I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 400: The Division of Spoils and What Happened Afterwards

"Teach?"

Xiao, holding the executioner's sword, frowned deeply.

The man in front of him was indeed 'Marshall Teach' in his perception, but his aura was different, more like something that had been 'manufactured'.

How long have I been dead?

"Huh? Isn't this Mr. Shura?"

Upon seeing Xiao, who was holding a decapitation sword and on guard, Teach was slightly taken aback, and his gaze fell on Jiu Kong Yao Ai.

"Lord Jiukong, didn't you tell him the details of the plan?"

"Shura, don't be nervous."

He stepped forward and raised his hand to stop Xiao from making a move.

"Teach's betrayal, and now his resurrection, are all part of our plan."

"Let's leave that aside for now and see if the plan goes smoothly."

"it is good!"

As Xiao frowned in vigilance, Teach, who emerged from the coffin opposite him, closed his eyes and spread his hands.

Glug glug

The next second, billowing black mud emerged from his right hand, while white steam rose from his left: the black mud fell to the ground and immediately corroded and pierced through the stone slabs, spreading outwards; the steam drifted out, and wherever it passed, buildings decayed, collapsed, and turned to ashes.

Meltfall, Boiling Point!
That's not all—

"Mr. Shura, please forgive me."

Teach opened his eyes and raised his hand, gesturing towards Xiao.

As he traced his finger, a large mirror made of water appeared out of thin air.

The next second, a young man wearing a black robe with red clouds, carrying a decapitation sword, and with his eyes closed, walked out. Who else could it be but Xiao?

Water Mirror Technique!
"Hahaha!!!"

Black mud and white mist emerged from his hands, and a 'clone' of Xiao stood beside him. Teach was overjoyed.

"This era truly deserves my place!"

"That's right, now that's what we call a real asset."

Jiu Kong Yao Ai nodded in satisfaction.
"It wasn't for nothing that I collected so much 'black flame' during this time, to create such a body as a sacrifice."

So, capturing those 'Black Flames' was all for the purpose of using them as sacrifices to resurrect 'Teach'?
Xiao seemed to be lost in thought, and at the same time couldn't help but glance at Jiu Kong Yao Ai.

did not expect,
The arrogant young lady from before has grown up.

"This is all thanks to Lord Jiukong's technique; otherwise, this plan would not have been able to succeed."

Teach felt satisfied with his power: the large amount of black flames combined to give him a body that was no less than that of a demon-level being; with the 'Water Mirror Technique' he obtained from the Sea Kingdom, and the two abilities he acquired from the Nine-Tailed Fox's forces, he was even stronger than he was in his 'life'!
That's right, Edo Tensei has a huge bug.

The impure body created through spiritual communication will possess all the abilities it had in its previous life!
Note that it refers to all abilities, not all strength: for example, the First and Second Hokage were weakened due to insufficient chakra after being resurrected by Edo Tensei.

However, some people gained unexpected combat power through this bug: for example, Itachi Uchiha who gave his eyes to Sasuke, and Nagato whose Rinnegan was not his own at all.

Even after being resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, Itachi and Nagato still possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan and the Rinnegan! Logically, these are unique abilities that shouldn't be summoned, but they can indeed use related ninjutsu. Therefore, there's only one answer:
"When a soul adapts to a certain technique or ability, it will also leave behind the same 'backup'."

Jiu Kongyao explained with a smug look on her face.

"And my technique can resurrect people in a perfect state."

"Hmph, Orochi's power is so useful~~"

This is Teach and Jiu Kong Yao Ai's plan: to use Jiu Kong Yao Ai's snake venom to temporarily grant Teach power beyond the Tiger level, making him a 'hero' of this sea area!
Then, at the cost of thousands of extraordinary allied forces, they obtained demon-level power from the Nine-Tailed Fox's forces. Finally, Teach seized the opportunity to ambush the Nine-Tailed Fox, using its body as a sacrifice to allow Kyuukou to use the Impure World Reincarnation technique to revive Teach, who had been torn apart by the other enraged Nine-Tailed Foxes.

Although this plan has too many uncertainties and countless risks;
If any link in the chain goes wrong, it will lead to certain death, but Teach is still willing to gamble with his life.

Now, he's won his gamble!
A body that fears no death, and all the abilities it once possessed.

"Hahaha, two wide-area destructive abilities, and a spell to 'copy' the opponent~~"

With Lava Release and Boil Release, he's unbeatable at crushing weaker opponents, and his Water Mirror Technique grows stronger against stronger enemies; with these three abilities, Teach can be considered a 'strong' even among Demon-level opponents!
Is that really how it is?
After listening to the two cunning fellows talking back and forth, Xiao frowned even more deeply.

Although he knew that neither the young lady nor Teach were the kind of people who would care about other people's lives, the fact that they had caused the deaths of thousands of superhumans and indirectly led to the collapse of the Allied forces' defenses, resulting in countless casualties, filled him with an instinctive aversion.

“Mr. Shura, I know you have some reservations.”

Noticing Xiao's expression, Teach took the initiative to speak.

"But I have no choice,"

"As you've seen, the Nine-Tails' forces are coming on strong,"

"The island nation still harbors the Yamata no Orochi; we must seize every opportunity to become stronger!"

"I will always remember the sacrifices of those people—please believe me, I, Marshall Teach, will always stand on the side of humanity!"

"You're only doing this to gain power for yourself,"

However, Teach's seemingly sincere words contained some 'twisted logic';

How could they possibly deceive Xiao, who could perceive more information after losing his sight?
"I had heard that Teach was an ambitious and unscrupulous man: now it seems that he was right."

The entire Commonwealth, the non-professional superhumans, the Metropolitan Police Department of the island nation, and even the Nine-Tailed Fox's forces all became stepping stones for this guy to climb up!

This unfathomable ambition, and the gamble that risked his life, made Xiao increasingly disgusted.

"Hahaha~~"

"It seems Mr. Shura has a lot of opinions about me."

Since the other party was not giving him face, Teach stopped being humble; black mud swirled around his hands, steam rose into the air, and with the 'Shura Illusion' beside him, he looked eager to try.

"Want a fight?"

"It just so happens that we haven't decided a winner yet!"

Xiao didn't answer, but a crimson light had already appeared on the decapitation blade. "Stop, all of you—"

Just as the two were about to fight, Jiu Kong Yao Ai reprimanded them in dissatisfaction.

"Don't forget, I saved all your lives."

"Haha~~"

"I was just joking, Lord Jiukong."

Withdrawing the black mud and white mist from his hands, and even waving his hand to dispel the 'Asura Illusion' beside him, the tall Teach adopted a respectful posture.

"Shura, my goal is to deal with Abe no Seimei and Orochi."

"As long as I can be a help, I don't care about anything else."

After warning Xiao, Jiu Kongyao clapped her hands.

"We're not enemies, there's no need for tension; let's talk about something happy—"

As the little girl clapped her hands, a venomous snake swam over and spat out three objects: a feather, a string of prayer beads, and a hairpin.

"Now it's time for us to enjoy the victory cake."

Yatagarasu Tail Feather, Diamond Number Bead, and Amnuma Mochizuki!
The original plan was to ambush the great demon as a sacrifice for its resurrection.

However, in the previous battle, Teach was beaten until his face was covered in blood; let alone ambushing other great demons, it was already a miracle that he wasn't killed by them.

Therefore, the plan changed to a sneak attack on Paper Dance, who possessed a large number of 'treasures'; then immediately turn around and 'betray' her, dying at the hands of the prepared Nine Void Shaking Love; in this way, she not only avoided her soul falling into the hands of the Nine-Tailed Demon, but also gained several treasures for free.

"Yatakarasu Tailha,"

Picking up the unremarkable black feather, Jiu Kong Yao Ai gently shook it.

"This treasure is mine, how about it?"

Jiu Kong Yao Ai swallowed several 'Orochi's Remains', making her incredibly resilient, durable, and even possessing formidable healing and resurrection abilities. However, she lacks offensive capabilities. Aside from massive snake swarms and giant snake charges, she excels at crushing weaker opponents and demolishing buildings, but against skilled players, she gets utterly crushed.

Thanks to its various life-saving abilities, it is still alive and kicking, completely intact.

After acquiring the 'Yata no Uta no Ootori', the seven-colored flames, used as a Demon-level attack method, perfectly compensated for her weaknesses.

"I have no opinion,"

Xiao was the first to speak.
For him, all he needed was a knife.

Since mastering 'Black Flash', he has officially entered the realm of Demon-level.

The method is a bit simplistic. While Black Flash is powerful, it's meaningless if it can't hit anyone. Therefore:
"Ama no Omote, to be used by Shura."

After tossing the hairpin to Xiao, Jiu Kong Yao Ai continued:
"This treasure can create a large area of ​​darkness: even the 'Eye of God' will be suppressed."

Xiao was blind to begin with!
That darkness was his absolute home turf.

"So--"

Teach's eyes flashed; two of the three treasures had already been distributed, leaving him with only:
"Teach, take the Vajra Prayer Beads."

After tossing the prayer beads to Teach, Jiu Kong Yao Ai raised her chin.

"Your 'impure body' may not have any vital points, but once it's broken, it can only slowly regenerate. In situations like this..."

If someone seizes the opportunity to seal it away, or finds someone to constantly sabotage it, it will still be reduced to ashes on the spot once its 'spiritual power' is exhausted.

"With this string of Buddhist prayer beads, I believe I won't get hurt so easily."

"Thank you very much for bestowing this treasure upon me, Lord Jiukong."

Teach accepted the prayer beads and bowed in thanks.

"No need to thank me, you deserve it. And—"

As her gaze swept over the two people, Jiu Kongyao's golden eyes narrowed, her pupils becoming dangerous vertical lines.

"Help me deal with Abe no Seimei and Orochi; this is our agreement. If anyone breaks their promise, I will never let them off!"

"certainly,"

Xiao nodded again.
Even without Miss Kuku's 'life-saving grace,' he would still have dealt with Abe no Seimei and Orochi.

As for Teach—

"Young Miss, please forgive my bluntness."

After they separated, Xiao, who was being carried by the giant snake, stood next to Jiu Kong Yao Ai and carried a huge, long, rectangular ancient zither on his back.

That's right, the 'guqin' on his back is Amanuma Mochizuki: the hairpin itself is a large 'yayakuqin', the kind of large musical instrument with eight strings that can be placed in front of you, and the guillotine is placed inside as a scabbard.

"Aren't you worried about Teach betraying you?"

By all accounts, Marshall Teach was not a law-abiding or trustworthy person.

"Don't worry,"

Jiu Kong Yao Ai was prepared for this.

"Those who are 'resurrected' by my magic have their lives and deaths in my hands!"

Even if something unexpected happens, as long as she releases the 'Impure World Reincarnation', Teach's soul will simply return to the underworld.

"So, where do we go next?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

When asked about filial piety, Jiu Kong Yao Ai answered without hesitation.

"of course--"

Peaceful Beijing!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I have to go out, so I'm posting this now.
(End of this chapter)