chapter 114 part 2
Everyone was baffled, including Nagato. They all saw that Yahiko didn't seem to be intending to sacrifice himself to cover their escape, but rather… he genuinely meant to defeat Orochimaru right here?
Yahiko, was he going to defeat Orochimaru?
At this moment, the figure walking through the rain drew closer, stood not far away, looking at everyone, and spoke, "It seems you've gained some special power while I've been gone, Yahiko. I never knew such power was sealed within the Land of Rain, making you dare to confront a Hokage-level ninja and even confidently believe you can capture your opponent alive?"
Capturing a Kage-level powerhouse alive was far, far more difficult than killing one; the difficulty coefficient was on a completely different level.
Tsukasa Kaede observed Yahiko with interest, "If I didn't know you weren't someone who spoke rashly, I'd think you were drunk."
"Enough talk, where's Orochimaru?"
Soon, Yahiko frowned, exchanged glances with Nagato, who was behind him, and immediately showed an incredulous expression, "Weren't you dead? Why are you alive?"
"What, he's a living human?"
"Everyone had already confirmed it back then, Tsukasa Kaede was dead. Nagato even used his Rinnegan to verify it. But why is he alive? Then who was the Tsukasa Kaede we fought against before?"
"Not only that, but his chakra fluctuations are different from before. There are different frequencies of chakra, the most powerful of which was one particular stream."
Nagato was very surprised; this truly exceeded his comprehension.
Tsukasa Kaede's chakra was quite complex, like power drawn from many people's bodies and then re-created into energy. Nagato had detected this, but hadn't paid it much attention.
Tsukasa Kaede said lightly, "There's no particular reason. The last time I met you all, I was indeed dead, but I put in a little effort and then resurrected. Nagato, you know this, don't you? Danzo mentioned resurrection the first time he tried to recruit you."
"You make resurrection sound as normal as walking. That's the biggest abnormality," Yahiko frowned deeply.
"It's abnormal for you, but perfectly normal for me. Don't forget, I am the Ninja World's first Corpse Release ninja. Manipulating corpses and reversing life and death is well within my abilities. Is that so hard to understand?"
"What's the price, then?" Nagato couldn't help but ask. To be honest, he was somewhat intrigued.
"The price? Of course there is, and it's not too low… If I'm not mistaken, your eyes also contain resurrection-type dojutsu. It would be abnormal if the Sage's Eyes didn't even have that," Tsukasa Kaede said, pointing at Nagato.
Nagato fell silent. He had indeed just acquired a resurrection jutsu, a rare one that required him to perform hand signs to activate—the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!
But the price of resurrection was a life for a life.
This price was too heavy. Who was worthy enough for a Rinnegan user to sacrifice their life to save? Normally, the Rinnegan user themselves was the one most likely to change the world and the one who absolutely couldn't die easily.
Nagato subconsciously reached for his eyes, but Yahiko grabbed his wrist.
With that, everyone knew that Nagato truly possessed a resurrection dojutsu, but no one showed expressions of greed or covetousness. Those who had been standing by Yahiko and Nagato remained steadfastly on alert.
"...Truly impressive, Yahiko, Nagato. You truly have comrades worth protecting with your lives," Tsukasa Kaede genuinely remarked.
He could not truly protect anyone in this world with his own life. If he did, it would surely be for a more important purpose.
Anyway, for him, the boundary between life and death would constantly blur. Someday in the future, when he no longer had to worry about returning to the Pure Land, that would be truly mastering the jutsu of life and death.
Yahiko said in a deep voice, "We've had such comrades from the beginning. Kaedence you've resurrected, I presume you've also escaped Orochimaru's control. Can you return Konan to us?"
"No, that won't do. Konan hasn't completed the mission I gave her yet."
"What mission?" Yahiko had a bad feeling.
Tsukasa Kaede said casually, "Just have her make a few billion Explosive Tags. Her Paper Release is unique in the Ninja World, so it shouldn't be difficult for her."
"Several billion!!"
Yahiko's face darkened, and he began to roll up his sleeves, preparing to act. "I will defeat you and bring Konan back. Don't worry, I won't truly harm you. You did save our lives, after all, and to some extent, you protected Konan from Orochimaru. But our comrades cannot become your tools."
Tsukasa Kaede watched him with keen interest, making various conjectures about the new power Yahiko had acquired.
"What kind of power could instantly elevate someone who is, at most, an elite jonin, to the Kage-level?"
Tsukasa Kaede continually used the process of elimination. Anyway, this surge in power couldn't have appeared out of nowhere; there were only a few possibilities.
It seemed that Konan's capture had the biggest impact on Yahiko, even more so than on Nagato, leading Yahiko to take interesting actions and gain significant benefits.
"Let me do it, Yahiko. Although I don't know what power you've found, let me do it. Because I also possess new, powerful strength."
Nagato stepped forward, actively trying to change himself, to become more decisive. "I will defeat Tsukasa Kaede-sama and bring Konan back."
"...Alright."
Yahiko was slightly surprised, then calmly said, "Then I'll leave it to you. I'll try my best to stop him from escaping."
Nagato stepped forward and proactively attacked Tsukasa Kaede. "Last time, you sacrificed a Sharingan to evade my Soul Sealing Jutsu. This time, you don't have any eyes left to use, do you? I don't believe the Uchiha Clan would let you take their eyes."
"Who knows…"
Swish! Nagato swiftly charged at Tsukasa Kaede, forming hand signs and activating Summoning Jutsu. A large cloud of smoke appeared.
"That hand sign is for Summoning Jutsu? Has Nagato already managed to combine his Rinnegan with that kind of Summoning Jutsu? He's growing fast." Tsukasa Kaede was slightly surprised.
As expected, a dog with Rinnegan appeared, baring its fangs at Tsukasa Kaede.
This dog wasn't large; it couldn't even be considered a top-tier summoned beast. To put it bluntly, it was only at the level of a third-rate summoned beast.