Chapter 264: Most Benevolent and Most Virtuous, Death Makes All Equal (3k First Update)

"Do you think Pain has already used a massive 【Shinra Tensei】 to blow up the Royal Capital of the Land of Fire?"

Luan was making small talk; he was somewhat uncomfortable acting alongside Tao Baibai, and Orochimaru and Itachi, who were traveling with them, didn't seem prepared to speak. This silent atmosphere, paired with Tao Baibai's ambiguous smile, made Luan feel as if he were being watched by a venomous snake at every moment.

He began to understand why Catherine had strongly insisted on coordinating with Pain and Konan this time.

That overbearing woman's nerves were likely stretched to the limit these past few days.

Itachi paid no attention to this "missing-nin" at all, and Orochimaru merely glanced at this fellow, whose strength was unexpectedly decent; in Orochimaru's eyes, the other party was flighty and not material for accomplishing great things.

Only Bai Cangshu, sitting on the back of the Summoning Beast with Ping Zhonghua, was interested in answering the question.

"Pain will probably still deliver a long speech that seems to accuse the whole world, but which in reality no one will listen to, and only then will he move to destroy that place."

After saying this, he took a bite of the overcooked Tailed Beast Meat.

【You have consumed unrefined Tailed Beast Meat. Ingredient Grade: Medium. Deliciousness Grade: Average.】

【Gourmet Cell has gained a small amount of growth. Current: lv0 (62/100)】

【Milestone: Gourmet triggered. You have gained the temporary buff: Energy Overflow (Rare): When using energy, you will burst forth with an additional 10% energy intensity.】

Luan knew Tao Baibai had Gourmet Cells; eating now was likely just continuously strengthening himself. From a Reincarnator's perspective, a guy like Tao Baibai was likely in the category with the highest survival probability.

"I really have never seen someone like you; it's simply... as if you were tailor-made for the space."

Luan spoke subconsciously, but quickly realized that saying such things to Tao Baibai might very well offend him, so he hurriedly waved his hands in a panic and began to explain.

"I just feel that you possess all the qualities we need. Look, we need the courage to never avoid a fight, the ability to constantly challenge difficulties, and on top of that, the ability to ensure we survive every dangerous situation, and then... not feel exhausted or weary of the future..."

Luan had actually heard of many Reincarnators who didn't die in mission worlds because of a lack of strength; some had decent strength and decent luck, but in mission after mission with no end in sight, they were eventually crushed by the pressure.

Those guys eventually indulged in various desires to relieve stress, and after falling, they died in mission worlds no one knew about.

But a guy like Tao Baibai, in Luan's view, was like a robot. Even when eating, he had no pursuit of gourmet food. He felt that if it weren't for the requirements of the 【Gourmet Cell】, this guy would likely just eat Tailed Beasts raw.

After explaining for a moment, Luan found that the more he spoke, the more confused he became. Seeing Tao Baibai tilting his head and looking at him, he could only make an excuse about checking how much further it was to the destination, and then he put some distance between them.

"They are all afraid of you."

Orochimaru had already seen that this Tao Baibai, along with that Heaven's Will and Luan, these guys who could perform special "Seal-less Ninjutsu," all came from the same place.

Furthermore, there was no harmony among these people, and the relationships between them were quite tense.

Moreover, this Tao Baibai was, in all likelihood, at the top of the food chain.

Bai Cangshu nodded indifferently.

"Mm, they all have many misunderstandings about me. Orochimaru, you know, I am actually a generous, good person, just like you, I have a vigorous desire to explore certain things."

Bai Cangshu spoke these half-true, half-false lies, and Orochimaru did not probe further.

Using the map provided by Heaven's Will, they had come to find the corpse of Uchiha Madara, and on the way, they would pass through the Land of Rain to deliver a cruel grand gift to the Royal Capital of the Land of Lightning.

"Mr. Tao Baibai, that young lady said... my husband is missing, and only that guy... knows the news..."

Ping Zhonghua was somewhat afraid of Tao Baibai, but she still wanted to inquire about news of her husband.

Because of her husband's act of passing on that information, the whole town had been killed. Ping Zhonghua naturally felt confusion and even resentment at first, but after losing all her relatives, he was the only support she had left in this world.

Moreover, along the way, having heard so much about the hatred between those ninjas and the wars of the great nations, even she couldn't help but believe whether her husband had really done that for the sake of a greater cause.

Danzō was tied to the Summoning Beast Orochimaru was riding, emitting a foul stench from beneath him; because his spine had been crushed by Bai Cangshu, his body had already begun to lose control.

Danzō's expression also became numb.

Bai Cangshu looked at this woman, who was cautiously trying to test his attitude because she had cooked food for him twice, and the corners of his mouth curled up; he did not interrogate Danzō as the other party had expected.

In fact, he had already roughly guessed the fate of that Ping Zhongshi.

【Heaven's Will】 claimed to be able to influence and manipulate him to a certain extent by manipulating space; such a thing sounded very mysterious at first glance.

But Bai Cangshu had relevant experience, and he was very clear about the tricks involved.

Just as he had caused the Main Mission of the Moon Demon and others to fail by killing Tao Baibai in the initial Trial World, since Heaven's Will could know the content of his trial mission to a certain extent.

Then she could intervene in his actions through this point.

If his guess was correct, the second stage of his Special Trial: Ultimate Benevolence was derived from Ping Zhonghua to her husband Ping Zhongshi, the man who truly triggered the dilemma of the first stage.

If Heaven's Will had not intervened, this guy would likely have been imprisoned within Konoha.

Then the second stage of his trial mission would have been to enter Konoha to rescue the other party or to kill a core figure of the Konoha side to avenge him.

This kind of mission balanced difficulty and the development of the plot line, which was very much in line with the style of the space.

But right now, it was obvious that the woman codenamed Heaven's Will had once again displayed the ambition of a Reincarnator, directly beginning to brutally transform this world with another power system.

The world had changed, and the other purpose of Bai Cangshu's Konoha Collapse Plan had failed; Ping Zhongshi had already been arranged by Heaven's Will in advance.

Through this situation, she had dragged him into her plan.

"If your husband became a monster, would you still love him?"

Bai Cangshu asked the woman such a topic with great interest, which made both Orochimaru and Itachi look over.

In their eyes, the topic of "love" seemed to have nothing to do with this Humanoid Tailed Beast; from beginning to end, the other party hadn't even felt sexual desire for the opposite sex.

Ping Zhonghua's face turned a bit pale. She thought of many bad images. She wrung her hands together, but finally took a few deep breaths and said,

"As long as he is still my husband, I will love him."

The woman said this calmly. Before her eyes appeared that mediocre yet honest and dutiful guy once again. Scenes from the past flashed by. She was very grateful for his dedication to her and their family; he wasn't a powerful ninja, yet he always had to go on various missions, and he always tried hard to come back alive...

Bai Cangshu watched the woman's heartbeat gradually return from the high frequency of fear and agitation to calm and firmness, and the smile on his face slowly dissipated.

Tsk, sure enough, the weaker the creature, the more they would keep words like "love" on their lips; clearly they couldn't even take a single finger of his, yet they would fantasize about eternity.

This kind of weak yet firm thing was something Bai Cangshu did not possess.

He remembered the little girl in the Pirate World who wiped her snot on his pants when she cried, his face without joy or sorrow.

Pfft!

He flicked his finger, and a burst of Force hit Danzō's face again.

This Hokage Advisor, who had gradually become numb and was waiting for death, just looked at Bai Cangshu blankly.

"Where have you hidden that guy who leaked the intelligence about the discord between the Konoha high-ups and the Uchiha?"

Orochimaru prepared to weave hand seals; he also had some experience with interrogation, but Danzō took the initiative to speak.

"That guy... ran away..."

"He suddenly became very strong and escaped from the Konoha prison three days ago... It was probably that woman who helped him..."

It was clear that Danzō had actually already made his own deductions.

"Ran away... Is Shi alright?!"

Ping Zhonghua hurriedly pressed for an answer, but Danzō only kept his head lowered.

"Golden pupils... He has golden pupils..."

"What kind of eye technique is that..."

Danzō began to talk to himself, muttering many questions he had pondered in his heart; this guy's Spirit was likely on the verge of collapse.

Bai Cangshu had obtained the answer; it was clear that the woman had already, without anyone noticing, planted the Golden Tree somewhere and allowed Ping Zhongshi to receive a portion of the Grace of the Golden Order.

The Golden Order, in which all life would never die, likely held a fatal attraction for many people in this world.

As Bai Cangshu looked at the name of the Special Trial, 【Most Benevolent and Most Virtuous】, he realized it possessed even deeper meanings.

It seemed the mission world was not arranged randomly, given the trial he received after activating the 【Virtue】 card.

Displaying the Most Benevolent and Most Virtuous through the Golden Order?

Bai Cangshu's expression was unreadable.

Whoosh, thud!

Itachi suddenly turned and threw a Shuriken, which pinned directly into a tree trunk with a dull sound.

Bai Cangshu turned back and saw Uchiha Obito, wearing the Red Cloud Black Robe attire and a swirl mask, appearing silently behind them.

He seemed to have been hiding here all along.

Seeing the other party wearing the attire of the 【Akatsuki】, Itachi did not continue to attack.

Uchiha Obito jumped down from the tree and landed on the Summoning Beast where Bai Cangshu was.

"Tao Baibai, I advise you not to listen to that woman's words; she will deceive everyone who trusts her."

"Including the Third Hokage, Danzō, including me, and including you."

Obito's voice was somewhat gloomy; he felt the situation was slipping out of control, Nagato was increasingly drifting away from his grasp, and the actions of the Konoha side had also been disrupted by Uchiha Shisui, who was arranged by Tao Baibai.

Bai Cangshu nodded and said frankly,

"She hopes I will kill you, so that no one will go and obstruct her grand plan of Planting Tree."

Obito recalled the world without death that the other party had proposed, and his heartbeat quickened slightly, but soon, he shook his head.

Rin was already dead; even if that so-called Golden Tree Era could truly arrive, it was not the world he wanted...

That was just a world without Rin.

"What is your choice, Tao Baibai."

"I know you have ambition for power; believe me, everything you want, I can give to you."

"Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, and even... Rinnegan!"

"As long as the Infinite Tsukuyomi can be cast, I can give you everything after that."

Uchiha Obito's tone was impassioned; he truly did not care about these things—as long as he could complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi, these things would be of no use to him.

Pfft~

Bai Cangshu let out a scoff.

"You people still don't understand me well enough."

"My Most Benevolent and Most Virtuous is not this kind of mode."

"What Golden Tree Era, Infinite Tsukuyomi—they are all a bit too troublesome."

Obito felt as if a gust of wind were blowing toward his face; a purple Wave swayed on the surface of the other party's body, looking like flames, but extremely evil.

"Do you know, Obito, there is only one kind of situation in this world that can make everyone empathize and understand each other."

"And that is... the fear of death."

(End of chapter)