Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 536 Confident and Mad

At the center of the altar, the ultimate ninja tool suddenly exploded, releasing a cloud of pitch-black smoke.

As the smoke dissipated, a thin man with a sinister face was suspended in mid-air.

He wore an ancient-style dark blue battle robe, his hair was tied up in a high bun, and his brows were filled with an arrogant look that seemed to look down on the world.

His narrow eyes narrowed slightly as he swept over everyone present. A disdainful smile curled at the corner of Qingming Ancestor's lips. "Finally... finally someone has awakened me from my eternal slumber."

The four Celestial Elephant beings raised their heads in unison, their eyes filled with fervor and reverence. "Ancestor Qingming! We are descendants of Takumi-nin Village, your bloodline inheritors! We—"

"Shut up."

Qingming didn't even glance at them.

His gaze swept past the four people, landing on the Divine Painter Saint not far away, and then across the organization members observing the scene through the monitoring screens further away.

But his gaze was as if he were scrutinizing a group of ants.

"I know what you're planning," Qingming said coldly, his body slowly descending from mid-air, finally stopping two meters above the ground, looking down at everyone. "You awakened me simply for my ninja tool forging technology, for the power I once wielded to dominate the ninja world. It's not uncommon for you ants from later generations to covet the legacy of your ancestors."

He paused, crossed his arms, and the sarcasm on his lips deepened.

"However, I am in a good mood today. After all, I have been asleep for too long and do need some... Your servants have always been by my side. Since you have gone to such lengths to awaken me, I will give you a chance—"

He held up three fingers. "Within three days, hand over all your technical manuals, ninja tool collections, and control of your organization. I will select the parts worth keeping, and as for you—"

He looked down at everyone present as if he were examining a herd of livestock about to be domesticated.

"It is your greatest honor that you can accept my rule."

The four celestial beings exchanged glances, their expressions growing even more fanatical.

He immediately knelt down, tears of gratitude streaming down his face, then turned and said fiercely, "What are you all standing there for? My ancestor has been resurrected! Kneel down and pay your respects!"

The four had absolute confidence in their ancestor, who was from the late Warring States period, the early days of the Five Great Ninja Villages, and who boasted about ending the Ninja Era through weapon innovation.

The Divine Painter remained silent. He simply gazed quietly at the clear sky above, his arms crossed, his face expressionless.

Seeing no response, Qingming frowned slightly, his voice suddenly turning somber: "What? Didn't you hear me? Or perhaps—"

His chakra suddenly surged outwards, and a chilling pressure swept across the surroundings.

However, just as this power spread out, Shen Tu Hua Sheng lowered his head and looked at the chakra detector in his hand.

The numbers on the dial jumped, eventually settling on a value that was neither too high nor too low.

The Divine Painter adjusted his glasses and calmly read out the experimental report: "Total chakra... is only about ten times that of an ordinary Jonin. Energy density is below Kage level. It's not even comparable to Shukaku, let alone other tailed beasts."

Guoxin Jushi stood beside him, looking up at him: "Is that still of any use?"

"It's no use."

With his keen hearing and sharp eyesight, Qingming was able to hear every word of the conversation between the Divine Painting Saint and the Layman Guoxin.

"How dare you!"

"You ignorant ants, how dare you measure me with such a thing?! My power at its peak is beyond your comprehension!" Qingming spread his arms, chakra spreading, his sleeves fluttering even without wind. "Since you refuse to kneel, then I will make you kneel with my strength!"

He rapidly formed hand seals, changing them intricately, clearly preparing to unleash some powerful ninjutsu.

Upon seeing this, the four heavenly beings were both excited and apprehensive, and involuntarily took a few steps back.

The ancestor is finally getting serious!

A few seconds later, Qingming finished forming the hand seals and thrust his hands forward with a vengeance: "Forbidden Technique - Black Iron Collapse—"

Before he could finish speaking...

A figure appeared in front of him without warning.

"Otama Rasengan!"

Kashin Koji's Body Flicker Technique was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Seimei. A ball of chakra spinning rapidly had already formed in his right hand and was pressed into Seimei's chest. It was the most basic yet purest chakra transformation ninjutsu.

Qingming's pupils contracted sharply. He didn't even have time to defend himself, or even to be surprised.

"Bang—"

A dull thud exploded inside my body.

Qingming's body instantly arched into a shrimp-like shape, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Then came the powerful destructive force, instantly tearing a large hole in his chest.

"Ughh ...

Qingming let out a piercing scream, his chakra leaking out wildly. In just a second, the scream abruptly stopped.

A dried-up corpse fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. Only the strange clothes and the huge wooden bird proved that he had once lived.

"You're too slow. You could have solved it in an instant." The Divine Painter stepped forward.

Guoxin Jushi crossed his arms and said, "I just wanted to see how capable he was, but I didn't expect that even forming hand seals would take several seconds."

It's no exaggeration to say that such strength would be considered lackluster even among peripheral personnel. It's not that we don't value who has the strongest attack power now, but rather that we focus more on who can strike faster.

We don't lack strength within organizations; what we lack is uniqueness.

"The technical capabilities have been copied. Overall, there are indeed some ingenious ideas that can be learned from. But that's all."

"Furthermore, I have now figured out why he was able to be resurrected unharmed even though the Impure World Reincarnation technique could not be used. It's because of his soul; his soul resides within the wooden bird. The Pure Land seems to have been perfected, and the rules there are even more tightly controlled, making it impossible for souls to be summoned." The Divine Painter Saint analyzed frame by frame as he looked at the report.

The Four Celestial Beings were completely dumbfounded! Their ancestor had been instantly killed in one move!

"These bastards..." the Spring-shaped figure gritted his teeth and muttered, "They haven't given us the respect we deserve at all! We are high-level craftsmen, our great ancestors, and they treated us with such contempt—"

"That's right! They should kneel down and kowtow! They should prostrate themselves at the feet of the Ancestor and beg him to grant them wisdom and strength!"

Qiu Zixiangren whispered, "But the ancestor's strength is indeed..."

"Shut up!" the winter-shaped figure interrupted sharply. "Our ancestor has only just been resurrected; his power hasn't fully recovered! Yes, they only relied on a sneak attack..."

The four men assumed an attack stance, but it was all just for show. They thought the men would only give them a beating before defeating them and taking them in as their dogs.

However, they were wrong, or rather, they knelt down too late.

The two, Shen Tu and Hua Sheng, looked up and then remembered that there were still four stink bugs.