Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 227 Retrieving the Ten-Tails
It wasn't just Iwagakure that had designs on the Ten-Tails; many others had already attempted to attack it before Onoki made his move.

The local ninja groups in the Land of Rice Fields must have clashed with the Ten-Tails. Now that they've been caught by the Ten-Tails, they're definitely not going to surrender willingly and will surely fight to the death.

Needless to say, the reconnaissance units and capture teams sent by various ninja villages have all taken action against the Ten-Tails to varying degrees, whether to gather intelligence or to achieve a decisive victory in one battle. At the very least, they have set up many large-scale traps, although they have had no effect other than provoking the Ten-Tails.

However, there has never been a case like Onoki, where the highest military commander of a country personally took action to capture the Ten-Tails.

"That old codger Onoki, despite his advanced age, is surprisingly energetic."

The Fourth Raikage witnessed the entire battle between Onoki and the Ten-Tails. Although it only lasted a few rounds, each strike was of a strength that ordinary ninjas could not match, and every move he made was at the level of an S-rank ninjutsu.

At any other time, the Fourth Raikage would have immediately locked onto Onoki, devising a plan to eliminate the old man—Kumogakure and Iwagakure are sworn enemies, similar to the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure, always ready to fight to the death upon meeting.

Without Kaedeji's influence, in the original Third Shinobi World War, Iwagakure would have sent a force of 10,000 to besiege the army led by the Third Raikage. The Third Raikage would have stood up alone to cover his comrades' retreat.

At the same time, Konoha Village would send out Minato Namikaze in perfect unison to hold off the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, preventing these two Kage-level powerhouses from providing timely support.

Otherwise, the Third Raikage fought against 10,000 Iwagakure soldiers for three days and three nights. Given the movement speed of the AB brothers and the space-time technique of the Heavenly Delivery Technique, which allows for transporting items over extremely long distances, the Third Raikage would have been able to escape no matter what, or at the very least, he wouldn't have died from exhaustion.

To put it bluntly, if the Fourth Raikage were to arrive on the battlefield, he could carry the Third Raikage on his left arm and drag Killer Bee with his right. With all three of them focused on escaping, Onoki would be helpless even if he tore apart all his Dust Release techniques.

But things are different now. Times have changed, and everything has become unrecognizable, forcing even sworn enemies to band together for warmth.

The Fourth Raikage's main focus shifted to the Ten-Tails. He was happy to see the old codger Onoki clash with the Ten-Tails, as it would allow him to gather detailed information about it.

All previous actions against the Ten-Tails were essentially minor skirmishes. Even the capture teams couldn't last more than two rounds against the Ten-Tails, and were not enough to make the Ten-Tails reveal its true power after its rampage.

"Lord Raikage, we have received a communication from the rear asking if we need Lord Killer Bee's support. The Heavenly Transfer Technique is ready and can be activated at any time."

He was carrying a radar device on his back, wearing headphones and listening carefully, occasionally transmitting chakra to the device to ensure its normal operation.

The Hidden Cloud Village was already at the forefront of the ninja world in terms of technological advancement, especially in warfare. They were adept at using technology to compensate for tactical shortcomings.

For example, in terms of reconnaissance and perception, the Hidden Cloud Village's foundation is not as good as the Hidden Leaf Village's. At least it doesn't have a large number of ninja clans with sensory bloodlines and secret techniques, such as the Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Aburame. Relying on the old traditional technique of kidnapping people from all over the world is really a drop in the ocean. So the Hidden Cloud Village used technology to creatively develop a radar perception unit, combining chakra with radar equipment to capture different chakra vibration frequencies.

However, these radar-sensing ninjas suffered a heavy blow from Kaedeji a few years ago. In that battle, the Fourth Raikage led a force to infiltrate the Land of Fire, but was defeated by Kaedeji alone. Even the soul of his right hand was sealed by Kaedeji. All the sensory personnel and radar equipment involved in the battle were wiped out by Kaedeji.

That was the most unforgettable and painful defeat of the Fourth Raikage's life. He thought about revenge all the time, but reality made him more and more silent. The gap between him and Kaede Tsukasa was not only not narrowing, but was widening at an exaggerated speed.

Unless... you capture the Ten-Tails and become its Jinchūriki, maybe you can, no, you definitely can, compete with Kaede Tsukasa!
The power of the Ten-Tails was witnessed by the Fourth Raikage himself! A normal half-tailed beast Jinchuriki could create a small shockwave with a casual swipe of his claw, comparable to the destructive power of a high-level ninjutsu.

But what about the Ten-Tails? The destructive power of a single basic attack can flatten the ground, which is extremely exaggerated. And this is the destructive power of taijutsu. Even the Fourth Raikage couldn't imagine what kind of destruction would be caused if such a monster actually unleashed a Tailed Beast Ball.

"No, Mabui, we absolutely cannot let Killer Bee come to the front lines. Just as the Eight-Tails said, the Ten-Tails is a monster!"

The Fourth Raikage immediately refused.

In terms of size alone, the Ten-Tails is a behemoth. The complete Eight-Tails is tiny in front of the Ten-Tails. If it jumps up, it might be able to punch the Ten-Tails in the chest.
The relationship between Iwagakure and its own tailed beast is extremely bad, and the relationship between the Tsuchikage and the Jinchuriki is extremely poor. The Fourth Raikage would not be surprised if he heard the news of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki's defection. This means that the Five-Tails would rather play dead than tell Onoki about the Ten-Tails.

However, the situation was different in Kumogakure. The Eight-Tails was willing to communicate with Kumogakure and, despite its shock, did reveal some information about the Ten-Tails. Although it was incomplete and the Eight-Tails was extremely confused and doubtful, the information it provided was enough for the Fourth Raikage to use as a reference.

Furthermore, Kumogakure also possesses some ancient, fragmented records, and all sorts of Six Paths Ninja Tools are in their possession. Kinkaku and Ginkaku are also Kumogakure ninja. If we disregard Black Zetsu's alteration of the Uchiha Stone Tablet, their knowledge of ancient information might rival that of Konoha, and in some aspects, they might even know more!

"The Ten-Tails is the source of the Tailed Beasts... the calamity itself... although I still don't understand the relationship between the Ten-Tails and the other nine Tailed Beasts, why it appeared later than the other Tailed Beasts as the source, and how it gave birth to the other Tailed Beasts."

The Fourth Raikage shouted, "But it's a fact that the Ten-Tails has an extraordinary possessiveness of chakra! It's like a monster that hasn't eaten for hundreds of years. Do you even need to ask what will happen once the Eight-Tails is exposed to its sight?"

The Ten-Tails will definitely bite the Eight-Tails without hesitation and steal all of its chakra! Perhaps it is using this method to reclaim the chakra that was distributed to the Tailed Beasts?
"Mabui, you take your men and retreat immediately. I'm about to make a big move. If we capture the Ten-Tails, the existing exploitative system that Konoha has established will be destroyed, and the era of Kumogakure will begin."

Without capturing the Ten-Tails, he has no chance of turning the tide in any visible area. He can only continue his slow suicide, constantly losing manpower on the battlefield. No matter how many people die, it will only contribute more to the growth of Konoha Village.

hum!
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage saw that the white cube that Onoki had blasted out was blocked by the Ten-Tails with a single finger.

To the relief of the Fourth Raikage and Onoki, this single finger was indeed unable to stop the Limit Separation Technique. This was a small-scale technique even more brutal than the Primal Limit Separation Technique, which instantly devoured the Ten-Tails' finger and decomposed it into microscopic particles.

This means that the Ten-Tails is not immortal and can also be injured.

But the Ten-Tails' eyes remained fierce and brutal. As it looked at the Dust Release that was about to blast into its eyes, its gaze lingered for a moment on the disappearing finger.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still, and everything became silent.

The wounds on its claws healed instantly, but the Ten-Tails' rage had been fully unleashed.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!" A sharp roar resounded throughout all of space and time, as if it wanted to engulf the entire planet.

An immense and inconceivable burst of chakra erupted, its end seemingly unfathomable. Even though Jigen had forcibly taken its chakra, the remaining chakra still surpassed that of the fully-formed Nine-Tails, meaning it exceeded the imagination of a Kage-level life form!
Moreover, the rampaging Ten-Tails possesses the ability to shake planets. Visible bursts of dark red chakra erupt, transforming into countless enormous whips that twist and begin to distort the ecological environment of the real world.

Widespread earthquakes, high-intensity tsunamis, unparalleled air shocks, meteors breaking apart and falling from outer space... This is the anomaly of heaven and earth, one of the instinctive abilities of the Ten-Tails, a Six Paths-level life form.

Under such power, the Dust Release cube was naturally forcibly dispersed by the absolute chakra. Even if it had actually hit the Ten-Tails head-on, it would have only worn down a tiny, insignificant amount of the Ten-Tails' chakra.

Even if it hasn't eaten the Otsutsuki and hasn't mastered the form of the Divine Tree, it's still the Ten-Tails!

Faced with this sudden and massive natural disaster, Onoki struggled to maintain his form. All the surrounding mountains and trees were flattened by the terrifying impact, forcing Onoki to use the Limit Separation Technique again to shield himself and try to mitigate the impact as much as possible. However, his body was still uncontrollably blown away by the violence.

However, the Ten-Tails' violent clearing of the field caught Onoki's eye, and he spotted the Fourth Raikage entering Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

"I wonder when they arrived. Looks like they've been exposed." Onoki sneered. He knew perfectly well what the Fourth Raikage was up to—he was definitely going to backstab him at a crucial moment!

However, there's no need to worry about that now. The Ten-Tails is a monster that they can't defeat in a one-on-one fight. Just by feeling its full-power, overwhelming chakra, they can't sense any limits.

With their strength, even if they worked themselves to death, they still couldn't take down the Ten-Tails!

Stab it!

The Fourth Raikage transformed into a bolt of lightning, carrying the hempen clothes that hadn't managed to escape, and moved at high speed to a spot not far from Onoki.

After the Ten-Tails gradually stopped causing the strange changes in the world, the Fourth Raikage stared at Onoki in the air with an unfriendly expression.

"You old codger, you've angered the Ten-Tails. Not only will the Land of Rice Fields be completely destroyed, but neighboring countries will also suffer."

"So what? Kid, what are you pretending for? Even if I didn't intervene, you would have attacked the Ten-Tails anyway. You should thank me for saving you!"

The two were wary of each other, which somewhat alleviated their shock and astonishment at the Ten-Tails' strength.

The Fourth Raikage shouted, "Enough nonsense! That monster is beyond our capabilities. Only beings stronger than Kage, or even more powerful, are qualified to deal with it. No wonder Kaede Tsukasa has been capturing prisoners everywhere but has never attacked the Ten-Tails! Unless the Sage of Six Paths is alive, no one can do anything about the Ten-Tails!"

"Beyond Shadow...?"

Onoki narrowed his eyes. If he were to go all out, he could expand the Limit Separation Technique by tens or hundreds of times. The super-huge cube would be able to erase all matter. He felt that with this kind of power, he might be able to compete with Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha back in the day.

Whether it's Susanoo or Wood Golem Technique, Onoki is confident he can destroy them. It's just that he can only fight them for a few rounds. In terms of chakra reserves, stamina, and endurance, Onoki is completely outmatched by those two.

Even so, Onoki was not confident in defeating the Ten-Tails. Tailed beasts are chakra aggregates without flesh and blood. As long as their chakra is not exhausted, they generally will not die. But to exhaust the Ten-Tails' chakra... Onoki glanced at the exaggeratedly large Ten-Tails and immediately gave up on the idea.

They couldn't seal it off. While Iwagakure's sealing techniques weren't exactly terrible, they simply weren't powerful enough to deliver a decisive blow.

Onoki angrily said, "Stop rambling on and on! You must have brought the amber bottle, right? Hurry up and take it out!"

"Shut up, you ignorant old man! The Six Paths Tools can't even handle the Ten-Tails, which even the Sage of Six Paths found troublesome! The Amber Purification Bottle has sealed the Eight-Tails multiple times, but it has been broken through the seal and escaped multiple times. It's impossible for it to contain such a Ten-Tails!"

Even the Fourth Raikage had to admit that he had seriously underestimated the power of the Ten-Tails.

"Oh? The Sage of Six Paths? The Ten-Tails? It can actually be traced back to that era. So the Sage of Six Paths suppressed the Ten-Tails?"

"Ha, you don't even know this, yet you come here to provoke the Ten-Tails? You should just die already. With a Kage like you, Iwagakure won't be long before it's finished! Oh, I almost forgot, you have no successor. Once you die, Iwagakure will be finished immediately! Why don't you just merge it into our Kumogakure?" The Fourth Raikage mocked loudly.

"You brat, I'll kill you right now!!"

Onoki's forehead veins bulged as he roared, but they soon ran out of time to fight, because the Ten-Tails, with its huge single eye, had already fixed its gaze on the two ants.

With its tail lashing wildly, the earth shattered. The Ten-Tails had begun to gather its strength, intending to charge straight at us. No one could estimate just how terrifying its speed would be. Perhaps it would be like a mountain, crashing down at a speed that was impossible for the naked eye to perceive.

Just as these two figures were sweating profusely.

A portal suddenly appeared between the two and the Ten-Tails.

From the black spatial tunnel, a man dressed in ancient monk's robes and with a ponytail emerged, holding the half-dead Jiraiya in his hand.

"Sorry for interrupting your battle, but I need to retrieve the Ten-Tails."

(End of this chapter)