Chapter 059.2: Kumoko Has Finally Transformed into Human Form!
Finally, it was time for Manda's reward. Manda wasn't too concerned about it since it had already agreed to give the reward to Orochimaru. Orochimaru, in turn, promised to provide him with a large number of sacrifices.
[Orochimaru: I hope this reward is worth it!]
On the screen, a reward item appeared—a disgusting piece of flesh, seemingly pulsating.
[Strange Monster Cells of the Big Snake: Consuming them causes one to mutate into a strange creature, drastically increasing physical attributes and strength, but with the drawback of becoming extremely grotesque.]
[Tsunade: This Strange Cells is so gross! Who would dare eat it?]
[Jiraiya: Summoned creatures don't care about that, and neither do some humans, like Orochimaru. He'd eat it without a second thought, no matter how disgusting it is.]
[Orochimaru: Jiraiya knows me well. This thing can enhance my strength, and despite the drawbacks, the potential gain is worth it. Why wouldn't I eat it?]
[Kakuzu: This is quite good. Manda's ranking isn't high, but it still got a decent reward. The body mutating isn't a big deal.]
[Hidan: Yeah, body mutations aren't that big of a deal. Sasori of the Red Sand turned his entire body into a puppet, practically losing his humanity. All for the sake of power—it's normal!]
[Mei Terumi: Mutating into a strange creature? Even if it could increase my strength a hundredfold, I wouldn't want it!]
"Orochimaru, I've transferred the Strange Cells to you. Where are my sacrifices?" Manda asked impatiently.
"They're right over there. Go enjoy," Orochimaru said, pointing to a spot not far away.
"Great!"
Manda eagerly rushed over, and soon, sounds of miserable cries echoed from that direction.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru extracted the Strange Cells. He didn't consume them immediately, not out of fear of potential side effects—he wasn't afraid of that at all. His own body had already been transformed into a white-scaled serpent, making him hardly human anymore.
"To just eat it would be a waste. If I can study the Strange Cells and cultivate them, I could create a large quantity of Strange Cells. Then I could develop an army of strange creatures!" Orochimaru thought.
With that, he took the Strange Cells to his laboratory for careful research.
Next, the green snake of Ryūchi Cave also received a reward item. One by one, more rewards were revealed. The sages Fukasaku and Shima of Mount Myōboku also received rewards, though their rankings were relatively low, so their rewards were only mediocre. Still, these rewards were incredibly valuable to others.
In Konoha, at the headquarters of Root, Danzo held a white jade piece—the reward given to Baku from the livestream. The jade was called the Warm Spirit Jade, a supportive item that couldn't increase strength but could alleviate physical discomfort and improve mental clarity.
For Danzo, it was a decent treasure. For example, the backlash from the Hashirama Cells he had transplanted could be suppressed by the Warm Spirit Jade, something he had previously been unable to do despite numerous attempts.
"No wonder it's a reward from the Golden List. Even with such a low ranking, the treasure granted is so extraordinary."
Danzo was inwardly impressed.
The only thing that displeased him was that the Golden List had exposed much of his secrets, making his position in Konoha more precarious, and he was subtly being pushed to the sidelines. However, the situation was not yet dire.
"Next, I'll carefully scout for talent and secretly cultivate them. Once I've accumulated enough, I'll definitely obtain more rewards from the Golden List and perhaps even change my future fate of death."
Danzo said coldly.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the rewards for the Pet Ranking List had finally reached the last announcement.
As the reward for the 100th place was revealed, it marked the conclusion of this Pet Ranking event.
At that moment, the Golden List livestream announced the timing for the next ranking release.
[One year later, the next ranking will be announced!]
[Hashirama Senju: It's going to take a year before the next ranking is revealed!]
[Tobirama Senju: A year is a bit long. It seems the intervals between rankings will get longer.]
[Fourth Raikage: I'm curious about what the next ranking will be. Maybe it'll be a Ninjutsu Ranking!]
[Hashirama Senju: If it's a Ninjutsu Ranking, many of my techniques would definitely make it.]
[Hiashi Hyuga: If it really is a Ninjutsu Ranking, the Sage of Six Paths' techniques might dominate it.]
[Madara Uchiha: The techniques from the Sage of Six Paths' era weren't all that powerful. It was just the beginning stage of ninjutsu, and it was his Six Paths power, Rinnegan, and Sage Arts that made him so formidable.]
[White Snake Sage: It might even be a Sage Art Ranking!]
As everyone was chatting, the livestream abruptly closed, leaving only those who had made the list able to continue talking. Those who hadn't were unable to speak and could only watch the others.
Suddenly, the number of people in the livestream decreased significantly.
Without the rankings to reveal, the number of people chatting naturally dwindled as well.
Boom!
A powerful aura emanated from Garaga's training chamber.
"Hahaha, my strength has improved significantly!"
Garaga emerged from his training. After refining the True Dragon Pill, the power of the flood dragon within him surged, and the purity of his dragon bloodline increased, bringing him closer to becoming a true dragon.
His strength had increased by nearly fifty percent compared to before.
"Keep it down. Kumoko is still evolving, don't disturb her!" Ye Tian said coldly.
"Yes, Master!" Garaga immediately toned down, reining in his aura, and obediently stood still like a good child.
Meanwhile, Ye Tian and the three women—Honghong, Yaya, and Rongrong—were all waiting for Kumoko to complete her evolution.
Time passed slowly.
At the Akatsuki base, Nagato gathered the Akatsuki members for another meeting.
"Everyone, the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts must continue. The Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails are powerful, so we'll leave them for later. First, capture all the other Tailed Beasts."
"Itachi, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, Kakuzu, and Hidan, you'll be busy for a while. White Zetsu has already located the Jinchuriki. His clones will guide you to them."
"Yes, Leader!" responded the Akatsuki members.
The next day, Ye Tian sensed the energy sphere around Kumoko violently trembling and realized that she was about to complete her evolution.
"Master, do you think Kumoko has successfully evolved?" Honghong asked nervously.
After all, Kumoko had a close relationship with the three sisters, so they were naturally anxious about her evolution. They all hoped she would succeed.
"Don't worry, she's succeeded. If there had been a problem with the evolution, I would have intervened long ago," Ye Tian said with a smile.
At that moment, the energy sphere tore open, and a perfect figure stepped out, clad in black demonic armor.
Ye Tian looked over. Kumoko had fully transformed into a humanoid form—small, cute, and absolutely adorable.
"Wow, Kumoko is so cute!" Honghong couldn't help but rush over and hug Kumoko tightly.
"Sister Honghong, I finally evolved successfully!" Kumoko exclaimed excitedly.
At this point, Ye Tian also walked over and asked, "Kumoko, how much has your strength improved?"
"A lot!" Kumoko felt the overwhelming power of the Demon King within her. "Master, my strength has increased at least fivefold, and my abilities have also significantly expanded."
However, for Kumoko, the power increase was secondary. What mattered most was that she had finally taken on a human form and could serve her master. Before, she had to watch as Sister Honghong and the others attended to their master, which made her anxious to help as well.
At that moment, Rongrong spoke up, "Kumoko, you should check the Golden List livestream. Your Pet Ranking reward has been announced, and you can claim it now."
"Oh right, I haven't claimed my reward yet!" Kumoko realized, and quickly entered the Golden List livestream.