Eroking
patreon
Chapter 178: The S-Rank Reward! The Vortex that Absorbs All Creation!
🕑 Added 2025-09-07 11:57:11 +0000 UTCChapter 178: The S-Rank Reward! The Vortex that Absorbs All Creation!
After a round of greetings, Hiruzen Sarutobi got down to business.
"Kagami, this is the research scroll for the Edo Tensei that Lord Second developed," he said, taking a scroll from his pocket and handing it over. "I don't know if Uchiha Madara has made any modifications to the technique over the years. Read this first, and see if you can release your current reanimated state."
"Yes, sir." Kagami accepted the scroll and immediately began to read it by the faint moonlight.
Having dealt with the "living," Hiruzen turned his attention to the "dead" and "half-dead."
"Uchiha Madara..." He skipped over the unconscious Five-Tails Jinchuriki for a moment, his gaze settling on the corpse of the decrepit old man. "I never thought this is what he would look like now."
Minato stepped forward and relayed every detail of their encounter with Madara, also informing the Hokage that they had removed Madara's left eye and given it to Shisui.
"Kagami's Mangekyo Sharingan..." Hiruzen nodded. As the Third Hokage, he was intimately familiar with the Uchiha's many abilities. He knew of more than just the Mangekyo; the secret scrolls left by his predecessors spoke of an even higher-level eye, one that did not lose its light, that belonged exclusively to Madara...
"Speaking of which, Minato, and you too, Keisuke," Hiruzen said, his brow rising slightly. "When you saw him, did he only have that one left eye?"
"Yes," Minato confirmed.
'Could it be that Madara used his special Mangekyo to the point of blindness during his battle with Lord First at the Valley of the End?' The complete asymmetry of information made it impossible for Hiruzen to make an accurate judgment; he could only speculate. 'To compensate for the loss, he took Kagami's left eye... but that doesn't make sense. Kagami's death was a long time after the Valley of the End.'
But here on Mount Kikyo, with Madara's corpse on the ground before him, he could not delve any deeper. He walked over and began to personally inspect the body, confirming that it was indeed that of an old man on the verge of decay. A small sigh of relief escaped him.
"My apologies, Minato, Keisuke. Please forgive my caution," Hiruzen said after finishing his inspection. "I, too, believed Madara was dead. But in the last two days, I was reviewing some of Lord Second's old scrolls and discovered that after the battle at the Valley of the End, he studied Madara's body for a long time. Then one day, the body simply vanished. Not even Lord Second knew what happened. It seems now that Madara must have used some special means to escape their senses. This time... I worry he has used another special trick."
For any ninja, Madara's body was an immense treasure. If Tobirama Senju could develop a forbidden jutsu as world-altering as the Edo Tensei, it was only natural that he would study the corpse of his greatest rival. Though Minato was a kind man, he had no issue with this. It was common practice for ninja to study corpses for intelligence. As long as one didn't extend that practice to the living, especially not to one's own comrades, Minato had no objections.
Compared to them, Keisuke knew a bit more. He knew Madara's "death" at the Valley of the End had been faked, just like this one. Last time, however, Madara had used the Izanagi with his own right eye. This time, he had sacrificed the Mangekyo he had taken from Kagami...
'Does Madara have other spare Sharingan? Did he escape death with Izanagi again?' A few thoughts flashed through Keisuke's mind. He was, admittedly, quite interested in the Uchiha's special forbidden jutsu—Izanagi and Izanami. Most ninjutsu could be traced back to a source, but some were in a category of their own, like something out of a god's playbook. For a ninja like himself who specialized in Yin Release, it would be strange if he wasn't curious about such techniques.
After his explanation, Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh. In his heart, he desperately hoped that this time, Madara's corpse was a real one. But he had to prepare for the one-in-a-million chance that it wasn't. If this was another one of Madara's tricks, one that even the First and Second Hokage couldn't see through, Hiruzen didn't believe he could either. Although some called him the "Strongest Hokage in History," he knew his own limits. He couldn't compare to Hashirama, who had single-handedly pacified an era of war. If he were as capable as Tobirama, he never would have allowed a separate "Root" to form within his Anbu, legitimizing it as a "training division."
To willingly dilute his own power and let another bear the burden of the Hokage's darkness was, in itself, an admission of his own inadequacy.
'Fortunately, the village still has outstanding talents like Minato and Keisuke.' Hiruzen glanced at the two young men beside him and silently formed a hand seal. 'Even if this is another faked death... then we'll just have to kill him again!'
As the thought crossed his mind, he completed the seals.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Technique!"
He aimed at Madara's body and unleashed a ferocious torrent of fire. In the intense heat, the withered corpse was rapidly reduced to ash. Having learned from Tobirama's mistake, Hiruzen had no intention of keeping the body for research. It was better to destroy it completely.
The three of them watched in silence as the body burned away, the ashes scattering into the night—a silent, fiery funeral for a legend of their world. As he watched the flames, Keisuke silently opened the S-rank scroll he had just received.
'Opening the scroll of the Founder of Konoha at his own cremation ceremony. I wonder what I'll get... This is a scroll from Uchiha Madara! Even if it wasn't him in his prime, it's still S-rank quality! Let's see...'
[Opening...]
[Contents of this S-Rank Shinobi Secret Scroll: Technique]
[S-Rank Sealing Technique: Sealing Art: Absorbing Seal]
[Description: The endless vortex that absorbs all of creation!]
[Effect: By reversing the flow of chakra within the body, a powerful chakra barrier is formed on the surface that can absorb the chakra from any technique used against the user. The absorbed chakra is then dissipated within the body and converted into one's own power.]
[Evaluation: It's the current era, who still uses traditional ninjutsu?]
'This is...' Keisuke stared at the S-rank sealing jutsu on the virtual panel. 'If I'm not mistaken, isn't this the chakra absorption ability unique to Rinnegan users? This thing isn't a Kekkei Genkai, but a simple sealing jutsu? The Uzumaki clan... are you kidding me?!'
As the fire gradually died down, Kagami had also finished learning the release method for the Edo Tensei. To avoid unnecessary complications, he had focused only on the second half of the scroll. He walked over and handed it back to Hiruzen. "Lord Third, I've learned it."
The three of them turned their attention to him.
"Then begin, Kagami," Hiruzen said, his voice heavy.
Kagami took a deep breath and slowly formed the hand seals. "Dog! Horse! Tiger!—Release!"
As they watched, he completed the process. A faint light emanated from his body, just as it had the last time the jutsu was released. But in the next moment, the glow faded, and he returned to his original state.
"I'm sorry, Kagami," Hiruzen couldn't help but ask. "What is your condition now?"
"I can't really describe it. If I had to say..." Kagami raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. "I feel as if I've successfully broken free from some kind of control... If I wanted to, I could return to the Pure Land at any time."
Hiruzen's brow furrowed. "Kagami, what do you mean?"
Kagami was silent for a moment, then spoke the obsession in his heart. "I still worry for Konoha... and for Shisui."
As an Uchiha who loved his village, to see it still mired in war, how could he simply leave? Especially now, when he was this powerful.
"It seems... I will need to arrange a new identity for you," Hiruzen said, his expression smoothing out. The tide of the war had already turned. Konoha now had the upper hand, especially against Iwa and Suna. In any case, to gain a combatant of Kagami's caliber—one who was tireless and immortal—was an absolute boon. He would be more of a ninja than any living ninja. However, his identity was too sensitive for him to appear in public. The only places he could operate were in the Anbu, or perhaps certain elite squads...
'Minato's team? Or Keisuke's?' Hiruzen glanced at the two of them, unable to decide for the moment. "It's getting late. Minato, Keisuke, you two can head back now," he said, waving them off. "Kagami and I will handle the rest."
Minato nodded, about to flicker away. But just then, Keisuke's voice reached his ears.
"Apologies, Lord Third." Keisuke pointed to the captured White Zetsu and Han. "I need to take my spoils of war. This should be in accordance with the rules. Also, I'm not sure if Orochimaru has reported this to you, but I am dead set on acquiring the Five-Tails."
A flash of displeasure crossed Hiruzen's face. He did not like Keisuke's sharp tone. "Keisuke, the capture of the Five-Tails was not the work of a single ninja, but the result of everyone's combined efforts. Furthermore, the beast has not yet been extracted from its Jinchuriki..." Hiruzen began to speak in the official language of politics. "The disposition of the Five-Tails will be decided at a special council meeting."
