The Shinigami reached out toward Kaede, and in truth, there was nothing unusual about it—do the work, then take the payment. That was the natural order of things.
Even gods couldn't escape that law.
But Kaede felt this wasn't right. He wanted the Shinigami to do the work, but he didn't want to pay.
And the payment here was none other than his own soul.
"What's with that sense of entitlement? I wasn't the one who cast the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, so why are you targeting me?"
Kaede leapt back, landing several meters away, lifting his gaze to the Shinigami.
To everyone else, his movements seemed completely inexplicable. No one could understand what he was doing, or why he was staring so intently at empty air.
"Is he dodging poison gas?"
"Doesn't look like it. More like he's staring at that corpse bound by the sealing technique… no, at a spot behind it? Is there something there?"
At that moment, those who had the presence of mind to glance at this side of the battle couldn't help but spare some attention, instinctively analyzing what they were seeing.
With Danzō and Jiraiya's fight, at least people could follow a little of what was happening—even if not much. They could at least tell that Danzō was using some kind of Sharingan technique that allowed him to avoid damage.
But Kaede's actions made no sense at all. He had rummaged through corpses, one of which had formed seals for some unknown jutsu, then touched the giant salamander, which promptly collapsed…
Just what kind of jutsu was that?
It was clear that something incomprehensible was unfolding.
"So, something we can't see has appeared. What on earth is this jutsu?"
Both White Zetsu and Black Zetsu were watching closely. The two shared one trait: an insatiable curiosity.
From a safe distance, as long as Nagato and Kaede weren't in danger, they could observe freely, exchanging remarks about the fight.
And this time, it was truly eye-opening.
White Zetsu couldn't see the Shinigami, but Black Zetsu was different. As a creation of Yin Release, he could sense it.
"It's a massive, unknown spiritual entity. Interesting… I didn't think something like this could exist in this world. Probably similar to those demons. But its strength seems… off." Black Zetsu's interest deepened. "Still, this creature's power isn't quite what it should be."
It was a super-spirit that could only appear through a special technique, one capable of attacking souls directly—cutting pieces away and swallowing them.
No—more precisely, it wasn't devouring the salamander's soul whole, but slicing pieces off. That must have been because the corpse acting as the caster was too weak, unable to allow the Shinigami to take more.
"Hmph, so it's some kind of special sealing technique. Stronger against souls than Spirit Transformation, even resembling the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals… but the price seems greater than that."
Black Zetsu made a preliminary judgment. If the caster were strong enough—say, if Kaede himself performed it—it might be able to seal the soul of even a Kage-level powerhouse, maybe stronger. But against his mother's level of existence? Almost certainly not.
After all, this was still just a super-spirit born of this world, unlikely to ever reach the strength of the progenitor of chakra.
Moreover, Black Zetsu sensed the Shinigami trying to bypass the corpse caster and reach directly for Kaede. At once he understood: this must be the price of the technique. Feeling his tension ease slightly, he thought,
To seal the enemy's soul, the user must also offer something of their own—likely their own soul. That had to be it. In that case, this jutsu wasn't on par with the Demonic Statue Chains of Nine Seals.
That one required summoning the Gedo Statue, and it could devour a vast number of living souls at once, destroying whole armies in a single strike. Its ultimate purpose, however, was to extract tailed beasts from jinchūriki and feed them into the Gedo Statue's belly.
The key point was that the caster didn't have to sacrifice themselves—at most, they expended a huge amount of chakra.
White Zetsu said, "By your account, he's summoned a monster. But controlling a summoned monster comes at a heavy cost. How does he plan to finish this?"
"Still not clear? He's using a corpse to cast the jutsu. Clearly, he wants to wield its power without paying the price. And the technique's effect hasn't even been fully unleashed; its destructive power is limited. That's probably why Lord Kaede isn't performing it himself," Black Zetsu explained.
At the same time, a White Zetsu clone kept relaying the events here to Uchiha Madara, who was observing closely.
Madara leaned on his scythe, appearing relaxed, but in truth fully prepared to act.
As soon as Nagato fell, he would demonstrate his immense power to the world, killing everyone he could, except for Nagato.
"…Is that so? So it really is the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. That boy has reached this level… using Zombie Release to trigger the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, trying to avoid the risks of the Uzumaki sealing technique."
Madara squinted, revealing a rare trace of admiration.
Honestly, he had once regarded Kaede with interest because of the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu and the Void Technique. Those two alone were enough to let him hold his ground in the ninja world; even if he couldn't defeat an enemy, he could escape safely.
But that was all. To Madara, Kaede was just a young man who had unexpectedly wandered into his plans—useful, but not indispensable. Having him was good, losing him wouldn't matter much.
Now, however, Madara's evaluation had risen.
"It seems he's compensating for his lack of combat strength in this way… a clever mind indeed."
Madara nodded inwardly. He had been gathering information about Kaede, directly and indirectly, analyzing his secret techniques, psychology, combat style, and overall strength. It was obvious that Kaede's biggest problem was the lack of a decisive, battle-ending jutsu.
Against a turtle-shell enemy, he had no real way to break the stalemate besides attrition and retreat. He couldn't just keep detonating those tiny explosive tags—its effect was extremely limited.
Now, however, things were different. If the Dead Demon Consuming Seal could truly be executed through Zombie Release, even with its destructive power severely weakened, it would cover Kaede's greatest shortcoming!
If everything went smoothly, Kaede would truly become a ninja with formidable frontline combat abilities.
"Abandoning costly mutual explosive tags and the slow, rigid Four Symbols Sealing, choosing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal… this boy has a sharp mind, knowing exactly what benefits him most. He probably planned how to modify this forbidden technique even before selecting the Dead Demon Consuming Seal."
Madara didn't hide his admiration, and he raised Kaede's weight in his estimation just a little.
This was rare. In his arrogance, ever since Hashirama Senju, who in the ninja world deserved his attention? Up to now, only Nagato had.
From now on, Kaede would.
But…
"I roughly understand how he tricked the Shinigami… using the jutsu I taught him in this way," Madara murmured with a low, dark chuckle.
…
Kaede watched the Shinigami closely. As expected, even though the Shinigami knew he was the true executor of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, the technique's link remained bound to the corpse caster.
The Shinigami wanted to directly extract Kaede's soul but couldn't bypass the corpse. Now that Kaede leapt back, the Shinigami could only glare helplessly.
The Shinigami began muttering in that strange, incomprehensible language again.
"Want me to offer my soul? What a joke. Why should I do that? Even as a Shinigami, you can't just take my soul for no reason."
Kaede shook his head repeatedly, refusing without hesitation, pointing to the corpse: "The soul you want to harvest is right there."
"…"
The Shinigami sensed the corpse's spiritual state, and its expression visibly stiffened.
Of course, a corpse itself has no soul. Its soul had long since departed for the Pure Land, and the Shinigami couldn't directly retrieve it from there—that was beyond its scope of work.
A soulless corpse ordinarily couldn't successfully cast a jutsu—the Dead Demon Consuming Seal requires the caster's own soul and chakra to summon the Shinigami!
When the Shinigami arrived, it meant that the corpse actually contained a soul capable of attracting it—even if this so-called "soul" temporarily implanted into the corpse was filled with deception.
Exactly. At the start, when Kaede touched the corpse, he was essentially doing one thing:
He was injecting his own will into the corpse, using that will to substitute for a complete soul, and combining it with the corpse's body to activate the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
The last time Kaede separated his will was in front of Madara, when he created Black Zetsu.
"The secret technique Madara taught me really is useful. He probably never imagined it could be used this way. Even if he knew, it wouldn't help—unless someone could, like me, perfectly control a corpse to cast the jutsu."
If anyone could control a corpse as perfectly as Kaede's Zombie Release, they could also use the Void Technique. But if that were possible, then in over a thousand years of the ninja world, Kaede wouldn't be the only one capable of developing such a space-time ninjutsu.
In short, across the entire ninja world, only Kaede can use this method to activate the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
This was one of the two ways Kaede had envisioned for activating the Dead Demon Consuming Seal—a method uniquely suited to him alone!
If there was a flaw, it was that it couldn't be used frequently. Every separation of his will placed a certain burden on his soul-consciousness—damage that was recoverable, but still a cost.
In a battle, repeatedly using Zombie Release: Dead Demon Consuming Seal would force Kaede to separate his will often, risking fainting on the spot—just like Old Purple in the Land of Hot Water campaign.
This was normal. The Dead Demon Consuming Seal is a forbidden jutsu that demands an immense price. Kaede had reduced that cost using Zombie Release, substituting a portion of his will for his soul—entirely acceptable.
He couldn't allow himself to fall into near-unconsciousness. After all, he developed space-time ninjutsu not just for combat, but to escape smoothly when victory seemed impossible.
"Moreover, the Zombie Release: Void and Zombie Release: Dead Demon Consuming Seal complement each other perfectly. With multiple corpses present, instantaneous movement is possible, and if necessary, a second-stage Void Realm Technique can increase the element of surprise, ensuring the Dead Demon Consuming Seal hits the target smoothly."
Kaede felt that, at this point, his combat system was finally taking shape.
Movement, ranged attack, heavy assault, unpredictability—all were now fairly well established.
"I used to envy techniques like Rasengan and Chidori, which break through defenses point by point. But not anymore. My Zombie Release: Dead Demon Consuming Seal is at least as strong as those, though the cost is slightly higher—using both chakra and will…"
But in truth, aside from special cases like Naruto, even producing countless Rasengan in a single battle is impossible for most. Normal users of Rasengan or Chidori would be exhausted and faint after only a few uses.
Kaede's repeated uses of the Zombie Release version of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, at some cost, were not much different from a normal ninja's maximum uses of Rasengan or Chidori.
He once again looked at the Shinigami.
Reluctantly, the Shinigami extracted a fragment of Kaede's will from the corpse caster and swallowed it—apparently tasteless and difficult to consume.
The Shinigami had never suffered such humiliation! Doing work for someone, only to be reduced to consuming a portion of will?
Don't mention how little damage it did to enemies—this was due to the corpse's weakness, but the Shinigami still felt thoroughly deceived.
It grew somewhat displeased, muttering in an incomprehensible language, and its enormous form gradually dissipated—it was leaving.
"Leaving, huh? Besides the possibly harsh scolding, it seems willing to follow the rules. I like dealing with orderly gods the most."
Kaede was very satisfied. He felt he had developed another genius supporting jutsu and was in high spirits.
Next, it was time to completely neutralize Hanzo's threat.
"Looks like this summoned creature isn't in a good position, Lord Hanzo."
Kaede looked at Hanzo from a distance and spoke a single sentence.
Hanzo stared intently at the corpse caster that had suddenly collapsed. Combined with Kaede's series of strange actions moments ago, he vaguely realized what had happened.
"You always manage to pull out techniques that surprise me. Before long, you'll grow into a force feared throughout the ninja world… But tell me, what exactly did you do to my summoned creature?" Hanzo asked.
"With your experience, you've probably already guessed. There's no physical injury, so it's obvious where it was affected, isn't it?" Kaede said calmly.
"Hmph… it really was an attack on the soul…"
Hanzo's heart raced. Who would have thought that this Konoha prodigy could pull out such a jutsu in return? That had to be a forbidden technique!
"You, it seems every jutsu you use is forbidden, yet you appear perfectly healthy… I have a strong premonition that the future of the ninja world will be extraordinary—and countless people will suffer because of it."
"That depends on whether you live to see that future."
Kaede confirmed that the Shinigami had departed, then activated the second-stage Void Technique. As numerous corpses once again broke through the poison gas to approach the giant salamander, he summoned one of the corpses he had previously touched.
"You saw that I touched three corpses in total. That means I can still use two more forbidden techniques."
The second corpse, carrying Kaede's will, performed the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and touched the giant salamander.
This time, Hanzo watched even more carefully, ignoring the survival of his own summoned creature entirely.
In Kaede's perception, the Shinigami returned, drooling again. But upon seeing the familiar place and familiar person, it paused, and the entire god seemed momentarily silent.
Within its fierce gaze, there was a trace of incredulity—was this really something a normal human could do?
"Meeting again, then. Please sever another portion of the enemy's soul."
Once practiced, twice familiar, even more so in the future. Kaede moved with ease, controlling the corpse to extend its spiritual hand from the abdomen once more, sealing part of the giant salamander's soul.
Strange, writhing runes appeared on the corpse's abdomen, then solidified completely.
The Shinigami still wanted to take Kaede's soul directly, but remained constrained by the corpse caster, ultimately swallowing another fragment of his will reluctantly.
Chomp, chomp.
It ate, yet it seemed as if it hadn't.
If it didn't eat, that would violate the jutsu's rules and feel like a waste. If it did eat, it was almost as if nothing happened—slightly disgusting.
A faint confusion appeared on the Shinigami's face. It had been a long time since any human had summoned it. Twice it had rushed excitedly, drooling, but why had it ended up like this?
Was this right?
Summoned to fight, then not given the slightest reward afterward—well, it had gotten a tiny fragment, but this treatment was far too insulting for a god.
The Shinigami wanted to do something, but its barren mind could not think of a good idea. Acting mostly on instinct and bound by the rules of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, it had no choice but to obey.
And so, the Shinigami left again. This god had a strong premonition—it would return before long.
"A diligent Shinigami. Among all supernatural beings on this planet, it is probably the most principled… That means I can confidently take full advantage of it in the future."
Kaede expressed great admiration for the Shinigami, and would continue to do so in the future.
Hanzo made up his mind to retreat.
"Kaede, you are an extremely bizarre and cunning ninja. I will call you 'Konoha Devourer.' You will make this world tremble with fear—I will not be wrong about that."
Hanzo looked at the increasingly anguished and wailing giant salamander, and immediately dispelled the summoning jutsu.
The giant salamander did not autonomously dispel the summoning jutsu; instead, it vanished in a wisp of smoke, indicating it still retained some combat capability—meaning the two soul attacks had not completely broken it.
This already allowed Hanzo to form some speculation about the power of Kaede's jutsu. If struck by such a technique, even a demi-god like him would suffer a severe drop in combat ability.
Moreover, no one could predict how many times Kaede could use this unknown forbidden jutsu.
"Konoha Devourer… Have I earned your approval? You seem quite skilled at giving nicknames to worthy juniors," Kaede said.
The character "Devour" aptly summarized his ability to consume life force and souls—a rather fitting choice.
Kaede didn't particularly care about nicknames. He had no interest in adopting a title to signify his status, unlike the likes of Yellow Flash or the Sannin of Konoha.
But now that Hanzo had said it, whether the title spread or to what extent, Kaede couldn't control that—and he had no desire to. Let others call him what they wished.
Hanzo ordered all Rain Village shinobi to retreat. He himself ran the fastest, not even bothering to acknowledge Danzo—at this point, the strangeness Kaede had displayed made Hanzo feel there was no need to waste time on Danzo.
Danzo was already in his fifties; how old was Kaede? Could Danzo take him down? No. For Hanzo, avoiding conflict with anyone else became the only viable choice.
This immediately soured Danzo's expression. He was still entangled with Jiraiya, probing back and forth, but this time he could not find a good opportunity to use Izanagi.
He could only use Izanagi once more. If he still couldn't take down Jiraiya, he would have no choice but to flee.
"That bastard Hanzo, so cautious and overthinking, unworthy of the title 'Demi-God of the Ninja World'!" Danzo, who had been relatively composed, began to lose his composure.
His strongest asset, Hanzo, had fled. Was he expected to take on Kaede and Jiraiya alone, and also capture Nagato? Impossible.
Though he could potentially achieve this in the future, Danzo still felt reluctant, his mind filled with intense frustration.
"Kaede, you are my subordinate! Now that you've driven away this outsider Hanzo, you could easily team up with me to kill Jiraiya. As for the Rinnegan, I am willing to share it—one each!"
Danzo said sharply, "If you have other conditions, speak them! Even if it's to learn other forbidden techniques from the Book of Seals, I can get them for you! This is the greatest concession I can offer!"
Jiraiya pushed Danzo back and sneered, "Really? At a time like this, you still try to bribe him? He's not someone like you."
In truth, Jiraiya was also worried. He had witnessed Kaede's battle with Hanzo. Though he didn't know the Dead Demon Consuming Seal in detail, he could roughly guess how it worked.
The methods Kaede displayed genuinely astonished Jiraiya. This was a level requiring caution, even for him. Though he had the confidence and full power to expel Kaede—after all, Kaede could use space-time ninjutsu—if Kaede wanted to leave, Jiraiya couldn't stop him.
Yet considering Kaede's age and background, the fact that he already made a danger-aware Jiraiya, a legitimate disciple of the Hokage and heir of Mount Myoboku, feel threatened, spoke volumes about his terrifying talent.
Starting with forbidden techniques and having even basic attacks as dangerous moves—how could anyone afford to relax? Every forbidden jutsu Kaede used, if wielded by another shinobi, would be enough to secure their survival or even become a legacy passed to the next generation.
Jiraiya most feared that Kaede might turn against them at such a moment.
Kaede spoke, "Lord Danzo, if I wanted to ally with you, I would have done so from the beginning: eliminating Jiraiya, taking the Rinnegan, and then dealing with Hanzo afterward. But since I didn't do that, you should not harbor illusions about me."
"Hmph, you really think you've got me figured out?" Danzo retreated sharply, raising a hand. The seven surviving Root shinobi quickly gathered in front of him.
This battle could no longer continue. Danzo realized that even if he could kill Jiraiya, how could he possibly deal with Kaede?
Moreover, the fallen Jiraiya might soon become Kaede's top general… No, perhaps Kaede had been anticipating this outcome all along!
Danzo fixed his three-Tomoe Sharingan on Kaede, seeing only that expressionless face.
Most importantly, Danzo knew he could no longer kill Jiraiya with Izanagi. He had underestimated Jiraiya's strength and overestimated Izanagi's power.
"This is only temporary! Before long, even the two of you here—let alone Hanzo—won't be able to stand against me! As long as I have a body built with Hashirama cells, as long as I have limitless Mangekyō Sharingan and can use Izanagi without restriction, who in this world could possibly be my match?"
Kaede smiled. "Lord Danzo, don't act like you've suffered a loss. Don't think I don't know why you secretly came to the Rain Country. Was it to investigate Jiraiya—or me? The Rinnegan was a complete accident, not part of your plan… You made a move against me, so isn't it normal for me to do something that displeases you?"
He would not lower his stance simply because Danzo was a high-ranking Konoha official. In the past, before he had developed, survival would have been his priority.
But now, there was no need for that. He was fully capable of standing on his own, able to converse with Danzo as an equal.
"The fledgling of old has grown wings and dares speak to me this way. But I will not give up the Rinnegan—that is power capable of changing the ninja world! Or do you plan to kill me?" Danzo said sharply.
"Kill? Don't speak so harshly. Even if you die, I can bring you back. It's no big deal," Kaede replied. "Of course, when that time comes, who obeys whom is another matter…"
Kaede raised a hand, summoning Araki, injured from earlier, back to his side. Against this type of area-control ninja, a unit like Terai would still be at a disadvantage.
Just as Kaede was about to act, Jiraiya stepped forward, placing himself between Kaede and the others.
"…So you have a different opinion. Are you serious? Even now, you're still… childish?" Kaede looked at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's expression was conflicted, showing deep inner struggle. He knew that killing Danzo and the Root ninja would maximally ensure Nagato's safety. All that remained was to make sure Kaede didn't leak information about the Rinnegan.
But if he truly killed them, he would have betrayed the village. Danzo was still a high-ranking official, after all.
"Childish or not, I cannot let you kill Danzo."
"Even though he just tried to kill you?"
"Didn't he fail? That ocular jutsu he used—I only saw it once, and there's much I haven't analyzed—but he no longer has the power to kill me," Jiraiya said firmly.
Kaede sighed. "And you don't want to ask where his Sharingan came from? Or what crime is it that he tried to kill you, a proper Hokage disciple?"
"Enough. Some things Danzo can do, but I cannot. I won't let him kill you, and I will never let you kill Danzo," Jiraiya said.
Kaede sighed again. Honestly, Jiraiya's decision did not surprise him; this was typical of the man. Faced with someone like Danzo, who claimed to act solely for the village, Jiraiya felt conflicted.
Just like in the original timeline, after Konoha's collapse plan, Jiraiya had taken Naruto to find Tsunade, persuading her not to deal with Orochimaru.
Tsunade had asked if Jiraiya would kill her if she did. His reply had been: "Perhaps, but I would first kill Orochimaru."
"You really are Hiruzen's disciple. I've never respected you, but now… I can acknowledge you a little," Danzo said, though he kept his Sharingan active, ready to use Izanagi in case of an accident.
He did not want to risk Kaede's Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Even though he saw it was a weakened version and not as powerful as rumors suggested, he didn't want to lose part of his soul—who knew what terrifying consequences could follow?
Danzo still didn't understand how Kaede had learned the Dead Demon Consuming Seal so quickly. Was it because using Corpse Path made mastering forbidden seals so efficient? Or did the mutilated version of the technique not require perfect mastery in the first place?
"Lord Danzo, perhaps you should focus on yourself first. He is willing to let you leave—I respect his decision, and I respect your status and will—but only for you alone. As for your subordinates, leave them here. I'm in need of some quality bodies."
Kaede formed a hand seal with one hand, sending the approaching horde of zombies toward Danzo and his group. He also intended to accelerate the proliferation of the zombie virus inside the Root ninja.
Danzo was filled with anger and shock, and Jiraiya frowned tightly—but Kaede moved first.
He had a particular interest in Terai.
Who would complain about having more and stronger cards in hand?
For an elite jōnin, more is always better. Even when he eventually obtains the ideal body and reaches a peak stage of strength, he wouldn't think his elite subordinates were too many—he'd only think there were too few.
The horde of zombies attacked again. The one still carrying Kaede's will made Danzo's heart pound. If it got a hold of him, perhaps Izanagi could reverse the effects of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal?
"Lord Danzo, you won't escape. What I'm doing is simply what I should do. Didn't you mention it yourself at the start? It's reasonable… Hand them over to me, and I'll let you leave, even personally escort you back to Konoha. As for things here in the Rain Country, we'll pretend nothing happened, and we can return to how things were."
Kaede smiled, clearly showing the hand seal of the Void Technique. Danzo's face darkened further.
"Terai, you and your men stay." Danzo issued the order without hesitation.
"…Understood, Lord Danzo. Please take care. I cannot walk the rest of the path with you."
Terai's tone was calm, showing no wavering. He led the remaining Root ninja in a suicide attack against Kaede.
Soon after, Terai's face went blank, his eyes turned gray-white, and he quietly stood at Kaede's side.
Jiraiya and Danzo both looked on grimly. They had witnessed an elite jōnin—a top-tier ninja from Konoha, one of the strongest villages—fall so completely under Kaede's control.
A chill ran through them instinctively. Neither wanted to become a puppet under Kaede after death.
"Kaede, your technique is far too dangerous. If abused recklessly, one day you'll stand against the entire ninja world," Jiraiya said seriously.
"Perhaps you're right, but that's in the future. Everything I do is for Konoha, isn't it? You must agree, Lord Danzo?" Kaede smiled.
Danzo felt a pang of discomfort, as if he'd swallowed something unpleasant, because Kaede was speaking the same words he often used.
He watched as Kaede recalled all the zombies.
"You'd better not have any extra intentions. My forbidden jutsu is enough to erase all results of your attacks against me."
"I know. Izanagi. I've read the Book of Seals and understand this jutsu. With it as a safety net, what else is there to worry about? I'll return you to Konoha right away…"
Whoosh!
Kaede and Danzo vanished from the spot, replaced by an ordinary zombie. Upon appearing, it let out a howl toward the sky, then dug a pit and burrowed into the ground.
Jiraiya watched the scene until Nagato and the others arrived, hearts pounding.
The group carefully examined the zombie that had buried itself, exchanging uneasy glances.
"Sensei Jiraiya, has Kaede left? I… I'm a little scared of him," Konan said, clenching her fists nervously.
The power Kaede displayed wasn't just strong—it was uncanny. That strangeness, more than raw strength, struck fear into their hearts.
Yahiko tried to maintain composure. "He's a strong ninja on our side. There's no need to be afraid, and Sensei Jiraiya is definitely stronger than him!"
"That's right. Yahiko's insight is as sharp as ever! The Toad Sage will never lose to a corpse-using junior. I'll protect every one of you," Jiraiya said, laughing heartily.
"…."
Nagato said nothing. With his eyes, he took everything in, noticing even more than Jiraiya did.
"The Dead Demon Consuming Seal… Kaede used this jutsu to summon that demon," Nagato said. "I can feel the demon's power—it's terrifying. Even the Rinnegan can't see through it."
"Demon… I'll have to investigate this jutsu further. Dead Demon Consuming Seal, huh… But don't worry. He has this forbidden technique, and I still have a more powerful sage jutsu I haven't used yet."
Mentioning sage techniques, a confident expression appeared on Jiraiya's face.
Entering Sage Mode, combined with the aid of the two great Toad Sages, it was natural for Jiraiya to perceive the demon that Nagato saw.
On top of that, with his dramatically enhanced physical attributes—strength, speed, and all-around capabilities—there was no way he could be struck by Kaede's Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
However, at the mention of sage techniques, Jiraiya instinctively glanced at Nagato, hesitated slightly, and ultimately said nothing.
Nagato noticed Jiraiya's gaze and silently repeated the word "sage techniques" in his mind.
Konan interjected, "Sensei Jiraiya, that Kaede… his purpose wasn't really to save Nagato, right? He actually came to acquire enough high-quality corpses to strengthen his zombie army?"
"Hm, most likely that's the reason. That's the real reason I'm wary of him. Wherever there's war, he will appear. If one day the ninja world is at peace, will he…?"
Jiraiya shook his head, then said, "It's not safe here anymore. We need to move immediately."
"Sensei Jiraiya, are you going to teach us sage techniques next? Just the name sounds incredible! Are they the jutsu of the Six Paths Sage? Is that why they're called sage techniques?" Yahiko asked excitedly.
"Not exactly. But maybe the Six Paths Sage also knew sage techniques. Who can say for sure?" Jiraiya chuckled, avoiding a direct answer.
…
Outside Konoha Village.
Kaede transported himself and Danzo back to the village in an instant. This long-distance teleportation was Danzo's first experience.
"Quite a convenient jutsu. But your chakra should be running low by now."
Danzo stared at Kaede, the three tomoe in his Sharingan spinning rapidly.
"Even the smallest amount of chakra is enough for me to use Void Technique once, so don't waste time on me. I won't reveal such an obvious flaw."
"Hmph, fair enough. But don't think this ends here. I won't let you monopolize the Rinnegan," Danzo snorted coldly, his expression shifting, still undecided.
"I have no interest in the Rinnegan. Even if I had such eyes, I wouldn't have the ability to wield them properly. I might not even be able to use the three-tomoe Sharingan well…" Kaede said with a smile.
Danzo didn't believe a word. He suspected Kaede had already obtained Uchiha corpses on the battlefield, acquiring Sharingan in the process.
"Whether or not you can use it isn't the point. What matters is that you know the Rinnegan and have the ability to seize it! I cannot allow you to monopolize it, nor let the Hokage get it, but I must ensure it belongs to the village."
There was only one choice. For now, there was no one in Konoha better suited to handle this matter.
That person would take action and, in doing so, wouldn't hand the Rinnegan to the Hokage or anyone else. Instead, they would bring the Rinnegan's possessor back to Konoha.
Danzo and Kaede walked down the street like a normal superior and subordinate, but both harbored hidden intentions and fully mistrusted each other.
"Your Void Technique—can it transport a massive chakra entity?" Danzo asked casually while walking.
Kaede frowned. "The more chakra the target has, the greater the pressure on me. It's not a perfect one-to-one ratio with the target's volume or consumption, but the cost is far from low. There's even a chance of transfer failure. In this regard, Flying Thunder God Technique is probably better for moving individuals, but Minato Namikaze hasn't developed it to a satisfactory level yet… Lord Danzo, are you thinking…"
"That's right. I intend to pay a visit to Mito Uzumaki. She's the only one suitable for this!"
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