Chapter 654: Resurrection, Satoru Gojo!
The aura of the [All the World's Evil] was like an aged, aromatic wine seeping into the fiber of the world. For these yin spirits who had been stripped of their lives, there was no more exquisite substance in existence.
Even those as arrogant as Madara Uchiha and as malicious as Hakumen experienced a severe shift in their countenances, their eyes involuntarily drifting toward Kaito Shirogane, who was currently sitting in a state of unprecedented, ragged vulnerability within the ruined high-rise.
The Master of the [Throne of the Heart] was currently trapped within a critically depressed structural baseline. Sensing his state, a few of the surrounding cursed spirits instinctively began to churn their cursed energy, letting out low, subterranean growls.
Perhaps—though it was merely a microscopic statistical probability—if this massive, monumentally powerful gathering of yin spirits were to launch a simultaneous, non-discriminatory assault right now, would they secure a tactical window to forcefully hijack control over that supreme physical vessel?
If they could successfully usurp that body, wouldn't the resource quotas for a full resurrection become entirely limitless for their own agency?
The more stygian and darker an individual's emotional baseline grew, the more aggressively it catalyzed the developmental growth of their cursed energy; the more agonizing the internal torment became, the more flawlessly it generated a surge of pure vengeful spirit force.
Kaito Shirogane pulled thick, ravenous breaths of ambient oxygen. To his newly re-engineered senses, the pure, unadulterated malice radiating from these bound spirits acted like a sub-zero treat in the dead of summer, immensely soothing the crushing duress his psyche was actively enduring from absorbing the structural agony of millions of New York casualties.
His features actually broke into a genuine smile as an internal, deeply self-mocking realization rippled through his mind: Could it genuinely be that I am that exact species of unfeeling, heartless wild beast those entities label me as, to find a diet composed of these precise emotions so profoundly intoxicating?
Amused by the thought, Kaito raised his left hand with absolute, malicious playfulness, lazily swirling his fingers to let the strands of dark Mud drip directly before the eyes of his top-tier "Generals".
Artoria Pendragon stood rigidly on his right flank, her weight supported by her pitch-black Holy Sword. Having already completed her absolute resurrection process, her mind was firmly, professionally convinced that Kaito's merciless, unyielding cruelty was the absolute cornerstone required to fuel her own Tyrannical Path. Consequently, she remained entirely unmoved by the Mud, keeping her majestic focus locked onto evaluating the behavioral baselines of the other spirits.
Stationed tightly against Kaito's left flank, Black Face kept his obsidian palm loosely resting near the hilt of his slender white odachi. A wave of Reiatsu so immense it verged on pure structural pressure radiated from his frame, and due to housing a full divine alignment, he automatically maintained an absolute, overriding dominance against lower-tier spiritual entities. He harbored zero personal desire to claim a resurrection quota, standing fully primed to instantly execute an wide-area mass exorcism should anyone step out of line.
Watching the defensive line, Hakumen's jaw tightened with an intense, agonizing thread of professional venom. A fraction of a second earlier, her analytical matrix had genuinely been calculating whether she could successfully provoke Satoru Gojo and Madara Uchiha to launch a joint strike, but pinned against the absolute presence of Black Face and the King of Knights, the statistical probability of a win was pathetically low. And furthermore...
Although she thoroughly loathed logging the realization, having sustained two catastrophic routs where her entire layout had been completely inverted by Kaito Shirogane, her inner psyche had begun to cede a line of credit to the diagnostic evaluation [The Chaos Sage] had historically laid out: Kaito Shirogane was an individual whose very soul was explicitly anchored by the Mandate of Heaven, and her own capabilities... were systematically countered by his framework.
Her expression underwent multiple rapid shifts before her features forced a tight, highly synthetic smile, her small, sharp fang visibly cutting against her lip. Reaching into the spectral containment of her [Guardian Spirit · Kamikaze], she extracted the metallic vial flaring with that golden-shifting luster, offering it to Mercenary Tao with an exceptionally deferential posture.
"Lord... Mercenary Tao. This is the proprietary formula Mr. Gojo and I successfully plundered from within the hidden parameters of the Sentry Project facility. Its structural worth on the ledger is monumentally high. Even if your vessel fails to lock onto the necessary adaptational parameters to safely extract the full authority of the Sentry, its absolute quality will by no means sit a single fraction below the Scarlet threshold..."
Kaito Shirogane made a sharp, pulling motion with his left hand, a precise wave of kinetic suction force cleanly wrapping the metallic vial to bring it straight into his obsidian palm.
[Notification: You have obtained the Item: Golden Sentry Serum (World's Rare Treasure).]
[Item: Golden Sentry Serum]
Quality Classification: World's Rare Treasure.
Narrative Profile: A manufactured product harvested from the parameters of the Sentry Project; an absolute miracle cede to reality under the direct gaze of a Supreme Cosmic Entity.
Mechanical Utility 1: Submitting this artifact directly to the Space terminal will credit your ledger with A-Rank Singularity * 2 and 30,000 Dimension Points.
Mechanical Utility 2: Executing a direct, unmitigated consumption of this serum will trigger unpredictable, highly volatile systemic alterations based on the Reincarnator's individual baseline Adaptability metrics. (Unmapped outcomes include, but are not limited to: Absolute Attribute Escalation, Activation of Unmapped Lineages, Terminal Existential Framework Collapse, Permanent Sub-Atomic Genetic Damage, Immediate Systemic Death.)
Evaluating the text, Kaito Shirogane remained entirely un-shocked. To speak with absolute candor, the exact microsecond Hakumen had proactively detailed her intent to map the Golden Sentry Serum, his sharp intuition had already cleanly parsed the structural limitations of the item.
While the chronological logs of the native universe painted the birth of [The Sentry] as a direct consequence of swallowing this specific chemical serum, the material reality was nothing more than a highly localized, anomalous event. Or to examine it through a cleaner diagnostic lens: the fluid had merely acted as a biological trigger for Robert Reynolds, allowing his cells to execute an impossible mutation that forcefully and flawlessly threw open a structural door connecting straight to the energetic reserve of a full Omnipotent Universe.
He had subsequently harvested a power metric equivalent to the concussive force of a million exploding suns from behind that door.
But the absolute, foundational source of that cosmic authority did not reside within the chemical compounds of the fluid.
In truth, examining it through the current technological baseline of the Marvel cinematic universe, the corporate assets lacked the scientific capital required to artificially manufacture an organism touching that celestial tier of power.
The serum was a mere anchor; Robert Reynolds himself was the absolute singular individual who had been proactively endowed with that structural potentiality under the direct gaze of a Supreme Entity.
The exact millisecond Kaito's focus locked onto the first mechanical utility, he identified the signature methodology of the Infinite Dimension Space. The absolute highest strategic value of this vial lay in ceding it to the Space terminal to allow the system to smoothly digest and integrate the proprietary chronological data it contained. This artifact functioned as an active informational key that held a direct, unyielding alignment connecting to a highly advanced worldline where an absolute powerhouse had completed his ascension.
He methodically stored the vial away before executing a brief nod.
"Clean work. You've performed exceptionally well on this objective, Hakumen."
Hakumen maintained her synthetic smile as she smoothly stepped back into the shadows, her mind perfectly aware of the massive contribution weight the item held on his ledger.
Subsequently, Madara Uchiha stepped forward, casually tossing a limp figure onto the concrete.
"Deep within this creature's neural architecture lies the absolute entirety of the proprietary technological data your squad tracked."
Kaito executed a lazy flick of his finger. Before the body could even make contact with the floor, a precise wave of kinetic energy forcefully diverted its trajectory, launching the asset straight toward Hakumen's position. Hakumen was forced to snap her arms out to anchor the heavy load, her mind cleanly registering the implication: the tedious, grimy labor of forcefully interrogating and extracting data structures was still an assignment his engine expected her to execute.
Yet despite her irritation, the exact millisecond her thoughts finalized the realization, a distinct wisp of deep-seated professional validation pulsed within her mind—the absolute confirmation that Mercenary Tao was beginning to continuously and aggressively "employ" her assets, verifying her baseline utility on his ledger!
The corners of Kaito Shirogane's mouth curled into a sharp smile. Utilizing his active [Hyper-Empathy], that tiny, jumping spark of validation deep within Hakumen's dark psyche was flawlessly and sharply beamed directly into his own consciousness. It was an extraordinary revelation: even an entity as fundamentally twisted, dark, and gloomy as Hakumen could naturally, effortlessly extract that caliber of pure mental joy over a trivial interaction of this nature...
An immensely dense, suffocating wave of pure envy violently locked onto Kaito's soul. He was an insatiable, ravenous freak by nature; registering that his own framework had been structurally denied an entire spectrum of human emotion, his [Lonely Envious Flame] looked as if it were on the verge of performing a full volcanic ignition across his cells.
Minato Namikaze offered a slightly embarrassed, self-deprecating wave of his hand before methodically stepping out to anchor himself near the edge of the corridor. He lacked a clear diagnostic to verify whether his proprietary information resources had suffered a structural failure; he had patiently maintained his ambush over the Sanctum's coordinates for a substantial window, yet right up until the exact microsecond Kaito's fist forced a continental submersion across New York, the hidden Sanctum had completely failed to expose its parameters.
He had been completely denied an operational window to slip inside to plunder the mystical archives.
However, the Yellow Flash was structurally the single individual among the gathered generals who held the absolute most detached, indifferent stance regarding the acquisition of a resurrection quota. He had historically accepted his terminal end while successfully protecting his bloodline and his village, and having systematically extracted the grander trajectory of his universe's continuity from the lips of the Millennium Bug, his soul retained absolutely zero regrets.
Kaito Shirogane cede a completely indifferent, vacant absence of focus to a character whose spirit was as flawlessly noble as Minato's. Shifting his gaze, his absolute focus locked straight onto the small child.
Peter Parker. The young Spider-Man...
This was an asset who, if systematically executed right now, would highly, statistically likely credit his ledger with an A-Rank Singularity; and had it not been for his current youth severely depressing his raw muscle density, his structural classification as a focal nexus character would have easily scaled the reward straight to the S-Rank benchmark.
In other words, a primary Child of the World anchoring the chronological weight of this universe.
Black Face unhinged his jaw, his voice flat:
"Deep within his biological framework, a wisp of a highly specialized, divine power signature has indeed completed a micro-activation..."
Kaito Shirogane refrained from allocating a single line of focus toward the parameters of [The Spider-Totem]. This was similarly a strategic data thread Hakumen had proactively excavated from her records, suggesting that within specific alternate timelines, a Reincarnator could unlock an exceptionally high-priority, specialized quest line by isolating that divinity.
But Kaito had already harvested a monumental ocean of high-tier assets from within this specific world cycle. At this exact microsecond, his absolute primary focus was locked onto the structural parameters of [The Stairway of Binary Paradox]—that monster thirteen-tier engine—and the incoming orbital entry of [The Primordial Dragon Court].
"Hakumen. If your intelligence can genuinely extract a valid quest chain mapping the Spider-Totem directly from his biology, I shall officially grant you the next absolute quota for a full Resurrection..."
Hearing the words, Hakumen's entire cognitive process rigidly froze for a fraction of a second, before an uncontrollable, near-hysterical wave of pure ecstasy violently stormed her mind.
She knew with absolute professional candor that were positions inverted, she would have sooner burned every scrap of her power to ensure Kaito Shirogane remained permanently chained to the logs as a dead spirit. But...
She forced her narrow eyes up to evaluate Mercenary Tao. Sitting within the smoldering concrete of that broken skyscraper, completely flanked by an infinite legion of monster-tier spirits, his broken frame nonetheless exuded a wave of absolute, unyielding presence that cleanly replicated the majesty of a Monarch commanding his Throne. A highly unique, unmapped emotional thread crystallized within her dark heart.
This monster, though he operated as an unrefined wild beast, though he was nothing more than an unfeeling aberration devoid of a human soul, was nonetheless the undisputed, absolute apex among his classification of predators—a freak who truly, flawlessly possessed the genuine aura of a Conqueror!
Hakumen's clinical mind historically held a deep-seated contempt for the historical archives and heroic chronicles that systematically painted successful conquerors with glorious brushstrokes of heroism. Yet at this exact microsecond, she genuinely registered a sharp, stinging wave of psychological displacement within her own ego.
That was a profound, unyielding realization of the absolute chasm separating her own capacity from the monumental [Vessel Capacity] wielded by the individual known as Kaito Shirogane.
"Hmph. See to it that you don't harbor a single line of regret down the line~"
Hakumen's vocal cadence aggressively accelerated into a sharp, high-intensity pitch, the streams of sub-zero blue fire flaring across her back igniting with fresh momentum as if her very guardian spirit had executed a sudden threshold evolution.
Amassing a concrete, unyielding hope for a true resurrection, that from-the-inside-out explosion of pure psychological motivation and drive was an exceptionally novel, fascinating metric for Kaito's empathic grid to scan.
Humanity... truly is an extraordinarily amusing breed of organisms...
But right on the heels of the realization, a passing wave of pure contempt for their biological limitations rippled through his core; despite possessing a [Heart] that housed a spectrum of sensory data this profoundly beautiful, they remained so pathetically, structurally weak...
"Subsequently, evaluating the operational parameters of this specific campaign..."
"Satoru Gojo. The Millennium Bug. The two of you proactively committed your full capacities to the engagement, forcefully cornering Solomon into burning through his John's Pen Mode subroutine. Your actions represent an absolute, high-priority Merit on my ledger!"
The Millennium Bug was completely devoid of acoustic processing, yet because his narrow eyes had remained flawlessly, intensely locked onto mapping the micro-expressions of Kaito's face, the exact microsecond the host's focus pivoted to lock onto their silhouettes, tracking the kinetic formation of his lips, his spiritual heart delivered a succession of frantic, concussive thuds.
His sharp intuition verified that his diagnostics were flawless. Mercenary Tao... was on the verge of executing a full Resurrection on his form!
At this exact microsecond, Satoru Gojo's countenance failed to present a single wisp of the ecstatic celebration one would estimate. Forcing his frame to stand up, the chaotic currents of cursed energy pulsing across his skin were slowly and methodically pulled back into his core.
"Ha~ you absolute bastard. Your face is completely, flawlessly telegraphing that your mind is calculating an entirely separate line of malicious exploitation!"
He threw his arms wide. Existing as highly likely the absolute singular entity among the bound spirits who held the most exhaustive, intimate understanding of their host's psychological profile, he cede zero credit to the farcical notion that Mercenary Tao was executing a resurrection out of a standard, moral respect for "merit".
That behavioral pattern completely and flawlessly violated the structural baseline of this monster's character.
Identical to the exact microsecond of that first resurrection sequence back then: despite the system contract explicitly dictating that the bound spirits must launch a non-discriminatory deathmatch to harvest the quota, the moment Black Face weaponized his quick-draw to cleanly slaughter the assets, Kaito had casually bypassed the parameters to forcefully cede the resurrection straight to that knight maiden.
Satoru Gojo had parsed the mechanical reality with absolute clarity. At this precise nexus of the operation, the only reason this insane host was preparing to drag his soul back into material life was explicitly because his analytical matrix had mapped a highly specialized, specialized vector where his assets could be thoroughly weaponized to feed the engine.
But regardless of the exploitation...
"Bring it on. Cede your instructions and let me be thoroughly, completely exploited by your hand one more time. After all... who can deny... that the two of us are absolute soul-mates~"
Gojo adopted a posture that suggested total, unmitigated compliance to his fate, yet his silver hair was flaring rigidly toward the ceiling down to the root, and the spectral red chains punching through his back were violently illuminating the masonry. Evidently, his inner ego was far from as detached as his flippant voice pretended.
The corners of Kaito Shirogane's mouth curled into an exceptionally wide grin.
Heh~
Evaluating this highly specialized entity who stood balanced right on the razor-sharp boundary separating a standard human ego and a high-tier non-human aberration, scanning the magnificent, extraordinary matrix of complex emotion swirling within his core, his sharp intuition concluded that this programmatic decision was mathematically, flawlessly correct.
[Do you wish to deploy the Item: All the World's Evil?]
[CONFIRM]
~~~
Get early access to 50+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 2 extra chapters
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter