Liuyu's voice rang in everyone's ears like a final whisper from the devil.
"I will be at Las Noches-"
"Waiting for the hero who will save the world."
With those words, he turned, took a step forward, and vanished completely into the pitch-black void.
The Espada followed close behind.
The pillars of Negación light dissipated.
The Garganta closed.
Silence returned to the night sky, leaving only the gradually fading blood moon and the phantom of a white palace slowly vanishing on the eastern horizon.
And, at the center of the ruins, lying motionless and radiating an ominous blue glow-
The crystal.
A long time passed.
At last, someone struggled in the ruins, shakily lifting his head.
It was Kakashi.
Gasping for breath, he used every ounce of strength he had just to prop up his upper body and look at the deep-blue crystal lying nearby.
Its eerie glow reflected in his Sharingan.
And deep within that glow, a figure seemed to be smiling at him...
A figure in white.
"The key..."
Kakashi murmured, his voice hoarse.
Then he abruptly shut his eyes, not daring to look again.
Because he knew.
That was not hope.
It was something more terrifying than despair-
Bait.
And the dying great fish that was the shinobi world had already spotted it.
Taking the hook was only a matter of time.
At the same time, in the highest throne room of Las Noches Main Palace.
Liuyu sat on the pure-white reishi throne, resting his cheek on one hand.
Through the palace's enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, he looked down over the mist-shrouded Land of Rain, and beyond it, over the vast and ignorant shinobi world.
His fingertips tapped lightly against the throne's armrest.
A cold, delighted smile curved his lips.
"Well, the bait has been cast."
"Now,