At noon, the desert sun grew even more scorching.
Lin Xiaoran and Madara were resting in the shade of a rock, eating lunch.
"So, after that brat Obito left Konoha, he went to Kirigakure, controlled the Mizukage, and brought about the [Bloody Mist Village], leaving almost all of Kirigakure's Kekkei Genkai clans dead?"
Madara looked at Lin Xiaoran as he asked, his brows tightly furrowed.
Lin Xiaoran said, "Right. Later, a ninja with a Byakugan discovered something was wrong with the Mizukage, sparking a rebellion in Kirigakure. Obito left after being exposed."
Madara was puzzled. "A Byakugan? Doesn't that belong to the Hyuga Clan? Did their clan produce a rogue ninja?"
"No, that ninja took it from a ninja of the Hyuga Main Family during the Third Shinobi World War, then transplanted that Byakugan into himself. It's also the only Byakugan to have fallen into outside hands," Lin Xiaoran explained, shaking her head.
"Hmph! Konoha really does get worse with every generation. Their Kekkei Genkai was stolen, and they didn't even take it back!" Madara snorted, filled with disdain for Konoha.
Back when he and Hashirama Senju founded Konoha, how would the other four villages have dared provoke them?!
Yet after he faked his death and went into hiding, and Hashirama Senju died, the First Shinobi World War broke out.
Then came the second and the third.
And this was the peace in the Shinobi World that Hashirama Senju had always insisted upon. For its sake, he had even distributed the Tailed Beasts he captured to the other shinobi villages!
Giving them the strength to stand against Konoha!
That was why Madara wanted to change the entire Shinobi World through the [Eye of the Moon] Plan.
"What happened after that? Had Obito and Nagato still not started the Tailed Beast capture plan?"
"Nope. During that time, the organization Nagato founded, [Akatsuki], kept growing, recruiting powerful rogue ninja from the various shinobi villages and having them take mercenary jobs to build up funds."
"..." Madara no longer wanted to speak.
He understood Obito returning to Konoha to summon the Nine-Tails. After all, the Nine-Tails was one of their targets, even though he had failed.
He also understood Obito going to Kirigakure. After all, Rin Nohara had died at Kirigakure's hands, so there was nothing wrong with his desire for revenge.
But once all that was done, why hadn't they started the Tailed Beast capture plan?
Not enough strength?
Impossible. Nagato's Rinnegan alone was enough to take on a shinobi village.
What was more, they had the White Zetsu army. Even if they started a war across the Shinobi World, they wouldn't necessarily lose.
In particular, the Ten-Tails' husk, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, was a powerful weapon against Tailed Beasts. Surely they could handle a single Tailed Beast?
"After that, the Shinobi World was peaceful for several years, until..." Lin Xiaoran stopped speaking.
"Until what?"
"Our morning transaction is over. The information after that is part of this afternoon's transaction." Lin Xiaoran smiled.
[Haha! Look at Madara's face. He's frozen!]
[That twist caught him completely off guard!]
[Playing him like a fiddle!]
[Lin's smile is so wicked. I love it!]
[Poor Madara, dancing in the palm of Lin's hand!]
[Guys! Hurry over to Country F's livestream! It's terrifying!]
[What happened, what happened?!]
Because of one viewer's comment, quite a few people left Lin Xiaoran's livestream and went over to Country F's.
As soon as many of them arrived, they saw a mass of black "dust" rolling in from one end of the yellow sands on the livestream, spanning fifty or sixty meters across!!
And this challenger from Country F was fleeing frantically with his Heroic Spirit!
When the Heroic Spirit saw his Master slowing down more and more, he even hoisted him onto his back and kept running.
[A black sandstorm?]
[This must be a natural disaster in the game instance. At this speed, that challenger is definitely dead.]
[This isn't just some sandstorm! You weren't here earlier, so you don't know that those black things are actually bugs!]
[Hiss! Bugs?! Fierce beasts?!]
[Yes! These bugs are F-rank fierce beasts! They're terrifying! A challenger and a Heroic Spirit have already been eaten by them! All they left behind were skeletons!]
[Oh my god! So many F-rank fierce beasts!]
[Their power must rival A-rank, right?! I wonder who could stop them!]
[That'd be tough! There are too many!]
[I wonder if Sophia's Stone Giant could stop them. Her Heroic Spirit is made of stone, after all.]
[Please don't let Lin run into these terrifying bugs!]
After resting there for forty minutes, Lin Xiaoran set off again with Madara, sitting on a rock and holding a parasol.
The parasol worked quite well, blocking the intense ultraviolet rays.
Combined with the chakra energy in her body resisting the heat, things were still relatively easy for her.
By now, Lin Xiaoran's points had reached 510.
"Tsk, she's catching up pretty fast. This Sophia's Heroic Spirit seems pretty strong."
Currently in second place was Sophia from Country Y, with 380 points.
Clearly, even while searching for people and traveling, Sophia hadn't forgotten to earn more points.
But her pace still hadn't surpassed Lin Xiaoran's.
That morning, aside from Madara taking the initiative to act, Lin Xiaoran hadn't been idle either. With her gravity beam gun, she killed almost one fierce beast per shot, working so quickly that it hardly delayed them at all.
Lin Xiaoran's greatest advantage was her ability to manipulate gravity and make rocks fly. Because of this, she could travel farther and deal with more fierce beasts.
Some time later, Lin Xiaoran suddenly turned her head and looked to one side.
"What is it?" Madara asked, puzzled.
Through their time together, Madara had also discovered that Lin Xiaoran's perception was incredibly powerful! Not only could it cover a vast area, it could also probe deep underground.
Sometimes, even when he hadn't sensed a fierce beast, Lin Xiaoran used the weapon in her hand to blast dozens of meters into the desert and kill whatever was hiding inside.
The same went for their travels. Lin Xiaoran could always pinpoint the direction of the fierce beasts.
He also knew that killing fierce beasts earned points, yet he was still startled by her efficiency.
Fortunately, he now had an Impure World Reincarnation body. Not only did he have limitless energy, but his chakra never ran out either, so he didn't feel tired.
To be fair, although Madara hated Tobirama Senju, the man really did have an excellent mind and had invented many powerful ninjutsu.
His younger brother, for instance, had died to the Flying Thunder God.
"A lot of things are coming." Lin Xiaoran immediately changed direction and flew off to the side.
Before long, a huge mass of black appeared on the horizon.
[Huh? Why did Lin suddenly change direction?]
[That black stuff looks familiar.]
[Could it be?! Run, Lin! It's the black storm!]
[Lin, what are you doing?! Why are you still charging toward it?! It's dangerous!]
Just earlier, many viewers had watched with their own eyes in Country F's livestream as the black storm caught up with that challenger and his Heroic Spirit. Then, an utterly horrifying scene unfolded!
Before their very eyes, countless black bugs devoured that challenger alive, leaving nothing but stark white bones!
The Heroic Spirit fared better. Before he could be eaten clean, he turned into white light and disappeared, without suffering too much pain.
Quite a few viewers had vomited at the sight and immediately closed the livestream, not daring to watch any further!
The scene was far too bloody!
And now, Lin, the one they had pinned their greatest hopes on, had actually encountered the black storm too!
Countless hearts immediately leaped into their throats!