Kaede Tsukasa's guess had been accurate.
If anyone else approached Nagato, Madara would not interfere—but it just so happened that Kaede Tsukasa showed up.
A person who could control corpses, allowing them to wield their former strength and use their pre-death jutsu—what would he think upon seeing Nagato, the possessor of the Rinnegan?
Of course, perhaps Kaede Tsukasa's technique also reminded Madara of Tobirama, that utterly detestable man, stirring his intent to kill.
After all, Madara had already instructed White Zetsu to deal with similar situations many times before.
"Speaking of it, Nagato hasn't truly matured yet. He's been learning from Jiraiya for just over two years. His strength is barely enough to protect himself, not sufficient to be a powerful force. He's at a stage that requires careful protection."
Kaede Tsukasa moved quickly with his three subordinates. Through the corpses, his gaze had already fallen on White Zetsu.
Originally, he had been planning how to join Danzo and Orochimaru's human experiments to gain access to Hashirama cells.
Now there was no need to worry. White Zetsu's cells were, at least, a low-grade version of Hashirama cells. They retained many of Hashirama's traits and could be safely used.
"This really is a good opportunity. Although it has attracted Madara's attention and carries unnecessary risk, it's worth it."
Kaede Tsukasa's body was bathed in the cold rain, yet he felt no discomfort. As his heart burned with determination, his muscles tensed naturally, radiating heat that visibly dissipated into the rain.
…
White Zetsu's main body arrived, bringing a group of subordinates to monitor the approaching corpses.
"They move, follow orders, and stop immediately when they detect me, preparing for combat… Can this really be controlled remotely? Or is it the corpses acting on instinct?"
Even White Zetsu, as erratic as his thoughts were, realized something was off—if these corpses truly had some instinct, were they really corpses?
Were they alive or dead?
"Eh~ do you defecate too? Why aren't you talking?"
White Zetsu extended a hand, fingers moving as if manipulating marionettes. "Once I catch you, I'll ask one by one. I'll find out… If I kill you again, will you die? Will you continue to revive?"
Several White Zetsu accelerated, charging at the zombies.
The zombies, silent, acted in unison, charging directly at White Zetsu.
In a sense, this was a battle between two completely different types of puppets. Neither side feared death; both were determined to complete their mission at any cost.
In an instant, amid the curtain of rain, a dozen figures collided. The sound of the clash was swallowed by the torrential rain. The cruel and bloody slaughter—the scenes of flesh and blood flying—were carried away with the rainfall.
During the fight, several zombies combined to unleash Water Release techniques, using the weather to amplify their effect, sweeping several White Zetsu away.
"Oh? I've heard of this from other White Zetsu, but seeing it with my own eyes is startling. They can really use their jutsu from life? No wonder Lord Madara wants to kill Kaede Tsukasa."
White Zetsu muttered to himself.
At the same time, in a distant puddle, a shadow-like figure wriggled silently, watching this unusual battle with equal astonishment.
On White Zetsu's side, it was all too familiar—just a weapon his mother had created from the planet's native humans.
But what were these corpses?
"Controlling corpses in battle… this jutsu is really interesting. Though the user is about to die soon,"
Black Zetsu cared more than anyone about Nagato's safety. Madara could die, but Nagato could not; if Nagato had to die, at the very least Black Zetsu had to take the Rinnegan!
As long as there were the Rinnegan and the Ten Tails, there was a chance to free his mother. After waiting over a thousand years, this opportunity had finally come. No accident could be allowed.
"Wait a little longer. It's not yet time for me to appear. I need to find the right moment," Black Zetsu said, retracting back into the puddle to play dead.
As time passed, the number of figures gradually dwindled, both sides suffering losses.
White Zetsu personally struck, piercing the chest of a zombie, then chopping off its head with his forearm. He stomped down, crushing the skull.
"Really troublesome. Without destroying the head, these corpses can't be stopped. This jutsu is strong."
White Zetsu scanned the area, intending to take a zombie whose mobility was destroyed but whose head remained intact.
"You're in this state and still planning to bite me?" White Zetsu looked in surprise at the zombie baring its teeth, as if discovering a special toy, momentarily delighted.
But he quickly had to stop, noticing more zombies arriving.
White Zetsu feared nothing more than being outnumbered. Immediately, he summoned over a dozen more White Zetsu.
A larger-scale battle erupted, fiercer than before. White Zetsu's vitality was extraordinary; minor injuries were meaningless to them. The zombies were equally indifferent, often trading injuries blow for blow.
Various jutsu constantly exploded, causing slight tremors in the ground. Figures fell repeatedly, only to be replaced by new ones.
Finally, after losing twenty-seven White Zetsu, and attempting to feign death among the chaos only to be instantly killed by the zombies, White Zetsu could no longer hold back.
Madara had only recently created these White Zetsu, fewer than a hundred in total, and they still needed to be scattered across the ninja world to gather intelligence—he could not afford such reckless losses.
"They can see through my disguise technique… this sensory ability is too much! If this continues, the losses will be catastrophic. Lord Madara will kill me! How many corpses has this guy stored…?"
White Zetsu clutched his head, disbelief written all over his face.
"Rather than you killing me, I'll kill you. I came on my own. I want to see with my own eyes how you identical things can fight my zombies like this."
Kaede Tsukasa appeared on the battlefield with three Root shinobi.
The three Root shinobi quickly surveyed the scene, seeing bodies strewn across the ground, focusing on the identical White Zetsu with confusion.
"What are these white things? Some kind of jutsu? Why are they blocking us from finding Lord Jiraiya?"
"Perhaps something like the Second Tsuchikage's fission technique—splitting many copies from one original body."
The Root shinobi were skilled in intelligence analysis; their first instinct was to decipher the enemy's technique.
Komatsu Fuji asked, "Lord Kaede Tsukasa, you've already engaged them. Where do they come from?"
"For you, that's not important. You may not realize this, but the moment you encounter these things, the only outcome is death here. This is for the future—you must make this sacrifice," Kaede Tsukasa said slowly.
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