Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 224 The Second Moon
The relationship between Konoha and Mount Myōboku is far from close, especially after Kaede Tsukasa came to power, when he almost launched an invasion of Mount Myōboku. However, they eventually managed to reconcile.

The condition was that the toads of Mount Myōboku would supply him with Sage Chakra. However, in recent years, Tsukasa Kaede had been busy with the establishment and expansion of the Musou Tsukuyomi, and the ordinary chakra he had harvested was sufficient, so he had not actually plundered Mount Myōboku.

But this time it was different.

"Jigen really acted quickly; he's already destroyed Mount Myōboku like this in no time."

Kaedeji raised his hand and created two black holes, controlling the gravity released by them at will, giving him the ability to float and fly.

After surveying the uneven, pitted landscape of Mount Myōboku, which looked as if it had been gnawed by dogs, Kaedeji chuckled and waved his hand. Immediately, a group of dead toads rose again, trembling, to act as his eyes and ears, scattering in all directions so that Kaedeji could have a complete grasp of the situation throughout Mount Myōboku.

"No, this is a sacred place, and now it's been..."

Nagato gritted his teeth, trembling with anger. In truth, he had no deep feelings for Mount Myōboku. Nagato was brought to Mount Myōboku by Jiraiya during his teenage years when his values ​​were just beginning to take shape, so it was impossible for him to have been brainwashed by the theories of Mount Myōboku.

He also knew that Mount Myōboku had taught him Sage Mode because of the Rinnegan, and believed that he was the legendary Child of Prophecy who could change the ninja world. For Mount Myōboku, nurturing and assisting the Child of Prophecy could effectively protect the ninja world, which was to protect Mount Myōboku. On the other hand, it would undoubtedly allow them to maintain their superior status in the post-change era.

Now Nagato knows that his eyes are those of Madara and that he is not the Child of Prophecy at all. His deal with Mount Myōboku was a disaster from the start, but at least he got Sage Mode.

But to say that he had absolutely no feelings would be even more impossible. Although Nagato's personality changed drastically due to various setbacks, he still possessed the most basic emotions and morals.

Having witnessed firsthand how the once peaceful and beautiful Mount Myoboku, a paradise on earth, had become a scene of devastation and littered with corpses, Nagato felt a surge of anger from the bottom of his heart!
Moreover, he didn't know if his respected teacher Jiraiya was still on Mount Myōboku, or even if he was alive or dead!

Immediately afterwards, in the core area of ​​this holy land, a violent explosion occurred. One after another, huge cubes crashed down like cannonballs, crushing all matter and energy with unparalleled pressure.

In an instant, everything was razed to the ground.

"That direction leads to the Great Toad Sage... Oh no!"

Nagato let out a low growl and was about to rush over regardless of everything, but before he could make a move, Madara pressed down on his shoulder with even greater speed and forcefully pushed him back down.

"Daikoten, this is a more powerful eye technique than Sumina Bikona. Is it necessary to use this level of power in a place like Mount Myōboku?"

Madara followed, suppressing the irritable Nagato. He first glanced at Kaede Tsukasa in the sky, focusing on those two all-purpose black holes for a moment, which further strengthened his determination to obtain the space-time eye technique.

With Kamui and Daishinrei in his possession, Kaedejima possessed the ability to move over extremely long distances. Combined with Kaedejima's immeasurable amount of chakra, he completed the transfer from Konoha Village to Mount Myōboku in an instant.

This mobility was something even Madara envied.

As for Mount Myōboku? Madara didn't take the toads' habitat seriously at all. In the era when he and Hashirama dominated the ninja world, where would these toads have a place?
The so-called holy land is a joke; it's nothing more than a group of spirit beasts that have mastered immortal arts.

For Madara, Sage Mode was something dispensable. The Rinnegan, Wood Release, Tailed Beasts, the Divine Tree, and now the Otsutsuki clan—that was the true path. Natural energy and the like were merely secondary power systems; having them was good, but not having them didn't matter.

What terrified Ban even more were the enormous black cubes, each with strange red patterns that appeared intermittently, like breathing, their brightness fluctuating.

"What should we do? If you step in now, you might be able to save a few toads," Madara said to Kaedeji.

"Whether I save them or not, these toads aren't the only ones who know magic, and even if I act now, it's too late."

Kaede looked at the cubes. This was Jigen's strongest eye technique. The fact that he used this thing and created so many of them at once meant that Jigen intended to settle the situation in one blow.

As for the reason, it's probably because they sensed their arrival and got anxious.

Nagato said impatiently, "The Great Toad Sage has mastered prophetic techniques and can see the future! Jigen's attack on Mount Myōboku is definitely aimed at the Great Toad Sage, in order to stop prophetic techniques!"

That could only be the reason, otherwise he really couldn't understand why someone like Jigen would suddenly attack a place like Mount Myōboku.

"That's not necessarily true. The Great Toad Sage's half-baked prophetic abilities are incomparable to real prophetic arts."

Kaede Tsukasa descended from the sky to the ground, looking completely nonchalant, not taking the change seriously at all. To him now, Mount Myōboku was merely a place that produced high-quality cattle and horses, and its loss was no big deal.

As for the claim that Cixian went to such great lengths to kill a giant toad immortal... don't be ridiculous, that's simply impossible.

Compared to true prophecy and omniscience, the Great Toad Sage's unreliable and fragmented prophecies are utterly insignificant.

Take Kashin Koji's divine technique "Ten Directions" as an example. Kashin Koji can see countless future timelines, and on many of these timelines, he can see the tragic scene of the ninja world being drained of all its natural energy by the enormous divine tree, resulting in the extinction of all living beings.

Jiraiya happened to be at Mount Myōboku, which was probably no coincidence... Different divine arts have more demanding compatibility requirements for their hosts, and Jigen was probably targeting Jiraiya.

Nagato said impatiently, "If the three of us work together, we can definitely keep Jigen here! He escaped last time, but we definitely won't let him escape this time. We now have a powerful space-time eye technique."

“It’s not that simple. Last time we were able to force Jigen to retreat because we had an intelligence advantage, and Jigen underestimated us. But this time…” Madara looked at Kaedeji.

Previously, he and Nagato joined forces, forcing Jigen to release the Ten-Tails, which gave them a chance to escape. If Kaedeji hadn't used that Musou Tsukuyomi and had personally intervened, he might have actually killed Jigen!

If Jigen can initiate the reincarnation ritual and revive Isshiki in Jigen's body, Isshiki will only have two days to live, and without a better vessel, he will surely die.

Without saying a word, Kaedeji opened a portal with the Great Sun Spirit, stepped into it, and immediately appeared above the numerous cubes.

Even just being near these creations of the Great Black Heaven, Kaede Tsukasa could feel obvious discomfort. These cubes had the function of interfering with chakra, and also had a powerful suppressive and sealing effect.

In the original timeline, both Naruto and Sasuke suffered greatly under the Daikokuten eye technique.

Kaede Tsukasa saw Jigen's figure in the gaps between the many cubes, and Jigen's hand was still pinching the unconscious Jiraiya.

Cixian also noticed his presence and looked up to meet his gaze.

"This guy has mastered a new eye technique, making him even more difficult to deal with..." Jigen's heart tightened, but he quickly realized that this was an absolutely inappropriate reaction for him—a dignified Otsutsuki Isshiki, even if he were parasitizing and controlling Jigen's inferior body, should not have any instinctive fear of someone like Kaedejima!

Her pride was hurt once again, and even though Cixian had lived for over a thousand years, she was still angry about her own quiet transformation.

Kaede looked down at Jigen and said, "It seems you are worried about my arrival. There's no need to blame yourself for that, because you are facing an existence that is even more troublesome than your own kind."

"Ambitious, but impractical."

Jigen remained expressionless. At this point, even if Kaedeji's absolute strength were to reach the heavens, he could only contend with the weakest member of his clan, and even then, he might not be able to win. For example, there was Kinji, Momoshiki's subordinate, who existed as food for the Ten-Tails or Momoshiki when necessary.

"It seems your target is Jiraiya. If Jiraiya weren't at Mount Myōboku, this place wouldn't be in such a terrible state... But Mount Myōboku and I have a nominal cooperative relationship. Your invasion of this place has created a problem for me," said Tsukasa Kaede.

"Is that so? I'm sorry then, but we're even. We're nominally partners, but you've caused me no shortage of trouble, and I almost died," Cixian said coldly.

Kaede Tsukasa chuckled lightly: "Ah, it seems that's true. I don't know when we parted ways. Speaking of which, I don't think I ever pursued the matter of Orochimaru joining you, and you never gave me the Ten-Tails you promised."

"If you join the Kara organization I've formed, I will hand over the Ten-Tails to you."

“Very well, I agree. From now on, I am a member of the Shell organization.”

"Very good, I've placed the Ten-Tails in the Land of Rice Fields. Go and retrieve it."

The two locked eyes, and the clash of their gazes began the moment their eyes met.

Kaede Tsukasa scoffed. Go capture the Ten-Tails? It seems like a good idea, but going now would be a huge trap.

At that time, Jigen's body was on the verge of collapse, so he threw out the Ten-Tails to block the gun. After surviving that incident, Jigen recovered his health and could retrieve the Ten-Tails at any time.

Moreover, the Ten-Tails is absolutely crucial for creating the Tree Man. Rushing in at this time would result in a terrible death. And most importantly, it is a complete Ten-Tails, a true Six Paths level being!

Even if he didn't devour an Otsutsuki and couldn't develop the Divine Tree form, he was still the Ten-Tails. Considering the divine techniques Jigen possessed, especially "Claw Mark," which perfectly matched the Ten-Tails and even allowed the Ten-Tails' self-awareness to transform into a top-tier Divine Tree being.

Kaede Tsukasa will not consider taking action against the Ten-Tails for the time being, and will not do so until he has mastered the power of the Six Paths.

However, this period of time will not be too long.

"It won't be long before this world faces its final judgment. You stand on the opposite side of me. In the words of that giant toad, this is a choice of fate... although I don't agree that he understands fate."

Compared to Jigen, or rather, Isshiki Otsutsuki, the Great Toad Sage, who was highly respected, knowledgeable, and a living fossil of the ninja world, was nothing more than a child over a thousand years old.

Swish!
A portal appeared behind Jigen. He took one last look at Madara and Nagato, who were rushing over, and then disappeared from the spot.

"That bastard, he runs so fast!! Even faster than last time!"

Nagato roared angrily, glaring with his Rinnegan as he looked around, trying to find traces of the Great Toad Sage in the cube and the few remaining ruins.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. All that could be seen was Fukasaku, whose lower body had been crushed by a cube and who had already died. His bulging eyes, in their final moments, stared straight in a certain direction, filled with resentment.

"Even the immortal Fukasaku..."

Nagato ran quickly but didn't see any other corpses that caught his attention, which was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Kaede Tsukasa descended from the sky: "Jigen's target was Jiraiya. He severely injured Mount Myōboku, but deliberately knocked Jiraiya unconscious and captured him. These toads of Mount Myōboku are quite capable; they fought with all their might for Jiraiya and made great sacrifices."

“Jiraiya-sensei? But…” Nagato couldn’t understand, but he quickly figured out which angle to approach from.

Orochimaru was sneaking around in the gaps between the cubes, trying to slip through. Although the cubes could interfere with chakra and thus block perception, Nagato still managed to spot him with pure visual observation.

"Orochimaru!! You're the one who lured the Otsutsuki here!"

Nagato roared in anger, spread his arms and floated up, several Asura Path arms sprouted from his body, turning into chakra cannons, and blasted towards Orochimaru's location.

Despite the interference from the cube, it still covered an area, causing a violent burst of light.

A venomous snake slithered out from the crack in the cube, opened its mouth, and spat out Orochimaru.

"I never expected things to turn out this way. That bastard Cixian completely ignored me and abandoned me during the retreat."

Orochimaru revealed a sinister smile, but showed no fear. He looked at Kaede Tsukasa, Nagato, and Madara. He could not defeat any of the three, but he would never give up the struggle.

Psychic art!

Orochimaru summoned a large number of venomous snakes, which piled up in layers and spread out, writhing and twisting.

Nagato snarled, "Don't even think about leaving! You're going to die here today!"

If he can't beat the Otsutsuki, he can at least beat you! After defeating Orochimaru, he can use the Human Path's abilities to read Orochimaru's memories and see through Jigen's true purpose!
Kaede and Madara ignored this petty squabble. Since Nagato was willing to take action, they would just watch. In any case, Orochimaru would never escape.

“Since Cixian is speeding up his actions, I can’t just sit idly by.”

Kaede Tsukasa said, "It's time to create a second moon."

(End of this chapter)