Chapter 125 – Roots of Reckoning
BOOOM!!
A shockwave thundered across the battered plains of Alcatraz, sending dust spiraling skyward as broken slabs of concrete rolled in crumbling pieces. From the swirling haze, a shape began to stir—a hunched figure rising slowly from a fresh crater gouged into the ground.
It was Fendro, his coat torn, blood trickling from his mouth, yet his eyes sharp and unyielding. He gritted his teeth and stood fully, the gravel cracking beneath his boots as he stared forward with sheer hostility.
Across the clearing, arms folded, Huey the Second stood calmly—completely unharmed. A smug expression rested on his face, as if the battle was merely performance art.
"You do have a fine ability," Huey remarked coolly, his voice thick with authority. "If it were anyone else you used that ability on… I'm sure they'd be dead."
He took a single step forward.
"But you do not defile a God."
He slowly raised one hand and muttered beneath his breath—
"Wood Release: Terrence Forest."
RUMMMBBLLEE!!
The earth trembled violently.
Suddenly, massive tree roots erupted from the cracked ground like spears of nature reclaiming steel. In seconds, an entire forest of towering, ancient trees burst forth from the prison grounds—thick trunks the size of towers, their bark gnarled and sacred. Within moments, Alcatraz was no longer a prison island—it had become a woodland cathedral.
From the thick canopy of branches above, small yellow flowers began to unfurl, delicate and vibrant. They bloomed in rhythmic pulses, and then—
PFFFFT.
—they released a hazy yellow mist into the air.
Fendro's eyes twitched.
He instinctively stepped back, gaze darting across the landscape. "No good," he muttered, reading the forest's unnatural energy.
"Chamber Expansion: 40 meters."
A dome-like ripple of gravitational pressure blasted outward from his form, warping the air as he expanded his Gravity Chamber—his personal compression zone. Dust lifted, roots trembled.
"This should cover it," he said. "I can only go 50 meters wide—"
"Chamber Compress Technique!"
CRACK! SNAP! BOOOOM!!!
An invisible force crushed the entire forest, compressing the colossal trees like paper folding into itself. Trunks shattered, splinters rained like daggers, and a deafening sound of creaking bark and exploding foliage echoed across the island. The yellow mist thinned—but too late.
Huey didn't flinch.
"That…" he said softly, "was exactly what I wanted."
Fendro's eyes widened.
"What?"
Huey raised a glowing hand. A faint cross-like symbol shimmered in the air.
"The substance… has already taken effect."
Fendro grimaced, then snarled—
"Compress."
The gravity slammed into Huey like a meteor. His form crushed instantly into nothingness, atomized in a flash of imploding energy.
Gone.
But then—SHIINNNG—the cross glowed again, brighter than before.
Huey reappeared, unscathed.
Not a scratch on him.
"The fight was over before it started," Huey said calmly.
"Look at your arms, Warden."
Fendro's breath caught.
He slowly looked down—his arms were entwined with glowing green vines, pulsing faintly. The veins underneath his skin shifted unnaturally.
"These vines," Huey continued, "will begin to consume your cells from the inside out. When they're done with your organs, they'll eat your brain alive."
Fendro blinked as dizziness began to click in, he then… laughed.
"Then all I have to do is kill you… before that happens, don't I?" Still trying to maintain his stand
Huey sighed and slowly placed his hand over his face.
"You never learn… do you? Still believes in last stand? How adorable Warden"
Meanwhile, deep inside the Alcatraz fortress…
Huey the First chuckled softly, his back to the light as he walked through the deepest corridors of the prison.
"The Titans of history," he mused aloud, eyes flickering with nostalgia, "There were supposed to be three."
He placed his palm gently against a sealed metal door.
"But one of them abandoned the cause—Alexander the Great. A powerful man lost to sentiment. He took the side of the humans. What a pity."
The door in front of him groaned, refusing to open.
Huey's expression darkened.
From beneath his feet, wooden roots burst upward and pierced into the metal frames of the doors.
GRRRRRRRAAKKK!!!
One by one, the sealed titanium doors were ripped from their hinges and hurled aside. Each door bore a number: Cell 999… 998… 997… 996… 995.
He looked ahead and called out names, each with a tone of reverence and promise.
"…Kazuki.
Hirito.
Jabari.
Jago.
Sasori."
From the shadows, one by one, they stepped out. Cold eyes. Ragged uniforms. Dangerous auras.
"I'll give you a special proposal," Huey said, arms spread wide like a preacher before a broken choir. "Follow me. Serve my cause. Or rot in this dungeon forever."
He tilted his head.
"After all… there is no other escape. Or do you see one?"
They were silent.
"I've read your files. I know your strengths. The very abilities that SUHA called 'unfit for civilization.' I see power. I see artistry."
Sasori's mouth curled into a crooked grin.
"…Very well then we accept freedom even at a cost ."
One by one, they nodded. Then, with a sudden burst of movement, the five vanished into shadow.
Huey smiled.
He turned toward a darker corridor, walking with slow, deliberate steps.
"There's another pair I need the last embers the brother and sister of …" he murmured. "The Moraku clan."
His voice sharpened like a blade.
"Silas and Asger."
The cell blocks changed—779… 778… 777. The hallway was darker here. The Shen presence… heavier.
Inside Cell 778…
Sakamoto sat cross-legged, his wrists bound with glowing seal-cuffs. Next to him, Asger leaned against the wall, her head tilted upward as if listening to a whisper beyond mortal ears.
She opened her eyes.
"…It's The Ten," she whispered. "That presence… unmistakable."
Sakamoto raised a brow. "You can sense Shen… even while restricted?"
Asger nodded.
"Just like I can sense ,what's inside you. Wild. No signature. It's not Shen i believe ... but it's not human, either."
A rumble echoed down the hall.
Then—CLANG…
The door to Cell 779 opened.
Silas Moraku stood within. A shadow cast across his face.
And his red, glowing eye blinked once.