Ōnoki was indeed dead.
Even though Kakuzu, Hidan, and the others still found it somewhat unbelievable, Ōnoki was indeed dead.
No ninja could escape through feigned death under their watchful eyes.
Especially with Uchiha Madara still standing here!
"Deidara, that was quite unexpected."
Kakuzu raised his head to look at Deidara, his eyes flickering slightly.
"Dead? Well done."
Madara glanced at Ōnoki's corpse, then looked deeply at the silent Deidara, speaking indifferently.
"Tch."
Deidara pouted while casually flexing his wrist.
Madara paid no attention to Deidara's attitude, turning his head toward the White Zetsu.
"Hehe."
Looking at Ōnoki's corpse, White Zetsu smiled and walked toward it with large strides.
Standing beside Ōnoki's body, White Zetsu reached out and gently pressed his hand onto it.
In the next moment.
White Zetsu's entire body transformed at a visible speed.
In the blink of an eye, White Zetsu had become Ōnoki.
Both his chakra and aura were nearly identical.
Seeing White Zetsu's action, the others showed no surprise on their faces, clearly everything had been planned.
"Completed, Lord Madara."
White Zetsu raised his hand and walked before Madara, speaking respectfully.
Tap! Tap!
After White Zetsu finished, Sasori, who had been standing by without much action, walked toward Deidara and Ōnoki's corpse.
"Such excellent material cannot be wasted. Making the Third Tsuchikage's corpse into a puppet will add another powerful puppet weapon."
Sasori let out a low laugh, his voice carrying a hint of eagerness.
However, before Sasori could take more than a few steps, the ground ahead suddenly split open.
A twin snake made entirely of explosive clay drilled out from underground, blocking Sasori's path.
"Take one more step forward, and I'll kill you."
Deidara raised his head slightly, staring directly at Sasori.
Deidara's voice was calm, but no one would think he was joking.
After the two stared at each other for a while, Sasori shrugged and put on a helpless expression.
Only then did Deidara withdraw his gaze, quickly forming several hand seals as he spoke to Ōnoki's corpse:
"Old man, let me welcome this new era for you!"
C4—Garuda.
Countless microscopic clay spiders, almost invisible to the naked eye, sprayed from Deidara's hands.
These tiny clay spiders immediately crawled all over Ōnoki's body at incredible speed, with a large number entering through Ōnoki's mouth and nose into his body.
"Katsu!" Deidara shouted softly.
In the next moment, before everyone's eyes, Ōnoki's corpse was rapidly destroyed from the inside out. In the blink of an eye, it turned to ash and completely vanished.
Kakuzu, Sasori, and the others couldn't help but stare in shock.
They only saw Deidara form the hand seals but didn't see how Ōnoki's corpse was blown to ash bit by bit.
Among everyone present, probably only Madara and Obito with their Sharingan could clearly see this process.
"Interesting jutsu."
Madara looked at Deidara with rare seriousness.
Splash!
At this moment, another White Zetsu emerged from the ground and reported:
"Lord Madara, dozens of Iwagakure ninja are heading in this direction."
"Quite slow."
Hidan pouted, carrying his triple-bladed scythe, his voice carrying a hint of disdain.
Kakuzu cracked his neck, his voice menacing: "Finally, some action."
Sasori remained silent but silently pulled out a scroll from his robe.
Meanwhile, from the forest behind Madara, dozens of White Zetsu poked their heads from the ground, wearing enigmatic smiles.
"Next..."
Madara gazed toward Iwagakure, his voice extraordinarily domineering:
"Take over Iwagakure!"
While Madara was taking action.
On the other side, at Shikkotsu Forest.
Hashirama Senju, who had been brought there by Tsunade for treatment due to severe injuries.
Now, he was sitting perfectly fine atop Katsuyu's head.
A large amount of Sage chakra surrounded Hashirama.
His originally vigorous life essence, through constantly absorbing chakra, rapidly healed all the internal injuries Hashirama had sustained from using the Eight Gates.
After a while, Hashirama opened his eyes.
"Little Hashirama, it seems your injuries have completely recovered."
Katsuyu's gentle voice rang beside Hashirama's ear.
Hashirama nodded, but there wasn't much joy on his face. Instead, his brows were tightly furrowed.
"Katsuyu-sama, even you couldn't find that hidden chakra in my body?"
Compared to his injuries, Hashirama was more concerned about the Asura chakra within him.
"I'm sorry, Little Hashirama. I didn't find the chakra you mentioned in your body."
Katsuyu paused here, then continued:
"Perhaps that chakra inherently belongs to you."
Inherently belongs to me?
Hashirama was momentarily stunned, and his already furrowed brows deepened even more.
But moments later, Hashirama scratched his head and let out a hearty laugh.
"I really don't understand anymore."
Hashirama's voice carried a hint of helplessness.
At this point, Hashirama's eyes suddenly lit up as if he'd thought of something. He quickly turned to Katsuyu and asked:
"Katsuyu-sama, have you ever heard the name Asura?"
Hashirama's voice carried a hint of anticipation.
The current Hashirama desperately wanted to know about the Asura intelligence within him.
Quite some time passed, but Katsuyu remained silent.
Just as Hashirama was beginning to feel disappointed, thinking he wouldn't learn anything.
"Asura? How do you know that name?"
Katsuyu's normally calm voice showed a rare change.
Hashirama's eyes lit up, his expression becoming serious:
"Katsuyu-sama, could you tell me everything you know about Asura?"
Hashirama didn't explain how he knew the name Asura.
Katsuyu didn't press the issue either.
After a brief silence, Katsuyu's massive body shifted slightly, as if finding a comfortable position. Her two large compound eyes showed a look of remembrance.
[
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