Special Ascension Route: Scarlet Skull (3K)

The World Will, or Restraining Force, spoken of by reincarnators was actually an existence that could not be directly observed.

Yet there was no doubt that such a thing existed in nearly every Derivative World.

If Infinite Dimensional Space was the one that deployed reincarnators, then the World Will was the true boss, in the broadest sense, that reincarnators faced.

Reincarnators acted within worlds and influenced them. The space harvested special information known as Singularities, while the world repaired these changes to the timeline and kept itself running.

And among all Derivative Worlds, characters such as protagonists who were Children of the World occupied the greatest amount of information. Thus, when reincarnators influenced or killed such figures through irreversible actions, they suffered the fiercest backlash from the World Will.

They would almost always face the highest level of suppression.

Passing top-tier powerhouses, revived Special Creations—as long as they were figures capable of existing on the world’s timeline, the World Will could make them appear through an extraordinarily coincidental probability, so long as the worldline and timeline did not fall into disorder.

So when Bai Cangshu had previously considered the Golden Order Descends event, his hypothetical enemies had been the truly top-tier powerhouses who appeared in the later stages of this world—the Six Paths-level.

But now, he realized that due to the unique setting of the Naruto Derivative World, the Otsutsuki Clan were not natives of this planet.

Although Otsutsuki Hagoromo had founded the Ninja Sect, taught the methods of Chakra cultivation, and contributed greatly to this world under the name Sage of Six Paths.

At their core, however, the Otsutsuki Clan remained a cosmic colonizing race that sought to plant the God Tree on this planet and harvest every living being.

To this Planet’s Will, the Otsutsuki Clan were no better than the Greater Will currently eyeing it like a tiger.

Therefore, the Otsutsuki Clan would receive no preferential treatment. Otsutsuki Toneri with the Tenseigan, Otsutsuki Hagoromo with his combat strength, and even Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who would only appear in Boruto—none of them would appear!

As Orochimaru watched the terrifyingly massive Mercenary Tao reveal that all-under-control smile again, he did not know what had happened earlier, but still felt relieved as Mercenary Tao’s nearly crazed and terrifying aura dissipated.

Then he mocked himself for having such thoughts.

He had never expected that one day, he too would be affected by another being’s overly "intense" will.

"So what do you plan to do now? Over in the Land of Lightning, destroying one Daimyo’s Estate won’t be enough to make them submit completely…"

Uchiha Itachi tilted his head as well, waiting to hear Mercenary Tao’s answer.

But to his disappointment—or perhaps unsurprisingly—Mercenary Tao said,

"If one Daimyo’s Estate isn’t enough, then take the entire royal capital. If one city isn’t enough, then two… Heh, the Fourth Raikage has already been severely wounded by me. Pain will likely soon complete an unprecedented feast of terror in the Land of Fire. Next, we only need to use a few… despicable ninja methods to make those terrified maggots submit obediently…"

Bai Cangshu smiled freely. He knew very well that for the great nobles who truly controlled most of a nation’s resources, nothing was more important than their lives and continuing to possess their wealth.

And once a group of completely uncontrollable ninjas appeared, those things were destined to be beyond their ability to retain.

All they could do was—beg.

Bai Cangshu gave Hiranaka Minoru and his wife no time to catch up. He forcibly dragged the two of them back to the royal capital of the Land of Lightning. Horikawa Takuya, who had been waiting for a long time, kept his head lowered. Seeing the looks in everyone’s eyes around him, he hesitated repeatedly before stepping forward and saying in a low voice,

"Ninjas from Kumogakure just arrived. They said the Raikage will soon…"

Clang!

Bai Cangshu suddenly raised his hand. Two Shuriken struck his arm and gave off the sound of metal clashing. The next moment, Radiant Flame ignited over the bodies of two people in the crowd.

Bang! Bang!

Two clouds of smoke exploded. Their Transformation Jutsu was dispelled by the damage, but they immediately used the Substitution Technique to pull away and extinguish the flames on their bodies.

Upon seeing Mercenary Tao appear first while the Fourth Raikage had yet to return, the two Kumogakure ninjas both felt a bad premonition rise in their hearts.

Just as they were about to retreat, their gazes met a pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Uchiha Itachi’s killings were becoming increasingly brutal. Since he had resolved to witness the future of unification Mercenary Tao spoke of, he could accept every sacrifice before then.

Besides, the ninjas of Kumogakure had long been established as enemies of Konoha. He felt nothing when slaughtering them.

Pfft!

Amid the spray of blood, several figures emerged from the crowd. Orochimaru also attacked at the same time, while Hiranaka Minoru, who did not know how to face his wife, naturally stepped in front of her.

Golden light blazed over his body.

Covered in heavy armor and empowered by incantations, ordinary ninjutsu found it difficult to breach his defenses.

The light of ninjutsu exploded continuously, and the surrounding commoners and nobles panicked.

Only Horikawa Takuya, held in Bai Cangshu’s grasp, kept up a facade of composure despite his pale face, since he could not break free.

When he saw this giant-like Mercenary Tao casually reach out and crush the neck of a Kumogakure ninja who had instantly appeared behind him, he finally set aside all the worry in his heart.

He glanced at his relatives in the crowd and knew that he had made the right choice.

"Very good. From now on, you are the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning."

Bai Cangshu had not even remembered the man’s name before handing him the position of Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.

To Bai Cangshu, a young dog that knew to wag its tail before its master and bark wildly at everyone else was enough.

After all, he was no benevolent ruler. Long-term stability meant nothing to a reincarnator like him, who would only remain for thirty days.

Destruction was always easier than construction.

Horikawa Takuya could hardly believe it. His heart pounded so violently that his vision nearly went dark. He immediately disregarded all decorum and knelt before the giant in public.

"Thank you for your grace, but my clan is weak. I fear we cannot win the people’s support…"

Bai Cangshu looked at a figure forced back by the Golden Order Greatsword and pointed through the air.

Wheee!

A streak of golden light shot through the air, piercing the ninja who was forming hand seals in the next instant.

"Win the people’s support?"

"Who are the people?"

"Give them names, and those two ninja lords will naturally help you purge the opposition. Rest assured, the Land of Fire has already submitted to us as well. All you need to do is prevent the Land of Lightning from suffering the same devastating blow as the Land of Fire."

Bai Cangshu explained casually. Seeing two elite Jonin escape with their outstanding strength, he did not pursue them.

Five Nations’ Fall was merely an event he had triggered. It was not his primary purpose for coming to this world.

He had come to this world to eat, and to kill!

Kill, to increase Satsui no Hado;

Devour, to strengthen Gourmet Cell!

Beyond that, all that remained was the pursuit of the Special Trial and an S-rank evaluation.

After learning that the Otsutsuki Clan most likely would not appear, Bai Cangshu had already found his true target.

He suddenly lifted the newly appointed Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and asked,

"Tell me, what do you think I should do now to be considered Utmost Benevolence and Goodness?"

Horikawa Takuya did not understand, but could only rack his brains. Finally, after putting himself in the situation for a moment, he said,

"Show mercy to the resisting samurai and display your magnanimity. That way, I believe the citizens will recognize your benevolence…"

Wheee!

Golden energy shrieked sharply. In the next moment, a laser pierced through the group of samurai still holding their swords outside the collapsed Daimyo’s Estate. As Bai Cangshu’s finger moved, terrifying energy instantly passed through every samurai’s body.

Pfft, pfft, pfft…

Bodies were severed at the waist one after another, and the stench of blood filled the air.

Watching this scene, Horikawa Takuya instantly felt bile rise in his throat.

Bai Cangshu set him down and said,

"Very good. Now there are no more resisting samurai."

Sure enough, all the remaining samurai threw down their swords and knelt trembling on the ground.

Bai Cangshu was still dissatisfied, so he turned to someone behind Horikawa Takuya.

"Tell me, what do you think benevolence and goodness are…"

This person was Horikawa Takuya’s guard. He had nearly been frightened out of his wits by what he had just witnessed. He instinctively knelt and stammered,

"Money. I-I think if you would give us money to rebuild the homes that were destroyed, that would be benevolence and goodness…"

Bai Cangshu was not satisfied with this choice, but he still waved his hand.

"Go on. All the wealth in that Daimyo’s Estate—whatever anyone can seize before the end of today, they may keep."

For a moment, the guard almost suspected he had heard wrong. Even Horikawa Takuya, who had been named the new Daimyo, had not expected this monster to have no interest in the wealth within the Daimyo’s Estate.

When the guard looked toward him, he hurriedly waved his hand.

"Everything shall be done according to my lord’s orders."

The moment he said that, everyone nearby who had heard the earlier exchange stirred. Several people were eager to try, and Bai Cangshu simply said,

"Before the end of today, everyone may seek whatever wealth they desire."

Several guards could finally hold themselves back no longer and headed toward the collapsed Daimyo’s Estate. Many onlookers were swept along and walked in that direction as well. As they went, they moved faster and faster, until they finally began scrambling ahead of one another.

Bai Cangshu looked again at the crowd that still remained.

Before he could speak, someone knelt and spoke first.

"My lord, I believe benevolence and goodness mean granting me the status of a free person and freeing me from the Horikawa Clan’s enslavement!"

This man was sallow and skinny, but bold. Before Bai Cangshu could say anything, Horikawa Takuya hurriedly nodded.

As the noble most attuned to the situation, he had vaguely realized that this lord seemed to be inciting a riot. He did not understand why, but could only cooperate.

Then several more people knelt. One of them even pointed at a samurai in the distance.

"My lord, that man killed my younger brother. The benevolence and goodness I desire is revenge for my great grievance!"

Pfft!

With merely a flick of his finger, Bai Cangshu sent a gust of force smashing through the throat of the samurai, who had not even had time to react.

This finally sent the gathered crowd into a complete frenzy. The fear in everyone’s eyes began to dissipate, and that wholly unrestrained "bestowal of grace" began to transform into a fanatical riot.

Hiranaka Hana fearfully shrank back beside the Summoning Beast. Looking at the fanatical people of the Land of Lightning, she could not understand why, even as people were being killed, they were not afraid. Instead, they were becoming ever more frenzied.

Hiranaka Minoru, meanwhile, sensed vast amounts of life energy draining away. Perhaps the Erdtree was absorbing this life energy to grow.

But those flashes of blinding scarlet made him begin to hesitate. He did not know whether he should feel glad for Mercenary Tao’s actions.

He could only comfort himself that all of this was for the coming Erdtree Era. It was all worth it… wasn’t it…

No one could answer Hiranaka Minoru.

Sin Karma Sequence synchronization rate updated. Sin of Tyranny synchronization rate: 100%

Sin Karma Reincarnator Ex051, detected that you have simultaneously reached 100% synchronization in pride, Greed, and Sin of Tyranny. Special Ascension Route unlocked: Scarlet Skull (Hidden)

"Ha, it appeared…"

Bai Cangshu’s enormous figure stood surrounded by countless fanatical citizens of the Land of Lightning, like a Great Demon spreading chaos and Finality.

He rejoiced that his guess had been confirmed. The ascension of great sins was indeed not singular; satisfying multiple great sins at once would grant a more powerful ascension route.

Utmost Benevolence and Goodness… If benevolence and goodness were left unchecked, they too would descend into chaos, eventually crowning a Demon King in the name of benevolence and goodness.