Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 120 Ban is about to die, Si Jiao Shan

Sakumo Hatake lost.

He encountered an opponent who was completely unexpected. His highly skilled swordsmanship was completely ineffective against Nagato.

The opponent started with a bunch of instant-cast, no-mark techniques, and his ability to manipulate gravity and repulsion at will was already giving Sakumo a huge headache.

After he finally deduced the information about the 5-second interval, he seized the opportunity to rush in for close combat. However, several hands suddenly grew out of Nagato's body and slammed down in a chaotic mess, which also served as a human shield to block his sword.

It's not just that the arms can regenerate quickly after being severed; the key is that these arms can also be used as explosive ninja tools and launched remotely.

This is why Sakumo Hatake was able to survive taking so many unsealed techniques. If it were any other ninja, who knows how many lives they would have had to sacrifice to slowly probe out this information.

Nagato even tried to touch him, causing his sixth sense to scream a warning – if he didn't dodge, he would die!
Even in the end, Sakumo Hatake never figured out what kind of technique it was that touched him, or how it ended his life.

However, Nagato would not make such a strange move during such an intense battle; he must have been able to inflict a severe blow on him after the battle.

Sakumo Hatake guessed that this must be some kind of sealing technique, and that touching him would knock him down.

"...I won't make excuses for my failure, but that's just how it is. I'm no match for Celestial Eyes. I did my best, but it seems I only gave him a warm-up. He still has even more terrifying abilities he hasn't used yet."

Sakumo Hatake reported expressionlessly. In reality, although the Rinnegan's abilities were powerful and unsolvable, Nagato, who wielded these eyes, did not seem to possess the legendary power of the Sage of Six Paths to change the world and reshape it.

Perhaps they haven't discovered the true potential of the Rinnegan? But that's no longer relevant to Sakumo Hatake.

What impressed Sakumo Hatake was actually another person, the one who called himself Yahiko.

Despite it being just a physical attack, it put incredible pressure on Hatake Sakumo, and even broke his sword with a kick.

Utane Koharu and Mitokado En looked at each other.

They both knew about Nagato's situation, and they also knew that Danzo and Orochimaru had repeatedly tried to take action but had failed time and time again.

This time was no different; it was Sakumo Hatake's turn to suffer a setback.

“Nagato Uzumaki has grown up. A few years ago, he could only hide behind Jiraiya, but now he can stand on his own.”

Koharu Utatane said helplessly, "He has a blood feud with Konoha for killing his father and mother. It's impossible for someone like that to stand on Konoha's side."

"He was also Jiraiya's disciple."

"That's why I didn't directly say he was an enemy of Konoha!"

Both advisors' words were filled with dissatisfaction towards Jiraiya.

Regardless of whether they support Danzo's shady activities on many occasions, having a good relationship with Danzo and believing that he will not harm the village is one thing, but the main thing is that Danzo's methods always solve problems at their source.

If Danzo were to discover Nagato first, he would bring Nagato back to Konoha Village no matter what, using methods including but not limited to deception, threats, and inducement.

Once Danzo realizes that things are hopeless, he is absolutely capable of stealing the Rinnegan—of course, he will definitely keep it a secret after he succeeds and secretly study how to use the Rinnegan.

But at least this left the Rinnegan in Konoha, adding a foundation to the village that surpasses an S-rank forbidden technique, preventing the village from having one or more enemies!
Compared to this, what Jiraiya did was far too abstract; he planted such a huge bomb in the village based on wishful thinking.

It's only been a few years? How old is Nagato? And yet he's already defeated a powerful ninja like Hatake Sakumo who never makes mistakes.

Everyone looked at the Third Hokage, waiting for his reaction.

"Go and rest, Sakumo. You've done your best. Encountering Nagato in Sunagakure was unavoidable. It's not a big deal that you didn't get the Reanimation Jutsu. Aren't the people who master this forbidden technique the village's best ninjas? This technique has always been in the village." The Third Hokage smiled.

This is not surprising; he rarely criticizes subordinates who try hard but ultimately fail, but instead encourages them.

The two advisors were very dissatisfied after Sakumo Hatake left.

"Nagato's matter must be resolved as soon as possible. His growth rate is too fast. He even established that Akatsuki organization to recruit people. With the Reanimation Jutsu, he can be resurrected even if he dies in battle. If this continues for a few more years, I am very worried about the situation of Konoha Village," Koharu Utatane said with dissatisfaction.

The Third Hokage calmly asked, "Do you mean the village should assemble a massive army to launch a full-scale attack on the Land of Rain? Or should we send an elite squad to infiltrate the Land of Rain and assassinate Nagato?"

"This might not be a bad solution!"

"You're leading the team personally?"

“This...should we take a longer-term view and send Kaedeji? He’s one of the best ninjas in the village, and Orochimaru and the others might not be a match for him…” Mitokado Homura hesitated.

To do it personally? Impossible, absolutely impossible, it's not good for prolonging life.

The Third Hokage said expressionlessly, "This matter ends here. Whether it's Sunagakure or Akatsuki, they can just send spies to gather intelligence. The most important thing for the village now is to recuperate and build up its strength."

When this is mentioned, the Third Hokage inevitably thinks of the Hashirama cell transplantation experiments led by Orochimaru and Kaede Tsukasa, which so far only resulted in the successful transplants of Senju Momoka and Kaede Tsukasa, while all the others have failed—those two must have also embezzled a lot of corpses.

"Let's stop the human experimentation project. Continuing it will only lead to more people sacrificing themselves in vain. Our fellow villagers don't deserve this fate."

The Third Hokage ordered, "According to Sakumo's report, he also saw Orochimaru in Sunagakure. This guy has once again acted without authorization. Suspend him from all his duties."

The two advisors had no objections.

Orochimaru, however, was very unwilling to accept the order. He had not obtained anything of value in Sunagakure, and now even his experiments were to be forcibly stopped by the village.

"Hmph, what a pity. I didn't expect someone like Hatake Sakumo to fail. Aren't you disappointed at all, old man?" Orochimaru took off his gloves. He had copied all the experimental data and advanced biotechnology from the cellular level to the genetic level.

If given a few more years and a large number of living people as experimental subjects, Orochimaru felt that he might actually be able to create a finished Wood Release technique.

It's not the kind of power that Danzo and Momoka obtained by maintaining a balance; it's a true Wood Release bloodline that was extracted from within the body.

Unfortunately, there was no time left. The Third Hokage's courage disappointed him once again. Hashirama cells were definitely the cheapest and fastest way to form combat power in Konoha, making them the most suitable for widespread deployment. We shouldn't stop the experiment just because we encountered setbacks. Shouldn't we grit our teeth and continue to maintain a low level of investment?
"It would be the most foolish decision for us not to make the most of our time to study what we have." Orochimaru's face was smiling, but it was clear that he was very fierce.

The ANBU ninja coldly replied, "This is the Hokage's order, Orochimaru. Even you must obey it."

"Hmph, you're right. Nothing's going well lately. It's really terrible. The collaborator I wanted has abandoned me, the technique I wanted is nowhere in sight, and the experimental results I wanted have been forcibly stopped... Looking at it this way, I'm truly a complete failure." Orochimaru laughed.

The ANBU ninja's gaze pierced through the mask and landed on Orochimaru. As the son of the Third Hokage, he would report what he saw and heard truthfully, even if the other party was the Hokage's personal disciple.

Orochimaru has already openly expressed his dissatisfaction. It's really not easy to make such a deep-thinking guy show such a loss of composure... The ANBU ninja thought to himself.

Orochimaru stared at the departing figure with a cold gaze, and after a long while, he regained his composure.

Defect? ​​No, there's no need for that for now. Although Konoha Village is showing signs of decay, it is still the strongest in the ninja world. Relying on Konoha Village, he can continue to carry out all sorts of shady experiments.

"Almost there, just a little longer... My immortality technique isn't finished yet, hehehe, Kaede-kun gave me quite a bit of inspiration, I can actually get a new body in this way..."

Orochimaru licked his lips. The core of Kaede Tsukasa's operation is the soul. Transferring the soul and changing the body, his Reanimation Jutsu can do the same thing - as long as you devour the target's soul, you can take over the target's body.

The next step is to cultivate a perfect body. If we can perfect the genetic experiments and cultivate someone with the Wood Release bloodline limit, that will be his future body.

……

For Sakumo Hatake, it was a terrible day; beneath his seemingly calm expression, his emotions were in turmoil.

Upon returning home, Sakumo immediately saw Kakashi and Obito sparring in the yard.

It was a very simple taijutsu exchange, a pure contest of skill and physical ability, without involving ninjutsu or genjutsu. Yet, Sakumo was astonished to see his carefully trained son defeated by Obito.

"That Obito's physical abilities are far too strong, even stronger than his peers from the Senju clan." Sakumo was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it.

That's probably what genius is all about. It wasn't until Obito opened his Sharingan that he truly soared to new heights.

"Father."

Kakashi wiped the sweat from his brow and bowed to Sakumo Hatake.

"I apologize for disturbing you. We need to have a match, so we've temporarily borrowed your courtyard." Obito didn't even catch his breath, bowing his head respectfully.

"No need for that, you can all do as you please. You're one of the most outstanding geniuses in recent years, I'm more than happy to have you guiding Kakashi," Sakumo Hatake said with a smile.

This made Obito feel very favorably towards him. Lord Sakumo was unexpectedly gentle...

"Kakashi, I forgot to tell you, starting tomorrow, I will be a genin in the village and will begin to carry out village missions." Obito said, his arms crossed behind his head, deliberately speaking in a calm tone.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I've already applied to graduate early for my exams, so maybe we'll become teammates."

"Hmph, forget it. By the time you graduate, I'll have already completed many missions. You won't be able to keep up with my speed. Maybe I'll even have awakened my Sharingan." Obito raised his chin.

Neither Sakumo nor Kakashi doubted that the Sharingan would awaken; it was simply a matter of time—even though only a very small number of people in the Uchiha clan could awaken it.

If someone with Obito's talent couldn't awaken the Sharingan, that would be too incredible.

"I'm leaving. I'm planning to challenge Hidan soon, but I can't find him anywhere."

Obito may appear to disdain Kakashi, but he will always be extremely respectful to Sakumo Hatake—it's not that he really disdains Kakashi, it's just that he enjoys the feeling of showing off, it's just a posture he's putting on. He values ​​the relationship he has cultivated with Kakashi.

Anyway, being with Kakashi is much more comfortable than being with those boring girls who scream all the time.

Sakumo Hatake had already brought out two cups of tea. In other clans, especially the Uchiha clan, it would be impossible for an older person to do such a thing for two juniors: "Hidan... he is a powerful ninja who inherited the Corpse Release technique. Although he is very young, he is already regarded as the next generation's leader. Considering Kaede Tsukasa's current prestige, Hidan's every move is closely watched."

Although Hidan also had a glorious record of killing the Four-Tails, Sakumo speculated that Hidan must have mastered some kind of forbidden technique for killing on first encounter, and took advantage of the Four-Tails Jinchuriki's unpreparedness to strike and kill him.

Countless people want to obtain information about Hidan, both to guard against future encounters with him on the battlefield and to further uncover Kaede Tsukasa's secrets.

"Lord Sakumo, I heard that after Sunagakure was defeated by Kaedeji, it was immediately besieged by many people, and everyone in the village is talking about it," Obito casually mentioned. "Is that Reanimation Jutsu really that important?"

Sakumo was pondering when he casually replied, "Yes, nominally it's for the Reincarnation Technique, but how could a forbidden technique be so easy to master? Even if you master it, you might never have the chance to use it in your entire life. Those guys also have another important objective: to crack Kaedeji's intelligence. The Corpse Escape Technique poses a huge threat to hostile countries."

Now that Sunagakure has fallen, how could the other ninja villages not have something to say? Kaede Tsukasa single-handedly defeated thousands of enemies—even if this defeat was a retreat that Sunagakure had no intention of going to war with Konoha and had to make in order to reduce losses.

Even so, it's enough to prove how terrifying Kaedeji is. He's truly an army all by himself. If Kaedeji were given more time, and allowed to collect more and better corpses...

Then there's really no fun left.

Obito left Kakashi's house and pondered deeply.

Compared to ordinary people, having been personally instructed by Madara, he was more familiar with many of Kaede Tsukasa's powers and knew how the Reanimation Jutsu had been used by Kaede Tsukasa.

"According to Madara, Kaede Tsukasa has become one of the obstacles to the Eye of the Moon Project, but I can't fall out with Kaede Tsukasa. I have to rely on his and Nagato's strength to strengthen myself."

At that moment, Obito suddenly stopped and looked at the White Zetsu that emerged from the tree trunk beside him: "What's wrong? Didn't I tell you not to wander around the village? If there happens to be a Hyuga clan ninja observing you with the Byakugan, you'll be exposed."

"There's no other way. Madara's side is about to collapse, and he asked me to take you there as soon as possible," White Zetsu said.

"Is that so? He's about to die..." Obito's expression was complicated.

Soon after, he appeared at the mountain cemetery and saw the dying Uchiha Madara.

The man who once pacified the ninja world appeared calm, but you could tell from his breathing that every second he lived was torture, and he was just enduring it.

"What do you want from me?" Obito showed the respect due to Madara.

He knew that Madara needed his help and that Madara wanted him to take over Madara's name and advance the Eye of the Moon Plan in the future. He couldn't even understand why the Eye of the Moon Plan needed to be implemented, but that didn't stop him from respecting Madara.

Because Madara truly taught him so much, he was able to become a sensation in Konoha as a super genius, and even attract the attention of many enemy ninja villages who were preparing to assassinate him, all thanks to Madara's teachings.

"Wait a little longer, there's another person coming, and he's been delayed." Ban closed his eyes, trying to conserve his energy.

Soon after, a figure appeared at the Mountain Cemetery, following White Zetsu and Black Zetsu.

"...You're dying. I can feel your life hanging by a thread as you stand here. Are you going to give your last words?" Kaede Tsukasa didn't even glance at Obito, but instead looked Madara up and down.

To be honest, Madara in this timeline is incredibly unlucky, because many of his plans have fallen apart due to Kaedeji's influence.

The crucial Gedo Mazo, which was supposed to serve as an important medium for prolonging life, was instead summoned away by Nagato, who craved power, using his Rinnegan.

Ban said slowly, "Everyone has to die eventually, and I'm no exception. Not everyone can have an immortal life like you."

“Flattering me won’t help. Given our current relationship, not only will I not use the Reincarnation Technique to extend your life, but I will also kill you,” Kaede Tsukasa said. “So, you’d better settle your affairs as soon as possible so I can take care of you.”

"Hmph, what an arrogant junior. Whatever. I should have lived a few more years to train Obito, but it's too late now."

Madara said, "Obito has inherited the power I taught him very well. Now it's just a matter of time. Before he inherits my name, you need to protect him. Don't forget, you were the one who brought him to me in the first place."

"It's easy."

Kaede glanced at the somewhat anxious Obito. He was also very curious about what kind of Mangekyou Sharingan Obito would awaken in this timeline; it shouldn't be Kamui.

Space-time eye techniques can be useful even on battlefields at the Six Paths level—although for the Otsutsuki, everyone can freely open space-time portals for remote teleportation, and if they don't have a few space-time eye techniques, they'd be embarrassed to call themselves Otsutsuki.

Even someone like Kinshiki, who's practically a sixth-level weakling, can use his Byakugan to unleash a dojutsu that's almost identical to, or even stronger than, Kamui.

Even the worst space-time eye technique is still useful, at least much more useful than Amaterasu, which is supposedly the strongest physical attack eye technique.

The young Obito received cheers, flowers, applause, respect, and attention that he had never experienced in any other timeline. He didn't have thoughts like "the real world is too cold and cruel, so I need to avoid reality."

The eye technique of the Mind's Reflection Eye could not possibly be Kamui.

"I plan to take Obito away from here to the Land of Water. That closed-off country, which is plagued by internal strife, is a good place for us to make a base. Turbulence makes it easier for us to survive."

Ban put on Ah Fei's clothes.

Kaede looked at his own corpse that had fallen out of Tobi's body—it was his own body—and immediately took it back and carefully sealed it away.

"Huh? I finally got this body, and you just took it back like that." Afei muttered to himself.

"There's no need to be resentful. Didn't you get a better body?"

"Will you hand over Lord Madara's body to me after he dies?"

"Of course not, I'd rather keep it myself than give it to you," Kaedeji Tsukasa said calmly.

He's just waiting for Ban to die.

Madara wanted to take some action before he died, and similarly, Kaede Tsukasa, after coming back to life, also planned to take some action.

Completely resolving Madara's problem is only part of the plan. For the next period of time, Kaede Tsukasa will shift his focus back to Konoha Village.

His relationship with the village is steadily declining and will continue to decline in the future—he is ultimately not Orochimaru or Danzo.

The relationship between Orochimaru and Danzo and the Third Hokage is definitely not comparable to that of someone like Kaede Tsukasa, who was born into a war orphan.

“Sunagakure has been decimated and won’t recover anytime soon. Other ninja villages probably won’t easily start a war. You’ve chosen a good time.” Kaede Tsukasa glanced at Madara. “My patience is limited. I’ll give you one day to tell Obito to handle your affairs after you’re gone. Then you can die. Even if you use Izanagi to save your life, it won’t help.”

Ban snorted coldly: "Only someone like you would dare to talk to me like that... One day is enough. But I don't care if I die, you must ensure that the Eye of the Moon Project is executed smoothly no matter what."

"Understood. There's no more reliable plan than your Eye of the Moon right now, so I'll do it for now: collect all the tails and stuff them into the Gedo Statue." Kaedeji Tsukasa remained noncommittal.

Once those Otsutsuki arrive one after another, the Eye of the Moon Plan will be a joke, but that's not Madara's fault.

Madara took Obito away. If nothing unexpected happens, when Obito returns, he will definitely have the Sharingan.

It's ridiculous to expect Obito to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan at the age of six, but awakening the one-tomoe Sharingan is perfectly fine—Itachi awakened his Sharingan at the age of eight, and Obito, with his White Zetsu cells, went even further. With Madara's help, it wouldn't be difficult at all.

"After killing Madara, we should seriously consider what to do next... If I'm not mistaken, public opinion will definitely shift regarding the Hokage and the village."

Kaedeji's expression was calm. It was time to make a decision about some things, and it was time to reach a conclusion regarding Kushina Uzumaki.

(End of this chapter)