Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 589 Shenluo Tianzheng
As the Rinnegan slowly rotated in its socket, achieving perfect balance with the "Goddess Bone," a vast stream of information flooded into Li Zhongren's mind like a burst dam.

This is not only about the various secret techniques of the Rinnegan—Shinra Tensei, Bansho Ten'in, Chibaku Tensei, and even the secrets of Uchiha Madara's deeply hidden "Limbo: Border Jail"—all of which are presented with unparalleled clarity.

Even more remarkably, these memories originating from the "Immortal's Eye" and the battle data across the starry sea imprinted in the "Goddess's Bone" began to corroborate and merge with each other.

A completely new power system, unique to him, is rapidly taking shape.

At this moment, his strength has undergone a tremendous transformation, enough to make him stand out in this fragmented world.

But he did not choose to leave immediately.

The system panel did not send a forced return notification, which meant that he still had time to stay. Li Zhongren was a pragmatic person, but he also believed in repaying kindness and avenging wrongs.

Two things came to mind.

Firstly, the Nagato family.

Having taken their eyes and received their meal in return, it wouldn't be right to leave them to fend for themselves in this war-torn border region. We must see them through to the end and find them a safe place to live.

Secondly, the yam.

That rational, almost indifferent woman ultimately gave him that crucial pistol, an initial "investment."

Now that he has come to the capital of the Rain Kingdom, it is only right and proper for him to check on her whereabouts. If she is safe and sound, then they will be even; if she is in danger... he would not mind repaying this favor to the best of his ability.

With his mind made up, he walked to the side of Nagato's parents, who were still unconscious, and gently snapped his fingers to dispel the shallow illusion that had been cast on them.

The couple slowly awoke to find themselves surrounded by ruins resembling a battlefield ravaged by a natural disaster, and Li Zhongren standing before them, his demeanor drastically changed. Their faces instantly contorted with terror, and they instinctively shielded the still-sleeping Nagato behind them.

"No need to panic."

Li Zhongren spoke, his voice calm and carrying a reassuring power.

“I have already repelled the people who attacked you. It is not safe to stay here any longer. Would you like to come with me to the main city of the Land of Rain? That is where the daimyo is located, and it will be much safer than the border.”

The couple looked at each other, their eyes filled with the fear of surviving a disaster and the uncertainty about the future.

But looking into Li Zhongren's calm yet profound eyes, and at the terrible battlefield marks around them, they realized that the person in front of them was no ordinary ninja, and going to the main city seemed to be the only option at the moment.

"Thank you so much, sir, for saving our lives! We are willing!"

The man mustered his courage and thanked his wife repeatedly.

"Let's go."

Li Zhongren nodded without saying anything more. He picked up the still unconscious Changmen and gestured for the couple to follow.

……

The capital city of the Rain Kingdom is less a city and more a massive, cold steel fortress.

Towering towers, crisscrossing steel pipes, and perpetual rain define the main character of this place.

The close connection between the nation's capital and Amegakure Village reveals Hanzo of the Salamander's ambition to support the nation's status through powerful military force.

"Productivity appears strong, but unfortunately, the fundamentals have been overlooked."

Li Zhongren walked along the wet street, making indifferent assessments.

"A ninja's power comes from chakra and spirit, not from cold steel. Hanzo had ambition, but he was trapped under this rain curtain. His vision was ultimately too narrow."

He easily used some spare change he had obtained from the battlefield to rent a simple but clean place for the Nagato family on the outskirts of the main city, and left them enough money to live on for a while.

"Live peacefully here. As long as you don't actively get involved in the fighting between ninjas, you should be safe."

After leaving those words, Li Zhongren's figure vanished into the drizzle like a ghost, leaving behind only a family full of gratitude. After settling the Changmen family in, Li Zhongren found a secluded high ground, slowly closed his eyes, and then suddenly opened them!

Ripples flowed within his eyes of reincarnation, and a powerful sense of perception spread silently from him like mercury, instantly covering the entire main city of the Land of Rain!

This is a super-enhanced version of the "Rain Tiger Freedom Technique." Every raindrop in the city seems to have become his eyes and ears, and every fluctuation of chakra can be clearly discerned.

The structure of the steel fortress, the distribution of sentries and hidden posts, the gathering points of powerful chakra... the entire city held no secrets from him.

He quickly located a heavily guarded secret room in the heart of Amegakure.

The room was filled with a chilling atmosphere.

A huge, crystal-clear block of ice stood in the center, and sealed within it was Mao Lan, whose face was calm as if she were asleep. Her chakra maintained its extremely low temperature and self-freezing in a peculiar way, making it difficult for any external means to break the ice without harming her.

In this environment, self-freezing is the most effective way to preserve one's innocence and life.

Female ninjas, falling into enemy hands, usually don't fare well. The real world isn't a shonen manga. He brought his family of three here, taking a full seven days. If she hadn't done that, she probably would have already slept with him.
Now that we've found it, there's no need to wait.

He did not choose to conceal his identity.

Stealth is meaningless in the face of absolute power.

Moving swiftly to the dungeon entrance, Li Zhongren didn't even slow down when faced with the incredibly heavy alloy door covered in defensive runes.

"Om-"

A barely perceptible layer of white jade luster emanated from his body, making him appear as if a red-hot iron were cutting into butter, or as if an ethereal phantom were piercing through reality!
"Sizzle—!"

A sickening metallic clang rang out!

The cast iron gate, which was strong enough to withstand the combined ninjutsu bombardment, was completely disintegrated at the atomic level the moment it came into contact with Li Zhongren's body, silently annihilating a huge, smooth, mirror-like humanoid passage!

He just kept going straight ahead!
All the reinforced walls, steel gates, and trigger-based barrier traps were as fragile as paper before his "Goddess Bone," which contained the attribute of "annihilation." They were all easily penetrated and disintegrated!
The Rain Shadow Guards along the way only saw a blurry figure flash by, and then a human-shaped hole appeared in the wall behind them. Before the alarm could even be fully sounded, the intruder had already entered as if it were an empty place, directly penetrating countless defenses and appearing in the lowest secret room where Mao Lan was imprisoned!

The sealed room was chillingly cold. Mao Lan was bound to a cold stone platform by special chakra chains. Her body was covered with a thick layer of solid ice, which looked like amber. Her eyes were closed and her face was deathly pale.

Li Zhongren frowned slightly, took a step to stand in front of her, and gathered a tiny bit of the power of the All-Killing Ashes at his fingertips. It pierced through the solid ice, and then the chakra flowed into Mao Lan's body. Her skin was cold, but there was still an extremely weak pulse and life force, barely maintaining a trace of vitality. However, her mental world was completely dead!
The soul seemed to be completely frozen and solidified by the extreme cold, losing all fluctuations and consciousness, like an extinguished candle flame, leaving only an empty shell that was not completely dead.

Most likely, in order to protect herself, she over-activated her bloodline limit, and ultimately her soul could not withstand the extreme freezing, falling into eternal silence and becoming a living dead.

"We're too late..."

Li Zhongren's eyes narrowed; he hadn't expected Mao Lan's fate to be like this.

At the very moment he checked on Mao Lan's condition.

Om-! ! !
Suddenly, countless dense sealing runes lit up the entire secret chamber! The blinding light instantly illuminated the entire space as bright as day!
A cold, smug voice came through the barrier and echoed in the secret room.

"Finally, you've arrived, intruder!"

The owner of the voice was none other than Hanzo the Three-Pepper Fish, who had been lurking for a long time!

"I knew it all along. A woman with such a peculiar ice-style bloodline wouldn't be without accomplices! This so-called 'top-secret prison' is nothing but a trap prepared for you!"

"From the moment you stepped into this place, you have already fallen into the 'Rain Prison Barrier'! This barrier will continuously drain your chakra until you are exhausted and die! Give up struggling, this is where you will be buried!"

The thick energy barrier, flowing with sealing runes, instantly closed, sealing the entire secret chamber completely!

An immense pressure emanated from within the barrier, attempting to suppress and absorb Li Zhongren's power.

Li Zhongren slowly straightened up, looked around at the blindingly bright killing array, and instead of panic, he revealed a cold, slightly mocking smile.

"trap?"

He muttered to himself as if he had heard something ridiculous.

"Hanzo, you have no idea..."

"...What exactly is trapping you?"

The Rinnegan slowly rotated in his eyes, and the jade-white bones around his body faintly hummed, with an aura of annihilation beginning to spread uncontrollably.

The chilling cracking sound of bones even drowned out the hum of the barrier in operation!

Countless white, jade-like bones, yet exuding an aura of destruction, surged out of his body, combined, and formed!
In the blink of an eye, the towering skeletal giant rose up again, easily breaking through the dome of the secret chamber. Large amounts of steel and rocks were pushed aside and annihilated like toys!
But unlike last time, this time, the skeletal giant's body was covered with a deep, dark purple chakra cloak that seemed to come from the underworld!

That was the manifestation of the fusion of the Rinnegan's power and the Goddess Bone's energy, adding to the giant's mystery and majesty. In its empty eye sockets, two ripple-shaped Rinnegan coldly looked down at the Amegakure below, which resembled an anthill!
"Wh...what is that?!"

The smug look on Hanzo's face outside the barrier instantly froze, turning into unbelievable horror!

He had anticipated that the enemy would be strong, but he never expected it to be such a monster that was completely beyond his comprehension!

However, Hanzo was, after all, a man known as a "demigod," and even though he was deeply shaken, he had not completely lost his courage from years of battle.

"Don't panic! All personnel, prepare a combined ninjutsu! Target: that giant!"

Hanzo forced himself to remain calm, roaring in a hoarse voice as he rapidly formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

"Earth Escape·Earth Escape River!"

Despite their fear, countless Rain Village ninjas gathered their chakra together, unleashing a torrent of mixed-attribute ninjutsu that swept towards the skeletal giant!
These are indeed well-trained combined tactics specifically designed to deal with large summoned beasts or monsters, powerful enough to instantly destroy a small fortress.

At the same time, Hanzo summoned the giant salamander Ibuki. Ibuki opened its mouth and fired a highly concentrated, eerie purple venom at the skeletal giant's head like a high-pressure water cannon! This deadly poison, when dispersed, is an incurable toxic mist; when condensed, it becomes the most potent acid capable of corroding everything!
Faced with this terrifying siege that could kill any Kage-level powerhouse, the Rinnegan in the skeletal giant's eyes merely turned indifferently.

It didn't even make any obvious defensive moves.

All the mixed ninjutsu that bombarded them, whether water, fire, lightning, or earth, were forcibly broken down and absorbed by a more fundamental force when they came into contact with that dark purple chakra cloak and the giant's skeleton.
The column of highly corrosive venom, upon contact, had its internal energy structure completely disintegrated by the "annihilation" and "absorption" properties contained in the "Goddess's Bone," transforming it into the purest natural energy, which the skeletal giant greedily absorbed!

"How is this possible?! Even poison..."

Hanzo's pupils dilated, and for the first time, his beliefs wavered. His poison could even corrode the Third Raikage's powerful physique!
The skeletal giant seemed to have done something insignificant; it slowly raised a huge bone hand covered in a chakra cloak.

In the palm of his hand, a black sphere rapidly condensed and expanded—it was a highly compressed mixture of chakra and natural energy that had absorbed all the energy from the previous attack, and its core even contained a trace of the destructive rule of the All-Killing Ash Bones!
The next moment, the huge black sphere exploded!

"Super Shinra Tensei!!"

An indescribable, terrifying repulsive force spread wildly and indiscriminately in all directions from the skeletal giant in a spherical shape!

Rumble, rumble—! ! !
The earth shattered and rolled up layer by layer, like a fragile eggshell!
All steel buildings, towers, fortifications, ninjutsu barriers... were easily flattened, crushed, and turned to dust in the face of this absolute power, just like sandcastles!
The light swallowed all sound and sight.

As the devastating white light slowly dissipated, the vast core area belonging exclusively to the Rain Village ninja, centered on the former prison, was completely erased from the map, leaving only an incredibly smooth, deep, giant circular pit, as if a piece had been scooped away by a god with a spoon.

Strangely, apart from this area, the surrounding ordinary residential areas were completely unharmed! Not even a ripple from the shockwave reached them!

Li Zhongren precisely controlled the range and direction of "Super Shinra Tensei," destroying the core of Amegakure's military power without harming any innocent civilians.

It wasn't that he was kind-hearted, but the Deep Dive Manual had warned that excessive destruction and killing of civilians would provoke a backlash from the will of the fragmented world. Natural disasters or even the world's self-destruction were not impossible. There was no need to completely destroy this place for the sake of a moment of anger; the benefits obtained were already more than enough.

Hanzo and his summoning beast Ibuki were slammed into the edge of the deep pit by the irresistible force. Countless bones in their bodies were broken, and they were on the verge of death, their eyes filled with endless fear and confusion. The ninjas around him were either dead or injured, completely losing their ability to fight.

The skeletal giant slowly dissipated, transforming back into Li Zhongren's appearance.

He walked to the edge of the pit, glanced at Hanzo struggling in the ruins and the surviving ninjas, and did not make another move. He had achieved his goal: to establish his authority, save people, and test his strength.

Killing is not necessary.

He turned around, picked up Mao Lan's cold, stiff, soulless body, took a step, distorted space, and his figure disappeared from the spot, leaving behind only a completely crippled Amegakure and a "demigod" whose beliefs had collapsed.

(End of this chapter)