Differences

The breeze was gentle, and the sea rolled in waves.

If not for the rather unsightly heaps of scrap metal littering the beach, this would have been a fine vacation spot.

After the Uchiha group arrived, they first looked around cautiously to see whether there was any danger.

They then immediately realized that they were already Lost Souls.

Whether there were living people around no longer mattered to them.

The living could not see Lost Souls.

Perhaps because this beach served as a dumping ground, there was not a single living person in sight.

"That building is so tall!"

"It has to be two or three hundred meters high, right?"

The Uchiha observed their surroundings. When they turned and looked behind them, they could not help but exclaim in amazement.

A massive building sprawled across the island, towering and immense, occupying nearly half its space. Looking up at it from so close, they could not even see its end at a glance.

Everyone felt its grandeur was overwhelming.

Whether in the Ninja World or the Soul Society, it was difficult to find such a spectacular man-made structure.

"Let's go. We'll head to the top of this building first. The view will be open from there."

Kenma headed toward the building.

Seeing this, the Uchiha immediately followed behind Kenma.

Shisui glanced at the massive building before him, then looked at Kenma and asked, "My lord, is the purpose of this trip... similar to what happened to us Uchiha that night?"

Fugaku glanced sideways and sighed inwardly.

It seems my lord intends to recruit new subordinates.

Then the importance of us Uchiha to my lord will be greatly reduced...

"More or less."

Kenma knew they had questions. He organized his thoughts as he walked and spoke.

"Shisui, I remember telling you that this place is covered in oceans and overrun by Pirates, right?"

"Yes, my lord did mention it."

"Since Pirates are rampant, there are naturally Marines who eliminate Pirates."

Kenma pointed at the building ahead.

"This island is the headquarters of all the Marines in this world. It is called Marineford."

"This building is the Marine Headquarters base."

Shisui pondered for a moment, then frowned.

"My lord said that in this world, both Pirates and Marines have many powerful individuals, some of whom are not much weaker than the Five Kage of the Ninja World."

"Since this is Marine Headquarters, it must naturally be filled with experts... But if my lord plans to gather Lost Souls here, could it be that an incident similar to the Uchiha Clan Massacre happened here as well?"

The moment he said this, Fugaku and the dozen or so Uchiha guards following behind them all changed expression, their faces becoming incomparably grim.

The mighty Uchiha Clan, the strongest clan in the Ninja World, had not died on the battlefield. Instead, they had died at the hands of companions who had gone through life and death with them. To the proud Uchiha, it was an immense irony.

Could something so ridiculous and absurd happen again in another world?

Hearing Shisui's analysis, Kenma smiled inwardly.

"It is not as you imagine. I came here because a war will break out here."

"One hundred thousand Marine Elite will fight a Pirate fleet of thirty or forty thousand. This is no small-scale war."

Fugaku was startled, and an absurd feeling rose within him.

War was commonplace in a Ninja's life, so that itself was nothing unusual.

It was just that the location of this decisive battle was truly strange.

He had never expected a war against Pirates to break out at Marine Headquarters itself.

To Fugaku, it was like a great war in the Ninja World erupting, only for the battlefield to be Konoha.

Or like a great war against Hollows breaking out within Seireitei, the heart of the Soul Society.

When even the base had been attacked, it was undoubtedly the most critical moment for any force.

It was not just Fugaku. Shisui, and even the Uchiha clansmen, had thought of the same possibility.

Shisui hurriedly asked, "Could it be that the Marines in this world have already reached such a dire point of survival?"

Fugaku looked puzzled as he asked as well, "But judging from their numbers, the Marines have one hundred thousand elite troops, more than twice as many as the Pirates' thirty or forty thousand. How could they possibly be facing such a crisis?"

Kenma turned his face slightly, taking in the expressions on both their faces from the corner of his eye.

Upon hearing their questions, he immediately understood the source of their confusion.

Clearly, Fugaku and Shisui were thinking according to conventional logic. They had misunderstood.

He shook his head and explained to the Uchiha, "It is somewhat different from what you think. This is not a crisis, but a deliberate plan by the Marines."

"A deliberate plan?"

Shisui and Fugaku exchanged a glance, and both faces showed a trace of confusion.

What exactly did the Marines hope to gain by doing this?

They were even willing to use their crucial headquarters base as a battlefield.

Kenma continued, "There are four Pirates in this world who stand at its pinnacle, ruling the seas like emperors. Thus, people call them the Four Emperors."

"Among the Four Emperors is a Pirate known as the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard. He has a hobby of taking people in as his sons."

"The Marines happened to capture one of Whitebeard's sons, so they decided to hold a Public Execution. The Execution Platform is here in Marineford."

"To save this son, Whitebeard will inevitably wage a great war against Marine Headquarters, which has gathered elite forces from the Four Seas."

"I received word that the battle will take place within the next couple of days."

Kenma had visited this world before and had long planned the timing.

It was precisely because of this Summit War that he had come to Marineford at this time.

Once the war began, countless would die or be wounded.

Among the dead, there might be Lost Souls qualified to become Shinigami.

Even if there were no sufficiently talented Lost Souls, those two people who would die on the battlefield alone were enough to make Kenma come personally.

Whitebeard and Ace!

After listening to Kenma's explanation, Shisui revealed a thoughtful expression.

Even so, he still did not understand the reason for using the headquarters base as a battlefield.

If war broke out at headquarters, how much political turmoil would it cause?

Military morale, public opinion—how much harmful impact would those create?

Even if they were trying to lure the enemy in deep, could they not choose another place, somewhere less important?

Shisui shook his head in confusion.

Perhaps this was the difference in thinking between maritime and land powers, or perhaps it was simply a difference between two worlds.

Fugaku thought even further. He sighed. "No matter the world, war is unavoidable."

Even after death, they could not escape struggle and slaughter.

Perhaps that was the nature of humans and all living things.

Following Kenma, the group soon left the beach and arrived before the building.

Beneath this enormous structure, there was actually a town where people lived.

Because the war was about to begin, no ordinary people could be seen in the town. There were only Marine Soldiers standing guard and patrolling.

Kenma's group openly passed through one patrol after another.

Yet despite so many people walking past them, the soldiers neither saw nor heard anything. They continued carrying out their duties as normal.

"Whoa, these people really can't see us."

"So we really... are dead."

Even when they passed the soldiers standing guard, some Uchiha waved their hands less than ten centimeters before the soldiers' eyes. The soldiers remained utterly unaware, unable to see the group right in front of them.

This made the Uchiha clansmen sigh one after another.

Only after personally experiencing this deeply incongruous scene did they truly understand what it felt like to be Lost Souls.

Life in the Soul Society was no different from ordinary life. They still drank, ate, and made love as usual, and such daily routines had continually dulled their senses and thoughts.

Only now could they personally feel just how vast the difference between life and death truly was.