Chapter 272: Special Ascension Path: Scarlet Skull
The term "World Will" or "Restraining Force" used by Reincarnators actually refers to an existence that cannot be directly observed.
However, there is no doubt that such a thing exists in almost all derivative worlds.
If the Infinite Dimensional Nexus is the deployer of Reincarnators, then the World Will is the true BOSS that Reincarnators face in a broad sense.
Reincarnators carry out activities in the world, causing an impact. The Nexus harvests special [Information] called Singularities, and the world repairs these changes in the timeline to keep itself running.
In all derivative worlds, because characters like [Children of Prophecy] and [Protagonists] occupy the largest amount of [Information], when Reincarnators irreversibly influence or kill such characters, the backlash from the World Will is also the most intense.
They will almost always suffer the highest level of targeted suppression.
Passing top-tier powerhouses, resurrected special creations—as long as they are characters that can exist on the timeline, the World Will can make their appearance a coincidence with extremely high probability, provided the world line and timeline don't become disordered.
So, when Kaito Shirogane thought about this Golden Order descent event earlier, his hypothetical enemies were those true top-tier powerhouses who appeared in the later stages of this world—the Six Paths level.
But now, he realized that due to the special setting of the Naruto derivative world itself, the Otsutsuki clan were not indigenous inhabitants of this planet.
Although Hagoromo Otsutsuki founded Ninshu to teach the method of chakra cultivation and contributed much to this world under the name of the Sage of Six Paths...
In essence, the Otsutsuki clan was still a cosmic colonial race that wanted to plant the Divine Tree on this planet and harvest all living beings.
To this Planetary Will, the Otsutsuki clan was not much better than the Greater Will that was eyeing it covetously now.
Therefore, the Otsutsuki clan would not receive preferential treatment. Toneri Otsutsuki with the Tenseigan, Hagoromo Otsutsuki with combat power, and even Isshiki Otsutsuki who only appeared in Boruto—these characters would not appear!
Orochimaru watched the smile that suggested everything was under control reappear on the terrifyingly large Mercenary Tao. Although he didn't know what had happened earlier, he sighed in relief as Mercenary Tao's frantic and terrifying aura dissipated.
Immediately, he mocked himself for this thought.
He didn't expect that one day, he would be affected by the overly "intense" consciousness of another existence.
"What do you want to do now? The Land of Lightning isn't a place that will submit just because a Daimyo's mansion is destroyed..."
Uchiha Itachi also tilted his head, wanting to hear Mercenary Tao's answer.
But to his disappointment, or perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, Mercenary Tao said:
"If one Daimyo's mansion isn't enough, then the whole capital. If one city isn't enough, then two... Heh, the Fourth Raikage has been heavily injured by me. Pain will soon complete an unprecedented feast of fear in the Land of Fire. Next, we only need to use a little... despicable ninja means, which will be enough to make those scared maggots submit obediently..."
Kaito Shirogane smiled wantonly. He knew very well that for those great nobles who truly controlled most of a country's resources, nothing was more important than their lives and continued possession of wealth.
And when a group of uncontrollable ninjas appeared, they were destined not to keep these things.
All they could do was—beg.
Kaito Shirogane didn't give Minoru Hiranaka and his wife time to catch up. He forcibly dragged the two of them and quickly rushed back to the Royal Capital of the Land of Lightning. Takiya Horikawa, who had been waiting for a long time, lowered his head. Seeing the gazes of the people around him, he hesitated again and again, but still stepped forward and whispered:
"Just now, ninjas from Kumogakure arrived and said the Raikage would soon..."
Clang!
Kaito Shirogane suddenly raised his hand. Two shuriken nailed into his arm, making a sound of metal striking metal. The next moment, two people in the crowd burst into brilliant flames.
Bang! Bang!
Two puffs of smoke exploded. Their Transformation Technique was dispelled due to damage, but at the same time, they immediately used the Body Replacement Technique to create distance and extinguished the flames on their bodies.
Seeing Mercenary Tao appear first while the Fourth Raikage hadn't returned, these two Kumogakure ninjas had a bad premonition.
Just as they were about to retreat, they locked eyes with a pair of scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan.
Uchiha Itachi became increasingly cruel in his killing. Since he was determined to see the choice of the unified future Mercenary Tao spoke of, he could accept all sacrifices before that.
What's more, these Kumogakure ninjas had long been established as enemies of Konoha, so he felt nothing killing them.
Pfft!
Amidst spraying blood, several figures emerged from the crowd. Orochimaru also attacked simultaneously. Minoru Hiranaka, not knowing how to face his wife, naturally stood in front of her to protect her.
Golden light shone on his body.
In his heavy armor and relying on incantations, ordinary ninjutsu could hardly break his defense.
Ninjutsu lights exploded continuously, causing panic among the surrounding commoners and nobles.
Only Takiya Horikawa, who was grabbed in Kaito Shirogane's hand, although pale, had to pretend to be calm because he couldn't break free.
As he watched this giant-like Mercenary Tao crush the necks of the Kumogakure ninjas who instantly appeared behind him with just a casual grab, he finally completely let go of his worries.
He glanced at his relatives in the crowd and knew his choice was right.
"Very good. From now on, you are the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning."
Kaito Shirogane didn't even remember the other party's name before handing over the position of the Land of Lightning's Daimyo to him.
For Kaito Shirogane, a puppy that knew how to wag its tail at its master and bark at others was enough.
After all, he wasn't a benevolent ruler. Long-term peace and stability were meaningless to a Reincarnator like him who would only stay for thirty days.
Destruction was always easier than construction.
Takiya Horikawa couldn't believe it. His heart beat so fast that his vision almost went black. Disregarding his dignity, he immediately knelt down in public before the giant in front of him.
"Thank you for your grace, but my clan is weak and I fear I cannot convince the public..."
Kaito Shirogane looked at a figure forced back by the Golden Order Greatsword and pointed a finger from a distance.
Vmm!
A golden beam pierced through the air, penetrating the ninja who was forming seals the next moment.
"Convince the public?"
"Who is the public?"
"Give me names, and those two ninja lords will naturally help you purge the dissenters. Don't worry, the Land of Fire has also submitted to us. What you are doing is merely preventing the Land of Lightning from suffering the same heavy damage as the Land of Fire."
Kaito Shirogane explained casually. Seeing two elite Jōnin escape with their excellent skills, he didn't pursue them.
The fall of the Five Great Nations was just an event he triggered, not his main purpose in coming to this world.
He came to this world to eat, to kill!
Killing to increase the Satsui no Hado (Surge of Murderous Intent);
Eating to enhance his Gourmet Cells!
Apart from that, only the pursuit of the special trial and S-rank evaluation remained.
After learning that the Otsutsuki clan would most likely not appear, Kaito Shirogane had found his true goal.
He suddenly lifted the newly appointed Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and asked:
"I ask you, what do you think I should do now to be considered 'Ultimate Benevolence'?"
Takiya Horikawa was confused but could only rack his brains. Finally, putting himself in others' shoes for a moment, he said:
"Show mercy to those resisting samurai and demonstrate your magnanimity. In this way, the citizens will likely recognize your benevolence..."
Vmm!
Golden qi whistled sharply. The next moment, a laser beam pierced through a group of samurai still holding katanas outside the collapsed Daimyo's mansion. Following the movement of his finger, the terrifying qi instantly penetrated all the samurai's bodies.
Pfft pfft pfft...
Bodies were cut in half one by one, and the smell of blood assailed the nostrils.
Watching this scene, acid instantly surged up Takiya Horikawa's throat.
Kaito Shirogane put him down and said:
"Very good, now there are no resisting samurai."
Sure enough, the remaining samurai all dropped their swords and knelt on the ground, trembling.
Still unsatisfied, Kaito Shirogane asked a person behind Takiya Horikawa.
"I ask you, what do you think is benevolence..."
This person was Takiya Horikawa's guard. He was almost scared silly by the scene just now. He subconsciously knelt on the ground and stammered:
"Money... this lowly one thinks that if my lord can donate money to let us rebuild our destroyed homes, that would be benevolence..."
Kaito Shirogane wasn't satisfied with this choice but still waved his hand.
"Go. Whoever can grab however much wealth from that Daimyo's mansion within today can keep it for themselves."
The guard almost suspected he had heard wrong. Even Takiya Horikawa, who had been appointed as the new Daimyo, didn't expect this monster not to want the wealth in the Daimyo's mansion.
Seeing the guard look at him, he hurriedly waved his hand.
"Everything is subject to the lord's orders."
These words instantly caused a commotion among the people around who heard the conversation. Several people were eager to try, so Kaito Shirogane simply said:
"Within today, everyone can search for the wealth they desire to their heart's content."
Several guards finally couldn't hold back and walked towards the collapsed Daimyo's mansion. Many onlookers were also influenced and walked over there. As the group walked, their speed became faster and faster, eventually turning into a scramble.
Kaito Shirogane looked again at the crowd still remaining there.
Before he could speak, someone knelt down and said:
"My lord, the benevolence I envision is for you to grant me the status of a free man, to break away from the enslavement of the Horikawa clan!"
This person was sallow and emaciated but had guts. Without Kaito Shirogane speaking, Takiya Horikawa nodded hurriedly.
As the most pragmatic noble, he had vaguely realized that this lord seemed to be precipitating a riot. He didn't understand the reason, but he could only cooperate.
Subsequently, several more people knelt down. One of them actually pointed at a samurai in the distance.
"My lord, that man killed my brother. The benevolence I want is revenge!"
Pfft!
Kaito Shirogane merely flicked his finger, and the blast of wind shattered the throat of the samurai who hadn't reacted yet.
With this, the watching crowd completely boiled over. The panic in everyone's eyes began to dissipate, and that completely unrestrained "grace" began to turn into a fanatical riot.
Hana Hiranaka shrank back fearfully to the side of the summon beast. She looked at the people of the Land of Lightning whose faces showed fanaticism, not understanding why, even though people were being killed, they weren't afraid but became more and more fanatical.
Minoru Hiranaka felt a large amount of life energy draining away. Perhaps the Golden Erdtree was absorbing this life energy to grow.
But seeing the dazzling splashes of crimson, he began to hesitate, unsure if he should rejoice at Mercenary Tao's actions.
He could only comfort himself that all this was for the Age of the Erdtree that would eventually arrive. It was all worth it... wasn't it...
No one could answer Minoru Hiranaka.
[Sin Sequence Synchronization Rate Updated. Tyranny Synchronization Rate: 100%]
[Sin Reincarnator Ex051, detected 100% synchronization rate in Pride, Greed, and Tyranny simultaneously. Unlocked Special Ascension Path: Scarlet Skull (Hidden)]
"Ha, it appeared..."
Kaito Shirogane's huge figure stood surrounded by a large number of fanatical subjects of the Land of Lightning, like a great demon spreading chaos and demise.
He rejoiced because his guess was verified. The ascension of Great Sins was indeed not singular. Satisfying multiple Great Sins simultaneously would grant a more powerful ascension path.
Ultimate Benevolence... If benevolence is not checked, it will also fall into chaos, ultimately crowning a Demon King in the name of benevolence.
(End of Chapter)
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