Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 255 An Important Piece of the Puzzle

The Divine Tree Man, like a meteorite, tore through the thick clouds above, accompanied by a chilling shriek, and finally crashed into the core area of ​​Iwagakure like a real meteorite.

The earth trembled violently, and the shockwave, carrying debris and dust, spread in a ring, instantly destroying dozens of rock buildings. When the dust settled slightly, a deep crater appeared before everyone's eyes.

The vast village of Iwagakure immediately erupted in chaos, with roars and cries filling the air, and hordes of ninjas rushing in from all directions.

Faced with this level of destruction, the ninjas naturally assumed it was an enemy invasion.

"Damn it, at least a hundred people have died this time!"

"Who is it? Could it be the legendary Otsutsuki? Has he finally set his sights on our village?"

The giant pit was immediately surrounded by a large number of figures, all of whom took out their weapons. Despite their shock and panic, they still formed battle formations and were ready to fight to the death.

The demolition team is also rushing over and is ready. They sense ninjas scattered around, activate radar equipment to detect them, and various ninja tools and explosive tags are already laid out, ready to be thrown into the giant crater at any time.

The figure at the bottom of the pit slowly rose, and the powerful chakra that escaped dispersed the thick dust like a whirlwind. The face that was revealed plunged the many panicked Iwagakure ninjas into a deathly silence, followed by an unbelievable burst of ecstasy.

"That, that's... Lord Tsuchikage?!"

"It's the Third Tsuchikage! He's finally back!!"

The Divine Tree Man floated in the air, his short stature clearly bearing the hopes of an entire village. Both his appearance and physique were extremely similar to the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. In addition, with this ability to fly, Onoki was the only one in the entire ninja world to possess it.

At a time when the village had just lost its shadow and was leaderless, and was constantly facing unpredictable external events, the return of this "earth shadow" was like a beacon in the darkness.

"Lord Tsuchikage! It's been so long! We've all been waiting for you. We all believe you won't fall in a place like the Land of Rice Fields. Even the Ten-Tails can't stop you!!"

"With you here, the village is saved!"

The excited ninjas cheered and waved loudly at the sky, their eyes filled with hope—but they did not drop their weapons.

Even if they were deceiving themselves, they couldn't ignore the strangeness of the way the Divine Tree Man descended. The intense sense of incongruity, the Divine Tree Man who was no different from the Third Tsuchikage in their memories except for his appearance, weighed on their hearts like a mountain.

Gradually, the cheers subsided, and those who were beginning to see the appearance of the Tree Spirit were stunned, dumbfounded by those Rinnegan eyes.

The Tree-Man's face was cold, its gaze slowly sweeping over the enthusiastic crowd. It seemed to be "adapting" to this atmosphere, or rather, analyzing the behavioral patterns of these tiny creatures. It didn't speak, but merely tilted its head slightly.

However, this "adaptation" only lasted for a moment.

The corners of the Divine Tree Insect's mouth stretched into a hideous and twisted arc that was completely unlike Onoki's.

"Lowly creatures have gathered together." The voice of the Tree Spirit was hoarse and cruel, like a howling wind.

The next second, despair descended.

puff!

Sharp logs instantly sprouted from the ground, swinging and twisting rapidly, piercing the bodies of numerous ninjas in an instant. The splattered blood mixed with bits of flesh, and the whole process was faster than anyone could react. Joy froze on their faces, turning into extreme terror and bewilderment.

"how come……!"

The screams had barely begun when the massacre started.

The Tree Man's figure flickered like a ghost. With his level of physical skill, even simple high-speed movements were too fast for ordinary people to see with the naked eye. Wherever he passed, flesh and blood flew everywhere. No matter how hard the rock defense was, it was as fragile as paper in front of his power.

Screams, explosions, and the sound of collapsing buildings instantly replaced the cheers. Rows of corpses piled up, and rivers of blood flowed, turning Iwagakure into a true hell on earth. The more fervent the hope, the deeper the despair that followed.

"Get out of the way! He's not Lord Tsuchikage!"

"As expected, it's not an old man... He actually knows Wood Release, could he be from Konoha Village?"

The Iwagakure ninjas immediately organized a manpower to launch an attack, but most of their offensives were useless and could not even break through the defenses.

Even with elite forces like the demolition squad launching an attack, they were completely unable to stop the Tree Man. He was like a highly efficient harvester, ruthlessly collecting the energy of life.

In the sky, Deidara sat on the giant bird and observed. Even though he kept dropping bombs, and even if he occasionally hit the target, the damage was negligible. Whether it was absolute defense or the body's self-healing ability, the God Tree Man had reached an extremely exaggerated level, which greatly frustrated the genius Deidara.

"And they have the Rinnegan... One of the Rinnegan's dojutsu seems to be absorbing ninjutsu, right? Maybe it can absorb my bomb, hmm! It seems like Iwagakure is beyond saving, hmm!"

Deidara muttered to himself, his face showing little sadness, only anger and resentment. He wanted to see his enemy brought down by his art, rather than become immune and ignored.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared beside Deidara.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't suddenly appear!! Even if you have spatial magic, don't do things like this!"

Deidara was terrified and hurriedly steered the giant bird away, looking at Kaede Tsukasa with astonishment and uncertainty: "Why has your form changed as well? What's going on?"

"I'm saving your life, you should be grateful. That guy was probably after you."

Kaedeji calmly surveyed the carnage below, his eyes fixed solely on the Divine Tree Man. The devastation of Iwagakure was, in his eyes, nothing more than a drama unrelated to himself.

At the same time, the Tree Spirit turned its head and stared at Deidara, its eyes filled with greed: "I've found you, Deidara. If I eat you, I can become whole again."

Deidara's forehead was covered in sweat. He couldn't afford to offend either Kaede Tsukasa or the Divine Tree Man: "Damn it, what's going on here? This guy knows me, could he really be the Third Hokage?"

"No, at most he's a clone of Onoki. He eats a living person to complete himself, and you are his target."

Kaede Tsukasa coldly said, "So, if you don't want to die, get lost. The gap between you and him is too big. You have absolutely no chance of fighting back. I'll take care of this guy."

"You're being so kind? Are you a clone of Kaede Tsukasa? Are the old man's clones your enemies too? It seems there are many secrets hidden at your level." Deidara was tough on the outside, but he acted very consciously, moving further away. He didn't want to die for no reason. He had already tried to escape once in the Land of Rice Fields, which resulted in the disappearance of the Third Tsuchikage. This was the second time.

The Tree Man also felt threatened and had to temporarily abandon Deidara. Although his intelligence had been greatly reduced, he still retained the most basic judgment ability.

"Kaede Tsukasa...stop me, do you really want to die?"

"It seems you inherited a lot of memories from Onoki, which makes things simple. I want to die, but even the Otsutsuki couldn't kill me, let alone you? You're just a defective product created by Jigen."

Kaedeji slowly raised his hand, and a massive amount of chakra began to gather: "Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Strike!"

In an instant, a violent purple lightning bolt, like a whip of divine punishment, descended from the sky and struck the divine tree worm fiercely!
Having become a lower-grade version of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, he could naturally wield Yin-Yang Release at will, and every strike could injure the God Tree Man, who was a split offspring of the Ten-Tails.

The Tree Man roared and immediately began to split itself apart.

One becomes two, two becomes four!

One Divine Tree Man directly blocked Kaedeji's spell, while the other three Divine Tree Man faced three different directions, engaging in direct combat with the three shadows created by Kaedeji using Limbo: Border Prison.

Four against four!
"Hmph, this is more interesting."

Kaede Tsukasa's eyes lit up; this was exactly the result he wanted to see.

For the Divine Tree Man, there was no problem with doing so. He knew that Kaede Tsukasa's strength was extremely powerful, and now he also possessed the power of the Ten-Tails. Immediately splitting himself to increase his power was the most correct decision.

Purple lightning, brimming with destructive energy, raged out. The battle between the eight figures was exceptionally fierce. Ordinary physical attacks were enough to destroy everything, and the frequency of their exchanges was extremely exaggerated, with dozens or even hundreds of clashes every second. They used all sorts of Rinnegan eye techniques with ease, alternating between Chibaku Tensei and Bansho Ten'in.

The aftermath of this battle was a devastating catastrophe for Iwagakure.

The battle leveled mountains and tore the earth into bottomless canyons. The once easily defensible and fortified Iwagakure, now like a sandcastle on the beach, crumbled at a visible speed in the clash between two godlike beings, and was completely wiped off the map.

The screams were deafening. Rows of buildings collapsed and countless corpses lay scattered in the ruins. Even those who fled in panic were often blasted into mincemeat by the shockwaves.

What terrified them even more was that this slaughter was unpredictable. Not only was the speed of the fight between Kaedeji and the Divine Tree Man extremely fast, but the entire Hidden Stone Village was also just a part of their battlefield. No one knew where an impact would erupt and crush them.

"Damn it, Iwagakure has been destroyed so quickly... Lord Han! Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"

Captain Kari, the leader of the Explosives Division, watched helplessly as the magnificent Iwagakure village crumbled, roaring with grief and indignation.

Beside him, a man over two meters tall stood with a gloomy expression. The tailed beast cloak he wore would have been a symbol of strength and the ultimate deterrent in the past, but it seemed ridiculous in the present era.

Especially in the face of monsters of the level of Kaede Tsukasa and the Divine Tree Man, they appear pale and powerless.

Han said in a low voice, "There is no way. Even if I fully transform into a tailed beast, it will be useless. I can barely understand some of their fighting rhythm, but only a little. If we really have to fight, I can't keep up at all... Moreover, Kaede Tsukasa's technique is also very strange. It seems to create invisible attack methods."

He couldn't see the shadow of the Wheel Tomb, but he could barely make out that the three clones of the Divine Tree Man were fighting to the death with the air, and the destructive power was extremely exaggerated.

"Hunter, mobilize the troops immediately and organize the people to evacuate in all directions. We'll save as many as possible. Iwagakure is completely finished. No one can change this outcome. We will follow in the footsteps of Kumogakure."

Han felt the same pain in his heart. Even though his relationship with Onoki was extremely bad, and even though he had prepared to leave the village many years ago, he still felt extreme pain when he witnessed the end of Iwagakure.

In particular, one of the culprits behind this ending was a guy who looked remarkably similar to Onoki.

Especially when Han saw a divine tree being conjure up a dust escape technique and blast it into thin air, he became even more silent, a deep sense of bewilderment on his face.

This guy who suddenly appeared and has the Rinnegan... who the hell is he?!

No one could respond to the wailing Iwagakure ninjas. At this moment, whether they were Kage-level or ordinary people, they were as fragile as dust and as insignificant as ants. Kaede Tsukasa and the God Tree Man would not pay any attention to them.

Swish!
Kaede Tsukasa pulled out the Truth-Seeking Jewel.

"I can't waste too much time on you. After I've dealt with you, I need to get back as soon as possible..."

The outcome of the battle between the two Jigen, as well as the Ten-Tails, all require Kaedeji's attention.

This is why Kaedeji Tsukasa made the trip at this critical juncture, given that the tree spirit possesses the ability to split. If it were a tree spirit with other abilities, Kaedeji Tsukasa wouldn't have been so proactive.

Kaedeji spread his arms, pushed the Truth-Seeking Ball forward with a rapid thrust, erasing all matter in its path, and slapped it towards the face of the Tree Spirit.

In reality, the battle has reached a point where the two sides are evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand. However, this is only temporary; it remains to be seen who will break down first.

Kaede Tsukasa's Limbo shadow needs to be retrieved periodically, while the Divine Tree People, due to their split, are powerful but each one's physical strength and intelligence have severely declined, and they will inevitably reveal weaknesses if the battle continues.

So, the Tree Man, with his extremely dull brain, thought for a moment and made the decision he could think of, which was indeed the most correct one at the moment—to continue splitting!
So he split into two and dodged Kaedeji's Truth-Seeking Ball.

Two were not enough; the other Tree People also began to split.

Eight equally powerful Tree Spirits surrounded Kaede Tsukasa and the Shadow, and it looked like they could kill Kaede Tsukasa very quickly.

But Kaede Tsukasa smiled; this was the scene he most wanted to see.

"Is that all? You think you can take me down in one fell swoop with eight split bodies? You should understand that this is impossible. At most, you can suppress me or even defeat me, but you can't kill me."

Therefore, more clones are needed. Once there are more than twenty, the intelligence of the Divine Tree Man will be like that of a small animal, which will be Kaede Tsukasa's opportunity to strike.

He intends to use this Tree Spirit as one of his trump cards to completely change the situation.

(End of this chapter)