Hidden Unique Event: Golden Tree’s Advent (35k)

"9527 really is full of talented people. To think you obtained such a treasure… Tsk. Then I suppose the news that 9527 was besieged in a mission world after obtaining a card, with all its core members wiped out, was fake news you deliberately spread?"

Bai Cangshu and Heaven’s Will walked beneath a tree far from the campfire. Catherine quickly withdrew her psychic scan and signaled to Mercenary Tao that she had not been eavesdropping. Earlier, the moment she heard the words "Golden Order," her expression had drastically changed.

Pain, Orochimaru, and Uchiha Itachi had Danzo surrounded. Having lost that Sharingan, Danzo no longer had any means of escaping alive.

Only Hiranaka Hana knew nothing about what had happened and was still stewing tailed beast meat. She discovered that after the masked woman casually tinkered with it, the meat, which could not be cooked no matter what before, began changing color and giving off an aroma.

Heaven’s Will did not deny Mercenary Tao’s words. She merely said,

"That was simply the ending most suitable for 9527."

The Golden Order was a special law originating from the Elden Ring World. In that world, under the influence of the Outer God known as the Greater Will, the Lands Between had been bestowed with a unique set of laws—the Golden Order.

The Golden Order kept the laws of the world from falling into disorder, granted life blessings and grace, and created the Erdtree Era.

Under the effects of the Golden Order, death was permanently banished from the Lands Between. All living beings returned to the Erdtree after death, then were revived once more through its grace.

The remnants of the Golden Order’s grace condensed into Runes, which likewise possessed the power of life bestowed by the Erdtree’s blessings.

Using this immortality and blessing-enhanced power, the warriors of the Golden Order ended the era ruled by the ancient dragons and allowed the so-called "light of life" to shine in full.

Theoretically, something like that was of an extremely high grade. Bai Cangshu found it difficult to believe that a team as well-known as 9527 among the First and Second Tiers could obtain a treasure on the level of a world law.

He was more inclined to believe that they had acquired something from within that system.

Seeing that the woman was utterly impervious, revealing no flaws at all, Bai Cangshu stopped probing.

"Tell me. What can you give me?"

He naturally assumed that since Heaven’s Will had come to seek cooperation, she had to be bringing him some kind of benefit.

Bai Cangshu did not consider himself a demon, but he also knew perfectly well that, in the eyes of other Reincarnators, he probably was not much of a good person.

Aside from those who believed they could hunt him down, few Reincarnators of the same rank or lower were willing to approach him. Although this woman seemed fairly strong, she was nowhere near capable of making Bai Cangshu feel pressured.

Therefore, this woman must have some ulterior motive in seeking him out.

Bai Cangshu felt that Heaven’s Will was somewhat similar to White Face, whom he had encountered in the Jujutsu World. Both were always plotting something. The difference was that White Face’s malice was undisguised, while Heaven’s Will seemed to be walking a much broader path.

She was uniting Reincarnators to achieve her goals rather than choosing to scheme against others.

Heaven’s Will glanced back at the two Reincarnators in the distance, who were curious but did not dare look this way. Internally, she marveled at how sufficient Mercenary Tao’s intimidation was. They were clearly Reincarnators who had entered this world in the same batch, and their Space ratings should theoretically not have differed greatly, yet their actual combat strength was on entirely different levels.

Heaven’s Will extended her right hand, and a golden-glowing sapling appeared in her palm.

She said calmly,

"This is an Erdtree sapling. I want to plant it in this world and wait for it to grow, drawing the Greater Will here and allowing this world to enter the Erdtree Era as well."

At last, some emotion entered the woman’s voice. Her tone was faintly impassioned, as though she could already see what this Naruto Derivative World would look like after entering the Erdtree Era.

Tsk. Upon seeing the sapling she had produced, Bai Cangshu raised his evaluation of the item’s grade once more. The fact that she could casually take it out in this world meant that this Erdtree sapling was not the kind of item so precious that they could not afford to lose it.

If there were truly only one such sapling, then by Bai Cangshu’s logic, he would naturally plant it in the real world or in some world he could reliably enter time and again, ensuring it could grow.

"Oh? Quite ambitious."

"Before Mr. Mercenary Tao arrived, I had intended to use Konoha as my foundation, seize Konoha’s authority, and proceed gradually. I never expected Mr. Mercenary Tao to destroy Konoha in just a few days."

As Bai Cangshu listened to the woman’s praise, he found no trace of flattery or affectation in her words. Even an aberration like Bai Cangshu was willing to listen to her continue.

He frowned, realizing that the woman likely possessed some kind of special ability.

"Mr. Mercenary Tao, I can continue cooking tailed beast meat for you. If you wish to seize the world and complete the Special Trial, I can also provide you with the most detailed intelligence support. If Mr. Mercenary Tao is interested in the several bloodlines of this world, I can even develop and research ways to obtain them for you."

"I’m guessing you’re about to say ‘but.’"

Bai Cangshu curled his lips and deliberately interrupted her with a tease. At the same time, he suddenly reached out and grabbed for the woman’s body.

Heaven’s Will instinctively twisted her body. Natural energy formed invisible arms that blocked Bai Cangshu’s arm, but his right hand vibrated once, and his figure vanished in an instant. The next moment, he appeared before Heaven’s Will, his right hand gripping her throat, his thumb pressed against her delicate collarbone.

"You’ll say, ‘But in order for that Erdtree to grow, you need Mr. Mercenary Tao to do certain things for you, such as capturing tailed beasts, or resisting the hostility of Plot Characters produced by the World Will’s aversion toward you…’"

Pffft—

Bai Cangshu exerted force with his hand, and his thumb pierced the skin over her delicate collarbone. Blood flowed out, but it was not bright red.

Heaven’s Will sighed. She did not struggle. Instead, she removed the mask from her face with her left hand. Her emerald eyes calmly watched Bai Cangshu, and her face showed neither anger nor fear.

Seeing her like this, Bai Cangshu stepped two paces closer.

"Interesting. You’re really very interesting, woman."

Beneath this exquisite exterior, this woman also lacked a human soul. She was like a precision-crafted puppet.

Seeing that Mercenary Tao had not killed her outright, Heaven’s Will further revised her assessment of him. He was savage, yet exceptionally cunning; he possessed a clear sense of gain and loss. He was not, as Wuxin and the outside world described him, a beast driven purely by slaughter.

"This is a mutually beneficial option, Mercenary Tao. You can hand over the tailed beasts you have finished eating to me. At the same time, I hope you can eliminate the unstable factor known as Uchiha Obito for me."

"As separate compensation, I will give you the location of Uchiha Madara’s corpse. That way, you can have Orochimaru use Impure World Reincarnation to bring him back."

A hint of a smile appeared in Heaven’s Will’s emerald eyes. More and more green blood flowed from her collarbone, containing impurities that gleamed like gold.

"Besides, Mercenary Tao, you entered this world a little too late. Sometimes, even someone like you can have your actions influenced by my manipulation of Space."

"I did not come seeking your cooperation because I had no other choice. I came because I wished to cooperate with you and step onto a more perfect timeline."

"This is the foundation of friendship…"

DD99115435 (Heaven's Will) invites you to join the Special Hidden Event: Golden Tree's Advent (Hidden, Unique). Accept?

Event Description: Reincarnator DD99115435 has introduced the power of a new Outer God into this world, guiding it toward an unpredictable timeline. This event is a multi-stage continuous mission.

Stage One Mission: Protect the Erdtree sapling until the mission ends.

Stage One Reward: B-rank Anomaly Point*1

Stage One Failure Penalty: Rewards from this world reduced by 90%. Difficulty will be additionally increased during future entries into this world.

As the woman spoke, her body began to soften before shattering into a large pool of green fluid. This was likely some magical effect, not this world’s Substitution Technique or Transformation Jutsu. Bai Cangshu looked at the golden specks within the green fluid, weighing her abilities and her proposal.

He returned to the campfire, where Uchiha Itachi approached him.

"Danzo… aren’t we killing him?"

His current state was quite close to the Uchiha Itachi who had exterminated his clan in the anime. Both were immersed in their own great righteousness, completely discarding kindness and mercy.

Bai Cangshu looked at Danzo, who pretended not to care even as his heartbeat had exceeded its normal rate, and said with a smile,

"Two more days. We’ll kill him in two days."

He spoke of Danzo as though he were livestock that could be slaughtered at any time. This made Danzo furious, but also faintly afraid.

Special Trial: Utmost Benevolence and Goodness progress updated. Current: 6/7

"Oh, right. One more day. We’ll kill you in one day, Danzo…"

Danzo turned around and met Mercenary Tao’s gaze. The trace of purple in the other man’s eyes was unmistakable. A chill ran through Danzo’s heart. He was certain this was neither an interrogation method nor psychological warfare.

This guy truly intended to kill him in one day.

The muscles throughout his body trembled. As Chakra flowed, the Body Flicker Jutsu was about to activate instantly.

Bzzzz!

It was as if the air had been emptied in an instant. A frigid blade hovered mere tens of centimeters from Danzo. Uchiha Itachi’s scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated as he watched Mercenary Tao, who had moved even faster than him, appear directly behind Danzo and seize his neck.

Itachi slowly sheathed his blade, once again confirming inwardly that Mercenary Tao was faster and possessed stronger insight than he did… Someone like him cannot be matched by the current me…

Crack.

Bai Cangshu tightened his grip, and Danzo’s spine shattered with a crack.

Danzo’s face turned horrified. He could no longer feel his body below the neck!

Bai Cangshu casually tossed Danzo beside the campfire.

"Don’t worry. You won’t die within this day."

Sitting by the campfire, he pondered the Erdtree mission before ultimately choosing to accept it. This mission did not actually require him to do anything. It was a gift the other party had sent him.

Then, a bird flew down from the sky with a scroll in its beak and landed on Bai Cangshu’s shoulder. Bai Cangshu opened the scroll. Inside was a map marked with a Sharingan.

Bai Cangshu knew that this was Heaven’s Will’s handiwork.

That woman truly possessed talents beyond imagination. Her true body was hidden somewhere unknown, and she acted with remarkable thoroughness. She seemed to have given Bai Cangshu quite a few things without asking for anything in return, but compared to what she would ultimately gain, they were not even a drop in the bucket.

Moreover, although she could carry out the plan alone, she feared that Bai Cangshu might commit some destructive act that harmed others without benefiting himself, so she had come in advance to offer this so-called "goodwill."

Thus allowing Bai Cangshu to benefit from her actions as well.

In terms of conduct, someone like her was more seasoned and terrifying than White Face, who had stolen Destiny.

Bai Cangshu tossed the scroll to Orochimaru, who caught it with one hand.

"Orochimaru, do you remember the request you agreed to?"

Orochimaru looked at the Sharingan mark on the map and frowned. Looking at the madman Mercenary Tao, he asked again,

"Do you really want me to use you as the sacrifice for Impure World Reincarnation?"

Even now, he still did not understand the point of such a thing.

Naturally, Bai Cangshu would not say that he had come to this world to stock up. Since he could devour the God of Death, he could naturally devour Uchiha Madara as well.

If the Sage of Six Paths were not so stubbornly undead, Bai Cangshu would have even wanted to absorb him too.

At this moment, the Pain Deva Path opened his eyes and said,

"The Four Great Nations have declared war on the Land of Fire. The Four Great Ninja Villages have crossed the border."

He rose from beside the campfire. This time, the war would not take place in the Land of Rain, but in any war, ordinary people were always hurt the most. As the root cause of it all, Nagato could not remain calm.

Bai Cangshu understood Nagato’s conflict very well, so he said reasonably,

"Then we’ll begin tomorrow."

Their current location was actually not far from the royal capital of the Land of Fire. They had been waiting for this moment from the very beginning.