It would have been impossible for Uchiha Fujie not to feel a little envious after seeing his clones and assimilated bodies awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
But after witnessing the agony they went through during the second fusion, he decided to stop after the first one for now. The second fusion could wait until his physical condition had improved enough to withstand it.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode…"
The moment he thought about strengthening his physique, that technique came to mind.
It was unquestionably an excellent art. At its peak, it could make the body itself rival a Tailed Beast.
He had to get his hands on it.
"And One's Own Life Reincarnation… and Dust Release are good too."
Thinking of the secret arts and forbidden techniques of the other villages, Uchiha Fujie immediately thought of those two as well.
They would require careful planning.
As for how to obtain Lightning Release Chakra Mode and One's Own Life Reincarnation, he already had a plan.
Dust Release would be much harder.
From that day on, Uchiha Fujie gave up practicing ninjutsu and genjutsu altogether and devoted all of his effort to taijutsu instead.
Though, to be fair, he had never spent much time on ninjutsu or genjutsu in the first place.
He had a bold theory.
If he forged his body to an extreme degree, could he push the Mangekyo Sharingan to an even higher level—perhaps even beyond the Rinnegan itself—and draw out the Yin power of the Sage of Six Paths?
After Kakashi Hatake was discharged from the hospital, he resumed teaching Naruto Uzumaki as usual, but he had also regained his own drive.
He began retraining in the Hatake sword style while also modifying Lightning Blade. Without the Sharingan, Lightning Blade could no longer display its full power, so it had to be improved.
Kakashi Hatake understood something clearly: four squads had still failed to take down Momochi Zabuza.
In theory, that should have been enough.
But Kakashi Hatake felt that Zabuza was not so simple.
It was nothing more than instinct, yet he trusted it.
"Why did he miss the vital point? Was it because of the thick mist? But when he attacked Utatane Kazama, he didn't miss."
Even now, Kakashi Hatake still could not understand it.
Unless Momochi Zabuza had deliberately spared him.
But Zabuza had no reason to do that.
In the end, Kakashi Hatake could only bury the matter in the back of his mind.
At that same moment, the Zabuza assimilated body was soaking in a hot spring in the Land of Hot Water.
Out of all the countries he could have chosen, he had come here on purpose.
He was fishing.
And very soon, the fish would bite.
The pursuit squads from the Five Great Villages had not yet reached the Land of Hot Water.
But the Akatsuki had already arrived.
Konan and Pain had come personally.
Obito Uchiha had also come in secret.
With White Zetsu supplying information, there was no way they would be slow.
Konan and the Deva Path of Pain entered a sparsely populated tavern.
Konan asked quietly, "You're not going to recruit him immediately?"
The Deva Path replied indifferently, "Not yet. Let's first observe how he handles the ninja sent by the Five Great Villages. If he's too weak, then there's no reason to recruit him."
The achievements displayed by the Zabuza assimilated body had only barely caught their interest.
If it had been Kakuzu, they believed Kakuzu could have wiped out an entire Konoha ANBU squad by himself—even if Kakashi Hatake had been among them.
But Zabuza had only managed to reach mutual destruction.
For some reason, Obito Uchiha did not act at once either.
He seemed to have plans of his own.
Only a single day passed before the ANBU and Root ninja from the Land of Fire arrived.
The Land of Fire was the closest to the Land of Hot Water, followed only by the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning.
During these past few days, minor village ninja, wandering shinobi, and a handful of rogue ninja had all tried their luck against the Zabuza assimilated body.
Without exception, every last one of them had died by his hand.
In a silent forest, the Zabuza assimilated body walked at an unhurried pace with the Executioner's Blade strapped across his back.
The broken blade had already repaired itself.
That was the sword's special trait.
Compared to the other famed blades, it was easier to damage—but also easier to restore. Even if it snapped in two, it could mend itself by absorbing blood.
The sunlight was harsh, but the Zabuza assimilated body paid it no mind.
Ten-odd minutes later, he stopped.
"Four squads. Sixteen men. Looks like this is Root and ANBU."
"There are others hiding in the dark too."
"That chakra… something's off. Is that Pain?"
After awakening the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the assimilated body's sensory ability had grown stronger.
Ocular power represented spiritual power to a certain extent, and spiritual power was connected to the soul. Once the soul strengthened, it was only natural that perception would improve as well.
Because of that, even though the sensory ninjutsu itself had not changed, the Zabuza assimilated body's detection range had expanded to five kilometers.
He stood there without moving.
Pain and Konan had not used sensory ninjutsu themselves, so they were somewhat puzzled.
Had they already been exposed?
Another ten minutes passed.
Then sixteen Konoha ninja surrounded Momochi Zabuza.
"His sensory perception is impressive, and his vigilance is solid too. He seems very confident in his own strength."
The Deva Path of Pain praised him lightly.
If Zabuza could remain undefeated against these sixteen ninja, then Pain would recruit him.
Elsewhere, Obito Uchiha was watching as well.
If Zabuza lost and the Sharingan was taken, Obito would follow the victor in secret and steal it back.
If Zabuza won, then he could simply let Zabuza join the Akatsuki. Once he was inside the organization, reclaiming the eye would always remain an option.
Black Zetsu had been right.
If Zabuza was strong enough, then he could be used first.
The Akatsuki did indeed need more manpower.
The Root ninja had been brainwashed by Danzo Shimura and branded with cursed seals. Most of them had no emotions left, only the mission Danzo had given them.
The three Root squads did not waste a single word.
They attacked at once, hurling shuriken the moment they arrived.
That was Root.
To its shinobi, Danzo Shimura's orders outweighed everything else.
The Zabuza assimilated body raised the Executioner's Blade high and swung casually once.
A ripple of chakra surged outward and knocked all the shuriken away.
"This feels a little out of place with the style of the Naruto world…"
Uchiha Fujie, still inside Konoha, could not help wanting to comment.
Then he realized that mocking the assimilated body was basically the same as mocking himself.
"That swing is interesting, though a little wasteful in terms of chakra."
Obito Uchiha, Pain, and Konan all reached the same conclusion.
The Zabuza assimilated body did not remain where he was after that strike. He moved swiftly, and before long a dense fog filled the forest.
No one noticed when he had formed hand seals.
Or perhaps he had formed any at all.
"Don't panic! Sensory— Aah!"
The Root ninja were well trained, but before the speaker could finish, his head fell from his shoulders.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" ×6
As six Wind Release users attacked at once, the dense mist thinned considerably.
What chilled the Root ninja to the bone was what they saw next.
In that brief instant, another one of them had died.
The battle had barely begun, and they had already lost two men.
How had Kakashi Hatake and the others managed to fight this monster to a draw?
"Yamanaka is dead."
One of the Root ninja muttered darkly.
The Yamanaka shinobi had been one of their trump cards.
The Zabuza assimilated body revealed himself and said flatly, "Of course I killed him first. The Mind Transfer Technique is troublesome to deal with. Once he's dead, the rest of you are nothing special."
Before the battle had even begun, the assimilated body had already decided that the Yamanaka clan member had to die first.
If that Root ninja stayed alive, he posed too great a threat.
He might not be able to kill the assimilated body, but he could expose some of his secrets.
Before these Konoha ninja had even departed, the Tomie hidden inside Danzo Shimura had already relayed all the relevant information to the Zabuza assimilated body.
The Root ninja rushed forward at once to entangle him in close combat.
They could not let Momochi Zabuza leave their sight.
His Silent Killing Technique was even more terrifying than the rumors claimed.
Konoha's jonin-level ninja were not to be underestimated.
Without revealing too much of his power, and while fighting them head-on, even the Zabuza assimilated body could not quickly bring them down.
"Is that so? Then you're underestimating Konoha. And underestimating Root."
"Shadow Possession Technique. Got you."
Nara Wataru spoke coldly.
He had remained in the rear and secretly cast Shadow Possession Technique, and now it had succeeded.
Never underestimate Konoha's secret technique clans.
Individually, each one might not seem extraordinary.
But when they joined forces, they became a terrifying power—one capable of contending with even a Kage for a time.
Unlock 100+ advance chapters on P@treon — every follow inspires me to keep going!
patreon.com/legacyverse1
PLEASE SUPPORT MY WRITING ON P@TREON