Chapter 259: The Reaper Appears, the Ghost Enters the Body! (1200 Monthly Ticket Bonus)

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Tao Baibai, who was impervious to blades and swords and possessed incomparably powerful taijutsu; although his intelligence was still insufficient, he had already realized that the person before him was likely a Tailed Beast wearing a human skin.

Just by standing there, ordinary ninjas would likely be unable to do anything to the opponent; attacks could not break through his defense, and one would be burned by that kind of sticky flame.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's battle armor was pitch black at this moment; he was skilled in Water Style and various Body Replacement Techniques, which was why he had not suffered too much damage during the series of probes.

Seeing that his five Shadow Clones were ready to strike, he released this technique near the Konoha Ninja Village for the first time; if there were even a sliver of possibility for a turnaround, he would not want to unleash such a destructive attack within his own home.

"I will ask you one last time, Tao Baibai, why are you attacking Konoha?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was firm at this moment, his eyes radiating a cold determination.

Although the Third Hokage had many problems in politics and had both merits and demerits, he was the man personally chosen by Senju Tobirama to be Hokage, and the 【Will of Fire】 in his heart had indeed never been extinguished.

The difference between him and Danzō was that when it came to a life-or-death crisis, he was truly willing to turn into embers for the sake of this village.

Bai Cangshu narrowed his eyes; he liked this kind of look.

The look of a powerful person preparing to risk everything for a deathmatch with him.

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's question, he tilted his head to think for a moment and muttered to himself,

"Why... indeed..."

Watching Tao Baibai seemingly thinking, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart stirred; as long as the opponent was capable of communication, that was a good thing.

"Were you once harmed by a ninja from Konoha?"

Bai Cangshu shook his head.

"Was your hometown destroyed by war, and your family and friends passed away?"

Bai Cangshu still shook his head.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart gradually sank; these two reasons were the thoughts of most people who were enemies of Konoha, but he could explain them away—in war, there was no such thing as righteousness—but this Tao Baibai was neither...

"Is it because you cannot stand certain actions of Konoha and want to uphold Justice?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen made the worst-case assumption; this kind of enemy was the most troublesome, as people who would stop at nothing for a certain philosophy in their hearts were the hardest to persuade.

But Bai Cangshu still shook his head.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat puzzled.

Bai Cangshu, however, let out a snort of laughter; he stopped teasing the opponent, and his Killing Intent Wave grew increasingly vigorous, now wrapping around him like a torch. This energy was not as difficult to pry open as the ceaseless torrent of Yellow Springs and ghost power within his body; this surging Killing Intent Wave was impacting his nerves almost every moment.

Bai Cangshu began to understand why a Martial Artist as powerful as Akuma would also be dominated by this wave, because... it felt too good!

This surging power, this constant secretion of adrenaline, the pleasure of slaughter constantly stimulating his nerves—this feeling was truly intoxicating.

Bai Cangshu spread his hands and leaned his body forward at an angle that almost defied the laws of physics; his bare feet gripped the ground as he exerted force, and the Hokage Rock of the Third Hokage had already begun to show long, narrow cracks.

"Why do I want to attack Konoha?"

"Naturally, it is..."

"For the thrill of it!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils dilated; he was astonished in his heart, never expecting to hear such an answer.

"In this world, only a place like Konoha would gather so many powerful ninjas, hmm... although it has declined quite a bit now."

"But I want to fight with powerful people, and Konoha is naturally the first choice."

Bai Cangshu's gaze drifted, and his tone rose continuously; that natural pleasure was not a disguise at all—he was truly craving this.

"Moreover, after Konoha collapses, this world will soon enter a war, won't it? Those so-called Five Great Nations will all mobilize very quickly."

"Chaos, unprecedented chaos!"

"The greatest throne can only be forged by the greatest chaos, I..."

【Five Elements Great Barrage Technique】!

Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer listen to this madman's speech; this was a complete and utter lunatic, even more insane than a Tailed Beast. Only by completely eliminating such a guy could the world be safe...

Sarutobi Hiruzen's five Shadow Clones simultaneously spat out powerful Fire Release, Lightning Style, Wind Style, Water Style, and Earth Style; the five elemental powers mixed again in mid-air.

This was a high-level Ninja Art that only Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the 【Professor of Ninjutsu】, could manipulate, pushing the nature transformation of Ninja Arts and the essence of various combined Ninja Arts to the limit.

A terrifying Energy Torrent capable of destroying a city block in an instant roared toward Bai Cangshu.

But Bai Cangshu only shook his head; this was not the technique he wanted.

Bai Cangshu tapped his foot.

Bang!

A large chunk of the Hokage Rock shattered instantly, and a large piece of Sarutobi Hiruzen's statue head cracked off; Bai Cangshu himself jumped high into the air. Watching this scene, Sarutobi Hiruzen endured the massive expenditure.

The five Shadow Clones simultaneously formed hand seals and pointed toward the sky.

The elemental torrent reversed in mid-air, changed its trajectory, and lunged directly at Bai Cangshu in the air.

Boom!

In mid-air, a terrifying explosion erupted.

The incandescent smoke and clouds spread toward the surroundings like a huge Ripple.

Even Uchiha Shisui, inside his Susanoo, glanced sideways at this commotion, while Uchiha Obito, who had dodged the attack again, took the opportunity to provoke him.

"Look, the Third has probably been driven to a desperate situation by that Tao Baibai. Instead of wasting your energy on me here, why not go support that old guy?"

"I know, you still can't let go of the village, can you..."

The peerless frontal combat power brought by Susanoo made Uchiha Obito's Wood Release unable to resist; he had not mastered large-scale Wood Release like the Wood Clone Technique, so he was still relying on the ability of Kamui to dodge at this moment.

But he could already sense that Uchiha Shisui was about to reach his limit; at the other's age, no matter how much of a genius he was, his Chakra was ultimately limited. Compared to himself, who possessed the Senju Hashirama Cells, he could not win a war of attrition!

The only thing to be wary of now was the ability in the 【Mangekyo Sharingan】 that the opponent had not yet used.

He had Kamui, so what about Uchiha Shisui? What kind of ability did he possess?

Considering that Uchiha Shisui had not released that technique, Uchiha Obito guessed that it must be some kind of technique with a huge cost, which he was unwilling to use easily.

But a huge cost also meant the effect might be extremely powerful; this was the reason Uchiha Obito had been maneuvering around.

The battle between Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi was calmer, but equally extremely dangerous; the father and son used cold weapons and the insight of the Sharingan to engage in constant close-quarters blade combat, interspersed with a large number of Sharingan Illusion Techniques.

Uchiha Fugaku marveled at his eldest son's talent, yet he felt a chill at the choice Itachi had made today.

He understood Itachi's character; the other was not the type to be bloodthirsty. For him to act this way now meant that, in Itachi's judgment, even with him and Shisui, Konoha was still destined to lose today's battle...

Therefore, he chose to excise himself from the Uchiha Clan; he went to act as the executioner, and in exchange from Tao Baibai, he obtained a certain future.

Uchiha Fugaku distracted himself by looking toward the Hokage Rock, only to see that the Third Hokage's Hokage Rock had completely vanished, along with the forest behind it. Flames swirled, and intense air currents appeared in the sky due to the massive elemental changes.

The Third Hokage is still... did he win?

Pfft!

A cold glint flashed; Uchiha Fugaku felt a chill in his heart and barely dodged, but a gash was still cut into his arm.

Uchiha Itachi frowned, his expression remaining cold and detached.

"Father, step aside. If a sufficient number do not die today, those guys will not stop."

He prepared to go and kill Danzō again; if he did so, the upper echelons of Konoha would be almost entirely wiped out, and he imagined that would be enough to satisfy Tao Baibai's appetite...

In his heart, Uchiha Itachi was actually thinking of more than what Fugaku was considering. He was not just doing this for the village of Konoha; he was slowly coming to agree with that crazy theory of Tao Baibai's.

The reason war cannot be ended is because the five great nations stand side-by-side, with countless small nations interspersed among them; with constant disputes over interests, war naturally cannot be cut off. The so-called hatred of ninjas is merely "petty grievances" wrapped up under this grand trend.

To end war, the Ninja Villages cannot do it alone...

Therefore, he intends to use the operation to collapse Konoha to plunge the Ninja Villages into chaos, and then, together with that madman, go and see whether the Daimyo who control the world... will feel pain!

Clang!

He forced his father back with a sword, his body dissipated like a crow, and he had already lunged toward another place.

Sarutobi Hiruzen panted, his mind still taut; he had a premonition that everything was not over yet.

Ring!

Golden Qi pierced through the smoke in an instant, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow was instantly run through.

Bang!

This Sarutobi Hiruzen burst into smoke.

But the remaining figures all charged into the smoke together.

As he sprinted, his hands moved rapidly to form seals.

"Old partner, are you really going to..."

Enma, who had transformed into the Adamantine Staff, saw this scene and wanted to speak, but Sarutobi Hiruzen swung the Adamantine Staff instantly.

Bang!

Colliding with a fist, the terrifying shockwave drove the air to flow, dispersing the smoke and clouds. Sarutobi Hiruzen's running motion was also interrupted; the gap in their strength was too great, and almost every move from the opponent left him unable to continue his own.

Bai Cangshu stood before Sarutobi Hiruzen, fire and lightning swirling around his body. The wounds cut into his skin by wind blades healed rapidly, and he then grabbed, tearing off the flesh and skin that were attached by flames and lightning before throwing them away.

Beneath that flesh and skin, countless cells condensed into granulation tissue that trembled rapidly; soon, the muscles completed their self-healing, followed by the skin.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched this scene and exhaled the turbid air from his chest.

"Truly... an Immortal Body monster..."

Bai Cangshu continued to walk toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, the latter having already finished his seals.

He spoke.

"Tao Baibai, leave this world with me..."

Then, he spread his hands and took a step forward, actively grabbing toward Tao Baibai. He left his guard open, using this opening—and the price of being punched through the body by the opponent—as bait, wanting to seize Tao Baibai.

Bai Cangshu could naturally dodge, but he did not. Instead, the smile on his face grew more fanatical, and he took a step forward, allowing himself to be grabbed by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen felt slightly surprised, he had no time to think at this moment.

He roared.

"Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"

A cold and ominous aura appeared behind him. Although he could not see it at this time, he knew very clearly that this technique had been fully cast.

Next, it was...

He shouted angrily, and the hand of the giant Death God passed through his body, reaching through his Soul and into the chest of the monster Tao Baibai, who possessed an Immortal Body.

Bai Cangshu looked at the Death God's strange face and felt that cold touch enter his body; the corners of his mouth curled up, and he could no longer restrain himself.

"Hahaha, it's here!"

The Death God pulled outward with force, but Sarutobi Hiruzen discovered to his surprise that Tao Baibai, who should have been unable to move as his Soul was being seized, was still smiling, while a black Spirit Body was helplessly being dragged out halfway.

The other's silver-white hair and black clothes were completely different from Tao Baibai's.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned.

"What on earth... is going on..."

Gojo Satoru looked at the guy who had grabbed his Spirit Body and shook his head quite helplessly.

"Hey, hey, you're my host, aren't you? How could you let someone pull the tenant out so easily!"

At this moment, Bai Cangshu also revealed a fanatical look; he watched the Death God, and the Yellow Springs in his bloodline began to surge.

"Yin Spirit Possession!"

(End of chapter)