Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 114 Amplifying Summoning Technique!
For Nagato and the others, the past few days have been quite difficult.

Nagato was actually doing alright. Compared to the days when he couldn't even find food, his current life in hiding was much better. He was more worried about Konan, who had been captured by Orochimaru, and even more concerned about when Yahiko, who had been gone for more than a day, would return.

Inside a mountain cave, Nagato was resting with his eyes closed. Having had too much life force drained by the Gedo Mazo, he was trying his best to recover. The other ninjas were keeping an eye on the outside world.

"Who goes there?" a ninja shouted sharply.

"Calm down, Kyusuke, it's me, I'm back."

Yahiko's figure came into everyone's view, but instead of relaxing, everyone was on edge and looked at Nagato.

Nagato activated the power of his Rinnegan and carefully observed that there were no problems with his chakra, movements, or micro-expressions.

"Yahiko, when do you plan to kill Orochimaru and rescue Konan?"

"We didn't actually devise a plan to kill Orochimaru; instead, we devised a plan to find him, and we can't rule out the possibility of infiltrating Konoha."

"That's great, it really is Yahiko! You're finally back!"

People immediately gathered around, all of them breathing a sigh of relief.

Yahiko said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry, everyone. I've made you all suspicious lately. I'm not a qualified leader, and our organization is also—"

"Don't say that, Yahiko. We all came together because we believed in you," Nagato hurriedly interrupted. Knowing Yahiko best, he vaguely felt that Yahiko's temperament had undergone a very subtle change, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

It seems... he's become more confident? No, that must be an illusion. In just over a day, Yahiko couldn't possibly find a way to change the situation overnight.

Yahiko carefully examined everyone present, observing the expressions on their faces.

The organization that the three of them built from scratch saw people constantly joining, and people constantly dying and leaving for various reasons.

But there will always be people willing to fight for that seemingly ethereal ideal.

“Nagato, we need to have a base that truly belongs to us,” Yahiko said.

Nagato nodded emphatically, confirming that Yahiko had indeed changed and become more confident: "I am now stronger than when I faced Orochimaru and Danzo a few days ago. With my current strength, even if the Kage of each village came in person, I would not lose!"

Nagato, who was hesitant in his actions, would not have made such a definite conclusion unless he had absolute confidence. This indeed gave everyone present a jolt, and they looked into his eyes with admiration.

"What incredible power, Nagato! You truly are the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths. The upper limit of your power is limitless, and your strength increases every single day." Kyusuke's spirits lifted. As one of the earliest followers of Nagato and his two companions, he had practically watched Nagato soar to new heights.

Having mastered all five elements, he was roughly at the level of a Jonin, and his rise was meteoric. Now he can even handle Kage-level opponents with ease.

"I don't know anything about reincarnation or anything like that. Anyway, I have no related memories. I just want to use this power to protect my companions, Konan..." Nagato clenched his fists, deeply regretting that his growth rate was too slow.

If he had had the strength he has now back then, he could have single-handedly defeated Danzo, Orochimaru, and Kaede Tsukasa. Why would he have just watched Konan get captured?
However, there was no other way, as he hadn't even awakened the ability to extract souls back then, and he still needed to summon the Outer Path Demon Statue to activate the Nine Seals of the Illusionary Dragon.

"I want to name our organization 'Akatsuki'! It represents the dawn of the world, dispelling darkness and spreading hope. With our strength, we will surely achieve this vision."

As Yahiko spoke in a deep voice, Konan's face kept appearing in his mind. His companion and lover had been captured, and his heart was already in turmoil. He had been struggling to suppress it and forcing himself to remain calm.

He is the leader, and he must lead the people forward.

However, now that he has found something to enhance his power, together with Nagato, they will surely be able to lead the Akatsuki organization to grow stronger!
"Nagato, come with me to Konoha Village in a while. We must bring Konan back no matter what. Kyusuke will lead everyone to guard the base."

Yahiko said firmly, "I will never abandon any of my companions. Otherwise, what is the point of our training? We might as well not train at all in the first place. The ideal of training without companions is absurd and unrealistic."

A smile appeared on everyone's face. Those who were willing to follow Yahiko to the end were not necessarily the smartest, nor were they the strongest, but their beliefs were certainly relatively firm.

Furthermore, some individuals vaguely noticed Yahiko's change, but did not inquire further, because Yahiko was not Nagato—Nagato was a simpler person who trusted his comrades who had gone through life and death together too much, answering any questions asked of him, lacking the most basic shrewdness.

But Yahiko is different. He's a "brain," someone who believes but isn't superstitious. If you ask him anything, he won't easily tell you.

Nagato looked at Yahiko with a puzzled expression. He knew Yahiko's talent all too well—even now, he was only an elite Jonin, and that was an optimistic estimate.

Could he and Yahiko really take Konan away from Konoha by running into the village alone? Konoha is teeming with skilled ninja, including several Kage-level ninjas, not to mention countless ninja legions...

However, since Yahiko said so, he must have his reasons. Nagato thought, "I should just blindly follow his instructions."

After resting for a while, the group decided to find a place to serve as the Akatsuki's base.

"Wait, someone is walking this way!"

Nagato stopped everyone, staring in shock at the figure that was slowly approaching from afar in the drizzle.

From afar to near, slowly and steadily, its appearance becomes clearer and clearer.

"Kaedejima?! It's Orochimaru. That guy still hasn't given up. Nagato, you protect our comrades. I'll figure out a way to defeat him and find out Konan's whereabouts!"

Yahiko's face darkened. Ignoring the astonishment and bewilderment of the others, he stepped forward and stood in front of them.

If we disregard Yahiko's strength, this demeanor makes these insecure and unstable people feel incredibly reliable—but Yahiko's strength is simply insignificant!

Kyusuke's face twitched. He never questioned Yahiko's orders, but now he couldn't help but say, "Boss, you alone are no match for Orochimaru. Why don't we all go together, force Orochimaru to reveal a weakness, and then create an opportunity for Nagato?"

“No need. I told you, I can take care of Orochimaru by myself,” Yahiko said resolutely.

Everyone was stunned, including Nagato. They were all confused. They could all see that Yahiko didn't seem to want to sacrifice himself to cover the escape of the others, but rather... did he really want to deal with Orochimaru here?

Yahiko, want to defeat Orochimaru?

At this moment, the figure that had emerged from the rain approached, stood not far away looking at the crowd, and said, "It seems that you have gained special power during the time I was away, Yahiko. I didn't even know that such power was sealed within the Land of Rain, allowing you to dare to fight a Hokage-level ninja and be confident that you can capture your opponent alive?"

Capturing a Kage-level expert alive is far more difficult than killing one; the difficulty levels are not even in the same league.

Kaede Tsukasa looked at Yahiko with interest: "If I didn't know you weren't the type to talk nonsense, I would have thought you were drunk."

"Enough with the nonsense, where's Orochimaru?"

Soon, Yahiko frowned, exchanged a glance with Nagato behind him, and immediately showed an incredulous expression: "Weren't you dead? Why are you alive?"

"What? He's alive?"

"Everyone had already confirmed that Kaedeji was dead, and Nagato even confirmed it with his Rinnegan. So why is he alive? And who was the Kaedeji we were fighting back then?"

"Not only that, the chakra fluctuations on his body are also different from before. There are different frequencies of chakra, among which one chakra is the most powerful."

Nagato was extremely surprised; this was truly beyond his comprehension.

Kaede's chakra is quite complex, like energy drawn from many people's bodies and then recreated. Nagato noticed this, but didn't take it to heart.

Kaede Tsukasa said calmly, "There's no particular reason. When I met you last time, I was indeed dead, but I managed to revive myself with a little effort. Nagato, you know that Danzo mentioned revival when he first recruited you."

"You're making resurrection sound as normal as walking, that's the biggest abnormality." Yahiko frowned.

"What seems abnormal to you is perfectly normal to me. Don't forget, I am the first Corpse Release ninja in the ninja world. Manipulating corpses and reversing life and death are simply within my capabilities. Is that so hard to understand?"

"And what's the price?" Nagato couldn't help but ask, to be honest, he was somewhat tempted.

"As for the price, of course there is one, and it's not exactly low... If I'm not mistaken, you also have a resurrection-type eye technique in your eyes. It would be abnormal if a Sage's Eye didn't even have that." Kaede Tsukasa pointed at Nagato.

Nagato fell silent. He had indeed just acquired a resurrection technique, a rare one that required him to form hand seals to cast – the Samsara Rebirth Technique!

But the price of resurrection is one life for another.

The price is too heavy. Who is worthy of the Rinnegan user's life to save? Normally, the Rinnegan user himself is the one most likely to change the world and the one who cannot die easily.

Nagato instinctively touched her eyes, but Yahiko grabbed her wrist.

Now everyone knew that Nagato truly possessed the resurrection eye technique, but no one showed any greed or covetousness on their faces. Those who had been standing next to Yahiko and Nagato remained unwaveringly vigilant.

"...Truly remarkable, Yahiko, Nagato, you have truly found companions worth protecting with your lives," Kaede Tsukasa exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.

He couldn't possibly risk his life to protect anyone in this world; if he did, he must have a more important purpose.

In any case, the line between life and death would continue to blur for him. One day, when he no longer needed to worry about his soul returning to the Pure Land, that would be the true mastery of the art of life and death. Yahiko said in a deep voice, "We've had such a companion from the beginning. Now that you've been resurrected, you must have broken free from Orochimaru's control. Could you return Konan to us?"

"That won't do. Xiao Nan hasn't finished the task I gave her."

"What mission?" Yahiko had a bad feeling.

Kaede Tsukasa casually remarked, "Let her make a few hundred billion explosive tags. Her paper-based ninjutsu is unique in the ninja world, so it's not difficult for her."

"Hundreds of billions!!"

Yahiko's face darkened, and he was about to roll up his sleeves, ready to make his move: "I will defeat you and bring Konan back. Don't worry, I won't really hurt you. After all, you saved our lives, and in a way, you also protected Konan from Orochimaru. But our comrades cannot become your tools."

Kaede looked at him with great interest, making various guesses about the power that Yahiko had just acquired.

"What kind of power could instantly elevate someone who's at most an elite Jonin to the Kage level?"

Kaede Tsukasa kept using the process of elimination. In any case, this surge in power couldn't have appeared out of nowhere; there were only a few possibilities.

It seems that the kidnapping of Konan was the biggest shock to Yahiko, even more so than to Nagato, to the point that Yahiko took some interesting actions and achieved some very good results.

“I’ll do it, Yahiko. Although I don’t know what power you have found, I will do it, because I have also gained a new and powerful power.”

Nagato stepped forward, striving to change himself and become more decisive: "I will defeat Lord Kaedejima and bring Konan back."

"……All right."

Yahiko was slightly surprised, but calmly said, "Then I'll leave it to you. I'll try my best to stop him from escaping."

Nagato stepped forward and launched an attack on Kaede Tsukasa: "Last time, you sacrificed one of your Sharingan to evade my Soul Sealing Technique. This time, you won't have any eyes to use, right? I don't believe the Uchiha clan will let you take their eyes."

"Who knows..."

Swish!
Nagato rushed towards Kaedeji, formed hand seals, and activated a summoning jutsu, creating a huge cloud of smoke.

"This hand seal is a summoning technique? Could it be that Nagato has already combined the Rinnegan with that kind of summoning technique? He's grown so fast." Kaede Tsukasa was surprised.

Sure enough, a dog with Rinnegan appeared, baring its teeth at Kaedeji.

This dog isn't very big; it's not a top-tier spirit beast at all. To put it bluntly, it's only at the level of a third-tier spirit beast.

As the dog lunged at Kaedeji, Kaedeji simply waved his hand, summoning Troy, who used a multitude of giant square shuriken to pin the dog down.

Sure enough, after the dog was injured, its flesh and blood immediately regenerated, and a new head quickly grew out.

"Oh, isn't this the dog we caught before? It has the Rinnegan too, and it can ignore physical damage. It even seems to have gotten stronger!"

"See that? This dog has Rinnegan in its eyes. Wait, it's even split! It went from one to two, and maybe it can keep increasing in number to eventually overwhelm the enemy?"

Kyusuke and the others were in high spirits.

This is a large summoning beast! Ordinary ninjas never have the chance to control such a summoning beast. Bigger is better, bigger is stronger!
A large individual can easily inflict damage on an ordinary ninja with a wave of their hand or a stomp of their foot, comparable to ninjutsu.

Not to mention, this summoned beast seems to become even stronger as it gets injured.

"As expected, it's an amplification summoning jutsu. Nagato did it."

Kaede Tsukasa was full of praise.

The more it is injured, the stronger it becomes, increasing the number of its heads. When necessary, it can also split into a corresponding number of individuals based on the number of its heads.

This is what makes the Amplification Summoning Technique so terrifying. However, this is not a Rinnegan eye technique, but an extremely rare B-rank summoning technique.

Nagato only chose to use the Amplification Summoning Technique to bind Cerberus, which is why Cerberus has this power of proliferation and splitting. If he were to use it on other summoned beasts, those other summoned beasts would also possess this ability.

In the manga timeline, Jiraiya suspected that the Cerberus's ability to grow heads and split itself was an amplification summoning technique. His subordinate, Gamaken, used a little physical skill and expended some energy to defeat all of the more than ten split Cerberus without taking any damage.

The anime timeline is quite unique. Gamaken is instead getting wrecked by a group of hellhounds, leaving him battered and bruised. In the end, Jiraiya has no choice but to step in and use the same summoning technique to summon the esophagus of the giant toad, Iwajuku, so that he can swallow all the hellhounds in one go and finally resolve the situation. It makes it seem like the hellhounds are really that powerful.

As for Kaedeji Tsukasa, the power that Nagato could wield so skillfully was nothing special.

"To be honest, although I am extremely skilled in psychic arts, I have never actually contracted a large psychic beast; I have always psychiced zombies."

As Kaede Tsukasa rushed towards him from one side, he formed a hand seal and unleashed his full power right from the start. He wasn't there to play house with these people; he had more important matters to attend to.

However, he needs to subdue these guys first, at least to make Yahiko and Nagato hesitant to oppose him.

Wood Release·Wood Dragon Technique!

As the earth trembled, suddenly, a ferocious wooden dragon emerged from the ground and pounced on the two dogs, binding them in an instant.

Even a slight exertion was enough to make the two dogs howl in agony. No matter how powerful their proliferative abilities were, they couldn't be utilized in the face of absolute binding force.

Everyone was stunned, including Nagato.

Because none of them had ever seen this kind of technique before, and they had no expectations whatsoever!
"Wow, this summoned beast is even bigger! A dragon???"

"No, this isn't a summoning beast, it's something created! This is ninjutsu!"

Yahiko's eyes widened. Could it be Wood Release?! He had heard Jiraiya mention that when two powerful ninjas from the Land of Rain were fighting, Tailed Beast Balls flew everywhere, and one of them had mastered Wood Release ninjutsu, creating a forest!
Creating a dragon with Wood Release... How did Kaede Tsukasa master Wood Release? His first move was such a powerful Wood Release technique, capable of destroying the terrain at will!
Once again, he felt he had underestimated Kaedeji. It seemed that every time they met, Kaedeji always managed to make him feel at a loss, displaying an unknown level of skill.

"Wood Release... This must be another powerful force within you."

Nagato was surprised to see his prized Cerberus defeated in one fell swoop by Kaedeji's Wood Release technique, but he did not place his hopes of defeating Kaedeji on the Cerberus.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Nagato bypassed the wooden dragon and arrived in front of Kaedeji.

"Oh? You actually approached me on your own initiative. Do you intend to use physical techniques to deal with me?" Kaede Tsukasa's expression remained unchanged, while the zombies beside him had already moved out and launched a righteous beating on Nagato.

Only those who can fight in teams will not fight one-on-one.

"Damn it, these corpses..."

Nagato gritted his teeth and first touched Troy's head, only to find that he couldn't sense anything—zombies don't have souls, so of course he couldn't pull anything out of them.

Numerous zombies surrounded Nagato, exchanging dozens of blows in a few seconds. Suddenly, Nagato spread his arms and used Shinra Tensei to blast away all the zombies, then moved closer to Kaede Tsukasa.

If you're eager to get close before the 5-second cooldown is up, but don't intend to kill him, then there's only one option left...

Kaedeji remained expressionless, his eyes shifting slightly.

"We've caught your true form!"

A look of surprise appeared on Nagato's face. In the blink of an eye, an extra arm suddenly shot out from behind him and grabbed at Kaede Tsukasa!
Normally, at this distance, relying on the power of the Asura Path, they should be able to succeed no matter what, unless Kaede Tsukasa escapes using space-time ninjutsu. Nagato has already begun calculating the locations of the other zombies, where Kaede Tsukasa will appear, and what methods to use to suppress him.

To Nagato's surprise, Kaedeji did not run away at all; he simply stood there with his hands outstretched in response.

In an instant, the two froze on the spot, as if they were engaged in a pure contest of strength—if one ignored the fact that they each had multiple arms.

Nagato stared at Kaede Tsukasa in disbelief: "How could you...?"

"How can you have arms? There are many things you don't know. It seems you've exposed another of your eye techniques." Kaedeji Tsukasa said calmly, his four arms tightly gripping Nagato's normal hands and the two hastily created Asura Path arms.

Nagato's abilities are still within the realm of understanding, since his two arms are clearly prosthetic.

But Kaede Tsukasa's arm is baffling; it's clearly a real flesh and blood arm!
"This is insane. You've made terrible modifications to your body... Is this the new ability you gained after being resurrected from the dead?"

“Very perceptive, Nagato. You have grown into an excellent ninja, capable of standing on your own. Now, let’s talk business. There’s no point in continuing to fight… I have something to give you. In return, you must help me when necessary.”

Kaede Tsukasa said calmly, "I will pay you with one tail to do something for me in the future."

(End of this chapter)