Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 112 You are of no use to me anymore, Orochimaru

Orochimaru had a tough time during this period, trying to minimize his presence and deliberately avoiding the Third Hokage.

However, there were only so many laboratories where he conducted his experiments, and it was impossible for him to actually defect. In the end, he was half-heartedly persuaded and was cornered by the Third Hokage.

However, in the eyes of the Third Hokage, Orochimaru's behavior was suspicious and showed that he had something to hide.

"Me, controlling Kaede Tsukasa? That's the first thing you said to me. I'm flattered that you have so much confidence in me," Orochimaru said sarcastically.

He controls Kaede Tsukasa? That's the last thing he wants to hear—that Kaede Tsukasa is completely beyond his control. Danzo and the Third Hokage are just taking all the blame for what Kaede Tsukasa did.

The Third Hokage looked heartbroken: "Danzo has told me everything. I know you've learned the Impure World Reincarnation technique and controlled the deceased Kaedeji! I will find out exactly how Kaedeji died, but why did you use the Impure World Reincarnation technique to control him?"

"...Damn Danzo, he easily absolved himself of responsibility. You're not so foolish as to actually believe him, are you?"

"Right now, all I care about is whether Kaede Tsukasa is in your hands! The village's ninjas shouldn't be desecrated like this. You should know exactly where my bottom line is." The Third Hokage walked step by step to Orochimaru. Although he was short, he made Orochimaru's forehead break out in a sweat.

Orochimaru knew that the old man was truly furious.

But what could he say? Could he say that Kaedejima had mastered the method to break the Impure World Reincarnation technique? He couldn't tell the Third Hokage this, at least not until the Third Hokage learned from Kaedejima what the flaw in the Impure World Reincarnation technique was.

Orochimaru spent several years finally obtaining and learning the Impure World Reincarnation technique, and he wanted to use this forbidden technique as his trump card. He couldn't just reveal the method to everyone, otherwise what would be the point?

"Hehe, you look furious, that's rare... To some extent, I did lead Kaede Tsukasa in some operations, but it shouldn't have made you this angry, right? The operation to seize the Rinnegan was beneficial to the village. You must know now that Nagato's parents were killed by people from our Konoha Village, right?"

Orochimaru said in a low voice, "Nagato has more right than anyone else to hate Konoha and to seek revenge on Konoha after gaining great power. Killing someone's parents was wrong, but not eliminating them completely was an even bigger mistake. What Danzo and I are doing is eliminating hidden dangers. Someone has to do this kind of thing."

The Third Hokage smoked his cigarette irritably, remaining silent for a moment.

As a proponent of the Will of Fire, he couldn't openly encourage massacres, but he also couldn't allow Nagato to act freely. If Sage Eyes came knocking on their door years later, it would be a huge problem, and Konoha would suffer enormous losses.

After a while, the Third Hokage's expression gradually returned to calm, which made Orochimaru secretly breathe a sigh of relief—to be honest, he was somewhat afraid of the Third Hokage in his current state.

In most cases, the Third Hokage had a kind and benevolent appearance, and his words were mostly warm and encouraging. Even when he was dissatisfied, he would emphasize his words and have a serious expression.

It is extremely rare to express anger directly through words and facial expressions.

"The village of Sunagakure sent a letter of state via a bird, and the messenger has already handed it over to me."

The Third Hokage stared intently into Orochimaru's eyes: "They are absolutely certain that the strangely behaving Kaede Tsukasa and the rogue Sand Village ninja Sasori joined forces to kill the Sand Village ninjas, and then attacked and took away the One-Tailed Jinchuriki. It seems they know they can't hide the truth anymore and want to make Konoha the culprit."

"Impossible, that's too unbelievable. Sasori of the Red Sand may be Chiyo's grandson and a famous genius puppeteer, but he could never possibly have the ability to deal with a tailed beast. You know very well the characteristics of a puppeteer."

Orochimaru insisted, "As for Kaede Tsukasa, he doesn't have the ability to defeat and capture a tailed beast alive. Does he expect to achieve this by having countless corpses self-destruct? That's absurd. Even if he takes Hidan with him, he can only kill one tailed beast at most, and it will be very difficult to capture it alive."

"Even at a time like this, you're still pretending? Kaede Tsukasa is an Edo Tensei, so it's almost certain he's dead and under your control. I'm asking you what you're trying to achieve by attacking the One-Tailed Beast? Directly attacking a Tailed Beast is second only to assassinating a Kage from an enemy village in terms of severity! First it was the Eight-Tailed Beast, now it's the One-Tailed Beast. What do you intend to do with the Tailed Beasts?"

"..."

Orochimaru was completely dumbfounded; he really didn't know about this!
Kaedeji Tsukasa, he went off to deal with the One-Tailed Beast without a word? And he did it with an Edo Tensei body, possessing a certain degree of infinite chakra? But even if he has infinite chakra, so what? The corpses he controls aren't immortal. Even with Rōshi, do you think he can defeat the One-Tailed Beast?

"The intelligence says that a large forest has appeared on the battlefield. The people of Sunagakure believe it is Wood Release. It seems that when you were conducting human experiments on your fellow villagers, you never forgot to keep secrets. I suspect that you gave the dead Kaedeji Tsukasa a Wood Release bloodline limit! Orochimaru, just how many things have you been hiding from me?"

The Third Hokage discovered that of his three disciples, only Tsunade was truly a worry-free person; the other two were more rebellious than the other, doing things that were even more rebellious than those of rogue ninjas!
Jiraiya, needless to say, believed in some prophetic idea about the Child of Prophecy from Mount Myōboku, and arbitrarily left the Second War to teach Nagato, without even telling the village the crucial information that Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha ninja.

Orochimaru did the same, using forbidden techniques to revive and control his village comrades, secretly transplanting Hashirama's cells so that even the village was unaware that a second successful experimental subject had appeared who could master the Wood Release bloodline limit!
The Third Hokage suddenly realized that his control over the village was not as perfect as he had imagined, and there were still many loopholes that needed to be filled.

The first to be targeted is Orochimaru, who plays with the corpses of his comrades!
"Hehehe, this makes perfect sense, doesn't it? If Senior Momoka could obtain the Wood Release bloodline limit, then it's normal for Kaedeji, as the person in charge of the transplantation experiment second only to me, to make some progress..."

Normal my foot! Even Orochimaru himself finds this unbelievable!
He did indeed cultivate an experimental subject for Kaede Tsukasa, an experimental subject constructed from Hashirama cells, as a sacrifice for the Impure World Reincarnation, to carry Kaede Tsukasa's soul.

But that doesn't mean Kaede Tsukasa can obtain the Wood Release bloodline limit, right? He can only use the techniques he used in his previous life. How could he possibly master the bloodline limit of the sacrifices as well? How could an Edo Tensei have such an ability?

As the Third Hokage's face grew increasingly grim, on the verge of exploding, Orochimaru continued to stammer, beginning to seriously consider for the first time whether to break through the Third Hokage's encirclement and escape the village—but he needed to carefully consider the flaws of the Impure World Reincarnation and his identity as a Konoha ninja, deciding which was more important.

Just then, a figure arrived at the laboratory, looking in surprise at the tense master and apprentice.

"Lord Hokage, Orochimaru-senpai, it's you two! Is there something very important to discuss? If you mind, I can excuse myself."

Kaede Tsukasa walked calmly to the two of them, revealing a perfectly timed expression of surprise.

"...Kaze-kun, you've finally arrived. The old man is furious and has been trying to find me to confirm whether you are still alive."

When Orochimaru saw Kaede Tsukasa, his heart was already in turmoil, but he remained calm on the surface. He even raised his chin in a serious manner, looking helpless.

But his eyes were already fixed on Kaede Tsukasa, scrutinizing him from head to toe. He saw that Kaede Tsukasa's eyes looked like those of a normal living person, and his skin was incredibly delicate, without any of the cracks that covered the body of an Edo Tensei ninja.

"manage?"

The Third Hokage's expression shifted, and he appeared in front of Kaede Tsukasa in an instant, grabbing Kaede Tsukasa's wrist with lightning speed, feeling his body temperature, pulse, and blood flow.

"You're still alive? But—"

“Lord Hokage, what are you saying? Of course I’m alive. How could I die for no reason? But your probing action was really abrupt. I almost couldn’t help but take action. You may not know, but after obtaining the First Hokage’s cells, my nerve reflexes have been greatly enhanced,” Kaede Tsukasa said.

The Third Hokage examined the man closely and realized that he was not a substitute created by the Substitution Jutsu, but was indeed the living Kaede Tsukasa. He felt a great sense of relief—this meant that Orochimaru had not "betrayed" him at least.

The problem was indeed Danzo. In order to smear Orochimaru and Kaede Tsukasa, he actually used such a clumsy excuse to deceive the Hokage!
"It seems there's a huge problem with the information from Sunagakure. They said your physical condition is different, like you're already dead."

"That's ridiculous. They've lost their tailed beasts and are out of options, so they'd have to come up with this clumsy lie to mislead people. Please don't believe it. I may have all sorts of flaws, but when it comes to survival on the battlefield, I'm very serious," Kaedeji Tsukasa said with a smile, appearing very relaxed and casual.

The living person was more lifelike than a living person. This alone was enough to convince the Third Hokage of most of the truth, and he began to suspect Danzo. After all, Danzo had deceived him, the Hokage, more than once or twice.

"Judging from your appearance, it seems you've also mastered the Wood Release bloodline limit, which is why you were able to defeat the One-Tailed Jinchuriki in the Land of Wind? It seems I underestimated the progress of your experiments." The Third Hokage said, enunciating each word clearly, "Why didn't you report such a significant operation to me beforehand?"

"Forgive my bluntness, Hokage-sama, but if we reported this to you, you would most likely not allow me to take action. Because you are a Kage who advocates peace, I cannot put you in a difficult position. Therefore, I acted on my own. After all, taking down the One-Tailed Beast can indeed weaken the power of Sunagakure, preventing them from launching a large-scale invasion against us when the next war breaks out," Kaedeji Tsukasa said directly.

The Third Hokage was still very dissatisfied, but he could no longer say anything, because Kaede Tsukasa's words were indeed reasonable and well-founded. His subordinates could do such things that damaged his image and violated his persona on their own, but they could not do them without his approval.

Of course, if something is done but not accomplished, one has to take the blame after the fact.

But you can't really let your subordinates do whatever they want.

"Tsukasa, you're even more radical than Danzo! Untimely and excessive actions can plunge the village into unpredictable danger. I hope this doesn't happen again, or at least I should know in advance!"

The Third Hokage, with a stern face, reprimanded him sharply.

Those familiar with the Third Hokage knew that being criticized by this old man, at most receiving some punishment, meant the matter was over and wouldn't happen again. "So, where did you imprison the One-Tailed Jinchuriki?"

"If you accidentally kill him, it'll be just like when Hidan used too much force and had to kill the Four-Tails Jinchuriki."

Kaede sighed deeply, seemingly very annoyed by his recklessness. His words came out as if he had casually stepped on an ant, and he was filled with guilt: "I am still not familiar with my new power. I finally obtained the legendary bloodline limit of the First Hokage, which can also improve my weakest aspect, physical strength. So I was too excited and accidentally killed the One-Tailed Jinchuriki."

"..."

The Third Hokage and Orochimaru both fell silent.

"Kaze-kun, you've actually grown to the point where you can defeat the One-Tailed Jinchuriki? That old bastard Bunpuku didn't even use his Tailed Beast Transformation, and you still managed to take him down with your space-time ninjutsu and Wood Release, did you?" Orochimaru probed.

"No, he entered full tailed beast transformation, but what could I do when I had Wood Release and a whole bunch of powerful zombies? I even sent out the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, and lost thousands of zombies before I could barely take him down!"

"No wonder. I heard the Konoha patrols talking about seeing a lot of zombies moving around. So you took them to use as weapons against Jinchuriki." Orochimaru forced a smile.

He really wanted to pry open Kaedeji's head to see what was going on!
No matter how stupid Orochimaru was, he knew that he was being used by Kaede Tsukasa—even though he resurrected Kaede Tsukasa with Edo Tensei, he still wanted to use Kaede Tsukasa to achieve his own goals.

To be used in this way is truly unprecedented... Even Danzo never fooled him like this, as expected of Kaede Tsukasa...

Orochimaru's expression was somewhat distorted, a result of a morbid anger and excitement, which actually increased Orochimaru's level of approval of Kaede Tsukasa by a significant margin.

The Third Hokage suddenly increased his smoking frequency. He frowned deeply, feeling extremely troubled. However, overall, this was a good thing. In the near future, Sunagakure would lose the tailed beasts passed down through generations, significantly reducing their combat power ceiling.

Even if the One-Tailed Beast were to revive, Sunagakure would still have to lose a significant number of troops to capture it, not to mention finding a Jinchuriki comparable to Bunpuku, which would be even more difficult.

“My patience is limited. The village really can’t be peaceful and harmonious. We need radicals who can solve problems with force. But, Tsukasa, you’re being a bit too radical.”

The Third Hokage, his voice sharp and stern, warned, "I hope this is the last time. I am the Hokage!"

If this young man isn't given a warning, Kaedeji might start the Third Shinobi World War! He doesn't even know how to quell the discontent in Sunagakure!

"I'll find a way to talk to Sunagakure. Orochimaru, come see me in a bit. I need to hear carefully about the progress of the human experimentation project! You didn't tell me about Tsukasa obtaining the Wood Release bloodline limit, so you'd better give me a reasonable explanation."

The Third Hokage left after saying those words.

Orochimaru and Kaede entered the laboratory one after the other, without saying a word.

"Kaze-kun, it seems you have finally achieved your goal. Did you revive yourself using the Reanimation Jutsu? The Impure World Reincarnation and the Reanimation Jutsu are such an excellent combination of ninjutsu, allowing you to perfectly obtain the bloodline limit of the sacrifice."

Orochimaru stared intently at Kaedeji with his vertical pupils, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Even he couldn't quite gauge Kaedeji's current level.

"It's not what you think, but never mind, I have nothing to explain to you."

Kaedeji casually brushed it off. To some extent, Orochimaru's deduction wasn't wrong—by modifying the reanimated body and then truly reviving it, one could perfectly obtain the bloodline limit. But in the entire ninja world, only Kaedeji could easily do this.

Even Orochimaru wouldn't be able to do it.

Orochimaru said hoarsely, "I was really scared just now. I really thought the Third Hokage was going to kill me. I was even prepared to defect."

"Does it matter? Anyway, for someone like you, defecting has no psychological burden whatsoever." Kaede Tsukasa said indifferently, "You'd better think about how to report the Hashirama cell transplantation experiment to the Hokage. So many people have died, and only Senju Momoka was a barely successful experimental subject. He probably thinks that I mastered Wood Release by following Senju Momoka's path."

This is normal, because Kaedeji is a user of Corpse Release. He can theoretically achieve a fragile balance using Corpse Release and Wood Release more easily.

"That's true. If the old man isn't satisfied, it might become the fuse that makes me a rogue ninja. Kaede Tsukasa, will you defect with me then? For you, staying in Konoha Village is meaningless now, isn't it? You've already got the powerful body you wanted most." Orochimaru chuckled in a low voice.

“You’re right, but there’s no benefit to defecting right now, so I have no reason to do such a thing. I’m still waiting for the Third Shinobi World War to break out. That’s my real stage to perform on, and I can then legitimately take down the powerful ninjas from various villages.”

In front of someone like Orochimaru, Kaedeji made no attempt to hide his ambition—the path to collecting powerful corpses had only just begun.

Similarly, the operation to collect the chakra of the tailed beasts is not yet over. He is still missing the chakra of the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails. Once he has collected the chakra of these four tailed beasts, he can start a new operation.

"Since Konoha Village has fobbed me off, I won't waste any more time here, Orochimaru. There's nothing left on your side that can attract my attention. It seems our cooperation will have to come to a temporary end unless you can come up with something that truly impresses me."

Kaede Tsukasa said mercilessly, completely disregarding their once close working relationship. Now, all that remained was extreme cold-bloodedness and utilitarianism.

Orochimaru was incredibly frustrated. What could he say? Could he possibly ask Kaedejima for the Reanimation Jutsu? That was simply impossible. The best time he could have obtained the Reanimation Jutsu was right after Kaedejima was resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

However, even if he had forced his way in, he certainly wouldn't have gotten what he wanted, because he didn't have the talisman technique to control the mind and actions of the impure ninja. He could only wait for Kaedeji to give it to him voluntarily.

This waiting led to him being abandoned by Kaedeji.

"I can't believe this day has come for me, Kaede-kun. You really are heartless." Orochimaru found it very strange that he would be abandoned for the reason that he was worthless.

Orochimaru watched Kaede Tsukasa's departing figure and let out a series of cold laughs.

Kaede Tsukasa stepped out of the laboratory and walked along the streets of Konoha, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility—not a quiet one, as Konoha Village has a large population, and especially since he was in the commercial district, there was noise everywhere, making it impossible to find peace—but his mind became incredibly calm.

As things stand, he already has a perfect body. If he had to nitpick, he might only be missing a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan. However, such a thing is extremely rare in this day and age. It would be best if he had the chance to get it, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't.

Kaede Tsukasa already has a plan to enhance his Sharingan. Even if he can't take someone else's Mangekyou Sharingan, he has a way to obtain an eye comparable to the Mangekyou Sharingan.

In today's world, few can threaten Kaedejima. Whether it's a sneak attack or a direct confrontation, Kaedejima has no weaknesses and is powerful in every way.

This is the result of his many years of hard work, countless near-death experiences, before he finally achieved what he has today.

With his eyes closed, his terrifying physique amplified his senses to an unprecedented degree, and countless pieces of information flooded into his mind through his ears and nose.

"Have you heard? Those envoys from Sunagakure are spreading rumors about Lord Kaedeji's traitorous ninja behavior!"

"Sunagakure? Haven't those guys been here for ages? Why haven't they left yet?"

"They didn't leave, and they've become even more aggressive, accusing the village of tyranny and cruelty, and claiming that Lord Kaedeji killed Sunagakure ninjas. In short, they claim that either the village deliberately provoked a war between the two countries, or that Lord Kaedeji has become a rogue ninja and intends to start a ninja world war!"

"Ha, how interesting. Are these guys trying to blackmail the Hokage? Do they want the Hokage and the village to bow down? Do they want the village to kill Kaedeji Tsukasa as an apology to Sunagakure?"

Upon hearing this, people nearby, whether they were shopping or just passing by, burst into laughter.

No way, no way, there really isn't a village leader who would choose to sacrifice important subordinates in exchange for the recognition and understanding of a rival village, right?

Such an absurd operation is hardly typical of Konoha! The Sunagakure villagers, who are used as punching bags, have probably gone mad!

(End of this chapter)