Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 107 has approximately ten thousand.

Even if the latest version that Chiyo has mastered can only provide Kaedeji with a negligible improvement, it is still valuable.

To be honest, no matter how much Kaede Tsukasa assesses and calculates, he cannot determine exactly how many zombies will be needed to revive him. The consumption of integrating Hashirama's clone and Sharingan into this reanimated body is destined to be enormous.

If each zombie could gain a slight boost when casting a spell, multiplied by their sheer number, the result would be an astronomical figure.

"Now it depends on whether Scorpion can succeed. If he can, great; if not, it doesn't matter."

Kaede sat quietly on the sand dune, gazing silently into the distance.

Through the insects and other scattered zombies, Kaedeji is analyzing what's happening inside Sunagakure.

Scorpion's actions went very smoothly. Before long, he obtained the latest Reincarnation Technique, but he immediately had to stop and quietly look at the person blocking his way.

“Mother-in-law, I thought you went out on a mission,” Scorpion said.

“I did go out on a mission. When I discovered that the mechanism I left behind had been triggered, I immediately returned.” Chiyo looked at Sasori with disappointment.

"Really? It was a trap. So the magic I had was actually fake?"

“It’s true. If it were fake, it would be hard to fool you,” Chiyo said.

Scorpion put away the scroll in his hand: "I see, then I'm relieved. But why did you make that strange face? I've already done something like using my Reincarnation Technique to exchange for a Corpse Escape Technique that's useful to me, haven't I? This is just repeating the same thing."

“I’m not worried about that. I’ve already made preparations by placing the Reincarnation Technique here. I just didn’t expect that you would kill your best friend in order to achieve your goal.”

Chiyo was heartbroken: "I thought you had made a change."

"It has indeed changed. I would never have killed a bug before."

Scorpion's expression was cold. He felt increasingly unlike a normal person, and he felt that talking to others was a waste of time: "So, are you going to stop me?"

Where is Kaedeji Tsukasa?

"Who knows? But the distance shouldn't be too far. I'm also very curious about what he's planning to do, but even if you knew, you probably wouldn't understand. Only those who are also seeking immortality can understand his actions and thoughts. Now, step aside, Granny Chiyo, I'm going to see him."

Chiyo looked at Sasori's cold and resolute face, completely unable to believe that her grandson, whom she had raised with her own hands, had turned out like this. Overwhelmed with grief, she immediately took out her puppet.

"I won't let you act recklessly. I'm not only your grandmother, but also the village's advisor. Last time, letting you trade with a dangerous person like Kaede Tsukasa was already the limit of my tolerance. But this time, not only did you still want to make a deal, you even killed your companion."

Killing her comrade was the key to breaking Chiyo's defenses.

As for the trade? To put it bluntly, the Reanimation Jutsu was a forbidden technique developed by Chiyo herself and did not belong to Sunagakure. It's barely understandable that Sasori used this area to trade for the power of Corpse Release.

Although it was a shady deal, it couldn't be known by the other high-ranking members of Sunagakure.

However, if Sasori could obtain some of the Corpse Release techniques to improve his strength, it wouldn't be a bad deal—although Chiyo now sees this deal as a huge loss. Kaede Tsukasa used the Reanimation Jutsu to make up for his physical shortcomings and has since had a lot of chakra to squander, but Sasori hasn't produced any more advanced results in the past few years.

Young Sasori was indeed tricked by Kaedeji Tsukasa, only to receive a technique that was completely unusable.

"You've been brainwashed by that guy Kaedeji, Sasori! I don't know what he promised you, but it's all an illusion, not worth chasing after by killing your comrades!!"

Chiyo spoke sharply, manipulating the puppet to pounce on Sasori. Even if it meant breaking Sasori's limbs, she was determined to stop her grandson!
"Ha, if you're going to do it, then do it. Why bring up something that bothers me like this?"

Scorpion's mood worsened.

That transaction laid the foundation for Kaede Tsukasa to become a strong ninja in the ninja world, but Sasori did not gain anything of value—he firmly believed that with his talent, he could definitely crack the mystery of the Void Realm Technique and become the next space-time ninja.

But it all fell apart. He could indeed control a puppet to cast spells, but he couldn't make the puppet and the main body share the same mindset and cast spells instantly without any hindrance.

Even a mere nanosecond's difference prevented him from successfully activating the Void Realm Technique, leaving Sasori silent for a very long time.

A battle broke out between the two puppeteers, and unsurprisingly, Scorpion was suppressed.

All of this was observed by the insects controlled by Kaede Tsukasa.

"They've started fighting. I hope Scorpion can escape. If this guy dies, I'll have to find a way to turn him into a zombie and escape with him."

For Kaede Tsukasa, as long as the scroll is still on Sasori, everything will be fine. After Sasori turns into a zombie, he can use the Void Realm Technique to move Sasori's body away, and then find a way to escape Sunagakure.

In the vast Sunagakure village, as long as Kaedeji doesn't linger in battle or waste time, and is determined to leave, he will not face any obstacles.

As Scorpion fell into a disadvantageous position, Chiyo dismembered his puppets one by one, leaving scattered parts all over the ground.

Without even blinking, the scorpion fought and retreated until it reached the back of a house.

"Go!" Scorpion hissed, grabbing the insect's arm.

The insect immediately formed hand seals and used the Void Realm Technique to take the scorpion away, while Kaedeji, who was wearing a wide windproof robe that covered his entire body, appeared in the same spot and confronted Chiyo who had rushed over.

"Kaede Tsukasa! Give me back my grandson!!" Chiyo was furious when she saw Kaede Tsukasa. Several puppets surrounded him, and various swords, axes, and saws were pointed at him.

Furthermore, various air-soluble poisons were secretly sprinkled from the puppets—if you looked closely, you could even see a sense of relief in Chiyo's eyes.

Clearly, Chiyo had been waiting for Kaedeji to appear and had been planning for this moment for a long time.

"Don't be so irritable, senior. It's been years since we last met. Don't you want to catch up with me? For example, let's talk about Scorpion."

"There's no need for that. You've already been poisoned by my deadly poison, and your body is so stiff you can't move, right? Even if you temporarily enhanced your body's strength beforehand using the Reincarnation Technique, as long as you're still human, there's absolutely no way you can be immune to chemical toxins!"

Chiyo had waited far too long for this moment. As long as Kaede Tsukasa appeared before her and fell into the poison gas she had meticulously prepared, the outcome was already predetermined.

As long as there are cells and nerve endings, they will inevitably be paralyzed!
Chiyo shouted, "I'll deal with Sasori later. I won't let my grandson leave with someone like you! Your arrogance and hubris will get you killed here!"

She calculated the time and felt it was about time, so she immediately manipulated a bunch of puppets to chop down.

Just in case, Chiyo also activated her puppet arm, preparing to launch the entire arm to seal Kaedeji's body.

Poison + sealing technique—Chiyo had been preparing for this moment for far too long.

But the next second, Kaedeji raised his head without being affected at all. His face was full of cracks, his eyes were dull and lifeless, which startled Chiyo.

"Let's talk in detail next time, Chiyo." Kaedeji formed a hand seal with one hand.

Swish!
A large group of puppets slashed at a zombie that suddenly appeared, dismembering it in an instant, with large chunks of flesh breaking apart.

Chiyo rushed over and carefully examined the corpse, while also feeling the poisonous gas in the air with disbelief.

“My poison is fine… What’s wrong with his condition? Is he a zombie too? A completely new form of corpse? Has Kaede Tsukasa transformed himself into a corpse…”

Even if it really becomes a corpse, it shouldn't look like this. A corpse also has cells and basic nerves; otherwise, it wouldn't be able to activate the Reincarnation Technique to transfer life force.

Kaede Tsukasa will be unaffected unless... he no longer possesses normal human characteristics.

Chiyo had never seen the Impure World Reincarnation technique before, and no matter how hard she racked her brains, she would never have imagined that Kaedeji Tsukasa was already dead.

She glared angrily at the smashed zombie, recognizing it as the insect, Scorpion's acknowledged "friend," which only fueled her rage.

"What exactly have Sasori and Kaedeji been plotting these past few years? I've been keeping a close watch on them, so why haven't I discovered anything? Sasori went so far as to defect, and Kaedeji has changed his physical appearance, seemingly no longer a living person... Just how far have these two guys gone in developing the combination of human puppets and corpse escape techniques?"

Naturally, Chiyo determined that Kaedeji's physical condition was a new form resulting from the fusion of a human puppet and a corpse escape technique. It looked like a dead state, but it did not have the characteristics of a normal corpse.

This made it even more unacceptable to her. How had these two managed to do this over the past few years? She knew absolutely nothing about this entirely new research finding.

"I need to summon the sensory ninjas!"

Chiyo suppressed her shock and anger and rushed towards the Kazekage's residence.

……

The yellow sand swirled in the air, and time passed little by little.

When Kaede returned, he saw Sasori gazing at the boundless desert.

The intense battle had left Scorpion pale and his breathing rapid. He had only just recovered a little, and his cold gaze regained some color when he looked at Kaedejima again.

"You didn't return immediately? What, are you going to take the opportunity to kill Chiyo?"

“No, you overestimate me. I couldn’t possibly kill such a powerful Kage-level ninja in a few dozen seconds,” Kaedeji said. “Kage-level… an interesting classification. Few people in Sunagakure mention that term.”

“In Konoha, few people mention it. Even when they do, they usually refer to them as ‘Hokage-level’ ninjas, as another standard to distinguish them from Jonin.”

Kaede Tsukasa casually replied, "Give it to me, the latest Reincarnation Technique."

Sasori casually tossed the scroll to Kaedeji. He had no expectations for this ridiculous technique—he had long since confirmed that it was Chiyo's way of reviving her father and mother, but he had no need to regain his parents.

What's the point of resurrection? In the end, everyone still dies. Only eternity is everything.

"You want the Reincarnation Technique, it must be related to your current physical condition, right? You're no longer a living person... Is this a newly developed corpse escape technique of yours?"

Scorpion carefully observed Kaedeji's condition, but could not sense any body temperature or heartbeat, confirming that Kaedeji was a living dead man, and a man who was even more thoroughly dead than a zombie.

"No, at least not yet. I haven't learned the Impure World Reincarnation technique yet, so I can't include this forbidden technique in my Corpse Escape technique. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to transform myself into this form."

Kaede casually explained the characteristics of the Impure World Reincarnation technique to Sasori.

As expected, it deeply attracted the scorpion.

"I see. So many interesting things have happened. The Second Hokage was a genius. It's a pity he wasted too much time on other techniques. If he had studied the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he might have become immortal even earlier than us."

Sasori nodded repeatedly, shocked by the incredible effects of the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

It grants an immortal body and an almost limitless amount of chakra, making it the perfect "human puppet." Compared to the Impure World Reincarnation, the Sunagakure's human puppet technique is a joke!
At the very least, the Kaede Tsukasa in front of him is a top-tier work that Sasori envies immensely.

"Don't have too high hopes. The current version of Edo Tensei is just so-so. The reason I can retain a decent amount of power after transforming into this form is partly because the offering that carried me was very strong, and partly because my own strength is not that great," Kaede Tsukasa said calmly.

The human body can only maintain a temporary "strong" state by relying on a large number of zombies to supply chakra.

But Scorpion didn't know any of this and thought that Kaede Tsukasa had extremely high standards and was very picky.

“That’s right. People like us should have higher standards and not be complacent with our existing achievements. My choice was definitely right. You are my companion.”

"...Think whatever you want. Others have said similar things to me before."

Kaedeji took out a large pile of scrolls and placed them on the ground, then used a summoning technique to summon zombies.

A large number of scrolls were opened one after another, and dark figures emerged from them, standing densely packed and layered around Kaedeji, spreading outwards at an astonishing speed.

Looking down from the sky, it resembles a giant circle expanding wildly.

"These are the sacrifices you used to perform the Reincarnation Technique on yourself? There are quite a few. How many exactly?" Scorpion was also moved. His field of vision was filled with countless zombies, making it impossible for him to calculate accurately.

"About ten thousand."

Kaede Tsukasa said calmly, "Actually, if I spent more time, I could have gotten even more."

The reason it can only be a little more, instead of hundreds of thousands or millions, is simply because... Kaede Tsukasa only needs the corpses of ninjas, and controlling a huge number of zombies requires a lot of chakra.

The profession of ninja is extremely rare in the entire ninja world.

Kaede Tsukasa couldn't be sure how many people lived in this world. However, based on the conversation between Nagato and Naruto in the original timeline, Nagato declared that he would create tailed beast weapons to cause hundreds of millions of casualties in the ninja world, so that people would know pain and fear, and thus end the war.

That means the planet has at least hundreds of millions of people, and the current population is definitely much smaller than it will be twenty years from now.

Considering that the five great nations jointly mobilized 80,000 troops during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and also taking into account the necessary forces left behind in the ninja villages, as well as the few ninjas scattered in various towns, and considering the situation in those small countries, it is estimated that on average, only one ninja could be born from several hundred or even a thousand natives.

Only ninjas can perform the Reincarnation Technique; it's useless for ordinary people.

Even if Kaedeji was acquiring ninja corpses, it's impossible for him to just casually produce millions—corpses decompose, and at the very least, a basically intact body structure must be left before they can be turned into zombies under Kaedeji's power.

As for repairing a severely decayed corpse... the chakra consumed in repairing a corpse is far greater than the benefits that the corpse would provide to Kaede Tsukasa after it becomes a zombie, making it a losing proposition.

Unless the remains possess special talents, Kaede Tsukasa generally doesn't easily engage in corpse restoration work.

Scorpion was also shocked by the number, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Ten thousand, that's an outrageous number. Is the Corpse Escape Technique really that powerful? That disciple of yours that's been making such a fuss..."

"He can't do it."

Kaede Tsukasa said, "Frankly speaking, even I can't control these 10,000 zombies with high intensity. It's already the best I can do to keep them here."

Following Kaede's gaze, Scorpion saw many individuals in the horde of corpses wandering aimlessly in small areas. However, they would often stop after taking a few steps and then return to their original spot, repeating the cycle endlessly.

The farther away from Kaede Tsukasa, the more chaotic the zombies' movements became.

Only the nearby zombies maintained a high degree of order, standing quietly and keeping the scattered and restless horde of corpses outside.

Scorpion said, "If it weren't for these zombies blocking my way, those on the outermost edge would probably have already pounced on me. I saw them desperately sniffing around in my direction."

"You've discovered it? This is what I've been trying to suppress all along. Zombies need to eat, and their food is living people. Their purpose in existence is to turn those who haven't been completely eaten into their own kind."

Kaedeji's voice was very calm. In fact, a very small number of people had already noticed this and vaguely realized that if Kaedeji completely loosened his control over the zombies, it would inevitably cause a huge chaos.

However, while they may know this, these very few people don't care.

For example, Madara witnessed the scene of Sandstorm Araki eating White Zetsu, but he didn't take it to heart at all.

Zombies out of control causing chaos? So what? Mere sand is nothing compared to him; he can easily wipe out all the corpses.

Scorpion sneered: "So, if you really die one day, these monsters will go out of control and rush out to bite people everywhere. Even powerful ninjas won't be spared."

“Actually, if you’re strong enough, you can resist the zombification process even if you get bitten. But those civilians who aren’t ninjas will be in trouble. They won’t last long before they turn into zombies,” Kaede Tsukasa said. “However, I will do my best to prevent this from happening.”

"Well, you're dead now, and I haven't heard that the Land of Fire is finished."

"Although they are dead, they have maintained their self-awareness throughout the entire process. In fact, they have never relaxed their control over the zombies. Moreover, I carefully bury the zombies that I don't need into the ground and do not let them wander around freely... This is also a good way to reduce the pressure of controlling them."

Of course, if Kaede Tsukasa hadn't been resurrected by Orochimaru using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he would have had no choice but to enter the Shinigami's belly and wait for Kushina's actions. If someone had dug the zombies out of the ground during that time, Kaede Tsukasa, inside the Shinigami's body, wouldn't have been able to control what happened afterward.

He didn't actually intend to turn everyone on the planet into zombies. Without living people, zombies would lose their source—unless it really was the end of the world, and it was time to increase power regardless of the consequences.

However, if someone gets tired of living and wants to change their life or live a second life, Kaede Tsukasa wouldn't mind turning such a courageous person into one of his own.

"Our deal is done. I won't be able to look after you for a while. I'll send you to a town in the Land of Wind to make sure you don't bother me," Kaedeji said.

"Hmph, you don't care about me? You're clearly worried that I'll ambush you while you're holding your resurrection ceremony. You underestimate me."

Sasori of the Red Sand snorted coldly.

He may be a cold-blooded person, but he wouldn't stoop to doing something so pointless.

Immortals are too rare. He was thinking of partnering with Kaede Tsukasa for a hundred years or so, and it wouldn't be too late to take action if they really fell out someday.

Moreover, he is still a being of flesh and blood and has not truly transformed himself into a human puppet.

Scorpion said, "You'd better be careful. Based on my understanding of old woman Chiyo, she will immediately mobilize the entire village to search for you."

“I know that turning insects into zombies and controlling them means that I’m not too far from Sunagakure. Chiyo’s abilities must have made that clear. But no matter how fast she is, it’s no use. I can perform the ritual just as quickly.”

After finishing speaking, Kaede Tsukasa moved Sasori of the Red Sand away. He would not allow anyone to be near him, not even Sasori of the Red Sand.

In retrospect, considering Sasori's partnership with Deidara, Sasori was actually quite reliable. However, Kaede Tsukasa wouldn't leave any potential problems for himself, nor did he expect Kaze to be able to help him in any way.

Looking around at the vast horde of zombies, Kaede Tsukasa instructed a zombie to unroll the scroll he had obtained from She.

With his continuous mastery and fine-tuning of the Reincarnation Technique over the past few years, coupled with the massive number of zombies present, he was able to grasp Chiyo's latest and improved version of the Reincarnation Technique in a very short time.

"The infinite chakra of the reanimated body has a storage limit, and the amount of chakra consumed each time cannot exceed this limit... I have lost interest in the reanimated body. Now I want to see what kind of strength my new body can achieve."

Kaede Tsukasa clapped his hands, and Terai picked up a weapon and chopped his body to pieces. Other zombies came up and, under Kaede Tsukasa's control, performed a transplant surgery on him.

However, instead of transplanting cells, they transplanted an entire clone of Hashirama and the Sharingan.

"Well then, we can begin the ritual... Corpse Release: Unending Reincarnation Technique!"

(End of this chapter)