Humans were foolish to the point where there was no saving them. As long as there were humans, humans would be foolish. This was something innate to humans, a sin that wouldn't disappear until death.

Only cleansing and evolution would be able to eliminate the sin of foolishness within human souls.

The only path forward was to cleanse the old humans and evolve into new humans, becoming a completely new species!

s.h.i.+nzen Tendo had long since believed this.

Yet, he knew that he was also a foolish human. He could only sigh about his own lack of intelligence and strength.

It was probably his limit to only be able to minorly cleanse or evolve himself despite all the hard work he put in.

s.h.i.+nzen had this self-realization as he silently worked hard and lived a life that wouldn't attract any attention.

If his life had continued on a normal track, it was highly likely that he would have an ordinary life no different from most others. There would be a small chance that he would die from an accident caused by one of his experiments, and an extremely tiny possibility that he would obtain a partial evolution like he wanted.

However, a certain person appeared in front of him and changed his fate.

"Do you want to become a G.o.d?"

That person asked s.h.i.+nzen Tendo this question.

Of course he wanted to become a G.o.d.

s.h.i.+nzen had long since hated foolish humanity. He was willing to pay any price in order to exceed humanity and become a G.o.d!

Yet, he knew that would be impossible.

He knew that he was low in ability. The only part he liked about himself was his own self-realization.

"It's impossible for humans to become G.o.ds, because it's impossible to change how foolish and vulgar humans are."

"I agree completely. It's precisely because of your wisdom that I chose you. You're completely correct, s.h.i.+nzen Tendo-san. It's impossible for people to truly become G.o.ds. But, if we lower the standards of what we define as a 'G.o.d', then it's still achievable," the person in front of s.h.i.+nzen responded with a gentle chuckle.

"A third-rate G.o.d won't be any different from a human. I have zero interest in becoming such a G.o.d." s.h.i.+nzen looked down on the very idea.

On Sakura Island, it was said that there were more than eight million G.o.ds living here. s.h.i.+nzen felt that such myths were absolutely ridiculous. To him, all those a.s.sorted so-called G.o.ds were nothing more than demons and spirits that had been crowned with the name of G.o.ds. True G.o.ds were supposed to be existences that were free from the mortal world, living in a realm that humans would never be able to reach. True G.o.ds were supposed to be indescribable.

"You're truly not interested at all? Although a third-rate G.o.d might actually be a different type of human, it's still different from being a human. I think that you've long since become tired of being human, isn't that right?" The person in front of s.h.i.+nzen smiled.

This person had a gentle att.i.tude along with a gentle expression. However, s.h.i.+nzen felt a chill as if he had been seen through completely.

"Indeed, I'm tired of being human. But, why should I believe you?"

"Simply because I'm your only chance… the only chance in your life to become the existence that you want to be."

This sentence truly struck s.h.i.+nzen deep in his heart.

His only chance.

He would never have such a chance again in his lifetime if he missed it. He would be forced to bear with the fate of being nothing but a foolish and useless human for the rest of his life!

s.h.i.+nzen could easily imagine such a future ahead of him.

He would be stuck in this ordinary human body, despairing, hating, being helpless, and finally dying like all other humans…

Bearing this sin of foolishness while being so insignificant, leaving no value or meaning behind in this world and universe!

In that case, did he really even need to choose?

"What exactly do you want to do?" s.h.i.+nzen inquired.

That person's handsome face smiled once again as he stated two things...

"Yasakani no Magatama.

"Susanoo no Mikoto."

...

"The Susanoo no Mikoto plan?"

"Yes. That is the top-secret plan in the Tendo Family regarding the Yasakani no Magatama. The specifics of the plan are unknown. However, it can be extrapolated that the end goal is to 'artificially create a G.o.d'," Meisei Sorin explained to Yui Haruta back at Soul Society.

Artificially creating a G.o.d was no new concept in this world. It could be said that this was one of the highest end goals of all spiritual ability users in the spiritual society, from ancient past to the present. The most obvious example of this would be the "Spirit-branded Retainers" that Yin Yang Masters contracted with, having spirits bond with other humans to create powerful retainers.

Using human power to create a G.o.d, control a G.o.d, and rule over a G.o.d… No matter what faction or family a spiritual ability user was from, this was basically one of the ultimate goals of all factions and families.

As one of the seven major Yin Yang Master families, it would be unsurprising for the Tendo Family to have such a scheme. However, the Tendo Family had broken a major taboo in spiritual society by tampering with the Yasakani no Magatama, which was supposed to be shared by the seven major families. Just what exactly could their plan have been for them to be willing to incur such a major risk?

"The plan is considered absolutely top-secret within the Tendo Family. Even Kouran Tendo, whom we just captured, doesn't know too much about it. All he was able to tell us was that this plan was started ten years ago with the incident where s.h.i.+nzen Tendo attempted to steal the Yasakani no Magatama and was executed for it. The Tendo Family's Susanoo plan has continued in secret ever since. The current family head, Sougo Tendo, has personally carried out all aspects of the plan for the past ten years. He hasn't allowed a single other person to take charge of this plan."

"So, only the Tendo Family's head knows the complete details of this plan."

"That's right. In order for us to learn the truth, the only option will be to attack and capture Sougo Tendo."

Attack and capture the head of the Tendo Family? This would be an outright declaration of war against the Tendo Family!

Although a declaration of war against the Tendo Family would also be alright considering what they had done, the timing was quite awful since the Realm of Cherry Blossoms was almost about to descend…

Not only that, the Tendo Family was somehow connected to the Realm of Cherry Blossoms. If full-blown war really broke out between Soul Society and the Tendo Family, would the Tendo Family use the Realm of Cherry Blossoms to do something?

If the situation went out of control, it was highly likely that the entire city would be destroyed!

"Do you have any ideas about what to do?" Yui furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ambush." Meisei calmly stated a single word.

Yui instantly understood. "If we fail…"

"If we fail, then prepare to suffer tremendous losses."

"That's no good…"

"This is the only method. Even if we can convince the other factions to a.s.sist us or at least not interfere, it will be impossible to convince the Tendo Family to hand over their family head to us. Besides, we have no time." Meisei Sorin had an icy expression in his eyes.

Allowing the situation to develop unimpeded was highly likely to cause unacceptable consequences!

That was why action needed to be taken, and swiftly at that.

Even though the risk was tremendous, even though failure might cause tremendous losses or destroy the entire city, action still needed to be taken!

Yui logically understood this, but found it difficult to accept.

She was still a teenage girl. She wasn't nearly as cold-blooded as Meisei Sorin.

A war was highly likely to begin here. And, the potential sacrifices would be the millions of ordinary citizens living in this city!

"There's still a little time, if we can come up with any other ideas…"

"I'd be truly grateful if you can come up with any other, better idea," Meisei said as he left the room.

Yui could only sit down in her chair with eyebrows tightly furrowed. She remained silent for an incredibly long period of time.

Then, the minotaur mask boy walked inside the room. He held a tube with black runes in his hands.

"This is the spirit that I took out of s.h.i.+gure's body…" Raizen Tendo handed the tube to Yui. He then paused for a moment. "…I suppose you can thank that brat for me."

"Is s.h.i.+gure Tendo alright?" Yui asked as she accepted the tube.

"Not really. He lost his left hand, and something seems to be odd about his mind… But he was originally an idiot who was slow and dense to begin with, so he'll probably recover."

"I will thank my younger brother for you. Don't forget to pay him."

Raizen: "…"

"How is the current situation?" Raizen changed the topic.

"Terrible. Only the head of the Tendo Family knows the complete truth about what happened," Yui told him.

After hearing this, since Raizen saw Yui's expression and also understood Meisei Sorin's personality, he instantly realized how severe the situation was.

"Could Meisei be intending to…"

"He's intending to do exactly what you think he is."

"He's insane…"

"I'd really like to say that, but Meisei's not insane." Yui sighed. "If we can't think of any better ideas in the little time we have left… We're going to have to prepare for total war."