"Still not strong enough."
That was the shared conclusion of Uchiha Fujie, his clones, and his assimilated bodies.
Even possessing the power to fight the Six Paths of Pain to a draw—or even slightly surpass them—meant very little.
Nagato's power existed on a completely different level from Madara Uchiha.
And Madara with the Rinnegan existed on an entirely different level from Six Paths Madara.
"But it won't take long."
"Once Danzo Shimura is fully assimilated, my power will enter a phase of explosive growth."
"At that point, I'll truly have nothing to fear. Not even Six Paths–level enemies."
"When that time comes, I'll achieve true immortality in this world."
For Uchiha Fujie, Danzo Shimura was useful for more than just revenge.
His position would allow access to the Scroll of Seals. Root might even possess copies of the techniques recorded within it.
The Flying Thunder God Technique, the Spirit Transformation Technique, the Rasengan, the Reaper Death Seal—these forbidden techniques would all be extremely valuable to him.
Many of them carried severe side effects.
But side effects were the one thing Fujie feared least.
There was another technique he absolutely had to obtain as well.
Sage Mode.
Sage Mode was undeniably powerful. It was one of the few methods capable of standing against Six Paths–level power.
To learn Sage Mode, he would need to visit the Three Great Sage Regions.
He intended to visit all three eventually.
Just not yet.
For now, that task would fall to the Aizen clone in the Land of Rice Fields.
After wandering for some time, Orochimaru had returned to the Land of Rice Fields and was preparing to establish Otogakure. The process was still in its early stages.
At the moment, Orochimaru's biggest problem was funding.
The Aizen clone would help him with that.
He had no need to confront Orochimaru directly. What he wanted were Orochimaru's research results.
Most things did not interest Uchiha Fujie.
But certain ones absolutely did.
The Impure World Reincarnation Technique.
The Cursed Seal.
And Orochimaru's research on the soul.
Those were things he had to obtain.
Konoha also possessed the Impure World Reincarnation Technique.
But Orochimaru's version was far more complete.
…
"More trash again."
"How utterly pointless."
The Zabuza assimilated body sneered within the forest.
His injuries had fully healed, and his chakra had recovered as well.
Hyper Regeneration truly was a convenient ability.
However, he had barely rested when dozens of ninja surrounded him.
They were rogue shinobi and missing-nin.
The two Almighty Push attacks Pain had unleashed earlier had been incredibly destructive, drawing many people to the area.
These opportunists quickly concluded that Zabuza must have fought a powerful opponent and was likely weakened.
So they moved in, hoping to reap the rewards.
"Zabuza, hand over the Sharingan. If you do, we'll spare your life."
A tall, thin man spoke up.
He wore the forehead protector of the Hidden Mist, though it had a slash carved through it—marking him as a rogue ninja.
Among all the villages, Kirigakure probably produced the most missing-nin.
"That's right. We only want the Sharingan."
"Give it to us and we'll leave."
"Wait, that's not enough. Hand over the Executioner's Blade too."
The rogue ninja and wandering shinobi were utterly greedy.
If Zabuza had not appeared injured, none of them would have dared show themselves.
Too many ninja had died by his hand over the past few days.
What they did not realize was that the assimilated body had merely been pretending.
The Zabuza assimilated body had no interest in wasting words on them.
They were far too weak.
Not a single one among them had even reached jonin level.
"Let me show you what Silent Killing really means."
Thick mist rapidly spread through the forest.
The assimilated body could have simply bombarded them with Water Dragon Jutsu until they died.
But Silent Killing created far greater psychological pressure.
It allowed them to feel terror.
To taste despair before death.
The assimilated body completely concealed his presence and scent.
With their abilities, these people had no hope of finding him.
The Executioner's Blade rose and fell again and again.
It became a massacre.
The only reason these people had died was their own misfortune.
The assimilated body had been holding in frustration for quite some time.
In less than three minutes, blood soaked deep into the forest floor.
More than twenty ninja lay dead.
"Why are there always fools who overestimate themselves?"
"Even someone as strong as me remains cautious. Yet weaklings like you charge forward without a brain."
The Zabuza assimilated body sneered.
Even if he truly had been injured and they somehow managed to seize the Executioner's Blade and the Sharingan—
Could they have protected them?
A group of people who did not even possess jonin-level strength.
They truly lacked self-awareness.
He channeled Water Release chakra through the Executioner's Blade, shaking the blood from it once again, and continued walking.
Now he simply needed to wait for the ninja of Kumogakure to appear.
Once he obtained Lightning Release Chakra Mode, he could contact Pain.
Like the other clones, the Zabuza assimilated body technically did not need to eat.
In fact, they had begun to feel something strange.
They had transformed into a unique kind of existence.
Without external interference, they would never age.
Never die.
Their flesh was immortal.
Their souls were eternal.
It sounded impressive.
But in truth, it meant very little.
Because they still lacked true power.
In any world, strength was everything.
Without power, no matter how special one was, one would simply become a specimen for someone else's research.
Two days later, after re-entering the Land of Fire, the assimilated body was finally intercepted by ninja from Kirigakure.
Passing through the Land of Fire was unavoidable.
Anyone traveling to the Land of Rain had to pass through it unless they wanted to take an extremely long detour.
"Zabuza, hand over the Sharingan and return to the village with us."
"The Mizukage will remove your name from the bingo book."
"The Bloody Mist policy was never the Mizukage's intention. He was controlled by someone using a Sharingan."
The Hidden Mist pursuit squad did not attack immediately.
Instead, they tried to persuade him.
From Kirigakure's perspective, if Zabuza returned, their village's strength would greatly increase.
As for the fact that Zabuza had killed Konoha ninja and taken a Sharingan—
That was hardly an issue.
Did Konoha really dare start a war?
Kumogakure was already watching Konoha like a predator.
"And so what?"
"I'm nothing but a rogue ninja now."
"If you want the Sharingan, then defeat my Executioner's Blade and take it."
The Zabuza assimilated body laughed coldly.
The original Zabuza might have been tempted.
But he was Fujie.
What surprised the assimilated body slightly was the presence of Mei Terumi among the pursuers.
She possessed two kekkei genkai.
Her strength was not yet what it would become during the Fourth Great Ninja War, but she was already approaching Kage level.
"Attack."
"Try to capture him alive if possible."
Mei Terumi made her decision immediately.
Zabuza was important.
But he could never be compared to the Mizukage.
Which one mattered more was obvious.
Mei Terumi had brought only three companions with her.
Unlike Konoha, which had deployed multiple squads, Kirigakure clearly trusted her power greatly.
"What a nuisance."
"That woman counters most Water Release users."
Even as he said that, the Zabuza assimilated body did not hesitate to strike.
The Executioner's Blade swung forward with overwhelming chakra.
With a single strike, the burst of chakra forced the three ANBU back instantly.
Mei Terumi frowned.
"Is that the power of the Executioner's Blade?"
"That level of chakra output feels more like the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei."
"As expected of Senior Zabuza. Your power really is impressive."
"No wonder you managed to escape the Fourth Mizukage."
"You three aren't his match. Provide support while I take the lead."
Mei Terumi had no intention of suffering unnecessary losses.
Kirigakure was already too weakened.
Losing even one jonin would be painful.
The Hidden Mist ANBU immediately withdrew.
They knew Mei Terumi's kekkei genkai were extremely powerful.
They were also dangerously easy to misdirect against allies.
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