Shippuden Kills Shippuden, Peerless Tang Sect Destroys Tang Sect

Noticing the footsteps behind him, Huo Yuhao stopped.

He slowly turned around, the white Fox Mask painted with strange red patterns appearing especially sinister.

His deep voice, altered by disguise, came through the mask with unquestionable authority:

"Tang Ya."

"During this operation, address me as Menma."

Then, with a flick of his wrist, Huo Yuhao produced a pitch-black mask in his palm.

The mask bore no patterns at all, only two hollow eye sockets that exuded an empty, deathly stillness.

"Since you have already fused with the God Tree's cells and gained the power of rebirth..."

"Then until your revenge is complete, use the codename 'Zetsu.'"

Tang Ya looked at the black mask, a strange feeling rising in her heart.

Zetsu?

The Zetsu of despair, the Zetsu of heartlessness, and the Zetsu of utter extermination.

The codename did not feel out of place at all.

"Yes."

Tang Ya took the mask and slowly put it on.

One day later.

Heaven Dou Empire's capital, Heaven Dou City.

As one of the former capitals of the two great empires, this city remained prosperous and bustling despite the changing landscape of the continent.

Its towering walls and broad streets all displayed its deep foundations.

Two figures clad in loose black robes and wearing conical hats silently blended into the stream of people entering the city.

Returning to an old haunt.

Through the black veil of her hat, Tang Ya greedily and painfully gazed at the hometown she had been separated from for so long.

The shops lining both sides of the street still looked as they had in her memories, and the cries of vendors remained the same.

It was as though nothing had changed.

Yet everything was different.

When the two passed through the area of grand residences in the eastern part of the city, Tang Ya suddenly stopped.

That place had once been the Tang Sect.

That vermilion gate had once been the path she walked through as a child; within those towering walls had once been the laughter of her parents and the sect's disciples.

But now.

The golden plaque bearing the words "Tang Sect," weathered by ten thousand years, had long since vanished.

In its place hung a brand-new plaque—

Iron Blood Sect.

Those three words stabbed viciously into Tang Ya's heart.

A magpie occupying a nest.

She stared fixedly at the plaque. Her hands, hidden within her sleeves, clenched tightly into fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. Blood seeped out, yet she felt nothing.

A violent killing intent churned within her chest.

Huo Yuhao said nothing. He merely stood quietly behind her.

He did not stop Tang Ya's anger, because anger was the best fuel.

"Let's go."

After a moment, Huo Yuhao spoke calmly. "It's not time yet."

Before nightfall, Huo Yuhao did not remain idle.

He had Tang Ya wait at the inn while he used Kamui's intangibility to drift like a ghost through Heaven Dou City's wealthy district.

For someone with the Sharingan, these so-called security measures were practically nonexistent.

He infiltrated the estates of several unscrupulous wealthy merchants.

There was no fierce battle.

All it took was a single glance.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan."

While in the White Zetsu Possession state, those wealthy merchants who usually held themselves high above others—even employing Soul Kings and Soul Emperors as guards—instantly became his puppets.

Gold Soul Coins, rare metals... a steady stream of wealth was transferred into Huo Yuhao's Storage Ring.

These people would become the future cash machines of Akatsuki, as well as a solid foundation for his cultivation resources.

Not only money, but intelligence as well.

At noon, in a teahouse in Heaven Dou City.

The place was packed with people, and the fragrance of tea filled the air.

Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya sat at a table in the corner. Both wore conical hats, keeping a low profile.

Through Spirit Sharing, Huo Yuhao's voice rang directly in Tang Ya's mind.

"I casually controlled several Heaven Dou City nobles just now and searched their memories through a secret technique. I confirmed a few things."

"The Tang Sect's destruction back then was not the work of Iron Blood Sect alone."

Tang Ya's hand trembled slightly. "Who else was involved?"

"Iron Blood Sect was only the one that directly acted."

Huo Yuhao's tone was cold. "There was also the nearby Blazing Fire Sect, the Giant Strength Sect... After that night, they all divided up the Tang Sect's land and resources."

"And..."

"Just as I said before, Shrek Academy received reports several times during that period about unusual movements from Iron Blood Sect. But they chose to ignore them."

"There were even rumors that Iron Blood Sect's sect master had spent a great deal of money bribing a certain deacon of the Shrek Inspectorate."

The more Tang Ya listened, the more alarmed and despairing she became.

So that was it.

It had been a complete and utter hunt.

"No wonder..."

Tang Ya murmured inwardly, the hatred in her eyes growing ever stronger:

"No wonder when I went shopping as a child, the shop owners would either refuse to sell to me or maliciously raise their prices as soon as they heard I was the Tang Sect's Young Master."

"So you... had wanted to destroy my Tang Sect all along!"

Just then.

As if by coincidence, the loud conversation of several slightly drunken tea drinkers at the neighboring table drifted over.

"Hey, have you heard? Iron Blood Sect in the east of the city is recruiting disciples again!"

"I heard, I heard! Iron Blood Sect is one of the major powers in Heaven Dou City now. They're really thriving!"

"Heh, it's quite something when you think about it."

One tea drinker took a sip of wine and clicked his tongue in sighing admiration:

"Back then, that place was Tang Sect territory. It was the sect personally founded by Sea God Tang San. How glorious was it ten thousand years ago? But what happened in the end?"

"It actually got destroyed by an Iron Blood Sect whose sect master is only a Soul Emperor! What a disgrace!"

"Haha, I say they had it coming!"

Another tea drinker chimed in, his tone full of schadenfreude:

"You have no idea how stubborn those Tang Sect people were. Every generation of sect master only chose Blue Silver Grass soul masters? Wasn't that a disease of the brain? What could such a useless martial soul even do?"

"Exactly! They clung to old rules and stubbornly rejected Soul Tools, treating their scraps of metal hidden weapons like treasures every day. The times had changed long ago! It would have been strange if they hadn't been wiped out!"

"The funniest part was that even after they fell into ruin, they still strutted around as though they were above everyone else, looking down on this and that. A sect like that was better off dead sooner rather than later!"

"Hahahaha..."

The grating laughter echoed through the teahouse.

Crack!

The teacup in Tang Ya's hand was instantly crushed into powder.

She abruptly raised her head. Beneath the black veil, her eyes instantly turned blood-red, and the devouring aura of the Dark Blue Silver Tree rampaged wildly within her body.

Kill them!

Turn all this trash that ran their mouths... into nourishment!

Just as she was about to rise and kill.

A hand pressed heavily onto her shoulder.

That hand was not warm, yet it was like a mountain, firmly suppressing the restless power inside her.

"Calm down."

Huo Yuhao's calm voice came through:

"There are too many people here. There's no need to lower yourself to the level of these ants."

"Your target is Iron Blood Sect. Don't expose yourself over a few flies before the main course begins."

Tang Ya took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.

After a long while, she nodded. That terrifying aura receded like the tide.

"Yes... I understand."

Late at night.

A moonless, windy night made for murder.

Outside the gates of Iron Blood Sect, Heaven Dou City.

Two black-robed figures stood in the shadows like Grim Reapers.

Looking at the plaque bearing the words "Iron Blood Sect," Huo Yuhao's lips curled beneath his mask into an amused smile.

He thought to himself:

There was a joke in the Naruto anime from his previous life: "Shippuden kills Shippuden."

It seemed that in this world, in this Peerless Tang Sect, the Tang Sect really had been destroyed too.

"Are you ready?"

Huo Yuhao turned his head to look at the girl beside him.

Tang Ya slowly raised her head. Her black mask reflected a cold, eerie gleam beneath the moonlight.

Her voice no longer trembled. Instead, it was filled with a chilling, deathly stillness:

"Mm!"

Huo Yuhao nodded, a red glint flashing in his right eye.

"Then let's begin."