in the second stage of [Karma], Jigen finally saw Brook clearly. The moment he did, hatred and fear surged in his heart at the same time.

The instant he had first emerged, he had been hit by that terrifying attack. In panic, he had shrunk himself and fled into another dimension, barely escaping the Dust Release that followed.

Yet this bastard had still erased Jigen's soul, forcing his body into terminal collapse and driving him into forced reincarnation.

"Looks like your intelligence network is pretty good. You even had time to investigate me."

Seeing Jigen enter his second form, Brook temporarily put aside his attempt to locate the alternate dimension with Kamui. He switched his eyes back to the Rinnegan and looked at this powerful enemy with full seriousness.

Because what came next would be a direct confrontation.

"Right now the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Nations and the Ninja Alliance are at war. Why aren't you staying there to deal with your enemies? Why did you come here to trouble me? When did I ever offend you? Do I even know you?"

Otsutsuki Isshiki was furious. He had been quietly developing his strength and laying low all this time. He had not done anything to provoke Brook. Yet this madman had suddenly come crashing in and ruined everything.

"We have never met, and you have never offended me. I only want to ask you something and borrow something from you."

Brook's Rinnegan carefully observed Jigen's condition. He could clearly see that the man's chakra was draining rapidly, and his life force was also declining at an alarming rate. The longer this dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for Brook.

So he did not mind exchanging a few words first and deliberately stalling for time.

"There's no point talking any longer. You're dying here today!"

"Don't think that just because you have a pair of three tomoe Rinnegan, you can look down on everyone!"

Otsutsuki Isshiki no longer wanted to waste another second. Just exchanging these few words had already cost him too much precious time. He had to kill Brook immediately and then continue searching for a reincarnation vessel.

Jigen burst forward at terrifying speed, leaving only a blur behind, and drove a savage kick straight at Brook.

The force behind that kick was enough to shatter a Complete Body Susanoo and smash through the Nine Tails' chakra shell.

This was the true overwhelming physical power of an Otsutsuki, comparable to the terrifying kick of Might Guy after opening the Eight Gates.

.....

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