Chapter 423: Stages

The report was not finished. Clone 10 was working on why he came to this world: turning the Otsutsuki’s God Tree into a way to absorb and condense a Mana or Knowledge Fruit.

The result of this research was relatively fast, mainly because of Neville’s study of the Mana Tree. Before the leyline nodes were activated, Neville Longbottom created a unique tree that would absorb mana from the nodes and release it in the environment through photosynthesis; it was a groundbreaking invention.

Subsequently, after discovering the Mana Grid, Edward tasked Neville with creating a Tree that directly drew mana from the grid. He wanted to prepare in case something happened to the leyline nodes one day, and the Empire would not have any problems accessing more mana.

Furthermore, there are many planets in the Milky Way Galaxy with no leyline nodes or access to mana. The Empire will install Energy Converters on these planets to convert heat from the sun, life energy from the planet, or water energy from the ocean into mana. However, if Neville can succeed in his research, the Empire only needs to plant the new Mana Trees on these planets and grant them man directly from the Mana Grid.

And one day, Edward wants to create the Mana Grid himself. According to his theory, the Magus Race probably created the grid.

With this research, Clone 10 successfully modify the God Tree to condense Mana Fruit. He even established a purification system in the tree to purify the mana during the process of condensation. Furthermore, he modified the tree to condense Soul Fruits and fruits of other forms of energy.

Despite this success, Edward’s objectives have not been entirely achieved. Firstly, the God Tree has not been tested on whether it can absorb the mana or energy of an entire plane. Secondly, Clone 10 has not found a way to condense a Knowledge Fruit.

Finally, there were Clones 11 and 12. Clone 11 studied the Karma Seal of the Otsutsuki Clan, which is another form of reincarnation magic. By choosing a vessel and planting a seal on them, a person can revive themselves after death by taking over the vessel’s body.

The Karma Seal has excellent potential for Plane Invasion since Arcanists might not have to take the danger of reincarnating. Instead, they can choose a vessel and assume the identity of the chosen person, thus achieving the purpose of infiltrating a plane without the detection of the Universe’s Will.

“Did you find the Kara Group?” asked Edward.

“No, they don’t exist in this timeline, so I search on others,” replied Clone 11, and Edward nodded. As for Clone 12, his research was on Hidan, the Akatsuki’s member. Edward was interested in his immortality.

The result was not surprising that he was similar to a Horcrux. He was connected to an entity called Jashin, and as long as that entity was alive, he was immortal. Clone 12 was preparing a legion to attack that entity and capture it for study.

After listening to these reports, Edward dismissed the clones before doing his own thing. After seeing the title of Legendary Arcanist from the Akashic Record, he thought about giving names to Arcanists of different Tiers. He did not like the entire concept of Tier 6 Planetary or Tier 7 Star level.

‘Tier 0 will obviously be called Arcane Apprentice. Now, what bout from Tier 1 to 3? Should I use Bronze, Silver, and Gold?’

If he followed that logic, Tier 4 would be Platinum, Tier 5 Diamond.

‘No, I already used a similar system on the different types of Tier 5 Arcanists.’

Edward did not like this classification.

‘Should I use the Morning Star System?’

Tier 6 would be Morning Star Arcanist, Tier 7 would be Radiant Moon Arcanist, and Tier 8 would be Breaking Dawn.

‘Too much plagiarism. Plus, what about Tier 9 and 10.’

He pondered even longer, trying to come up with a name that pleased him. He thought about using 1 Star to 10 stars, but that’s the same as the Tier 1 to 10 systems.

‘Tier 0 is Apprentice, Tier 1-3 is Beginner Arcanist, Tier 4 is Intermediate, Tier 5 is Advance Arcanist, Tier 6 is Master Arcanist, Tier 7 is Grand Arcanist, and Tier 8 is Supreme Arcanist. What about Tier 9 and 10? I feel Tier 11 should be Transcendent Arcanist. I want to use the word Legendary, but that’s already occupied by arcanists who wield Conceptual Magic.’

He could not think of a name for a while, so he asked Morgana.

“How about Enlightened Arcanist for Tier 9 and Arcane Sage for Tier 10,” suggested the little elf.

“Arcane Sage sounds okay, but I feel it’s missing something,” muttered Edward.

“What about Enlightened Arcanist?”

“I don’t like it.” His words made her puff in anger, so she instantly created an algorithm to suggest millions of names for him. His lips twitched before saying, “I’ll look at it later.”

Then, he disappeared; he wanted to check on the progress of conquering this planet. Nothing much changed on the surface beside the lasting peace between nations. The golems did not force the Empire’s customs like fashion and other stuff on the Ninja World. The approach is much more subtle, using education, marketing, and propaganda to slowly influence them and integrate them into the Empire.

Although this process is slow, it’s a sure way to lessen the impact and prevent things like rebellion or protest.

After checking the surroundings, Edward searched for Tsunade back in the Hidden Leaf Village, but she was not there. So, he scanned the entire planet. His lips twitched after finding her location.

He teleported to the Land of the Sand, to be specific, to a casino. One of the plans to develop the Land of the Sand economy is to turn it into a center of entertainment, thus boosting its economy.

And as expected, Edward found her playing roulette. A bunch of people were next to her, and they would choose the opposite whenever she picked a color. And they would win every time.

“I can’t believe your luck is so bad even with the Luck Potion.”

“Oh my god, you startled me,” said Tsunade, jumping slightly as she held her heart. Well, Edward was momentarily dazed.

“I will have you know, I won thrice today, and my eyes are up here,” said Tsunade with excitement. She loved gambling, but she had never won in her life. But today, she was not once, not twice, but three times.

“With the potion, you should have won every time,” said Edward. “I’ve even ordered people not to activate the Luck Suppressing Enchantment to allow you to cheat, but you still could not win.”

Tsunade was embarrassed as she did not expect to have so many advantages but was still losing terribly.

“Whatever. Instead of saying these things, why don’t you give me a few more potions.”

Edward pondered for a moment before agreeing. Normally, it would have an adverse effect if someone took more than one Felix Felicis Potion. However, Tsuande’s luck seemed abnormal whenever it came to her gambling. So, he wanted to know what would happen. Anyway, no harm will happen to her with him around.

Nevertheless, he told her about the possible side effects and to decide whether she wanted to drink more than one.

“Are you here?” said Tsunade before drinking another two vials. The potion quickly took effect, and for the next 10 minutes, her luck became extraordinary, and she won everything she tried. However, afterward, it returns to its original abysmal state.

“Give more.”

Edward gave her five more vials, and her luck lasted 20 minutes.

“Fascinating. You have no side effect, but the time limit of your increase of luck is truly odd.” One potion would increase a person’s luck for a minimum of 1 hour. However, five vials could only last Tsunade 20 minutes.

“One day, you should study the anomaly of your luck.”

“Don’t mention these things now. Give me a few more potions.” She had never felt the adrenaline rush of constantly winning and making money; the feeling was intoxicating.

“I don’t have anymore.”

“Don’t be cheap. You’re literally a ruler with incalculable wealth.” After saying that, Tsunade realized she could access all that money if she…She shook her head to not think about it–it was too tempting.

“I do not need to brew so many luck potions.”

“Right, you know the recipe, so brew some for me.”

“No, but you can learn and do it yourself.”

“That’s a good idea.” Then, she immediately left with the determination to learn how to brew Luck Potion.

Edward shook his head before teleporting away to see someone.

“It’s you,” said Itachi Uchiha after seeing Edward appearing before him.

(AN: Any ideas for the name for Tier 9 and 10? I’m open to suggestions. Or, maybe you prefer the Tier 6 Planetary System better. Leave a comment.)