Aoki Yoru formed hand seals and pressed them onto the scroll, undoing the seal.
Fragments of the Evil God and violent energy instantly erupted, carrying overwhelming malice as they frantically dissipated in all directions.
He immediately channeled Natural Energy to wrap them tightly; the energy and fragments crashed around inside but were unable to break through.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready, let's do it!" The Wood Release clone nodded solemnly, having already gathered all its Chakra and spiritual energy at its heart.
"Sage Art: Evil Sealing Method!"
"Sage Art: Five Elements Seal!"
"Sage Art: Eight Trigrams Seal!"
The three Sage Art seals locked the two within the Wood Release clone's heart.
However, he specifically left a small opening to allow the fused fragments and energy to leak out, so the clone could merge with and absorb them.
The fragments were the phantom image of the Evil God's body, and the energy was its soul; as long as the Wood Release clone completely merged these into its body, it would become a smaller version of the Evil God.
"Ugh!"
The Wood Release clone's face suddenly turned pale, and fine cracks appeared on its skin; it nearly failed to maintain its human form, and even its state as a clone was on the verge of collapsing.
The clone gritted its teeth hard, concentrating entirely on resisting the violent energy of the Evil God.
Aoki Yoru's expression was tense as he stared fixedly at the scene—if the clone collapsed here, all his planning would go to waste.
Gradually, the Wood Release clone recovered; color returned to its face, and the cracks on its body disappeared.
"Phew—"
The clone let out a long breath, and its body instantly relaxed.
"The Evil God is indeed eerie. Just a sliver of energy almost made my body collapse; in the end, I only pulled through thanks to White Zetsu," the clone said with lingering fear.
"However, to merge them in a short time, I need a continuous, massive supply of Chakra as a foundation to allow me to digest them without stopping for a moment."
Hearing this, Aoki Yoru did not look troubled; instead, he smiled and handed over a scroll.
"Thanks to Kisame's gift."
"Inside is Samehada. I've already extracted the Natural Energy from it. When the time comes, go to the Land of Artisans to see if it can be forged into something like a bracelet—while maintaining its ability to absorb Chakra, of course."
Aoki Yoru then pondered for a moment: "If that doesn't work, just keep it with you. But be careful; this fellow is a backstabber and might betray you at any time."
"Also, try not to let it appear in the sight of outsiders. Both Konoha and the Akatsuki Organization know that Samehada is in my hands. If you're exposed, it will inevitably lead them to link you with me."
The clone took the scroll. "Don't worry, I also know this fellow can't be trusted. I won't let a second person know about this. This thing has sentience and is untrustworthy; keeping it by my side is a last resort."
Aoki Yoru nodded in agreement. Samehada followed whoever provided the best 'milk'—it would betray without hesitation for whoever had higher quality Chakra to satisfy it.
"That's good. From now on, you'll play the role of the Evil God here. Have people imitate the Evil God Cult to perform sacrifices and see if you can gain the power of faith."
"Note: do not involve ordinary people. You can use mountain bandits, gangs, or even nobles."
Aoki Yoru considered himself to have a bit of a conscience; the commoners had suffered enough, and he didn't want to bring more hardship upon them.
In the Land of Birds, there were only a few Ninjas around the Daimyo who could use Chakra. In Konoha Village, they wouldn't even be able to graduate from the Ninja Academy, but in the Land of Birds, they were already high-end combatants.
Consequently, the Daimyo could only control the capital, while other areas were completely out of control, occupied by powerful local families, mountain bandits, or gangs.
For Aoki Yoru, this was the perfect place; there was plenty of 'material,' and he wouldn't feel uneasy if they died.
"But what about the sacrificial ritual? I'm completely in the dark right now. The Evil God Cult headquarters is gone; where am I supposed to find it?" the clone shrugged helplessly.
"That's up to you. You can look in the Land of Hot Springs; there are always some who escaped the net. Wasn't that priest from before one? Even if it's in ruins, there should be books or scrolls left behind."
"Or find Hidan and extract all the knowledge from his brain. Of course, given his psychotic state, it's hard to say if there's anything left in his head, but since he obtained immortality after all, there should be some gains."
Aoki Yoru indicated he was powerless to help; if he had to do everything himself, why would he need a clone? Next, the clone would be the workhorse while he rested well in Konoha.
Aoki Yoru suddenly seemed to remember something. He rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then revealed a playful smile to the clone: "From now on, you have a new name—"
"Evil God · Yagami Light!"
"Ah!"
The clone was also startled by the original's train of thought, not expecting to be given the same name as the protagonist of death note.
It was just that the other was a Shinigami, while he was an Evil God.
"You really have a wicked sense of humor. Should I get a death note as well?" Although it was the name given by the original, the clone still couldn't help but complain.
"Just tell me if it feels familiar!"
Through these familiar names, he could at least reminisce about his past life to avoid being completely assimilated by this world.
Otherwise, as time passed, his memories of his previous life would become increasingly blurred; he could no longer even remember the face of his female seatmate from elementary school.
"Wait, did you say death note?"
Aoki Yoru's eyes lit up; he had discovered a key point.
If the clone wanted to build the Evil God Cult from scratch, gathering believers and faith step by step, it would be far too slow—who knows how long it would take.
But if there were a death note, the believers would naturally regard it as an absolute truth and worship it fanatically. Then, their power of faith would pour in continuously.
He looked at the clone with burning eyes, a sharp light flashing in them: "It's feasible! We don't have to copy the death note anime exactly with absolute rules like 'knowing the name and face allows you to kill.' That's too heaven-defying; the rules of this world likely wouldn't allow it."
"But we can refer to Hidan's method of killing an enemy once you get their blood. If you're capable enough to evolve it to work with just hair, would you still worry about not having believers?"
"The ability to take a life from thousands of miles away alone would be enough for them to worship you as a true Evil God. This will save a lot of time."
Hearing the original's words, the clone was first stunned, and then his mouth twitched, clearly not expecting the original to be so imaginative.
He glanced at Aoki Yoru, his eyes full of helplessness: "Original, isn't your imagination a bit too wild?"
"How could I possibly do that? Hidan's ability was bestowed by the Evil God. What do I have? A big imagination?"
"Don't be like that. I believe you will soon become the Evil God and turn this concept into reality. Although it seems far-fetched, it should be achievable in principle, shouldn't it?"
Aoki Yoru patted the clone's shoulder, encouraging him.
"Also, transform into Yagami Light's appearance now and use White Zetsu to fix the form. Remember, never revert to your original appearance. Zetsu is everywhere; if you're not careful, he might see you."
The clone nodded upon hearing this: "You're right. There's no sense in trying to guard against a thief forever."
Then he formed hand seals, and a young man with deep brown short hair and a cold, pale face appeared out of thin air.
He raised his chin slightly, his gaze as cold as ice, and said word by word: "I am justice! From now on, I am the god of the new world!"