Chapter 269: Self-Termination (3K+)
Lightning Release: Lariat!
Thunder exploded, and Ping Zhongshi's heart seemed to skip a beat. He blinked, and the restless thunderclap was already at his ears.
The tall Fourth Raikage instantly appeared before the man clad in full armor, who seemed out of place in the entire ninja world. His hand blade, wrapped in powerful Lightning Release Chakra, fiercely tore through the air.
He slashed down towards the man's chest.
Rip!
The air crackled with a burnt smell from the lightning strike. Ping Zhongshi was originally just an ordinary Genin, and he should have been unable to react effectively to such an attack.
But at this moment, as the golden halo in his eyes contracted, he leaned back, seemingly preparing to dodge.
The Fourth Raikage snorted coldly in his heart upon seeing the opponent's movement. Ordinary taijutsu and Body Flicker Technique were almost impossible to dodge against his Nintaijutsu. As soon as your Chakra flowed or your body twisted, his hand blade would have already cut through your body.
Buzz!
The air was cut open in an instant, and blue-white electric light spread out nearly a meter along his hand blade, but there was nothing beneath the hand blade.
He turned his head and saw that the heavily armored fellow had actually flickered, seemingly disappearing several meters away, and was now continuously increasing the distance between them.
Space-Time Ninjutsu?!
The Fourth Raikage had initially thought the opponent was just a Leaf Village scout, but he didn't expect the opponent to also possess an ability that seemed like short-distance instant movement.
In that instant, he had indeed slashed through where the opponent's body should have been, but the opponent had simply "disappeared" before his hand blade and created distance.
It was also Ping Zhongshi's first time using the ability called 'Hound's Pace' in actual combat, successfully escaping from the Fourth Raikage's Nintaijutsu.
He also hadn't expected to directly encounter the Fourth Raikage here, and that the opponent would attack him without a word.
Perhaps this was the destiny Miss Providence spoke of, the one he would face...
But Ping Zhongshi neither regretted nor feared.
He was prepared to sacrifice his life. Compared to this world, where wars constantly erupted throughout these thousands of years and ordinary people could not find peace, he believed more in the Golden Tree Era described by Miss Providence.
Even without death, people would still experience worries and hatred due to other things.
But death was indeed the root of all suffering for everyone now.
He knew that because of the information he leaked, everyone in Jianghe Town was killed. He once hated himself, wanting to end his own life, and also hated those ninjas who mercilessly killed the weak, and even hated Miss Providence who leaked that information to him.
But after obtaining that seedling, he had found his own path to salvation.
As long as the Golden Tree's blessing illuminated the entire world, death would no longer be the end of life; the Golden Tree would be.
Without death, people would no longer grieve over loss, nor would they fight. Without the constraint of 'death,' everything in the world would become peaceful, and life would merely be a journey to enjoy before 'returning to the tree.'
Everyone could be freed from the eternal cycle of hatred. This was the true 'perfect benevolence and supreme goodness'!
Ping Zhongshi quickly ran towards the Land of Lightning. He was ready to sacrifice himself, but that had to wait until the Golden Tree fully grew. Before then, no matter what, he had to live.
Intense lightning roared behind him; he could feel the fine hairs on his exposed skin beginning to stand on end, one by one.
Ping Zhongshi turned around, looking at the ninjas behind him whose hands glowed with intense electric light.
He drew the uniquely shaped greatsword from his back. Golden glowing patterns lit up on the greatsword. Ping Zhongshi plunged the sword into the ground before him and spread his arms.
He devoutly prayed to the Golden Tree, imploring the protection of the golden law so that the Golden Tree Era might come.
Huge golden magic circles instantly lit up one after another before him.
Golden Tree Oath
Golden Magic Protection
Golden Lightning Protection
Golden Tree's Blessing
Prayers he had never known before magically appeared in his mind and were released one after another.
Ping Zhongshi's body was almost completely enveloped by the golden light.
Rip!
Rip!
Lightning exploded, and streaks of Lightning Release Ninjutsu instantly struck Ping Zhongshi's location, but they were completely ineffective. Under the heavy light of the prayers, Ping Zhongshi pulled out the greatsword from before him.
A golden glow lit up on the sword's blade, making this greatsword appear as if cast from gold. Two semi-circular arcs of brilliant light even appeared on the blade. Under the golden prayer light, this sword shone like glazed glass.
Ping Zhongshi looked at the Raikage and others in the distance, holding the sword high above his head, as if praying to someone, then held the sword level with one hand to his right, his entire body and the sword forming a subtle triangular shape.
The Golden Tree's emblem lit up again. The next moment, Ping Zhongshi, holding the sword with both hands, swept it horizontally with a roar, dozens of meters away.
Roar!
The golden greatsword suddenly caused the air to shriek. The golden prayer light first exploded around Ping Zhongshi, then transformed into a massive golden sword qi, slashing towards the group of ninjas.
"Watch out!"
A ninja shouted a warning. In their battles with the Leaf Village, they had witnessed the peculiarities of these golden-glowing Ninjutsu. No one was careless at this moment.
They all instantly dodged.
Even the Fourth Raikage was no exception. Those who rushed to aid their country with the Raikage were all elites. When the golden sword qi flew through the air, everyone had already completely dodged it.
Puff, boom!
The sword qi sliced into the ground, then caused a violent explosion. The power was quite terrifying.
The Fourth Raikage felt no Chakra presence from the opponent's attack, nor did it even produce nature transformation. That shimmering golden technique seemed completely unrelated to the Chakra system.
This could no longer be explained by Kekkei Genkai or secret techniques.
"He ran, Fourth Raikage."
The Fourth Raikage looked at the man who had run hundreds of meters away again after unleashing one sword strike. For some reason, he felt that the person before him was even more important than the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, whose fate was unknown.
He waved his hand.
"You all return to the village to find Bee, then go together to aid the capital. I'm going to capture this guy and see what the Leaf Village is up to!"
The group quickly split into two.
The Fourth Raikage was incredibly fast. His physique was powerful, and with the enhancement of Nintaijutsu, he had far greater traversing ability than ordinary ninjas. After activating the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his movement speed was almost unmatched, save for Minato Namikaze back then.
Ping Zhongshi was completely unable to shake off the Fourth Raikage, but A didn't immediately capture him. He kept following Ping Zhongshi, wanting to see what the opponent's purpose was in heading to the Land of Lightning.
Suddenly, the Fourth Raikage turned and saw another figure hundreds of meters away, drifting like a ghost, also following behind the opponent.
That figure was cloaked in a red-cloud black robe and wore a spiral-shaped mask on his face.
Uchiha Obito looked at Ping Zhongshi, whose stamina seemed endless, with an indifferent expression in his Sharingan.
He was certain that Kakashi was hidden by that woman. If he couldn't retrieve his other Mangekyo Sharingan from Kakashi, he wouldn't have the confidence to defeat Tao Bai Bai and Nagato.
Nor could he stop that madman Tao Bai Bai from consuming Tailed Beasts.
The Eye of the Moon Plan would be unable to proceed.
His actions were at a standstill, so he turned to pursue information about that woman. Zetsu had given him crucial intelligence: this guy named Ping Zhongshi was probably very important to that woman.
He had been hidden by her until now, but was now released, and his purpose was unknown.
Since Tao Bai Bai could make Uchiha Shisui hide Naruto Uzumaki, and that woman could hide Kakashi, then he could naturally hide this Ping Zhongshi!
He merely glanced at the Fourth Raikage in the distance, not putting him in his eyes, and silently drifted towards Ping Zhongshi from the air, the illusory ripples beginning to appear in his eyes.
As long as Ping Zhongshi was absorbed into the Kamui Dimension, no one would be able to find him again.
Puff!
A searing white shockwave pierced through Obito's body, followed by a series of air Blast sounds.
Smoke-like ripples exploded one after another from the distant forest.
As his Sharingan's tomoe spun, he clearly saw that what had pierced his body was a black pebble.
In the distance, a figure leaped from the air, quickly appearing in Uchiha Obito's field of vision.
Bai Cangshu saw the man shimmering with golden light from the air. The man wore heavy armor that was out of place in this world. He determined that this was probably the target he needed to protect.
Boom!
Bai Cangshu dropped directly from the air, and the ground violently exploded.
This time, he didn't use any techniques to dissipate or absorb force; he simply slammed his terrifying weight of several hundred kilograms from nearly a hundred meters high onto the ground.
Bai Cangshu was very angry; he was very displeased!
Ping Zhongshi stopped immediately, blocking with his hands before him. When the ground exploded, the splashing sand and stones struck his hands and nasal bones, making clanging sounds.
After the dust settled, the man, whom Miss Providence had spoken of, guided by "destiny" to protect him until the Golden Tree grew, finally appeared.
Moreover, his wife had also survived under his protection.
The final piece of the perfect benevolence and supreme goodness puzzle—Tao Bai Bai—had appeared!
At this moment, Ping Zhongshi finally relaxed a little. He was not skilled in combat, and even with the incredible abilities granted by the Golden Tree's blessing, he still dared not fight the Fourth Raikage.
"Tao Bai Bai, that's great, you..."
Whoosh.
A figure appeared from the wind, its terrifying size of over three meters radiating an intimidating pressure.
Before Ping Zhongshi could finish his sentence, he felt his throat tighten. A powerful hand had already clamped around his neck.
Ping Zhongshi struggled, but the other party's strength was terrifyingly great; he couldn't budge him at all.
Hoo~
White mist spewed from the other party's mouth and nose, making Ping Zhongshi feel that the other party was even more like a monster.
His heart sank. This was different from what he had imagined. The other party didn't seem like the final piece of the perfect benevolence and supreme goodness Golden Tree Era; instead, he seemed like... a butcher...
"I say, Mr. Ping Zhongshi, could you do me a favor?"
Bai Cangshu's eyes swept over Uchiha Obito and the Fourth Raikage in the distance. He finally looked at Ping Zhongshi with a sinister gaze.
"Would you please... terminate yourself?"