Ending the Golden War (4K Mega Chapter Update, Please Subscribe)

Ran suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body. Mercenary Tao began radiating an increasingly terrifying Satsui no Hado, and the smile had vanished from his face.

That terrifying face fully relaxed, like a super villain freed from a cage and wantonly savoring his freedom.

Mercenary Tao’s mission was complete?!

He abruptly looked at the weeping, pleading woman and finally realized that the last chain restraining Mercenary Tao had disappeared. In other words, Mercenary Tao no longer needed to keep him and the other Plot Characters around in order to protect this woman.

This was a dragon that had already broken free of its reins.

Bai Cangshu rolled his neck, his muscles and bones crackling. Ignoring the two Uchiha still engaged in their "scriptural debate," he walked straight toward the White Snake Meat that had just been set over the fire.

He casually tore off a piece from the flames, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing.

Perhaps because the thousand-year-old white snake had absorbed enough natural energy, its meat had not turned tough at all. Instead, it remained tender and delicious, carrying an unusual fragrance and a rich meaty flavor.

Even without any sophisticated cooking, merely having its impurities removed by the Garuda Blade had already made it quite good.

You have consumed a piece of specially processed spirit snake meat. Ingredient Grade: Upper-Middle. Deliciousness Grade: Good.

Gourmet Cell has gained slight growth. Current: Lv1 (9/100)

Constitution +1. Current: 30 (Yellow Springs Erosion) (Satsui no Hado Possession)

Strength +1. Current: 29

Agility +1. Current: 28

Milestone: Gourmet triggered. You have obtained the temporary buff: Enduring Stamina.

Enduring Stamina: Your stamina and energy consumption rates are greatly reduced for 15 minutes.

This piece of White Snake Sage meat provided better buffs than the previously cooked tailed beast meat. It was not merely a matter of biological rank; the meat itself was naturally more delicious than tailed beast meat, making its food grade much easier to improve after cooking.

As Bai Cangshu ate, he did not take Kotoamatsukami’s restrictions seriously.

When he had deliberately lured Uchiha Shisui into casting Kotoamatsukami on him to carry out Golden Order Descends, he had already prepared for this.

Unlike the other Plot Characters in this world—or rather, unlike most people throughout the Myriad Worlds—he possessed far more than one consciousness and soul within his body.

Through the Space Panel, he could tell that he was under Kotoamatsukami’s influence, and that was enough. At a critical moment, he could use Yin Spirit Possession to release someone like Satoru Gojo or Uchiha Madara, naturally evading Kotoamatsukami’s restrictions.

Even if Uchiha Shisui used Kotoamatsukami from both eyes on him once each, he could still use this method to temporarily break free from its influence.

Kotoamatsukami was powerful, but the more precisely it tried to control him into accomplishing a specific goal, the more easily that control could be broken by another soul.

Therefore, he was not putting on an act. He was deliberately waiting for Uchiha Shisui to crack under the pressure and use his one remaining Kotoamatsukami to remove Bai Cangshu’s support for the Golden Order. Even now, guided by the mission, he intended to let one of those two cause a huge disturbance at the appropriate time.

In addition, Bai Cangshu had discovered that Virtue System cards differed from Great Sin System cards. During the first-stage trial, they would ultimately determine a Reincarnator’s inclination.

Based on the current situation, this so-called Special Trial of Utmost Benevolence and Goodness likely concealed several paths that the space could recognize as meeting the trial’s requirements.

Whether it was the most obvious path—the benevolence embodied by the Golden Order represented by Hiranaka Minoru, which could genuinely eliminate death and bring the entire Ninja World into the Erdtree Era—or the Merciful Release Hiranaka Hana had just displayed, founded upon the Love and Compassion of an ordinary person, both were paths Reincarnators could choose.

Moreover, if Bai Cangshu was right, this world concealed at least two other paths. The Sage of Six Paths and this world’s native supernatural power system probably both fulfilled these requirements to some extent.

Each faction’s desired "benevolence," as well as their differing ways of contemplating the world, would ultimately lead to entirely different endings and paths.

A Virtue-aligned Special Reincarnator needed to uncover plotlines in the mission world and form deep connections with various Plot Characters before these paths could finally be triggered.

Compared to the chaotic and disorderly Great Sin Reincarnators, Virtue Reincarnators had higher requirements for exploring Plot Worlds.

This could also be glimpsed from the only Virtue System Reincarnator Bai Cangshu currently knew of—the Roland who had ultimately fallen into becoming God Hand.

He was clearly someone who had become overly immersed in various Derivative Worlds of missions, even burying himself within a mission world because of his feelings for those Plot Characters.

And that Roland’s Virtue Sequence was Virtue Sequence Three: Morning Star of Hope, an obviously deeply religiously symbolic title.

Bai Cangshu had previously thought that it was a special change that only emerged after advancement. Now, however, it seemed that the Virtue Sequence likely began choosing paths from Sequence One, continually correcting those paths and ultimately forging one’s own virtue.

Relatively speaking, Bai Cangshu was not skilled at uncovering hidden plots. Other than villainous Plot Characters, who all happened to be quite compatible with him, he rarely dug deeply into the inner threads of Plot Characters.

The Sage of Six Paths appearing of his own accord in this world was likely an opportunity to approach the Sage of Six Paths’ side, but Bai Cangshu was more accustomed to letting power dominate everything, to letting himself dominate everything.

As Bai Cangshu pondered, he swallowed the large chunk of snake meat whole. In his mind, he rapidly finished analyzing and judging all the clues from before.

Madness and calmness were character traits that always existed within Bai Cangshu.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

The sounds of air being torn apart rang out continuously. A large number of shinobi were moving at high speed through the forests on both sides of the river below, approaching where the Golden Meteor had fallen.

With his powerful eyesight, Bai Cangshu clearly saw the Konoha Ninja combat uniforms on those people. The corner of his mouth curled up as he left behind only one sentence.

"Woman, get the meat cooked, or else…"

He did not finish the threat, but that killing intent still made Hiranaka Hana feel as though she had fallen into an icy abyss. She clearly realized that this Mercenary Tao was not the sort of person who would give her special treatment merely because he had eaten her cooking.

If she became useless to him, he would likely kill her without a second thought.

Her vision blurred, and Mercenary Tao had already leaped high into the air. Accompanied by two sharp bangs, he kicked off the air twice and flew into the distance.

Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi’s expressions also changed. They were startled by the sight of the Konoha Ninja, but they were also worried that Mercenary Tao had not been freed from Kotoamatsukami.

Although Mercenary Tao was incomparably fierce, after all their twists and turns, the Golden Erdtree and the Golden Order had become extremely powerful after devouring the life energy of tailed beasts, the White Snake Sage, and the many shinobi who had died in the Konoha war.

They feared that if Mercenary Tao joined them again, this world truly might be unable to resist.

At last, Uchiha Shisui decided to use his other Kotoamatsukami to remove the influence of the previous one.

He would use Mercenary Tao’s strength to end that era without death, yet filled with cold-hearted people.

The two shot out of the forest, then sprinted down from the cliff at high speed.

Ran instinctively wanted to follow at once, but after glancing at the unattended Hiranaka Hana, he did not move.

Hiranaka Hana wiped away the tears and snot from her face, then shook her head at what was perhaps the only kind person she had seen in recent days.

"Sir, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll just stay here and cook for Mr. Mercenary Tao. Leave everything else to Heaven’s Will…"

The woman’s voice had regained its calmness, but Ran turned his gaze away. He realized that the words spoken by these weak Plot Characters occasionally left him speechless.

He began to clearly understand the destruction Reincarnators inflicted upon mission worlds.

It was not merely about which powerful experts had died, nor was it merely about how many people had died in total. Beneath those numbers, countless people had been crushed beneath the Reincarnators’ decisions. They had lost everything, and no one had ever known.

"Ran, come over. We should prepare to retreat. That crazy woman has already ruined this world…"

Catherine’s voice sounded beside his ear. He also knew very well that in a mission world so drastically altered, all kinds of unforeseen dangers could arise. For Reincarnators at their level, retreating now was the best choice.

Ran took one final look at the woman crouching alone before the fire, continuously cutting chunks of meat from the enormous white snake’s neck. Then he turned and retreated into the forest, vanishing from sight.

Bai Cangshu continued leaping through the air and finally saw the enormous Elden Beast several kilometers away, within a massive meteor crater.

The crater had already filled with water and was gradually becoming a lake. The surrounding moisture was unusually dense, forming a thin white mist. Because Bai Cangshu was in the air, he could see clearly.

However, the densely packed figures continuously gathering below could probably see only indistinct shadows at the moment.

Various ninjutsu constantly shot into the air as the factions on both sides exchanged barrages.

The Fourth Raikage, whom Bai Cangshu had nearly killed earlier, appeared once again. He stood alongside the Tsuchikage Onoki, who floated in the air beside him.

Many Iwagakure shinobi specialized in defense. At this moment, they raised enormous rock walls over ten meters high before them, blocking the various ninjutsu released by the growing number of shinobi behind the Elden Beast.

The forehead protectors worn by those shinobi were a chaotic mix. When the Golden Meteor had fallen, its radiance must have scattered across some smaller shinobi villages and towns, drawing these people into the Golden Order faction.

The earlier battle had relied almost entirely on the Elden Beast’s attacks, but as the Konoha Ninja drew nearer and joined the battle, the Elden Beast’s side also unleashed increasingly fierce ninjutsu attacks.

The Fourth Raikage looked at the Eight-Tails Gyūki in the lake. Though its revealed form was enormous, it still seemed far "smaller" before that huge monster radiating golden luster.

Whoosh—

The monster with many limbs resembling feathered robes behind it suddenly opened its mouth and spewed vast amounts of golden flame into the lake. The flames flowed like water, beginning to spread through the lake in every direction.

Seeing that Water Release could not restrain those flames, Ōnoki immediately changed his approach.

"Use Earth Release to put out the flames!"

Kitsuchi swiftly formed hand seals, and the elite shinobi beside him completed their seals at the same time.

Earth Release: Earth Flow River!

The ground before the shinobi rapidly softened, taking on the properties of a swamp before surging upward with a roar. Like waves several meters high, it rushed violently toward the monster in the lake.

Yet though the Elden Beast appeared huge and bloated, its body was entirely unaffected by gravity. As it drifted upward into the sky, golden light condensed into an enormous long sword upon its arm-like limb.

Watching this, Ōnoki immediately raised both hands.

Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique

A vast Dust Release light flared up, like a gigantic cannon capable of annihilating everything, sweeping violently toward the Elden Beast in the air.

Below, Gyūki simultaneously raised its tentacles and grabbed hold of the Elden Beast’s body.

Bzz!

The Dust Release light pierced through the Elden Beast’s body, and the Elden Beast vanished as though it were transparent.

Ōnoki floated up from behind the defensive line, but suddenly, a figure raced across the water’s surface.

"Careful, it’s Hyuga Hiashi!"

Hyuga Hiashi’s Byakugan gleamed with golden light. Without the reservations of the Hyuga Main Family, he led a large number of Hyuga Clan shinobi across the water, taking advantage of the two villages’ firepower being directed at the Elden Beast to break through.

If they were allowed to get close, the shinobi armies of both villages would surely suffer tremendous losses.

Upon hearing the warning, Ōnoki’s heart jolted. Fortunately, the Fourth Raikage, wrapped in lightning, appeared below in an instant and threw a punch. Hyuga Hiashi unleashed Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven in midair, but the tremendous force still knocked him down from the sky.

The Fourth Raikage was also hurled several meters away by the fierce rotation of Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.

He took several steps across the water to steady himself and was about to move when his entire body suddenly stiffened.

A turned around with a grim expression. He had not been mistaken. A fleeting glance as he landed had revealed a figure like something out of a nightmare.

That person stood atop the meteor crater with his arms folded before his chest.

Though his body had shrunk considerably, that purple aura and killing intent so intense it made one’s skin ache confirmed it for A without a doubt. This person was Mercenary Tao…

Mercenary Tao stood at the edge of the meteor crater, precisely between the two factions.

Then, with a thunderous boom in the sky, space twisted and a figure was flung away. A massive golden magic circle completely encompassed an area spanning more than four or five kilometers.

It covered the shinobi allied forces on both sides, Bai Cangshu’s group included.

In the sky, the Elden Beast appeared again, raising the long sword in its hand. From Bai Cangshu’s perspective, countless streaks of golden light began raining down like meteors.

"Retreat!"

The shinobi shouted frightened orders. This was a terrifying area attack beyond the comprehension of ordinary shinobi.

Ōnoki also floated backward at this moment. Only the Fourth Raikage and Bai Cangshu remained where they were.

A’s mind was taut with tension, but Bai Cangshu did not look at him.

Bai Cangshu was searching for the person who could unite the shinobi villages. At last, among the figures retreating alongside Ōnoki, he spotted that distinctive half-black, half-white figure.

Black Zetsu. Sure enough, he had not given up on his plan to revive Otsutsuki Kaguya.

Bai Cangshu’s lips curled up. He first glanced back at the Elden Beast and the gigantic Gyūki, then took a step forward. The air abruptly tore apart.

Crackle!

Strongest Lightning Release Armor activated instinctively. A raised both arms before himself, but the expected attack never came.

He turned his head and saw only a blazing white ripple erupt through the air. At its end were the shattered corpses of Hyuga Clan shinobi. The spraying blood, driven by terrifying speed and force, formed a tunnel-like trail through inertia as it vanished in the direction of Ōnoki’s retreat.

A’s muscles spasmed. He restrained the instinctive urge to provide support. It was not merely fear of Mercenary Tao; he also knew very clearly that without his support, Bee probably could not defeat this monster at all alongside Gyūki.

Crack!

Lightning exploded. The Fourth Raikage turned the fear that had instinctively risen in his heart that instant into rage, slashing violently at the golden beast. Golden blood sprayed out.