Eren, still cloaked in the form of Itachi, stood facing the Soul Banyan Rope Tree. The massive beast roared with guttural force, thick vines, each over five meters wide, whipping through the air like serpents in a frenzy. Bark creaked, earth trembled. The forest held its breath.
Eren calmly released his martial soul.
A radiant lotus bloomed in his palm, illuminating the surroundings in a soft rainbow glow. A crimson soul ring spread from beneath his feet, slowly rising to encircle his waist. It pulsed once, and the ground fell silent.
The first vine lashed out with terrifying speed.
Eren didn't move.
The moment it touched him, his second soul skill activated. His body turned ethereal. The vine passed harmlessly through him, like a phantom through mist.
Another vine struck. Then another. And another. But none landed. All passed through, as if they were striking an illusion.
After a moment, the Soul Banyan Rope Tree withdrew its vines. The ends twisted and shifted. Then, with a sudden pulse, it fired condensed waves of soul power, beams of energy laced with raw spirit pressure, straight toward Eren.
Eren tilted his head slightly.
"Oh?" he muttered. "Energy blasts? That's rare. Is this tree another reincarnator?"
Of course, it wasn't. But a 40,000-year-old beast could evolve to possess peculiar abilities, and this one had clearly refined its soul power to strike from a distance when physical attacks proved useless.
Still, none of it mattered.
The beams passed straight through Eren, unable to harm him in his current form. He continued walking forward, slow and unhurried.
Now that his ring had awakened, and his power fully aligned with the template of Itachi Uchiha, he didn't need to test anything further.
"Itachi always seemed to be at his limit," Eren thought. "And then he'd reveal another technique. Another illusion. Another death sentence."
He smiled faintly.
"It's time to end this."
His Sharingan spun, the Mangekyō tomoe rotating like a silent wheel of fate. Chakra surged in his right eye, compressing into a singular point. The tree, sensing something unnatural, began to writhe violently. Its vines curled protectively around its trunk. A wave of spiritual pressure exploded outward, shaking the trees in the distance.
But it was too late.
"Amaterasu."
The moment he spoke, black flames erupted across the Soul Banyan Rope Tree's bark. The fire clung to its surface like a living parasite, devouring its thick outer shell and creeping deeper toward its core. The beast screamed, a high-pitched screech that echoed across the Star Dou Forest.
The flames spread slowly, but they were absolute. The tree flailed, roots splitting the earth, vines thrashing, but the flames did not extinguish.
Ten seconds later, the great beast collapsed with a final groan, its body consumed entirely.
Then, silence.
A thick, black soul ring rose from its remains, hovering in the air above the scorched roots.
Eren approached.
He didn't absorb the ring immediately. Instead, he reached into his storage ring and retrieved his notebook and pen.
Opening it to a blank page, he calmly wrote:
[ I can absorb this 40,000-year-old soul ring in front of me.]
The ink shimmered faintly before setting. He closed the book, stored it, and walked toward the floating ring.
As his hand brushed against it, the ring flew toward him as if drawn by an invisible force. It wrapped around him once, then sank into his body.
Eren closed his eyes. His soul power surged.
He felt no resistance. No rejection. Only clarity. The integration was smooth—flawless, even. The ring settled perfectly.
"…That was easier than expected," he murmured.
He immediately realized what he had said and let out a quiet chuckle.
"If others heard me… they'd chase me down and beat me with their bare hands."
Refreshed and satisfied, he turned his gaze to the distance.
Xīrán should be nearing the end of her absorption. She was capable. She didn't need him to intervene. But as the leader of Black Lotus, he carried responsibilities, even if the organization only had one active member besides himself.
"Maybe I should invite the Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo," he mused. "Or better, pull the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan under my banner."
He paused.
"…Too early."
Pushing the thought aside, he activated his phantom mark and extended his senses. The connection pulsed.
A moment later, he vanished from the forest, reappearing without sound behind Chen Xin, unnoticed.