Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Moreover, he is not a completely cold-blooded person.

Uchiha Yan helped him a lot; even if she didn't achieve anything, she certainly put in the effort. She even personally crushed the Akatsuki's hopes, so her loyalty is guaranteed. Let her get a little closer to the truth.

He slammed both hands on the ground, instantly setting up a sacrificial array centered on Zhi Zhao's flesh and blood, extending to the feet of the sacrifice. Then he walked behind the sacrificed Chunin, pressing one hand against the man's head, silently chanting, "Impure World Reincarnation Technique!"

The Chunin didn't even have time to scream before his body was completely swallowed up by the Impure World Talisman.

Once the talisman was removed, Zhi Zhao's figure suddenly appeared before the two of them.

Upon seeing this, Uchiha Yan's pupils shrank sharply: "Diavolo, what's going on?"

"As you can see, this is a forbidden technique that can bring the dead back to life."

"Resurrect the dead? Is that something a ninja can do?" Uchiha Yan murmured.

What shocked her even more was what followed: Diavolo formed a hand seal with one hand. The previously dazed Zhi Zhao's eyes gradually regained their clarity.

"I...I'm not dead?"

"How is this going?"

Zhi Zhao looked around, his face blank.

He had personally experienced the excruciating pain of being burned alive by Lava Release, and he absolutely never wanted to experience that agony again. He should indeed have died, but why was he alive again?

He subconsciously looked down and saw his own skin, which was covered in cracks and looked like a fake.

It seems that every ninja resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation technique quickly realizes that they have been brought back from the dead. Tomoaki was no exception; he realized that he had been resurrected into this unrecognizable, ghost-like state.

But it doesn't matter! As long as I can live, it doesn't matter how I live.

He had no energy left to deal with the current situation; he only saw Zhu, who was wearing a tiger-skin mask. Enemies meeting are bound to be furious, and he immediately charged towards Uchiha Yanagi, simultaneously forming hand seals:

"Molten Fireball Technique!"

A small, magma-like fireball shot out of his mouth and flew straight toward Uchiha Yan.

Shen Er didn't stop it; he simply crossed his arms and watched the sudden encounter. To his surprise, the Jinchuriki, even though he no longer had the Tailed Beast within him after being resurrected through Edo Tensei, still inherited some of the Tailed Beast's chakra attributes.

If this is not an isolated case, but a common occurrence that can be replicated, then every deceased Jinchuriki could retain the Tailed Beast's chakra nature. If they also mastered the corresponding ninjutsu, the combined power would be terrifying.

After all, there are quite a few Jinchūriki who, influenced by the Tailed Beasts, lost their minds and eventually went berserk.

The ability to become a Jinchūriki indicates that one possesses that physical constitution.

With a good physique, a rare tailed beast bloodline limit, and finally unlimited chakra, the prospect of the Edo Tensei Jinchuriki army is thus formed.

Uchiha Yan quickly recovered from her shock. Facing the sudden attack, she neither dodged nor evaded, but stood still and immediately unleashed the Great Fireball Technique to counterattack. The Great Fireball instantly shattered the molten fireball and then engulfed the Edo Tensei Tomoaki.

Under the scorching flames, Zhi Zhao's impure body repeatedly disintegrated and reformed.

"I can't kill him." Uchiha Yan muttered to himself, and immediately formed hand seals again.

Before she could make a move, Shen Er struck first, directly erasing Edo Tomoaki's consciousness and freezing his body in place.

That's all.

A calm voice interrupted her actions.

Uchiha Yan looked at him, her expression complicated: "Why did you let me see all this?"

"There's no special reason. As a fellow member of the organization, it's fine for you to know," Shen Er said calmly.

Uchiha Yan seemed to have thought of something, her gaze fixed on Shen Er: "This resurrection jutsu, can it resurrect anyone?"

Shen Er smiled faintly: "I know what you're thinking. I can tell you... In theory, anyone can be resurrected, but they will have to pay a price."

"Then, what is the price?" Uchiha Yan asked urgently.

At this moment, her greatest obsession, hidden deep in her heart, is to resurrect her brother. Even if this resurrection spell is not perfect, even if she can only see her brother one more time, it will be enough for her.

"First, you need the corpse of a strong person; second, you need the resurrection techniques of other ninja villages. Both are indispensable. Chihō can be easily resurrected only because he was a Jinchūriki in life."

Shen Er then shared the conditions he had just compiled.

He had discovered that Uchiha Yan wanted a peaceful life in Akatsuki. This desire was the beginning of her declining power. She was a useful pawn, and he certainly didn't want to let her go so easily.

Since power can no longer be her driving force, let's use "resurrection" as bait to let her take initiative.

But Shen Er did not completely deceive her.

For a true resurrection to be achieved, resulting in a happy ending for everyone, someone from another village must sacrifice their life to activate the resurrection technique. Whether by forcing them or making them "voluntarily" sacrifice themselves, the prerequisite is possessing overwhelming military power to coerce them.

So let's keep pushing forward!

Until the end of life.

Chapter 121 Takigakure, offer up your hearts!

Could you be more specific?

"The corpse of a powerful figure? A resurrection technique? What are you talking about?" Uchiha Yan pressed.

Shen Er didn't explain further, saying calmly, "When the time comes, I will inform you. You just need to wait."

He predicted that the First Shinobi World War would break out within six months at the latest. By then, there would be plenty of opportunities for Uchiha Kagami to participate in the war and draw enemy fire.

"This is for you."

He then placed the impure Tomoaki into a sealing scroll and gave Uchiha Yan the rubbing of the cat curse seal left behind when Matsumoto Kaori died earlier.

"This is?"

"It's a special seal that allows ninjas to temporarily gain 'cat' characteristics. I've recorded all the instructions and methods for using it in there. You can give it to your people if necessary."

After giving his instructions, Shen Er did not rush to leave the cave.

He looked down at his lower abdomen, where the Four Symbols Seal was too conspicuous.

Having the Four Symbols Seal on one's lower abdomen before marriage is insignificant, but after marriage, one's spouse will inevitably see his body.

It's so obvious, like discovering a succubus mark on your belly on your wedding day. You don't even need to ask to know there's a story behind it. Even the most lovestruck person would notice something serious.

The traces of this seal must be erased.

Shen Er sat cross-legged, slowly closed his eyes, and began to try to alter the seal of the Four Symbols Seal, transforming it into a style similar to the Yin Seal.

...

Just as Shen Er was altering the Four Symbols Seal.

Another group of people arrived from Xiaoren Village.

A spy ninja group from Kumogakure infiltrated the village, also there to conduct a reconnaissance of Akatsuki. Their aim was to observe the Akatsuki's stance and atmosphere; if they weren't firmly aligned with Konoha, they could formally send a secret mission to make contact.

After all, it's a ninja village that possesses tailed beasts. If we could get them to turn against Konoha and join forces against it, that would be fantastic.

The spy ninja group was led by Chloe, a veteran elite Jonin from Kumogakure.

Ten years ago, he achieved remarkable feats, nearly killing Konoha's Jonin such as Senju Momoka and Sarutobi Shusho with his ninja sword. The fact that he personally led this infiltration mission demonstrates the importance that the Cloud Village leadership attaches to this matter.

The group was lying in ambush at an izakaya in Akatsuki Village when Chloe's gaze suddenly locked onto a spot on the street. She excitedly licked her lips and whispered, "Look what I found!"

"Boss, what happened?" the subordinate asked hurriedly.

"Konoha has also sent ninjas. Judging from their appearance, they're doing the same thing as us," Chloe said with amusement.

"What?!" The subordinate was shocked and quickly looked in the direction Chloe pointed, but with people coming and going on the street, it was impossible to tell who the Konoha ninjas were.

The subordinate hesitated before asking, "Boss, how did you determine that?"

Chloe pointed to her heart: "My ninja sword technique can leave a special, unique mark on the prey, which will not disappear even after ten years. Only I can sense this aura... Ten years ago, they managed to escape by chance, but I never expected to run into them again today."

The Great Ninja Village naturally possesses its own unique heritage.

Even without a bloodline ability as overpowered as the Byakugan, each creature has its own means of identifying enemies and sensing danger.

His subordinates believed Chloe's words without a doubt and immediately lowered their voices to suggest, "Should we take them out?"

“We can’t beat them.” Chloe’s tone was crisp and without the slightest hesitation. “I’ve observed a total of three Jonin. One-on-one, none of them are my match, but one-on-three… you guys can’t close the gap between the other two Jonin.”

Not all Cloud Village ninjas are just brutes who train their muscles to the point of intelligence. While building muscle, there are also strategists among them, and Chloe is one of them.

He frowned and muttered to himself, analyzing the situation: "Something's not right. If it's just a preliminary investigation of Akatsuki, Konoha shouldn't have sent so many Jonin. On the surface, Akatsuki is the ninja village with the closest relationship to Konoha in the Arc of Peace, which is led by Konoha."

"Unless, their goal is not only to investigate Akatsuki Village, but also villages like Yugakure and Kusagakure."

"Besides, normally one Jonin would be enough to carry out this kind of reconnaissance mission. Three people... they are guards, and there is a leading ninja that I haven't discovered yet."

"Is the important person who needs protection the Shadow Guard? Or is it an elder of Konoha?"

Chloe is quite clever; she was able to deduce so much information just from the appearance of three Jonin.

His eyes gleamed with excitement: "No matter what, Konoha sending three Jonin at the same time is a huge prize. Even without anyone to protect, this prize alone is worth it."

As an elite Jonin, he had already learned that the Hidden Lightning Village would launch a war against the Hidden Leaf Village in March.

Therefore, there's no need to worry about any peace treaties.

If you encounter a Konoha Jonin in the wild, kill them there. Eliminating three more Jonin will weaken Konoha's strength when war breaks out.

Chloe made a decision and immediately ordered one of her subordinates: "You, go back to the village immediately and report to the Raikage. Tell him that we encountered three Konoha Jonin active in the wild, and it seems that one of them is a Konoha elder-level ninja. We request reinforcements!"

"During this period, I will track this Konoha Jonin squad."

"Yes!"

...

Two days later, Shen Er finally emerged from the secret hideout.

The conspicuous Four Symbols Seal on his lower abdomen has been erased and perfectly merged with the Yin Seal.

This Yin Seal has now become an integrated control center for Shen Er, where all the switches on his tattoos will be centralized. As the Four Symbols Seal is unlocked, different marks will appear on his body to indicate the unlocking status.

They even waited for Shimura Heizo and his two companions at the village entrance.

"How's the situation on your end?" Shen'er asked first.

"According to the intelligence we have gathered, both civilians and ninjas from Akatsuki Village are on the side of Konoha."

"Sir, how is the situation on your end?"

"It's the same on my end."

Shen Er naturally didn't have time to investigate anything. Since the Nara clan's wise ninja had said so, he simply went along with it.