Chapter 262: The True Treasure of [9527] (35k)

"Urgent intelligence coming in from Konoha!"

Fourth Raikage Ai turned his head; he had been staying at this operations base near the border for nearly two days, and now, he had finally received the news he wanted.

"Konoha was attacked by an unknown force this morning and suffered heavy losses; the high-ranking officials of Konoha, including the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, have all been killed in action..."

The Cloud Hidden Anbu reporting this intelligence had a trembling voice; even he found it hard to believe the authenticity of such a major event, so he had gone to great lengths to verify it.

After confirming through spies planted in the Sand Hidden Village, Rock Hidden Village, and Mist Hidden Village, the intelligence personnel of several villages all relayed the same information; through mutual verification, a more detailed battle report was obtained.

"This morning, a group of people used a large number of giant Summoning Beasts to charge the Konoha Barrier head-on, while at the same time, a group of powerful mysterious individuals broke into the interior of Konoha and brazenly attacked the Hokage Building."

"In the ensuing battle, a mysterious person named 【Tao Baibai】 defeated Hyuga Hiashi of the Hyuga Clan and the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen in direct combat, and personally killed Sarutobi Hiruzen;"

"A youth from the Uchiha Clan named Uchiha Itachi assassinated Hokage Advisors Shimura Danzo and Utatane Koharu;"

"And a mysterious ninja calling himself Pain completely destroyed the back mountain of Konoha and the barrier; at this moment, Konoha is in the midst of reconstruction..."

He reported the intelligence verified by all parties in one breath, then lowered his head and stood to the side.

Ai was stunned for a moment, then slammed his fist down, shattering the table with a bang.

"The war... is about to begin."

He knew there might be something fishy about this, but since the fact that Konoha had been severely crippled was indisputable, this war was unavoidable.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages were violent institutions that kept the five great nations in check; if any one of them had a problem, the other great nations would not let it slide.

What's more, the situation had occurred in the most prosperous Land of Fire and Konoha Hidden Village; no country would pass up the fertile land and resources of the Land of Fire.

The war could not be stopped for any reason, unless the Daimyo and the Nobles had all lost their minds at once...

The Cloud Hidden Village had long since completed war mobilization and immediately launched operations; they only needed the Feudal Lord of the Land of Lightning to issue a declaration of war, and they would openly invade the Land of Fire and head straight for Konoha Hidden Village.

Before that, they could simply set up their war conference room on the border of the Land of Fire.

The actions of the other nations were much the same; the vulnerable Land of Fire almost immediately became a piece of fat meat in everyone's eyes.

News of war always comes unexpectedly; the people of the Cloud Hidden Village moved silently while crossing the Land of Rain, but once they entered the territory of the Land of Fire, they began to be noticed.

Those Konoha sentries, watching the Cloud Hidden Village ninjas enter the Land of Fire as if no one were around, all had their expressions change drastically.

"Quickly send urgent intelligence, the war is about to begin... No, the war has already begun!"

He knew that the ninjas stationed at the border had likely been wiped out, so these sentries did not reveal themselves; they were only responsible for delivering intelligence...

——

"Things like Tailed Beasts, can they really be absorbed by humans?"

Orochimaru watched as Tao Baibai ate a piece of Tailed Beast meat, chewed it a few times, and then spat it out; ultimately, out of curiosity and a researcher's mindset, he prepared to discuss it.

【You have consumed unprocessed Tailed Beast meat. Ingredient Grade: Medium. Deliciousness Grade: Extremely Low】

【Biological Enhancement · Gourmet Cell has not been improved】

【Milestone · Heretical Gourmet progress updated, currently: 1/50】

The meat of the Three-Tails Isobu, without any processing, was incredibly astringent and the texture was extremely tough, just like chewing on a piece of fishy leather; both the taste and the sensation of chewing were very difficult to endure.

Therefore, Bai Cangshu only swallowed a small piece before spitting out the rest.

He did not feel any aura of Chakra energy, though a strong burning sensation appeared in his stomach; however, as his stomach and the cells in his body metabolized rapidly, that feeling soon disappeared.

Bai Cangshu already possessed extra toxin resistance; even without Gourmet Cells, he would not be poisoned to death by something of this level.

"For an ordinary person, naturally, it wouldn't work."

Bai Cangshu sat down and watched Ping Zhonghua, who was boiling meat shaved off from Isobu's claw by the campfire, answering Orochimaru's question casually.

Orochimaru, however, was lost in thought; the ninjas in legend who gained the power of Tailed Beasts by consuming Tailed Beast meat were the Gold and Silver Brothers of the Cloud Hidden Village, and those two were also rumored to possess the bloodline of the 【Sage of Six Paths】.

At this moment, Orochimaru was more inclined to believe that this Tao Baibai was also a special fellow possessing a so-called 【Sage Bloodline】; only this could explain his abnormal strength and behavioral patterns.

Bai Cangshu turned his head, looked at the corpse of Shimura Danzo placed behind the campfire, curled his lips, and said deliberately,

"Aptitude is sometimes such a desperate gap; some people are born powerful, while others, even after installing a Sharingan and wasting decades of time, remain just as weak."

Hearing this, Orochimaru looked at Danzō, lost in thought.

He had been curious earlier why Tao Baibai would bring Danzō's corpse along; at this moment, he realized something...

Danzō wasn't dead?!

He had clearly verified the corpse himself, and given the quality Uchiha Itachi had displayed, it was impossible for him not to know whether he had killed the opponent or not.

The only explanation was that Danzō possessed a highly sophisticated technique for feigning death.

Bai Cangshu flicked his finger, and a burst of Force broke through the air; he could not yet achieve the level of killing with a fallen flower or a plucked leaf, but he could already project Force through the air using his powerful physical strength.

After flying several meters, it possessed a destructive power similar to a rubber bullet shot.

Bang!

The back of Danzō's head was struck, and a small amount of hair was knocked off.

Danzō's heartbeat rose slightly, but he still refused to open his eyes, holding onto a final shred of luck in his heart.

"Heh~"

A sneer rang out without restraint; Danzō's heart sank continuously. In the battle during the day, he had not expected the combat power of those people to be so strong; whether it was 【Leren】 or 【Luan】, these two fellows had a very terrifying suppression power over ordinary ninjas.

And then there was that youth, that Uchiha... Itachi...

Danzō found it hard to believe that a youth could possess such terrifying technique and talent, and compared to Shisui, the opponent was cold and ruthless, with every move intended to kill.

He could, of course, rely on the Sharingan under his bandages to activate 【Izanagi】 and rewrite reality, which would give him the qualifications to counter-kill; if Uchiha Itachi were the only enemy, he could rely on this ability to counter-kill.

But the opponents were scattered and not from the same camp, which led Danzō to ultimately choose to feign death in order to escape.

"Hey, Itachi, did you see that? This is the high-ranking official of Konoha, the Hokage Advisor, who can decide the survival of your Uchiha Clan."

Bai Cangshu mocked Danzō in a flippant tone; Danzō was truly far inferior to Sarutobi Hiruzen when it came to combat, which made Bai Cangshu look down on such a fellow.

He had neither the martial courage to fight to the death, nor the wisdom to endure humiliation and stage a comeback.

In the end, he was nothing more than a mediocre talent who was all talk and lacked the ability to match his ambition.

Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan watched Shimura Danzo; the slight movement of the opponent's body and the re-flowing Chakra confirmed to him that he had indeed misjudged—this guy was not dead, even though... he had already slit the opponent's throat.

Uchiha Itachi stood up with a cold face, preparing to kill the opponent once more.

"I advise you not to do that, Itachi-kun."

A woman's voice rang out abruptly; Catherine was startled, for she had already released a Barrier and Spirit perception, yet she had not detected this woman's approach at all.

Luan also stood up immediately, blocking in front of Catherine.

The abilities of a Reincarnator are bizarre and hundreds of times more complex than battles between ninjas; you simply cannot distinguish what world's ability the opponent is using.

The woman named 【Heavenly Will】 "grew" out of a giant flower.

This woman was currently radiating emerald-green natural energy, and its intensity was quite formidable in Bai Cangshu's perception.

Uchiha Itachi looked at this woman with a cold expression; he had completely seen through the true faces of these people—everyone was acting for the sake of profit: his own clansmen were, the Third Hokage was, Danzō was, and this woman... was too.

Perhaps only madmen like Tao Baibai and Pain were doing things not mixed with much profit; no, Tao Baibai was also chasing profit, it was just that his "profit" was always battle, always chaos.

Bai Cangshu waved his hand, signaling everyone not to be nervous.

"This woman is here to find me."

At this moment, Ping Zhonghua was still blissfully unaware that the woman had brought the very information about her missing husband, and she was still focused on cooking the Tailed Beast Meat for Bai Cangshu.

Danzō knew he could no longer hide, so he snorted coldly and sat up.

"You fellow, you really did betray Konoha, I knew it all along... If not for that fellow Hiruzen being so gullible..."

"Hehehe~"

Heavenly Will interrupted Danzō's words with a laugh; she was no longer surprised by such statements from Danzō. This ninja, who placed himself within the grand theme of "everything is for Konoha" to justify any of his actions, no longer had the ability to engage in reasonable dialogue with others.

He would not think for others; a human who has lost the ability to empathize is actually incapable of rational dialogue, for that is a completely selfish beast.

Heavenly Will naturally came to Ping Zhonghua's side; she reached out toward the cooking Tailed Beast Meat, and intense natural energy fell into the meat, beginning to neutralize that intense Tailed Beast Chakra.

Only then did she continue to speak.

"Mr. Tao Baibai, I think you had best keep Danzō alive for two more days; I suspect that would make your trial more convenient."

Bai Cangshu raised an eyebrow; this woman actually knew about his trial mission. Such a thing could not be deduced, as there was no information to corroborate it; the only thing the other party should have been able to know was that Ping Zhonghua's Survival was related to his mission.

"You are quite valuable."

Bai Cangshu stood up and walked toward Heavenly Will; on the other side, Luan and Catherine subconsciously retreated. They could feel that Tao Baibai had developed a certain "interest" in this woman, but that was definitely not a good thing.

When a guy like Tao Baibai develops an interest in you, it is highly probable that he has developed a desire to hunt you.

Heavenly Will looked calmly at the faint purple hue in Tao Baibai's eyes; that was the Killing Intent Wave.

She took two steps back, her expression not panicked.

"You are a rational person, Tao Baibai; you know that trying to kill me here will not bring you more profit."

"On the contrary, with my help, you will certainly be able to obtain greater gains."

【dd99115435 (Heavenly Will) has initiated a trade with you】

【You have obtained the item, Golden Rune *1】

【Golden Rune】

【Quality: Rare】

【Description: A blessing of the Golden Tree, symbolizing life and power】

【Effect 1: After use, the Reincarnator will obtain a certain amount of Runes】

【Effect 2: Runes can be converted into Attribute Points in the space or in the hands of those possessing specific power】

Seeing this thing, Bai Cangshu suddenly recalled the destruction of 【9527】, and why that 【Card】 was in the hands of the weakest 【Empty】 when those few remnants split up to lure the hunters away.

So, the treasure obtained by 【9527】 was not a 【Card】 at all; they had obtained something even more precious than a 【Card】.

"Golden Order..."

(End of chapter)