chapter 105 part 3
"You know nothing about Impure World Reincarnation. Physical attacks are completely ineffective; only soul attacks work. In fact, Nagato using Sealing Jutsu: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals against me was precisely the best choice, but unfortunately, he didn't succeed."
In front of Konan, Tsukasa Kaede gouged out his own Sharingan, which had turned pale gray.
The moment it left his body, the Sharingan turned to dust and dissipated. Immediately after, an eye with a pale gray pupil reappeared in his eye socket.
"As expected, it's not enough. Even an Impure World Reincarnation body isn't enough to alter the price paid for using Izanagi," Tsukasa Kaede said. He was quite curious about his own Impure World body.
Konan fell silent.
"Someone like Orochimaru actually failed. You weren't controlled by Orochimaru, or perhaps you merely pretended to be," Konan scoffed. "Then this Impure World Reincarnation doesn't seem as powerful as you claim. Just give me time, and I'll find your weakness."
"Suit yourself. But before you find a weakness and decide to act, serve me well. Use your Paper Release to create Explosive Tags for me. With your current skill level, you should be capable of it."
Tsukasa Kaede didn't expect Konan to immediately reach her peak. After all, she was already in her thirties when she pulled out six hundred billion Explosive Tags to fight Obito.
But even if not, bringing her back to use as a printing press shouldn't be a problem.
"Explosive Tags..."
Konan grew even more silent. She found Tsukasa Kaede's actions too abstract. How could a dignified Konoha genius possibly be lacking Explosive Tags?
"How many do you want me to make?"
"Not many, just a few hundred billion."
"Just kill me."
Konan sneered. "A few hundred billion? What kind of joke is that? I couldn't finish that even if I worked myself to death!" Tsukasa Kaede had no sincerity, giving her an impossible mission! Tsukasa Kaede stared at her for a long moment, then slowly said, "Alright then, I'll just kill you. After you die, your corpse can continue making Explosive Tags for me. The effect will be the same."
"...Wait, perhaps I can try this."
Konan's breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Facing a normal powerful enemy, if she couldn't win, she could commit suicide to avoid leaving hidden dangers for Nagato and the others. Konan had long been prepared for that.
But Tsukasa Kaede was abnormal. It didn't matter if she didn't obey him while alive; once dead, she would have no choice but to obey.
Tsukasa Kaede said: "Don't even think about finding a chance to blow yourself to pieces so I can't get your complete corpse. Carefully sense your body's condition. Your body is filled with my power. I can turn you into my puppet at any time. What's more, even if you die, I'll find a way to resurrect you and make you into my current form, continuing to serve me."
Konan's face showed despair. She felt the flow of Chakra within her body, and indeed, under Tsukasa Kaede's deliberate control, it encountered obstruction.
Facing such a person... what was she supposed to do? "Think of it another way, you should be grateful for this. If I had gone after Nagato, none of you would have survived in the end. Konan, you've traded your freedom for the safety of your comrades," Tsukasa Kaede said indifferently.
He could kill Konan at any time, but this woman's body was already filled with his virus, so killing her or not made no practical difference.
Moreover, even if she was killed, he could resurrect her using the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu...
"For the foreseeable future, you will remain in Konoha and serve me."
"Heh, you brought me, a ninja from the Land of Rain, to Konoha, and expect me to serve you personally... Is your Konoha's management system for ninja really that crude?"
"Precisely because it's relatively meticulous, it has enough confidence to be appropriately open. Otherwise, how do you think Konoha achieved such a prosperous economy and massive flow of people? Don't treat all ninja villages as closed-off Hidden Rain Villages. Hanzo managing the Hidden Rain Village the way he did had various subjective and objective reasons."
Tsukasa Kaede pointed to a room: "For the time being, you'll stay here. If you want to go out and wander around, feel free. Just mention my name if you run into anyone."
In fact, Konan appearing in Konoha wouldn't immediately make her arbitrarily labeled an enemy, nor would she be besieged right away.
Even without mentioning Tsukasa Kaede, Konan was Jiraiya's disciple. That alone was enough for her to engage in normal activities in Konoha; she was a legitimate grand-disciple of a Hokage.
Of course, for individuals like Danzo and Orochimaru, who harbored ulterior motives, violating rules and forcefully acting for personal gain was another matter entirely.
Even foreign merchants and tourists could wander and enjoy themselves in Konoha. Moreover, employers from all over the world would arrive to post missions, leaving with Konoha ninja who accepted them. As long as outsiders avoided restricted areas, they would be safe and sound.
Tsukasa Kaede entered another room and closed the door tightly. This left Konan bewildered; such leniency and casualness made her, a captive, feel at a loss.
"Konoha... Master Jiraiya's village, the village that brought heavy suffering to Nagato."
Konan stood stiffly for a long time, then pushed open the door and walked out, observing this foremost village in the Shinobi World from her own perspective.
Tsukasa Kaede sensed it.
"Hmm, this is a good start. Keeping Konan in my grasp is a good choice, whether it's for her Paper Release to perfect my Corpse Release, or to negotiate with Nagato in the future."
Tsukasa Kaede immediately stopped paying attention to Konan and focused on himself.
He first summoned the most ordinary zombie. Such a zombie didn't even qualify as cannon fodder.
Forbidden Jutsu: Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu!
As this zombie transformed into a mummified corpse and fell before Tsukasa Kaede, Tsukasa Kaede looked at a crack on his arm, which made a sizzling sound. An external life force was reversing his state of death, attempting to turn this Impure World body into a living one.
"Indeed, just as I expected. As long as enough zombies perform Jutsu on me, it will be enough to gradually resurrect me from the Impure World state... although the life force consumption is immense."
Tsukasa Kaede secretly nodded. His current physical strength, due to using Hashirama Cells experiment subjects as sacrifices, had some additional merits compared to his original body, but it still wasn't enough.
He immediately summoned a Hashirama clone and assessed the body's condition.
"Next, I need to devour this thing and a pair of Sharingan into my body. Then, I will mobilize a massive corpse horde as sacrifices, using their endless life force to resurrect myself in the most perfect state."
(end of chapter)