Konoha Notes.

Chapter 556 The Intruder

Chapter 556 The Intruder

If the tree currently absorbing the power of the ninja world were an ordinary divine tree, Jigen would not interfere; in fact, he would actively protect it.

No matter who plants the tree, the fruit will eventually ripen.

As long as the Divine Tree continues to follow its instincts, and as long as it continues to condense the life of the planet into chakra fruits, then when the day of harvest arrives, the fruits will ultimately belong to him.

But Kaguya's tree is different.

That woman merged with the Divine Tree and became the Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails.

A divine tree with its own consciousness will not obediently bear chakra fruits.

It simply devours, taking all the chakra it can reach and making it its own, then becoming a new predator in the universe.

Such things are no longer a byproduct of the Otsutsuki clan.

It's obsolete.

They went from being tools to competitors.

Cixian lowered his eyes and began to assess the condition of his body.

The ninja world is a special place; as a planting ground, it is lush and vibrant.

Even after being harvested once, besides the Jinchūriki, this planet actually nurtured individuals comparable to Tailed Beasts, and not just one or two.

The fruits grown in such soil must be incredibly abundant.

Otherwise, Kaguya wouldn't have betrayed him, chosen to eat the fruit, and faced pursuit from her own clan.

So, should we continue to wait?

Are we waiting for this planet to be cut down by Kaguya's tree once again?

Or should we act now and cut it off before it truly takes root?

To crush the current ninja world with this body of a monk named Jigen, he needs to enter state two.

If unforeseen circumstances arise during battle, forcing his true form to manifest, or even causing this unsuitable vessel to reach its end, then he can only reincarnate in Jigen's body.

At that time, the wedge that fell on Hyuga Neji will lose its effect.

However, failure itself will not restore the altered flesh and blood to its original state.

As long as he can return after the war, and as long as Hyuga Neji is still alive, he can put the wedge back into that body and resume the progress.

The problem is that after being reborn into Cixian's body, he will only have a few days left to live.

Returning is not a problem.

Setting up a wedge is not a problem either.

The real challenge lies in the months-long gap between the re-implementation of the wedge and the completion of the thawing.

Will Hyuga Neji stay obediently in the base if he's left unattended?

The answer from Ōtsutsuki Isshiki is no.

Thinking of this, his hesitation dissipated.

Those who know how to escape are less likely to seek death easily.

Therefore, all we need to do is hide him and throw him into the still, alternate dimension of Daikokuten, and no one will be able to find Hyuga Neji.

All life except for himself is unable to move in Mahakala and will be stagnant.

Neji Hyuga thus lost the ability to act while he was away on missions.

If Cixian's body is still usable after the battle, everything will proceed as usual.

If he is forced to reincarnate, he will immediately return to Daikokuten, retrieve Hyuga Neji, and recarve the wedge.

Then, he was thrown into another dimension where time flowed normally, but not in the ninja world.

There will be water, food, and everything necessary to sustain life.

Hyuga Neji will search for a way out there, and in the process of his search, the wedge will be completely released.

Once the plan was finalized, the passageway opened up before the monks.

Jigen stepped inside and arrived at the alternate dimension that had long imprisoned the Ten-Tails.

This is the monster he brought to the ninja world, but never planted.

It had been hungry for a long time and had only received a little sustenance. When it saw the man in white, the ten-tailed fox, which had not transformed into a tree, opened its mouth towards him.

It consumed the flesh and blood of Taketori Yoichi.

But that was not a good enough Ōtsutsuki, and was far inferior to the person in front of him.

"It's not the right time yet." Jigen stretched out his hand, and the Ten-Tails' chakra transformed into a red stream of light, entering the monk's body.

The monster's red magatama eyes bulged, making no attempt to conceal its rage.

"I will feed myself to you."

"After this is all over."

After making a promise to the Ten-Tails, Jigen returned directly to the base as planned and threw Neji into Daikokuten.

Immediately afterwards, he appeared outside Konoha Village.

At this time, the scene outside the village was still dilapidated, with only rows of wooden houses.

Adhering to the principle of minimizing energy expenditure, Jigen did not choose to directly storm into Konoha Village, but instead planned to first find out where Kaguya's tree was.

But all he saw in the hazy mist was a cloud of chakra.

It's a barrier, and there's also special dust containing chakra floating inside the barrier.

They mingled together, blocking the eagle eye's spying from the outside world.

Since it couldn't be seen directly, Cixian changed to another method.

The flow of natural energy cannot be hidden; by sensing where the energy is going, he pinpointed its location.

Jigen activated his eye technique again, shrinking himself to a point, passing through the barrier surrounding Konoha Village, and destroying it.

The alarm was triggered the moment he broke through; the alarm sounded, and the Ninja Hawk was released, letting out a warning cry.

But Jigen's body became too small and his movement speed too fast, so the patrolling ninjas from the Anbu and the Police Department found nothing.

In front of the laboratory building, Tobirama Senju heard the alarm bell.

Just as he was about to make arrangements, the barrier set up by the barrier team in front of the experimental building, separating the old house from the village road, silently shattered into light fragments.

The Second Hokage immediately realized what kind of enemy was attacking Konoha.

"Notify Kai, Toneri, and Nagato to go to the old house!"

"This method is from the Otsutsuki clan!"

His voice fell behind Cixian, and the man in white had already disappeared into the dense forest behind the old house.

Jigen, who had just entered the woods behind the old house, saw Tsunade guarding nearby. He ignored the presence of the Fifth Hokage and instead looked at the mother plant that was growing and whose body on the ground was bound by a barrier.

Cixian's body shape returned to normal.

It would take some time for the other Konoha ninjas to arrive, so he appeared quite composed.

"It's not Kaguya's tree."

He examined the mother plant closely.

"But it's using her chakra."

"Even mere humans have managed to concoct such a thing."

Upon seeing the newcomer, Tsunade immediately demanded, "Who are you?!"

"I apologize for this intrusion," Cixian said slowly as she walked toward the mother plant. "I've come to take away what doesn't belong to you."

The mother plant sensed that person's approach.

Its branches began to violently pound against the barrier, and its vines lashed wildly against the inner walls of the sealing spell, producing a dull and dense thud.

Cracks appeared in the inner layer of the originally solid barrier.

Tsunade stared at the barrier in disbelief, first complaining, "You...you're practically useless."

"You rascal," she turned to Cixian, "you didn't actually think I'd let you just walk past like that, did you?"

The Yin Seal was released, and black lines spread from the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead to her entire body. The chakra that had been accumulating for many years was released, and the air became slightly heavy.

Black runes appeared on Cixian's body, and he entered the first phase of the wedge: "Please don't get in my way."

Before Tsunade could even take her first step, her arms, shoulders, and abdomen were already pierced by black rods.

The little slug poked its head out from her shoulder, its usually gentle voice now filled with anxiety: "Lady Tsunade!"

The flow of chakra was disrupted, and Tsunade's knees buckled, but she did not fall. Her fingers gripped the end of one of the black rods tightly.

Fresh blood flowed down the shaft of the stick and dripped onto the withered leaves.

Cixian walked past her without even glancing at her.

Damn.

A low groan escaped from Tsunade's clenched teeth as she slowly pulled the black rod away.

Pain is not unfamiliar, and physical injury is not an insurmountable problem, but at this moment, every second feels too slow.

Unwillingness burned in her chest.

Anger made her blood boil.

The Fifth Hokage struggled to his feet, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

Just now.

A completely different kind of chakra flowed into her body from the little slug's body.

This is... Shuuji's chakra?! No, there's more—

The three black rods piercing his body were blasted away by the sudden burst of chakra, tumbling in mid-air and embedding themselves in a distant tree trunk.

Tsunade didn't think about it in detail.

The instant she regained her freedom, she twisted her waist, turned around, and delivered a whip kick with superhuman strength and a sudden surge of chakra, slamming it hard into Jigen's back.

boom.

The air was kicked out in a visible ring of air.

Jigen stumbled forward a few steps, almost crashing into the barrier. He steadied himself and looked back at Tsunade for the first time.

The Fifth Hokage didn't give him a chance to observe. The second attack came from the side, trying to kick him away from Shuji's position.

Jigen's figure shrank again. Tsunade's leg swept through the air, the force of its missed strike snapping several trees in half, sending splinters flying in the impact.

And that barely visible white dot had already leaped toward her head.

The shrunken figure in white leaped toward her head.

The black stick has not yet been thrown.

The veins around Tsunade's eyes bulged out.

With the combined support of Shuji and the mother plant's chakra, her perception was elevated to an unprecedented level, and she clearly saw the trajectory of the shrunken figure as it drew closer in her field of vision.

The elbow strike came out smoothly, and Cixian paused almost imperceptibly for a second before dodging backward before the black stick left his hand.

His figure returned to normal a meter away, staring at the lines around Tsunade's eyes.

"Where does your chakra come from?"

"This level of insight is not something you should have."

Tsunade did not answer. She simply retracted her elbow, resumed her starting stance, and in a flash, appeared in front of Jigen.

After several rounds of attack and defense, Cixian's patience began to wear thin.

Black runes spread outwards from the surface of his skin. A horn protruded from his left brow bone, circled the back of his head, and ended at the edge of his right ear.

Before he could even make a move, the compressed air cannon roared in from the other end of the dense forest.

The white tiger opened its mouth and bit at his location.

Cixian raised his hand, preparing to absorb the technique with the wedge, but he sensed something was wrong just before the air touched him.

This isn't ninjutsu!

At the same time, the ground beneath his feet collapsed, and the day tiger pressed in front of him. Cixian opened the alternate dimension again, and a rift appeared behind him, swallowing him whole.

As the rift closed, the tiger's energy flowed through the spot where he had just stood, carving a ravine in the woods.

Cixian stepped out from another rift.

He did not launch an attack immediately because he saw those people.

Matt Kai retracted his fist, the blue steam still lingering around him.

Tsunade's wounds were healing rapidly at a visible speed, with new flesh growing from the edges of the wounds, completely mending the torn tissue.

She stretched her shoulders, her joints making a series of crisp cracking sounds, then clenched her fists again. This time, her momentum was even stronger than before, as if the strength that had been knocked away by those black sticks had not only been completely restored, but had even multiplied several times over.

Standing at the very front was the boy draped in a green chakra cloak.

With horns on his forehead and a black Truth-Seeking Jewel floating behind him, Sheren's gaze was coldly fixed on Cixian.

"Otsutsuki, it was you who killed my father."

Jigen said calmly, "You should be chosen. As a sacrifice for the Ten-Tails, he can only catalyze inferior fruits."

Just after Jigen broke through the barrier of Konoha Village, Black Zetsu also sensed everything that was originally hidden within Konoha Village.

Human-like spirit, mother plant.

It should have told Madara about this directly, allowing him to take this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Konoha.

but----

"Konoha has been attacked. Jigen has made a move against Konoha." Black Zetsu chose to consult with his accomplice who knew the most secrets.

"So fast?" Orochimaru was also somewhat surprised. "Shouldn't he be lying low in his current state?"

He tilted his head, and soon pieced together the direction of the answer from the information he had gathered.

"I see, it was a misunderstanding."

Black Zetsu asked, "Should we inform Madara?"

"Now is indeed the best opportunity," Orochimaru said. "After all, when the invading enemy changes from someone who wanted to seize the Tailed Beasts to someone who wanted to destroy the ninja world, Konoha's strategy will naturally change."

"The Jinchuriki will no longer be locked up in the rear, but will be forced to go to the battlefield."

"And the battlefield is the only place where Jinchuriki can fall into the hands of others."

"The only problem is—Ban, what will he do?"

Orochimaru gave a half-smile.

He believed that Jue was precisely because of these doubts that she chose to come to him first.

This is exactly what Jue was thinking.

This is precisely where its hesitation lies. If Madara hadn't chosen to take the demon statue with him to seize the Jinchuriki, but instead abandoned the statue and instead sought the divine tree that was undergoing its slumber and transformation—

For Black Zetsu, it would be better to let him fail.

Only the defeated lie low. Only the one who lies low will devour the golem when all hope is lost, becoming the only key that can unlock the seal of the Goddess of the Rabbit.

"Aren't we going to tell him?" Black Zetsu had already made up his mind.

Orochimaru then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"No matter what, Madara will eventually find out what happened in Konoha. If you keep it from him, it will only make him more suspicious of you. Absolutely."

"Tell him. Then guide him, whether it's to repair the tree near Tsukasa-kun or to try to find the Ten-Tails that Jigen is hiding."

Hei looked at him with utter confusion.

"That way, he will trust you more."

"But a little trust is not enough to cover up his suspicion of you. After all, he has never mentioned taking you back until now. Absolutely not."

"A man who trusts no one but himself will not easily let go of his suspicions once he has them."

Therefore, he will choose to observe the battle from the sidelines.

Black Zetsu picked up where he left off.

"Konoha will be forced into a difficult position under Jigen's offensive."

"Therefore, Madara will take the initiative to intervene in the battle to maintain a relative balance between the two sides, and then look for opportunities in the process."

"That's exactly right."

Black Zetsu remained silent for a moment.

"If he's close to succeeding—"

Orochimaru smiled without saying a word, believing that when the time came, he would immediately intervene.

Black Zetsu said nothing more, his figure sinking into the shadows of the ground and disappearing without a sound.

After Black Zetsu left, Orochimaru picked up a test tube from the lab table, gently shook it in the cold light, and watched the liquid leave transparent residue on the inner wall of the glass.

"In this situation—"

he murmured.

"Did this exceed your design, Shuji-kun? You act like you know everything, but how much have you actually planned?"

"If it weren't for this situation, I'd really like to see your furious expression after your plan failed."