ZAN 128 (Patreon)

Chapter 128: Kaede Tsukasa, What Exactly Do You Want to Do!

The closer one got to a lunatic, the higher the chance of obtaining the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Kaede Tsukasa felt it was time to add another layer of fire to the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

“Too weak. Your darkness is far too weak.”

Kaede Tsukasa formed hand seals, unleashing his chakra, turning every living thing around him into zombies.

A terrifying blue aura rapidly spread; wherever it reached, whether ninja, civilians, or even animals, all began convulsing violently.

By the time they rose again, their eyes had turned a horrifying white, and they wailed unconsciously. Sniffing the air, listening to the surrounding sounds, they began running without hesitation, attacking any living beings further away.

As more and more people were captured and driven forward, Kaede Tsukasa seemed to be playing a horrifying hunting game, controlling hunting dogs to herd all the sheep into a pen.

Screams, wails, curses, numbness…

The entire Land of Grass descended into chaos.

Its people realized there was no escape; terrifying zombies followed them relentlessly, surrounding and devouring anyone who tried to flee.

As a continuous stream of human bodies poured into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the artifact’s power noticeably increased.

“Really boring. Ten thousand people sacrificed, and it’s only this strong?”

Kaede Tsukasa carefully sensed it and realized it was indeed possible to make a wish, but it still wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

The Box of Ultimate Bliss emitted obscure intentions, seeking to absorb even more negative energy.

Essentially, this thing was a negative energy absorber, a divine tool specialized in Yin Release techniques.

Kaede Tsukasa glanced at those crying and screaming, forced into the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

It was still far from enough. More was needed.

“From the looks of it, using living humans as direct sacrifices will significantly boost the Box’s power. Then, let’s start with the destruction of the Land of Grass.”

After all, if this country continued its normal development, it would eventually be destroyed by the Box anyway. Kaede Tsukasa didn’t mind giving it a push.

“Mangekyō Sharingan… as long as I can obtain it, awaken the dōjutsu I desire, all the sacrifices made now will be worth it.”

Facing those pleading and hateful people, Kaede Tsukasa showed no expression. He didn’t even care whether their souls could properly reach the Pure Land after being devoured by the Box. Such matters were beneath his concern.

Since arriving in this world, Kaede Tsukasa had long realized his path over more than a decade of struggle:

He could never be a Namikaze Minato-type, spreading warmth to everyone. He was destined to use the people of this world as expendable material to pave his own path to survival.

The difference lay in which group would be used as expendables. Most likely, it would be people from other countries filling Kaede Tsukasa’s needs.

This was Zombie Release. Talk of love and peace was meaningless. Having already toyed with zombies and turned living humans into puppets, there was no room for such luxury words.

Kaede Tsukasa stood atop the Box of Ultimate Bliss, overlooking the civilians queuing for death, his eyes devoid of emotion, only holding an earnest desire for those dōjutsu eyes.

“Civilians, lacking chakra, are of low value. Just barely expendable—waste not, want not.”

Kaede Tsukasa didn’t even have the interest to turn these civilians into zombies; it was a pure waste of time.

Only ninja were qualified to become his zombies, capable of generating some value as extraordinary beings.

Ordinary civilians, even with triple the cellular count of Earth humans, lacked the ability to produce chakra, so it didn’t matter how many died.

As for selectively raising civilians capable of generating chakra to train them into ninja…

Perhaps Kaede Tsukasa would do so in the future. Once he controlled enough population and power, he would find ways to mass-produce ninja.

At minimum, he needed to reduce the exaggerated ratio of civilians to ninja, sometimes hundreds or thousands to one.

The more ninja, the more chakra, and the greater the value Kaede Tsukasa could extract in the future.

As long as Kaede Tsukasa obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan he desired, he could develop the jutsu according to the Moon Eye Plan, opening countless future possibilities.

“Still, I have to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan I desire through a wish.”

Kaede Tsukasa gazed at the sky, feeling that if everything went smoothly, the future of this planet would become incredibly interesting.

Under Kaede Tsukasa’s operations, the population of the Land of Grass rapidly declined, leaving vast stretches of uninhabited territory.

The remnants of its former vitality persisted only in buildings and goods, but were dwindling fast.

The ninja of Sunagakure vaguely realized what had happened, and a chill ran through their hearts.

“Has the squad sent to gather intel in Kusagakure gone missing again? Not a single basic report returned? Whoever can do this…”

Yakura felt her hands and feet go cold. She wasn’t afraid of death, but the current situation, if it continued, might lead to a fate worse than death.

She had witnessed an entire proper country gradually fall silent—it was suffocating.

“…Stop advancing! Everyone, retreat immediately! We are leaving this country!”

Yakura decided instantly: “Medical unit, monitor the physical condition of all squads closely. Report immediately if there are signs of fever! Sealing unit, prepare yourselves—be ready to perform sealing techniques at any moment…”

Before she could finish, screams erupted one after another.

It was too late… no, that guy must have been watching us the whole time. Now, noticing our attempt to leave, it was time for him to act, Yakura realized.

She instantly layered herself with chakra, expressionless, and struck at the zombies in her squad.

Blaze Release: Over-Steaming Kill!

All zombies she touched immediately had all moisture in their bodies evaporate, turning them into mummies.

But everyone knew this was only a temporary measure; immediate retreat remained the optimal choice.

“If only I had a tailed beast, I could instantly coat everyone with its chakra cloak…”

Yakura suddenly entertained this absurd thought.

With that, they would surely be immune to Kaede Tsukasa’s viral corruption. Chakra was a tangible force; it wouldn’t vanish into thin air.

Only a tailed beast had enough chakra to protect the fighting ninja.

Unfortunately, it was just a fantasy. There was no way to make it happen. Tailed beasts were not so cooperative; they wouldn’t willingly lend their chakra.

Moreover, Sunagakure no longer had a tailed beast to use.

More Sunagakure ninja kept turning into zombies. Eventually, the squad began the familiar collapse and retreat—who could escape, who could survive, all depended on luck.

“Damn it! What the hell is this? Weren’t we here to carry out his mission? Why are we being attacked?”

“Don’t you get it? He never considered us important. He’s just waiting for the chance to kill us.”

“Does the village have no contingency plans? Didn’t they anticipate this situation?! And now all we can do is run?”

“There’s no such thing. Maybe we were abandoned from the start. No wonder they regularly transport the looted supplies back. Perhaps they already expected this scenario.”

Sunagakure ninja used every effort to generate chakra to protect themselves, but no one knew how long it would last, only hoping to escape Kaede Tsukasa’s view before exhausting their chakra.

Eventually, six hundred Sunagakure ninja entered the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

This time, Kaede Tsukasa received feedback from the Box.

“…I can make a wish, but what use is a wish of this level?”

Kaede Tsukasa communicated with the Box of Ultimate Bliss. It could barely help him awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, but success wasn’t guaranteed—and there was no assurance he would obtain the dōjutsu he desired.

“The quality of ordinary humans is still too poor. Even in large numbers, their effect is limited—mostly providing some negative emotions.”

Kaede Tsukasa wasn’t surprised; he wanted a one-step solution.

Boom!

Kaede Tsukasa hoisted the Box of Ultimate Bliss and found it unusually heavy, likely from swallowing so many people.

“I can’t continue like this. I can’t stand opposed to the entire ninja world just to obtain a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. From now on, you’ll have to slowly absorb humanity’s negative energy.”

Kaede Tsukasa moved the Box, leaving the deathly silent Land of Grass behind.

Although the destruction of a small country was rare, it was not unprecedented. On the original timeline, during his battle with Chiyo, Akasuna no Sasori had claimed to have once destroyed a nation using the Hundred Puppet Manipulations.

During the Minato era, the Akatsuki also accepted contracts from Ōnoki, repeatedly invading small countries, stirring up wars, and benefiting Iwagakure.

Some had quietly observed Kaede Tsukasa’s actions.

“Using the people of an entire country as sacrifices still isn’t enough to satisfy him. What exactly does he want?”

Even the Sage of Six Paths was alerted. By spreading his chakra throughout the ninja world, he was effectively monitoring every breeze and rustle.

For the past thousand years, the Sage of Six Paths had observed the course of history in the ninja world, scrutinizing the traces of fate, acting as a qualified observer.

He had the power to intervene in ninja world affairs but chose not to, quietly watching generation after generation of Indra and Asura engage in endless conflict.

At this moment, the Sage of Six Paths was somewhat curious about Kaede Tsukasa’s plans. There was no way he could intend to obtain the power of the Ōtsutsuki in a single step, right? That would exceed the Box of Ultimate Bliss’s capacity—it was impossible.

Another spirit appeared.

“Brother, are you just going to watch that outsider carry out a massacre?”

“Calm down, Hamura. Killing happens constantly in this world, even without him. The people he kills are nothing compared to those who have died over the past thousand years.”

“That’s no excuse for him to kill recklessly for his own benefit! This world is chaotic enough already; this outsider is only making things worse! Besides, who knows if he’s a spy sent by Mother’s clan?”

That was the real concern of Hamura. If it were just killing, then frankly, the indigenous people of this broken ninja world could slaughter each other thoroughly without needing Kaede Tsukasa to do it.

This was also why those descendants left on the Moon, after observing the ninja world for a long time, concluded that the ninja world was a failed creation of the Sage of Six Paths and no longer worth saving.

Those descendants killed each other, assembling the massive Reincarnation Eye, with the sole purpose of cleansing the ninja world in blood. Eventually, one competent descendant would be sent to annihilate all the people in the ninja world, leaving perhaps only a single woman from the Hyuga clan to repopulate.

In other words, everything would be reset, erasing all traces of the Sage of Six Paths’ failed creations.

The Sage of Six Paths murmured, “I’ve observed him for nearly twenty years. He has nothing to do with Mother’s clan. He purely comes from some planet in the universe similar to the ninja world.”

Indeed, the Sage of Six Paths never suspected that Kaede Tsukasa came from another universe; he merely assumed he was a native of another planet who happened to arrive in the ninja world.

How exactly he arrived, the Sage did not know. He could not truly track every detail of the ninja world.

“Moreover, the planet that birthed him is generally weak. His poor physical condition proves it. After arriving in the ninja world, he couldn’t even perform the simplest environmental adaptation.”

Before discovering Kaede Tsukasa, he never imagined that humans could exist like this: arriving on a new planet, living at the absolute limit of their strength.

Who would believe it? Whether Mother, he and his brother Hamura, or the descendants of Hamura on the Moon—they all possessed bodies capable of withstanding cosmic radiation. Adapting to a planet’s surface was as simple as eating and drinking.

Kaede Tsukasa truly opened the Sage of Six Paths’ eyes, but he did not intervene. Perhaps Kaede Tsukasa’s appearance was part of the ninja world’s self-transformation.

“That’s still a danger. Zombie Release—this is clearly the product of foreign power fused with ninja world energy.”

“Mother, you and I, the Ten-Tails, chakra—all of it is foreign,” the Sage said calmly.

Both he and Hamura were directly birthed by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself. There was no absurd scenario where Kaguya combined with humans to give birth to them as mixed-bloods.

“Alright, you created the current ninja world. I hope you’re right. In any case, there’s nothing more I can do.”

Now, Hamura could only preserve his consciousness in the Pure Land. Ordinary ninja, once dead, had their souls enter the Pure Land to rest eternally. For a strong being like Hamura, as long as the Pure Land remained intact, total annihilation would not occur.

This method, purely for surviving pain, was actually safer than the orthodox Ōtsutsuki method of reincarnation using wedges.

Reincarnation carried a significant failure risk, modifying vessels consumed time and effort, and even after a long struggle, there was no guarantee of obtaining a suitable vessel. The effort could easily end in vain.

The Sage of Six Paths said, “Let’s continue observing. We have no right to interfere with the workings of this world. Let the ninja world self-correct. As long as Mother isn’t trapped, we will do nothing.”

…

Kaede Tsukasa returned to Konoha with the Box of Ultimate Bliss. For the next period, he would need to wait for the Box to absorb enough negative emotions from humans, and, if necessary, could even use living beings to accelerate the process.

But Kaede Tsukasa was patient. He had verified the importance of patience using the entire Land of Grass as a test.

Once news of this spread, the outside world erupted.

An entire country had become a no-man’s land, all life gone silent. The news was utterly shocking.

Even if a country fell due to civil war or foreign invasion, people could understand it. But for the vast majority of a population to simply vanish—it was incomprehensible.

For a time, rumors and speculation ran rampant.

“Shh, I heard a message—apparently Lord Kaede Tsukasa attacked the Land of Grass and turned everyone into corpses!”

“Ridiculous! Are you speaking without thinking? Irresponsible much? Someone like Lord Kaede Tsukasa attacking such a small country? Why not just hit Sunagakure directly?”

“Lord Kaede Tsukasa only needs corpses with combat ability—that is, ninja corpses! Why would he want the bodies of a million civilians? To eat them?”

“I heard from traveling merchants that the Land of Grass was invaded by Sunagakure, but even then, Sunagakure lost some personnel and retreated.”

“Ah, the guards! I’m reporting this—someone is slandering Lord Kaede Tsukasa, spreading rumors. Why isn’t anyone arresting them?”

As a result, the Uchiha clan became busy overnight, arresting people constantly. Whether the targets were guilty or innocent, they would be captured and interrogated first!

What? Wronged? Just hearsay? Laughable. The village’s political atmosphere was so tense, and with Kaede Tsukasa and the village leadership drifting apart, saying anything that could harm unity was already the biggest problem.

The Uchiha clan’s iron-fisted justice left villagers crying out in fear.

All factions within the village were secretly observing Kaede Tsukasa’s movements, but they had yet to see any direct response from him.

The village itself also remained silent, as if nothing had happened.

At any other time in history, this would have been earth-shattering. A country disappearing overnight would have prompted Konoha to send scouts, and neighboring countries would investigate as well.

“The villagers are very resentful and extremely dissatisfied with the Uchiha clan.”

Fugaku looked at the expressionless Obito in front of him: “I heard you persuaded the Eighth to take harsh action.”

“That’s only natural. The Uchiha clan bears great responsibility. The security of the entire village rests on our shoulders; we cannot afford negligence,” Obito said.

He was now a Chūnin and had awakened the Sharingan, causing a stir.

If not for the sheer number of recent events drawing everyone’s attention to Kaede Tsukasa and the village leadership, the Uchiha clan would have publicized this extensively. The key was not merely Chūnin promotion, but possessing such terrifying talent and potential—having awakened the Sharingan so early!

It was important to know that only a select few Uchiha could awaken the Sharingan. Once awakened and developed to the three-tomoe level, the user was guaranteed to reach Jonin status. The bonuses to Taijutsu and Genjutsu were immense, naturally creating a huge gap with ordinary ninja.

Some already regarded Obito as the next Uchiha capable of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, with some even calling him “Lord.”

Thus, as long as Obito spoke, as long as the request wasn’t too extreme, the clan would make every effort to comply.

Obviously, in the eyes of the guards, beating villagers mercilessly was not excessive—it was impressive.

Fugaku stared at Obito for a long time. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you should exercise restraint with your comrades.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful.” Obito’s attention was hardly here.

He was more curious about what Kaede Tsukasa intended. He had obtained related information from White Zetsu and knew Kaede Tsukasa had acquired a treasure of the Sage of Six Paths.

“The Box of Ultimate Bliss… it was mentioned in the intel left by Madara, but the records were vague.”

If Kaede Tsukasa considered it valuable, it had to be extraordinary. He had even destroyed an entire country, sacrificing its population, to obtain a power that piqued Obito’s curiosity.

“Does it require delving into the darkness of the human heart… this kind of artifact…”

Obito felt as if he had seen it before. It was like an alternative…

Mangekyō Sharingan?

Obito suddenly furrowed his brows. Could Kaede Tsukasa’s goal be the Mangekyō Sharingan?!

It made sense. If that were true, everything became clear. No wonder Kaede Tsukasa had done something like this! Kaede Tsukasa had already begun acquiring and using the Sharingan years ago and had even mastered Izanagi.

If Kaede Tsukasa’s Hashirama clone were paired with a Mangekyō Sharingan…

Obito couldn’t even accurately estimate how powerful Kaede Tsukasa could become. Surely, he wouldn’t reach the level of power Madara Uchiha had during the Valley of the End, right?

“No, that’s impossible. That level of power requires the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He doesn’t have Sage techniques, can’t summon the true Thousand Hands. Even with a Hashirama clone and a Mangekyō Sharingan, he couldn’t reach that level.”

Obito pondered deeply, his expression shifting with uncertainty. From what he knew of Kaede Tsukasa, what this guy was doing shouldn’t be something so straightforward and obvious.

Was it really just about improving his resistance to genjutsu? Simply using the Box of Ultimate Bliss to gain Mangekyō-level power?

“If the Box of Ultimate Bliss can really grant him the Mangekyō Sharingan, then the dojutsu itself remains a mystery.”

The eye technique of the Reflection of the Mind—would it reflect Kaede Tsukasa’s innermost desires, or would it be a dojutsu that evolved from the Box itself?

Fugaku stared at Obito for a long time, watching his expression shift continuously.

“Obito, if you’re too tired, go back and rest. Don’t overthink it. No matter what, the Uchiha clan is a noble ninja family, strong enough to handle the upcoming changes,” Fugaku said.

Obito nodded weakly, replying absentmindedly.

His mind was entirely occupied with how to deal with Kaede Tsukasa in the future. For now, they were collaborators—but if a conflict arose later, how would he handle Kaede Tsukasa’s threat?

Every participant claimed to be advancing the Moon Eye Plan, but in the end, who could really know each other’s true intentions?

Fugaku watched Obito, rubbing his forehead. From his perspective, Obito’s attention had already shifted toward Kaede Tsukasa. Trying to correct it was impossible, and it might even provoke Kaede Tsukasa. How things would turn out, he couldn’t tell.

“Kaede Tsukasa… when will he make his move? When that time comes, I mustn’t let our clan get dragged into it.”

If Kaede Tsukasa turned against the village and caused chaos, as clan leader, he had to minimize the Uchiha clan’s losses at all costs.