Chapter 261: The True Treasure of [9527] (3.5K)
"Urgent information from the Hidden Leaf Village!"
Fourth Raikage Ai turned his head. He had been stationed at this operational base near the border for almost two days, and now he finally received the news he wanted.
"The Hidden Leaf Village was attacked by an unknown force this morning, suffering heavy losses. All high-ranking Hidden Leaf Village officials, including Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, were killed in action…"
The Cloud Village Anbu reporting this information was trembling slightly. This major event was so unbelievable that he had gone to great lengths to verify it.
After confirmation from spies embedded in the Sand Village, Stone Village, and Mist Village, intelligence personnel from several villages transmitted the same information, cross-referencing which provided a more detailed battle report.
"This morning, a group of people used numerous giant summoned beasts to directly assault the Hidden Leaf Village barrier. Simultaneously, a group of powerful mysterious individuals infiltrated the Hidden Leaf Village and brazenly attacked the Hokage Building."
"In the subsequent battle, a mysterious person named Tao Bai Bai successively defeated Hyuga Hiashi of the Hyuga Clan and Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi in direct combat, and personally killed Hiruzen Sarutobi;"
"A young man from the Uchiha Clan named Uchiha Itachi assassinated Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzo and Koharu Utatane;"
"And a mysterious ninja calling himself Pain completely destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village's back mountain and barrier. The Hidden Leaf Village is currently undergoing reconstruction…"
He reported all the cross-referenced information in one breath, then lowered his head and stood to the side.
Ai was also momentarily stunned, then he slammed his fist onto the table, shattering it.
"War is about to begin…"
He knew there might be something fishy about this incident, but since the Hidden Leaf Village being severely damaged was an undeniable fact, this war was inevitable.
The Five Great Ninja Villages are violent organizations that balance each other among the Five Great Nations. If any one of them has a problem, the other Great Nations will not let it go.
Moreover, this situation occurred in the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf Village, which are currently the most prosperous. No country would give up the fertile land resources of the Land of Fire.
War cannot be stopped for any reason, unless the Daimyo and nobles have all gone mad…
The Cloud Village had already mobilized for war. They immediately launched operations. They only needed the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning to issue a declaration of war, and they would openly invade the Land of Fire, heading directly for the Hidden Leaf Village.
Before that, they could directly set up the war council in the border of the Land of Fire.
Other countries' actions were largely similar. The exposed Land of Fire almost immediately became a fat piece of meat in everyone's eyes.
News of war always comes unexpectedly. The Cloud Village people passed through the Rain Country silently, but once they entered the Land of Fire, they began to be noticed.
The Hidden Leaf Village's secret sentries watched the Cloud Village ninjas enter the Land of Fire as if no one was around, and their expressions changed drastically.
"Quickly send urgent information, war is about to begin… No, war has already begun!"
He knew that the ninjas stationed at the border had probably been annihilated, so these secret sentries did not show themselves. They were only responsible for transmitting information…
—
"Can Tailed Beasts really be absorbed by humans?"
Orochimaru watched Tao Bai Bai eat a piece of Tailed Beast Meat, chew a few times, and then spit it out. He was still curious and, with a research mindset, prepared to discuss it.
"You consumed uncooked Tailed Beast Meat. Ingredient Level: Medium. Deliciousness Level: Extremely Low."
"Biological Enhancement: Gourmet Cell has not been upgraded."
"Milestone: Heretical gourmet progress updated. Current: 1/50."
The unprocessed meat of the Three-Tails Isobu was incredibly tough and chewy, like gnawing on a piece of fishy leather. Both the taste and the chewing sensation were extremely unbearable.
Therefore, Bai Cangshu only swallowed a small piece and spat out the rest.
He also didn't feel any Chakra energy. Instead, a strong burning sensation appeared in his stomach, but as his stomach and internal cells rapidly metabolized, that feeling quickly disappeared.
Bai Cangshu already possessed additional toxin resistance. Even without Gourmet Cells, he would not be poisoned to death by something of this level.
"For ordinary people, naturally not."
Bai Cangshu sat down, watching Pingzhong Hua boiling meat scraped from Isobu's claws by the campfire, casually answering Orochimaru's question.
Orochimaru, however, was thoughtful. The legendary ninjas who gained Tailed Beast power by consuming Tailed Beast Meat were the Cloud Village's Ginkaku and Kinkaku, and those two were also rumored to possess the bloodline of the Six Paths Sage.
Orochimaru at this moment was more inclined to believe that this Tao Bai Bai was also a special individual with the so-called "Sage bloodline." Only then could his abnormal strength and behavior be explained.
Bai Cangshu turned his head, looking at Shimura Danzo's corpse placed behind the campfire, a smirk playing on his lips as he deliberately said,
"Aptitude, sometimes, is such a desperate gap. Some people are naturally powerful, while others, even if they equip themselves with Sharingan and live for decades, remain just as weak."
Orochimaru heard this and also looked at Danzo thoughtfully.
He had been curious before why Tao Bai Bai would carry Danzo's corpse. Now, he also realized something…
Danzo isn't dead?!
He had clearly confirmed the corpse, and with the quality Uchiha Itachi displayed, it was impossible for him not to know if he had killed the other party.
The only explanation was that Danzo possessed an extremely sophisticated technique of feigned death.
Bai Cangshu flicked his finger, and a force shot through the air. He couldn't yet kill by plucking flowers and leaves, but he could already project force from a distance through his powerful physical strength.
After flying several meters, it likely had destructive power similar to a rubber bullet.
Bang!
Danzo was hit in the back of the head, and some hair was knocked off.
Danzo's heartbeat slightly increased, but he still refused to open his eyes, holding onto a final sliver of hope.
"Tch~"
A sneer sounded uninhibitedly, and Danzo's heart sank. In the daytime battle, he hadn't anticipated how strong those few individuals were. Both Le Ren and Ran had a terrifying suppressive force against ordinary ninjas.
Then there was that young man, that Uchiha… Itachi…
Danzo found it hard to believe that a young man could possess such terrifying skill and talent, and compared to Zhi Shui, the other party was cold and ruthless, every move aiming for a kill.
He could, of course, use Izanagi to rewrite reality with the Sharingan under his bandages, which would give him the qualification to counter-kill. If Uchiha Itachi was the only enemy, he could certainly counter-kill with this ability.
But the other party was dispersed among multiple individuals and not from the same faction, which ultimately led Danzo to choose feigned death in an attempt to escape.
"Hey, Itachi, did you see that? This is a Hidden Leaf Village high-ranking official, a Hokage Advisor, who can decide the fate of your Uchiha Clan."
Bai Cangshu mocked Danzo with a frivolous tone. Danzo's approach to combat was far inferior to Hiruzen Sarutobi's, which made Bai Cangshu look down on such a person.
He possessed neither the courage to fight to the death nor the wisdom to endure hardship and turn the tables.
In the end, he was nothing more than a mediocrity full of empty talk and grand ambitions beyond his talent.
Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan looked at Shimura Danzo. The slight movements of his body and the re-flowing Chakra confirmed to him that he had indeed misjudged; this guy was not dead, even though… he had already cut his throat.
Uchiha Itachi stood up with a cold face, preparing to kill him again.
"I advise you not to do that, Itachi-kun."
A woman's voice suddenly sounded. Catherine was startled; she had already released a barrier and Mental perception, but she had not detected the woman's approach at all.
Ran also immediately stood up, blocking Catherine.
Reincarnators' abilities are strange, hundreds of times more complex than battles between ninjas. You simply cannot distinguish what world's abilities your opponent has used.
A woman named Tian Yi "grew" out of a giant flower.
This woman was currently emitting a Emerald Green natural energy, whose intensity, in Bai Cangshu's perception, was quite strong.
Uchiha Itachi looked at the woman with a cold expression. He had completely seen through the true nature of these people; everyone was for profit. His clan was, Third Hokage was, Shimura Danzo was, and this woman… also was.
Perhaps only lunatics like Tao Bai Bai and Pain were doing things not much mixed with profit. No, Tao Bai Bai was also pursuing profit, but his "profit" was all about battle, all about chaos.
Bai Cangshu waved his hand, signaling everyone not to be nervous.
"This woman is here for me."
At this moment, Pingzhong Hua was still unaware that the woman brought information about her missing husband, and she was still diligently cooking the beast meat for Bai Cangshu.
Shimura Danzo knew he couldn't hide any longer, snorted coldly, and sat up.
"You, you indeed betrayed the Hidden Leaf Village. I knew it all along… If only Hiruzen hadn't been so trusting…"
"Hehehe~"
Tian Yi interrupted Danzo with a laugh. She was no longer surprised by Danzo's kind of statements. This ninja, who placed himself within the grand theme of "everything is for the Hidden Leaf Village" and thus justified all his actions, had lost the ability to have a reasonable conversation with others.
He wouldn't think for others; a human who had lost the ability to empathize was essentially unable to have a rational conversation with him, because he was a completely selfish beast.
Tian Yi naturally came to Pingzhong Hua's side. She reached out to the Tailed Beast Meat being cooked, and strong natural energy flowed into the Tailed Beast Meat, beginning to neutralize the intense Tailed Beast Chakra.
Then she continued to speak.
"Mr. Tao Bai Bai, I think you'd better keep Danzo alive until two days from now. I suspect that will make your trial more convenient."
Bai Cangshu raised an eyebrow. This woman actually knew about his trial mission. This kind of thing couldn't be inferred, because there was no information to corroborate it. The only thing the other party could know should be that Pingzhong Hua's survival was related to his mission.
"You are very valuable."
Bai Cangshu stood up and walked towards Tian Yi. Ran and Catherine instinctively retreated. They could feel that Tao Bai Bai had developed some "interest" in this woman, but it was definitely not a good thing.
When someone like Tao Bai Bai develops an interest in you, it most likely means he has developed a desire to hunt you.
Tian Yi calmly looked at the hint of purple in Tao Bai Bai's eyes, which was Killing Intent Ripple.
She took two steps back, her expression not flustered.
"You are a rational person, Tao Bai Bai. You know that trying to kill me here will not bring you more profit."
"On the contrary, with my help, you will definitely gain greater benefits."
"[DD99115435 (Tian Yi) initiates a trade with you.]"
"[You have acquired the item, Golden Rune *1.]"
"[Golden Rune]"
"[Quality: Rare]"
"[Description: The grace of the Golden Tree, symbolizing life and strength.]"
"[Effect 1: After use, the Reincarnator will gain a certain amount of Runes.]"
"[Effect 2: Runes can be converted into attribute points in space or by individuals with specific powers.]"
When Bai Cangshu saw this item, he suddenly recalled the demise of [9527], and why the [card] was held by the weakest, Wu Xin, when the remaining members split up to lure the hunters.
It turned out that the treasure [9527] obtained was not the [card] at all; they obtained something even more precious than the [card].
"golden law…"