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"What?"
In the rear base, Kabuto spoke with a hint of confusion.
"He didn't kill a single person? As expected... a piece that can't be controlled has far too great a potential for unexpected outcomes."
Kabuto had summoned Kagaya originally intending to let him wreak havoc on the First Division's side. But he hadn't expected Kagaya to leave without killing a single person. This was a severe deviation from Kabuto's original plan.
"Let me try once more..."
Unable to accept this outcome, Kabuto decided to attempt controlling Kagaya.
Kagaya ran across the land with Shikamaru on his back. Kagaya didn't know where he was—after all, he had only just been resurrected, and he didn't even remember the location of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
But not knowing the way didn't matter. All Kagaya had to do was continuously reverse-sense Kabuto's location and head in that direction.
This was also why Kagaya hadn't released the Impure World Reincarnation. Once he released it, his connection to Kabuto would be severed, and he would no longer be able to reverse-sense Kabuto's location.
Suddenly, several commands surfaced in Kagaya's mind, and his body instinctively moved to obey. But that impulse was suppressed by Kagaya in an instant.
Kabuto was actually trying to control him?
Kagaya chuckled, unconcerned. He muttered softly to himself.
"Don't be impatient. I'm on my way to find you."
For Kabuto to control Kagaya was fundamentally impossible.
No—more precisely, for Kabuto to control a Kagaya with his own consciousness intact was impossible!
There was only one way for Kabuto to control Kagaya: when awakening him, give Kagaya no mental space whatsoever. Just like when Orochimaru had summoned the First and Second Hokage—completely severing all consciousness. Only under those circumstances could Kabuto control Kagaya.
However, in order to preserve Kagaya's strength, Kabuto hadn't done that. So, from the very moment Kagaya was awakened by Kabuto, Kagaya was free. Not only could Kabuto not control him—even if Kabuto released the Impure World Reincarnation, Kagaya wouldn't disappear.
*****
The rear base.
Kabuto furrowed his brow. As expected, the commands he had issued were like a stone sinking into the ocean, stirring no waves whatsoever. A figure of that caliber was indeed beyond his current ability to control.
"Well... forget it. Even if he doesn't kill anyone, he can still give the Allied Shinobi Forces a good scare."
Kabuto lowered his head and stopped focusing on Kagaya. He shifted his attention to other pieces—such as Uchiha Madara.
Actually, Kabuto hadn't gone all out in trying to control Kagaya just now. He was afraid that doing so would anger Kagaya. So he had only used half his power to test whether control was possible. If the results had been promising, Kabuto would have gone all out. If not, he would give up.
And the facts proved that half his power had stirred no waves at all. Full power wouldn't work either. So Kabuto quickly gave up.
Otherwise, if Kabuto had gone all out trying to control Kagaya, Kagaya could have suppressed it—but not in an instant.
Moreover, there was one thing Kabuto hadn't noticed: Kagaya was heading toward his location.
After all, the battlefield was chaotic. People were advancing in every direction. Kagaya was still very far from Kabuto, so Kabuto wouldn't think Kagaya was coming for him.
"Hm? Again?"
Having easily suppressed Kabuto's control, Kagaya sensed two people chasing after him.
Although Kagaya's speed could easily shake them off, shaking them off didn't guarantee they wouldn't find him again and catch up once more.
So—
"Killing them would be more convenient."
Kagaya stopped and waited for the two pursuers to arrive.
The reason he hadn't killed anyone when he first revived was that he found it troublesome. If he had enraged that large group of surrounding shinobi, Kagaya would have truly needed to spend time cleaning them up. And spending time aside, he wouldn't gain anything from it. So, after weighing his options, Kagaya had held back and refrained from killing.
But now, Kagaya had already left on his own. What did they mean by chasing after him? Did they really think Kagaya didn't dare to kill?
His hand instinctively reached for his waist, only to remember he was in an Impure World Reincarnation body and wasn't carrying any kunai.
Come to think of it, Kagaya was probably one of the people at his level of strength who most liked using kunai. After all, Kagaya was fast, and killing with a kunai was effortless. Plus, he knew the Flying Thunder God, which required kunai as support.
But after the Impure World Reincarnation, Kabuto clearly hadn't prepared any kunai for Kagaya.
"Forget it. I'll just use the Susanoo."
Kagaya sighed. Against opponents weaker than himself, he still found kunai more convenient—a single instant could end the fight. The Susanoo, on the other hand, required making quite a bit of noise.
"Hey!"
Just then, Shikamaru, on Kagaya's back, spoke up.
Kagaya looked at him without speaking, his eyes signaling Shikamaru to continue.
Shikamaru spoke.
"You took me with you because I'm useful, right?"
Kagaya nodded.
"Of course. I may do meaningless things sometimes, but most of the time, I prefer doing meaningful things."
Shikamaru smiled with relief.
"Then, take me and leave now. Spare the two who are chasing from behind!"
"They're the ones chasing me," Kagaya said.
"You took me first, and that's why they're chasing!" Shikamaru retorted.
"And if I insist on killing those two?" Kagaya spoke without expression.
"Then you'll also get my corpse along with it," Shikamaru smiled.
"Aren't you overthinking this? In front of me, you have no chance to kill yourself, nor the ability to."
"You said earlier that my intellect is remarkable, didn't you? Then how can you be sure I can't kill myself?"
Shikamaru was still smiling. His face appeared relaxed, but his right hand was clenched tightly. His nails had even dug into his palm, drawing blood without him even noticing.
He was gambling.
Kagaya had taken him because he must need something done. And Shikamaru was betting that his value in Kagaya's eyes was greater than the lives of Choji and Ino, who were chasing from behind.
Kagaya looked at Shikamaru and fell silent.
For a moment, he didn't know whether Shikamaru truly had some method of suicide that he was unaware of. It was best if Shikamaru didn't die. Kagaya needed Shikamaru to help him with something next.
'Not combat, of course.' Kagaya had said it himself—Shikamaru's combat ability was weak. Kagaya didn't need Shikamaru's combat ability. What Kagaya needed was the intelligence in Shikamaru's mind and his intellect to accomplish one thing—finding someone!
After retrieving the Rinnegan, what was the thing Kagaya needed to do? Without a doubt, it was to resurrect himself. The first thing Kagaya thought of was the Rinnegan's Rinne Rebirth.
Kagaya wasn't Madara. He didn't have Black Zetsu controlling Obito to resurrect him. He had to find another "Obito" himself.
But the problem was—with Nagato's superior Uzumaki constitution, even he had ended up in that state after bearing the Rinnegan. If Kagaya just picked some random person, they would probably die within seconds of receiving the Rinnegan, let alone perform the Rinne Rebirth.
So Kagaya needed Shikamaru to use his intelligence and information to help him find a suitable person to resurrect him.
Therefore, at least until Kagaya was fully resurrected, Shikamaru's value to Kagaya was immense.
After thinking it over repeatedly, Kagaya finally agreed to Shikamaru's words.
"Fine. As you say, I'll spare the two behind us. However, remember this—in the task I have for you next, you must give it your all. Otherwise, those two will still die. Their lives are only temporary. Once you fail to complete my task, their lives will end as well."
That statement was three parts true, seven parts false. Although Kagaya didn't mind killing, he wouldn't go out of his way to hunt down two Jonin-level individuals unless absolutely necessary. That would just be idling with nothing better to do.
So the main purpose of that statement was to intimidate Shikamaru. In truth, even if Shikamaru ultimately couldn't find a candidate, Kagaya probably wouldn't do anything—as long as Shikamaru tried his best.
"I understand."
Shikamaru continued smiling. But his earlier smile had been forced. This time, it came from the heart.
He had saved his comrades. At the same time, he had confirmed that his value to this mysterious man was probably quite significant.
Whoosh!
Kagaya and Shikamaru vanished from the spot in an instant. This time, Kagaya traveled at his normal full speed, quickly shaking off the two chakra signatures behind them.
The war continued to rage fiercely. During this period, the greatest developments occurred with the Fourth Division and the First Division.
The Fourth Division had encountered the legendary Uchiha Madara and begun engaging him.
The First Division had encountered a nameless, mysterious man. Although no one was injured, the crucial Shikamaru had been taken, and the enemy's strength was immense. The chakra he had unleashed had terrified a great many people.
Regarding these two enemies, the Allied Forces prioritized dealing with Uchiha Madara. This was only natural. Most people would make that choice.
After all, his fame was there. No matter how emphatically the First Division reported the mysterious man's strength to headquarters, in headquarters' eyes, the assessment was probably something like this: "Oh! I see. So this mysterious man is very strong, a formidable opponent! We need to focus on dealing with him! Alright, now let's continue monitoring Uchiha Madara's movements. This legendary shinobi... to think he's actually been resurrected."
And so it was. No matter what, in the eyes of most people, the more famous Uchiha Madara was the one who truly required focused attention.
So for a time, no powerful figures came to hunt down Kagaya. The powerful individuals who could move freely had all been drawn toward Madara's side—such as the Five Kage.
Moreover, the location where Madara had been resurrected was the Fourth Division. The location where Kagaya had been resurrected was the First Division.
On the map, these two divisions were positioned at the southern and northern ends of the battlefield, respectively.
Kagaya was in the north. Madara was in the south.
The two would not meet. So the Allied Shinobi Forces didn't need to consider dealing with two people simultaneously.
However, the place Kagaya was currently heading to was the northwest of the battlefield—Obito's main base, which was also where Kabuto was located.
But going straight northwest would require a sea route. Kagaya didn't want to take the sea route. So he first had to head west, leave the battlefield's range, then head north to reach Kabuto's location.
Incidentally, after so many years, the map of the Fourth Great Ninja War had long since been completely forgotten by Kagaya. So the route was planned for him by Shikamaru.
Kagaya described the location of Kabuto as he sensed it, then had Shikamaru plan a route for him.
Looking at the route Shikamaru had drawn on the ground, Kagaya spoke.
"Don't try any tricks with the route."
At this moment, Shikamaru had recently received a good amount of chakra from Kagaya, so his complexion had recovered considerably. He smiled faintly.
"I can guarantee that. The route is absolutely real! If you follow the route I've drawn for you, you will definitely reach the location of the caster you described."
Kagaya didn't hold back. A genjutsu immediately followed.
"The map you drew—can it really get me to the place I described?"
Shikamaru replied mechanically.
"Yes."
With that, Kagaya was reassured. Under genjutsu, Shikamaru couldn't lie.
Standing up and wiping the route off the ground with his foot, Kagaya spoke.
"Then let's go."
Shikamaru's genjutsu had now been released. Only then did he realize he had just been placed under a genjutsu. He shrugged helplessly.
"You still don't trust me, huh? Well... that's normal."
Kagaya smiled without speaking and took the lead, departing from this place.
Shikamaru immediately followed. His complexion had recovered considerably, so he no longer needed Kagaya to carry him.
However, what Kagaya didn't know was this: although he had taken Shikamaru and shaken off the Allied Shinobi Forces, Shikamaru's mind had actually been in constant communication with the Allied Shinobi Forces through Ino's Mind Body Transmission Technique.
In fact, because he didn't need to fight, Shikamaru could focus entirely on receiving intelligence from the Allied Shinobi Forces and even continue giving them strategic advice.
So Shikamaru wasn't worried at all. His greatest contribution to the Allied Shinobi Forces was his mind. Now, even if he was taken away, the impact on the Allied Forces was minimal.
This was also one of the reasons the Allied Shinobi Forces hadn't sent powerful figures to prioritize hunting Kagaya. They had all been stopped by Shikamaru.
Shikamaru still advised the Allied Shinobi Forces to prioritize Uchiha Madara. Because Shikamaru had discovered that this mysterious man who had taken him didn't seem particularly interested in the current war. Along the way, he had neither helped the Allied Forces nor the White Zetsu.
'Is everything alright on your end?'
Shikaku's voice echoed in Shikamaru's mind. Shikaku was a strategist of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Although the supreme commander wasn't him, but Tsunade, anyone with eyes could see that the Fifth Hokage (Tsunade) was only a figurehead. The true chief strategist was Shikaku. To call him the brain of the Allied Shinobi Forces was no exaggeration!
'Ah, don't worry about me, Dad. This mysterious man doesn't mean me any harm. He just wants me to help him complete one thing. Though... I don't know what it is, or whether I can even do it.'
Shikamaru replied in his mind. Although Shikaku appeared unmoved on the surface, Shikamaru could tell—the one most worried about him being taken by the mysterious man was this "unmoved" father of his.
'That's good, then. You reported earlier that this mysterious man is going to find the caster of the Impure World Reincarnation, right? That's fine too. If his target isn't on the battlefield, the Five Kage can focus on dealing with Madara.'
Shikaku spoke in a flat tone. What he didn't say was that, in his view, as long as the mysterious man bore no ill will toward Shikamaru for the time being, then on this battlefield, Shikamaru might actually be safest with that mysterious man.
That thought wasn't wrong. Until Kagaya was truly resurrected, he wouldn't let anyone touch Shikamaru. Even if the Five Kage came, it wouldn't matter.
However, Shikamaru was clearly not the type to only think of himself. He was still considering the bigger picture.
'No, Dad. That mysterious man just had me plan a route for him, and I gave him one. The route can indeed reach the place he described. It's just... it passes slightly close to where the Fourth Division is stationed.'
'What did you say?! You're having that mysterious man pass near the Fourth Division? That's where Madara is!'