Chapter 419: Aizen's Ambition
[New Season: Black Myth]
Season Map: Floors 2–5 of the Tower of Death.
Season Overview: Congratulations, players, on surviving the beginner phase and officially entering the Corrupted World. You will now face a Tier-4 faction—[Black Myth], whose domain includes [Tree Demon Granny], [Black Wind Mountain King], [Spider Monastery], [Black Mountain Old Demon], [Guanyin Temple]...
Special Season Rules:
[Black Fog]: A constantly spreading fog that drastically reduces visibility. Most scouting items and detection skills will be ineffective.
[Reincarnation Shrine]: There are no safe zones in the new season. All players will be teleported to shared spawn points with Reincarnation Shrines. You must hunt corrupted monsters and gather materials to build your own safe zones. Until then, a daily fee of 5,000 contribution points is required to fuel the shrine.
[Path of Yellow Springs]: Players may die up to three times per month in the Black Myth map. Upon death, you will be sent to a special area called the Path of Yellow Springs, where all communication is disabled. You must complete a "Yellow Springs Quest" and collect enough Underworld Flowers to return to the world of the living.
[New Season Loot]: Black Myth (Epic) armor sets, accessory sets, pets, gems, and more.
[World Bosses]: Floor 2 Boss – City God of Black River, Floor 3 Boss – Centipede Daoist, Floor 4 and 5 – Unknown.
...
A pitch-black sky, with a crescent blood moon hanging high.
Thick black fog surrounded the area.
Even a Level 40 [Death Perception] couldn't detect anything.
A massive stone shrine resembling a tombstone stood at the center of the endless fog.
It bore the mark of the Reincarnation Game.
Soft white light spread from it, illuminating an area about the size of two football fields.
"Black Myth season… there are Epic-grade items?!"
Looking over the new season's details, Orochimaru—who had just arrived at the edge of the shrine's glow—let his serpentine pupils gleam with golden light.
[Necrosnake Master Lv. 45] – Orochimaru.
He knelt, pressing a hand against the black gravel below,
then smashed that hand with his necromancer's staff.
Black blood flowed from the wound, transforming into dozens of black-smoke snakes with twitching tails.
They slithered out beyond the light of the Reincarnation Shrine.
Orochimaru shared their vision—
he saw a world of silence and death.
Not even his own Necro Kingdom felt this lifeless.
Pop.
Suddenly, all his shared vision was cut off.
Like bursting bubbles, every snake outside the shrine was killed instantly.
In the final moment, he glimpsed what had slain them:
A mountain bandit in tattered robes.
Black mist seeped from his skin, forming makeshift armor.
His arms had fused with rusted cleavers, grotesquely natural.
[Corrupted Bandit (Black Wind Mountain) Lv. 55]
"A… bandit?"
Orochimaru's face darkened.
He was well-traveled and knew that in most worlds, bandits sat at the bottom of the food chain.
Yet even a basic mob here was Level 55.
So this was the Black Myth Tier-4 map…
Just then, beams of teleportation light appeared.
"Granny Tsunade, can you please stop gambling on forging? Your luck is awful!"
"My luck?!"
Wearing pure white armor and looking divine, Tsunade scoffed,
"If my luck is so bad, how did I raise a Holy Corpse Guardian? You're the one with a lousy Abomination Butcher!"
"I… I don't know…"
Naruto slumped, defeated.
Zombie pets in their mature form could evolve into many types.
Tsunade's Holy Corpse Guardian was a rare, sacred light-based defensive variant.
Naruto's was… a very average butcher.
"That's odd."
Nearby, Jiraiya tried not to stare too long at Tsunade's stunning figure.
He quickly turned serious,
"Usually, Naruto's luck is amazing. Tsunade, you… used to be called 'Fat Sheep' by the gamblers of Tanzaku Town."
"Hmph."
Tsunade smirked confidently.
"As a player, I've already broken free from that fate. Now—I'm the Goddess of Gambling."
Truthfully—
Naruto may be fate's chosen, but under constant exploitation by Konoha's clans and the Shadow Organization,
his Tier-1 fortune was no match for Tier-2 loot rates.
But Tsunade…
"How lively. Tsunade. You idiot Jiraiya."
A sudden voice.
Both turned in unison toward the shadows.
Orochimaru.
Once a dear friend—now the enemy who destroyed Konoha.
Tsunade's expression twisted into a scowl.
"So we meet again, Orochimaru."
Boom.
Her ornate cleric's cross slashed into the ground like a holy pillar.
Jiraiya's expression was torn at first, but then filled with killing intent.
"Orochimaru. I told you, anyone who betrays Konoha—I'll kill them."
"You?"
Orochimaru scanned Jiraiya's exposed weaknesses with a sneer.
[Seer Lv. 41]
The Fire Empire also had Seers—mostly support-type classes. Not very strong in combat.
Tsunade was a [Holy Paladin Lv. 43], and while holy attributes countered necromancy,
those counters had limits.
If he killed the weak Jiraiya first,
Tsunade wouldn't be able to stand alone against him.
Except…
Orochimaru glanced at Naruto, who looked constipated with emotion.
According to intelligence, he was also a holy-class [Temple Knight Lv. 42].
He had bound Konoha as his Temple. The more it suffered, the stronger he became.
Troublesome.
Still, he wasn't alone.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Been well?"
Wrapped fists bound in white cloth. A dense fog of refined nen cloaked him.
Neji Hyuga—current head of the New Hyuga Clan, branded a traitor—appeared before Naruto.
"Neji!"
Naruto froze, heart aching.
To see a comrade who had once fought beside him…
now stand with the enemy…
It hurt.
He asked bitterly, "Why did you betray Konoha?"
He'd wanted to ask that ever since the village fell.
"You told me, remember?"
Neji's voice was calm.
"Fate can be changed. Even a caged bird can one day soar free."
Naruto was stunned.
"In your eyes… Konoha and our comrades were that worthless?"
He pointed at Orochimaru.
"This guy—he did human experiments! He enslaved the innocent with cursed seals! You'd follow him?"
Despite being one of the strongest players, Orochimaru was reviled for his cruelty.
"Cursed marks? Slavery?"
Neji's lips curled into a bitter smile.
"Which is why I say—you, Naruto…
even with the same power from the Reincarnation Game…
are still just a bird in a cage."
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