Danzo: Why do I feel like I've been set up?

Before reaching the central hall, he high-fived Tang San and Xiao Yan, then saw black mist churning nearby. A young man in a long robe stepped out.

The instant he saw the three of them, the young man instinctively took a step back and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Ah, greetings, fellow Daoists. I am Li Feiyu of Yellow Maple Valley."

"..." ×3

His mouth twitching, Sasuke watched the utterly ordinary-looking newcomer instinctively retreat a step and couldn't help covering his forehead.

It looked like quite an extraordinary newcomer had joined them...

"I never change my name, whether walking or sitting. Yan Xiao, of the Soul Hall." While Sasuke was still distracted, Tang San cupped his hands and spoke first, his expression utterly serious.

Technically, aside from their color schemes, his clothes really weren't all that different from Xiao Yan's.

Once he caught on, Sasuke also cupped his hands.

"Tang Yin, of Spirit Hall."

Unfortunately, that didn't quite match the Konoha Forehead Protector on his head or the Sharingan in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yan covered one eye with a hand and struck an Amaterasu pose, while lighting a ball of black fire refined from Beast Flame in his other hand.

"The Seventh Hokage, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Seriously, dude, why the hell are you giving them my real name?"

"..." ×3

After exchanging speechless looks, the original three glanced at one another and nodded. Just as they were about to pin the newcomer beneath them and give him a thorough memory exchange, the gray mist beside them began churning again.

This was different from when the others returned. They only sensed this when a newcomer appeared.

Within the gray mist, a young man with long grayish-pink hair and a white cloth wrapped around his forehead frowned slightly.

Where the hell have I wandered into? Has that crazy woman been putting too much pressure on me? Should I find a chance to run away and seek out that old Daoist?

Why were Sasuke, Tang San, Xiao Yan, and Han Li all here?

His thoughts raced. Though he didn't understand, that wouldn't stop him from joining in... so everyone was hiding behind aliases, huh? He didn't like concealing his identity.

With a faint smile, he summoned four different treasured swords to float around him. A casual point of his finger conjured a Kui ox beneath him, and he emerged from the gray mist with a ringing laugh.

"Before chaos divided, I saw the heavens unfold; in earth's Chou and humanity's Yin, I mounted the altar of old. Through boundless kalpas, my golden body was refined; within Biyou Palace, countless talents were enshrined.

"Biyou, Cult Master of Jiejiao, greets you, fellow Daoists."

"Holy shit?!" ×4

Someone who could recreate earth, water, fire, and wind and reopen the primordial heavens and earth had arrived?! ×4

A little while later.

"So this is the kind of Jiejiao Cult Master you are?"

"Just tell me whether I'm the Cult Master of Jiejiao in Biyou or not."

Tang San couldn't help curling his lip. He'd been imagining latching onto a mighty patron and returning to the Douluo Continent as the Tang Clan's patriarch, only to discover this guy was a fake.

Fair enough. He'd read so many multiple-transmigrator novels in his previous life, and hardly any started by bringing in a heavyweight like the Tongtian Cult Master.

"Ma Xianhong? So that's the Jiejiao you meant? The Outcast, huh." After exchanging memories, Sasuke's mouth twisted.

For one brief instant, he'd genuinely thought he was about to soar. No matter which version of the Tongtian Cult Master it was, even the weakest would be a golden thigh thicker than thick. Hug it, and you'd take flight immediately.

He wouldn't have needed to spend ages preparing and figuring out how to pull off something ruthless on the Night of the Uchiha Massacre.

Instead, it was this poor bastard Ma, whose misery knew no bounds.

"You... all I can say is that you got lucky. Whether you transmigrated late or your past-life memories were hidden in some alaya consciousness, Qu Tong didn't get to them. Otherwise, heh, you'd have suffered."

Curling his lip, Sasuke felt a certain kinship in shared suffering.

Whatever else he was, Uchiha Itachi was merely a lunatic. Qu Tong was a genuinely heartless final boss.

Rather than hoping Sister Qu would show you mercy, you might as well hope Master Lu fell in love with that tender catgirl from the First-Generation Self-Cultivation Furnace.

Ma Xianhong's memories of his previous life had only awakened recently, escaping Qu Tong's frequent memory alterations.

He remembered absolutely nothing of his childhood, but he had mastered Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements to perfection. Beyond artifact refinement, the greatest use he had discovered for this extraordinary technique was refining the spirit. Otherwise, he would never have noticed something unusual about his soul, much less broken through the mystery of the womb after crafting a few peculiar little artifacts on a whim during a breakthrough.

Once Ma Xianhong understood what was happening, his whole sky collapsed. Fucking Qu Tong was a bomb planted right beside him. What if she wiped his memories later?

Heaven knew how many times Qu Tong had already used Double Full Hands on him.

He'd practically developed resistance to the damn thing.

As a result, he hadn't dared reveal anything unusual. He had been planning to mass-produce forces and hit Qu Tong hard, but now, at last, he'd made it through.

Previously, he'd only had Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, without the corresponding powers to unleash its full potential. Now things were different, and he could virtually ignore Qu Tong's greatest threat to him.

"But this Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation of yours is pretty impressive." Studying the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords Ma Xianhong had hastily refined with qi, Xiao Yan looked thoughtful.

Come to think of it, the fellow's earlier posturing hadn't been entirely an act.

He really had made an Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation in the world of The Outcast. Publicly, however, he called it a magnesium-powder workshop for artifact refinement, while claiming the four swords were some sort of automatic sprinkler system.

Naturally, these were all prized treasures specially refined with Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements. While playing along with Qu Tong, he'd hardly put any effort into refining the Self-Cultivation Furnace, focusing instead on these bizarre things.

Magnesium-powder workshop, automatic fire suppression ×

No need to refine by reversing yin and yang; why temper their cutting edges with water and fire? ✓

A true Jiejiao Cult Master in that regard.

Ma Xianhong planned to invite Qu Tong into the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation under the pretext of a meeting about the Self-Cultivation Furnace as soon as he returned. He'd consulted the weather forecast before bed, and rain was due in a few days. Perfect. Boss Qu could consecrate the formation. A reception worthy of the Three Pure Ones would be more than sufficient. He'd send her off in grand style-at the very least, burn her into pieces scattered here and there.

As he saw it, open plots, hidden plots, power plays, and schemes were all inferior to telling Boss Qu to attend a meeting. Wasn't that the greatest political-struggle stratagem in history?

Apparently, some Medicine Immortal Society in Yunnan was preparing to stir up trouble, and the plot didn't seem to have officially begun. Once this was settled, he'd have plenty of opportunities to properly assemble his Top Disciples. What sort of crooked melons and cracked dates were the original twelve Top Disciples, anyway?

He also had to join the fun at the Luotian Grand Ceremony. Since he'd called it Jiejiao, shouldn't he sweep up every talent under heaven? At the very least, he ought to put together a new Thirty-Six Thieves.

"I've got it rough too! The moment my memories awakened, I discovered I was already in Sage Hand Valley. Fuck, every day there are scoundrels plotting against me. I finally got a friend, Li Feiyu, and he's practically dying. What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm desperate too!" Han Li sighed toward the sky, his face full of misery.

These bastards were far too pragmatic. Once they discovered external items like the Little Green Bottle couldn't be shared, not even through trial cards, they'd kicked him straight from carry-the-team heavyweight to bottom-tier dead weight.

Aside from letting Tang San and Xiao Yan cross-check their pill formulas against his, he was currently less useful than even Tang San, let alone Xiao Yan, whose cheat had arrived.

Fuming, Han Li drew little circles over and over. Wasn't this supposed to be the floor tile of fantasy worlds? How had Xiao Yan become the big brother carrying everyone?

Ever since his memories awakened, he'd stayed tucked away in Sage Hand Valley, preparing to kill Doctor Mo and that remnant soul before lying low a while longer.

Though with his hopelessly wretched earth-and-wood spiritual roots, all he could do was farm and lie low every day.

Even calling them earth-and-wood spiritual roots was flattering. They were merely four-element mixed spiritual roots...

Still, things would be about ready when he returned this time. Han Li intended to go straight for a showdown with that bastard Mo. Fuck, he was waiting for his cheat-what was Mo waiting for? His death date?

His own combat strength might not amount to much, but with Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements and the Little Green Bottle in hand, he could churn out equipment and pills like mad. What the hell was there to fear?

"Ah, nobody has it easy. Forget it, forget it." Waving a hand, Xiao Yan indicated that every family had its own difficult scripture to recite. Nalan Yanran and Xiao Xun'er clung to him every day, making him want to run away as soon as possible.

Just a few days ago, his cheat had finally arrived. Thanks to all the trial-card credit he'd poured into Yao Lao over the years, he'd finally reached the cumulative recharge threshold and brought Yao Lao to life.

But perhaps because of foreign-currency conversion, Yao Lao didn't seem able to stomach it very well. After taking him as a disciple and giving him his cheat, he'd fallen asleep again.

After studying the matter at length, Xiao Yan discovered that his Yao Lao wasn't "charge for five minutes, talk for two hours," but a landline that had to stay plugged into the power supply.

If he wanted to wake Yao Lao, he had to keep topping up.

Still, he was happy enough with that. What was the point of constantly being drained dry by an old man? Better to call him up whenever he needed him...

Uh, had Nalan Yanran been pestering him for so long that he was evolving toward the kind of scumbag who pulled out and turned heartless...? Ahem.

Rubbing his chin, Xiao Yan felt it was time to run away.

Sure enough, sometimes being too happy was its own kind of trouble.

Once he'd gone out adventuring and building his strength, and had chance encounters with Xiao Yi Xian, Yun Yun, the dragon girl Queen Medusa, and whoever else... he'd go avenge Yao Lao first.

He, Xiao Yan, had always valued affection and loyalty.JPG

Come to think of it, Han Feng and Yao Lao were quite a pair of ill-fated lovebirds too... heh heh heh-

"..." ×3

Watching Xiao Yan begin cackling sinisterly, Han Li and Ma Xianhong sighed in unison.

Their starting situations had been apocalyptic disasters, while this fellow hadn't crashed at all. He'd become a complete winner in life.

"Speaking of which, the coexistence of humans and demons in Han's Spirit World seems interesting. I think I could borrow a few ideas." Rubbing his chin, Tang San looked thoughtful.

The Hundred Races of the Spirit World stood in a forest of competing powers, while humans and demons worked together. Aside from similar cultivation practices, the most important reason was their external enemies.

As for enemies on the Douluo Continent...

Recalling the original Buddha Tang's maneuvers, Tang San smiled faintly.

It looked like he could put his ten-thousand-year plan on the agenda.

"Han, we're counting on you. You may be dead weight right now, but hurry up and train. Get us some good cultivation methods and pill formulas. Artifacts don't matter, since none of us can benefit from external items anyway. Hurry up and use the Little Green Bottle to research divine abilities, wondrous techniques, talismans, and things like that."

Patting his shoulder, Sasuke spoke earnestly. He was just about to ask Ma Xianhong to research advanced methods for Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements when he noticed the fellow grinning with extraordinary arrogance.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river-never scorn a young man for being poor! Fucking Qu Tong, your grandpa's coming to settle the score!

"If I don't beat you into pieces scattered here and there, I'll quit being the Cult Master of Jiejiao!"

"Uh, that seems a little wasteful. Actually, I think you could capture her..."

"Right, just like that guy and that other guy back then."

"Basement Confinement, The President's Milky Fluids? Interesting."

"True. Besides, I'm someone who treasures food. Every grain of rice must be eaten clean. From now on, Boss Qu will be Jiejiao's treasure for anchoring its fortune.

"Everyone who joins my sect can line up."

"Heh heh heh-"

With a long laugh, Ma Xianhong decisively departed, his body turning into gray mist and slowly dispersing.

A heavily modified burst technique combining Ring Detonation and the Eight Gates Technique, Xiao Yan's Dou Techniques and huge pill package, Han Li's hundred arts of immortal cultivation, Sasuke's various ninjutsu and secret techniques, and so on and so forth, plus the basic boost to all attributes-even without using trial cards for their exclusive abilities, Ma Xianhong felt ready to take flight.

Not to mention the method those three earlier arrivals had developed over the past few years to intercept and retain trial-card power. It couldn't have fit his Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements more perfectly, instantly making him the darling of the current meta.

Man! What can I say?

Have you eaten? If not, have a hit from me first!

"Young people still lack patience. The old fellows on my side are each better at enduring than the last."

Shaking his head with a sigh, Sasuke remarked that Ma Xianhong was still too young.

"Have you considered that your dad and that old Third Hokage aren't patient, just indecisive? Even more indecisive than Yuan Shao when everything was going his way?"

"Hey, see through it, but don't spell it out. Still, it's about time.

"I wonder whether Obito will come this time. If he does, we'll teach him a lesson too.

"Ah, come to think of it, it seems it's time I learned Flying Thunder God. I can't pass up a taste of that broken mechanic."

Red light flickered in Sasuke's eyes as he pondered.

He'd leave that until after the Night of the Uchiha Massacre, when he negotiated with the Third Hokage.

Konoha, the Uchiha Clan Compound.

As though dark clouds hung overhead, the members of the Uchiha Clan had worn unusual expressions these past few days.

Like the calm before a storm, it made almost everyone in Konoha sense that the Uchiha might make certain decisions at this Clan Meeting.

In streets and alleyways, rumors that the Uchiha had once plotted a coup began circulating again.

Yet unlike the previous times these rumors had appeared out of nowhere, they didn't spread like wildfire. Instead, they met with considerable skepticism.

For instance, people who had dealt with the Uchiha Clan said that although the Uchiha were aloof and proud, they were really just tsunderes who would do their best to help if you asked.

Others with extensive knowledge pointed out that, as Konoha's largest clan, the Uchiha couldn't possibly fail to understand that secrecy was the key to success. Therefore, these rumors spreading through the streets couldn't be true. Even if they were, the Uchiha weren't idiots. How could they still launch a coup under these circumstances? It was nothing more than rumors spread by people with ulterior motives.

Then the direction of public rumor instantly shifted again. Some old-timers suddenly noticed that, ever since Konoha's founding, several major waves of public opinion seemed to have originated from the same organization. A hidden hand appeared to be manipulating everything.

Danzo: Achoo-

Then voices strongly supporting the Uchiha and expressing faith in them suddenly entered the fray, spreading widely alongside comments exposing the hidden hand behind the previous waves of public opinion.

In an instant, the direction of public opinion became bewilderingly tangled. Somehow, it even dragged in the Nine-Tails' Attack from nearly ten years ago.

Inside a secret chamber.

"Sasuke, do you think that Masked Man will come this time?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, Uchiha Fugaku clenched the hand hidden beneath his sleeve into a tight fist. The futures he foresaw had very low accuracy. After all, the future changed far too quickly, leaving his chances even slimmer than Doctor Strange's one in tens of millions.

"I'm guessing he will, but it doesn't matter. That guy's hard to kill. Anyway, whether it's Danzo or the Masked Man, they're just the second and third birds we hit with one stone. They aren't our main objective, Dad."

Sasuke shook his head, perfectly composed.

There was still half a day before the Clan Meeting. As planned, Shisui was already with the Third Hokage, waiting to watch remotely.

Meanwhile, as the principal figures of this Clan Meeting, Itachi and Fugaku were discussing the details in the secret chamber. Truthfully, Sasuke's plan wasn't entirely reliable, and Fugaku had initially wanted to reject it.

But...

Recalling the earnest looks in their eyes earlier, Fugaku shook his head. Since he couldn't make the decision himself, he would trust the wisdom of the next generation.

Only heaven knew what would become of the Uchiha and Konoha.