In the distance, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu were closely watching everything unfold.
During the fight, Black Zetsu noticed Nagato caught in a dangerous situation and several times considered stepping in. He had even prepared the excuse: he was the embodiment of Kaede Tsukasa's will, and since Lord Kaede had chosen to come to the Land of Rain, it was his duty to help protect the key figures here.
Indeed, Nagato carried no White Zetsu spores—the Rinnegan would expose such a trick. So, if Nagato fell into danger, it was impossible for a swarm of White Zetsu to suddenly sprout from him to assist.
"Finally, he made it. But wasn't that far too slow?"
White Zetsu muttered, "If he had just listened to us and used the Void Technique the moment he got the message, he could've intercepted Danzō and Hanzō much earlier."
"Lord Kaede has his own reasoning. Because of the harshness of his training, he insists on tending to his personal hygiene before acting… Perhaps feeling clean and refreshed improves his mood, and with that, his performance in battle."
Black Zetsu worked hard to cover for Kaede Tsukasa, keeping in line with his role.
"But it was still dangerous. Nagato almost had to unleash the Rinnegan's power. Who knows what he can really do at this age? He might have ended up being killed by those eyes instead," White Zetsu said.
Black Zetsu didn't reply. Most of the time, he didn't bother with White Zetsu.
In his heart, though, he suspected Kaede Tsukasa—though not appearing earlier—had been secretly directing the zombies of the Land of Rain from the shadows, ready to arrive at any moment.
But if that guess was true… The distance between the Land of Rain and Konoha was over a thousand kilometers. Could Kaede Tsukasa already control his minions with such precision from so far away?
Even if it consumed enormous chakra, so what? Such an ability was already extraordinary. Still, Black Zetsu felt the idea was a bit far-fetched and decided to keep watching for now.
White Zetsu kept rambling: "Why are you so quiet? It's only us here, no need to keep up your cold persona. But even if Lord Kaede shows up now, what's the point? Who can he actually beat—Danzō, Hanzō, or Jiraiya?"
"This has nothing to do with us. We'll just watch quietly," Black Zetsu said.
With Kaede Tsukasa here, Nagato would be safe. At the very least, Kaede could carry him away—that would be enough.
While Black and White Zetsu were fixed on him, everyone else on the battlefield also turned their eyes to Kaede Tsukasa.
All were shocked at his sudden appearance. None had expected it, and the way he arrived—so abrupt yet so "flamboyant"—left them caught off guard.
"Kaede Tsukasa?" Jiraiya had almost lashed out by reflex, but in the last instant held himself back. Fortunately, Kaede's movements were lightning fast; from bursting out of the zombies and using the Void Realm Technique to appearing before them, it all happened in an instant.
"Lord Jiraiya, it's been a long time. It seems your situation is rather grim, being besieged by so many."
Kaede Tsukasa swept his gaze across the battlefield, spotting Danzō and recognizing Hanzō, but he still stood firmly in front of Nagato. Just that stance alone already made his position clear to everyone.
Danzō was startled. "Why would you appear in the Land of Rain at a time like this? And why stand by that brat with the Rinnegan? Come to my side."
"My apologies, Lord Danzō. I'll listen to you on other matters, but when it comes to the Rinnegan, between you and Lord Jiraiya, I'm more inclined to stand with him."
Kaede glanced back at Nagato's eyes. Truth be told, he wanted them as well, but even if he took them, he couldn't use them. They would end up like the Uchiha clan's fans—stored away, gathering dust.
Nagato, as a descendant of the Uzumaki, had been drained to a gaunt, skeletal state by wielding the Rinnegan. Even Uchiha Obito, with half his body made of Hashirama's cells, might not withstand a pair of those eyes.
Kaede Tsukasa certainly couldn't either. At best, he might keep them in his sockets by continually replenishing his life force, but the burden would be crushing. As for actually using the Rinnegan's techniques—that was out of the question.
But in a few more years, who could say…
"Such beautiful eyes. It's almost like looking at the legendary Sage of Six Paths himself. To gain them, you must have suffered quite a lot, haven't you?" Kaede Tsukasa smiled at Nagato.
Nagato was deeply moved. It was the first time anyone had cared about his feelings from this perspective.
When had he first awakened the Rinnegan's power? Oh—back when his parents were killed by Konoha shinobi. In his frenzy, he had accidentally unleashed the Rinnegan and slaughtered every Konoha ninja present.
Jiraiya's brows furrowed tighter. "It seems you intend to help me. I'm grateful, but you appear to know a thing or two about the Rinnegan."
"There's no need for study. One glance is enough to recognize these naturally empowered eyes as the Rinnegan. At his age, it's still too soon for him to wield them. He mustn't be left in this situation."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Lord Jiraiya, I'll stand with you. I cannot allow someone like Danzō to seize the Rinnegan… Summoning Jutsu!"
Kaede Tsukasa slammed his palm onto the ground. Immediately, more than ten coffins erupted from the earth. As their lids creaked open, corpses climbed out one by one.
Not stopping there, Kaede also drew a scroll from his waist and unfurled it on the spot. Upon it were twenty raised "Zombie" seals, from which twenty lesser corpses crawled forth.
Even Jiraiya had to take a second look, and as for Yahiko and Hanzō's men, who had never seen such a spectacle, they were utterly shaken.
"What the hell are these things? From their attire, they look like Iwagakure and Sunagakure shinobi… But why are their bodies so decayed?"
"They don't seem alive. Some technique to control corpses? How grotesque."
"If it's only manipulating a few bodies, that's no big deal. My concern is whether this technique hides other traps."
Hanzō's more than a hundred subordinates grew restless, whispering among themselves, eyes darting nervously between the corpses, suspicion and dread plain on their faces.
"A-amazing… So this is the Kaede Tsukasa who even Lord Jiraiya and that Danzō take so seriously…"
Yahiko was shaken to his core.
They had been at a crushing numerical disadvantage, beaten down without room to resist. Yet with this man's arrival, in an instant they suddenly had an entire "squad" at their side. True, these allies didn't look particularly reliable—some were so rotted they hardly had flesh left. How much fighting strength could they really offer?
But even as a distraction, it was enough. Just a few seconds' delay could allow them to strike down several foes and ease the pressure.
Jiraiya, who had been nothing but wary of Kaede Tsukasa, now found himself trusting him a little more. He still held many doubts in his heart, but under circumstances like these, having someone who could narrow the numbers gap was a blessing.
"Hahahaha! I suddenly understand why your reputation is so great. Your raw strength might not yet match the strongest shinobi, yet every village fears you more than anyone else."
Jiraiya smirked, then laughed heartily. "Perhaps one day you alone will command an army of hundreds! I hear you can even make enemy corpses use the jutsu they knew in life?"
"It can be done, but it drains a lot of extra chakra. I've already expended much just traveling here from Konoha."
Kaede Tsukasa added, "As for building an army by myself—if I go all out, I can barely manage it. But how much actual strength that army would possess is another matter. For now, let's just focus on dealing with these enemies."
The horde of corpses surged forward first. Under the stunned stares of everyone present, they began unleashing ninjutsu in unison.
At the vanguard was Araki. His body was intact, his flesh full, his skin only faintly gray—in all, scarcely different from a living man. After devouring so many White Zetsu in recent days, it seemed to have worked. He had not only recovered to his prime, but even improved.
Swish!
The earth erupted as Araki raised a storm of sand and soil, whipping it into a visible whirlwind that roared toward Danzō and the others.
The rest of the corpses advanced layer by layer, ninjutsu flaring as they launched attacks in every direction.
Danzō's and Hanzō's forces immediately retaliated. To be honest, the quality of these corpses far exceeded expectations. Araki, the strongest among them, didn't even need mentioning—already skilled in wide-area attacks, his value in a battle of this scale was immense.
The other corpses, even the weakest among them, fought at least at a chūnin's level. Several were at jōnin rank, their casting speed, ninjutsu strength, and even their decision-making in close combat all clearly superior to ordinary shinobi.
And of course—they weren't afraid of death. Wounds that would cripple or kill a normal ninja meant nothing to these corpses, who continued to fight at full strength.
Danzō's men held together decently, but Hanzō's side quickly descended into chaos, losing over a dozen fighters in short order.
They finally managed to hack apart a few zombies—only to recoil in horror when the mangled corpses suddenly threw themselves forward, using what limbs they had left to leap into the crowd, biting and clawing wildly. They tore at one man's flesh with their teeth, smashed another with a severed limb.
This suicidal, relentless fighting style—seeking to inflict even the smallest wound at any cost—shook the Amegakure shinobi to their cores. None of them had ever faced Zombie Release before.
"It hurts! What are these things? Why won't they die?!"
"Damn it, what the hell was that? Did you see him just now? He swung his severed leg with his arm and bashed me in the head!"
"Wait, what am I seeing? Why is our dead comrade standing back up??? Half his neck is gone and he's still moving!"
"Waaaahhh! Stay away! Whether you're Iwa, Suna, or Ame comrades—just stay away from me!!"
The battlefield erupted into utter chaos.
Truth be told, the overall strength of the zombies wasn't overwhelming. Even Araki, the most powerful of them, though stronger than in life, still didn't have the kind of might to dominate the entire battlefield.
The real problem was the shock factor. The corpses were pressing from all sides, striking at enemies in every direction. And for the Amegakure shinobi—by far the most numerous here—this was beyond comprehension. Fighting decayed corpses was already a nightmare; but when their freshly slain comrades rose up and joined the enemy's ranks, it was too much to bear.
These hundred-plus Ame shinobi weren't all elite to begin with. Coming from a smaller village, most had never received the kind of systematic academy training Konoha offered. To be confronted with a jutsu that shattered their understanding while also delivering such horrifying visuals—it was natural for them to falter.
Even shinobi from the Great Villages, facing this technique for the first time, would hesitate in shock.
"Don't panic! Their weakness is the head! Destroy the head and the corpses will be finished!" Danzō barked, cutting down several zombies with his Root operatives.
Terai went straight for Araki again, blade flashing as he declared, "So we meet once more. You look even more human than before—has your master's Zombie Release improved? But this time, you won't survive. I'll take your head."
The last time, at the morgue, his blade had pierced Araki's chest. This time, it would be the head.
Two elite jōnin clashed—far beyond what ordinary shinobi could interfere with.
Danzō and the rest didn't even bother joining. Better to strike directly at Kaede Tsukasa while leaving the elite duel alone. After all, they still held the advantage in numbers.
"What an astonishing technique," Hanzō observed coldly. "Danzō, it seems your standing in Konoha isn't very good. Jiraiya refuses you, and now even a special shinobi like this stands against you. Have you lost the Hokage's support? If so, I may need to reconsider our alliance."
He didn't lift a hand himself, merely watched. If sacrificing a few subordinates was the price for uncovering the secrets of this jutsu, it was well worth it. Better them than him.
But the more he saw, the more shaken he became. Watching Amegakure shinobi fall, only to rise minutes later and turn on their comrades, even Hanzō was struck silent.
If he himself were killed here—would his body also rise to join Kaede Tsukasa's army, just like that Sunagakure elite jōnin?
Danzō seethed with rage. "Kaede Tsukasa was once my subordinate! I never thought he'd betray me over the Rinnegan! Jiraiya must have struck a deal with him long ago!"
Discovering the Rinnegan was indeed a tremendous prize. But to lose the technique of Self-Resurrection in the process—that was too great a cost. His face darkened, Sharingan spinning furiously with three tomoe as he glared at Kaede Tsukasa with murderous intent.
He truly couldn't understand. Not long ago, Kaede Tsukasa had sworn loyalty to him. How had it all changed in the blink of an eye?
What damnable bargaining chip had Jiraiya offered him? Surely not the Rinnegan itself—that was impossible.
Unless…
"Kaede Tsukasa, if what you want is to take this chance to obtain more excellent corpses, this old man can help you. But you should never stand against me!"
Danzō barked, "Hanzō, join me in attacking. Remember, do not kill Kaede Tsukasa and Nagato. No matter what, those two must not be harmed."
"Wanting both this and that… I truly regret getting involved in your Konoha civil war. The Hokage's disciple and a Konoha prodigy, fighting against Konoha's upper echelon—such a thing…"
Hanzō really did regret it. But when he saw the sinister look on Danzō's face, he felt compelled to at least lend some effort. As long as he controlled his strikes and avoided killing anyone, it would be fine.
Back then, he crushed the three Sannin in one breath—clearly had the ability to kill them all, but still let them live. Now, there was even less reason to go all out.
"In that case, I'll just defeat Kaede Tsukasa. I've lost quite a number of subordinates; he needs to pay the price."
Hanzō glanced at Jiraiya and decided to pick the softer target—squeezing Kaede Tsukasa. He knew Jiraiya's strength must have continued to grow over the past three years; who could know just how strong he had become?
The only question was: how many exchanges could Danzō survive against Jiraiya?
"Exactly as I hoped! In that case, I'll deal with Jiraiya here and now. The information about the Rinnegan must not be leaked."
Danzō's words left Hanzō utterly stunned. He twisted his head mid-charge to look at Danzō.
You? Taking on Jiraiya? Are you serious?
Jiraiya shielded the three around Nagato, his hair instantly killing two enemies. But when he saw Danzō charging toward him with a ferocious aura, eager for a duel, even he was thrown off.
He was just about to speak—
But Kaede Tsukasa said first: "Lord Jiraiya, from here on I'll need you to hold off Lord Danzō. As for me, I'll deal with Hanzō, though it'll take some time."
That clear voice carried across the chaotic battlefield, close and firm.
At those words, not only Jiraiya but even Danzō and Hanzō froze.
What was wrong with this world? Why had everyone gone mad?
"This guy… it seems he's gained much more confidence…"
Danzō narrowed his eyes, instantly guessing the reason.
If it were just about stalling Hanzō, using the Void Realm Technique would barely suffice. But claiming he would defeat Hanzō? That was something else.
Hanzō was undeniably a Kage-level powerhouse, part of the very first rank of the shinobi world. There was no way Kaede Tsukasa didn't know this. Yet he still dared to make such a claim?
"Hmph. Perhaps Hiruzen coveted Kaede Tsukasa's techniques, trading him forbidden jutsu from the Scroll of Seals. But even if that were true, how long has it been? Could Kaede Tsukasa already have mastered the forbidden arts from the Scroll?" Danzō wondered in doubt.
Hanzō grew even more cautious. He would never underestimate an opponent. His charging figure forcefully landed on the ground, eyes fixed on Kaede Tsukasa's every move.
On the other side, Jiraiya and Danzō finally clashed.
Danzō's hands swiftly formed seals before his chest, chakra condensing in his throat into razor-sharp wind blades, while his three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly.
So what if he was the Hokage's disciple? If he was an obstacle, he had to die!
"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
Three bluish-white wind blades roared out in a triangular formation, slicing apart even the falling raindrops.
The ground split instantly into trenches, and a zombie corpse along the way was reduced to dust.
Jiraiya stomped on the toad beneath him, his body soaring into the air to evade the Vacuum Serial Waves. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
The massive fireball instantly evaporated the rain as it roared toward Danzō.
Danzō narrowed his eyes, mind racing through tactics, deciding he needed to finish this quickly. Only by securing the Rinnegan and the technique of Self-Reincarnation in his own hands could he feel at ease.
In a flash, Danzō surged forward, deliberately charging into the Flame Bullet, greatly reducing the straight-line distance between himself and Jiraiya. The three-tomoe Sharingan in his socket flared with crimson light, releasing a surge of immense ocular power.
The next second, his body was completely engulfed by the Flame Bullet, the impact producing a thunderous explosion.
Boom!
Jiraiya, watching Danzō swallowed by the flames, looked around in shock. He assumed it must have been a clone, with the real body lurking nearby for a sneak attack.
But as the fireball burned out, in the final glow of the dissipating flames, a figure shot forth from the smoke—none other than Danzō, completely unharmed!
In that instant, Danzō had already closed in on Jiraiya. He seized the moment as Jiraiya landed, unable to shift position, and drove his kunai straight into Jiraiya's right chest.
Only Jiraiya's sharp battle instincts saved him—he twisted just enough that the strike pierced his chest instead of his heart.
"As expected. Even so-called renowned and powerful shinobi are still too green before me. Isn't that right, Jiraiya?" Danzō's tone was calm, as though the unthinkable events of the last few seconds were nothing out of the ordinary.
To have drawn Jiraiya's blood in just two or three exchanges—such a display stunned every onlooker.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief. "That was a Sharingan genjutsu just now? But your eye…"
At such close range, he saw the three-tomoe Sharingan had gone dull, fading to gray-white. He realized this was an ocular technique of the three-tomoe Sharingan.
But why could a mere three-tomoe Sharingan use such a bizarre ability? One that made the user immune to enemy ninjutsu? Why had he never heard of an Uchiha using it? And… why could someone like Danzō, not even an Uchiha, wield it?!
"You spent far too much time and effort at Mount Myōboku, while neglecting that the village's Scroll of Seals is the most precious treasure in this world," Danzō said flatly. "If Orochimaru were here, he would have recognized at once the jutsu I just used."
Though Danzō spoke as if calmly injuring a Kage-level shinobi was nothing unusual, inside he was ecstatic.
The Sharingan truly was a wondrous gift. And Izanagi—what a divine forbidden technique! The cost was merely consuming a single three-tomoe Sharingan. What kind of price was that?
Kill a few more Uchiha, and he could collect plenty of three-tomoe Sharingan. They couldn't all be wiped out anyway. Culling them periodically would even lighten the village's burden.
But still, Izanagi's chakra drain was absurd. Just one use had already consumed a third of his reserves.
He couldn't afford to use it three times in succession and completely exhaust himself. If the enemy wasn't defeated by then, he wouldn't even have enough chakra to escape. That meant, realistically, he could only use it twice in a battle.
Even so, Danzō was already fantasizing. Once Orochimaru transplanted Hashirama's cultivated cells into him, and he implanted even more Sharingan into those organs, just how strong could he become?
With greater chakra reserves, he would be able to use Izanagi freely.
"Sensei!"
Yahiko and the others cried out in shock, about to rush forward. But Jiraiya quickly retreated, glancing down at the blood spurting from his chest, his expression grim. "Don't worry. I was only caught off guard by Danzō's forbidden technique. I'm not that fragile."
He summoned several toads to heal him, while Danzō took advantage of the moment. He gouged out the blinded Sharingan, then summoned a jar containing another three-tomoe eye, which he promptly jammed into his socket.
"…Looks like we came to the same conclusion. But be warned, Danzō—I won't stumble over the same forbidden technique twice."
Jiraiya's cold gaze fixed on Danzō, though inside he was conflicted. He wanted nothing more than to kill him, but reason warned him not to. Doing so would make him a true traitor to the village.
And with Danzō's bizarre forbidden techniques, there was much he still couldn't quite grasp.
On the other side, Kaede Tsukasa also made his move.
He summoned several seemingly ordinary zombies—indeed, they were nothing special.
But Hanzō would never treat them as mere fodder. He was already on high alert, pulling down his mask slightly to release more of his deadly poison.
"It seems Danzō has mastered quite an impressive technique—even I couldn't tell what it was. Perhaps he really can kill Jiraiya… And you, young man—Konoha's so-called genius—how do you intend to deal with me?"
Holding his scythe, Hanzō strode forward at a steady pace. Though his temperament had grown more cautious with age, it didn't mean he had weakened. His overwhelming taijutsu and inescapable poison were still unmatched.
"Jiraiya won't lose. Izanagi may be formidable, but Danzō doesn't have the strength to fully wield it. At least, not yet."
Kaede Tsukasa first moved Nagato and the others to safety. Then he placed a hand casually on a zombie's shoulder. That simple touch put Hanzō on guard—he instantly hurled his scythe at Kaede's face.
Whoosh!
The scythe cleaved through a zombie's skull instead—Kaede had already shifted away, laying his hand on another corpse.
"Hmph. Cheap tricks. Even if you have a pile of corpses, do you think I can't cut them all down? Once I finish them off, your space-time tricks won't save you. You'll either flee or die."
Hanzō released the toxin of the salamander from within his body. Wherever it spread, even zombies' nervous systems broke down. Within seconds, the nearby corpses collapsed.
A few unlucky Ame-nin, caught in the miasma, writhed in agony. Hanzō didn't even glance at them.
"Lord Hanzō, spare us!"
"Run! Lord Hanzō is serious—run for your lives!"
The Ame-nin scattered in terror, tumbling over themselves to escape. They didn't dare touch the air or rain near Hanzō.
Even one Root shinobi, caught while fighting zombies, fell to the poison—but no one cared.
Hanzō attacked again and again. Kaede Tsukasa kept slipping away with his Void Realm Technique, twice summoning fresh corpses.
Finally, Kaede halted. "This should be enough. Though wearing down your chakra with cheap bodies is cost-effective, it wastes too much time."
He formed a single hand seal. One of the touched zombies began weaving signs under his control.
The sequence was clumsy and painfully slow, as if the technique resisted being cast. The order was… Snake–Pig–Goat–Rabbit–Dog–Rat–Rooster–Horse–Snake!
Hanzō frowned, not understanding.
So he spent all that effort touching corpses just to have one cast a jutsu?
"What's this? For a corpse to use its lifetime techniques, you have to touch it first?"
Hanzō sneered and struck, trying to interrupt. But Kaede simply shifted the zombie aside with a hand on its shoulder, letting the disposable corpse take the blow.
"No. Only to activate this particular jutsu I'm still not familiar with. But let's see if you're still laughing after this."
As the final Si seal was completed—
Zombie Release: Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
Kaede snapped his head toward it. He instantly sensed a grotesque presence answering the call, descending in a flash and manifesting behind the zombie.
The Shinigami had come.
"So this thing is…"
Kaede felt an icy chill pierce to his very marrow. This wasn't just a feeling—it was the yin power of the Shinigami's very existence, carrying the silent screams of countless souls devoured by its hands throughout history.
With his own eyes, Kaede couldn't see the Shinigami. But through the zombie, he clearly perceived its form, expression, and movements.
A towering, ghastly specter, dagger clenched between its teeth, drool dripping as if impatient to feast on a living soul—while muttering incomprehensible words.
On the other side, Kaede Tsukasa made his move as well.
He couldn't understand what the Shinigami was saying, but instinctively, he knew what had to be done.
The Shinigami demanded souls, urging the caster to strike quickly. If the jutsu dragged on too long and the caster exhausted his stamina and chakra, the Shinigami would simply reap the caster's soul instead.
Kaede Tsukasa felt deeply shaken, standing so close to what could be called one of the greatest spiritual entities in the shinobi world, sensing that bottomless, surging power.
He wasn't sure if the Shinigami could unleash the power of the Six Paths at full strength, but at the very least, against anyone below that level—so long as the caster didn't falter—whoever faced the Shinigami was doomed.
Not even Hashirama Senju.
Not even the fully manifested Nine-Tails.
"So that's how it is. My first time touching upon one of this world's deepest waters, and it really caught me off guard," Kaede Tsukasa's lips curved into a smile.
"What are you talking about? Have you already begun casting the jutsu?"
Hanzō felt a sudden chill run through him. His battle instincts screamed that something terrifying was happening, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything.
From a distant hillside, Yahiko and his companions peeked out, watching the battlefield.
"That Kaede Tsukasa is incredible—he teleported us away in an instant, and now he dares face Hanzō alone!" Yahiko was stunned. "But… I can't hear what they're saying. Aren't they going to fight yet?"
"No, the fight has already begun. Lord Kaede Tsukasa summoned… a monster!" Nagato's Rinnegan widened. Out of everyone there, only he could see the Shinigami. Even at such a distance, just looking at it made him tremble all over, as if his very soul was being dragged away.
Konan frowned. "A monster? I don't see anything."
"Right behind that corpse next to Lord Kaede Tsukasa! It's a colossal figure, like a man-eating demon straight out of ghost stories."
Nagato shivered as he described the Shinigami's form, letting Yahiko and Konan grasp the general situation.
His voice then rose with excitement. "If Lord Kaede Tsukasa summoned it, then it must be able to defeat Hanzō! A jutsu of that caliber must be terrifying beyond belief!"
He wanted to reach for his eyes—just moments ago, he had almost used the summoning jutsu Kaede Tsukasa had stopped him from performing. What would it have brought forth?
And… would it have emerged from his Rinnegan? If not, did some other force tied to the Rinnegan exist in this world?
And could it possibly rival that demon Kaede Tsukasa had called forth?
"Go on, let me see just how much power this special form of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal can unleash."
Kaede Tsukasa willed it.
The corpse immediately lunged toward Hanzō.
At the same time, all the surrounding zombies rushed in as well, swarming him, trying to block every possible escape route.
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was a jutsu of dreadful lethality. The only problem was… the target had to be caught first.
And when the target was someone as elusive as Hanzō, how could he be restrained?
"The strongest corpse—the Sand shinobi—is still busy fighting Root's men. The rest can't hold me off. Yet you're still forcing them on me… is this just to create an opening for that one corpse with the strange jutsu?"
Hanzō snorted coldly. With his poisons, it took him a few seconds to damage the nerves and bones of the undead—after all, they were already corpses. Poison and taijutsu alone weren't enough to give him a true sense of safety.
Summoning Jutsu!
Hanzō immediately summoned a gigantic salamander. Its massive body shoved all the zombies aside, while he perched on its head, overlooking the battlefield and studying everything carefully.
"You caught something. Though it's only a summoned beast."
Kaede Tsukasa looked indifferent. He had never expected to take Hanzō down in a single strike. That was unrealistic—after all, even Pain's Six Paths had to go through a struggle against him, let alone himself right now.
The main point was to experiment with this Zombie Release version of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Used through a zombie, the effect would certainly be weaker than when cast by the original body. But the true scale of its power still needed to be tested.
The zombie, carrying the Shinigami behind it, rushed up to the salamander and pressed both hands onto its body.
"Foolish. The salamander's skin is poisonous—it will hasten the death of that corpse. It'll last perhaps two seconds at most." Hanzō sneered. Two seconds—what could anyone do with that? Nothing. Surely such a tiny corpse couldn't possibly bring down a giant salamander.
Kaede Tsukasa sensed it then: from the zombie's abdomen, a spectral hand etched with eerie runes extended—visible to no ordinary person. It pushed through the salamander's skin and reached inside. At once, it clearly seized hold of something, then began to drag it out.
The salamander froze in place, a furious, uneasy roar escaping its jaws.
"What's wrong with you? You could just kill those guys down there directly." Hanzō frowned, a bad premonition rising in his heart.
But the salamander didn't obey his command. It froze stiff in place, not moving at all, as if caught in a Paralysis Jutsu. No matter how Hanzō urged it on, it wouldn't respond.
This left Hanzō even more puzzled.
What was going on with these Konoha people? Danzō had pulled out a forbidden jutsu that drained the Sharingan, forcing Jiraiya to take it seriously; and now Kaede Tsukasa had in turn brought out some inexplicable technique that instantly restricted his salamander!
"Some kind of jutsu that binds movement through touch? Using a corpse to restrain my summon—truly remarkable," Hanzō praised.
"Ah, you could understand it that way. The effect is indeed restricting movement… though in this case, it's permanent."
Pull!
Kaede Tsukasa repeatedly drove the zombie to exert force, but unfortunately, this zombie's strength was far too weak. It couldn't possibly drag the soul of such a powerful summoned beast.
"As expected, it won't work. Applying 'that jutsu' to a zombie and then forcing the zombie to perform the Dead Demon Consuming Seal was, in the end, a makeshift trick. It can't achieve the definitive effect of the full version of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Still, using it as a plain attack is more than enough—after all, this is still a high-level sealing technique."
And one that directly targeted the soul—rarer and more precious than ninety-nine percent of sealing arts.
"Then so be it. The fragment of soul it managed to grab—we'll just cut that off."
Kaede Tsukasa gave the order, and the zombie immediately acted.
The Shinigami behind it raised the short blade clenched in its teeth and slashed directly at the fragment of soul grasped in its spirit-hand.
There was no sound, no resistance. Like slicing tofu, it was cut off with ease. The Shinigami eagerly devoured it, drool spilling from the corners of its mouth as it mumbled incoherently in some unknown tongue.
The salamander let out a wail of agony, its enormous body crashing to the ground.
It wasn't dead, but its body writhed violently, triggering a small earthquake.
The sudden scene left Hanzō dumbfounded. He leapt aside, glancing left and right, still unable to understand what Kaede Tsukasa had just done.
"What kind of binding jutsu is this? Being frozen from a corpse's touch, I could still barely accept—but what now? Or is this not a binding technique at all?"
At the very least, Hanzō could confirm one thing: before it had even slain a single enemy, his giant salamander had already suffered severe damage, driven to madness from pain, completely ignoring its master's commands.
What sort of injury could force such a battle-hardened summon into this pitiful state? And where exactly was it wounded?
Growing ever more cautious and alert, Hanzō noticed that Kaede Tsukasa hadn't taken the chance to attack. Instead, he stood frowning in place, as though weighing a crucial decision.
"Yes, as I thought. This zombie's strength is spent—it can only seal away this one fragment of soul, nothing more. The rest will depend on what comes next…"
As expected, once the Shinigami confirmed the zombie had reached its limit and could no longer be used, it began mumbling again—this time reaching out to seize the soul of the caster himself.
Its hand lunged straight for Kaede Tsukasa.