Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 111 Kaedeji in Action
For a moment, Ban remained silent. The events had unfolded in ways that were beyond his expectations.

"What should we do? Should we steal the Gedo Mazo back from Nagato?" White Zetsu asked.

"Hahaha, you made Lord Madara steal back what was originally his?" Afei was overjoyed. He felt that White Zetsu was sometimes even more abstract than himself.

Ban ignored these guys and pondered silently.

Indeed, he doesn't have much longer to live, and he can't use the Outer Path Statue to prolong his life. He can probably only last one or two years at most, or at least a few months.

Furthermore, the tail fell into the hands of Kaedeji Tsukasa.

Thinking about it carefully, many of the unplanned events that have happened in the past few years can actually be traced back to Kaedeji Tsukasa.

"I never imagined that I, Uchiha Madara, would one day fall to such a state." Madara's voice remained indifferent, showing no sign of annoyance. "It seems that I can only condescend to use these inferior clones of yours to prolong my life for the time being. If Hashirama knew, he would surely laugh at me."

Ban snorted coldly and looked at Afei with great reluctance.

Tobi is the most unique of all the White Zetsu, as he can be worn as "clothes" by Madara.

Afei hesitated for a moment: "Huh, it's me... But if you use me, what will happen to the body that Kaede Tsukasa abandoned? I think I've already mastered a part of Corpse Release. If I study it for a few more years, maybe I can fuse Wood Release and Corpse Release."

"It's meaningless. Kaede Tsukasa is doing the same thing. He also fused with Hashirama. Although it was just a copy of Hashirama, it was far superior to you defective products. You can never catch up with him," Madara said coldly.

He sometimes had to admit that Kaede Tsukasa was a genius, and the consequences of many of his actions caught Madara completely off guard.

"Ok."

Afei opened his body, threw Kaedeji's corpse on the ground, and then covered Madara with his clothes. For the foreseeable future, he could only exist as Madara's clothes and had no right to act on his own.

When he will regain his freedom depends on when Madara abandons him. Considering Madara's pride, the moment of freedom probably won't last long.

"What should we do next? Kill Lord Kaedeji?" Black Zetsu rarely spoke up; he usually remained silent when dealing with Madara.

Madara snorted coldly: "Can't kill him. That guy has the Sharingan. Whether it's his resistance to genjutsu or his ability to use Izanagi, he's not someone you can easily handle. This guy probably planned this all along, using the Sharingan to make up for his weakness in genjutsu."

Not long after, Ban, dressed as Afei, gradually merged into the underground, his whereabouts unknown.

……

Kaede waited a while longer before transferring Sasori of the Red Sand over.

"It seems to be over, much faster than I expected. I thought you would have a big battle with the villagers, a fight to the death." Sasori of the Red Sand looked at the rough and simple stronghold with an indifferent expression, not taking it seriously.

The fact that Kaede Tsukasa had not been killed had already relieved Sasori of the Red Sand, and he nodded repeatedly after seeing Bunfuku unconscious.

"You've got the One-Tailed Jinchuriki in your hands. The village must be going crazy."

"Let them go crazy. What this world has no shortage of is extreme lunatics. It's not a big deal if a bunch more come out now. Besides, it's not like they'll stop being my enemies just because they're not crazy."

Kaedeji needs to continuously cut off the tailed beast chakra from Bunpuku's body. As long as he can hold onto the One-Tailed Beast, it will be a good bargaining chip. As for what would happen if Sunagakure exposed this to Konoha...

"Are you planning to defect? ​​This matter will be exposed sooner or later. The news of Sunagakure losing its tailed beast will eventually become common knowledge." Sasori of the Red Sand looked at Tsukasa Kaede.

Even a fool could tell that Kaedeji's series of actions couldn't have been reported to Konoha beforehand, let alone the capture of the One-Tailed Jinchuriki.

These actions would be too sensitive, and in any ninja village, they would be suspected of treason. Of course, if such a significant spoil of war could be taken back and handed over, claiming that the action was taken because a rare opportunity was discovered, then the outcome would certainly be different.

A tailed beast is equivalent to a ninja village gaining a powerful Kage-level ninja, raising the village's minimum standard. No one can refuse a tailed beast stolen from an enemy village.

Sasori of the Red Sand felt that Tsukasa Kaede wouldn't do something so pointless; why would an immortal bother arguing with a bunch of short-lived guys?

“Compared to handing it over to Konoha, the One-Tailed Beast has a greater use; it’s a crucial bargaining chip,” Kaede Tsukasa said calmly. “If the village asks, I’ll just say I accidentally killed Bunpuku.”

"Will Konoha Village send a letter?"

"Believe it or not, my disciple killed the Four-Tails. Why can't I kill the One-Tails? The battle was so intense that I even used Wood Release. It's not unusual that I accidentally used too much force and killed the One-Tails Jinchuriki," said Kaedeji.

He has mastered Wood Release, so there's no way he can hide it, and there's no need to hide it either—as the second-in-command of Hashirama's cell transplantation experiment, since he was able to create a special case like Senju Momoka, it's reasonable for him to become the second successful case, right?

Regardless of whether his unauthorized "surgery" on himself was against the rules, it worked anyway.

As for why Orochimaru didn't experiment on himself, and why he didn't master Wood Release... who knows?

This made Sasori of the Red Sand even more convinced of Tsukasa Kaede's abilities.

A few hours later, Fenfu woke up.

Despite losing a leg, he remained remarkably calm, sitting silently with his hands clasped together.

"Hmph, this old bastard is really calm, even if it's just an act." Sasori of the Red Sand wasn't familiar with Bunpuku, and immediately said coldly, "When are you going to kill him?"

"You've got your eye on him and want to turn him into your puppet? Turning him into a zombie would obviously be more useful to me. What, are you trying to steal my spoils? If you want him, go catch him yourself."

“I have a better target, that guy is definitely more suitable than Fenfu.”

Sasori of the Red Sand had indeed considered this issue. He stared at Bunpuku for a long time, and in his mind, he had already disassembled Bunpuku into countless parts, including the missing leg. He had already figured out what puppet parts to use to make up for it.

However, these ideas were quickly abandoned.

“Without the tailed beast, this old guy is useless and can’t exert much power. I haven’t mastered the technology to put the tailed beast into the human puppet’s body yet,” Sasori said. “Bunpuku is a very famous monk in the village. Only a weak-willed guy like him can get along with the One-Tailed Beast.”

Kaedeji neither confirmed nor denied it.

Even Sunagakure couldn't master the technique of sealing tailed beasts, let alone Sasori of the Red Sand who had defected. Abandoning the Jinchuriki and instead focusing on those bloodline ninjas was undoubtedly the right choice.

Bunpuku sighed, "Shukaku is very irritable. It keeps insulting you, Lord Kaedeji... You've taken too much of its chakra."

"This is just the beginning; I will take everything away from it in the future."

"Why bother? The purpose of the Tailed Beasts is definitely not just as weapons and tools; they must have something else—"

"Shut up. Are you lecturing me? I know better than you about the origins and purpose of the Tailed Beasts, but what does it matter?" Kaedeji Tsukasa said calmly.

What is the purpose of the Tailed Beasts? Their most important function is undoubtedly to prevent the Ten-Tails from being complete and to keep it in a state of perpetual separation, thus hindering Kaguya's resurrection.

According to the Sage of Six Paths, these nine tailed beasts also serve to protect humanity. After all, they are immortal and indestructible, and if they were to face a terrifying outsider capable of destroying the ninja world in the future, the tailed beasts would surely stand up.

A prime example is Naruto in the future; the significance of half of the Nine-Tails to him is self-evident.

However, for Kaede Tsukasa, that was a long time coming. Besides, Ashura, who was born a few years later, would most likely no longer be a Jinchuriki and would have no connection with the Nine-Tails.

Bunpuku looked intently at Kaedeji, remained silent for a long time, and finally let out a deep sigh. He knew that it was useless to say anything to someone like Kaedeji, and it was impossible to change Kaedeji's view that the Tailed Beasts were tools.

The three of them remained silent for a moment, with Kaede Tsukasa closing his eyes to rest.

After a long while, Kaedeji opened his eyes and said calmly, "You've finally arrived. It's later than I expected. I thought you had already passed away peacefully..."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I still have a while to live."

A figure slowly emerged from the ground.

Sasori of the Red Sand sized up the guy in front of him: "So someone else came after all. Kaede Tsukasa, who is this strange white guy that you're worth waiting for?"

"Don't be careless, or you might get instantly killed by this guy's illusion."

Kaedeji took off his shirt, his face cold: "Well, this guy used to be my collaborator, but now he should be considered an enemy... Uchiha Madara!"

Sasori of the Red Sand frowned, and Bunpuku raised his head, looking incredulously at the being that was slowly opening its vortex head, revealing its aged true face.

"Uchiha Madara? That one should be dead by now." Sasori of the Red Sand was immediately drawn to the gradually protruding human face on Kaede Tsukasa's back. After observing it carefully and looking at Madara, he vaguely guessed something and his expression became strange.

Is that even possible? It seems that Kaede Tsukasa has made some incredible modifications to himself. This is probably the biggest success of this series of actions. The One-Tailed Jinchuriki is just a bonus.

Bunpuku chanted a Buddhist prayer in a low voice: "The legendary person didn't die... It seems my fate is sealed. You will definitely not let me live. It's just a pity about the One-Tail. Like the Four-Tail, I don't know how many years it will take for it to be resurrected." Madara glanced at the three of them with his three-tomoe Sharingan and said coldly: "One-Tail, if I'm not mistaken, Kaedeji has already arranged your fate. You don't need to worry about when that beast inside you will be resurrected, because it can't die at all."

You think you can die after entering the Gedo Mazo? Go become a piece of the Ten-Tails' resurrection puzzle.

Kaedeji suddenly made his move.

Wood Release·The Art of Cutting!

Madara used the same Wood Release technique, with branches continuously emerging from his sleeves and stabbing at his opponent.

A dozen or so sharp branches collided with each other, accompanied by a violent snapping sound, and countless fragments fell, quickly filling the cave with broken branches.

"In such a short time, you have already mastered Wood Release very well. You are indeed a genius in ninjutsu. No wonder you were able to develop such a systematic secret technique as Corpse Release with such a weak body." Madara rarely praised anyone.

Kaede Tsukasa said calmly, "Likewise. You old thing, you're about to die, yet you can still muster this kind of strength."

“No, that’s not right. I put in a lot of effort. Madara couldn’t have used Wood Release so smoothly on his own. His physical condition wouldn’t allow it.” Tobi’s distinctive voice rang out.

Kaede Tsukasa took further action, extending two more arms from behind. All four arms could form hand seals. He himself could use Corpse Release, while the clones behind him used Wood Release and the Sharingan.

Even Madara was seeing such a unique creature for the first time.

"This is the perfect combination of Corpse Release and Wood Release, Lord Madara, we're in trouble," Tobi said.

Madara said, "That's enough. I'm not here to fight you to the death. I still have Izanagi to use. I'll use the eye you gave me, so you can't kill me."

"Kill me once if you can. You killed me once, so it's fair that I get my revenge, right?"

“Fair? What about the fact that I was killed by Mito Uzumaki back then? If you hadn’t held back in the first place, that brat Danzo Shimura wouldn’t have had a chance to escape from you, and you wouldn’t have attracted Mito Uzumaki! You even turned my corpse into a zombie after the war to deal with the Eight-Tails… If we’re really going to get to the bottom of things, you’re not any cleaner than me.”

Madara snorted coldly: "Although you have obtained Wood Release and the Sharingan, you cannot truly control these two powers as if they were your own. You are ultimately not a member of the Senju or Uchiha clan. Only I know how to fuse these two powers and transform them into the power of all things in the universe!"

“All things under heaven… So you’ve come to negotiate? It seems I’ve grown to a point where you’re helpless, leaving you with no choice.” Kaede Tsukasa sneered.

He did intend to kill Madara, who was no match for him in his current state. However, he also couldn't stop Madara from using Izanagi to escape.

"...You're right, you really opened my eyes. After Hashirama, you are the second person who made me have to compromise, even though your strength is not even a finger of Hashirama's."

"That's quite an honor. You've now brought up that frail genin from back then and are comparing him to Hashirama Senju."

Kaede Tsukasa slightly turned his body, and the clone behind him had already opened its Sharingan, staring straight at Uchiha Madara.

With both Sharingan eyes directly facing Madara, at least in terms of genjutsu resistance, Kaede Tsukasa could hold out for longer. At worst, he could activate Izanagi at any time to allow Kaede Tsukasa to leave calmly, without having to use his long-prepared real countermeasure against genjutsu.

Witnessing such a peculiar body structure firsthand, Madara couldn't help but examine it closely. He was once again certain that Kaede Tsukasa was truly a genius, possessing boundless imagination and insane drive. He had actually turned Hashirama's clone into a part of his body and even transplanted Sharingan into it!

"One day in the future, you might be able to cultivate the Rinnegan. As long as you have the information about the power of all things in the universe, that is possible."

Madara coldly said, "You can't do anything to me, and I can't do anything to you, so let's make a deal, just like when we first started cooperating. You take care of Obito for me, so that he can live and grow up, and I will teach you information about all things in the universe, so that you can unleash the potential of this new body."

From birth until now, Madara has never been so passive. It is precisely on the eve of his death, when he is at his weakest and most frail, and when he is about to die from exhaustion, that he is helpless against Kaede Tsukasa!
"I thought you would let me use the Reincarnation Technique to restore your life and extend your lifespan," Kaedeji said coldly.

“You won’t extend my lifespan, and I know that very well,” Madara said.

Through their conversation, the two barely managed to reach a consensus.

"I will tell you everything about the Wooden Dummy Technique and the Mangekyou Sharingan. When you possess these two powers, you may be able to obtain the Rinnegan," Madara said.

Kaede Tsukasa remained expressionless. Madara had another trick up his sleeve, not revealing any information about the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. But even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered. Even Madara himself didn't know that to obtain the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, one needed Indra's chakra plus the Mangekyou Sharingan of a blood relative.

In other words, only the reincarnation of Indra can obtain the eternal kaleidoscope; no one else, no matter how close their bloodline or how many eyes they have, can obtain the eternal kaleidoscope.

To put it bluntly, if you could upgrade your Mangekyou Sharingan to Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan simply by exchanging eyes with your blood relatives, then brothers could just exchange eyes with each other. That way, you could easily get two pairs of Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan without having to sacrifice one person for the other.

The reality is that only Madara and Sasuke obtained the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, also known as the "straight tomoe" eye!

Others simply don't qualify for the upgrade. Without Indra's chakra, changing their eyes is useless; they remain with ordinary Mangekyou Sharingan, which eventually leads to blindness.

"Ban, you rascal, sometimes I really don't know what to say."

"Then let's not talk about it. The plan that we all agree on must be pushed forward. It's the only way to save this cruel world. Obito and Nagato will both be your helpers."

Madara looked at Sasori of the Red Sand: "Now, take care of the unimportant guys. Leave the Jinchuriki here, but kill this one."

Sasori of the Red Sand remained expressionless and made no move.

As expected, Kaede Tsukasa did not disappoint him: "Scorpion is a force I can rely on, so there's no need to worry about him leaking secrets."

"Whatever. You're in charge until Obito grows up." Madara was too annoyed to care anymore. "I'm going to Konoha. There are some things I need to tell Obito as soon as possible. I'll meet you later."

His body merged back into the earth.

Sasori of the Red Sand said, "So you've been cooperating with such a dangerous guy all these years. I could understand if you were working together to destroy the world, but your goal is to save the world? Am I crazy or are you crazy?"

"You don't need to worry about saving the world. It's just one of the major things on the path to immortality, not the whole thing. Even if we really save the world, it will definitely collapse again one day, and maybe we'll be the ones to save it then," Kaedeji said.

The Eye of the Moon Plan was doomed to fail. Even without Kaguya's involvement, there were still a whole bunch of Otsutsuki lined up waiting to make their move, making it impossible for Madara to control the ninja world for long.

“Scorpion, I’m afraid you’ll have to work hard these days. I’ve found a few bases that you might need to set up. You can choose one to carry out your human puppet research,” Kaede Tsukasa said.

Sasori nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking. Even a dangerous guy like Madara is still alive. Although he seems like a short-lived fellow who is not qualified to be compared with us, he is still involved with the Rinnegan... The Wood Release of the Senju clan and the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan are the keys to obtaining the Rinnegan? Is this how the Rinnegan is obtained?"

At this moment, Bunfu said in a low voice, "Shukaku is very agitated. It mentioned the Sage of Six Paths, but judging from Lord Kaede's appearance, it seems that he already had the relevant information."

"Bunpuku, if you weren't a Jinchūriki, you would definitely be a very good guy who could influence many people... Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"

A Wood Release clone grew from Kaedeji's body. Although it was a clone, the amount of chakra it contained was unimaginably vast, at least far greater than what Kaedeji could have achieved before the Edo Tensei.

“I will assign a clone to keep an eye on you. With the help of so many zombies, my clone will take care of you immediately if you make any unusual moves.”

Feng Jian Si spoke calmly, feeling that it was time to learn a powerful barrier technique. He didn't want to learn the Four Crimson Yang Array, but at least he should get his hands on the Four Purple Flame Array first, so that he could create four wooden clones to set up this barrier technique.

Of course, he also planned to obtain the Uchiha Flame Formation, a barrier technique that could be activated by one person, from Madara later.

Fenfu remained silent, simply sitting there and silently reciting scriptures.

"Old man, he's already gone. Quickly seize the opportunity to fight back! It's just a wooden clone; it's definitely no match for us!" One-Tail urged Fenfu.

Fenfu said, "He sometimes uses space-time ninjutsu and can come back at any time, so it's useless. Moreover, considering the special nature of the Wood Clone, a physical clone, we will have to put in some effort to defeat such a powerful individual."

He and the One-Tailed Beast couldn't use space-time ninjutsu, nor did they have the skill for taijutsu with extreme speed, so they had absolutely no chance.

Bunpuku had acquired too much information, and the latest intelligence he received after communicating with Ichioku severely impacted his understanding.

Is the One-Tailed Beast part of the Ten-Tailed Beast? Was the Sage of Six Paths the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tailed Beast? The Senju and Uchiha clans are both descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, so only by combining their lineage could they have the opportunity to awaken the Rinnegan? The amount of information is simply overwhelming.

Kaede Tsukasa's true form has left, and he is pondering whether he should go find Nagato first.

The Sunagakure village's frantic actions, sending out ninjas everywhere to search for something, despite their best efforts to hide, still managed to uncover clues, which immediately attracted the attention of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"What? The One-Tailed Beast is missing? And there's a lot of forest at the battlefield, just like the situation in the Land of Rain back then? Could it be..."

The Land of Wind can't possibly be planting trees too; Hanzo used such a lame excuse, and no one in Sunagakure would believe it if they did.

"Orochimaru, how much do you know about this? And where is Kaedeji Tsukasa?"

The Third Hokage cornered Orochimaru in the laboratory and interrogated him about Kaedeji's whereabouts: "You used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to control Kaedeji and went to the Land of Rain to attack the owner of the Rinnegan. Do you want to become a rogue ninja?!"

(End of this chapter)