Return, Demonic Power (3K Third Update, 1,500 Monthly Vote Bonus Update)

"Have you heard, Nagato? It seems Mercenary Tao was sealed by Uchiha Shisui…"

Konan entered the cave where Nagato was hiding. Through the light at the entrance, she could see golden motes still falling endlessly from the sky.

Nagato’s body was weak, but he was in good spirits at the moment.

He only paid slight attention to Mercenary Tao’s disappearance.

"Probably news deliberately spread by Konoha. It doesn’t matter. The ninja villages are beginning to decline under the influence of the Erdtree’s blessing."

Although the Erdtree Era had not fully descended, the Erdtree had not been destroyed after the battle in the Land of Fire. Rumor had it that the monster called Mercenary Tao had gone mad and slaughtered the guardian of the Golden Order.

But afterward, that monster had been sealed by Konoha’s Uchiha Clan hero, Uchiha Shisui, at the cost of both his eyes. On the surface, the turmoil had subsided.

Yet the Erdtree’s blessings continued to fall. At every moment, large numbers of humans and beasts gained power through the Golden Blessing.

The era ruled by ninjas was already on the verge of collapse. Once everyone possessed power, the old system naturally could not continue.

What’s more…

Through Nagato’s eyes, the Six Paths of Pain stood in the royal capital of the Land of Wind. The daimyo was prostrated on the ground.

This great desert nation had heard of the disasters in the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning. Combined with the earlier destruction wrought by Akatsuki’s Sasori, he had become terrified.

Thus, disregarding the objections of Rasa and the others, he resolutely chose to surrender.

He presented a letter of submission to the empire known as Akatsuki.

Now, on the surface, the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Lightning had united into a vast empire. Great numbers of new nobles from the Land of Fire and Land of Lightning were constantly joining forces to purge the influence of the former great nobles.

Nagato had not yet obtained the peace he sought, but he had indeed discovered that the world was changing.

The days when everything returned to square one after every war were over.

This time, it was not the Land of Rain alone. These great nations were all changing.

He did not know whether this change was good or bad, nor did he know whether Mercenary Tao’s so-called Five Nations’ Fall plan, whose whereabouts were unknown, would truly work.

But he had indeed found a new path—one that could change the world more effectively than simply inflicting destruction and fear.

Konan hesitated to speak. She always felt that the current world had become even more terrifying. Even though the golden blessings had not caused humans to slaughter one another again after the battle in the Land of Fire.

Whenever she saw the gaze of those whose pupils revealed golden halos, however, she felt something was off. It was as if another will lay hidden within them, ready to awaken at any moment and bring about something terrible.

As golden light continued to fall, the number of people who had been "infected" was already impossible to count. If that chaos erupted again, the thought alone sent chills through her body.

Nagato did not see it that way. He had already despaired of the old world. Now that the world was changing again, whether that change was good or bad, he was willing to pursue it and alter it.

"Next, we’ll go to the Land of Earth. Since that fellow Zetsu is no longer hiding it, there’s no need for us to hide anything from him either."

Nagato had made his decision. Akatsuki had also undergone considerable changes. Zetsu had disappeared, and the last place he had appeared was that terrifying battlefield in the Land of Fire. He seemed to have clashed with Mercenary Tao; whether he lived or died was unknown.

Orochimaru had acquired the Sharingan and had not shown himself for a long time, no one knew what he was researching. Sasori was still recuperating after returning from the Land of Wind, while Mercenary Tao had vanished completely.

Perhaps it was time to bring in some new members. He had a premonition that immense turmoil was brewing in this world. Before then, he had to guide the world toward the direction Yahiko had once hoped for, before… he died…

Somewhere in the Land of Fire, Hiranaka Hana stood before the collapsed mountain range. A huge backpack was slung over her back, nearly crushing her slender frame, yet she carefully avoided every falling ray of golden light.

She had guarded that pot of food, but in the end, Mercenary Tao never returned to enjoy it. She waited and waited, but neither Mercenary Tao nor her husband ever came back.

She could only eat some White Snake Meat, then pack up the best portion and set out to search for them.

In the end, she stopped at this legendary site of the great battle. At the place where, according to Konoha’s important figures, the monster Mercenary Tao had slain the golden monster, she tilted her head, as though she sensed a familiar scent.

"Shi, are you resting here…?"

Tears streamed down Hiranaka Hana’s face. When they fell to the ground, wisps of white mist rose from them. She suddenly felt heat welling up within her body.

Hiranaka Hana removed her pack and sat on the ground. She thought that, having eaten the White Snake Sage those ninja lords spoke of, she was surely about to be punished. She was a vicious woman who had prayed for someone to kill her husband; surely, she deserved to die as well.

She sat there, waiting for death to come, but pain never appeared. Instead, her body became lighter and lighter until she was finally completely enveloped by white mist…

Special Event: Five Nations' Fall. Progress updated. Current completion: 63%. Proceed with settlement?

Virtue/Great Sin Reincarnator EX051, your stay in this world has expired. Penalty calculation will begin shortly. Leave now?

Within the frozen sea, scarlet ripples suddenly erupted. A figure emerged from beneath the solid ice.

Bai Cangshu emerged from the sea and spat out the fish meat he had yet to swallow. Having escaped that environment of extreme cold, the scarlet Satsui no Hado began to churn once more.

The muscles and veins across his body bulged one by one.

The black shadows on Bai Cangshu’s face were instantly dispersed.

"Settle."

Special Event: Five Nations' Fall is being settled...

Settlement complete. Final completion: 63%. Rating: S-

Received Dimensional Points: 8000

Received B-rank Anomaly Point ×1

Completion exceeded 20%. Additional item awarded. Drawing...

You received the item: Blaze Fan (Silver Plot Equipment)

A massive gourd-shaped fan appeared in Bai Cangshu’s hand. Six tomoe were emblazoned across it, and a chain was attached to its end.

Before he had time to inspect it carefully, overwhelming killing intent surged toward him.

He spoke at once.

"Return."

A stream of white information instantly drowned Bai Cangshu. Together with the Satsui no Hado soaring into the sky, he vanished from this utterly transformed world in scattered points of light.

In the pitch-black space, Bai Cangshu’s body instantly condensed into existence.

Reincarnator EX051 has returned. Checking status...

Reincarnator EX051 is suffering severe erosion. Source of erosion detected: Satsui no Hado

Based on Article 10 of the Space Safety Regulations, Satsui no Hado LV4 will now be suppressed

Sealing...

Satsui no Hado LV4 has been sealed. (Article 10 of the Space Safety Regulations: When a Reincarnator returns while under a special mental-control state that may result in self-destruction or other harm, that state will be temporarily sealed until the Reincarnator leaves the space.)

Reincarnator EX051 is under special mental control. Ability source detected: Kotoamatsukami ×2

Control effect detected. Complies with Safety Regulations. Spend B-rank Anomaly Point ×1 and 7500 Dimensional Points to remove it?

A flood of information refreshed before him. Bai Cangshu savored the rare clarity and rubbed his forehead. To be honest, LV4 Satsui no Hado was indeed difficult to control. Once he entered that state, it felt as though his entire body had turned into fire, unable to calm down for even a moment.

But he had anticipated this day ever since acquiring Satsui no Hado. He knew that within the space, abilities that affected one’s mind would be temporarily sealed.

This was to prevent Reincarnators from continuing to destroy themselves under the effects of such abilities after returning to the space.

The space had always regarded Reincarnators as its own "means of production." Every Reincarnator was a useful mercenary for the space.

The space could accept Reincarnators dying in large numbers within all sorts of dangerous mission worlds, because that was exploration and information gathering.

But the space would not allow Reincarnators to waste themselves meaninglessly after returning.

The space’s view was simple: Want to go mad and destroy yourself? Fine. Go to those mission worlds and bring me back some information before you die!

"Don’t remove it. Settle directly."

The two Kotoamatsukami cast by Uchiha Shisui had not affected him greatly. Naturally, Bai Cangshu would not pay such an exorbitant price to remove them here. Once he reached the public space, other Reincarnators would naturally have ways to remove them at a much lower cost.

Settlement begins

Settling...

World: Naruto Derivative World Y7781

Special Trial: Utmost Benevolence and Goodness, completed

Side Mission, Special Large-Scale Event, and Special Unique Event detected. Rating greatly increased

Mission Completion Rating: SS-

Mission Reward: Dimensional Points 6000; Character Attribute Points ×8

Note: Sin Karma Reincarnator Ex051's rating is below the "Strong" rank. Attribute points have been automatically allocated.

An electric current flashed through Bai Cangshu’s body. His muscles and marrow instantly heated up, but quickly returned to normal.

He checked his attributes. As expected, the points had once again been allocated toward balance.

Basic Attributes

Strength: 29+1 (Silver Wolf Under the Moon · 1.5)

Agility: 29+1 (Wind Demon 1.9)

Constitution: 30 (Satsui no Hado entering the body) (Flame Dragon Scales · 1.8)

Spirit: 24+6 (Yin Spirit Curse Erosion) (Active Spirit · 1.7)

This mission was the first time Bai Cangshu had actively changed a mission world on such a large scale. Of course, the woman named Heaven’s Will had also played a part in fanning the flames.

He had received the highest evaluation since entering the space, as well as the most Attribute Points. After the space’s enhancement, all four of his attributes had coincidentally reached 30. Combined with the four effects gained from having all four attributes exceed their limits, in terms of attributes alone, Bai Cangshu’s true physique had likely completely surpassed the Reincarnators of the Second Tier.

DD99115435 (Heaven's Will) has sent a message: To thank Mr. Mercenary Tao for his assistance in the mission world, I invite you to my Private Space for a chat.

The message appeared almost as soon as Bai Cangshu entered his Private Space. Bai Cangshu guessed that the woman had returned before him and sent this message in advance.

The other party seemed to be constantly displaying goodwill. He was also curious about what treasure 9527 had obtained back then, and how this group of people, as slaves, had managed to make a well-known farming team collapse so quickly.

Just as Bai Cangshu thought of slaves, a prompt appeared.

Reincarnator QO60833805 (Moon Demon) requests to spend 3000 Dimensional Points on body restoration. Allow?

Bai Cangshu’s lips curled upward. He had not expected his little slave to be beaten so miserably in some unknown world again. Injuries requiring 3000 Dimensional Points to repair probably meant that vital limbs had been completely destroyed.

"Transfer QO60833805 to my Private Space."

The next moment, a beautiful woman missing an arm and a leg appeared before Bai Cangshu. Her expression remained cold and aloof, but her entire body was covered in blood. The gleaming katana in her hand had also broken, and a pungent scent emanated from her body.

Bai Cangshu raised his chin slightly. A sharp pain immediately shot through Li Qingzi’s nerves. Unable to maintain her cold, proud expression, she slowly lowered her head and reported,

"It’s Demonic Power. I entered the world of Claymore. Please allow me to restore my body…"

"Master…"

Li Qingzi closed her eyes in pain, but Bai Cangshu smiled brightly as he stroked her head.