Chapter 400: Luring the Enemy into the Trap
In response to Kiba's panic, Ino and Sakura were at a loss for words.
Just like during the Chunin Exams, back when Kiba fought Naruto.
Kiba and Naruto have extremely similar personalities, so similar that, in certain fan works, the number of male ninja who act as Naruto's counterparts is second only to Sasuke.
Sure enough.
Kiba's ghostly howl made Sakura start seeing things.
Isn't this basically Naruto all over again?
Clearly only half-understanding things, yet insisting on being the first to jump out and showcase his ignorance.
Who said transplantation is the only option?
Why not just mine it?
Sakura thought to herself, then exchanged a glance with Ino.
"Sakura, what kind of look is that?"
Ino noticed Sakura's "I get you" expression and immediately felt exasperated.
"I really don't get it. Why is it that whenever Sage Mode comes up, everyone's first thought is… to take off?"
Ino shot Sakura a resentful look.
Sakura, you and Kiba are basically the same, just the pot calling the kettle black.
So why exactly?
"What's so confusing about that? Otherwise, what? Didn't you just say it yourself, take a shortcut? Isn't this the shortcut? Or are you planning to rely on your own talent and slowly master it?"
Sakura burst out laughing at Ino's words.
"No way, I don't believe it. Are you saying all the predecessors who mastered Sage Mode used this method too?"
Ino was actually already convinced, but she had to keep arguing.
Because if she didn't, it would be like publicly admitting that someday in the future, she might go "mining."
But the moment she said that…
Senju Tobirama opened his mouth, as if about to say something.
His elder brother, Hashirama, was the reincarnation of Asura's chakra and immensely powerful, he could enter Sage Mode just by clapping his hands together and focusing for a few seconds.
But Jiraiya was a different story.
Not long ago, Tobirama had learned that Jiraiya had actually started following his student Naruto's example, using the "take-off" method to enter Sage Mode.
"Ahem, this kind of private topic should be discussed in private."
Tobirama cut off the conversation.
"No more talk. This S-rank mission of spreading the story is now in your hands. The fate of the ninja world depends on it. Do your best."
Like a scumbag who leaves right after getting what he wants, Tobirama hurried them along once his goal was achieved.
But no one complained.
Because they were already eager to go "keep the secret."
First, they needed to tell others this story, people like Neji and Lee, and bring them into the "secret-keeping" group as well.
Meanwhile, Tobirama himself was also getting a bit impatient.
Earlier today, he had just been freed from the Yachihoko technique, and immediately sent a shadow clone to Orochimaru to check on the latest research progress.
There wasn't much to report from Orochimaru's side, everything was progressing steadily.
But another member of the Akatsuki had given Tobirama a pleasant surprise.
That was Sasori of the Red Sand.
Under Shiromo's influence, Sasori had retained his emotions, but what remained was mostly curiosity and competitiveness, traits useful for research.
Still, once he chose to keep his emotions, traces of other feelings inevitably lingered.
The key was that Sasori no longer resisted having emotions.
So when he realized that, in research, the sensory perception of a human body could sometimes be more important, he got an idea.
Especially when crafting new types of puppets by hand.
With touch combined with a human puppet body, he could more accurately judge the texture of materials and assemble them with greater precision.
Smell allowed him to directly detect the scent of certain special materials.
And since his body was that of a human puppet, when facing poisons that affected the body but not chakra, he could even taste them personally to confirm their flavor and finer details.
These were all senses that humans naturally possessed, but for a human puppet, they had to be artificially recreated.
And while sensory perception is useful for gathering intelligence, when it comes to precision work, it often results in twice the effort for half the outcome.
Take vision, for example, it's the most direct sense. If someone goes blind and relies only on hearing, they might still function as a ninja, but their combat ability would drop significantly.
So, after extensive research, Sasori developed a sensory technique that directly affects the soul and can be freely switched on or off.
When activated, he gains the same sense of touch, smell, and taste as an ordinary human body.
When deactivated, he returns to being a human puppet, feeling no pain, no fatigue.
It must be said, it's fortunate that Sasori had experience turning people into puppets. His dissection of the Third Kazekage had given him extensive knowledge of the human body, enabling him to complete this new technique.
However, after the technique was developed, the one most delighted wasn't Sasori himself.
In fact, Sasori felt little joy. To him, this was merely a utility technique to assist his work.
The one who was truly pleased was the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
Madara had been released from Chibaku Tensei by Sasuke. On the surface, he seemed to have accepted his fate and was chatting with Hashirama, reminiscing about the past.
But Tobirama knew that the inherently evil Uchiha Madara was merely waiting, looking for an opportunity, a weakness, ready at any moment to resume his sinister plans.
Besides, even in the best-case scenario, even if Madara truly gave up… could they really just let him enjoy a peaceful "retirement"?
No matter what, he had to be taught a lesson.
Originally, the chakra-targeting "medicine" implanted in Madara's body had already been removed. Aside from physical weakness, there was nothing particularly wrong with him now.
However, there was one problem.
Tobirama had once promised his elder brother that after bringing Madara back with the Impure World Reincarnation, he would absolutely not lay a hand on him.
He couldn't act against Madara.
So what now?
After thinking it over carefully, Tobirama came up with a plan.
If he couldn't make a move against Madara, then he would make Madara come to him.
Half an hour later.
Tobirama arrived with two people, finding his brother Hashirama and Uchiha Madara beneath a tree.
Madara was sitting in a wheelchair, with Hashirama pushing him from behind.
"Tobirama, what is this about?"
Seeing his younger brother arrive with two others, Hashirama couldn't immediately understand what was going on.
"Brother, no matter what Madara is like now, he must atone for his past actions.%
"Kushina was killed after having the Nine-Tails extracted by someone wearing a mask and calling himself 'Uchiha Madara.' Madara must apologize to her and seek her forgiveness."
"As for Rin? She just came along with Kushina. It's nothing special."
Tobirama spoke with a serious expression.
But his true intention was the complete opposite.
In reality, Rin was the main target, and Kushina was merely there as a cover.
Sure enough, Madara hadn't paid much attention at first, but the moment he saw Rin, he froze.
This isn't Impure World Reincarnation?
She's been revived?
How was she brought back?
Could it be that brat Obito…?
(End of this chapter)