Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 196 Beheading
Orochimaru was certain that his research was delving deeper into the inner workings of the Otsutsuki clan, and with each step forward, he was getting closer to a higher level of truth.

The thrill of peeping into the mysterious kept Orochimaru in a state of constant excitement, especially after he discovered Jigen's weakness and was able to obtain the bloodline genes belonging to the Otsutsuki clan from Jigen...

Even Orochimaru himself didn't know what results he could achieve through his research.

"Hmph, Otsutsuki... This is also a biological clock that makes Kaede Tsukasa extremely wary. If I can master the power of Otsutsuki, then I will have the power to deal with Kaede Tsukasa."

Orochimaru threw himself into the research with fervor.

As for the fact that the ninja world was thrown into turmoil by the appearance of the Musou Tsukuyomi, Orochimaru did pay attention to it, but that was all he could do; he couldn't do anything else.

There was no way around it. The Musou Tsukuyomi was essentially a super genjutsu. To understand this technique firsthand, one had to first fall under its spell and let one's consciousness fall into the Musou Tsukuyomi. But how could Orochimaru allow himself to fall under Kaede Tsukasa's genjutsu?

Therefore, they could only try to gather relevant information indirectly by asking around among the many people who had been affected by the Musou Tsukuyomi.

The more Orochimaru learned, the more astonished he became. To cram the consciousness of so many people into the same genjutsu was incredibly difficult; such a genjutsu had never been seen before in the recorded history of the ninja world!
Orochimaru couldn't even estimate the immense burden that Kaede Tsukasa was enduring every moment.

"I think I understand now. The missions and the illusory rewards are all just his scheme to harvest chakra. Even if someone realizes Kaede Tsukasa's purpose, they will most likely remain silent, just so they can continue to use the Musou Tsukuyomi."

Orochimaru understood. Putting everything else aside, the fact that different strong individuals were chosen to fight to the death in the genjutsu world was enough to boost the combat power of Konoha ninjas, which was extremely bad news for other ninja villages.

The countdown to destruction has accelerated again. If the Musou Tsukuyomi is officially launched, it means that Kaede Tsukasa has passed the most difficult stage and will no longer need the various ninja villages to continue providing him with prisoners.

"I don't have much time left."

Orochimaru's expression was strange, a kind of morbid excitement. He threw himself into the research more and more frantically, turning it into a race against time. If he could complete the plan before Kaede Tsukasa overwhelmed everything with his accumulated power, there might still be a chance to change everything in this world.

But Orochimaru simply couldn't do things according to his own wishes; someone else was constantly taking action, obsessively pursuing his goals.

As a result, Orochimaru was affected in ways he hadn't anticipated.

"A plea for help... Honestly, Tianzang, you'd better go this time. I don't seem to have any other reliable people under my command."

……

Nagato, leading the Akatsuki organization, rapidly expanded within the Land of Rain with unprecedented aggressiveness. Wherever they went, they either submitted or were defeated. This shows that Nagato had not completely turned evil; at most, his methods had become more radical, but he had not yet committed acts of extermination.

Even so, Nagato's power was absolutely beyond what ordinary people could withstand. As the strongholds and villages surrounding Amegakure were successively eliminated, the Akatsuki organization had officially expanded its sphere of influence to the very gates of Amegakure.

The Land of Rain has been divided in two, either by Nagato's Akatsuki organization or by Hanzo's Amegakure.

The rain was drizzling down.

Konan pulled off her rain hat, looked at Nagato sitting alone in the darkness, and said worriedly, "Hanzo still hasn't responded to us. It seems he doesn't intend to relinquish power..."

"This is not unexpected. Although Hanzo has become cowardly due to his old age, he is still a demigod in the ninja world. He will not really surrender. All his actions are just to buy time."

Nagato stood up, his face thinner and paler than usual. His emotions had clearly changed since Yahiko died in his arms—which, in a way, wasn't a bad thing.

Nagato said coldly, "Today, his so-called era as a demigod will come to an end. In this weeping nation, there can only be one voice, and that is my voice!"

"We can't be careless. Even though the Akatsuki is expanding rapidly, they only have a handful of truly top-tier fighters..."

"Konan, you overestimate Hanzo. His strongest achievement back then was defeating the Legendary Sannin of Konoha during World War II. He was indeed very intimidating in that era, but now, he is nothing. He is not qualified to control a village by himself."

Nagato said coldly, "Don't even mention me, even if you, Konan, were to take action, you could bomb Hanzo to death, leaving him no chance to resist. It's not that he's so strong, but that we have already become stronger, which is why we are qualified to survive in this era!"

Yes, survival.

Sometimes, when Nagato looked back on the first half of his life, he felt it was absurd. He didn't know when the ninja world had become so bizarre, as if an invisible monster was twisting the development of the world.

People used to weep bitterly for the separation of life and death, and were deeply moved by the ninjas who bravely sacrificed themselves to complete their missions. But that is all in the past, and has been ruthlessly thrown into the dustbin of history.

The latest version is that there's no time or energy to waste on dead people. Instead of crying and feeling sad, it's better to think about how to complete more tasks and how to make Kaede Tsukasa more satisfied.

Hanzo employed his tactic of isolating himself from the world, distrusting even his most trusted subordinates and isolating himself in a house where subordinates had to stay at least ten meters away from him to report.

This method of play used to be incredibly effective, preventing various acts of betrayal and assassination. This distance is enough for a powerful figure like Hanzo to react and calmly deal with any unexpected situation.

Using poison or other methods is utter nonsense; the poison in Hanzo's body is already the most potent poison in the ninja world.

But that was the way things were done in the past. In today's world, the price of closing off villages and countries is that you fall far behind the current version.

"The changes that have taken place in the ninja world in the past ten years or so are more dramatic than those in the past few decades. Hanzo is an outdated old man. He is incapable of governing this country well, so he should hand over power."

A fierce glint flashed in Nagato's eyes: "What angers me even more is that he actually colluded with the rogue ninja of Konoha!"

Xiao Nan was startled: "Could it be that you're talking about..."

"Shimura Danzo!" Nagato gritted his teeth. "I sensed his chakra in the rain. Has that old dog finally reappeared? He's hiding in Amegakure! We can't let him escape this time!"

Konan shut her mouth completely and stopped trying to persuade him in any way—it was pointless the moment Danzo appeared.

Danzo was undoubtedly one of the people Nagato hated. During the years when Nagato was still developing, Danzo launched attacks time and again, trying to steal Nagato's Rinnegan.

With Kaede Tsukasa becoming the Fourth Hokage, Danzo fled in disarray, and now his tracks have finally been exposed.

Shortly after. Boom!

Nagato floated in the air and unleashed a Shinra Tensei downwards, flattening Hanzo's carefully constructed safe house.

Most of the guards had no chance to react and were crushed along with the building. Only Hanzo and Danzo managed to escape.

"It's an enemy, an attack style I've never seen before, a ninja with the ability to fly and perform long-range explosions? I remember Deidara, the rising genius from Iwagakure, had this ability... No, that's Nagato..."

Hanzo stared wide-eyed at Nagato, who was slowly descending from the sky.

Countless sheets of paper gathered from all directions, blocking the two's escape route, and some of the paper condensed into Xiao Nan's upper body.

"Nagato, Konan... the Akatsuki organization really couldn't hold back after all, and meticulously planned to launch a rebellion." Hanzo sneered.

Danzo raised his head: "Hanzo, this is an internal matter of your country, so I won't get involved. If you were still alive, we might have a chance to meet again."

"Don't even think about escaping, Danzo. You were the one who hunted us down before, now it's my turn to do what you did to us back then."

Nagato landed in front of the two, his voice icy cold.

Danzo frowned slightly: "It seems that I have become the one you deal with in passing... Back then, I acted as a Konoha ninja, and everything I did was naturally in the interests of Konoha. Leaving the Rinnegan in Konoha was the most correct choice! But since Kaede Tsukasa's coup, I have been burdened with the infamy of being a traitorous ninja, and I have not attacked you again."

"You stopped because you no longer had the strength to deal with us, not because of a change in identity! Go tell those ridiculous excuses to the vengeful spirits who died at your hands when you go to the Pure Land," Xiao Nan said sternly.

Nagato shook his head: "You're wrong, Konan. He doesn't even have the right to go to the Pure Land. I will imprison his soul in the Hell Path, where he will never be able to escape."

Danzo's expression turned cold as he began to devise an escape plan.

It seems the only option is to use Hanzo to create an opportunity to escape. However, Hanzo probably has the same idea: to use me to create a gap in the escape plan, Danzo thought to himself.

But this time, he was wrong. Hanzo had no intention of escaping at all. Although he was furious because of the attack, he had already expected this outcome. Given the Akatsuki's expansion speed, it was inevitable that they would go to war with his Amegakure. Whoever won would control the Land of Rain.

The only thing Hanzo hadn't expected was that Nagato and Konan would actually employ a decapitation tactic, charging directly into Amegakure to attack him.

Nagato said, "I'll deal with Danzo. Konan, you hold Hanzo off for me. Yahiko's death is partly their fault. If they hadn't forced us, Yahiko wouldn't have risked accepting that guy's power."

Swish!
Nagato raised his hand and used the Universal Pull, violently pulling Danzo's body towards him.

Danzo immediately used a summoning technique to summon a giant summoning beast to stand in front of him and absorb the suction force. He then used a wind release technique to attack the summoning beast in front of him.

Nagato suddenly flipped his hand, and the Universal Pull instantly switched to the Divine Rasengan. This inhalation and repulsion generated an even more violent impact, not only blasting a large dent into the summoning beast's massive body, making it seem like it couldn't survive, but also completely destroying Danzo's Wind Release techniques.

"Don't even think about taking this opportunity to escape. You're planning to use Izanagi? You think you can use the same trick on me again?"

Nagato took in Danzo's every move and basically figured out one of Izanagi's characteristics: he could only revive near the point of death, and it was impossible for him to be too far away.

As long as Nagato keeps a close eye on Danzo, with his strength, even if Danzo is resurrected, he won't be able to escape, and his death is only a matter of time.

Danzo realized this as well, and his heart pounded with fear. But no matter how he resisted, he couldn't shake off Nagato's pursuit. He retreated in a disheveled manner, but each step he took was actually pushing him into the abyss of despair.

When Danzo made up his mind to use his second, and only remaining, three-tomoe Sharingan to activate Izanagi again, he looked up and caught a glimpse of the eyeshadow on Nagato's eye.

"Sage Mode? And he didn't rely on the toads; he successfully cast the spell using only his own power? Damn Jiraiya! Damn Mount Myōboku! They actually taught this technique to an outsider! Kaedejima Tsukasa also failed in his duty by not retrieving the Sage Technique!"

Danzo was shocked and furious. He was directly exposed to Sage Mode's perception, and no action of his could be concealed!

Nagato not only greatly enhanced his sensory abilities, but also experienced an explosive improvement in his physical attributes, becoming as fast as lightning, further sealing off Danzo's escape route.

As Nagato suddenly appeared in front of him, his two Asura Path arms gripped Danzo tightly.

"It's useless, this method can't kill me." Danzo's body creaked, all his bones were under pressure from the immense force.

"I don't need to kill you, I just need to exhaust your time as much as possible. Each Sharingan can keep you alive for sixty seconds. During this time, no matter how many times I kill you, you will revive."

Nagato's expression grew increasingly dangerous. Danzo's invincibility only lasted for a short time, so it was better to restrain Danzo as much as possible.

"hateful!"

Danzo had no choice but to change reality and break free from Nagato's grasp, fleeing at all costs, but Nagato's figure immediately appeared in front of him.

Nagato is faster than him!

"Judging from your appearance, you can already see your own death, Danzo... You will never be able to be reborn in the hell realm. This is the end you deserve. At least you will still have a soul."

Yahiko, however, couldn't even leave behind a soul; he vanished completely...

Nagato opened his arms towards Danzo's head, the two were extremely close, which sealed Danzo's fate; there was no possibility of escape.

As Danzo roared in despair, Nagato extracted Danzo's soul, bringing an end to the darkness of this old era of ninja.

On the other side, Konan had already engaged Hanzo in battle, but the commotion between the two was unexpectedly small, as neither of them used their full strength. Konan was waiting for Nagato to make a move, but Hanzo seemed unhurried, as if he was also waiting for something.

(End of this chapter)