Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

"Damn it, my body has already adapted to three bloodline limits, so why is adding a new bloodline limit causing such a huge side effect? ​​No, I have to live, I must live."

Hiruko endured the pain with unwavering willpower, constantly shouting in his heart to prevent himself from completely losing control and going insane.

After an unknown amount of time, Hiruko, who had turned into a rotting ball of flesh, finally stopped screaming. After some more time, a pale, bloody hand emerged from the rotting ball of flesh, and then a naked Hiruko crawled out from within.

At this moment, Hiruko was like a porcelain doll with cracks all over its body, its pale skin covered with torn wounds.

Because his body has fused with a summoning beast with powerful regenerative abilities, his body is rapidly healing itself. However, the torn wounds on his body, which have just begun to regenerate, break off again, seemingly never to fully heal.

"Although I have recovered, my body's genes are still collapsing, and I must find a way to stabilize them as soon as possible."

Hiruko looked at his wound, which was no longer undergoing the process of healing and tearing, and said with an extremely ugly expression.

"Hehehe~, you really were ruined by your own greed after all."

Just as Hiruko was at his wit's end, a cold voice came from a dark corner of the room.

Upon hearing this clearly sarcastic voice, Hiruko was not annoyed at all, but rather overjoyed. He quickly turned to the dark corner from which the voice came and said, "Lord Black Zetsu, you've come! Please ask Lord Madara to save me. I haven't forgotten the task Lord Madara gave me for a single moment."

If there's anyone in this world who could save him, the only person Hiruko can think of right now is Uchiha Madara.

"You know how to ask for favors, unlike that stinky snake. Don't worry, although your current state is very dangerous, it's nothing to Lord Madara. As long as you continue to diligently complete the tasks assigned by Lord Madara, you will definitely survive."

Black Zetsu emerged from the ground, grinning sinisterly.

"Yes, yes, I will do my best to complete the task assigned by Lord Madara. Lord Black Zetsu, I feel like I'm about to die. Please go and invite Lord Madara over."

Beiliu Hu hurriedly pleaded.

His body was collapsing at an accelerating rate, and his life force was rapidly slipping away as a result.

He felt that in a while, he would grow old and die.

"What's the panic? Lord Madara is of such high status, why would he come in person? Besides, this is such a trivial matter that Lord Madara doesn't need to get involved."

Black Zetsu replied coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, three White Zetsu emerged from the room. Their bodies melted into a pool of white liquid, which then quickly enveloped Hiruko's body and seeped into it.

In an instant, these white Zetsu seemed to transform into adhesive, repairing Hiruko's riddled body.

At this moment, Hiruko also felt that the rate at which his body was collapsing had slowed down significantly, and he felt as if he had been reborn.

"I never expected these white monsters to possess such miraculous abilities. If I use the Ghost Sprout Technique to devour these white monsters, will I be able to completely eliminate the side effects of the Ghost Sprout Technique?"

Hiruko thought in surprise.

As a highly curious researcher, he had long been secretly studying the special creatures known as White Zetsu and discovered that they possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

At that moment, he immediately had the idea of ​​secretly swallowing a White Zetsu, but he hesitated to do so because he was worried about being discovered and the White Zetsu's ability to hide was too strong.

He has now discovered that White Zetsu can significantly reduce the side effects of the Oni-Garuru Technique, and he can't help but want to.

"Give up your foolish idea. If you use your disgusting ninjutsu to devour White Zetsu, you'll likely end up as a tree. You'd better put away your greed. I'm not saying this because I'm reluctant to part with White Zetsu."

Black Zetsu saw through Hiruko's thoughts and immediately spoke up to shatter Hiruko's greed.

He knew better than anyone else in the current ninja world what White Zetsu were; they were actually clones of the Divine Tree.

Because these organisms contain human cells, their bodies can be grafted onto humans as prosthetics.

But if one were to actually devour them and integrate them into one's own bloodline, that would truly be courting death.

Not to mention that the Hashirama cells inside the White Zetsu would immediately backfire, the Divine Tree cells inside would immediately transform the person who devoured the White Zetsu into a new White Zetsu, and the possibility of successful transformation is very small.

The consequence of a failed transformation is, of course, certain death.

Hiruko, the leader of this demonic organization, still has considerable value, and Black Zetsu doesn't want to watch him kill himself so soon.

"Turn into a tree?"

When Hiruko heard what Kuroze said, he said with surprise and doubt.

He felt that Black Zetsu was lying to him, but for a moment he couldn't find a reason why the other party was lying to him.

Left with no other choice, he had to temporarily suppress his greed and respectfully asked, "What new orders does Lord Madara have? Please enlighten me, Lord Black Zetsu."

Chapter 331: Puppet Workshop and Human Puppets

"You did a good job with the Demon Organization, but now there is an even more important task for you: to work with Orochimaru to improve the Impure World Reincarnation technique as quickly as possible, and to achieve results within a year."

Seeing that Hiruko was so sensible, Hei Jue immediately revealed the purpose of his visit.

Upon hearing this, Hiruko's expression remained unchanged, but he quickly became serious.

Let him cooperate with Orochimaru in researching the Impure World Reincarnation technique!

What does this mean?

He is now the leader of the Ghost Organization, and as the organization grows stronger, his power increases, allowing him to truly enjoy the taste of power. He also enjoys a lot of wealth without having to lift a finger, and he doesn't have to worry about insufficient research funding.

To be honest, Hiruko is very satisfied with his current life. He is the king here, enjoying supreme power while also being able to conduct various experiments and research to his heart's content.

But now Black Zetsu is asking him to cooperate with Orochimaru in researching the Impure World Reincarnation technique. Isn't this a clear way of kicking him out of the Demon Organization and making him Orochimaru's research assistant?

This treatment was truly a dramatic fall from heaven to hell.

It's no wonder that Beiruk was secretly pleased.

For a moment, Beiliuhu remained silent, his heart filled with turmoil.

"Why are you silent? Don't you agree to Lord Madara's orders?"

Black Zetsu was shrewd and cunning. Upon seeing this situation, he instantly understood what Hiruko was thinking, and his voice quickly turned cold.

Hiruko felt a chill in his heart and quickly made an excuse, saying, "I wouldn't dare, but the Oni organization has only just begun to show promise. If I were to suddenly leave here, I'm afraid the people below would immediately start to cause trouble."

"Although the Oni-Garra Technique is a forbidden technique, it is not too difficult to learn. As long as you keep this forbidden technique here, there will be no trouble even if you are not here. If you leave, Lord Madara will arrange for someone else to take over."

Black Zetsu had no intention of bargaining with Hiruko and ruthlessly blocked the excuse Hiruko came up with.

Upon hearing this, Bei Liuhu was filled with a mixture of grief and anger.

The Ghost Sprout Technique was a forbidden technique that he had spent a lot of time researching, but now it had been taken away by Black Zetsu with a single sentence and even belittled, which made him very upset.

A strong killing intent quietly arose within Beiliu Huxin.

He has been a defector from Konoha for over ten years. In order to evade Konoha's pursuit and earn research funds, he has lost quite a few lives. Now his strength has even reached the Kage level. Does this guy in front of him, relying on Uchiha Madara's power, really think he has a good temper and is made of clay?

"You still seem very dissatisfied. Do you think I'm lying to you? Why don't you go back and ask Lord Madara yourself?"

Black Zetsu said confidently.

Although Hiruko hid it well enough, as a special life form created by Kaguya Otsutsuki, how could it not have sensed the murderous intent in Hiruko's heart?

It didn't care at all, just as it wouldn't care if an ant bared its teeth and claws at it.

If it so desired, it could instantly kill even someone as powerful as Madara Uchiha, and of course, a Kage-level powerhouse like Hiruko with a bit of strength would be no problem.

"I wouldn't dare. Lord Black Zetsu, you are Madara's envoy, so of course you represent Madara's will. I will follow your instructions."

Seeing that Black Zetsu was so confident, Hiruko finally suppressed his murderous intent and answered with his head down.

"In the end, we've boarded a pirate ship and can't get off."

Bei Liu Hu sighed deeply in his heart.

Although Madara Uchiha did not leave anything like a cursed seal on him, he now has three White Zetsu in his body. If he tries to defect or attack Black Zetsu, these three White Zetsu will immediately deliver a fatal blow.

He finally understood that he had no other choice but to be controlled by Madara Uchiha like a puppet on a string, unless he didn't want to live.

However, even if he died, Madara Uchiha had other ways to control him and make him continue to serve him like a slave.

"Very good, take it. This is a reward from Lord Madara for your contributions during this period of time. I believe you will like it very much."

Seeing that Hiruko had bowed his head and yielded, and that he had successfully completed his reprimand, Black Zetsu took the opportunity to offer a sweet treat to appease Hiruko's emotions.

As soon as it finished speaking, it spat out a black scroll from its mouth.

Hiruko caught it with lightning speed, then slowly opened it. Upon closer inspection, he exclaimed with delight, "Yin-Yang Escape!"

"That's right. This training method for the Yin-Yang Release ninjutsu only contains half of the content, but even so, it should bring you enough surprises. Moreover, Lord Madara said that as long as you cooperate with Orochimaru to complete the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he will give you the other half."

After witnessing Hiruzen's ecstatic reaction, Black Zetsu repeated the same pie-in-the-sky strategy he had used with Orochimaru.

Hiruko, a ninjutsu research fanatic just like Orochimaru, was indeed fooled and said with great enthusiasm, "I will do my best to complete the task assigned by Lord Madara."

"It's Yin-Yang Release! What a grand scheme! This is a legendary creation ninjutsu that only the Sage of Six Paths could master. If I can learn it, I might soon find a way to completely eradicate the side effects of the Oni-Garara Technique and improve it to perfection."

At this moment, Hiruko could no longer contain his excitement.

However, Hiruko was ultimately a very rational person. After the initial surprise, his rationality returned, and he said with slight displeasure, "Lord Black Zetsu, I have no objection to Lord Madara asking me to research the Impure World Reincarnation technique, but I don't think it's appropriate for me to cooperate with that idiot Orochimaru. Why should a newcomer like him make me cooperate with him?"

Even within the Dark Organization, seniority matters. While it's true that as long as you have enough power, seniority doesn't matter, Hiruko doesn't believe he's no match for Orochimaru.

He currently possesses four powerful bloodline limits simultaneously: Sharingan, Swift Release, Steel Release, and Dark Release. Among Kage-level shinobi, he is quite skilled. Otherwise, how could he possibly stand up to the Fourth Raikage head-on?

"This is a problem between you two. If you are not convinced by Orochimaru, you can try to take the initiative, as long as you don't interfere with Lord Madara's grand plan."

Black has absolutely no interest in the scheming and infighting among humans and immediately draws a conclusion.

Upon hearing Black Zetsu's words, Hiruko immediately understood the situation, and then thought with anticipation, "Orochimaru, I'm actually quite eager to see you soon, hehehe~"

Back then, Orochimaru was so dazzling among his generation, making him, a lowly loser with little talent, extremely envious. Now, he has become a rogue ninja just like him, and is even controlled by Madara Uchiha with a cursed seal.

It's true what they say, fortunes really do change.

Black Zetsu didn't care about Hiruko's feelings at that moment. After successfully getting Hiruko to obey and do his work, he left and went to other places to convey Uchiha Madara's and his own will.

……

In a massive underground workshop within the ancient city of Loulan in the Land of Wind, the sounds of machinery constantly rang out. Here, Sand Village members wearing Sand Village headbands were using puppetry techniques to control humanoid puppets to operate some enormous machines.

As the machines operate, identical puppet parts are continuously produced and then transported to the assembly workshop for assembly.

In the assembly workshop, simple humanoid puppets are continuously assembled by some staff members. They are then tested by puppeteers from Sunagakure using puppetry techniques to ensure they are up to standard. Finally, they are transferred to a space that already contains a large number of puppets of the same model for storage.

The acting Kazekage, Akasa, was in this storage room at the moment. Looking at the rows of neatly arranged humanoid puppets, he felt a great sense of satisfaction and couldn't help but smile with contentment.

After obtaining enough funds from Madara Uchiha, he secretly destroyed the ancient city of Loulan, then seized the dragon vein there, and used the dragon vein as a power source to build a puppet workshop that produces puppets 24 hours a day.

It has been a month since the puppet workshop was completed, but in that short time, it has already produced thousands of humanoid puppets.

If this humanoid puppet falls into the hands of a beginner who has just learned puppetry, it can immediately become a genin (lower-level ninja) combat force.

Therefore, these standardized humanoid puppets are his source of confidence; the more humanoid puppets he has, the more confident he becomes.