Chapter 137: Black Zetsu's Backhand
Just as Izayoi was experimenting with his own body to see if he could unlock the Sage Body entry,
In Amegakure, Nagato, who had entrusted all village affairs to Konan, had long entered seclusion.
In an underground base filled with barrier seals, the darkness was so thick that one couldn't see their own hand in front of their face.
Even if Izayoi's Tenseigan were to look over, it would only see a ball of blue chakra, indicating that there was only one person in this underground base.
This person was none other than the ninja god of the new era, the strongest ninja currently recognized in the world, and the child of prophecy in Jiraiya's mind—Nagato.
However, no one knew that beneath Nagato's buttocks at this moment was the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the object of curiosity for both ordinary people and ninjas throughout the world, the reason for the struggle between two wielders of the Sage's eyes.
"Finally mastered it!"
In the darkness, Nagato opened his purple-rippled eyes, a faint red light flowing at the corners.
If a lamp were lit, one would see that red eye shadow had been applied to the corners of Nagato's eyes.
"As I thought, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path still hides unknown secrets, far from being as simple as Obito Uchiha described," Nagato thought inwardly.
He had also now mastered true Sage Mode.
However, unlike Izayoi's three-day mastery, Nagato, without the assistance of a large amount of Gureilu Stone, had already been in seclusion for over a month.
The Gureilu Stone he obtained from Hyde had also been used up.
Even so, Nagato, who could instantly enter Sage Mode, still hadn't mastered true Sage Mode.
Because unlike the transmigrator Izayoi, Nagato didn't know which area had stronger natural energy, and he hadn't signed a contract with Mount Myoboku.
Just as Nagato was looking for a quiet place, preparing to rely on his own efforts to sense natural energy, he suddenly captured a wisp of natural energy.
And this quiet place was precisely on the head of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Thus, Nagato began to cultivate on the head of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
In just over a week, Nagato mastered true Sage Mode.
Coupled with the creation of Wood Release and Yin-Yang Release, Nagato could absorb a large amount of natural energy and maintain Sage Mode for a long time just after entering it.
His attack, defense, and perception had all received astonishing improvements.
His strength had surged again.
Black and White Zetsu, whose perception could ignore ordinary barriers, noticed Nagato's changes immediately. Black Zetsu's voice was low, "Nagato has become stronger again."
"His current strength should be no less than Madara-sama's, right?!" White Zetsu exclaimed in surprise.
"The life force within those stones has completely restored his body to its prime, and his chakra has been enhanced again. If he puts on Obito's armor, he might even be stronger than Madara now," Black Zetsu's voice was hoarse. "But now, the stronger he is, the better it is for us."
"With Nagato's strength, can we still make him revive Madara-sama?" White Zetsu couldn't help but ask. "He has the Rinnegan, so we can't implant a curse seal in his heart. Madara-sama's eyes are on him, so we can't activate the Izanagi seal either. And he's very wary of us. Can we still find an opportunity to possess him?"
"That depends on whether our trump card is effective or not," Black Zetsu said, his tone full of confidence despite his words.
When Nagato emerged from seclusion, Black and White Zetsu immediately appeared before him and handed him a scroll.
Opening the scroll, Nagato quickly read the coded message on it, then raised his hand to cover it with chakra, erasing the chakra characters and writing a new coded message before returning the scroll to Black and White Zetsu.
After reading it, Black and White Zetsu immediately nodded and left.
Not long after, a fist-sized black hole appeared out of thin air.
The terrifying suction distorted Nagato's body, and then he flew into the black hole.
"Almost two months have passed, and still no unfamiliar and powerful chakra has appeared within the borders of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers."
Inside the Kamui dimension, Black and White Zetsu reported to Nagato. White Zetsu couldn't help but Make complaints, "Leader, could it be that you guessed wrong? Maybe that Gureilu Stone mine isn't in the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers at all."
"Rather than me guessing wrong, it's more likely that Otsutsuki Toneri has already obtained that mine," Nagato said calmly. "If there are no surprises, he's already cultivating Sage Mode, and his chakra reserves will be even greater than last time."
"We must be prepared to start the second round at any time!"
Hearing this, the expressions under Black and White Zetsu and Obito Uchiha's masks couldn't help but change slightly.
"Have you mastered your Sage Mode?" Obito Uchiha asked.
"Yes, I can enter it autonomously now," Nagato nodded.
"Then are you strong enough to defeat him now?"
"If his strength hasn't changed and I put on Obito's armor, then I have at least a 70% chance of winning," Nagato said. "If your space-time ninjutsu can lock onto his location, our chances of killing him will be 90%. But you and I both know that's impossible!"
"Given his meticulous nature, when he reappears, he will definitely have the strength to defeat me as I was a few months ago."
"Therefore, we must make ample preparations and also consider the worst-case scenario," Nagato analyzed calmly. "The next time he appears, he may possess Six Paths Techniques equivalent to mine, as well as Sage Mode and even greater chakra reserves, and... a puppet army."
As he said the last part, Nagato's brow furrowed slightly, and he continued, "The next round will very likely be the final battle. We must take his puppet army into account. His Six Paths Techniques are different from mine. Yin-Yang Release can control more than a dozen puppets, and perhaps all puppets can be inserted with Yin-Yang Release black rods."
"Last time, it was just over a dozen puppets that easily defeated Sasori and Deidara. If it weren't for owing Sasori a favor, maybe neither of them would have made it back."
"And those puppets didn't even include bloodline limit users and Danzo Shimura. The overall strength of his puppet army might have already surpassed the Akatsuki."
"When I fight Otsutsuki Toneri, those puppets might take the opportunity to attack Amegakure and the Akatsuki. We must have the forces to counter them," Nagato asked Black and White Zetsu, "Is there any way to enhance the strength of the White Zetsu army?"
"White Zetsu clones, like Obito, are products of Hashirama's cells. As long as we obtain more Hashirama cells, we can enhance the strength of the White Zetsu," White Zetsu looked at Obito Uchiha, his smile playful. "If we find a Wood Release user and extract his cells to inject into the White Zetsu clones, the number and strength of the White Zetsu clones will greatly increase."
Obito Uchiha's face under the mask instantly darkened.
That damn White Zetsu!
Ever since his identity was exposed, these two guys had increasingly disregarded him.
Many times, they directly contacted Nagato and even kept things from him.
Obito Uchiha felt like an outsider.
However, when he saw Nagato's gaze turn towards him, his eyes seeming very tempted, Obito Uchiha couldn't help but feel a jump in his heart. He quickly prepared to activate Izanagi while trying to appear calm and suggested, "Hashirama's cells are limited. If we want to enhance the strength of the White Zetsu army, isn't there a better option now?"
"The Wood Release ninja of Konoha?" Nagato instantly understood Obito Uchiha's meaning.
"Exactly. He is the wielder of orthodox Wood Release, and he could use Wood Release ninjutsu of the Tree World Descent level in less than a year after graduation. With such powerful chakra and ninjutsu talent, he will become someone like Hashirama Senju sooner or later. If we capture him, let alone enhancing the strength of the White Zetsu army, we might even be able to make the number of White Zetsu clones surpass the total number of ninjas in the ninja world," Obito Uchiha kept emphasizing Izayoi's threat and benefits, showing how much he hated the brat who exposed his identity.
Hearing this, Nagato felt very tempted but hesitated, his brow furrowed slightly.
Seemingly knowing what he was thinking, Obito Uchiha continued, "If you're worried about causing panic in the Five Great Nations and affecting the Tailed Beast plan, you don't need to be. Even without you, Konoha's Wood Release ninja will become a source of fear and apprehension for other ninja villages in the future. Your intervention, in the eyes of other ninja villages, will just be eliminating a future threat and establishing your position as the strongest in the ninja world."
"As long as you don't target the Jinchuriki, they won't unite to besiege Amegakure. Instead, they will gloat."
"Although doing so will lead to a decline in your reputation, your gains will be beyond imagination."
However, after hearing his words, the frown on Nagato's face didn't ease at all. Instead, his expression became solemn. "My concern isn't these things. As long as peace is achieved and a new world is created, Pain will be God, and I will be crowned with the titles of the extremely good and the extremely evil."
"I'm just wondering, with that young man's ninjutsu talent, has he also mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Black and White Zetsu and Obito Uchiha's expressions instantly changed drastically.
"No... it can't be that outrageous, right?" White Zetsu said with an awkward laugh, "In the sixty-one-year history of the ninja villages, only three people have mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. It's impossible for two ninjas who have mastered it to appear in the same era, right?"
"Hard to say..."
Black Zetsu said gloomily, "He awakened the Kagura Shingan during his time at the ninja academy and guessed Obito's identity just by Obito visiting Nohara Rin's grave every year. He awakened the Wood Release bloodline limit at a very young age but hid it until the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura died, and Konoha returned to the Senju era before choosing to reveal it, instantly becoming the sole heir to the Sixth Hokage. This brat is very precocious, deep in thought, extremely cunning, and his schemes are no less than Otsutsuki Toneri's."
"Moreover, in less than a year after graduation, he has successively displayed the Storm Release secret technique formed by fusing two and three nature transformations, as well as Onoki's flight ninjutsu and Dust Release secret technique."
"Sasuke Uchiha very likely also transplanted his cells, thus awakening Wood Release and mastering Sage Mode. Combining his actions of rescuing Orochimaru, it's even possible that he also mastered the Sage Mode of the Ryuchi Cave."
"With such a bloodline limit, intelligence, and ninjutsu talent, this brat, apart from not having the Nine-Tails, is simply a combination of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Mito Uzumaki."
After listening to Black Zetsu's words, Nagato and Obito Uchiha's expressions also became solemn.
This was also the reason for Nagato's hesitation.
Unlike Otsutsuki Toneri's meteor shower and Heavenly Obstruction Meteor, Nagato, who had worn Obito's armor and used Tree World Descent and Wood Human Technique, deeply understood the power of Wood Release, one of the few abilities that could put a burden on Shinra Tensei.
The trees of Wood Release could even be harder than mountains.
When these trees appeared in the form of a forest, even Super Shinra Tensei might not be able to completely destroy them.
If it was the Wood Human Technique, the repulsive force was no different from Wind Release, and even Super Shinra Tensei might have difficulty shattering it.
And repairing the Wood Human only required chakra.
Wood Release was also a physical attack, so the Preta Path couldn't absorb it. The two strongest abilities within the Six Paths Techniques were both countered.
If Izayoi only knew Wood Release, it wouldn't be a major concern. After all, they also had Obito on their side.
Nagato's worry was that Izayoi also knew the Flying Thunder God Technique.
If so, if he went to Konoha to capture Izayoi first, would Izayoi retaliate by coming to Amegakure and using Tree World Descent?
And would attacking each other's ninja villages give Otsutsuki Toneri an opportunity?
With the threat of Otsutsuki Toneri unresolved, and now provoking such a promising enemy, while the Three-Tails hadn't been revived and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path could at most recover two Tailed Beasts, Nagato found it difficult to make a decision.
"If we just want to obtain powerful forces, besides the White Zetsu army, perhaps there are other methods."
At this moment, Black Zetsu's voice entered Nagato and Obito Uchiha's ears again.
Looking at Black Zetsu's eerie smile, Nagato couldn't help but ask, "What method?"
"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique!" Black Zetsu said.
"Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation Technique?"
Nagato and Obito Uchiha were slightly stunned, then their eyes both flashed with a sharp light.
But soon, Nagato shook his head and said, "This technique can indeed make up for the lack of manpower, but we don't have the scroll for this forbidden technique, and even if we did, it requires extremely high cultivation talent and conditions. Orochimaru should be hiding in the Ryuchi Cave now, and we can't use the Human Path to read his memories either."
"Hehe... we do have the ninjutsu scroll," White Zetsu laughed.
Black Zetsu also smiled, "If it were anyone else, it would indeed be difficult to master the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, but this doesn't include you, leader."
Six nature transformations, proficient in and able to use all mainstream ninjutsu by the age of ten, Nagato was a ninjutsu prodigy in his childhood and is now a ninjutsu master who can use all five elements with ease.
Coupled with the Six Paths Techniques of the Rinnegan, powerful summoning abilities, and soul manipulation.
If there was anyone in this era besides Orochimaru who could master the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, it would definitely not be Izayoi, whose ninjutsu talent was also strong, but Nagato, whose talent in this area was maxed out.
And the Impure World Reincarnation Technique was precisely the trump card that Black Zetsu had specially prepared!
(End of this chapter)