Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 86 Dance, Madara's Corpse!

Kaedeji knew what these people were thinking; in fact, if he put himself in their shoes, he could understand.

Village like Iwagakure, possessing two tailed beasts, the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails, caused Konoha to be in a state of panic and suffer enormous losses during World War II.

Since the first Kage distributed the Tailed Beasts, Konoha has always controlled only the Nine-Tails, and it has never been deployed to the battlefield, neither in World War I nor World War II.

On the other hand, having tailed beasts is not a necessity, but they cannot be without them when needed. Once the tailed beasts are lost... the consequences will be catastrophic, and a new round of the Shinobi World War may break out prematurely. Some ninja villages want to bleed Konoha dry and will never let this opportunity pass.

Moreover, no one in Konoha Village is absolutely certain that they can defeat a tailed beast head-on—even if it's not the Nine-Tails, but another tailed beast from another village, no one can guarantee that they can do it.

So much so that when the Konoha leaders and elites present saw the tailed beast cloak on Kaede Tsukasa's body, their first reaction was joy. The Nine-Tails had not gone out of control, had not run away, and had not fallen into the hands of the enemy. At least it had been taken into the hands of the village's young genius. It was truly a stroke of luck amidst misfortune!

The second reaction was astonishment and silence—not that they directly suspected that Kaedeji would harm the village. After all, Kaedeji's growth over the years had been thoroughly investigated by those in the village, especially his explosive improvement in recent years, which could be explained by the fact that "Kaedeji painstakingly studied for more than ten years and finally developed and perfected the Corpse Escape Technique."

The main concern is whether someone like Kaedeji, who hasn't received any education about tailed beasts, can become a qualified Jinchūriki. This is a complex and systematic project; can Kaedeji ensure that Kurama doesn't go berserk?
That can't be right, can it? Because Kaede Tsukasa hasn't systematically studied sealing techniques, and it seems he hasn't mastered any other techniques that can powerfully suppress the Nine-Tails.

After Kaedeji explained the situation briefly, everyone smiled and looked at him with admiration. If it weren't for the Third Hokage overseeing things, some of the more lively people would have already rushed over and patted Kaedeji's shoulder.

"Si, you really didn't disappoint me, you did a fantastic job!"

The Third Hokage didn't hold back his praise. He glanced at the tailed beast cloak on Kaede Tsukasa's body, and his gaze lingered on the tail behind him—no, it should be said that half a tail.

Kaede Tsukasa smiled wearily, "First, I transported Lady Mito, and then I brought Kushina back. Transporting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki twice was quite costly, and I used up a lot of Lady Mito's gifts. But I did not fail in my mission. I did my best to fulfill both the village's and Lady Mito's requests."

The Third Hokage nodded emphatically: "You are the new generation that the village relies on. The village provides shelter for children when they are weak, allowing them to grow up healthy and strong. When these people grow up, they will be able to protect the village. Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die. This is..."

"The Will of Fire!"

Kaede Tsukasa's expression immediately turned serious, displaying both attitude and sincerity: "I deeply feel this power, and I firmly believe that it can change the world."

Everyone, even those who did not agree with the Will of Fire, was somewhat moved at this moment.

Aside from Danzo, he glanced at the Third Hokage, then at Kaedeji, and cursed Kaedeji inwardly for being so cunning!
The Third Hokage's declaration of the Will of Fire was not only for the sake of stabilizing his rule, but also because he himself believed in it to some extent. But what about Kaede Tsukasa? Danzo knew very well that Kaede Tsukasa didn't believe in it at all!
"It's truly touching. The village's excellent ninjas, through their efforts, ensured the smooth handover of the Nine-Tails and effectively maintained the village's stability," Danzo said emphatically.

The Third Hokage immediately looked at Kushina, who had wiped away her tears at some point. The little girl had a tense face and red eyes, but she tried her best to put on a calm expression.

He sensed the lingering Nine-Tails aura on Kushina up close and, confirming there was no risk of it going out of control at any moment, he was even more satisfied.

That's great, this is the best possible outcome. Kushina is fine, and the transfer of the Nine-Tails went surprisingly smoothly. Although the Third Hokage did not witness the transfer of the Nine-Tails, he felt that Tsukasa Kaede would give him an explanation.

"Lord Hokage, I have also brought back Lady Mito's remains."

Kaedeji summoned the coffin. To be honest, he didn't really want to hand it over, but if he didn't, he would first become Kushina's number one enemy, and then be closely watched by the village. It would be a losing proposition.

The Third Hokage waved his hand, and the surrounding ninjas immediately dispersed, leaving only Danzo standing beside the Third Hokage, showing no intention of avoiding suspicion. The Third Hokage glanced at him.

"Danzo, you should also leave. This is something only the Hokage should know. Consider it a way to give Lady Mito some final dignity."

"Hiruzen, how could you... Humph!"

Danzo was somewhat dissatisfied, but ultimately he was in the wrong. It seemed that during the short time that Kaede Tsukasa was away, he had been reprimanded by the Third Hokage, and his already unpleasant face had now turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

To be fair, he knew things had gotten a bit out of hand.

Danzo brought up Nagato with Mito Uzumaki so that Mito would bring Nagato back to the village, giving him a buffer period to pursue the Rinnegan—once they were in Konoha, the chances of him subduing Nagato would increase further.

At the same time, it was also to prevent the Third Hokage from interfering in this matter. In Konoha, only Mito Uzumaki had the ability to ignore the Third Hokage.

After Nagato became his disciple, the Third Hokage found out and tried to stop him, but Danzo had the confidence to stand up to him.

But who would have thought it would end like this? Mito Uzumaki herself died in battle! To the point that Konoha Village was once at risk of losing the Nine-Tails!
What exactly happened is probably only known to Tsukasa Kaede, but the fact that he returned in a tailed beast cloak proves that he has gained Mito Uzumaki's approval, making it even more difficult to press him for answers, especially with Kushina watching from the side.

If pressing Kaedeji for answers provokes Kushina, causing her to go berserk in her tailed beast form, then we'll be in big trouble.

Danzo snorted angrily and had no choice but to leave. However, in his last moment, he stared at Kaedeji with a meaningful look.

The Third Hokage then carefully began to lift the clothes covering Mito Uzumaki's abdomen. Looking at the Reaper Death Seal technique on it, one could imagine how brutal the battle had been.

"To the point where they're willing to use the Reaper Death Seal to perish together with the enemy, does the Land of Rain really have such a powerful enemy?" The Third Hokage stared into Kaedeji's eyes.

Kaede Tsukasa said calmly, "I don't know. I was trembling just watching from a distance. They even sent a large number of zombies into the battlefield to search for information, but all the zombies were wiped out in an instant... Lady Mito didn't hesitate to release the Nine-Tails to cooperate in the battle. That kind of battlefield is not something I can participate in. It's probably related to the Rinnegan. However, Lady Jiraiya is protecting the Rinnegan user, so maybe there are others watching in secret, but Lady Mito discovered them."

"Yes, that's what I think too. Danzo shouldn't have acted on his own. He plotted to steal the Rinnegan without reporting to me and even caused the death of Lady Mito." The Third Hokage sighed.

What a huge scapegoat! Only Danzo can take the blame. Of course, the Third Hokage will not make it public that Danzo instigated Mito Uzumaki. Instead, he will keep it a secret. After all, Mito Uzumaki is already dead, and there is no point in continuing to criticize Danzo. A little punishment will suffice.

The Third Hokage then turned to Kushina and said, "Kushina, the village is a force you can rely on. If you encounter any difficulties, you can bring them up directly."

"I have no requests, I just hope that Mito's body can be properly preserved."

“That’s as it should be,” the Third Hokage agreed. “However, we should wait. Lord Mito was a vital pillar of Konoha. Announcing his death abruptly would cause a major upheaval, and enemies from other villages might take advantage of the situation. The village should first mobilize its troops for defense. Then I will announce that Lord Mito has passed away peacefully, allowing for a smooth transition.”

"...Okay, I'm going to rest now."

Kushina didn't even have the strength to refute—come to think of it, she always seemed to lack a sense of belonging to Konoha Village, always hoping to regard Konoha Village as her hometown from the bottom of her heart, and not wanting to be treated as an outsider.

This important sense of belonging was once given to her by Mito Uzumaki, but she is now dead.

Kushina lowered her head and slowly walked into Mito Uzumaki's residence. However, she soon discovered that several ANBU members were closely monitoring her every move and refused to leave, and would continue to watch her like this.

"What exactly do you want?!"

A powerful burst of chakra erupted from Kushina, blowing her beautiful long red hair into disarray, and the Nine-Tails' chakra gradually emerged from her body.

"Lord Hokage, be careful! The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki might be about to go out of control—"

"Shut up, step back! Kushina won't harm her fellow villagers. She's someone Lady Mito approves of, so she's someone I approve of as well," the Third Hokage snapped.

As expected, Kushina immediately quieted down, feeling even more exhausted and incredibly empty inside, as if everything in the village was so rigid and cold.

Grandma Mito gave everything for this village, so why did she give off such a strange feeling that it wasn't worth it? What went wrong? The Third Hokage was right, but...

"Rest well, Kushina. Time cannot be turned back, but one must always look forward. There will always be hope ahead. Remember what Lady Mito told you," Kaedeji said to Kushina's retreating figure.

Kushina did not respond, walking mechanically like a walking corpse, with only the red magatama she wore shining brightly at that moment.

"Then, my mission is complete."

Kaede Tsukasa resealed the Nine-Tails' chakra within him, carefully hanging the sealing scroll on his waist for safekeeping.

"Thank you for your hard work. If you remember anything else that needs to be reported to me, feel free to come to me anytime. Don't overlook any suspicious clues."

The Third Hokage never mentioned the matter of retrieving the Nine-Tails' chakra, which was one of the techniques that Kaede Tsukasa could activate. In the future, when he uses the Tailed Beast Cloak in battle, there will be villages to endorse Kaede Tsukasa.

Kaede Tsukasa readily agreed: "Understood, but Hokage-sama, what should we do about the Rinnegan? Since Danzo-sama reported the Rinnegan to you, you must know that Jiraiya-sama is serving as the teacher of the Rinnegan user."

The Third Hokage frowned and let out a long sigh when he thought of this.

One by one, none of them made him feel at ease, to the point that many things were beyond his control.

Danzo's actions are understandable, because he has always been like this: while doing the dirty work, he always finds opportunities to rise up and expand his own power.

But Jiraiya discovered the Rinnegan in the Land of Rain and quietly became a teacher, which caused the Third Hokage even more headaches—Mito Uzumaki died because of the Rinnegan, so what role did Jiraiya unknowingly play in Mito Uzumaki's death? Did he conceal it, thus causing the death of the highly respected wife of the First Hokage?

If this gets out, is he going to declare Jiraiya a rogue ninja and organize a hunting party to travel all the way to the Land of Rain to hunt him down? That's impossible.

So the Third Hokage resorted to his traditional skill—doing nothing, watching the show, waiting for things to unfold on their own, and letting those involved in the incident make their own decisions.

Wait a few more months until Jiraiya returns, then the Third Hokage can step in and clean up the mess.

To put it bluntly, by using Mito Uzumaki, who was already on the verge of death, they managed to probe the hidden power of the Land of Rain, learn about Jiraiya and the Rinnegan, and Kushina successfully became the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. So Mito Uzumaki's death was actually... quite worthwhile.

Because of this hidden information, Konoha Village originally had no way of knowing it, and it will have to pay a heavy price in the future to possibly obtain it.

It's cruel, but both the Third Hokage and Tsukasa Kaede were aware of it.

Soon, Konoha Village returned to normal, and people quickly forgot about the incident, continuing to immerse themselves in peace and prosperity.

This peace was bought with the sacrifices of countless people, but people are always forgetful.

However, the ninja clans sensed something amiss and harbored some suspicions—aside from the Third Hokage and his Anbu, none of the major ninja clans had participated in the event of besieging the barrier.

The Hokage lineage is ultimately not on the same page as the other major ninja clans, especially the most dangerous one: the Uchiha.

Everyone knows how terrifying the Sharingan's genjutsu is, so it's even more impossible to let the Uchiha clan get involved in events related to the Nine-Tails. This isn't even a matter of trust; it's about absolutely not giving the Uchiha any opportunity to exploit the situation.

"The atmosphere in the village seems to have changed. There's a feeling that our clan is being viewed with more suspicion, and some of the tasks we used to be assigned to are no longer being done by us."

Fugaku sensed something was amiss and didn't know where the Uchiha clan had offended the village again. He inquired around and found that the Senju and Hyuga clans were doing as usual, so he couldn't determine whether they had been restricted.

The Senju clan continues to work tirelessly, carrying out various missions and intensifying the training of its members, striving in every possible way to restore the clan's prestige.

The Hyuga clan remained unchanged, continuing to do things methodically and indifferent to sensitive changes in the village. After all, everyone needed the Hyuga clan, and as long as they didn't do anything reckless, they would always be the backbone of the village.

Everything seemed calm again.

Kaede Tsukasa rarely had two days of leisure, and he even took the time to use the Void Realm Technique to travel to the Land of Iron.

The land of iron, a mountain cemetery.

After Kaede Tsukasa replaced the zombies left behind, White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, and Tobi had been waiting for a long time.

"It's so slow! We've been waiting for you for days," Bai Jue complained.

"There's nothing I can do. The Third Hokage knows the Crystal Ball Technique, which allows him to observe every move in Konoha. Since I was involved in the handover of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, I'm bound to be under close surveillance."

Kaede replied, then looked at Tobi and scrutinized him closely: "You are the one who surprised me the most. Who would have thought that someone with a vortex face could display such strength? Madara hid you very well."

"Oh dear, you flatter me. I didn't expect to be this strong. That copy of the First Hokage is really useful. I don't want to give it up."

Afei opened his body and threw the undead-like Hashirama clone onto the ground.

A White Zetsu clone had already moved this guy to the Gedo Mazo and thrown him in, using the power of the Gedo Mazo to nurture the clone.

"The only drawback is that it needs to be nurtured regularly by the Gedo Statue, otherwise it will collapse. These past few days, I've been waiting for it to be in a better condition before immediately devouring it."

Afei was extremely excited, and when he spoke, he confidently put his hands on his hips and asked, "Are you interested in him too?"

“Yes, I’m very interested. Perhaps it won’t be long before I need his help,” Kaedeji said.

Afei was very disappointed: "Sigh, why is it like this? I thought you would value my strength and give me this body to use from now on."

"When Madara isn't around, you must obey my orders, or I won't hesitate to kill you. Speaking of which, I'm also quite curious whether something like you has a soul and whether you can withstand my Reaper Death Seal."

Kaedeji took out a summoning scroll and began making threats.

He really couldn't persuade these appendages of the Ten-Tailed Divine Tree with words. If these things didn't want to cooperate, then they really wouldn't cooperate.

However, that shouldn't happen, since Black Zetsu is still on his side.

"How ruthless! Threatening to fight to the death at the drop of a hat. Fine, fine, I'll hand this big toy over to you."

"You don't need it now, but you will need it sometime in the future. Just keep an eye on him." Kaedeji opened the summoning scroll and summoned Madara's corpse.

That's why he was very satisfied with Kushina's performance. This sensitive girl, a descendant of the Uzumaki clan who lacked presence in Konoha, didn't truly trust the village yet, nor did she intend to report anything to it.

Mito Uzumaki dragged the enemy down with him to their deaths, and before he died, he told Kushina not to get involved in their old-time affairs. Kushina really did not say a word to the village.

If this were someone brainwashed by the Will of Fire, and comforted by the Third Hokage, they would probably forget Mito Uzumaki's instructions and, under the pretext of finding out the truth, tell the Third Hokage all the details, hoping that the Third Hokage would do something.

But how could that be? Of all the Hokage, only the Third Hokage was the one who loved to "watch the show" and wait for things to develop on their own.

"This is Lord Ban's corpse. Although he had long wanted to escape his aging state by committing suicide, he has now been killed. What are we going to do?" Bai Zetsu couldn't help but worry.

Kaede Tsukasa casually said, "So what if he's dead? As for the Eye of the Moon Project, I'll find a way to push it forward. After all, I'm Madara's collaborator."

"Huh? You? I just don't believe you. I'm more inclined to believe you're happy about finding Madara's body." White Zetsu didn't believe a word of it.

"Collecting corpses is to better advance the Eye of the Moon Plan. Although Madara has kept many things from me, at least his point of view is correct. If the ninja world continues like this, it will be a disaster. A complete change is necessary... Until a better plan is found, the Eye of the Moon Plan seems to be the best option."

Kaede Tsukasa said, "If we don't carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan, are we going to carry out a human extinction plan? To kill all life forms in the entire ninja world? That would indeed bring peace, but it would also lose the true meaning of peace."

Black Zetsu remained silent, scrutinizing Kaede Tsukasa's words to see if he was being perfunctory or serious, though he couldn't tell at the moment.

From the mother's perspective, it was indeed a plan to exterminate all of humanity, transforming all the native humans into White Zetsu soldiers to fight against the Otsutsuki.

I just don't know how strong those Otsutsuki are; even Black Zetsu himself has never seen them.

If Kaede Tsukasa is really willing to carry out this plan, that would be great... Actually, as long as the Rinnegan is not destroyed, it doesn't matter who transplants the Rinnegan to become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki.

"Speaking of which, I'm a little curious. How did that incredibly terrifying old woman suddenly appear in the Land of Rain? There wasn't a single sign. It must be related to you, right? You brought her here, which led to Lord Madara's death. Doesn't that mean you easily killed two old people?" Bai Zetsu asked suspiciously.

Black Zetsu snapped, "Shut up, you're too curious."

"It's alright to tell you, it was me. Who told Danzo to leak the news about the Rinnegan? Even if Mito Uzumaki hadn't come looking for me, she could have tracked down Nagato herself. The entire ninja world is within her perception range. Including me and you who are watching the battle, we are all within her sight."

Kaede Tsukasa remained very calm.

Afei yelled, "You really don't hide anything at all, you're too honest. So in the end, the two strongmen of the old era perished together, and you eliminated all the obstacles and became the final victor?"

"It was purely a coincidence. I never expected it to turn out this way. It's Madara's own fault. He could have easily killed Danzo and Hanzo from the start, but he didn't in order to hide himself, which led to his failure. What could I do? It's all his fault for hiding and looking for some meaningless successor. It's so boring. With my help, it would have been perfectly fine to act earlier," Kaedeji said.

Those who don't know the situation might think that Kaede Tsukasa is still brooding over Madara's death.

Black Zetsu sees this as a good thing—regardless of whether Kaede Tsukasa is acting out of pride or for some other reason, as long as he's willing to continue down this path, that's enough.

In any case, Kaede Tsukasa will eventually reveal his flaws; it's impossible to do everything perfectly.

Black Zetsu believed that he could gain more of Kaede Tsukasa's trust, and then betray him at the crucial moment of reviving his mother...

Of course, it would be best to obtain the technique of resurrection, so that even if the resurrection fails, one can still make a comeback.

Kaede Tsukasa continued, "However, he was killed by Uzumaki Mito this time, so he should have learned his lesson. He's clearly quite old, yet he insists on being stubborn, as if he's still young? With my help, he could have easily taken action himself, but he's too proud to accept my help."

To put it bluntly, besides hiding himself, Madara also didn't like appearing in the ninja world in this old and dying state—this guy was too proud and arrogant, and wouldn't allow himself to show his weak side, which was definitely one of the important reasons. He hoped to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki in a young and strong state.

This necessitates someone using the art of reincarnation to revive him.

Black Zetsu suddenly said, "Lord Kaedeji, are you saying that Lord Madara is not completely dead?"

"Of course. Even the First Hokage couldn't kill him, so Mito Uzumaki wouldn't be absolutely certain either. The only question is, which is stronger, Izanagi, the resurrection method he prepared for himself, or the Reaper Death Seal?"

Kaede Tsukasa was also very interested in this; he had been thinking about it since Madara's soul was captured by Mito Uzumaki.

Izanagi can turn real-world damage into illusion, a forbidden technique that reverses reality and illusion. The Reaper Death Seal seals the enemy's soul into the body of a Shinigami, and there is no way to escape except by using the Shinigami mask to "commit suicide".

So, if the Transcribing Seal is used to delay the activation of Izanagi for a period of time, it can rewrite the reality of the Shinigami devouring souls into an illusion.

"Izanagi?"

"A Sharingan eye technique that rewrites unfavorable realities into illusions. Madara probably used this to deceive the First Hokage back then," Kaedeji Tsukasa replied.

Black Zetsu said, "I see. This is truly a high-stakes gamble. Either you enter the Shinigami's body and live an eternal, unbearable life, or you are resurrected after eliminating Mito Uzumaki. However, judging from Madara's appearance, he seems very confident that he can break free from the Shinigami's shackles and be resurrected."

"He had no choice. Don't really think of him as a brilliant strategist. Even the Nara clan wouldn't dare say they can calculate things perfectly."

Kaede Tsukasa squatted down and placed one hand on Madara's chest.

Corpse Escape: Corpse Transformation Technique!

A large amount of chakra flowed from Kaedeji's body into Madara's corpse, causing the zombie virus to multiply rapidly.

"Madara must die once, and he must be killed by Mito Uzumaki. Otherwise, the news that he is still alive will eventually be leaked, and the people of Konoha will frantically search for his whereabouts and kill him at any cost. This will put many of Madara's plans at unpredictable risk."

Even though Konoha Village doesn't have any Kage-level fighters who can suppress everything, and the strongest is only at the Hokage level, Madara's side still doesn't have much room for error.

Perhaps in the future, when Nagato grows up and is willing to follow the path Madara wanted him to take, the Eye of the Moon Project will be able to proceed a little more smoothly.

"This is really complicated. Is it because Mito Uzumaki killed Madara with the Reaper Death Seal and confirmed this with the Shinigami that she is inclined to conceal the fact that Madara is still alive?" White Zetsu felt like he needed to grow a brain.

“People of the old era have their own concerns. With Jiraiya backing up the Rinnegan, and Kushina successfully becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and I bringing her back to the village, everything that needed to be done has been done. All the messages that needed to be sent back to the village have been sent back, and we can confirm that Madara is dead. All of this is already an unexpected result,” Kaedeji said.

As I said before, Mito Uzumaki was already on the verge of death, yet she used her life to uncover so much, and most importantly, she eliminated the treacherous Madara. It was all worth it.

Perhaps Mito Uzumaki herself thought so too, exchanging her remaining few months of life for so many achievements...

Kaede Tsukasa raised his hand, and Madara, who had died, opened his eyes again. His black pupils turned grayish-white, and after becoming the three-tomoe Sharingan, they were no longer as bright red as normal eyes.

Everyone watched as Ban stood up again. It was such a simple action, but the zombie almost couldn't do it. It struggled several times before it could stand up.

"If Lord Madara knew that his corpse had been played with like this by you, he would be furious." White Zetsu's smile became somewhat strange. Such a proud and arrogant person, being played with like this, his expression must be quite interesting.

"I suspect he can break free from the Grim Reaper's grasp, but who can say for sure? What if he really dies? Wouldn't it be a waste not to make use of him? His remains can enrich the power I have and help advance the Eye of the Moon Project. He would probably be very happy."

"Happy...? That's a completely unfamiliar adjective."

Kaede ignored these man-made objects and focused intently on feeling the power of the age spots.

The battle with Mito Uzumaki seems to have caused further damage to Age Spot's body, with a large amount of flesh destroyed and countless nerves damaged.

“Susanoo is truly a dangerous forbidden technique,” ​​Kaede Tsukasa commented.

He recalled that when Sasuke attacked the Five Kage Summit and used Susanoo for the first time, his body was in excruciating pain, as if every bone was about to break. This showed that the burden that Susanoo placed on the user was not just at the level of the eyes, but that the entire body had to become the price paid for activating Susanoo.

Madara was already extremely old, yet he still had to use a Susanoo that was far more powerful than a normal Susanoo, which made the burden even heavier.

"However, this body still possesses a tenacious life force. This must be the power of the First Hokage, and the origin from which you beings were born. Judging from the already healed wounds on his body, was it transplanted with the flesh and blood of the First Hokage?"

Kaedeji showed no respect whatsoever for Madara's body, tearing at its flesh and conducting various cruel examinations: "Then I roughly understand. The Rinnegan must have been Madara's own eye, which was transplanted to Nagato a few years ago? This guy actually hid such important information from me. Mito Uzumaki must have deduced it as well, which explains why her expression was so strange when she talked to Madara about the Rinnegan. This also explains why he only has one three-tomoe Sharingan left."

He was saying this to all the White Zetsu and Black Zetsu present.

Black Zetsu asked, "Lord Kaedeji, what have you decided to do? Are you going to gouge out Nagato's Rinnegan? Lord Madara is dead, and we all have to obey your orders. No one can stop you."

Kaede glanced at Black Zetsu: "Even if I get the Rinnegan, it's useless to me. I can't use it at all. Am I supposed to put the Rinnegan into Madara's corpse? Madara chose to transplant his eyes to Nagato before he died, so there must have been a reason. Being unable to bear the Rinnegan might be one of them. If he couldn't do it, my physical condition would make it even more difficult."

"So, should we still use Nagato as the main pawn in the Eye of the Moon Project?"

“Let’s wait for Madara to be resurrected. There are still many secrets I don’t know much about. For example, after the Ten-Tails is resurrected, how do we control this super tailed beast? We can’t just use genjutsu, right? Madara must know some kind of method. I suspect the key to controlling the Ten-Tails is the Rinnegan.” Kaede Tsukasa snorted coldly. “That old man has hidden too many things from me, but we’re in the same boat. I’ve also hidden a lot of things from him.”

Black Zetsu fell silent, and the base beneath the mountain cemetery immediately fell silent.

After studying Madara for a while, Kaede Tsukasa confirmed that this body should still be able to activate Susanoo a few more times, which would be somewhat useful. In fact, he could use the Reincarnation Technique to replenish Madara's life force and heal all his injuries.

At that time, using Madara to activate Half-Body Susanoo should not be a problem, and Kaede Tsukasa will have a Kage-level combatant.

However, he won't do that for now. If Madara were to be resurrected and have a healthier body, it wouldn't be good for him.

First, we need to determine whether Ban is truly dead before proceeding to the next step.

Compared to the frail and aged body of Madara, Kaede Tsukasa quickly shifted his focus to the Gedo Mazo.

He walked up to the huge creature and looked up at it, feeling as if he were staring into an abyss. He couldn't fathom the limits of this hideous monster.

"Ban didn't tell me what this thing came from either."

"It looks like the husk of the Ten-Tails. It seems that Lord Madara went to great lengths to summon it from inside the moon to the ninja world. I heard him mention this a few years ago." White Zetsu's gaze toward the Gedo Mazo was also filled with a hint of instinctive fear.

All White Zetsu are derivatives of the Gedo Mazo.

"The moon... It seems there are many mysteries in the ninja world."

Kaede Tsukasa remained noncommittal, but he feared that the Otsutsuki clan on the moon must be furious to discover that the Gedo Mazo, which they had been guarding for over a thousand years, had been stolen by the ninja world.
The civil war between the main family and the branch family should have ended a long time ago. After the branch family destroyed the main family, they dug out everyone's Byakugan, not even sparing the Byakugan of their own members. For many years, they have been trying to piece together a giant Tenseigan.

At this point in time, the giant Tenseigan should not have been born yet, and the people who split up should still be reproducing normally, and they should be digging out the white eyes of all the newborns and filling them into the unformed Tenseigan.

Therefore, these branch family members who had given everything for the giant Tenseigan, even at the cost of their own clan's extinction, were powerless to stop Madara from stealing the Gedo Mazo while they were at their weakest.

It's also thanks to Madara's perfect timing that he made his move. If he had done this earlier, the Otsutsuki clans on the moon might have stormed into the ninja world to settle scores with him, instead of leaving us helpless like we are now.

"The Ten-Tails' husk, huh? What a treasure..."

Kaede jumped onto one of the Gedo Mazo's fingers and bent down to touch it.

Originally, on the timeline, each of these fingers would have been occupied by a member of the Akatsuki organization.

Over the years, Kaede Tsukasa has been pondering a question: what kind of body is the perfect body in his mind?

This standard is constantly changing.

In the first few years after arriving in the ninja world, his frail body was completely unable to withstand the invasion of ninja world germs. He suffered from illness every day and was constantly on the verge of life and death. Countless times, he was just one step away from returning to the Pure Land.

The premise is that the Pure Land will actually accept his soul as an outsider.

At that time, Kaede Tsukasa was suffering endless torment and desperately wanted to obtain the body of a native ninja. He only needed to be an ordinary ninja civilian, so that he wouldn't have to suffer like he was now.

Later, he gradually adapted and gained a foothold in this world. Naturally, his thoughts changed. Ordinary natives were no longer enough to attract Kaede Tsukasa. He wanted to obtain the bodies of the Otsutsuki descendants, and ideally, he wanted to obtain Hashirama's cells.

But now, standing before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his thoughts have subtly changed:

If given the chance to obtain a body closer to that of the Otsutsuki, who would covet the body of a hybrid of the Otsutsuki and the natives of the ninja world?

The bodies of mixed-race individuals are subject to many uncertainties. For example, Hinata Hyuga, who possesses the purest Byakugan, is an extremely rare case.

Hashirama Senju's situation is also a rare case. Starting from the First Ashura, only Hashirama Senju has mastered the extremely powerful Wood Release, which is the closest to the power of the Ten-Tails God Tree!

Leaving aside special circumstances, if we're really talking about pure bloodlines, the descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki on the moon have always reproduced internally without mixing with the native ninjas. Their bloodlines are the purest and their genes are the most stable.

"Let me think, if I could use the Gedo Mazo to cultivate a body, that would be perfect, but the workload would also be much greater."

Kaede Tsukasa pondered. If he were to change bodies multiple times, using Hashirama cells to create a body for now would be very suitable. However, obtaining a body using the method he envisioned would carry a great risk, even if successful only once.

(End of this chapter)