AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
[Special Event: Fall of the Five Great Nations progress updated, current: 33.6%]
[Special Event: Fall of the Five Great Nations progress updated, current: 33.8%]
...
Bai Cangshu sat on the edge of a steep cliff in the Land of Lightning, watching the clouds churn in the mountain gorge. He knew that every decimal point change inevitably meant that the Akatsuki members were slaughtering in the Land of Fire, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Wind, and that the traditional nobles were constantly being assassinated.
This was not like the occasional powerful rogue ninja appearing in the past; rather, it was groups of ninjas with top-tier combat capabilities acting in concert.
The ninjas from ordinary villages simply couldn't protect them.
Currently, except for the Land of Wind, where the situation was still good because Akatsuki lacked sufficient manpower and Scorpion's assassination attempt on the Daimyo failed, the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning had largely seen their nobles and Daimyo massacred.
The ninjas of both nations were in chaos due to the death and disappearance of their Kage, making it difficult for them to coordinate effectively.
However, the Land of Water, which should have been annihilated under the attacks of Zetsu and Scorpion, was put on hold because Scorpion insisted on going to assassinate the Wind Daimyo.
Scorpion hadn't expected that after he assassinated the Third Kazekage, the new Kazekage, Rasa, would still be so dark, actually trading the Hidden Sand Village's hero, Pakura, to the Hidden Mist Village for execution through political means. This act completely disillusioned him with the Hidden Sand Village.
And he resolved to deal with the Land of Wind, which the Hidden Sand Village was supposed to protect, first.
Unfortunately, after Black Zetsu realized the terror of Tao Bai Bai and the appearance of the golden law, he temporarily abandoned Akatsuki's operations, causing Scorpion to lose his support, and ultimately, Rasa's reinforcement led to the assassination's failure.
Bai Cangshu was not in a hurry to support the Land of Wind battlefield to seize the Tailed Beasts.
Instead, above the cloud-shrouded cliffs of the Land of Lightning, in this most active place for lightning, he activated the special item: the Eight Jades Collection's Inheritance: Arashi Tokumitsu.
Bai Cangshu was not worried about the negative effects of failing to use this item; his sea of consciousness was already like a miniature hell.
The Underworld flowed, spirits were everywhere, and powerful spirits like Gojo Satoru, Uchiha Madara, and the Shinigami were all contained within it, so what if there was one more Eight Jades Collection?
He was only worried that the inheritance he received would not be powerful enough.
He clutched the constantly flashing lightning-imbued magatama and suddenly crushed it.
At this moment, Bai Cangshu had lost the Full Moon Transformation effect of Lunar Silver Wolf due to the sunrise, and his body had returned to its normal state.
After the magatama shattered, the sky suddenly began to darken. Above the mountain gorge, dark clouds began to gather, and intense lightning continuously condensed.
Even the people of the Land of Lightning had rarely seen such a scene, as if the dark clouds were about to touch the mountaintop.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning illuminated the entire world, followed by a terrifying roar that drowned out all other sounds.
Ping Zhongshi, standing outside the royal capital, below the cliff, stared blankly at this scene, his face filled with worry. He wanted to offer prayers for Tao Bai Bai, but he had been warned not to step above.
"Shi, what on earth... did you encounter?"
Pingzhong Hua stood behind her husband, looking at her husband who was always wearing that heavy armor, her eyes filled with confusion.
She felt that her honest and simple husband had changed into a different person after escaping from Konoha. He hadn't even asked how everyone in the town was, or if their neighbors were safe, or... if she was scared.
She reached out to Ping Zhongshi; her husband was clearly standing in front of her, but she felt as if they were far apart.
The golden rings in Ping Zhongshi's eyes grew increasingly solid. He found that he wasn't as excited as he thought he would be when facing his long-missed wife. Or rather, his heart had been filled with something much greater.
Ping Zhongshi turned his head, meeting his wife's gaze, and his eyes became calm. The golden glow stung Pingzhong Hua.
Ping Zhongshi said,
"I'm fine, Hua, I just..."
He tried his best not to look at the chaotic royal capital. Ping Zhongshi was unwilling to call Tao Bai Bai's insane "tyranny" of last night benevolent.
It was a kind of unrestrained wantonness, allowing everyone to express their desires without any limits, and then Tao Bai Bai would fulfill them with pure violence.
Under the temptation of such violence, he found that what most people fundamentally craved was violence, whether it was wealth, hatred, beauty, or power, everything was rooted in violence against others.
"I just hope this world can become a better place."
"Hua, I hope you will never die, I hope Mother will never die, I hope everyone in the town will never die, I hope... Haruka will never die..."
Ping Zhongshi muttered to himself. The pain he had experienced was probably all related to those who had passed away. His mother, who had painstakingly raised him, died from an unpredictable cold.
The war orphan he adopted, who was so kind and lovable, died at the hands of another war orphan, simply for the little food he had left.
Ping Zhongshi looked down at his wife, his eyes filled with sadness.
"Death is so painful, Hua. A world where no one ever dies, I will surely make it happen. By then..."
Slap!
A clear slapping sound rang out. Ping Zhongshi felt no pain; instead, Pingzhong Hua's right hand was almost numb. Tears welled in her eyes, unable to distinguish between the pain of slapping her husband's armor and the panic of a familiar person becoming a stranger.
"Shi!"
"That kind of thing... that kind of thing has nothing to do with us..."
Having followed Tao Bai Bai for the past seven or eight days, Pingzhong Hua had fully realized that this world simply did not belong to ordinary people like them, who lived diligently.
Those ninjas could easily kill dozens, even hundreds of people like herself;
And Tao Bai Bai could easily kill hundreds of such ninjas.
Watching her husband stare blankly at her, Pingzhong Hua threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face.
"Let them fight over that kind of thing, let them decide. I... I just hope we can live well..."
"Including Mother's share and Haruka's share!"
"Mr. Nishikawa is dead, Mr. Kakuda is dead, everyone is dead! Shi, I only have you left, don't do those dangerous things, don't get involved with someone like Tao Bai Bai!"
The woman hugged her husband with all her might, as if she wanted to merge her body into his armor, calling out with all her might.
No one had moved on from those deaths, but life couldn't stand still. Instead of being constantly bound by the past, Pingzhong Hua hoped to face the future with her husband.
Ping Zhongshi looked at his wife, who was tightly embracing him. He seemed to see that after his mother and Haruka died, she had always cried while holding him like this, but at that time, he could do nothing.
"It's different now..."
As Ping Zhongshi spoke, a golden magic circle shimmered beneath him, and the radiance of the golden law became increasingly dazzling.
I want to change this sorrowful world!
Ping Zhongshi's intensely fluctuating heart seemed to be calling for the descent of a certain supreme will.
Pingzhong Hua was bathed in the warm golden prayer, but her heart grew colder and colder.
She looked at her husband in despair, feeling that he had been consumed by something else. He could no longer see her, and he would no longer clumsily warm her.
How much more would this world take from her?
What did this world want her to do to allow her to be happy?
Pingzhong Hua released her grip on Ping Zhongshi. She turned and looked at the top of the cliff, which was now completely covered by dark clouds. She knew that there, there was a complete tyrant.
Perhaps, only that guy could...
Crack!
Another startling bolt of lightning flashed, and in the shifting light and shadow, Pingzhong Hua's calm face also became uncertain.