Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 228 The Divine Tree Man: Jiraiya Onoki

A random man ran out, and the previously raging Ten-Tails instantly quieted down.

The ever-changing celestial phenomena and the earth seemed to calm down briefly, but the Ten-Tails was clearly brewing an even more violent power.

"Who is this guy? He can make the Ten-Tails react so strongly. It seems like he's an enemy."

The Fourth Raikage was startled and dared not be careless in the slightest. In this day and age, strange and bizarre things always appeared in the ninja world, which made people afraid to act rashly. Moreover, this stranger could make the Ten-Tails react so abnormally.

In recent years, too many unimaginable battles have broken out, each one capable of altering the terrain on a large scale, causing destruction that stretches for hundreds or thousands of kilometers. When a battle breaks out in one country, neighboring countries suffer as well.

Although the Fourth Raikage didn't figure out who the opposing sides were in many battles, that didn't stop him from realizing that this world was completely different from the one he had once understood.

Onoki was more focused on the white-haired man the other was holding: "If I'm not mistaken, that's Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin. He's turned into this..."

Jiraiya is a recognized strongman. Although Onoki has never directly fought Jiraiya, he thinks that it would take a lot of effort to defeat him.

Yet this powerful figure was being dragged away by the neck by this polite yet cold and indifferent man.
The man in hemp clothing, who was being carried by the Fourth Raikage, quickly said, "Information indicates that Tsukasa Kaede, Edo Tensei Madara, and Nagato met and clashed in Konoha. It seems that they weren't necessarily discussing the Ten-Tails, but rather how to deal with it!"

Jiraiya barely opened his eyes a crack: "It's you... Run! You're no match for this monster."

“He’s right. Apart from the four of you humans, both I and the Ten-Tails are monsters in your eyes. You hunted my Ten-Tails without my permission, and I can’t let you go so easily.”

Cixian spoke calmly, as if he was naturally meant to be the focus and center of everything from the moment he appeared.

The Fourth Raikage and Onoki were sweating profusely, while Azaburo was trembling all over, too afraid to move. Even without making a move, they were under immense pressure, their breathing seemingly suffocated by Jigen's power.

"Possessing space-time techniques and claiming to retrieve the Ten-Tails... You're probably the person that Kaede Tsukasa and her group have been targeting, right?" Onoki said, feigning composure. "Including the battle that severely damaged the Land of Rice Fields, you were also involved."

Jigen glanced indifferently at Onoki, then turned to look at the Ten-Tails, who was the main target.

"Although releasing the Ten-Tails was out of necessity, I originally planned to turn the situation around and see if I could lure out those troublesome people and kill them, but they didn't fall for it at all."

Cixian felt a little regretful. He really hoped to see Kaedeji rush over to catch the Ten-Tails. Now that he had recovered, he could have arrived instantly and killed Kaedeji.

Even though Kaedeji is difficult to kill, he's not invincible; at the very least, he can be severely injured.

Even if he couldn't kill Kaedeji, killing Nagato would be fine too. If he could take those Rinnegan eyes, then it would be up to Jigen to decide when to revive Kaguya.

But no one actually made a move, and only small fry from various ninja villages were lured out, which greatly disappointed Jigen.

"Let's put you back in the cage first. Now is not the time for you to run wild... Let's finish this quickly, or things will get complicated if other guys get involved."

Jigen had also suffered a lot. No matter how arrogant he was, he had to be more cautious at this moment. He had almost been driven to the brink of death by Madara and Nagato before. This painful lesson made him understand the meaning of going all out.

Swish!
Patterns immediately appeared on Jigen's body, and a single horn spiraled from the top of his head. Although the total amount of chakra surging around him was not as great as that of the Ten-Tails, he was enough to suffocate people just by standing there motionless.

He entered the second stage again, opening his arms towards the Ten-Tails, but how could the Ten-Tails obediently cooperate? Having been imprisoned for over a thousand years, it had finally escaped with great difficulty. Moreover, the planet had a large number of natives, some of whom possessed chakra, and their strength was weak, making it the perfect place for it to properly recover its chakra.

Jigen never intended to settle things with words. There's no reasoning with the Ten-Tails in its beast form; only violence will do. He hasn't been idle for over a thousand years; he's done his fair share of things to the Ten-Tails.

It was not only to forcibly control the Ten-Tails, but also so that if he himself had an accident, the successor of the Karma seal would still have a way to restrain the Ten-Tails even if their strength was inferior to his.

"Guluuluulu..."

The ten-tailed beast lashed out with a furious roar, unleashing a terrifying hurricane as it charged toward Jigen with all its might, intending to smash him to pieces.

However, Jigen's physical skills are at the top of this planet. Even the Ten-Tails wouldn't be able to defeat him in this way. Moreover, Jigen doesn't need to engage in a physical battle with the Ten-Tails at all.

"You didn't use the Tailed Beast Ball, so it seems you've become a little smarter. But it makes no difference. Come back and go where you belong."

With one hand holding Jiraiya, Jigen glared, and a spatial tunnel immediately appeared above the Ten-Tails. An enormous black cube fell down like a mountain, slamming into the Ten-Tails' body and causing it to stagger. Then, with his other hand outstretched, countless chains appeared on the Ten-Tails' massive body and tightened instantly.

"The Vortex Clan's Adamantine Lockdown?"

"It's different, and that ninjutsu that creates black cubes... I've heard about that before, so it was him who used it! Didn't you say the Sage of Six Paths sealed the Ten-Tails? This guy can't possibly be the Sage of Six Paths, can he?!"

"how could I know!"

Onoki and the Fourth Raikage watched in shock as Jigen dragged the Ten-Tails away bit by bit. Even the Ten-Tails' violent struggles caused the earth to shatter, but in front of Jigen, everything seemed insignificant.

As the massive spatial tunnel closed, he gradually filled the Ten-Tails into another spacetime, isolating it from the real world.

After the monster that caused the upheaval in the world disappeared, the huge weight on their hearts suddenly vanished. However, the pressure brought by Cixian was even greater. They were not like Kaede Tsukasa; they did not have the strength or confidence to face Cixian directly. They didn't even know much about Cixian.

"After its form changed, it can control the Ten-Tails with just one hand. What's going on with this guy?!"

Onoki and the Fourth Raikage exchanged a glance, both seeing the utter horror in each other's eyes.

Has Kaede Tsukasa been fighting against guys of this caliber all along? They're not even in the same league!
Cixian didn't act immediately. Instead, he said, "I've established the Shell Organization and I'm short-handed. Are the three of you interested in joining my team? Although you're all quite weak, I have a way to improve your skills if you join me."

He possessed several divine techniques, which he could transfer to the organization's members, instantly granting these originally weak individuals considerable strength and practical abilities, providing him with significant assistance. However, no one accepted his invitation. Without any hesitation, the Fourth Raikage and Onoki turned and fled—don't blame them for seeming slow; they simply hadn't expected Jigen to subdue the Ten-Tails so quickly.

They originally wanted to gather as much intelligence as possible to plan for the future, but if they didn't handle this well, they would have no future at all.

Jiraiya's lips twitched, he swallowed, and said in a weak voice, "Although I don't know why you captured me, it seems you won't have the chance to capture anyone else."

Regardless of what the villains who destroyed Mount Myōboku were trying to achieve, Jiraiya could only try his best to stop them.

Cixian shook his head: "I originally had no intention of capturing them, not even of killing them."

"How could you, an executioner who stormed into Mount Myoboku and carried out a massacre, hypocritically claim to be kind?"

"That's how you native humans talk. I've always been quite tolerant of even the weakest ants."

Jigen spoke coldly, carrying Jiraiya like a cannonball as he flew away. He looked up and saw the Fourth Raikage carrying someone, already transformed into a moving bolt of lightning, disappearing into the distance at an astonishing speed.

Onoki flew at high speed toward Iwagakure, shocked, but he didn't actually think he would die at Jigen's hands, because... he could fly!

It can fly at high speed! This is an extremely rare ability in the ninja world!

"We need to find out that guy's true identity as soon as possible. If all else fails, we should contact Konoha Village!"

Braving the fierce wind, Onoki's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. Even though he was quite old, he had never encountered such a strange and powerful creature before, one that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere—perhaps an ancient relic from an even more distant era, yet it was able to imprison the Ten-Tails with such practiced skill…

What is this guy's relationship with the Sage of Six Paths? Could he be one of the enemies the Sage of Six Paths defeated when he was alive? An incredibly powerful figure from an ancient era?
Unbeknownst to Onoki, he had already begun to calculate how he could profit from the incident after reporting it to Konoha. He figured Kaedeji would also be concerned about the fact that the other party had captured the Ten-Tails.
But the next moment, Onoki realized that he might not be able to accomplish this, because a portal suddenly appeared in front of him, and Jigen stepped out from it, blocking Onoki's way.

What made Onoki's heart sink was that Jigen was also floating in mid-air.

"He possesses spacetime magic and can fly, doesn't this guy have any weaknesses?!"

Onoki immediately turned around, about to test Jigen with a Primal World Detachment Technique.

"Don't use ninjutsu!" Jiraiya mustered his last remaining strength, spitting out bits of internal organs as he shouted hoarsely, "Only Sage Mode can hurt him; he'll absorb all ninjutsu attacks!"

hum!
Onoki had already unleashed Dust Release, but it was instantly absorbed by Jigen. Onoki was shocked: "An ability similar to the Rinnegan's eye technique? Who exactly are you?"

“My name is Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, and the body I am using is called Jigen. Since you have refused my invitation, I can only make you serve me in another way, even though you were not in my plans from the beginning.”

"Why are you targeting me? That burly guy over there is more suitable. He's carrying someone. Why don't you go and catch them?" Onoki feigned composure, shifting the blame without any qualms.

Cixian said coldly, "Having a subordinate who can fly would surely be very useful."

"Hmph, then tell me about your Shell organization. What will I get after joining, and what obligations will I have to fulfill?"

"There's no need for that. You've already given up the chance to become a member of the Shell Organization, so just become my Tree Man."

Jigen appeared in front of Onoki in an instant and kicked him away with an absolutely violent physical attack.

Fortunately, Onoki used the Rock Fist technique to block in front of him. In addition, his short stature meant that the Rock Fist had a small area to be hit, so the force was reduced by the Rock Fist. Even so, the blow still broke several of his ribs.

The attack was too fast and too powerful, and the key point is that it was purely physical skill!

Onoki spat out a mouthful of blood, his body arcing through the air before plummeting toward the ground.

Can't beat it, can't beat it at all.

Using ninjutsu, Jigen can absorb it; using taijutsu, a single touch will cripple you, and you will be completely unable to dodge Jigen's speed. And this doesn't even take into account Jigen's space-time techniques!

Onoki had never encountered such an opponent before. Even Madara, Hashirama, and Kaede Tsukasa were unlikely to be this strong.

I can't fight, I can't escape, I can't escape.

"You're still alive, aren't you? I deliberately held back, avoiding your vital points. As long as you have a breath left, you're still valuable."

Jigen looked at Onoki lying flat on the ground, and with a wave of his other hand, he sucked Onoki's body into the sky, and then grabbed it in his hand.

"In this way, the two Tree People will be guaranteed... Let's create two for now."

Too many would be troublesome, and Jigen wasn't sure he could control the Divine Tree Man and make this product of the fusion of human and Ten-Tails power obey his commands.

Each Tree Spirit has its own personality and preferences, which cannot be controlled by a simple creation-and-being-created relationship.

In the original timeline, Kaud, who inherited the power, will, and status of the Ten-Tails, successfully created the Tree Spirit by combining with the "Claw Mark" divine technique. But he couldn't command the Tree Spirits; he was beaten like a dead dog by them at the slightest provocation. Fortunately, the Tree Spirit who was the Ten-Tails' consciousness deliberately spoke up and spared Kaud's life.

Although Jigen is Isshiki's vessel, and Isshiki is a pure, high-ranking Otsutsuki, he still doesn't have the authority to control or command the divine tree spirit born from the Ten-Tails through words.

So we need to take it slow. Let's try creating two Divine Tree People using Jiraiya and Onoki first.

(End of this chapter)