Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 104 Xiao Nan, you didn't want this either...

"..."

Ban suddenly woke up from his sleep.

As he got older, and in recent years he participated in several high-intensity battles that were not originally planned, the burden on his body increased further.

Ban hasn't had a proper rest in a long time.

"...That brat Nagato actually took the Gedo Mazo. That's too early."

Ban looked back at the empty space behind him, somewhat puzzled.

It's definitely too early. Given the current situation, what kind of enemy did Nagato encounter that would make him so eager to take away that huge Gedo Mazo?
It wasn't that he was reluctant to lose the Gedo Mazo; it was simply that it had disrupted Madara's plans once again.

As for why I say "again"... well, just look at what has happened in the past two years and you'll understand.

"Lord Madara, the situation has been confirmed. Nagato and his group have been attacked. Shimura Danzo, Orochimaru, and Kaede Tsukasa, who was resurrected by Orochimaru through Edo Tensei, are besieging Nagato."

Black Zetsu and White Zetsu can sense things through the roots of plants in the earth, which also facilitates the movement and information transmission of White Zetsu. At this moment, the White Zetsu is recounting the latest information.

Afei exaggeratedly took three steps back: "Huh? This is terrible! Kaede Tsukasa has actually come back to life. Lord Madara spent so long preparing and finally managed to kill him... but he actually died."

"It's just Edo Tensei, a little trick developed by Tobirama Senju." Madara indeed looked down on Edo Tensei; the resurrected ninjas were pitifully weak, their greatest value being the activation of Mutual Explosion Tags.

However, using it to revive a ninja like Kaedeji seems just right, because Kaedeji doesn't need to take action himself; he can summon a large number of zombies to fight, which is enough to give Orochimaru and Danzo a huge boost out of thin air.

Afei bit his finger, thought for a moment, and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no! Nagato took away the Gedo Mazo! Does that mean that Lord Madara can no longer use the Gedo Mazo to prolong his life? What are we going to do? Judging from Lord Madara's appearance, he could die at any moment."

"You'd better say less, I have a feeling you're going to get killed by Lord Madara..." White Zetsu felt a chill run down his spine as he secretly observed Madara's expression.

Yes, as indifferent as ever, seemingly neither angry nor impatient about it.

Madara slowly said, "I have obtained Obito. He is very talented. Once I transplant White Zetsu cells into him, it will further accelerate the process of him awakening his Sharingan. At that time, whether I live or die will not matter."

If it weren't for Obito, and Nagato had taken the Gedo Mazo, Madara would have been really worried. He hadn't made proper arrangements for his affairs after death, so how could he allow himself to die like that?
But now he's not in a hurry, especially after confirming that Kaedejima is dead and has been resurrected using Edo Tensei. His mood has improved.

"Next, we await Nagato's performance. This is his first dance as he steps into the ninja world, and the world will remember this moment for the rest of its life," Madara said.

Throughout the entire process, Black Zetsu remained silent, only reacting slightly when he heard the name Kaedejima, which was consistent with his persona as the embodiment of Kaedejima's will.

……

Danzo C went up.

"Whether it's Orochimaru or Kaede Tsukasa, whether they're alive or dead, they're no different from the dead. In the end, it's up to me to settle everything."

Danzo watched as the Baku he had summoned was about to be killed, and the zombies were even more vulnerable. The Gedo Mazo was easily killed in large numbers with just a few slaps.

He naturally pinned all the blame for preserving his strength on Orochimaru.

Using the Impure World Reincarnation to control Kaede Tsukasa, only to find that Kaede Tsukasa can only unleash this much power—what a joke! It would have been better not to revive Kaede Tsukasa in the first place, and for Orochimaru to personally take over; the effect would have been much better than this pathetic Corpse Release technique!
But never mind, Danzo never counted on Orochimaru from the beginning; he only trusted his own eyes.

"Ok?"

Danzo slightly raised his head, and as the Gedo Mazo suddenly let out a howl, a semi-transparent... dragon flew out of its mouth!

"I see. I was wondering why the Rinnegan's eye techniques weren't ordinary summoning techniques. It turns out the real eye techniques are here."

Danzo nodded secretly; that was the right way.

He recalled the information about Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. It was said that during the final battle at the Valley of the End, the two fought with "giant beasts"—the Nine-Tails, Susanoo, Wood Golem, Wood Dragon, True Several Thousand Hands, and so on.

According to Danzo's understanding, to reach the level of someone who can pacify the ninja world, one must at least possess a high-class summoning beast, so that one will not be at a disadvantage when the enemy summons a behemoth and has no means to deal with it.

"As expected, it is the Rinnegan. It also has the eye technique of summoning giant creatures to fight, which further proves that this is a signature ability of powerful ninjas. Moreover, it can control this ugly summoning beast to use special powers."

Danzo completely disregarded the perilous situation of his summoned beast. If he could use the life of a giant tapir to glean useful information, it would be well worth it.

Swish!
The illusory dragon charged out and immediately pounced on the tapir that was being held down by the demonic statue. As if it were invisible, it passed through the tapir's body in an instant. But when it flew out of the tapir's body, it clearly had an illusory spirit in its mouth.

"...A soul? Just a touch, and it bit out the Baku's soul. Is this a sealing technique like the Reaper Death Seal?"

Danzo remained unmoved; it was essentially just a sealing technique, nothing serious.

But then he frowned, because the dragon did not return to the demonic statue of the Outer Path, but instead moved across the battlefield at an even faster speed.

Because the zombies had no souls, they were only deprived of some of their chakra, causing their movements to become distorted.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!"

Nagato's figure became even thinner, and he controlled the Illusionary Dragon Nine Seals to rush towards Danzo. This made Danzo hesitate for a moment, and he quickly retreated, brushing past the illusory dragon.

But Nagato's target was never Danzo, or even Orochimaru, but... Kaede Tsukasa!

Kaede looked calmly at the dragon rushing straight at him: "If you get hit by this thing, the consequences will be dire."

If we disregard the ability to cut off tailed beasts, the Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon is indeed superior to the Reaper Death Seal in terms of practicality alone. At least Nagato wouldn't die after using the Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon, and he could seal the souls of a large number of enemies in one go.

“Kaze-kun.” Orochimaru looked at Kaede-kun.

Kaede Tsukasa formed a hand seal, about to use the Void Realm Technique to escape. Of course, he wouldn't take Orochimaru with him; he didn't believe Orochimaru would die so easily.

"Don't even try to escape!"

Nagato roared, unleashing the power of his Rinnegan.

In Kaede Tsukasa's senses, everything in front of him seemed to be covered by endless spirals, and both his body and mind felt as if they were carrying a mountain on their backs, unable to move at all.

"Eye power pressure... what a useful ability."

Kaede Tsukasa's expression remained unchanged. This, like Shinra Tensei and Bansho Ten'in, is a basic eye technique of the Rinnegan, capable of achieving an effect similar to a binding technique.

This is also what makes the Rinnegan so outrageous. The instantaneous, hand seal-free techniques that ordinary ninjas dream of are readily available to those with the Rinnegan, and each one is exceptionally powerful and practical.

These are just the most basic eye techniques.

Just then, the Nine-Sealed Dragon had rushed in front of him. As soon as it touched him, it could bite out his soul in one fell swoop.

Kaede Tsukasa's eye suddenly spun and transformed into a three-tomoe Sharingan.

"The forbidden technique that I couldn't use on Madara can be used on you without any waste... However, my forbidden technique doesn't care about losses, but how long can your forbidden technique last?"

Swish!
The illusory dragon bit off Kaede Tsukasa's soul and tried to bite Orochimaru as well, but Orochimaru had already burrowed into the ground, leaving only a shell behind. This was another practical test of the Orochimaru Substitution Technique.

"It's done!"

Nagato was panting heavily, his entire body reduced to skin and bones, his appearance exactly the same as that of Kaedeji Tsukasa, who had struggled against the germs for many years.

He manipulated the Gedo Mazo to swallow Kaedeji's soul whole. Only after confirming that Kaedeji was truly sealed did he breathe a sigh of relief, and two streams of blood gushed from his nostrils.

Given his current condition, the fact that he can still bleed instead of being drained by the demonic statue of the heretic path precisely demonstrates that he has suffered tremendous losses.

"Lord Kaedeji, from now on you'll have to stay inside the Gedo Mazo. But when I change this world in the future, you'll be gratified, won't you..."

Nagato looked exhausted, but forced himself to stay awake as he looked down at Danzo.

Without Kaedeji, at least they had a chance to escape. To make up for his guilt in sealing Kaedeji's soul, Nagato decided to send Danzo to see Kaedeji.

But this time, he dared not use the Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon; if he used it again, he would surely be turned into a dried corpse by the Heretic Demon Statue.

The Gedo Statue is enough!

"Your summoning beast is dead, Orochimaru has escaped, and you're all that's left... Shimura Danzo!" Nagato roared, looking down at the incredibly tiny Danzo below, feeling an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.

Yes, this is the man below who led his troops into the Land of Rain in the early stages of World War II, causing the deaths of his parents.

Danzo Shimura, the man who brought so much misfortune to the people of the Land of Rain, has finally met his end?!

Even with Nagato's indecisive nature, he couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilarating comfort at this moment. The severe physical exhaustion was nothing to Nagato; it was the price he had to pay to protect his comrades and gain power.

Danzo looked at the Gedo Mazo that was stepping on him, then looked down at the Sharingan on his arm. More than sixty seconds had passed, and now one of them had closed, leaving only one.

"Two minutes is enough to test his eye technique. Although the Rinnegan is powerful, Nagato is still very inexperienced and has revealed too much information to me. I must end this battle as soon as possible."

Danzo made up his mind to severely injure Nagato before his third Sharingan closed.

We'll decide whether to use the Sharingan in his eye sockets based on the situation at that time.

Danzo was initially very worried about the Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon technique. He was unsure whether Izanagi would still be effective if his soul were sealed inside the Gedo Mazo. The difference between the three-tomoe Sharingan and the Rinnegan was more than just one level.

But now there's no need to worry. Judging from Nagato's emaciated appearance, he probably doesn't have the ability to unleash such a terrifying sealing technique a second time.

"Since that's the case, then I'll show you my strength. It's not like I can't deal with such a powerful summoning beast." In a flash, Danzo snorted coldly, immediately devised a strategy, and tore open his clothes.

One mark after another appeared on the upper body.

"Nagato, I will accept your summoning beast," Danzo said slowly.

The Inner Four Symbols Seal!
boom!
A terrifying burst of chakra erupted from his body, and he was completely engulfed by the black sphere. The black sphere rapidly expanded, its interior clearly an endless, deep black, like a black hole, silently swallowing everything it touched.

The demonic statue's large foot landed squarely on the black sphere of the Inner Four Symbols Seal, and it was sealed by the sealing technique, immediately letting out a scream.

This intense pain was also deeply felt by Nagato through the black rod inserted into his body.

"A sealing technique that results in mutual destruction?"

Nagato listened to the screams of the Gedo Mazo and fell into a brief silence. The last time he saw this type of sealing technique was when Kaede Tsukasa fought Hanzo. At that time, he did not understand what was going on in that battle, but he gradually figured it out later.

but……

"How could a sealing technique of this level possibly harm my Gedo Mazo? Even if Lord Kaedeji came and used the technique he used back then, he would never be able to do it!"

Nagato was incredibly resolute, but then the Gedo Mazo drained another wave of his life force, making his face even paler and deathly pale, as if he might collapse at any moment.

Even her once vibrant red hair, a symbol of boundless vitality, was now visibly turning white.

After the aftershocks of the Four Symbols Seal dissipated, Nagato hurriedly looked down and saw the severely injured foot of the Outer Path Demon Statue.

However, it was only a serious injury; it appeared that a lot of "skin and flesh" was missing, but the foot was not lost.

"That's enough, Nagato, stop fighting. Your physical condition isn't right!"

Yahiko hurriedly shouted, "That's enough! Let's retreat immediately and stop fighting with those guys from Konoha!"

Nagato nodded with difficulty and released control over the Outer Path Demon Statue.

The enormous, deformed monster fell silent, standing still without a sound. Perhaps because it had received a replenishment of its life force, its expression became slightly more peaceful—but only slightly, as if it had finally found some solace after suffering immense pain.

That's when.

Danzo suddenly appeared behind Nagato, and as the third Sharingan on his forearm closed, he attacked once again.

"Next comes the battle that can be described with the eyes... Nagato."

Danzo reached out and grabbed Nagato's Rinnegan. His fingers almost touched the eye. He was extremely excited. Even if he only managed to take one eye this time, it wouldn't be a wasted trip.

"Shenra Tianzheng."

Nagato remained motionless, yet a powerful, indiscriminate repulsive force erupted from his body. It was incredibly violent, and at extremely close range, it caused widespread damage to Danzo's body, blasting Danzo away.

This time, Danzo couldn't hold back anymore.

"...So this eye technique doesn't require raising your hand, can be activated from any part of the body, and can even determine the direction of the spell?"

Danzo felt he had filled in the gaps in his knowledge about the Rinnegan, but it seemed too late. He could only hope that Orochimaru would seize the opportunity to make a move.

Yahiko, Konan, and the others had approached the Gedo Mazo and were moving closer to Nagato, while also warily looking around, clearly on guard against Orochimaru.

Considering the height of the Gedo Mazo, it would take Orochimaru several seconds to crawl around the Gedo Mazo at supersonic speed after emerging from the ground, thus minimizing the chances of a successful surprise attack on Nagato.

It seemed that Nagato and his group had stabilized, but at that moment, someone who shouldn't have been able to make a move did.

"not good!"

"Xiao Nan, watch out!"

Nagato and Yahiko turned their heads at the same time, looking on in shock.

Konan, who was still wary of the ground beneath her feet and on guard against Orochimaru, was about to leap onto the Gedo Mazo to join Nagato when she was suddenly attacked.

It wasn't Orochimaru who attacked her, but... several powerful zombies!

Terai then placed the blade against Konan's neck. The chakra flowing across the blade had already cut through Konan's skin, and a clear stream of blood was slowly flowing from the wound.

"Xiao Nan, are you okay?"

"Who are these people? They suddenly appeared..."

The other wandering ninjas were initially relieved and extremely excited, never expecting that the quiet Nagato would be so ridiculously strong, taking on three well-known Konoha ninjas by himself and still gaining an overwhelming advantage!
The future is bright, and Nagato will lead them to realize their ideals and change this country filled with disaster and misfortune.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Nan was subdued by several guys who suddenly appeared!

"It's a zombie..."

"What? These plump people are corpses? How is that possible?"

"If they really are zombies, then who is controlling them...? Wasn't he sealed away by Nagato? I saw it with my own eyes!"

Not to mention the wandering ninja who couldn't understand it, even Konan herself, who had been captured, was completely bewildered and had no idea why things had suddenly turned out this way.

Nagato gritted his teeth, recalling Kaedeji's sudden lowering of his head, and a near-absurd guess popped into his mind: "Could it be..."

"He also knows Danzo's technique? But if he knows that technique, why did he die? And then he was resurrected!" Yahiko was furious.

“That’s right, Nagato, Yahiko, you are both excellent ninjas with the most acute senses.”

Kaede Tsukasa's figure gradually appeared from nothing, maintaining a hand seal posture, and stood in front of Konan, scrutinizing her at close range without restraint.

One of his eyes had clearly turned grayish-white, which was clear evidence that Izanagi was used to rewrite reality. Even if a person resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation used this forbidden technique, they would still lose their sight.

Although Kaede Tsukasa didn't care at all.

“Lord Kaede…” Nagato looked dejected, then took a deep breath. “It was right of me to value you, but it seems I didn’t value you enough. I never expected you would also steal the eyes of the Uchiha clan.”

"This eye wasn't stolen from the Uchiha clan, but rather obtained from Orochimaru. The Uchiha clan's eye techniques can be extremely useful when used appropriately."

“…Please release Konan, I’m willing to go with you.” Nagato said without hesitation.

Yahiko opened his mouth, glancing at Nagato for a moment, then at Konan, his face showing a pained expression and deep hesitation.

Kaedeji will definitely use Konan's life as leverage to try and steal Nagato's Rinnegan...

While the three of them had indeed received kindness from Kaedeji, that was a separate matter.

"Damn Orochimaru..." Yahiko hated his own incompetence even more.

Konan resolutely declared, "Don't come any closer! Nagato is our hope, and I will absolutely not let the enemy—"

"Shut up, all of you. Who said I was going to get the Rinnegan?"

Kaede grabbed Konan's chin and slowly said, "My main target for this operation is you, Konan... To me, you are more important than the Rinnegan."

Rinnegan? Well, it is indeed a good thing. Kaede Tsukasa will eventually obtain his own Rinnegan or Tenseigan, reach the Six Paths level, and compete with those Otsutsuki for control of this planet.

But that's for the future. Compared to the Rinnegan, Konan's value is far greater.

This is the deterrent power brought by 600 billion explosive tags, and it is also the only paper-based secret technique ninja in the history of the ninja world.

"You seem to be quite good at making explosive tags, Konan... Speaking of which, my Edo Tensei body was originally designed to make it convenient to use readily available materials, grabbing fragments of my own body to activate multiplicative explosive tags."

This is why Edo Tensei ninjas are the most suitable, or even the only, to use Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags; their bodies, which can constantly repair themselves, are the raw materials for creating a massive number of explosive tags.

Konan's situation was even more outrageous than that of the Impure World Reincarnation. In any case, Kaede Tsukasa didn't believe that any level of Impure World Reincarnation ninja could pull out 600 billion explosive tags from his body.

Every time he sees an explosive tag, Kaede Tsukasa reminisces about the days when he was living hand to mouth. His only means of attack was to save up money to buy some explosive tags, then stick them on the zombies so that the zombies would perish together with the enemy.

Later, as his strength increased, Kaede Tsukasa rarely used this method anymore. He relied entirely on brute force against the horde of corpses, trying to preserve the enemy's corpses as intact as possible, which became the more mainstream fighting style.

No matter how much money you have, you can't put explosive tags inside every zombie; it's a bottomless pit.

But the magnanimous Minami will surely be able to fill this bottomless pit, bringing some comfort to Kaedeji's empty heart.

Moreover, even ignoring the compatibility between Paper Release and Corpse Release, Konan herself is a super powerful individual with immense potential. If Konan were given the Mutual Multiplication Explosion Talisman technique, her future would be even more limitless.

"What...what do you want to do?" Xiao Nan asked in a panic. "I will never let you succeed. I will never become a tool for you to threaten our companions!"

"I'm not interested in threatening your companions, I'm only interested in you, Xiao Nan. You haven't realized how much potential you're hiding!"

Kaede Tsukasa knocked Konan unconscious with a single blow, then stuffed a bunch of zombie viruses into her body before hoisting her onto his shoulder.

This is his greatest prize.

(End of this chapter)