Kael was quite satisfied with this level of power, even if it wasn't a massive surprise.
His gaze shifted toward the next Golden Character Card.
The card slowly flipped over.
"It's him!!"
This time, Kael was actually a bit shocked.
The man on the card had jet-black hair and wore a headband belonging to a rogue mage from the Hidden Leaf. He was dressed in a black cloak adorned with crimson clouds that partially obscured the lower half of his face. His fingernails and toenails were painted a dark purple, but the most striking feature was his eyes—they were blood-red, with three mysterious tomoe marks circling the pupils.
"Itachi Uchiha!"
Kael recognized him instantly. Anyone familiar with that world knew who this man was.
Opinions on him were always divided; some saw him as a gentle, talented, and devoted older brother who loved his sibling deeply.
Others saw him as a man poisoned by the "Will of Fire," a cold-blooded killer who could wipe out his own family, murder his parents, and act worse than a beast.
He was a deeply contradictory character, but in the end, everything could be summed up in one sentence: it was all for his younger brother.
Itachi chose to eliminate his clan to protect the village, even going as far as killing his own parents. However, Sasuke was the only one he couldn't strike down. In the end, he told Sasuke: "No matter what path you take from here on out, I will love you always."
In Itachi's heart, Sasuke stood above everything else—above their parents, their family, and even the village itself.
He could see the long-term future that his short-sighted clansmen couldn't. Those people, blinded by rage and self-interest, would only bring about the destruction of the clan through their rebellion, which would also leave the village vulnerable to foreign invasion.
For his brother's safety, he chose the path of the executioner.
But regardless of which side people took, Itachi Uchiha's popularity was undeniably massive.
Itachi was a true genius. Many of his attacks seemed simple, yet they produced miraculous results. Even a basic magic-tool throwing technique was something no one dared to underestimate in his hands.
In his own story, Itachi never truly lost a fight, earning him the nickname "The Solo King" or "The Creator's Favorite."
In that world, excluding those with god-like power levels, the only one who could rival Itachi in terms of raw combat talent was the Fourth Master.
Kael felt a surge of excitement.
Of course, it wasn't just because of how powerful Itachi was; his overall strength was roughly around the Mid-Tier Golden Card rank.
The real reason for the excitement was the Sharingan.
"The Sharingan! The Sharingan!"
These were the eyes he had dreamed of having since he was a kid.
They were also, in his opinion, the coolest-looking eyes in existence.
Regardless of whether Itachi was the strongest, getting these eyes made the whole thing worth it.
"Overall, my luck is pretty good this time."
He had pulled two Mid-Tier Golden Cards, though both of them were men who went to extremes for their goals.
Gin Ichimaru didn't care about the lives of others as long as it was for Rangiku Matsumoto.
Itachi Uchiha was willing to destroy his own family for the sake of Sasuke.
"Let's give them a try!"
Kael began by channeling the Fourth Master. After transforming into the "Yellow Flash," Kael immediately activated his Spatial Magic: Flying Thunder God. In the blink of an eye, Kael's figure vanished and reappeared deep within a distant mountain range.
Kael had specifically chosen this location to test his abilities. It was remote and uninhabited, allowing him to cut loose with his spells without holding back.
"Let's start by taking over Gin Ichimaru."
"Full-Body Take-Over: Gin Ichimaru!"
Kael's hair shifted to a light lavender hue, and his eyes narrowed into a thin, fox-like squint. His clothes transformed into black robes covered by the white coat worn only by high-ranking Mage Captains. At his waist hung a relatively short magic sword.
Memories of Gin Ichimaru began to flood Kael's mind. Gin was born in a destitute district and was childhood friends with Rangiku Matsumoto. His feelings for her were a mix of family and romantic love. After witnessing her being attacked, the seeds of hatred were planted in his heart, and he dedicated his entire life to killing the Dark Mage, Aizen.
To achieve this goal, he loyally served at Aizen's side for over a century, doing whatever dirty work was required just to wait for the day he could kill him with his own hands.
Through years of investigation, he discovered that he could only bypass the effects of Aizen's "Illusion Magic" by physically touching the man's sword before the spell was cast.
He seized his chance and launched a fierce sneak attack, but unfortunately, he failed. Aizen, who had fused with a powerful magical artifact, had become something else entirely. The only result of failing a sneak attack on Aizen was death.
Reading through Gin's memories, Kael couldn't help but feel a bit emotional. This was a man who would sacrifice everything, including his own life, for the woman he loved.
Kael slowly drew the soul-blade, Shinso. It was a relatively short sword that looked quite ordinary, but Kael knew it wasn't as simple as it appeared.
"Shoot him dead! God-Spear!"
Kael called out the Initial Release command.
Swoosh—!
The blade of the God-Spear extended at high speed, piercing through the massive rock in front of him.
With a thought from Kael, the blade retracted just as quickly, returning to its original size.
This was the God-Spear's Initial Release. It could extend and contract at the user's will, reaching a maximum length of about five or six hundred meters.
As far as abilities went, it seemed somewhat average and unremarkable compared to other legendary weapons.
However, most Initial Releases were like that. The true power of a soul-blade lay in its Maximum Release.
Kael held the sword with one hand and shouted the iconic phrase that every young mage dreamed of saying.
"Maximum Release: Bankai!!!"
"God-Slaying Spear!!"
Flash—!
Almost at the exact moment he shouted the command, Kael swung the blade with incredible speed.
BOOM—!!
Everything around Kael was sliced apart, including the small mountains in the distance, which were neatly bifurcated.
Then, in the next instant, the blade returned to the length of a small dagger.
"So fast!!"
Kael felt the terrifying speed of that extension and contraction. The sheer impact and cutting power after the Maximum Release made the God-Spear's lethality jump to a horrifying level.
Of course, besides the god-like speed, the most lethal ability of the God-Slaying Spear was that the blade would momentarily turn to dust during the extension. Inside the blade was a deadly poison capable of dissolving cells. When the blade pierced a target and retracted, a fragment of that dust would stay inside the opponent. At the user's command, the poison would activate, instantly dissolving the enemy's body from the inside out.
Aizen had come within an inch of his life because of that single move.
Gin Ichimaru's raw stats might not have stood out among other Golden Cards, but he was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous.
Kael tested out a few more of Gin's techniques until he was satisfied. By then, the surrounding area was a complete mess, with the small hills having been sliced into fragments by Kael's practice.
Kael's eyes then landed on the other Golden Character Card.
"Full-Body Take-Over: Itachi Uchiha!"
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