A Nasty Surprise

Arise.

In Tony's astonished eyes, something unnatural began to stir. One of the corpses twitched. Then, slowly, like breaking free from the very chains of death, an arm stretched upward, piercing the still air. The entire body followed, jerking upright like a puppet on invisible strings, rising from the ground with the grace of something not quite living.

"F-Fuck..." Tony stammered, stumbling backward. "So that's how your shadow soldiers are made. They're... they're fucking dead souls."

He was shocked, sure, but not beyond belief. After all, Eric had already done more incredible things before. But for Yuri, this was something else entirely.

Yuri, standing just behind Eric, couldn't hide her horror. Her breath caught, eyes wide. Resurrecting the dead... such a thing, to her, only existed in forbidden texts. The only technique she could remotely associate with this miracle was the dreaded Reaper Death Seal — a jutsu that summoned the Shinigami to devour the soul of one's enemy in exchange for one's own life. A jutsu associated with gods.

But Eric was no god. He was a man. And yet, here he stood, commanding the dead like it was nothing. Yuri's heart pounded in her chest.

Eric, for his part, paid no attention to either of them. He was too deep in thought. As he remember the metal forehead protector adorning the fallen ninja's corpse from before, the symbol etched into it gave him the information he needed: the Grass Village. Combine that with the mention of Kushina Uzumaki from the Anbu... this was definitely after the founding of Konohagakure by Hashirama and Madara.

"So it's around the time of the Second Shinobi World War," Eric muttered under his breath. "And Sarutobi Hiruzen should currently be the Hokage. That would make sense."

He glanced at Yuri. That meant she had to be a survivor from the fall of Uzushiogakure — the lost village of the Uzumaki clan.

Two newly risen shadow soldiers now stood at attention in front of him. Their bodies were covered in long black coats, bone-white masks hiding their faces. But it was their eyes that stood out — hollow sockets lit by eerie blue flames.

"We greet Your Highness," the two said in unison, voices more hollow than before, stripped of their original life.

"Names," Eric commanded.

One of them, the taller one, stepped forward. "My name was Aoi Yamanaka before death. He was Kenji Nara. We both worked under Danzo Shimura, part of Root. Ten years of service. We were twenty-six years old. Had no family, no frien—"

"Alright, alright, stop. I didn't ask for your entire autobiography," Eric cut him off, waving a hand. "Tell me something useful."

"Your Highness, what would you like to know?"

Before Eric could speak, Tony interjected. "Who's the strongest person around here? Man or woman, doesn't matter."

Kenji looked a little offended by the sudden interruption, but a silent glance from Eric silenced any complaint.

Eric himself wasn't too concerned. The answer would probably be Sarutobi Hiruzen or the Third Raikage — He knows most of the general information of ninja world, but still he did not stop Tony, this guy is clearly smarter than him, so he could do something better with the information, than eric himself. 

But he was for a nasty surprise.

"The strongest person in the world right now," Kenji said with a strange hesitation, "is Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto."

Eric froze.

"...Fuck?"

The curse escaped Eric's lips before he could stop it. His eyes widened.

Tony looked at him, confused. "You know that name or something?"

"No... nothing," Eric lied, taking a slow breath. He tried to calm himself, but his mind was reeling.

Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto? That name is extremely familiar to him, he also hoping to meet this person in future. But this is fucking wrong world.

Someone rewrote the damn script or something.

There was only two explanation: either this was not the world he thought it was, something like fusion two world but unlikely, or someone had been transported into this world, just like him, with a system or something, that gave him powers of Yamamoto.

"Tell me more," Eric demanded sharply. "Everything you know about this Yamamoto."

Kenji obeyed. "He was born twenty years ago in Kumogakure. But it wasn't until six years ago, during the Second Great Ninja War, that he gained worldwide attention. He is considered a genius born once in a thousand years. He has invented countless unknown jutsu, but he is most famous for his mastery of fire-style techniques and his unmatched swordsmanship."

Eric's stomach twisted.

Kenji continued. "One year ago, the major hidden villages — Konoha, Suna, Kiri, and Iwa — launched a joint operation against him. Three Kage, two Jinchūriki, and two other shinobi of comparable strength, backed by nearly a thousand elite ninja."

Kenji's voice dropped. "Only the three Kage survived... barely."

Eric exhaled sharply. Of course. Of course it had to be him.

"That battle scorched nearly a thousand kilometers of land," Kenji continued. "People say it rivaled the legendary fight between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Since then, he's been called the Second God of Shinobi."

Eric's eyes narrowed.

He wasn't scared. Even against someone like Yamamoto, he had faith in his own power, even if he cannot use it fully now. But the problem wasn't Eric strength — it was Yamamoto's.

If he was capable of releasing his Bankai that could ignite the skies—then Eric's own plans were in jeopardy

And Eric had plans for this world. He wasn't going to let someone else reduce it to ash.

He wanted to take the world for himself, not watch it burn.

And now… everything had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.

"Tell me everything you know," Eric said again, more quietly this time. "Every single thing."